Meanwhile on the East Coast, the usual chaos ensues. K-blimp cats hover, destroyer silliness and airship fun!
Omake: Zoomie Shenanagins
After New Jersey's appearance, Lakehurst had gotten up to its usual chaos. General Carter's office was full of hovering cats representing the K-types. They were annoying as they were adorable, sleeping in a curled up ball 5 feet off the ground. The actual shipgirls were well being their typical selves. When they weren't out hunting submarines they were downing sodas and making a mess out of their dorms in the ensuing caffeine rush. Without minders like Tennyru to keep them in line, it was a wonder they didn't make something explode by now.
Outside, said ships were rigging something that would change that. Huddled back behind the airship hangers sat the destroyers Neunzer, Samuel F. Davis, and Chatelain alongside their Canadian friends HMCS Champlain, the frigate HMCS Saint John and the famous schooner Bluenose who was the only civilian ship on base. Bluenose was putting the finishing touches on their homemade device. A new fangled rocket designed to fly using (yep you guessed it) whiskey as fuel. It wasn't long range but it made for great fun. The girls would've been finishing this at the docks but after one of their previous projects was shut down by the Admiral there, they took precautions and instead set up in the remote corner of the base. The only people that came here were the K-type blimps and they couldn't speak worth a damn, well unless a near constant meowing counted.
"Nearly done there Bluenose?" Neunzer asked.
Bluenose grinned, fingers snapping the last wire into place. "Just done." She replied, standing up.
Champlain came forward with the fuel, a bottle of fine whiskey and poured it into the missile's tank. Their target, a set up board 2 miles downrange. "Tank's full. Should be ready to go." She said, stowing the empty bottle.
"Clear!" Davis ordered and the group ran back as Neunzer pressed the button.
The missile soared into the air, pushing back its launcher in a powerful recoil. Its specially designed fins, something Bluenose was proud to flaunt as she made them, should allow it to fly another 3 miles after fuel had ran out. But clearly something wasn't working for halfway to the target, it's tail dropped and it tilted dangerously, little boosters trying desperately to hold it in the air.
"No good, abort, abort!" Chatelain shouted.
It was too late, the missile slammed into the ground tail first, its 10 lb bag of thankfully low level hydrogen explosives going off as soon as it tasted soil. Being out in the open, the explosion looked bigger and nastier than it actually was but boy was it loud. All the girls clutched their hands to their ears, dropping to their knees as the flames spread and then died just as quickly. Finally, the explosion dulled to a hiss.
Bluenose was the first to speak. "Well, that was unexpected." She said.
"You think?!" Nuenzer was more than ready to let the Canadian have it when Davis spoke up.
"Um girls?" She was looking at where the missile had impacted. A large blackened crater marked the spot, overlapping a previous marker that had existed since 1937. But despite the implications that Nuenzer knew she'd be getting from this, that was not was Davis was looking at. What she as looking at was the shape of a girl sprawled on her back in the center of the blackened crater. Nuenzer and the others all slowly shuffled forward.
The girl looked to be fast asleep. She had long straight blonde hair that danced across her shoulders in a golden sheen. Her clothes consisted of a turtleneck white sweater with a black vest and a pair of black leggings with running shoes. They were slightly burnt and she had burn marks on both her legs. Not fresh but scarred over. But that was not all Neunzer could see. Like a shadow effect, the same kind that allowed her to see that Bluenose was also a schooner and Saint John was also a frigate. This same ability told her that this new girl was also a kanmusu. The shape somewhat reminded her of the K-types but this girl was way too big to be a K-type. And she was German if that-that hated symbol on her vertical fins was anything to go by. It was blurred, like she was trying to hide it, but Neunzer could still make it out.
Then the girl groaned. She rolled on her side with a wince, opening her eyes which were revealed to be steely blue-gray. She blinked hard a few times before noticing she had company. "Oh, guten tag." She greeted in a warm voice that was strangely comforting. Completely unlike what the rest of her burly 6 foot frame spoke of.
The girls exchanged glances before Nuenzer, after getting an elbow in the ribs from Bluenose, spoke up. "Um, hello." She replied. "I'm USS Nuenzer. This is Bluenose..."
"Hello." The schooner gave a friendly smile and wave.
"USS Fredrick C. Davis."
"Hi." The destroyer grinned.
"HMCS Champlain."
"Nice to meet you." The Canadian said stoically.
"USS Chatelain."
"Yo, what up y'all?" She asked, slipping into her standard southern drawl.
"HMCS Saint John."
The frigate shrugged, offering a shy smile.
"Americans and Canadians?" The girl asked as Nuenzer bent to give her a helping hand. It took some effort but the girl found her feet eventually. She tested her footing, tapping one foot experimentally against the soft soil. "Huh, interesting." She mused.
Bluenose stifled her giggle. "What's your name honey?" She asked.
The girl seemed surprised by the question and she looked at Bluenose curiously, apparently observing her masts and furled sails before answering "LZ 129 Hindenburg."
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I am a horrible, horrible person!