Rule by ijnfleetadmiral

15326: With Carnival Legend now docking in Norfolk as a result of recent unexpected and unfortunate events, Briggs is to be supervised at all times in case he makes a mad dash for the buses transporting passengers to Baltimore... or for Legend herself.

The television in the Admiral's office was always tuned to a news station, so of course all eyes were on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge. While the loss of life was tragic, it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. The bridge had been hit and then collapsed in the wee hours of the morning, when traffic was minimal; it would've been an entirely different story had the collision occurred a few hours later during the morning rush.

Then the news announcer said something that made everyone's ears perk up:

"Due to the collapse of the bridge, Carnival Cruise Lines has diverted its ship Carnival Legend to a temporary port in Norfolk, Virginia, and the ship will operate out of that port for the foreseeable future."

The eyes of Wright, Portland, and several other shipgirls all snapped to Admiral Briggs, who – surprisingly – showed no reaction to the statement. He glanced up to see the eyes of everyone else on him.

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what?', sir?" Wright stated. "You can't tell me you didn't hear that."

Briggs nodded. "I did. The ship's being diverted to Norfolk until further notice." He shrugged. "It'll probably be a tight squeeze, but I'm sure we'll manage somehow." He went back to his paperwork.

Wright blinked. That definitely was not the reaction I expected from him. He's up to something. She turned back to her computer and began typing an email:

**IMPORTANT BULLETIN**

ATTN: ALL PERSONNEL, KANMUSU BASE NORFOLK

CARNIVAL LEGEND WILL BE OPERATING OUT OF NORFOLK FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE. KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON ADMIRAL BRIGGS WHENEVER THE SHIP IS ABOUT TO DEPART. THAT IS ALL.

She selected the base-wide email feature and then went down and omitted Briggs' email from the list of recipients. No need to let him in on our plans.

Fleet Admiral Jeffrey Briggs smirked inwardly as he continued doing his paperwork. I ought to send flowers to that newscaster, he mused. She gave me hope. I've got a plan this time…one that they'll never see coming, oh no...

Nearly six weeks went by. Carnival Legend came and went, but even with the shipgirls watching him like a hawk, Briggs made no move to escape. He continued with his daily routine as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and by this time even the most dedicated shipgirls who enjoyed hunting him down when he escaped were losing interest in waiting for him to make his move. Wright called a meeting of the 'Briggs Minders'.

"Anything to report?" she asked, laying a hand on her slowly expanding midsection.

"Not a damn thing," Jersey groused. "Briggs is acting like that he doesn't even care the ship's in port. I don't think he's going to try anything. And my group and I are getting tired of following him as he runs his errands."

"Errands?" Wright inquired.

"Yes, Wright…the stuff people do when they aren't planning a major escape attempt," the battleship snarked. "No more grocery store trips for me…it only results in me chasing down my girls when they spot the goodie aisles. Damn Pixy Stix," she muttered, glowering as Johnston pulled out a grape-flavored treat, opened it, and downed it like it held the breath of life, then grinned and giggled when she noticed her mombote watching.

"Saipan and I also have nothing to report," Portland stated. "All he's been doing when we follow him around is head to the gym or the tanning salon."

"The tanning salon?" Wright's eyes narrowed. "When did he start doing that?"

"About a month ago. He goes every couple days. And he goes to the gym every day." Portland paused, then added, "At least, I'm guessing he goes to the tanning salon every couple days…we can't go there anymore because we got banned."

A sinking feeling developed in the pit of Wright's stomach. "And why did you get banned?"

"W-well, um…" Portland trailed off, a nuclear blush sprouting on her face as she rubbed a hand over the back of her neck.

Wright looked at Saipan, only to see her sister ship sporting a very smug, very filthy grin. The Secretary Ship groaned. Of course…

She glowered at the pair. "We'll deal with that issue later. Has the Admiral been anywhere else?"

"He went to the bank a few times," Iowa stated. "And yesterday he stopped by the library."

"The library? What did he do there?"

"I'm guessing he returned or checked out a book," Iowa replied. "I didn't go in…some people saw me outside and wanted me to pose for pictures with them, and by the time I was done he'd come back out."

Wright nodded. A visit to the library isn't anything out of the ordinary. Not unless he's planning on hiding in the genealogy section, she mentally giggled.

"Oh, and he went to the mall once," Iowa stated. "He went to Barnes & Noble and bought something, and I think he went to Macy's and bought a suit because he walked to his car carrying one of those hanger bag thingies."

"He bought a suit? Did you see what it looked like?" Wright began calculating possibilities in her CIC.

Jersey rolled her eyes. "Dude, relax, will ya? So the Admiral bought a suit…he's allowed to have nice things."

Wright huffed in frustration. I've got to stop seeing 'escape attempt' in every little action he does…Vestal told me stress isn't good for the baby. And it makes Moskva worry, and that's not something I wanna do, either.

She smiled wanly. "OK, everyone just keep doing what you're doing when it comes to the Admiral. I guess that's all."

"Oh, he also went to Walmart a few times," Iowa added. "I couldn't go in because, well, you remember the whole ban thing."

Wright closed her eyes. "Don't remind me. We have Iku and her fiancée to thank for that little fiasco. And it didn't even happen in America! I think that's the first worldwide ban shipgirls have ever gotten."

"Walmart blows anyway," Jersey groused. "Stopping 24-hour operations? They can kindly fuck all the way off."

"I miss going to the toy section at 0300, too," Johnston patted Jersey's arm, and the battleship huffed in frustration.

"That's not why!"

Johnston giggled.

"Anyway!" Wright got them back on track. "Everyone keep an eye on the docks for the next 12 hours. Carnival Legend sails again tonight. Who's got the watch this evening?"

"Scamp does," Jersey responded. "I'll make sure she knows what to look for."

Scamp reported in at midnight that Admiral Briggs had apparently gone to bed early, for his quarters on base were dark by 2000, with no movement since.

Carnival Legend sailed at 0100 hours.

Fleet Admiral Jeffrey Briggs was not reported missing until he failed to report for work at 0800.

Wright was apoplectic.

"HOW IN THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?! AGAIN?!" the light carrier yelled at the assembled group of shipgirls.

"Don't blame this on me!" Scamp shot back. "His house was dark and silent from 2000, like I said in my end-of-shift report, with the car in the driveway from 1830 onward! I thought he'd gone to bed after a quiet evening!"

"I just got Carnival Legend's passenger list from the Port Authority," Portland announced as she walked in. "Briggs' name is not on the list."

"Of course it wouldn't be!" Wright growled. "He probably used an assumed name!"

"Well, I hacked his bank account," Saipan announced. "You're welcome, by the way," she grinned at her sister ship's scandalized look, "and there is no purchase of a ticket for the ship."

Wright exhaled in relief. "Well, at least we know he's not on the ship." She picked up the phone. "I'll call the local Highway Patrol and tell them to be on the lookout for him."

The Virginia Highway Patrol failed to find anything on the escaped Admiral. Other law enforcement agencies were just as successful. Shipgirl searches also yielded nothing. Even a search party from Briggs' regular hangout, Oceanview Sanitarium failed to find anything.

Wright was not amused when Taffy Three's traps baited with pudding failed to capture Briggs, but managed to snag her girlfriend Moskva. It was just another thing she had to deal with while having been named Temporary CO of Shipgirl Base Norfolk.

Meanwhile, Carnival Legend headed south en route to Cozumel, Mexico. The ship was filled with partygoers, there were buffets galore, and memories were being made by the hour.

And in the midst of it all was one Enrique Montoya. No one knew where he came from, and the stewards said he didn't have a lot of luggage when he came on board, but he tipped well and appeared extremely happy to be there. He was definitely the life of the party; if there was a conga line, he was usually the one leading it.

The one odd thing about him was that he was always really happy when there was pudding on offer at the buffet.