Launching Day - Tirpitz [2012?]
darthcourt10
Well worn.
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Shaithan
Launching Day
Tirpitz lazed in the noon sun. Her little destroyers occupied the beach next to her, snoring cutely.
Suddenly, the I-class brought her radio to life. "Flagship," she began. "It is time," she added.
Tirpitz groaned a bit. "Yes, you're right," she muttered. "Well, we have had enough sun," she added.
They set out to collect their towels, Tirpitz grumbling all the way. Everything had been planned. Her and her DDs were set to visit the Party.San Black Metal festival, and then her sister announced her due date. As in "it will happen on that day" with clear finality. It also meant that Tirpitz had been basically ordered to be there, much to her chagrin. While she could well refuse it if Hartmann ordered it, Bismarck had used Elder Sibling Privileges and it had been very effective.
So now she had to get into town, take a car to Hamburg, fly to Aberdeen and then take a car to her sister's recluse. Thanksfully her little ones had their rebuild, and hadn't that been two rather nerve-wracking weeks for her. Having them go completely silent, only construction sounds echoing out of their hulls and the pure helplessness of having to wait. While the three repair ships who monitored the situation had kept watch around the clock and reassured her that things were going well, it had still been harrowing. Over the months she had gotten used to the little ones being around and their chatter here and there. It was jarring in its absence.
Now she would have to be present for her sister spawning. She didn't look forward to that. Babies were small, fragile, annoyingly loud and looked like Winston Churchill. She didn't understand the appeal at all. Even Wandering Princess had tried to explain motherhood to her and that was a discussion she'd rather forget. Abyssals had some seriously wonky definitions of what constituted cute or endearing. She had seen it with her own girls as well. One of the biggest pretty boy skirt chasers on base had been devastated when her girls had turned him down for being revolting.
Idly Tirpitz wondered if she should send something to cheer up the ensign, then again, he was a flag virgin, pain and suffering was what they were there for. All the responsibility, none of the pay.
Still, it was a good insight into abyssal thought processes, thought processes that were ultimately non-human and things humans cosidered positive tended to revolt abyssals.
The trip to England was ultimately a boring affair. The little ones had gotten second and even third glances at the airport, after all, their abyssal nature was rather easy to spot. Unnaturally white skin, unnaturally white hair and glowing green eyes. The little ones in turn had been quite amazed by the proceedings. They weren't used to travel over land, either. So far their humanoid forms had been mostly confined to the base and trips to the beaches. Several hour drives through the countryside were completely new to them. And Hamburg was simply more impressive than Wilhelmshaven or Rostock. And then there had been the flight itself. The little ones had been very excited, barely able to stay in their seats.
At least the movie had been a fun classic. There was simply something hilarious about watching Airplane! on flight. It was a movie that reminded one why one loved Leslie Nielsen. Unfortunately, the little ones hadn't been too impressed. The implied and shown violence had gotten them to chuckle, but overall, they prefered American slasher horror and gorn. Things like Hostel and Saw were considered hilarious entertainment.
Tirpitz really didn't look forward to eventually having to explain to concerned parties that Abyssals generally had no regard for human life as valuable. Wandering Princess had inquired why keeping the scientists studying the abyssal structures on Heligoland was important, why they weren't expendable. Having to explain the value of human life to someone who didn't get it, for whom humans were basically mini blobs making up real life forms aka shipgirls was quite difficult. She suspected she had managed to explain it to Wandering Princess, but she doubted that it would ever be more than an active consideration. She needed to remind herself that humans had value and were needed. Shipgirls were different. They sought to protect humans. Abyssals sought to kill them, it was almost nature to them. Of course, this wasn't a hard rule, Hoppou and Wanko were prime examples of Abyssals that were quite content with live and let live. It wasn't a compulsion, either. Merely a lack of consideration of human value.
It was with these thoughts that she realized the plane was on the final approach. Her little ones were extremely excited, pointing at the city below them. Tirpitz grinned. "Yes, we're here. Hopefully we don't have to use our secret weapon," she chuckled.
The little ones nodded, their eyes flickering with eldritch fire.
Upon leaving the terminal, Tirpitz saw her fears confirmed. Ark Royal stood there, waiting and grinning.
"You. Why can't you leave Kanzlerchen alone?" Tirpitz groaned.
"I am the huntress and she is the prey. Hunting her is my great joy!" Ark Royal stated pompously.
"Well, great huntress, do you know who we brought with us?" Tirpitz wanted to know.
Ark Royal's cocky smirk froze as existential dread filled her. "No!" she whispered. "You wouldn't have!" she continued. "NO! NOT HER!" she finally wailed.
"Run, my pretty lady!" a new voice demanded. "I am the huntress and you are the prey!"
Ark Royal squeaked and ran away. U-81 in hot pursuit.
Tirpitz grinned. "Well, that should keep her busy for a few days and paranoid for a few more," she said chuckling.
Inferno looked after the two retreating figures. "Am I seeing things or does Ark not really try to escape?" she asked slowly.
"It's not just you. It looks like she wants to be caught. Desire for a knight in shining armor?" Tirpitz mused.
Atrocity shrugged. "Maybe? Or she wants to be caught by the ork and have unspeakable things done to her?" she suggested.
Tirpitz turned to the Ro-class. "..." Her deadpan reaction said everything. "Where did you read that?" she finally wanted to know.
"Danbooru. A funny story about a lewd and completely perverted elf and a celibate ork. Friden and Libe, I think," she gave back.
Tirpitz just pinched her nose. That was the downside of her little ones having humanoid forms. They had found the internet.
Nachtmahr shrugged. "They're gone, though," she remarked idly.
"Let's go see the spawning ship!" Nihilistin asked excitedly. Of all the destroyers, she was the most excited for Bismarck's daughters.
"Pipe down, will you," Harpyie grumbled. Of all the DDs she was the least enthusiastic about the prospect.
Car rental was a surprise, though. Bismarck had a Bulli parked for them. Tirpitz was almost touched. It was adorned with tons of band logos and symbols associated with the black scene. She wasn't touched because she knew her sister would want something from her in return. Why else go through the trouble of giving a Bulli a Metal makeover?
Still, it was a Bulli. With a massively upgraded engine. Tirpitz found she didn't care what Bismarck would want. This was what the doctor prescribed. A roaring Maybach engine that guzzled fuel like there was no tomorrow. And some Death Rock to make the journey shorter.
The journey to Bismarck's mansion was uneventful, even if driving on the wrong side of the road took some getting used to.
A few hours later they reached the mansion, seeing other cars in the driveway already. Tirpitz groaned. "Great, it will be crowded. On the plus side, no reporters are allowed here," she said, not entirely happy.
"Who else will be there?" Atrocity wanted to know.
"Prinz and Lützow most likely, they want to have Lützow as a gouverness. Maybe another Hipper is here as well," Tirpitz listed off. "Then there will be Prince of Wales, because she won't leave Hood alone. We hopefully have distracted Ark Royal long enough. Then again, I promised U-81 one thousand liters of finest Scotch if she keeps Ark Royal busy until at least the twelth," she added. "We'll have some mechanics and engineers, I think two midwives are here, Hartmann sent his second in command, Rear Admiral Tarkan, don't know who the British sent. Some others may well turn up as well," she concluded.
Hood let the group into the manor, showing visible signs of both stress and the fervent desire to strangle several someones.
Looking behind Hood, the source of the aggravation became clear. The mechanics and the midwives were arguing. It also didn't sound like something that had started recently.
"Welcome." Hood groused.
Tirpitz grinned. "Sounds like a chronic argument," she observed.
Hood grumbled. "Oh you have no idea. It all started with the first ultrasounds and spiralled from there. We are a product of both magic and science, which means there are bound to be oddities. Like for example ultrasound showing either growing babies or a dockyard with construction going on," she laid out. "First time that happened, the ObGyn demanded we add a mechanic, because as far as he was concerned, seeing the construction pictures told him exactly nothing. Of course, he wasn't wrong, but this meant the next time mechanics and engineers were there," she continued.
Tirpitz slowly shuddered. "Let me guess, your own engineering crew started weighing in on things," she deduced.
"Yes. Now, it wasn't as bad as your sister's engineers, they had already overhauled the plans for the G3s, now they overhauled them even more. Hydrophones, torpedo tubes, a plane, moving the X turret, there were quite some modifications," Hood laid out.
"And what modifications did your engineers bring in?" Atrocity wanted to know.
Hood chuckled. "Well, sonar, depth charge rails, hedgehogs, improved fire directors," she said slowly before falling back into a scowl. "The downside was that the little ones grew," she added.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that something babies do naturally?" Tirpitz asked.
Hood shook her head. "Well, yes, but what I meant with grow was that by the time the plans were finalised, the girls had received extensive modifications and thus the size of their hulls and the weight of the hulls increased. Also, if I have to never again eat Krupp armour steel, it will be too early," she groused.
Tirpitz shook her head. "Well, I know that no ship leaves the slipway the same way it was initially drawn, but hearing it...," she trailed off. "Say, where is Kanzlerchen anyway?" she wanted to know.
Hood pointed upstairs. "She's buried herself in manuals the last few days. It's a whole library of how-to books, mostly concerned with parenting," she explained.
"A sensible choice," Tirpitz commented.
Hood missed a few beats, before groaning. "Of course. Nothing a German officer can't do, as long as he, or well she, has a manual," she grumbled.
Tirpitz patted the grumpy battlecruiser on the back. "Don't worry, I'll see about dragging Kanzlerchen out of her manuals," she promised.
"You can try," Hood gave back dryly. "I'll show the little ones their room in the meantime," she added, waving for the destroyers to follow her.
The little ones fell into an arrow formation behind Hood. Tirpitz grinned when seeing it. The little ones had come a long way from their first weeks, where they needed Tirpitz to be constantly present. They still preferred to follow their flagship everywhere, but they would also follow other shipgirls they knew and trusted.
Following the sounds of rustling papers, Tirpitz soon found her sister. She sat in a veritable nest made of manuals, dozens of notebooks filled with notes laying around. "You're worse than I was with the little ones," Tirpitz snarked in greeting.
Bismarck grumbled. "Parenting is hard work," she declared. "I have to plan everything out in advance for them to have the best possible childhood and future," she declared stiffly.
Tirpitz chuckled. "Oh, relax, Kanzlerchen," she gave back. "The little ones aren't even born and you're looking into..." she grabbed one of the discarded manuals "how to teach them advanced physics," she said. "You can't plan to send them to university before they've even been born," she declared.
Bismarck deflated somewhat. "Maybe you're right," she admitted very slowly. "Still, there was so much I had no idea about," she added.
Tirpitz shrugged. "There's lots you don't know," she countered with a grin.
Bismarck slowly got up. "Care to repeat that, bathtub admiral?" she asked dangerously low.
Tirpitz grinned. "You shouldn't strain yourself," she gave back with a teasing grin.
"Oh, that won't be straining at all!" Bismarck declared. "Now stand still so I can kick your ass!" she demanded.
Tirpitz started laughing. "Oh?" she asked. "Engines not up to their standards?" she wanted to know.
"Just you wait until you're in the same situation," Bismarck gave back, while closing in on her sister.
Tirpitz shuddered in disgust. "Nah, thanks, pass. Never going to do that to myself," she gave back.
Bismarck had used the time to close up to her sister and with a quick grab, she pulled her into a sleeper hold, rapping her knuckles on her sister's head. "Very obliging, little sister," she mocked.
Tirpitz laughed and slapped her sister on the arm. "Okay, okay, you win, that really wasn't straining," she admitted.
Bismarck released her sister, who was quite red in the face. "Let's see how your wife deals with the little ones," Tirpitz suggested.
A few of her fairies stayed back to attempt to clean up all the manuals.
Hood had shown the little ones the big guest room. Tirpitz was an oddity among shipgirls. Many were happy to sleep in cuddlepiles, especially with dedicated escorts. New Jersey had gotten cockblocked by the Taffies more than once. It didn't help that Professor Crowning found it hilarious, especially when Jersey went into momma mode and arranged the little ones between her and Crowning.
Tirpitz on the other hand had laid down ground rules early on. Same room yes, but everyone got their own bed. Then again, from what she had heard, Tirpitz tended to hog everything in a bed to herself. Pillows, blankets, space. How had Renown put it so aptly? "If you have to share a bed with Tirpitz, take the couch. Take several chairs put together. Take the bathtub. Take the floor. Don't take the bed as it's a trap. She hogs everything and kicks out everyone."
So, this room had been prepared for the Tirpitz-class destroyers. The destroyer leader had a big bed in the middle of the room and the other beds were arranged around it in a pentagon formation.
The destroyers were happy with their beds. Hood couldn't see the appeal. Black, metal frames adorned with silvery spikes, pictures of death and destruction on the blankets, it was all very alien to her. She preferred her bedding with the cute kittens on it. She'd also worry about injuring herself, an unfounded worry, but one that wouldn't go away. She had no idea why Bismarck went out of her way to acquire beds that would make the destroyers return here.
Thinking about it, an idea formed. It was exactly the sort of plan her wife would come up with to get her sister to come visit more often. Make the destroyers do the prodding for her. Underhanded, but so many interactions of the sisters were quite underhanded.
The destroyers beelined towards their beds, dropping their rucksacks on them. "Those beds are awesome," Inferno finally declared, after flopping backwards.
Hood smiled indulgently. "Well, Bismarck thought you'd appreciate such bedding, seems she was right," she gave back.
Atrocity grinned, all spiky teeth showing. "Oh yeah, this is great. We have to get such beds for our home," she declared.
"Make yourself at home, come meet me in the entrance hall and I can show you around some more," Hood suggested, before leaving the little ones to their devices. She needed to see that the dinner would be served and she really hoped that there wouldn't be any schedule slips. The girls were due the day after tomorrow, just enough time to get the last arrivals settled in.
Hanna was a great help in that regard. She would have to learn to tell people to shut up more often, but that was something that came with time.
With a smile she saw one of the few cats that had started living around the property. It was a semi-feral colony. Some of them only came for food and otherwise roamed around the property, others preferred to stay close. There was an old stable that had lots of save shelter for the cats where they tended to hang out. And thanks to Bismarck getting the older German girls to call up a few dozen soldiers of the Marineinfanterie, the colony and the property was also save from predators. And if the amount of fancy fur hats among the fairies was any indication, the local population of American minks had taken a serious hit.
Something Hood was especially happy about was that the various queens always brought their offspring here. But the one she really wished to see wasn't coming this evening, it seemed. An old tom, worn from years of life and fights. Hood was certain he had either been abandoned or run away, as discounting the scarring he looked like a pedigree breed.
With a smile she watched Jervis and Janus put out the food for the cats. Two of the queens had their kittens with them, they'd need to watch for a good moment to either catch them and have them neutered and released back into the colony or maybe someone would click with one or more of the kittens.
With a fond smile she turned from the window and went towards the dining room. Prinz Eugen and Hannah had laid out the evening meal and had just rung the dinner bell. Hood was sure those two were looking forward to when the food wouldn't have to be prepared in those massed quantities.
The table was positively sagging under the weight of food, but with how many people there were right now, it wasn't going to last.
Hood surveyed the offerings from the head of the table. Around two dozen types of sausage, another dozen types of cheeses for those who wanted a simple fare. And then there were the things that always baffled Hood. Hedgehogs formed from ground, spiced meat and with onion slices as their spikes. Not cooked or anything. Just meat and spices.
With a smirk she watched Tirpitz and Bismarck enter, the Tirpitz-class DDs in a pentagon around the sisters. Bismarck was exceptionally smug, so she must have scored a victory over her sister. Hood chuckled softly as to how easily her wife could be read sometimes.
The destroyers made a beeline towards six black chairs, adorned with skulls. Now granted, the sixth chair was bigger and more thronelike. Tirpitz cast her sister a short glare, promising retribution, before sitting down on the big chair, her destroyers sitting right and left of her.
Thankfully, the glare relented considerably when she realized that it was a really comfy chair. Suddenly she started smirking. "Say, Kanzlerchen, you do realize that you invited the Evil Queen to the birth of your children. Placate me or by the magic of frost and ice, I shall curse you!" she declared loudly.
Bismarck smirked back. "Oh, your majesty, I have nothing to placate you. Will you be content with my firstborn daughter?" she asked theatralically. "I trust you to raise her well, as you did with your own daughters," she continued.
Tirpitz was caught flatfooted. This had not gone according to the scenario. Her sister had outmaneuvered her, plain and simple. Leaning back she made a show of contemplating things.
"Your hospitality shall have to suffice," she finally declared full of magnanimity.
"We are humbled by your grace and mercy, your highness," Bismarck gave back, giving her little sister a tiny smirk.
Amidst this all, the other guests had arrived and taken their seats.
Food was reached around the table and conversations started up. Much laughter was had when Janus reported that the last sighting of Ark Royal had been her running straight to Portsmouth with U-81 in pursuit.
Hood turned to her wife with a grin. "Look at your sister," she said slowly.
Bismarck laughed lightly. "Yeah, she'll be a good aunt," she gave back.
Together they watched a smirking Tirpitz telling impressionable destroyers stories that likely shouldn't be mentioned around them.
Later in the evening, Tirpitz sat outside, lazily smoking a cigarette. With a smirk she saw Eugen marching over the property. The tom was getting on in years, but she suspected that the same magic that affected shipgirls affected Eugen as well. And if not, well, he was a tom that hadn't been neutered for several years, Tirpitz was sure that the line of Franz continued in Wilhelmshaven and Rostock.
Something did raise her interest, there was another tom coming. And while Eugen himself was a relatively lean cat, this one was big. Huge by cat standards. A large orange tom.
Tirpitz watched the two toms silently sizing the other up before the bigger one moved towards where she sat. Eugen had sat down to watch it.
Tirpitz looked at the old tom. He wore the scars of many fights. The tom looked back at her with the inscrutable stare only cats could truly master.
After a while, he seemed to have come to a conclusion and jumped on the bench. Close enough to say "You may stay here," but also far enough to say "Don't touch me," which suited Tirpitz just fine.
Eugen came over as well. Tirpitz put out her cigarette and looked at the smaller tom. "How have you been?" she asked, scratching the tom behind his ears.
A content purr was the only answer, but it seemed like Eugen had things well enough in hand. "Well, I'm going inside, you coming?" she asked the tom who did get up with her. The orange tom got up as well and made his way over to the stable.
The next day saw the last preparations. Baby clothing and other utensils were arranged in the most accessible way, the midwives talked to the nervous battleship and battlecruiser.
It was something new for them as well, after all. Usually, they could give a rough date, but that was that, a rough estimation. It didn't have to come true, babies usually came on their own schedule.
With shipgirl babies there were differences. Partially the need to include mechanics and engineers because neither the midwives nor the ObGyn could make heads or tails of the progress reports delivered by the engineering fairies of the shipgirl mothers, nor could they make sense of ultrasound pictures that showed a construction dock. The biggest difference however was that the babies had a keel laying day and from that point onwards the launching day was calculated. And, as far as the engineering fairies said, the launching day was absolute.
Tirpitz saw the activities and the last-minute preparations and could only shake her head. Some of it seemed like make work to her, designed to dispel the worries of the mothers.
The battleship was grateful when the evening came. All she had heard about what babies were like suggested to her that the following days would see endless running by pretty much everyone in the house.
She followed Janus and Jervis outside as the two destroyers set out the food for the cat colony. There were roughly twenty cats, excluding the nine kittens.
One of the kittens came over to her, looking her over and obviously more interested in the strange big cat than in food.
Tirpitz crouched down and held out her hand for the kitten to sniff. "Curious little one, aren't you?" she asked slowly.
The kitten sniffed her hand for a bit before turning away and joining its siblings.
Janus pouted a bit when seeing it. "Unlucky," she said slowly.
Tirpitz shrugged. "It's fine," she reassured the destroyer. "Not every cat will like you, after all," she continued.
Janus nodded. "Still, we're currently looking for homes for them," she explained. "Giving a cat a home is only right," she added.
Tirpitz smirked. "Don't they have a home here. They have the stable, they have other cats, they get fed and thanks to the perimeter guards, they're also safe from predators," she laid out. "Doesn't that sound like a home?" she wanted to know.
Jervis nodded. "Sure, but we want each of them to have their own, dedicated caretaker. They need their personal personnel," she said with a smirk.
Tirpitz laughed. "Heh, keep it up and you might find people for them," she said before getting up. "Anyway, I have to look after the little ones," she excused herself.
The next morning the anticipation was palpable. They had the date, now it was waiting.
Tirpitz watched as her little ones helped put out food for the cats. Everyone was on edge. The representatives had retreated into the library, while they would have their parts to play, currently, they were not needed.
Prince of Wales was making a good attempt to pace a hole into the entrance hall rug, Prinz was in the kitchen and cooking and most others were killing time in their own ways. Like her littles ones playing with the cats.
Aboard Hood's bridge, a message came up from engineering. The bosun turned to the captain and saluted. "Sir, it's time," he reported stiffly.
The captain nodded. "So it would seem," he agreed. "You may tell the men that it is now time to panic and to run around like headless chicken," he ordered.
The bosun saluted. "Yes, sir, I shall see to it," he agreed.
"See that you do," the captain dismissed him. "We'll have an orderly panic attack, we're not Bedlam after all," he finished. Then he turned to an ensign. "Go to the radio room and alert Bismarck of our condition," he ordered.
The ensign saluted and ran off.
The captain smiled before taking off his cap. "Men, it is time to panic!" he told the bridge crew, before starting to pace like a caged tiger.
Bismarck, who was currently reading manuals again, perked up. The message from Hood had arrived and she had to make her way to her wife.
On Bismarck's bridge, the status was controlled chaos. "Captain, we need orders how to proceed," the bosun reported.
The captain turned to the bosun with a surprised look. "Orders?" he wanted to know.
"Yes, captain. We have nothing for this situation in our manuals," he gave back.
The captain boggled. "Well, then find those manuals and bring them to me, they have to be somewhere," he ordered.
"Yes, captain, we'll find them," the bosun declared.
Soon, the ship was a hive of activity as the manuals were searched for.
After a few minutes, someone found one in engineering and delivered it to the bridge.
The captain opened it and began reading. "Well, that doesn't seem to complicated," he mused. "It says here that we have to pace nervously, smoke lots of cigarettes, look at the clock ever so often and wait for further developments. Very well, bosun, tell the men what to do," the captain ordered, before another runner came up from engineering.
"New development, captain. Our ship has gone into labour as well," he reported.
The captain leafed through the manual frantically. "Nothing in here. We need the right manual for that situation, so go an find it!" he ordered before starting to pace. No one had told him how to do this, he hadn't signed up for this. But, in this situation all would be well, once the manual was there. Everything would turn out well as long as you had your manual, after all.
Outside, Tirpitz grimaced. She had gotten the broadcasts from both Hood and Bismarck. This meant that the launching had finally commenced. She shuddered some. The descriptions she had overheard had been ample evidence for her to decide that she would not subject herself to that.
Janus and Jervis were busy petting the old tom, who evidently really enjoyed it.
Inside, Hood and Bismarck were busy cursing their life choices. The midwives helped where they could, a sea of calm in the rather hectic environment.
Several hours later, Hood had exhaustively cursed whoever came up with the H-class designs.
"You're doing well, dear," the midwive reassured her. "I can see the head already," she added.
Hood gave a grunt of acknowledgement. She had to concentrate and really didn't want to lose the rhythm she had fallen into now.
Bismarck brought her radio to life. She would need her sister now. The launching of her first daughter was not far out, either and she wanted Tirpitz to be present.
Tirpitz heaved a sigh when she got the message. "Yo, Kanzlerchen has called me, you should be able to come in there with me," she told her little ones.
Reluctantly the destroyers stopped playing with the cats and made their way over to the flagship. Those furry balls of claws, teeth and murder were exactly after their black hearts. But they had come here to see the spawning of their flagship's nieces, so they would follow. The cats would still be there later on, after all.
Entering the entrance hall, Prince of Wales was still nervously pacing. "You're wearing down the carpet," Tirpitz commented idly.
Prince of Wales shot her a glare. "It's your sister in there as well," she gave back hotly.
Tirpitz nodded. "Pacing won't change anything," she countered.
Prince stopped. "Well, yes," she agreed. "It just feels natural," she admitted.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Maybe," she gave back. "Anyway, my sister called, have to see what she wants," she added.
Prince fell into the formation next the bigger battleship. "One thing does interest me. How did you manage to dodge becoming the flagship?" she wanted to know.
Tirpitz laughed. "That wasn't hard, really," she gave back. "I simply told Hartmann that I wouldn't do that and that was it," she laid out.
Prince boggled. "Just like that?" she asked.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Sure. You see, unlike most other nations, Germany doesn't have the big continuous ship for its navy. Even the first Gorch Fock is an interwar ship. You have Victory, the Americans have Constitution, the Japanese have Mikasa, Russia has Aurora. Germany's closest thing would be SM-U 1 and she's way too busy to momboat all her U-Boats. Especially now that magic is a factor. All those planned boats? Plus whatever the magical side may have built? We may be looking at well over five thousand boats," Tirpitz laid out.
Before they could enter the room where the two mothers were giving birth, a loud scream was heard.
Prince grinned. "Looks like the first one is out," she said excitedly, pushing the door open.
Prinz Eugen helped one of the present midwives bathe the newborn.
Tirpitz stood in the doorway, observing the ongoing chaos. While the first of it looked like Hood's daughters was getting wrapped in blankets, the first of Bismarck's daughters announced her presence with a scream.
Prinz came over, carrying the newborn and handing it to Prince. "Here, could you hold her until her twin is out? Hood is in no state right now," she asked.
Prince nodded and gently took the offered infant. Holding her close, she went to one of the armchairs next to the window and sat down gingerly.
A third scream announced that things were close to being over. Hood had fallen back into the cushions, spent. Her second daughter had been brought into the world and the difficult part was finally over.
Prinz carefully took the infant and washed her as well.
Next to Prince of Wales, Invincible sat and held Bismarck's first daughter. The latest addition to the battlecruiser family.
When the fourth scream finally sounded, Bismarck too could finally rest. Invincible and one of the midwives carefully placed the newborns in their mother's arms.
Hood had the same happen to her and Invincible took memorial photos.
"What are their names?" one of the midwives asked, holding the forms needed for newborns. They had gotten the measurements already, now they needed the names.
One of Hood's engineers climbed out and began talking.
The midwife looked to Prinz next to her. "What is he saying?" she wanted to know.
Prinz looked at the midwive in surprise, before slapping her forehead. "Right, no long-term exposure to shipgirls," she said. "Anyway, the firstborn is the battleship Götz von Berlichingen," she translated.
The midwife looked at the shipgirl, before sighing. "Could you write that?" she wanted to know.
Prinz smiled reassuringly at the Scottish midwife. "Of course," she agreed.
The midwife gratefully handed over the paperwork.
The fairy continued reporting. "And the second one is called Ulrich von Hutten," Prinz announced.
"What's the story behind these names?" the midwife wanted to know.
Prinz grinned. "Those were the names of knights that fought on the side of the peasant revolt in the direct wake of the reformation," she explained.
The midwife chuckled. "Well, that's some names," she said slowly.
Prinz nodded, while one of Bismarck's fairies came out to give a report. "So, the firstborn is called Indefatigable and her sister is called Indomitable," she translated while noting down the names. Pennant numbers would have to be assigned by the admirals at a later point.
In the meantime, the last act of giving birth had finished, the placentas were out. The midwives carefully collected the sheets and moved them into prepared hazmat sacks, as the blood on them also contained bunker oil.
The various godmothers held the babies as Tirpitz helped Hood and her sister into the wheelchairs that would move them to their room where they would rest for now.
Jervis and Janus carefully pushed Hood while Tirpitz pushed Bismarck through the hallway.
The godmothers carrying the infants followed behind, followed by the abyssal destroyers.
Tirpitz carefully moved the two mothers into the bed while the godmothers placed the babies into the big crib.
Suddenly, Janus pointed to the door. "Look who's here!" she said excitedly.
The old tom stood in the doorway and slowly made his way in. He made his way over to the crib and jumped up and in. Looking over the babies he carefully rubbed his head on each of them, declaring them his.
It seemed that this had been what the others had waited for, the queens with their own young came in as well.
Prinz hastily went and fetched a few baskets and blankets, which she then put down for the queens.
"Looks like the old tom brought the ship's cats over," Bismarck joked as Eugen came in himself and sat down, watching things.
The old tom went and laid down in one of the baskets while Eugen jumped on the bed and laid down for a cat nap.
And this was what would be the order of the day. Rest and recuperation. Tomorrow, enough things would happen. A press release to announce the births, the representatives of the German and British admirality officially recognizing their names and organizing the ceremony for their official naming.
The babies were sleeping soundly. It would be the last night of full sleep for a long time to come after all.
One by one, people filtered out of the room, until only Tirpitz and her destroyers remained.
"Was it worth it?" the battleship finally asked.
Bismarck looked over to where her daughters slept. "Yes," she simply gave back. "I am happy," she added.
Looking at her sister, she grinned. "Some would expect me to tease you how you will understand when you have children yourself," she said slowly. "But I can spare us both the indignity. We both know you don't want children on a fundamental level. I wanted children, you don't. And that's perfectly fine," she laid out.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Yeah, it's okay that you have your happiness," she said. Looking over to where the various cats and kittens were resting. "Seems like your girls will have their dedicated cats as well," she remarked.
Bismarck grinned. "Freyja does protect," she said while holding one of the charms of Freyja the vikings had given to her when they had learned of her pregancy.
Tirpitz grinned. "Well, I'll see what Prinz has cooked up, you want anything?" she wanted to know.
Bismarck and Hood shook their heads. "No, thanks," Bismarck finally said. "We're going to sleep, as that will be a precious and scarce commodity soon enough," she laid out.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Oh well, good night then," she said, before closing the blinds and switching off the lights.
Followed by her destroyers, she made her way to the dining room. Tomorrow would be hectic in its own way. Having a full belly would definitely help with coping with that.
x-x-x
Well, that's that. About 1 year late story-wise, but it was a fight to hammer this into form. Oh well, better late than never.
Launching Day
Tirpitz lazed in the noon sun. Her little destroyers occupied the beach next to her, snoring cutely.
Suddenly, the I-class brought her radio to life. "Flagship," she began. "It is time," she added.
Tirpitz groaned a bit. "Yes, you're right," she muttered. "Well, we have had enough sun," she added.
They set out to collect their towels, Tirpitz grumbling all the way. Everything had been planned. Her and her DDs were set to visit the Party.San Black Metal festival, and then her sister announced her due date. As in "it will happen on that day" with clear finality. It also meant that Tirpitz had been basically ordered to be there, much to her chagrin. While she could well refuse it if Hartmann ordered it, Bismarck had used Elder Sibling Privileges and it had been very effective.
So now she had to get into town, take a car to Hamburg, fly to Aberdeen and then take a car to her sister's recluse. Thanksfully her little ones had their rebuild, and hadn't that been two rather nerve-wracking weeks for her. Having them go completely silent, only construction sounds echoing out of their hulls and the pure helplessness of having to wait. While the three repair ships who monitored the situation had kept watch around the clock and reassured her that things were going well, it had still been harrowing. Over the months she had gotten used to the little ones being around and their chatter here and there. It was jarring in its absence.
Now she would have to be present for her sister spawning. She didn't look forward to that. Babies were small, fragile, annoyingly loud and looked like Winston Churchill. She didn't understand the appeal at all. Even Wandering Princess had tried to explain motherhood to her and that was a discussion she'd rather forget. Abyssals had some seriously wonky definitions of what constituted cute or endearing. She had seen it with her own girls as well. One of the biggest pretty boy skirt chasers on base had been devastated when her girls had turned him down for being revolting.
Idly Tirpitz wondered if she should send something to cheer up the ensign, then again, he was a flag virgin, pain and suffering was what they were there for. All the responsibility, none of the pay.
Still, it was a good insight into abyssal thought processes, thought processes that were ultimately non-human and things humans cosidered positive tended to revolt abyssals.
The trip to England was ultimately a boring affair. The little ones had gotten second and even third glances at the airport, after all, their abyssal nature was rather easy to spot. Unnaturally white skin, unnaturally white hair and glowing green eyes. The little ones in turn had been quite amazed by the proceedings. They weren't used to travel over land, either. So far their humanoid forms had been mostly confined to the base and trips to the beaches. Several hour drives through the countryside were completely new to them. And Hamburg was simply more impressive than Wilhelmshaven or Rostock. And then there had been the flight itself. The little ones had been very excited, barely able to stay in their seats.
At least the movie had been a fun classic. There was simply something hilarious about watching Airplane! on flight. It was a movie that reminded one why one loved Leslie Nielsen. Unfortunately, the little ones hadn't been too impressed. The implied and shown violence had gotten them to chuckle, but overall, they prefered American slasher horror and gorn. Things like Hostel and Saw were considered hilarious entertainment.
Tirpitz really didn't look forward to eventually having to explain to concerned parties that Abyssals generally had no regard for human life as valuable. Wandering Princess had inquired why keeping the scientists studying the abyssal structures on Heligoland was important, why they weren't expendable. Having to explain the value of human life to someone who didn't get it, for whom humans were basically mini blobs making up real life forms aka shipgirls was quite difficult. She suspected she had managed to explain it to Wandering Princess, but she doubted that it would ever be more than an active consideration. She needed to remind herself that humans had value and were needed. Shipgirls were different. They sought to protect humans. Abyssals sought to kill them, it was almost nature to them. Of course, this wasn't a hard rule, Hoppou and Wanko were prime examples of Abyssals that were quite content with live and let live. It wasn't a compulsion, either. Merely a lack of consideration of human value.
It was with these thoughts that she realized the plane was on the final approach. Her little ones were extremely excited, pointing at the city below them. Tirpitz grinned. "Yes, we're here. Hopefully we don't have to use our secret weapon," she chuckled.
The little ones nodded, their eyes flickering with eldritch fire.
Upon leaving the terminal, Tirpitz saw her fears confirmed. Ark Royal stood there, waiting and grinning.
"You. Why can't you leave Kanzlerchen alone?" Tirpitz groaned.
"I am the huntress and she is the prey. Hunting her is my great joy!" Ark Royal stated pompously.
"Well, great huntress, do you know who we brought with us?" Tirpitz wanted to know.
Ark Royal's cocky smirk froze as existential dread filled her. "No!" she whispered. "You wouldn't have!" she continued. "NO! NOT HER!" she finally wailed.
"Run, my pretty lady!" a new voice demanded. "I am the huntress and you are the prey!"
Ark Royal squeaked and ran away. U-81 in hot pursuit.
Tirpitz grinned. "Well, that should keep her busy for a few days and paranoid for a few more," she said chuckling.
Inferno looked after the two retreating figures. "Am I seeing things or does Ark not really try to escape?" she asked slowly.
"It's not just you. It looks like she wants to be caught. Desire for a knight in shining armor?" Tirpitz mused.
Atrocity shrugged. "Maybe? Or she wants to be caught by the ork and have unspeakable things done to her?" she suggested.
Tirpitz turned to the Ro-class. "..." Her deadpan reaction said everything. "Where did you read that?" she finally wanted to know.
"Danbooru. A funny story about a lewd and completely perverted elf and a celibate ork. Friden and Libe, I think," she gave back.
Tirpitz just pinched her nose. That was the downside of her little ones having humanoid forms. They had found the internet.
Nachtmahr shrugged. "They're gone, though," she remarked idly.
"Let's go see the spawning ship!" Nihilistin asked excitedly. Of all the destroyers, she was the most excited for Bismarck's daughters.
"Pipe down, will you," Harpyie grumbled. Of all the DDs she was the least enthusiastic about the prospect.
Car rental was a surprise, though. Bismarck had a Bulli parked for them. Tirpitz was almost touched. It was adorned with tons of band logos and symbols associated with the black scene. She wasn't touched because she knew her sister would want something from her in return. Why else go through the trouble of giving a Bulli a Metal makeover?
Still, it was a Bulli. With a massively upgraded engine. Tirpitz found she didn't care what Bismarck would want. This was what the doctor prescribed. A roaring Maybach engine that guzzled fuel like there was no tomorrow. And some Death Rock to make the journey shorter.
The journey to Bismarck's mansion was uneventful, even if driving on the wrong side of the road took some getting used to.
A few hours later they reached the mansion, seeing other cars in the driveway already. Tirpitz groaned. "Great, it will be crowded. On the plus side, no reporters are allowed here," she said, not entirely happy.
"Who else will be there?" Atrocity wanted to know.
"Prinz and Lützow most likely, they want to have Lützow as a gouverness. Maybe another Hipper is here as well," Tirpitz listed off. "Then there will be Prince of Wales, because she won't leave Hood alone. We hopefully have distracted Ark Royal long enough. Then again, I promised U-81 one thousand liters of finest Scotch if she keeps Ark Royal busy until at least the twelth," she added. "We'll have some mechanics and engineers, I think two midwives are here, Hartmann sent his second in command, Rear Admiral Tarkan, don't know who the British sent. Some others may well turn up as well," she concluded.
Hood let the group into the manor, showing visible signs of both stress and the fervent desire to strangle several someones.
Looking behind Hood, the source of the aggravation became clear. The mechanics and the midwives were arguing. It also didn't sound like something that had started recently.
"Welcome." Hood groused.
Tirpitz grinned. "Sounds like a chronic argument," she observed.
Hood grumbled. "Oh you have no idea. It all started with the first ultrasounds and spiralled from there. We are a product of both magic and science, which means there are bound to be oddities. Like for example ultrasound showing either growing babies or a dockyard with construction going on," she laid out. "First time that happened, the ObGyn demanded we add a mechanic, because as far as he was concerned, seeing the construction pictures told him exactly nothing. Of course, he wasn't wrong, but this meant the next time mechanics and engineers were there," she continued.
Tirpitz slowly shuddered. "Let me guess, your own engineering crew started weighing in on things," she deduced.
"Yes. Now, it wasn't as bad as your sister's engineers, they had already overhauled the plans for the G3s, now they overhauled them even more. Hydrophones, torpedo tubes, a plane, moving the X turret, there were quite some modifications," Hood laid out.
"And what modifications did your engineers bring in?" Atrocity wanted to know.
Hood chuckled. "Well, sonar, depth charge rails, hedgehogs, improved fire directors," she said slowly before falling back into a scowl. "The downside was that the little ones grew," she added.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that something babies do naturally?" Tirpitz asked.
Hood shook her head. "Well, yes, but what I meant with grow was that by the time the plans were finalised, the girls had received extensive modifications and thus the size of their hulls and the weight of the hulls increased. Also, if I have to never again eat Krupp armour steel, it will be too early," she groused.
Tirpitz shook her head. "Well, I know that no ship leaves the slipway the same way it was initially drawn, but hearing it...," she trailed off. "Say, where is Kanzlerchen anyway?" she wanted to know.
Hood pointed upstairs. "She's buried herself in manuals the last few days. It's a whole library of how-to books, mostly concerned with parenting," she explained.
"A sensible choice," Tirpitz commented.
Hood missed a few beats, before groaning. "Of course. Nothing a German officer can't do, as long as he, or well she, has a manual," she grumbled.
Tirpitz patted the grumpy battlecruiser on the back. "Don't worry, I'll see about dragging Kanzlerchen out of her manuals," she promised.
"You can try," Hood gave back dryly. "I'll show the little ones their room in the meantime," she added, waving for the destroyers to follow her.
The little ones fell into an arrow formation behind Hood. Tirpitz grinned when seeing it. The little ones had come a long way from their first weeks, where they needed Tirpitz to be constantly present. They still preferred to follow their flagship everywhere, but they would also follow other shipgirls they knew and trusted.
Following the sounds of rustling papers, Tirpitz soon found her sister. She sat in a veritable nest made of manuals, dozens of notebooks filled with notes laying around. "You're worse than I was with the little ones," Tirpitz snarked in greeting.
Bismarck grumbled. "Parenting is hard work," she declared. "I have to plan everything out in advance for them to have the best possible childhood and future," she declared stiffly.
Tirpitz chuckled. "Oh, relax, Kanzlerchen," she gave back. "The little ones aren't even born and you're looking into..." she grabbed one of the discarded manuals "how to teach them advanced physics," she said. "You can't plan to send them to university before they've even been born," she declared.
Bismarck deflated somewhat. "Maybe you're right," she admitted very slowly. "Still, there was so much I had no idea about," she added.
Tirpitz shrugged. "There's lots you don't know," she countered with a grin.
Bismarck slowly got up. "Care to repeat that, bathtub admiral?" she asked dangerously low.
Tirpitz grinned. "You shouldn't strain yourself," she gave back with a teasing grin.
"Oh, that won't be straining at all!" Bismarck declared. "Now stand still so I can kick your ass!" she demanded.
Tirpitz started laughing. "Oh?" she asked. "Engines not up to their standards?" she wanted to know.
"Just you wait until you're in the same situation," Bismarck gave back, while closing in on her sister.
Tirpitz shuddered in disgust. "Nah, thanks, pass. Never going to do that to myself," she gave back.
Bismarck had used the time to close up to her sister and with a quick grab, she pulled her into a sleeper hold, rapping her knuckles on her sister's head. "Very obliging, little sister," she mocked.
Tirpitz laughed and slapped her sister on the arm. "Okay, okay, you win, that really wasn't straining," she admitted.
Bismarck released her sister, who was quite red in the face. "Let's see how your wife deals with the little ones," Tirpitz suggested.
A few of her fairies stayed back to attempt to clean up all the manuals.
Hood had shown the little ones the big guest room. Tirpitz was an oddity among shipgirls. Many were happy to sleep in cuddlepiles, especially with dedicated escorts. New Jersey had gotten cockblocked by the Taffies more than once. It didn't help that Professor Crowning found it hilarious, especially when Jersey went into momma mode and arranged the little ones between her and Crowning.
Tirpitz on the other hand had laid down ground rules early on. Same room yes, but everyone got their own bed. Then again, from what she had heard, Tirpitz tended to hog everything in a bed to herself. Pillows, blankets, space. How had Renown put it so aptly? "If you have to share a bed with Tirpitz, take the couch. Take several chairs put together. Take the bathtub. Take the floor. Don't take the bed as it's a trap. She hogs everything and kicks out everyone."
So, this room had been prepared for the Tirpitz-class destroyers. The destroyer leader had a big bed in the middle of the room and the other beds were arranged around it in a pentagon formation.
The destroyers were happy with their beds. Hood couldn't see the appeal. Black, metal frames adorned with silvery spikes, pictures of death and destruction on the blankets, it was all very alien to her. She preferred her bedding with the cute kittens on it. She'd also worry about injuring herself, an unfounded worry, but one that wouldn't go away. She had no idea why Bismarck went out of her way to acquire beds that would make the destroyers return here.
Thinking about it, an idea formed. It was exactly the sort of plan her wife would come up with to get her sister to come visit more often. Make the destroyers do the prodding for her. Underhanded, but so many interactions of the sisters were quite underhanded.
The destroyers beelined towards their beds, dropping their rucksacks on them. "Those beds are awesome," Inferno finally declared, after flopping backwards.
Hood smiled indulgently. "Well, Bismarck thought you'd appreciate such bedding, seems she was right," she gave back.
Atrocity grinned, all spiky teeth showing. "Oh yeah, this is great. We have to get such beds for our home," she declared.
"Make yourself at home, come meet me in the entrance hall and I can show you around some more," Hood suggested, before leaving the little ones to their devices. She needed to see that the dinner would be served and she really hoped that there wouldn't be any schedule slips. The girls were due the day after tomorrow, just enough time to get the last arrivals settled in.
Hanna was a great help in that regard. She would have to learn to tell people to shut up more often, but that was something that came with time.
With a smile she saw one of the few cats that had started living around the property. It was a semi-feral colony. Some of them only came for food and otherwise roamed around the property, others preferred to stay close. There was an old stable that had lots of save shelter for the cats where they tended to hang out. And thanks to Bismarck getting the older German girls to call up a few dozen soldiers of the Marineinfanterie, the colony and the property was also save from predators. And if the amount of fancy fur hats among the fairies was any indication, the local population of American minks had taken a serious hit.
Something Hood was especially happy about was that the various queens always brought their offspring here. But the one she really wished to see wasn't coming this evening, it seemed. An old tom, worn from years of life and fights. Hood was certain he had either been abandoned or run away, as discounting the scarring he looked like a pedigree breed.
With a smile she watched Jervis and Janus put out the food for the cats. Two of the queens had their kittens with them, they'd need to watch for a good moment to either catch them and have them neutered and released back into the colony or maybe someone would click with one or more of the kittens.
With a fond smile she turned from the window and went towards the dining room. Prinz Eugen and Hannah had laid out the evening meal and had just rung the dinner bell. Hood was sure those two were looking forward to when the food wouldn't have to be prepared in those massed quantities.
The table was positively sagging under the weight of food, but with how many people there were right now, it wasn't going to last.
Hood surveyed the offerings from the head of the table. Around two dozen types of sausage, another dozen types of cheeses for those who wanted a simple fare. And then there were the things that always baffled Hood. Hedgehogs formed from ground, spiced meat and with onion slices as their spikes. Not cooked or anything. Just meat and spices.
With a smirk she watched Tirpitz and Bismarck enter, the Tirpitz-class DDs in a pentagon around the sisters. Bismarck was exceptionally smug, so she must have scored a victory over her sister. Hood chuckled softly as to how easily her wife could be read sometimes.
The destroyers made a beeline towards six black chairs, adorned with skulls. Now granted, the sixth chair was bigger and more thronelike. Tirpitz cast her sister a short glare, promising retribution, before sitting down on the big chair, her destroyers sitting right and left of her.
Thankfully, the glare relented considerably when she realized that it was a really comfy chair. Suddenly she started smirking. "Say, Kanzlerchen, you do realize that you invited the Evil Queen to the birth of your children. Placate me or by the magic of frost and ice, I shall curse you!" she declared loudly.
Bismarck smirked back. "Oh, your majesty, I have nothing to placate you. Will you be content with my firstborn daughter?" she asked theatralically. "I trust you to raise her well, as you did with your own daughters," she continued.
Tirpitz was caught flatfooted. This had not gone according to the scenario. Her sister had outmaneuvered her, plain and simple. Leaning back she made a show of contemplating things.
"Your hospitality shall have to suffice," she finally declared full of magnanimity.
"We are humbled by your grace and mercy, your highness," Bismarck gave back, giving her little sister a tiny smirk.
Amidst this all, the other guests had arrived and taken their seats.
Food was reached around the table and conversations started up. Much laughter was had when Janus reported that the last sighting of Ark Royal had been her running straight to Portsmouth with U-81 in pursuit.
Hood turned to her wife with a grin. "Look at your sister," she said slowly.
Bismarck laughed lightly. "Yeah, she'll be a good aunt," she gave back.
Together they watched a smirking Tirpitz telling impressionable destroyers stories that likely shouldn't be mentioned around them.
Later in the evening, Tirpitz sat outside, lazily smoking a cigarette. With a smirk she saw Eugen marching over the property. The tom was getting on in years, but she suspected that the same magic that affected shipgirls affected Eugen as well. And if not, well, he was a tom that hadn't been neutered for several years, Tirpitz was sure that the line of Franz continued in Wilhelmshaven and Rostock.
Something did raise her interest, there was another tom coming. And while Eugen himself was a relatively lean cat, this one was big. Huge by cat standards. A large orange tom.
Tirpitz watched the two toms silently sizing the other up before the bigger one moved towards where she sat. Eugen had sat down to watch it.
Tirpitz looked at the old tom. He wore the scars of many fights. The tom looked back at her with the inscrutable stare only cats could truly master.
After a while, he seemed to have come to a conclusion and jumped on the bench. Close enough to say "You may stay here," but also far enough to say "Don't touch me," which suited Tirpitz just fine.
Eugen came over as well. Tirpitz put out her cigarette and looked at the smaller tom. "How have you been?" she asked, scratching the tom behind his ears.
A content purr was the only answer, but it seemed like Eugen had things well enough in hand. "Well, I'm going inside, you coming?" she asked the tom who did get up with her. The orange tom got up as well and made his way over to the stable.
The next day saw the last preparations. Baby clothing and other utensils were arranged in the most accessible way, the midwives talked to the nervous battleship and battlecruiser.
It was something new for them as well, after all. Usually, they could give a rough date, but that was that, a rough estimation. It didn't have to come true, babies usually came on their own schedule.
With shipgirl babies there were differences. Partially the need to include mechanics and engineers because neither the midwives nor the ObGyn could make heads or tails of the progress reports delivered by the engineering fairies of the shipgirl mothers, nor could they make sense of ultrasound pictures that showed a construction dock. The biggest difference however was that the babies had a keel laying day and from that point onwards the launching day was calculated. And, as far as the engineering fairies said, the launching day was absolute.
Tirpitz saw the activities and the last-minute preparations and could only shake her head. Some of it seemed like make work to her, designed to dispel the worries of the mothers.
The battleship was grateful when the evening came. All she had heard about what babies were like suggested to her that the following days would see endless running by pretty much everyone in the house.
She followed Janus and Jervis outside as the two destroyers set out the food for the cat colony. There were roughly twenty cats, excluding the nine kittens.
One of the kittens came over to her, looking her over and obviously more interested in the strange big cat than in food.
Tirpitz crouched down and held out her hand for the kitten to sniff. "Curious little one, aren't you?" she asked slowly.
The kitten sniffed her hand for a bit before turning away and joining its siblings.
Janus pouted a bit when seeing it. "Unlucky," she said slowly.
Tirpitz shrugged. "It's fine," she reassured the destroyer. "Not every cat will like you, after all," she continued.
Janus nodded. "Still, we're currently looking for homes for them," she explained. "Giving a cat a home is only right," she added.
Tirpitz smirked. "Don't they have a home here. They have the stable, they have other cats, they get fed and thanks to the perimeter guards, they're also safe from predators," she laid out. "Doesn't that sound like a home?" she wanted to know.
Jervis nodded. "Sure, but we want each of them to have their own, dedicated caretaker. They need their personal personnel," she said with a smirk.
Tirpitz laughed. "Heh, keep it up and you might find people for them," she said before getting up. "Anyway, I have to look after the little ones," she excused herself.
The next morning the anticipation was palpable. They had the date, now it was waiting.
Tirpitz watched as her little ones helped put out food for the cats. Everyone was on edge. The representatives had retreated into the library, while they would have their parts to play, currently, they were not needed.
Prince of Wales was making a good attempt to pace a hole into the entrance hall rug, Prinz was in the kitchen and cooking and most others were killing time in their own ways. Like her littles ones playing with the cats.
Aboard Hood's bridge, a message came up from engineering. The bosun turned to the captain and saluted. "Sir, it's time," he reported stiffly.
The captain nodded. "So it would seem," he agreed. "You may tell the men that it is now time to panic and to run around like headless chicken," he ordered.
The bosun saluted. "Yes, sir, I shall see to it," he agreed.
"See that you do," the captain dismissed him. "We'll have an orderly panic attack, we're not Bedlam after all," he finished. Then he turned to an ensign. "Go to the radio room and alert Bismarck of our condition," he ordered.
The ensign saluted and ran off.
The captain smiled before taking off his cap. "Men, it is time to panic!" he told the bridge crew, before starting to pace like a caged tiger.
Bismarck, who was currently reading manuals again, perked up. The message from Hood had arrived and she had to make her way to her wife.
On Bismarck's bridge, the status was controlled chaos. "Captain, we need orders how to proceed," the bosun reported.
The captain turned to the bosun with a surprised look. "Orders?" he wanted to know.
"Yes, captain. We have nothing for this situation in our manuals," he gave back.
The captain boggled. "Well, then find those manuals and bring them to me, they have to be somewhere," he ordered.
"Yes, captain, we'll find them," the bosun declared.
Soon, the ship was a hive of activity as the manuals were searched for.
After a few minutes, someone found one in engineering and delivered it to the bridge.
The captain opened it and began reading. "Well, that doesn't seem to complicated," he mused. "It says here that we have to pace nervously, smoke lots of cigarettes, look at the clock ever so often and wait for further developments. Very well, bosun, tell the men what to do," the captain ordered, before another runner came up from engineering.
"New development, captain. Our ship has gone into labour as well," he reported.
The captain leafed through the manual frantically. "Nothing in here. We need the right manual for that situation, so go an find it!" he ordered before starting to pace. No one had told him how to do this, he hadn't signed up for this. But, in this situation all would be well, once the manual was there. Everything would turn out well as long as you had your manual, after all.
Outside, Tirpitz grimaced. She had gotten the broadcasts from both Hood and Bismarck. This meant that the launching had finally commenced. She shuddered some. The descriptions she had overheard had been ample evidence for her to decide that she would not subject herself to that.
Janus and Jervis were busy petting the old tom, who evidently really enjoyed it.
Inside, Hood and Bismarck were busy cursing their life choices. The midwives helped where they could, a sea of calm in the rather hectic environment.
Several hours later, Hood had exhaustively cursed whoever came up with the H-class designs.
"You're doing well, dear," the midwive reassured her. "I can see the head already," she added.
Hood gave a grunt of acknowledgement. She had to concentrate and really didn't want to lose the rhythm she had fallen into now.
Bismarck brought her radio to life. She would need her sister now. The launching of her first daughter was not far out, either and she wanted Tirpitz to be present.
Tirpitz heaved a sigh when she got the message. "Yo, Kanzlerchen has called me, you should be able to come in there with me," she told her little ones.
Reluctantly the destroyers stopped playing with the cats and made their way over to the flagship. Those furry balls of claws, teeth and murder were exactly after their black hearts. But they had come here to see the spawning of their flagship's nieces, so they would follow. The cats would still be there later on, after all.
Entering the entrance hall, Prince of Wales was still nervously pacing. "You're wearing down the carpet," Tirpitz commented idly.
Prince of Wales shot her a glare. "It's your sister in there as well," she gave back hotly.
Tirpitz nodded. "Pacing won't change anything," she countered.
Prince stopped. "Well, yes," she agreed. "It just feels natural," she admitted.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Maybe," she gave back. "Anyway, my sister called, have to see what she wants," she added.
Prince fell into the formation next the bigger battleship. "One thing does interest me. How did you manage to dodge becoming the flagship?" she wanted to know.
Tirpitz laughed. "That wasn't hard, really," she gave back. "I simply told Hartmann that I wouldn't do that and that was it," she laid out.
Prince boggled. "Just like that?" she asked.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Sure. You see, unlike most other nations, Germany doesn't have the big continuous ship for its navy. Even the first Gorch Fock is an interwar ship. You have Victory, the Americans have Constitution, the Japanese have Mikasa, Russia has Aurora. Germany's closest thing would be SM-U 1 and she's way too busy to momboat all her U-Boats. Especially now that magic is a factor. All those planned boats? Plus whatever the magical side may have built? We may be looking at well over five thousand boats," Tirpitz laid out.
Before they could enter the room where the two mothers were giving birth, a loud scream was heard.
Prince grinned. "Looks like the first one is out," she said excitedly, pushing the door open.
Prinz Eugen helped one of the present midwives bathe the newborn.
Tirpitz stood in the doorway, observing the ongoing chaos. While the first of it looked like Hood's daughters was getting wrapped in blankets, the first of Bismarck's daughters announced her presence with a scream.
Prinz came over, carrying the newborn and handing it to Prince. "Here, could you hold her until her twin is out? Hood is in no state right now," she asked.
Prince nodded and gently took the offered infant. Holding her close, she went to one of the armchairs next to the window and sat down gingerly.
A third scream announced that things were close to being over. Hood had fallen back into the cushions, spent. Her second daughter had been brought into the world and the difficult part was finally over.
Prinz carefully took the infant and washed her as well.
Next to Prince of Wales, Invincible sat and held Bismarck's first daughter. The latest addition to the battlecruiser family.
When the fourth scream finally sounded, Bismarck too could finally rest. Invincible and one of the midwives carefully placed the newborns in their mother's arms.
Hood had the same happen to her and Invincible took memorial photos.
"What are their names?" one of the midwives asked, holding the forms needed for newborns. They had gotten the measurements already, now they needed the names.
One of Hood's engineers climbed out and began talking.
The midwife looked to Prinz next to her. "What is he saying?" she wanted to know.
Prinz looked at the midwive in surprise, before slapping her forehead. "Right, no long-term exposure to shipgirls," she said. "Anyway, the firstborn is the battleship Götz von Berlichingen," she translated.
The midwife looked at the shipgirl, before sighing. "Could you write that?" she wanted to know.
Prinz smiled reassuringly at the Scottish midwife. "Of course," she agreed.
The midwife gratefully handed over the paperwork.
The fairy continued reporting. "And the second one is called Ulrich von Hutten," Prinz announced.
"What's the story behind these names?" the midwife wanted to know.
Prinz grinned. "Those were the names of knights that fought on the side of the peasant revolt in the direct wake of the reformation," she explained.
The midwife chuckled. "Well, that's some names," she said slowly.
Prinz nodded, while one of Bismarck's fairies came out to give a report. "So, the firstborn is called Indefatigable and her sister is called Indomitable," she translated while noting down the names. Pennant numbers would have to be assigned by the admirals at a later point.
In the meantime, the last act of giving birth had finished, the placentas were out. The midwives carefully collected the sheets and moved them into prepared hazmat sacks, as the blood on them also contained bunker oil.
The various godmothers held the babies as Tirpitz helped Hood and her sister into the wheelchairs that would move them to their room where they would rest for now.
Jervis and Janus carefully pushed Hood while Tirpitz pushed Bismarck through the hallway.
The godmothers carrying the infants followed behind, followed by the abyssal destroyers.
Tirpitz carefully moved the two mothers into the bed while the godmothers placed the babies into the big crib.
Suddenly, Janus pointed to the door. "Look who's here!" she said excitedly.
The old tom stood in the doorway and slowly made his way in. He made his way over to the crib and jumped up and in. Looking over the babies he carefully rubbed his head on each of them, declaring them his.
It seemed that this had been what the others had waited for, the queens with their own young came in as well.
Prinz hastily went and fetched a few baskets and blankets, which she then put down for the queens.
"Looks like the old tom brought the ship's cats over," Bismarck joked as Eugen came in himself and sat down, watching things.
The old tom went and laid down in one of the baskets while Eugen jumped on the bed and laid down for a cat nap.
And this was what would be the order of the day. Rest and recuperation. Tomorrow, enough things would happen. A press release to announce the births, the representatives of the German and British admirality officially recognizing their names and organizing the ceremony for their official naming.
The babies were sleeping soundly. It would be the last night of full sleep for a long time to come after all.
One by one, people filtered out of the room, until only Tirpitz and her destroyers remained.
"Was it worth it?" the battleship finally asked.
Bismarck looked over to where her daughters slept. "Yes," she simply gave back. "I am happy," she added.
Looking at her sister, she grinned. "Some would expect me to tease you how you will understand when you have children yourself," she said slowly. "But I can spare us both the indignity. We both know you don't want children on a fundamental level. I wanted children, you don't. And that's perfectly fine," she laid out.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Yeah, it's okay that you have your happiness," she said. Looking over to where the various cats and kittens were resting. "Seems like your girls will have their dedicated cats as well," she remarked.
Bismarck grinned. "Freyja does protect," she said while holding one of the charms of Freyja the vikings had given to her when they had learned of her pregancy.
Tirpitz grinned. "Well, I'll see what Prinz has cooked up, you want anything?" she wanted to know.
Bismarck and Hood shook their heads. "No, thanks," Bismarck finally said. "We're going to sleep, as that will be a precious and scarce commodity soon enough," she laid out.
Tirpitz shrugged. "Oh well, good night then," she said, before closing the blinds and switching off the lights.
Followed by her destroyers, she made her way to the dining room. Tomorrow would be hectic in its own way. Having a full belly would definitely help with coping with that.
x-x-x
Well, that's that. About 1 year late story-wise, but it was a fight to hammer this into form. Oh well, better late than never.
