Legends

Chapter 16~ Shipgirls Meet Supermarket

With Titanic still in drydock and Thebaud being practically rebuilt from the keel up (it was a miracle that most of her bottom survived) this left the other shipgirls with little to do, especially sense that Wo carrier had done a Houdini act that made the submarines jealous! And bored shipgirls were time bombs waiting to happen so Normandie took it upon herself, with a little advice from Constitution, and decided to take the girls for a little road trip. New York City was not a place where supermarkets were the first thing to cross one's mind when they heard the name but there had to be some way to supply all the people living there. Normandie drove with Portland in the passenger seat and Neunzer, Davis, and Bluenose in the back. The schooner was unusually quiet and Normandie knew she was worried about Thebaud. She almost didn't agree to come until Chatelin promised to stand vigil outside the repair dock while Bridgeport who was every bit as skilled as Vestal, did her utmost to keep Thebaud from becoming a permanent part of Jones' Locker.

Normandie would admit she had an ulterior motive for going on this little trip. She was far from board. Her reading list was more than long enough to keep her occupied until something occurred. It was nearing Valentine's Day and she still had yet to find a suitable gift for Titanic. Normandie's research, which consisted of reading sappy pictures of love cards and fanfiction, told her that not only was the gift necessary but it was vital. And it had to be something, meaningful, without giving away too much. Some would say that she might be pushing things too fast but Normandie would not be a French ship if she did not try in the art of love! Her entire ancestry was at stake!! She must make the attempt to woo her chosen amour.

New York's famous (infamous) traffic meant that a trip that would take 20 minutes anywhere else in the country, took 90 and it was another 20 before she could find a parking spot. When she finally did Neunzer and Davis were quivering like racehorses in the starting gate. With barely a glance at the leashes in her hand, Normandie gave them a yank and they settled right down. Whoever invented these things deserved the highest praise from SecNav. Leashes worked wonders in reigning in rushed destroyers.

Normandie finally parked and took a hold of her leashes, literally leading, corralling, guiding, pulling, the two Americans with her in a straight line to the main entrance. Bluenose trailed behind, hands in her pocked. Her blue-white hair was pulled back in a ponytail and stuffed under a New York Giants hat. The cap did a good job of hiding her face which Normandie was certain was close to tears, as she had been since Thebaud had been put in drydock.

Sighing, Normandie paused just inside and waited for the schooner to catch up. "Anything in particular you want?" She asked.

Bluenose shook her head. "No, I'm well stocked." She replied.

"Well maybe you might want to look around and see if anything might fit Thebaud. She might be needing a few things when she wakes." Normandie suggested.

"Yeah, maybe I'll try that." Bluenose replied and went silent again, trailing along behind Normandie.

"Ooh shiny!" said Neunzer and Normandie sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm. They'd come into the appliance store, home of brand new refrigerators and sparkling faucets. Neunzer was stroking the handle of a metallic GE fridge and Normandie shuddered as she refused to think of what they would be like when they passed by jewelry. Thank god she didn't bring Harder along. The submarine could probably steal the entire mall, literally, and no one would notice.

With a quick chiding, Normandie tugged on the leashes and led the two destroyers out of the kitchen stuff before they got too involved with it. Entering the main part of the mall each took a moment to come to terms with their awe. Americans sure knew how to be efficient, having everything in one place. Everything! It was so convenient, if a little mind boggling to those who were not used to it.

Even Bluenose was impressed. "I could build an entire house in here." She said. She looked at Normandie. "Think if I did, Thebaud would want to come and stay with me?"

Normandie smiled, interpreting the schooner's underlining desire even if the Canadian herself was unaware of it. She ruffled her hair. "I'm sure she would." She replied.

First thing Normandie wanted to find was a card to go with her eventual chosen gift. And even that was proving a challenge. It wasn't that she had a hard time finding one, she had a hard time narrowing her choices down. There were just so many! And of course her charges were of no help.

"This one's pretty, it's got flowers on it. Old fashioned, she likes old fashioned things." Neunzer said.

"But this one's funny and she needs a laugh." Davis retorted.

Normandie pinched her eyebrows, now understanding and feeling strongly sympathetic to single American mothers. They had to be saints to put up with this nonsense! She eventually went with Davis' idea, agreeing with her in that Titanic preferred the old style to the new.

Placing her items in her cart she noticed that Bluenose had disappeared. Not a huge concern, the schooner knew the rendezvous point and was supposed to wait there until they were done shopping if they got separated. It wasn't like she was a kleptomaniac submarine or a destroyer on a sugar rush. She could handle herself. Normandie moved on to her next item. The actual gift. But what to get her? There was a model shop but to do that was just too forward! No, something more simple would do. Either something ornamental or something she needed. Hmm. Normandie prided herself on being very observant and she had noticed, in between meals or right after drills, whenever she had free time, that Titanic would make a run for the ice cream machine. It had seemed unusual at the time although now it made sense in that she was probably just looking for an easy way to raise her calorie intake without drawing too much suspicion however she did seem to enjoy her chosen desert. And being British meant that Titanic did not have ice cream makers aboard. Normandie didn't either but that was beside the point. She was not a fan of ice cream anyways, too cold. Her pastries were more than rich enough. Which reminded her, she needed to get a pastry kit for herself too.

Normandie located the appropriate store, still pulling Neunzer and Davis who were keen on going to the cafeterria.

"But they have pizza!" Neunzer complained when Normandie told her no.

"We have pizza at home and it's 10 times better than the slop they have here." The liner replied without looking at her. She didn't know for sure but she did know that she did not want to end up stopping for lunch here, and depriving everyone else of food by doing so.

As the destroyers pouted, Normandie scanned the shelves, marveling at the variety of stuff as she did so, searching for just the right... ah there it was! Reaching up, her height allowing her to reach the second to tallest shelf with little difficulty, she removed the preferred item and placed it in her cart. As she did so, she realized she made a crucial mistake. She had dropped the leashes. The destroyers must have been taking lessons from the submarines as they had completely vanished from the store.

"Shit!" She cursed and began an all out search, even launching a few hellcats off her deck to go and search for them. Their intel led her to the jewelry store a few blocks down and she found herself browsing the shelves, her eyes reflecting the sparkle of the various items. She picked up a set of diamond earrings, admiring her reflection in them.

"What's wrong?" Normandie yelped at the unexpected sound of Bluenose's voice.

She whirled around to face the schooner. "Don't do that!" She shouted.

Bluenose shrugged. "Where are the destroyers?" She asked.

"That's what's wrong. They escaped." Normandie replied.

"And what did I say about keeping a strong grip on the leashes." Bluenose asked. When they first left base Bluenose had warned Normandie about literally tying the ropes to herself but the liner did not listen. She was living to regret that now.

"Well they know the rendezvous point. They're probably in the cafeteria." Normandie replied.

"Hmm, well there's been a development elsewhere that I think you should see." Bluenose said and turned and walked out. Frowning, Normandie followed her.

Bluenose went into a nearby bookstore, guiding Normandie back to the WW2 fiction section. Rounding a corner brought Normandie face to face with a young woman and in her hands were two leashes attached to two subdued destroyers. "I uh believe these," she gestured to the pair of tin cans. "Belong to you?"

"They do." Normandie glared at them. "What did I say about sticking by me!" She asked.

"We didn't wonder very far." Neunzer said and shut up when Normandie glared at her some more. No one could glare like a French liner could. A more brazen ship would say that was because that was all they could do. Thankfully no one was that brazen.

"Thank you ma'am." Normandie said as she took hold of the leashes once more, passing them to Bluenose who immediately reeled the pair in, whispering things in strong tones.

"Name's Tang." She held out a hand.

Normandie had already introduced herself and finished shaking it before the implications hit her. "Wait, you said your name is Tang? As in The Tang?"

"SS-308, yes." Tang looked about as smug as a submarine could look.

Looking more closely, Normandie could see the distinctive hull shape that outline the Balao-class. Tang the girl had long black hair allowed to flow as it pleased and blue eyes that gleamed in a way that would make an enemy ship squirm. She had the same lean, lanky body that all American boats had.

"Heard you could use some help." Tang grunted. "So here I am."

"Well, welcome aboard?" Normandie tried and Tang grinned again.

"Shucks kid, well you tried I suppose. I guess I'll just go with you to report to the Admiral?" She asked.

"That would be wise yes." Normandie replied, wondering why MSSB had decided to rear its ugly head with her! It was not like she was anything special.

"Pefection." Tang fell in the formation, following Normandie around and asking a shit ton of questions as the liner finished her shopping.

Normandie did her best to answer them although she did admit that some things were beyond her impressive knowledge. "Yes you won the war. Yes, Japan is your best friend now. No, I'm afraid I have no idea about your sisters. I heard Archerfish is doing her thing in Japan but other than that, well you subs are so sneaky that all of you could be back and we'd have no idea."

Tang took that as a compliment and when the motley group finally exited the supermarket for good the submarine presented Normandie a gift. A pair of diamond starred earrings. "For Titanic, to go with that pretty little necklace of hers." She said.

Normandie knew better than to ask if Tang had bought it and just accepted it. She did have to admit, they were a nice touch and Titanic was sure to appreciate them. Then a question crossed her mind. "So how long have you been hanging around?" She asked.

Tang's smirk should have sent her running for the hills, especially when Bluenose stopped in her scolding of the now very subdued destroyers and paid close attention to the submarine. But Normandie was not as focused as she should have been. "Long enough to know that you want into her skirt, desperately." Tang replied. "But don't worry, your secret's safe with me." She added at Normandie's dumbfounded look.

The liner would have scolded Tang for her impudence but a. the other ship was a submarine and thus had no sense of right or wrong and would likely not get it anyways. And b. hearing Bluenose laugh was more than worth the embarrassment Tang's comment caused her.