I blame alderson disks and birch worlds for my delays!
I had been preparing myself for the moment and yet, the look on my face was that of a tense and uneasy one. I had been dreading it ever since my... sublimation into Azur lane's sea of ships. A day already and here i was. with Vestal as i was trying not to run for the nearest exit out of here.
The repair ship didn't say a word as she gently opened the door with me close by, She's definitely practiced and professional. Though I'm not sure how i feel about being the one she's supposed to be examining. I must admit...
Being scrapped scares me. and i shiver at the thought.
The tests that i was going through was not too bad. all things considered. The room i was in suffered from sorting chaos, but they had kept down the clutter. Windows let in some light from the wall. flanked on either side by shelving objects packed with items, hospital beds and a collection of tools hanging off a wall. Whatever wasn't there likely had to be stowed away in toolboxes.
This better not be what i am thinking...
After standing there like a idiot for a few moments, Vestal gave me a light shove before she headed to a toolbox... and took out a tape-measure as i internally sighed. but still on edge and wary even if my sixth sense didn't detect anything hostile around my surroundings.
"D-Do i stand of...?" I asked. folding my arms to my chest as i tried to look away.
"Stand, And don't be nervous. I've done this with Enterprise before. just trust me." She asked. fiddling with the tape-measure as i stopped my pacing around. "I must take a few measurements." I swear to god. if this was a waste of time, And if it was.. Then there were going to be no words!
"Alright then..." I replied with a simple tone. standing in the center of the room and facing the windows as i felt shy and modest all of a sudden. Deep underneath my shy self however, there was no need for me to show Vestal the shimmering rage building underneath my main deck armor plates.
After that was said and done. I was led outside in what i guessed to be a shipgirl test with further measurements, I was asked by Vestal to show my machinery and i complied. And when i did so... I took a good look at my machinery and... It actually looked pristine, This was the first time I had summoned my hull since I underwent repairs and it showed. The steel plating had been cleaned and polished carefully. If i had to guess, It was the kind of steel polish that hadn't aged out yet under structural strain. There wasn't a single scratch. dent. welding crack nor was there anything that hinted at my guts. More than likely my gun barrels had been re-sighted so that they were calibrated for the data they were working with.
I carefully ran a hand along the edge of Battery A. feeling how the armor steel plates had been repaired and any misshapenness straightened out. It felt tough and solid, Made me feel safe again. Especially after my encounters on the run and the level of passive regeneration i was undergoing to heal any battle damage to some extent.
I noticed that it had materialized over my current clothes instead of bursting through it... But that was normal. right? Otherwise everyone would be running around with their torpedo bulges on full display.
"Norfolk?" Vestal gently asked. forcing me back to reality as i turned my head to her.
"H-Hmm? O-Oh! Uh, I... i..." I paused to try and collect my thoughts. I wasn't good with this stuff! "F-Feels happy to see it fixed." I took my hand off Battery A. "I-I don't know how long it has been like that."
Vestal hummed in response. I don't know if she acknowledged what i said or she remembered what Enterprise had to go through sometimes... And I thought I was highly aggressive... But anyway. Vestal got to work again on measuring me, doing her usual repair ship stuff that would no doubt allow Azur lane to figure out what i was.
Honestly. It felt strange and weird for the Repair ship to perform structural tests on me. But she was here to run a full inspection, So I didn't bother trying to shove her off. Besides. The faster i just stay quiet and let her work. The faster I likely get the question that has been inside my head for a while now. Do i qualify as Norfolk. or as Alsace still?
'I still need to prepare contingency plans in place but... Even if i don't trust them. Once i bomb them out i won't have a support unit resupplying me on even a basic level. and weapons stocks can only last so long...'
"Hmmmm..." Vestal mumbled... No. was there confusion in her emotions? It sounded like curiosity for a brief moment, She still hadn't moved on from Battery A to Battery C. Actually. I think she'd taken the same measurements on my SAM Zone defense batteries. too. and multiple times at that.
Now i am getting worried. but I forced myself to stand still. If i revealed myself as a Magical girl now, there was no telling what would happen.
"Is s-something wrong. Vestal?" I asked, twitching an eyebrow and hiding my nerves behind an question i had.
"No. Nothing's wrong. just..." She began, stepping back and withdrawing her hands. Her Aqua eyes gave me a measurement from top to bottom before she stepped back in. "Just a second. Norfolk. It's nothing bad." She started taking note of my Machinery's more modern modules. The diameter of the Type 965 antennas. The mono-eye mounts that held Rapier missiles. The laser designator and rangefinder that were poking out of fire control directors and ECM emitters. All the while I was thinking on how she was trying her best to figure out just what kind of abomination I was supposed to be.
Then she spotted the heavy torpedo launchers on my back and the light anti-submarine tubes on my thighs. "Torpedoes of differing sizes? That's interesting..." She said, mostly to herself. I don't know if this is a ability of Repair ships but it had to be, given there were no tiny fairies in Azur lane. She decided to step back and start thinking.
"Is something the matter. V-Vestal?" I asked cutely. but at the same time I was waiting for the moment. The moment when this all blew on me...
"N-No, It's just... I have never seen anything like this before." Vestal said simply but behind that I could tell she was just as confused, Her brow was furrowing with every thought that ran through her mind. And more than likely she was searching her memories for anything that matched my description. The look on her face was that of worry and mild confusion. The kind of expression when you realized you were dealing with a outside problem and It was in the form of alien technology.
Which doesn't exactly give me happy thoughts right now. I'm beginning to seriously consider Raytheon might just get into the fun just to say i can't give out information of their brochure's real capabilities.
"Hold on." She said. holding a finger up at me. "Stay there, I just need to remember something quick." She quickly then signalled for us to return to land and we did. But before long I was being led back to that room as Vestal went back inside. marched over to a desk on my left and pulled open a drawer holding a binder with what i can tell is information about World war 2 France naval designs. The thing hit the top of the desk with a thump and I swore It was going to take a while.
Vestal opened it up, flipping quickly through the page of the binders and mumbling to herself. She continued flipping before she cursed and started flipping faster. finally seemingly finding what she was looking for as she stopped late-way toward the back. There, she leafed through the pages at a slow pace. giving herself time to read what was inside. my eyes slowly focusing on the book as i blinked.
Then she must have found what she was looking for. Because she had read the same page over and then proceeded to carry the book into her arms, open at the page she had been on. "I found it!" She cheered. Bringing the book over to me. She tapped the page she found as she held it up to eye-level. It was a black and white technical diagram ofr a battleship showing a top-down birds-eye perspective looking straight down as the drawings matched my turrets well. Underneath was the author's commentary about the Alsace-class and the Number 1 to the Number 3 variants.
Akashi tapped again. pointing to something at the page.
"Type No.2"
I recognized what she was trying to get at. "Uh. S-So what am i?" I asked as slowly as i could.
"You, Norfolk!" Vestal answered cheerfully and confused at the same time. "If i am right. You've the Alsace-class Battleship. even through you're a Royal navy Heavy cruiser with what i believe to be modern missile launchers!"
...Things were able to get interesting.
Vestal explained the history and what being the Alsace-class meant. Granted, there was a lot of stuff that i already knew. like the 31-knots top speed for two of the variants. But there were some other things that i found surprising.
The hull should be the Number 1, Yet I was not. My machinery seemed to be based on the Type No 3 variant but as fitted with No 2 406mm guns.
I may or may not have looked like an schoolgirl concerned for her friend. Fucking have at me, That was the hell of a weird kind of surprise. Vestal did wind up heavily stressing that my guns were in the 406mm range. But I was not disappointed and in fact I was glad to have the standard caliber for now. The other choices like the N3 class would have not preferred speed. and I had no clue if there was any pre-yamato variant. And the Maximum battleships were likely not viable and the H44s... Too inefficient.
'Not when i have the Ebonite mousse pads to back me up against nearby explosions. combined laser and RADAR fire control and the ability to bomb out what i can't see and of course Magical-enhanced armor plates. Granted, I still can't risk fighting Yamato in her main role of taking out the Standard battleships. but I should have little trouble neutralizing a Iowa and enforcing air incapability if things came down to that.'
"Are you done?" Vestal asked as I stopped swinging my legs on the chair. She was just as confused but grinning from ear to ear, excited to tell. no doubt the Iris libre and the Eagle union in the same room.
"Nope!" I chirped. before i quickly closed the distance. stuffed my head into her chest like a destroyer following its capital ship around. I heard her wheeze and grunt from how hard it was, her boots momentarily leaving the ground before I got myself out of her squishy torpedo bulges. She looked winded. but other than that she was okay, She was still smiling at least. "Okie! Done now!"
"Cough... Okay. well.." Vestal said. taking a moment to stabilize herself. "Tell me the next time you're going to do that. Norfolk."
"No promisessss." I trailed off with a pout.
Vestal shot me a look. I just puffed my cheeks out and pouted harder. She just huffed and waved it off, likely just dismissing my behavior as a natural trait of mine and by chance she was not wrong on 'Easily excitable battleships'. "Alright, There's a few things we're gonna need to take care of now. Though that's more the commander's paygrade than mine."
"Which is?" I asked, my attention having shifted somewhat to looking around randomly and enjoying the decorations.
"Firstly, I have to discuss your status to the Iris libre and the Royal navy." She said simply as she headed toward a table. My head jerked toward her at the mention.
"Huh?"
"Well, You should be a Royal navy ship. But you're a Iris libre battleship that existed only on paper. right? That's probably why you were using differing names when we finally made contact with you." Vestal explained. Now slouching over at the table and looking through the book again. "So. We're gonna need to discuss your possible nationality with the Iris libre and the Royal navy. decide on your service and a send off. We're never dealt with anything like this bbefore."
"E-Eh? I-It's not like I am going to be suddenly moved with no chance to adjust. r-right?" I asked before i could shut down my thoughts and keep me from sounding like a child who was too curious. 'Really? The franco-british union isn't new to you? Oh whatever! If things go from bad to worse, You can just blitz the Ironblood ships with laser-guided SAP bombs!'
Vestal shook her head. "No, That won't happen. at least anything that might hurt you." She turned and smiled at me over her shoulder. "More than likely You're going to be with the Royal navy."
I blinked. "That true?"
Vestal nodded. doubling over the table like she was a sibling comforting a lost and scared child. Now already I was taking a liking to her mind. 'Because you are a submissive Onee-loli!'
"O-Oh... Ohhh.." I made some noises. Vestal giggling at my reaction and mumbling something to herself. probably something to the tune of small and highly curious battleships before she took on a more professional look. "Okay, So i'm sure that the Commander will have a few proposals to pick out or assign you. He probably will let you pick. He's nice like that, But for now we need to talk about the second thing. Which is concerning your equipment."
"W-What equipment?" I ventured.
"Well! We're never had to support a Cold-war. much less a modern-day battleship that could probably take on the missile-laden Missouri." Vestal said. grinning. "Or at least. finding a way to manufacture ammunition that you are going to need. The commander will still need to sign off on it and resources will need to be allocated and custom-fabrication and..." She trailed off. "That part is not important, So is there anything important that you'd need added?" She said as she turned back to the table. her hands interacting with something.
"Anti-aircraft systems. H-heavy." I said flatly. "A-anything that's feasible. Put i-it on there."
"Ran into a carrier before?" She gave me a smirk.
"You were there! Y-you know what happened with me and e-enemy aircraft!" I retorted with a cutely angry look. Probably was not having the effect I hoped for with the cuteness factor on my face.
"Okay! Okay." Vestal said placatingly. but I could tell she was still smiling. "Anything else?"
"Eh... hmm... Actual spotter p-planes." I added. "A-and close cooperation. I-i can make the parts for my laser designators a-and r-radars."
Vestal's eyebrow furrowed. but she decided to not say anything. "And your torpedoes?" She asked. pointing at my legs.
I glanced down. thinking it over. I didn't use them too much, and when they were used. I only used them to form a nest of H2O2 torpedoes and for combat in the night when I knew my opponent wasn't aware of me. The other times I used them was when the mark 34 light torpedoes were used on their intended targets. which ranged from the Gato-class to the Type VIIs and even Type XXIs. Modern digital processors helped out a lot with that. That i knew from weight concerns."
"I am going t-to hold on to them." I said. "Y-You never really know w-when you r-run into a Yamato or y-you find yourself alone with a pack of submarines."
Vestal understood and put a hand to her chin. "I know a few battleships who would disagree..." She said as I noticed that she was making notes.
"A-All of them?"
"All of them other than possibly HMS Rodney." She answered. "I see what i can do, but they will be explosive hazards if something goes wrong."
I nodded. knowing what happened to torpedo-armed ships after major damage. Sure, the Type 93s were volatile. but their burster charges were just as insensitive as any other torpedoes and the fuel was still flammable. However. the real concern for the Type 93 ships were in the form of oxygen generators on the cruisers and the oxygen flasks on the destroyers, If these were hit. rather than just two points of failures. There was a third point of failure that was especially dangerous if a fire broke out, which was combined with the second point of failure being even more flammable with highly concentrated oxygen. And once that happened. the resulting fire had a greater chance of causing a burster secondary explosion. And all of them were jam-packed in the middle which generally gets targeted very commonly. There were torpedo shields but... That only worked when even a bomb exploded on them and not on or below the burster charges which would cause a explosion rather than just shattering the warhead case into segments. "F-fair enough."
"Well. Anything else you might need?" She asked.
"Further check-ups on my p-power train and missile l-launchers."
"Hmm... We see what we can do."
"Right..." I paused. trying to think of anything else I felt like i need. "Nothing really comes to mind..." I started swinging my legs again in boredom.
"Alright, I would suggest a fire director upgrade also. I can tell you're not experienced." She said. adding that to her list of things. Probably a dig at how helpless i was without modern laser rangefinding to instantly feed me information on how far away my targets were.
As Vestal said nothing. and just as I was about to blurt out something there was a knock on the door. "Hey! Vestal! You seen the new girl? The Commander said i could find her in here!"
"She's in here! Door's open!" Vestal called as she paused her work midway. The door swung open and in walked another girl. She had green hair done into a ponytail secured by what i guessed to be a dark-blue ribbon with amber-gold eyes. She wore a jacket over a white buttoned shirt. the buttons theirselves being yellow in color. She had a white-black skirt on and wore stockings complete with what i noticed to be quite lightly armored boots.
"So, You're Norfolk?" Shropshire said enthusiastically. giving off her cute look that she used to get closer to the commander and looking me over. Shropshire was one that didn't scare me out so much. in part because i could relate to her easily without being overly... clingy for lack of a better word like Atago. "You've got big seven guns. don't you?"
"Y-yeah. I-i think i do..." Nine barrels. 406mm. one guess.
"Well! My name's Shropshire. Youngest of the London Class!" She introduced herself. giving me her cutesy look. "And you're?"
"A-Alsace... And N-Norfolk. Apparently." I said. trying to give her a cute smile that gave away my calm feelings. "Going by A-alsace for now. i guess."
"Alsace? Norfolk?" London wondered. quickly turning toward Vestal gracefully. "Did we have a Alsace? And why is she Norfolk then?" She asked the repair ship.
"I believe she was supposed to be the Norfolk Sub-class heavy cruiser, but she ended up as the Alsace-class. Never built. The class was authorized and to be laid down but following the german invasion. all french naval construction plans were cancelled." Vestal reported over her shoulder as she kept working. These were technical notes, there and there detailing my nature.
Shropshire's look faded. quickly muttering underneath her breath before turning to me. "Uh... I.. I am sorry if i dug up anything painful for you. Norfolk." I only smiled at her and shook my head.
"I-I just found out too. Shrop-chan." Shropshire brightened at my first use of a nickname toward her. This only seemed to flip the loli instincts within me.
"Oh. good! I do not mind!" The green-haired cruiser smiled at me that calmed down my psyche. "Well. We should get to work then. Norfolk!" I tilted my head at her but she ignored it. "The commander himself assigned me to train you. So we're gonna go out onto the water and you're gonna show me how strong you are~"
As Shropshire grabbed hold of my comparatively tiny arms and started coaxing me out the door and toward the familiar blue seas. I couldn't help but yell at myself internally. Gunnery operations. If this was without my lasing systems. That was going to suck. literally.