"So, we have other more comfortable travel options," Taylor commented as she and her mother walked through the busy Brockton Bay Station.
They were getting ready to board the Friday five-thirty train to New York City, which would have them at the hotel around nine. Of course, Taylor offered a free and just as quick trip by sea to the city that never sleeps, but alas. Well, at least they could travel light; most of their luggage was sitting in her Captain's cabin.
"Yeah, yeah," Annette acknowledged. "I just got off with Cheryl; she and Sally will meet us at the hotel."
Initially, the four planned on spending Veterans Day weekend on Long Island, but Sally's mom won an all-expenses-paid VIP package to the PRT Building—a sneak peek at the new 'The PRT Experience,' which sounded more like an amusement park ride than a fancy tour.
The prize included rooms at the Millennium Hotel, a short shuttle ride to the PRT building near Battery Park, and, more importantly, a twenty-minute cab ride to the USS Intrepid Museum.
"Oh, you wanted me to listen to something? Whatever sounded familiar," her mom asked as she sat down, putting her computer bag under the seat.
Taylor pulled out her phone, lowered the volume, and then turned the screen around to show a video of a battleship at night sitting across a river. Suddenly, AC/DC's 'Back in Black' started playing.
"She has good taste," Annette murmured.
"Oh, that's from this Halloween," a young woman who sat across from them effused. "I heard about that on PHO. Museum ships suddenly playing music, very spooky."
Annette looked at her daughter, then said, "We heard the same thing."
"Of course, the Park Service denies they had anything to do with it, but who else could it be," the woman continued, pulling out her phone and bringing up the app.
"Oh, I heard something about ghosts?" Annette gave her daughter a grin.
The young woman enthusiastically nodded. "They went all out, didn't they? The Park Service now has everyone talking about those old Navy ships. But, you know, PHO, no photos, it didn't happen."
Taylor closed her eyes as her mother and the woman continued to talk before drifting off to sleep—or, well, to check on things. Halloween had been fun; she adored her friends who went out and dressed as Yuudachi sisters. Spinner and Eagle also had a good time, rangling a good amount of candy. What she didn't expect waking up on Sunday morning were rumors of ghostly music playing from old warships from around the globe. But what should she do about that, if anything? Spinner said that Archerfish left the door wide open. Were these girls just stepping through? She needed to see if Intrepid was asleep like she was over the summer.
A few hours later, Taylor opened her eyes to find her mom working on her laptop.
"Did you have a good nap?" Her mom asked.
"For the most part."
"Girl's behaving?"
The two other ship girls were at their first official sleepover.
"Well, you know Spinner. But they are having fun. Jenny brought out one of those new party games for the console; otherwise, everything's pretty quiet. Oh, I just want to make sure it's still OK for me to take the long way home?"
"It's fine, as long as you're not late for school on Tuesday."
"I won't be gone that long," Taylor mused. "Just a quick stop in Camden."
"Then it's fine. I imagine you're looking forward to seeing Sally again; speaking to her on the phone is different."
"Yeah, I wish she lived closer, but this weekend will be fun." Taylor grinned. "She was surprised that her mom got those tickets."
Annette leaned over, whispering, "And she knows?"
Taylor nodded. "Everything."
Pennsylvania Station was the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere. Even late Friday night, hundreds of passengers were leaving or coming home. The holiday weekend made it even busier. However, Annette had been to the city before, quickly flagging down a cab like a veteran.
"That was insane," her mom complained, the short four-mile ride having taken almost thirty minutes.
After retrieving their luggage, not having any would be odd, the two entered the hotel lobby.
"Bit of a walk though this time of night," Taylor agreed, then heard a squeal. "Oh, there's Sally."
A missile in the form of a short brunette glomped her, causing Taylor to squeal happily as the two greeted one another.
"Was that necessary?" an older version of Sally approached.
Annette smiled. "Hi, Cheryl,"
The two women shared a cheek kiss before grabbing their daughters so as not to block the hotel entrance.
"How was the trip?" Cheryl asked.
"Not too bad, peaceful, although Penn station's busy as always."
"Taylor, you look more beautiful every time my daughter shows a picture of you. And you had your hair straightened and colored. It looks good on you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Harper. Not a big fan of the smell, but mom has been going to the same salon since high school," Taylor deflected.
"Do you two need to check in?"
"No, I did it on the train. We should be next to you," Annette compared their room numbers.
Taylor looked around. "This is a nice hotel."
"I know; oh, did you bring your bathing suit?" Sally asked.
"I did."
"We will do that tomorrow. Besides, we do have an early start in the morning," Cheryl pointed out. "The shuttle will pick us up at nine, so we will have breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They have a nice weekend buffet, and the PRT will supply lunch.
"We're going to get to eat in their cafeteria," enthused Sally.
"I hope it's better than what they serve at school," Taylor giggled.
Sally laughed. "Me too."
While the moms went downstairs for a glass of wine, Taylor and Sally ordered dessert from room service. Chocolate goodness was the order of the evening, and the two sat happily chatting about school and whatever else while they ate.
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Sally asked, "Taylor, can you do something for me?"
"What do you need?" Taylor set down her phone; the two had been looking at PHO together.
"Can you turn into Yuu for me," Sally pleaded.
Suddenly, another girl sat next to her. Much shorter than Taylor, with silvery hair and sky-blue eyes, she wore a dark gray swimsuit with a waist-high jacket.
"Guten Abend. I am U-511. Please call me Yuu. It's a pleasure to see you again," she greeted her friend with a gentle smile.
Sally then burst into tears and grabbed the shipgirl, holding on for dear life. "Thank you, thank you for saving me. I was so scared; I was going to die, and you saved me. Then you got into a battle, and it's all my fault. And now you're no longer the Taylor I first met. Every time I see you, part of you is missing."
U-511 cupped the crying girl's cheek. "Sally, meine gute Freundin. You forget that I, too, was pulled underwater. I saved myself as much as I saved you."
And then Taylor returned, still holding her friend's hand. "And I am still me,"
Sally wiped her eyes, then took a bite of a brownie. "Does your mom know?"
Taylor grimaced. "Most likely; I mean, I have a captain's cabin where I stored our luggage for the trip."
"You won't be able to hide it much longer, and it's not just your hair. Everything's just a little different, even the color of your eyes." Sally groaned. "My mother noticed it, even though she couldn't figure out the why. She is going to have so many questions."
"It's going to be OK." Taylor insisted. "Worst case, I'll have my mom talk to her."
"If you say so," Sally sniffled, wiping her face with the palm of her hand. "It's not fair."
The shipgirl turned her head away, looking outside toward the Hudson. "I supposed not."
Sally then began to panic, "Wait, are we going to be OK going to the PRT thing tomorrow?"
"It's fine. Do you have any clue what they have planned for us?"
Sally rolled her eyes at the change of subject. "It's supposed to be a typical tour turned up to ten. Then, afterward, we will have lunch with one of the New York Protectorate team members. I hope it's Prism; she's pretty cool."
"Oh, did I tell you what Eagle and Spinner got up to on Halloween?"
Sally grinned, "No."
The financial district was pretty quiet for a city that never sleeps, with most of its workers home in their beds. Even the villain gangs Elite and the Adepts tended to avoid lower Manhattan, with PRT's stronghold down by Battery Park. So, U-511 had little trouble moving about unseen, and with the Hudson only half a mile away, she soon began to sail upstream toward the Intrepid.
The carrier known as the 'Fighting I' had come a long way since being launched in 1943, one of twenty-four of the Essex class. Fought all over the Pacific against the Japanese, she ended her days as part of the Reserve fleet before being modernized. Afterward, she picked up Astronauts, hunted for Soviet submarines during the Cold War, and made three Vietnam deployments.
The grand carrier even spent time at the former Air National Guard Station near Brockton Bay. Thankfully, instead of being sold for scrap, she became the centerpiece for the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and a National Landmark. But even then, her days of battle weren't over; when Behemoth visited the city, her flight deck was used as a mass casualty station and a jump-off point.
Yuu stood fifty yards off the carrier's port side, amused as an NYPD patrol boat passed in the darkness without noticing her. Approaching the dock, she slipped next to the USS Growler, part of the exhibit, who slept peacefully. The U-boat could only admire one of the first cruise missile subs as she climbed on board. But a U-boat did not walk across the gangplank toward the Intrepid.
With long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, the shipgirl wore a US Navy jacket, a short white skirt, and tall white stockings. She was tall compared to other destroyers. Those in her class had been mistaken for a light cruiser and were legends who fought off massive Japanese air attacks. But tonight, she only had a navy cutlass on her hip.
Leaping over a barrier, the shipgirl crossed Pier 86 and up a long flight of stairs, took a deep breath, then stepped onto the Intrepid flight deck.
"It's been a long time," a voice called out.
Taylor smiled; not too far away stood a shipgirl. A giant compared to her, with short brown hair, wearing a USN WW2 flight jacket over a blue and white uniform.
A big smirk appeared on the Intrepid's face as she approached, "Now, I would say I knew who you were, but all you girls look the same to me,"
The Fletcher class destroyer laughed, stepped back, and came to attention. "USS Taylor."
Intrepid's face lit up. "I do know you. You were with some of my sisters in the Central Pacific Force, and we fought together at Leyte Gulf. Although you were part of that group that took on Nishimura's "Southern Force."
Taylor nodded, remembering the battle where Shigure was the only survivor.
Intrepid then looked lost. "Taylor, I don't know why, but I've been sleeping. I remember dreams of an endless sea, and then I heard the sounds of gunfire. A few days ago, I finally became aware again."
"Halloween?"
"Yeah." She leaned forward and asked, "That was you, wasn't it? Who did you fight? Are we at war with anyone?"
"No wars; however, a Coast Guard patrol boat, USCGC Spinner, came under fire from an unknown craft off Fishers Island. USS Astoria came to her aid and sunk the Parahuman-driven craft."
"Astoria, huh," Intrepid looked thoughtful. "So, who else is awake? My sisters?"
Taylor then explained how Spinner, followed by Eagle, showed up and what happened during Halloween. Then, she spoke about what happened to her over the summer when she crossed over and returned.
"And here I am stuck," the carrier kicked the tires of an A-6 Intruder.
"Can you even summon your rigging?"
Intrepid scratched her chin. "Maybe?"
Taylor smiled. "Well, if you manage to do it, it would be a great help. Goodness knows we can use some real air cover."
"Well, you've come to the right carrier; Essex's were the best," Intrepid thumped her chest. "Let's go to my office and make plans. You're the flag, so I'll support you with anything you need."
As the two crossed the flight deck, Taylor asked, "Have you been hiding from visitors?"
"Naww, it's like during the war. No one can see me," Intrepid then stopped. "They can see you, though, because you exist in both worlds."
USS Taylor, also known as Taylor Ann Hebert, nodded.