Rule by Berean

Rule 10373: The use of high explosives to set off earthquakes is hereby forbidden.

South Dakota sighed once more as she sat in the admiral's anteroom leading to the office. The only change was it wasn't in San Diego but in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The events leading to this could only be described as a cluster fuck. It all started when she was in the shipgirl forums chatting with Vanguard and Tirpitz when the latter stated that what finally did her in was the RAF dropping "earthquake" bombs on her. Intrigued by the statement South Dakota asked what were they called and who made them when Vanguard promptly asked for a change in subject. Undeterred by Tirpitz's lover blunt dismissal South Dakota finally received her answer from said ship. Vanguard at that point ended the conversation and rebuked the US ship for her lack of decorum and restarting Tirpitz's nightmares.

"The Admiral will see you now."

Startled out of her thoughts, South Dakota nodded her head at the secretary and walked in, carrying her documents and stopped in front of the desk. Admiral Lombard looked up at her with a blank stare and held out her hand.

"I'll take those documents, Miss Dakota, I have to make sure they're all in order. The last thing I need is those idiots in Ottawa kicking you back because some fool forgot to dot an I or cross a T," Lombard grumbled.

"I take it they're not too pleased to have me here then?" South Dakota asked nervously.

"No, they are not. The fools nearly fainted when it was announced. It took your president threatening our Prime Minister with strangling him with his own guts for them to finally agree." Lombard said with a little too much glee in her voice. "I have to admit having Wreck as your president certainly cuts through a lot of the bullshit."

South Dakota heaved a sigh and prayed that the admiral wouldn't ask her why she was transferred here.

"So, mind telling me why I'm finally getting a usable battleship all of a sudden, or is it classified information?"

"Crap." South Dakota sighed and shook her head. "Umm, no Ma'am, but it is a long story and well….let just say I'm in exile till the situation blows over."

"What did you do this time? Certainly it couldn't be any worse than giving Shimakaze sisters, could it?"

"I might have tried to, well….drop bombs on the San Andreas fault."

"Bah, I doubt those will do anything. After all, it would take a really big bomb or an H-bomb to do any…."

"It was going to be eight Grand Slam bombs." South Dakota blurted out. Admiral Lombard whistled as her eyebrows climbed to her hairline.

"Damn...that could do it. But what possessed you to try...oh right, for Science! Since you are one of those girls. So, let me guess: you were caught trying to appropriate some B-52's for the experiment?"

"Actually, it was when I was going to have the Torpex made. I'm not an explosives expert so I was going to ask Vanguard, but she told me to forget it. Then I asked Phoenix but when she found out why she….blabbed to the admiral and, well...here I am."

Admiral Lombard nodded as she checked out the documents and signed off on them.

"Well, welcome to Halifax. So long as you don't cause the same problems here I won't have an issue with you. Oh, and I hope you love convoy duty since that will be about 90 percent of the sorties you'll be on. Ontario!" Lombard called out as the secretary came in.

"Yes, Admiral?"

"Take South Dakota to her quarters and fill her in on the convoy that's due to depart in two days. I'll file these personally." The Admiral told them with a mile wide grin on her face as she walked out of the office. Both ships watched her exit and turned to look at each other.

"Look, as long as you don't make another battleship doppelganger I think we should get along just fine." HMCS Ontario said to her as they departed the office.

"What happened to the battleship version of yourself anyway?"

"She's stuck in limbo till the government grows a pair and sends her to be refitted. Till then she is working in armoury helping out with repairs." The cruiser said with a sad smile.

"Idiots. Maybe I should do something about that when we get back from that escort mission."

South Dakota said with an all too familiar look of mischief on her face.