BSBxKc Chpt 15

==Blue Squadron (Battletech x KanColle(ish) crossover) - Chapter 15 -==
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===Sizing up the newcomer===
Jay Mayen System, Deep Periphery
Surprise, Swift Justice mused, was nothing new to them. In fact she had contradictorily started to expect it when it came to herself and her kind.
 
Yet she was still startled by what she was seeing. Close to unbelievable as the sight of a ship-class thought to be extinct was, what took her breath away was what she was seeing with her eyes.
 
The Newgrange-class vessel ahead also had the shape of a woman. She was doubtlessly a fleetmaiden as well.
Shaking off her surprise Swift glanced to the side.
 
La Plata noticed and returned her look, eyebrows raised. "She doesn't seem hostile?"
 
"That she does not. Luckily." An obvious thought crossed Swift's mind. "I wonder if..."
 
"Looks can be deceiving." Silver chimed in, scowl on her face and eyes fastened on the approaching vessel.
 
"If she were hostile she wouldn't greet us that jovially, or move in our direction." Amber glanced at Silver to get her point across. "She may be very large but she isn't a warship. She can't hope to win against us, nanodesu."
 
"Does not need to be openly hostile to have I'll intentions." Silver wrested her eyes away from the Newgrange to frown at Amber.
 
"Are all clan-people like you?" La Plata noticeably tried to keep her tone neutral to not aggravate Silver, a slight tilt to her head. "I see no reason to be so suspicious. She's not pale as a wall and doesn't have things jutting out of her that don't belong there."
 
Silver paused for a moment and Swift could see the girl choosing her words before she replied. "Look at it from this angle. An unknown ship-woman has coincidentally entered the system and is heading our way." The girl's frown deepened. "She must have come from somewhere. Learned of us in the first place and traveled here. That is suspicious in my book, quiaff?"
 
Swift grudgingly admitted to herself that the Peregrine had a point. There were questions to be asked. 
Amber inclined her head in apparent agreement while La Plata returned her gaze to their guest's ever growing form, replying. "We'll see. My gut tells me that she'll be just fine. We won't need any aggressive posturing."
 
"Just keep your guard up. Aerospace assets and otherwise." Silver fell silent again and returned her attention to the approaching stranger.
 
"Agreed." Following suit Swift scrutinized the approaching form while turning their formation around and performing a deceleration-burn.
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===Meeting someone vaguely familiar===
A short while later the woman was close enough to see her in detail, and Swift gasped quietly.
 
The Newgrange was large in her human form. Very tall, long and wavy auburn hair cascaded down the woman's shoulders and back, ending at her waist. It moved like waves in water along with the red cloak she was wearing.
 
A sense of familiarity tickled the back of her mind, yet what captured Swift's attention was the woman's uniform. Star League standard. The Aegis never thought she would see anyone wearing those colors again. It caused long buried memories of better times, bittersweet and melancholically nostalgic, to well up in the flagship.
 
Completing their deceleration burn and coming to an almost halt relative to their unexpected guest, Blue Squadron watched on as the woman covered the remaining distance at a leisurely pace.
 
"Comms-delay is down to zero. I'll hail again." Despite her easy-going nature La Plata could be counted on to stick to protocol. It was one of many things Swift appreciated about her old friend.
 
"This is TAS La Plata to unknown ship. Please identify yourself." Her voice was professional yet amicable.
 
<<"And here I'd thought you already knew who I was.">> Amusement was plain to hear in the woman's voice, which was smooth as honey. The sentiment was reflected in her expression a moment later. She got close enough to see her features clearly, almost mischievous excitement in her brown eyes. <<"This is SLS Trelleborg. Permission to approach?">>
 
The name sounded familiar to Swift, yet she could not place it. A voice at the back of her mind told her she should know it and the large woman, yet neither would come to her. It was almost maddening to the cruiser. Preoccupied with attempting to get her memory into gear, to connect the name and face to things Swift was certain she should remember, she remained silent.
 
La Plata carried on when Swift did not say anything for a moment too long. "Permission granted. Where are you headed?"
 
"To Jan Mayen station." Here the large woman smiled broadly and continued her leisurely approach to cross the remaining distance to the four of them. "But only because that is where you can be found."
 
"Really?" Eyebrows raised, La Plata prompted her to elaborate.
 
"Mhm." A mere hum was probably not what the Dart had hoped for as an answer. Amber was following the exchange with open curiosity while Silver did not even try to hide her suspicion, watching their new acquaintance's approach like a hawk.
 
Frown deep and head tilted slightly to the side, questions were swirling in Swift's head. Yet she was mainly struggling with her apparently faulty memory when the large woman came to a halt in front of La Plata. Regarding the Dart for a moment Trelleborg stepped right up to the surprised cruiser and leaned in closely, then poked (at an area on her front where armor had been crumpled by a NAC-shell) a deep purple bruise below the former's shoulder.
"Hey, watch it!" At first frozen with surprise at Trelleborg's boldness, La Plata was startled into motion by the jolt of pain the poke at the large bruise caused her. She began to take a step back "What are you doing?!"
 
"Taking a first look." Trelleborg reached out with one of the large paws she had for hands and clasped La Plata's shoulder to keep the woman in place. Continuing her inspection she began to circle around the cruiser, gaze appraising.
 
Craning her neck to follow the Newgrange with her eyes La Plata began. "Does that mean..."
 
"Yes." Completing her circle, Trelleborg stopped in front of the dark-haired woman again and smiled broadly.
 
Swift, eyes lowered and trying to figure out why she could not properly remember the woman, had her train of thought derailed by those words. Her gaze snapped onto Trelleborg, yet the Newgrange's attention was already on the next member of Blue Squadron in line.
 
Returning the approaching yardship's scrutiny with an even expression and a small smile, Amber unexpectedly did not object or try to get away when the auburn-haired woman got up close and circled around her like she had done with La Plata.
 
"I've heard of your class. I can finally see you with my own eyes." Trelleborg came to halt in front of the dark-haired girl, crouched and leaned forwards to grasp the Inazuma 's hands. Squeezing them lightly the large woman smiled gently. "You must be Amber Lotus. Pleased to meet you."
 
"Likewise, nanodesu." Remarkably Amber's smile grew broader and was visibly genuine, while she still had to tilt her head upwards to meet Trelleborg's eyes.
 
The Newgrange released Amber's hands and straightened again. When she turned towards Silver, said girl pointed her guns at the woman went into a combat-stance and scowled.
 
"Tsk. So feisty." Trelleborg did not sound particularly bothered by the corvette's posturing. "That's fine. You're in flawless condition anyway." She turned again, towards the last of the four up for scrutiny.
 
The others' eyes were all on them as Trelleborg gradually approached Swift. For her part the flagship could only return the large woman's gaze, caught as she was between those intense brown eyes and her apparent loss of memory.
 
Eventually the large woman came to a halt in front of Swift. After regarding the flagship for several moments longer, Trelleborg smiled tentatively. "Hello Omsk."
 
That startled Swift into speaking, though what came out of her mouth was less than eloquent. "Wha..." A moment's pause. "I.." So the woman did know who she was. How though? Swift wanted to know.
 
Bemusedly holding the Aegis' gaze for moments longer, Trelleborg eventually frowned.
 
"You know each other?" La Plata had sidled up to Swift as a gesture of silent support. Apparently the Aegis' turmoil was plain to see.
 
With great effort the grey-haired woman ordered her thoughts enough to reply properly, looking into the concerned brown eyes across form her. "You have me at a disadvantage. You seem to know me, yet i cannot remember you."
 
"Oh." Trelleborg's expression fell somewhat, though the kindness in her eyes remained. "In that case I'm pleased to meet you." Shifting gears quickly and smoothly, she extended her hand.
 
Covering the painful twinge the movement caused her, Swift clasped the woman's large hand and shook it. "Likewise. Though I cannot shake the feeling that i should know you." Keeping her grasp on Trelleborg's hand she searched her opposite's eyes for a moment longer. When that still did not jog her memory Swift released the woman's hand and took a step back.
 
"That's fine. Maybe it'll come to you in a while." The woman's eyes travelled over Swift's front and briefly stopped at each shell-crater and blast-mark on her hull tear and scorched spot on her uniform.
 
Up close, Swift noticed that Trelleborg's figure filled out the uniform she was wearing in aesthetic ways. The large woman was exceptionally attractive, yet that fact was only secondary to the realization of just how large Trelleborg truly was. At almost four times the Aegis' length Towering head and shoulders over her, the Newgrange was a true giantess. Quite tall for human standards herself, Swift was distinctly unfamiliar with having to crane her neck upwards to look someone in the eye.
 
"I hope so. Having an apparent hole in my memory is not all that reassuring." Injecting sarcasm into her voice she covered the very real concern that fact caused her.
 
"Anyway. Would you like to accompany us?" Getting back to business, Swift raised a hand to gesture in Jan Mayen's direction.
 
"With pleasure." Trelleborg's smile grew while she lit her drives again proceeded towards their destination. "I want to see the one remaining kanmusu i have not met yet."
 
"Kanmusu?" La Plata asked, a slightly distracted quality to her voice. She was maneuvering to reach her place in the defensive formation the warships had instinctively formed around Trelleborg.
 
Well, most warships. Silver was bringing up the rear, apparently unwilling to turn her back on the giant woman.
 
"That's a fitting term, nanodesu." Amber wore a thoughtful expression for a moment, before she nodded in approval. "I like it."
 
"Alright. And what does it mean?" La Plata's green eyes were slightly narrowed with incomprehension.
 
"It's a term you get when you stick the Japanese words for ship and woman together, nanodesu?" Sentence ending on a questioning note, Amber glanced at Trelleborg.
 
"You've got it right." The auburn-haired giantess confirmed, beaming that kind smile of hers at Amber, which caused an answering one to bloom on the Inazuma's face.
 
"Shipwoman, huh?" La Plata's expression was pensive. "That fits alright." 
 
"How did you come up with it?" Swift was curious to know. While Japanese was a widely used language it had not been the standard within the SLDF.
 
"I didn't." Trelleborg answered, slightly distracted. She was apparently steering her quartet of heavy duty tugs directly, which were buzzing around Swift.
 
The cruiser could almost feel Trelleborg's eyes on her, despite the woman's gaze having swerved to La Plata.
 
"Elaborate please?" La Plata sounded as curious as Swift felt.
 
"I will, once we reach the station. I think all of you should hear that. And more." Trelleborg swept her knowing gaze over the other fleetmaidens. "You must have many questions."
 
"Oh yes." Was that not the truth. A long debriefing was ahead of them, the Aegis thought, gaze glued to the Newgrange next to her. She could not seem to take her eyes off of the woman, her need to remember was that strong. Usually Trelleborg appearing out of the blue and knowing a lot about them, and what they had been up to, would have seemed very suspicious to Swift. Yet, when the auburn-haired woman noticed her stare and locked eyes with her the flagship had to admit she was not suspicious of the Newgrange at all. In fact the smile the giantess gave her, as well as the kind look in her eyes, made Swift want to trust her.
 
With a low hum La Plata dropped the subject for now.
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===Apologies and Protocols===
A short stretch of silence followed while the qunitet of fleetmaidens were on their way. Jan Mayen was coming into view, and Brest's shape became vaguely visible in the distance.
 
"Silver, what you said earlier. When you hailed Trelleborg without permission." La Plata turned towards the green-haired girl, pronouncing the last part noticeably. "What was that?"
 
Apparently not grasping what the dark-haired woman meant, Silver gave her a confused look.
 
"You mean the designation Silver Merlin used for us? Swift Justice Naval Star?" Amber had apparently gotten good at discerning and helping explain what La Plata did not understand.
 
"Yes, that."
 
"It's clan doctrine. They have a different military structure from ours, nanodesu." Answering lightly Amber glanced at Silver briefly.
 
Picking up the non-verbal prompt, the Peregrine explained tersely. "Our system is based on fives. Each warship is a Point. Five points make a star. We are five warships, and a star is usually named after its flagship."
 
"At least it's logical." La Plata tilted her head. "What if we pick up another warship?"
 
"Would be her own star then." Silver was frowning slightly, apparently bewildered by having to explain what had to be the most obvious things to her.
 
"Odd. Wouldn't it be easier to incorporate a single ship into a formation that's already there?"
 
"There is something like that for ground troops, but not naval units." Silver shook her head in the negative at La Plata's question.
 
Swift, glad for the distraction from her swirling thoughts, exchanged a look with Trelleborg. Both had been watching the exchange with amused smiles.
 
"What's it called for the ground pounders?"
 
"A reinforced star is called a nova or supernova. Depending." Silver had her head tilted slightly.
 
Amber's eyes lit up. "If we can find one more kanmusu to join us we can be the Swift Justice Supernova! That sounds much cooler, nanodesu!"
 
"Brest has had an influence on you." Swift chuckled. "Our designation will remain Blue Squadron."
 
Deflating slightly, Amber mumbled something under her breath. Swift suspected that she would hear of this idea again after the Inazuma had shared it with her brown-haired friend.
 
Thinking of which, the five of them were coming up to the station and Brest was waving at them in welcome.
 
It was time to make introductions and radio-calls.
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==Chapter Note==
*; Chapter Note from the Author : I wanted to get Trelleborg's introduction, and everything that comes with it, done in one chapter's words. But since the introduction alone, which is the short part, has grown much larger than i wanted i have to break the chapter into two. Again. Oh well. +1 fleetmaiden.
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