Reach out and Touch Someone-Part 2

With USS Nashville...

Nashville was closing up the office she'd been using, wondering if they'd be able to track down that damn Wo-class before the Abyssal somehow managed to repair itself enough to laugh an air raid attack when her cellphone began to ring....

"USS Nashville speaking," the cruiser said after activating her cellphone and pushing a pile of folders into the inbox for review for tomorrow. Shaking her head slightly, she continued. "How may I help you?"

"Is your refrigerator running?" a young-sounding girl's voice asked from the other end, leaving the cruiser shipgrirl wondering just how she had the luck to get a bunch of kids doing crank calls.

"Or do you have Prince Albert in the can?" another voice asked, sounding perplexed (and familiar), causing Nashville to freeze in her tracks. It was Trinitite!! She recognized that voice from having heard it more than a few times back with the Pacific Lilly! A round of childish laughter is heard as the sound of shuffling is heard by the now VERY concerned Nashville.

How in God's name did that Abyssal get her number to crank call her?

And now she had Abyssal allies as well on land with herl?! That or hostages?! Oh, this is BAD!!

"Okay, I did it but who in the Deep is Prince Al-," Trinitite is heard asking in the background before -CLICK-!

"MURRAY!!" Nashville screamed, wanting the Commander right NOW.

Meanwhile, at an undisclosed DARPA facility . . .

"That'll teach that meany light cruiser for putting shells into Big Sister," grumbled the former I-class destroyer, glaring at the phone they'd used before passing it back to Big Sister Trin- Elizabeth. The Wo-class in question gagged as she consumed the 'burner phone' she'd bought earlier.

While the phone hadn't been intended as being used as a "burner phone", the stories that their newest Big Sister Trinitite had . . . .inspired the little pack of mischief. Groves especially had been almost beside herself in fury over having been "sunk" instead of by Elizabeth's side to protect the aircraft carrier as a Little Sister should! The newly (and accidentally re-Summoned) destroyer had to settle for rattling that cruiser instead of putting a few (dozen) shells into the shipgirl for that crime!

"Hey, has anyone seen? . . . . Oh there you are you little monkeys!!" another, somewhat similar but OLDER-sounding voice asks, stopping at the doorway to the office the gang had ducked into for some privacy while pranking. "What have you all been up to while poor Auntie Georgia was recovering from that side effect from summoning Robbin's sister from the Beyond?"

The little experiment that the egg heads had conducted when learning that Saratoga had the means to Summong Fodder Abyssals (as Kanmusu) had been . . . interesting. It worked for Georgia (who volunteered out of curiosity as well as a desire to kind of . . . make up for Robbin having lost her sister at the submarine's hands). But while the re-Summoned shipgirl had arrived and been non-hostile (much to the destroyers' relief doing overwatch duty), it had done weird things to Georgia!

The Abyssal Princess submarine had switched rapidly back and forth between Kanmusu and Abyssal (each shift being set off by her looking at her newly summoned daughter or her older "regular" Abyssal daughter). Her form had finally settled on her old Abyssal Princess form, but it had scared the bejeebers out of her family.

The scientists were concerned, but also ecstatic over the new data from the experiment. Even with the unexpected "hitchhikers" in the form of all the sunken I-class destroyers from "Elizabeth's" Crossroad Fleet!

After getting over the fact that they now had feet (!) and could walk around on dry land (!), the hyperactive destroyers had been something of a handful, wanting to experience anything and everything they'd missed out having been stuck only in their "monster ship" form. Something that the now more mature versions of the little shipgirls could well understand, if not share more than a bit of pity over what the little tykes had gone through being STUCK with their rigging on at ALL times.

The former I-class Destroyers from Trinitite's fleet had . . . issues back when Abyssal shipgirls, but at least they could shift into human form with the Rigging stowed. Not so much for their younger analogs, alas.

The Abyss here seemed to have been an even bigger B*tch than back home, it seemed.

"Oh nothing!" the younger Groves said innocently to her sister the Elder Groves.

"Uh-huh," the elder smirked, not buying it for a second. "Well, whatever! The site director has finally gotten permission to contact Elizabeth's hunters so they can be called off and all that! Wanna watch them squirm? "

Higher-ups in the food chain had already been contacted, and after the requisite swearing and cussing in surprise, a deal had been struck. A repeat of the "fat check" that Trinitite had gotten as a signing bonus had been won for Elizabeth, repeating history and satisfying Abyssal senses of honor over regarding debts owed. Just had to share that with Elizabeth first, soon enough.

But right now? Now it was time to share the . . . good news with Murray's group.

By blindsiding them. Groves just couldn't wait to see their faces!

Moments later . . .

"What?" Lt. Commander Dan Murray blinked, pretty much mirroring everyone else's thoughts on the matter here.

1. "What?" Lt. Commander Dan Murray blinked, pretty much mirroring everyone else's thoughts on the matter here.

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