Chapter 24

Late night raid

July 15th, five days have passed since The Battle of Britain began… since that time, things here have gotten pretty bad. Each day it's a struggle for the RAF and the Assassins. Every battle we enter, both sides deal heavy losses, but in the end it's always us that walks away almost half dead. Every time I see my brothers and sisters go to war, the anticipation of wanting to join in the fight is enough to make my hands start shaking from the adrenaline… however, the adrenaline is quick to die whenever I catch a glimpse of Bertram, racking up kill after kill, with no one able to oppose him.

Even the Assassin's most highly trained aces, with scores of kills to their names… didn't have a chance to take him down… all with the exception of a few, who managed to use their teamwork in order to deal a little bit of damage to that Templar diabła (Templar devil) and managing to force him to fall back.

I knew right then and there that Bertram, even with his skills at flying, was no match when it came to fighting against overwhelming odds… the problem is, that's possibly the only thing that can beat him. And if everyone's too busy trying to take down one pilot, the rest of the attack force could deal major damage to Britain. And that was something that the Assassins couldn't afford to do, and the same went for the RAF.

July 25th, the Nazis have stepped up their bombing, no doubt trying to weaken the RAF so they can't fight back and also so we can't build more fighters to replace the ones we've lost. The Nazis have also been attacking civilians in order to add a little bit more pressure to us. I should point out that it has been primarily the Templars though, who's been taking care of these "Terror Bombings" as they have no regrets about killing off innocents unlike the Assassins.

…Guess it goes to show you how far mad men will go in order to achieve their goal of total world domination huh? Templar, dictator, it doesn't matter… men like them are yet another reason why I became an Assassin, why I chose to get involved in this hellish war. Mad men like Adolf and Elldrich need to be removed from this world… it's the only way for humanity to regain peace and freedom.

…I'm sorry, I was rambling again, I don't mean to ramble. Let me just… let me just get right back on track.

July 27th, Oberon informed me that The Hearth was making port to Germany tonight. Good thing too, the past few weeks have been rather dull, with the exception of hunting down and eliminating possible Templar ground teams that have been sent by Bertram. Actually, hunting down those ground teams was pretty exciting to say the least, especially seeing the reaction on those bastards faces when they saw Oberon fighting by my side.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I got ready to go.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Are you alright? Fighting against your own kind… I… I can't imagine…" I started to say as I put on my boots.

Oberon chuckled.

"Not at all… to be quite honest, there have been a couple of times where I just wanted to punch my own comrades in the face for all of the heinous acts they've committed," he said as he threw on his coat.

"Really?" I asked.

Oberon nodded.

After the two of us got ready, Oberon and I went over the plan again.

"Alright, now from what I understand, The Hearth is scheduled to make port in Cuxhaven, where it'll receive the next batch of supplies in order to build more aircraft while on its next maiden voyage," said Oberon.

"And does it plan on heading to another place to drop off its completed products?" I asked.

"Unlikely, The Hearth consumes quite a bit of fuel when going from one place to another, and whenever it makes port in Germany it takes quite a bit for the refueling," said Oberon.

He wasn't wrong, I mean, who knows how big that thing is… I still can't get over how they managed to convert a carrier into an aircraft factory.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"I suggest that we go in quietly if at all possible, with The Hearth at the docks there's going to be some pretty tight security," said Oberon.

"Got it," I said as I slid my Colts into their respective holsters, "…is that ship really valuable?"

"Yeah why?" asked Oberon.

As I slung my Springfield over my shoulder, I turned and gave Oberon a grin. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, then he gasped.

"Oh-no…" he said.

I nodded as he understood where I was going: I planned to blow up the ship. I didn't want to bring a few packs of C4 though, no, I planned on using a grenade to blow it up.

"Ariela, you're insane, there's no way you could destroy that ship, you'd need at least a hundred packs of C4 to sink it!" exclaimed Oberon.

"I don't plan on using C4," I said, "they converted the carrier into a factory. It was a smart move, however, I'm sure that carrier has a lot more flaws than it did before. Am I right?"

"Um…" said Oberon.

"All I have to do is find one or two flaws in the ships design, once that's done, I'll use a grenade. If I'm right, the chain reaction should be more than enough to sink that oversized whale," I said.

Oberon paused… then he spoke.

"You're determined to do this no matter what I say aren't you?" he asked.

I smiled and giggled.

"Oberon, ever since I participated in this conflict, you can say that this war has turned me into a bit of a… no nonsense kind of girl," I said with a wink.

Oberon blushed. I pulled up my hood.

"Come on, wilden Mann, lassen Sie uns einige Mühe gehen verursachen (wild man, let's go cause some trouble)," I said as I gave him a slap on his ass.

Oberon let out a surprised yelp and turned as I headed towards the door before following me out. The two of us made our way to a car, where we got in and made our way to the docks, it was quiet in Ipswich… eerily quiet, like something bad was waiting to happen and we didn't know it. It's not a surprise though, what with the bombings, people have been really uneasy, especially during the evening rather than during the day since that's when everyone has their guard down.

Sneaky bastards, I won't call them cowards for using a smart tactic, but still attacking at night…

"We're here," I said.

I parked the car at the docks, Oberon and I got out and made our way to the boat, where someone was said to be waiting for us. Who it was though…

"KATRINA!?" I exclaimed.

"Evening love," she said with a wink.

"Oh great… her again," groaned Oberon.

"Oh relax, I'm not here to cause a ruckus," she said, "I'm just here to take you guys to your destination."

"Then let's get going, the quicker we get this done, the quicker we can bring the materials back to Ariela's plane and upgrade it before the next fight," said Oberon.

"Vereinbart (Agreed), let's get going," I said.

"Then we're off," said Katrina.

Katrina fired up the boat and sped off, while Oberon and I waited below deck until we arrived.

"Nice blade," said Oberon.

I looked over at him as I leaned next to the window.

"Hmm?" I asked.

Oberon pointed at my wrist.

"I've only seen Assassins wear something that and not Templars," he said, "quite a unique killing tool."

I looked down at my hidden blade.

"Assassins use it to make silent kills," I said, "with enough skill and practice, sometimes an Assassin can use a hidden blade in combat."

Oberon smiled.

"Me? I like to use my trusty sabre and dagger," I said, "one weapon for offense and one for defense when my enemies get in close."

"Impressive," he said.

"How about you? Do you have any particular skill with dual-wielding?" I asked.

Oberon shook his head.

"Templar commandos are only trained in basic forms of combat, we're not like official Knights who are trained to tangle with the likes of Assassins," he said.

I smiled and walked over to him.

"Well… maybe if you keep behaving yourself… perhaps I might be able to convince the grandmaster in Britain to train you in our ways," I said as I got close to him, "maybe… see teach you how to defend yourself a lot easier from me."

Oberon blushed as he looked at me.

"Ariela… I have a wife and kids," he said.

I giggled.

"Oh come on Oberon, you can't tell me you've never done a little bit of harmless flirting with a girl in uniform?" I asked.

Oberon turned redder.

"Well… I uh…" he started to say.

"Besides… I don't normally say this but… for a German… your kind of ein T (a cutie)," I said.

To my surprise, I found myself blushing as I said that. I felt Oberon slip his hand in my hood and pull it off, letting all of my hair fall loose. I looked up at him, staring into his light blue eyes. I wasn't lying either, he might've been young; but he really was cute, and that says something because a lot of the guys I've encountered during this war have either been in their late twenties or early thirties, sometime forties or fifties. Oberon looked like he was in his early to mid-twenties.

"Ariela…" he started to say.

"Oberon…" I whispered.

I felt the tension between us get thicker, I felt my hands wrap around his neck as I pulled myself up and prepared to plant a kiss…

"Hey guys, just wanted to come down and-BLOOD OF THE QUEEN!" exclaimed Katrina.

Oberon and I whirled around towards the entrance leading to the upper deck, seeing Katrina down here with us. Now um… Jake, Gabriel, guys… I'm sure if you were here right now and you saw me in this position, I'm sure you'd be thinking that Oberon and I were about to get it on right about now.

"Uh…" said Oberon.

"Katrina… I can expla-"

"I don't want to know," she said as she walked back upstairs.

Oberon and I watched her leave, we looked at each other, I pulled away and scratched the back of my head.

"Um… wow… hehe…" I said with embarrassment.

"This is… This is awkward," said Oberon.

Oberon and I stood where we were in silence, not sure where to take this now.

"Um… I think it's safe to um… Go above deck?" I asked.

"S-Sure," said Oberon.

More time passed as Katrina took us from Britain over to Germany, during that time, I took the opportunity to take a nap before we arrived, seeing's how I got finished double-checking everything… now… I'm sure you're wondering why I say all of this…

"Well bake me in an oven and call me a crumpet," said a voice.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Katrina standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

"Nng… Huh? What?" I asked, "are we there yet Katrina?"

Katrina didn't say anything, she just smiled and put a hand to her mouth as she let out a giggle. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, wondering what she found so humorous. When I tried to sit up, I felt something… hard. I slowly looked down and my cheeks flushed red fast. Oberon… was in my bed.

"Nng…" he moaned.

"Oberon!" I snapped.

I slammed my fist on his stomach, causing his eyes to bolt open and let out a pained grunt.

"Was zum Teufel machst du in meinem Bett (What the hell are you doing in my bed)!?" I snapped.

"Warum hast du mich in den Bauch Punch (Why'd you punch me in the stomach)!?" he demanded.

"Versuchen Sie nicht, das Thema zu wechseln! Warum waren in meinem Bett Perv du (Don't try to change the subject! Why were in my bed you perv)!?" I demanded.

"Oh es tut mir leid (Oh I'm sorry)!" exclaimed Oberon, "Ich habe gerade gesehen, dass Sie ein bisschen wie ein schlechter Traum hatten, so dachte ich, ich mit Ihnen Koje würde (I just saw that you were having a bit of a bad dream so I thought I'd bunk with you)!"

"Um… hey, Mr. and Mrs. Liora, would you mind keeping it down?" asked Katerina, "we're kind of here at the docks."

Oberon and I stopped our bickering and turned red in the cheeks. Did she really just call us "Mr. and Mrs. Liora"? R-Really? Really Katerina? Why'd you have to take it there? Why? Why, just why?

"W-We'll continue this later," I said.

"F-Fine," said Oberon.

Oberon climbed out of my bed and followed Katerina out, while I climbed out of bed and went over to my robes, which were laying on the bed above me. I pulled them off and slipped it on, along with the rest of my equipment.

"Jayzus, that was something I never expected to wake up to," I thought as I left the bedroom, "I really hope that he only just bunked with me…"

Just then, something made me stop and look down.

"Then again… I… I wouldn't mind if he actually did more than just bunk with me," I thought as I blushed and giggled.

Just then, I stopped and shook my head furiously.

"No! No! No! Ariela, you know better than that!" I thought, "you know there's no room for… play time."

I pulled my hood over my head and let out a sigh.

"Later… Maybe later," I thought as I made my way above deck.

The first thing that hit me when I headed upstairs, was the cool night air and the salty scent of the sea. A slight breeze came through, causing a few strands of my hair to blow right in my face, which I pushed out of the way. Oberon was at the entrance of the boat, obviously waiting on me to come on up after I got finished getting ready.

"You ready?" he asked as he pulled up his coat collar.

I nodded.

"Lasst es uns treffen (Let's hit it)," I said.

And with that, Oberon and I stepped onto the docks, making our way inside of enemy lines. Seeing's how I didn't know what to expect on this mission, I chose to let Oberon play the role of the leader, a position he was quick to accept… huh… guess he expected me to dot that I guess. Anyway, the two of us quickly hid by a few large stack of wooden crates, which I could only assume was supplies for The Hearth or perhaps its plethora of escorts. And speaking of which…

"Hey… where's the carrier?" I asked.

Oberon prepared to answer when I turned to the sound of Katerina firing up the boat and taking off. I let out a gasp in shock.

"That scummy red-haired-"

But my thoughts were soon interrupted as I picked up something out in the distance. I couldn't make it out, so I activated my Eagle Vision so I could see better, there… out in the open water, giving off a shiny golden glow… was a big-ass carrier surrounded by three battleships and three destroyers.

"It's The Hearth," said Oberon.

"Heilige, was die Scheiße, riesig, dass Ding (Holy what the shit, that thing's huge)!" I exclaimed.

"I told you so," Oberon said with a smile.

"Oh-no, don't you start getting a-"

I stopped short, turning around and seeing a whole lot of red coming our way.

"Someone's coming," I said.

Oberon turned and saw the lights.

"Crap! We've got to hide!" he exclaimed.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked.

Oberon looked around fast and saw something that caught his eye.

"Over there!" he exclaimed as he took off.

I followed him over to a nearby harbor shop that was closed up for the night, I didn't want to bust in and make it look like there was an intruder; but I couldn't exactly jump inside through the window. So instead I laid a few knocks on the door knob to break it and motioned for Oberon to follow me inside, where we laid low. I wasn't sure for how long we were hiding out, because I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard heavy footsteps walk past our position.

I put two fingers to my lips, telling Oberon to be quiet.

"Don't you think I know that?" he mouthed to me.

I puffed my cheeks up in annoyance for his snide comment, but I looked up and peeked outside when I started to hear people talking.

"Abend Herren (Evening gentlemen)."

"Lt. Colonel. Good evening."

I turned and saw Oberon had a mean look on his face. I guess he knew this man

"I trust the shipment was delivered."

"Yes sir, the fresh batch of planes were completed and delivered on schedule."

"We were paid handsomely as well."

"Excellent. I'll be sure to deliver this to the Grandmaster when I get the chance."

"Of course sir."

"And what news from our ground team in Great Britain? Have they managed to grab the piece of the tracer?"

"N-No sir… We can only assume that they've been eliminated."

There was silence… then-

"AGAIN!? That's the fifth time this month!"

"S-Sir please understand, the Assassins must have some people on the ground, interceptors possibly-"

There was a loud smack from outside. Someone must've gotten slapped.

"You idiot, the Assassins wouldn't risk sending in commandos to intercept a ground team, not without running the risk of them getting gunned down by Bertram's forces. They must've sent one of their own. A full-fledged Assassin."

"But sir, who could it possibly be? With the Assassins providing support for the RAF-"

"I don't think it's one of their own… I think they got support from another den."

I swallowed.

"Fuck me," I thought.

"Sir, I'm sure this is just a mild annoyance, all we need to do is send in multiple strike teams and have them break off-"

A noise was heard. Somebody must've gotten slapped.

"If sending in multiple teams and have them go to Cambridge in convoy formation, what makes you think breaking them off into separate will help!?"

"W-Well sir, I-I just thought-"

"The Assassins will gun them down you idiot! They'll gun them down!"

I heard the Templar let out a muttered groan.

"You pathetic excuse of a uniform, I want this situation dealt with soon do you understand? I refuse to be blamed by Bertram for your incompetence!"

"Y-Yes sir."

"Good! Now, you all, help me bring this cargo onto the carrier."

I heard the footsteps approach my position and slowly fade as the Lt. Colonel walked right past Oberon and I. I turned over at my friend, who was also looking at me.

"What's the plan?" I asked.

"Well, we've got a high ranking Templar here, which means he's probably also got probably brought some of his soldiers here for added protection while they load the cargo," Oberon said as he stood up and looked outside.

"So we still sneak in?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Ohyda (Shocker)," I said, "how do we do this?"

"Got a couple of knives on you?" he asked.

Oberon turned as he saw a smile stretch across my face.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said.

"How many?" I asked.

"About two or three at the entrance," he said.

Oberon turned and motioned for me to move back inside as he saw the Templar Lt. Colonel and some of the other commandos make their way to the carrier. Oberon motioned for me to hold my position.

"Wait for it…" he said, "wait for it…"

I got my knives out.

"Now," he said.

I jumped out and threw the first knife, striking the first commando in the throat. His friends jumped back in shock, seeing a knife just appear right in front of his neck.

"W-What the fu-"

The second commando was struck in the back of the head, causing him to fall forward. As for the last commando, I spun and threw the last knife at his chest, surprisingly the impact was enough to send him flying back a few inches before dropping to the ground with a solid thud.

"Gotcha," I said with a smirk.

When I looked at Oberon, he gave me a look and crossed his arms.

"Must you be so extravagant with that last throw?" he asked.

I giggled.

"Don't be jealous," I said.

Oberon rolled his eyes and took off for the carrier, I followed him. Before we headed aboard, we took the liberty of disposing of the commandos I killed by tossing them in the water.

"Don't want Gaufrid to get suspicious," he said.

I raised an eyebrow and opened my mouth when Oberon motioned for me to hide. The Templar was coming!

"W-Wait! Where are we going to hide?" I asked.

Oberon didn't say anything, instead he just jumped over the edge of the dock we were on and grabbed onto the ledge. I followed suite without even hesitating, and just in time as that Templar and his men came out. Up above me, I heard voices again.

"What the hell? Where are they?"

"Looks like they went off somewhere."

"I know that idiot."

I closed my mouth as a giggle started to come up.

"Ugh, forget it, you stay here. And keep watch."

"Yes sir."

I heard the footsteps move away from as the Lt. Colonel and the rest of the Templars made their way back to their vehicles to gather more supplies. I looked up and saw the man standing guard, I slowly got back up onto the dock and rose to my feet, my right hidden blade ejecting with a flick of my wrist.

"Stupid, hot-headed fu-"

With lightning fast reaction time, I sprang forward, covered his mouth with my left hand and drove my blade into his back.

"MPHHH! MPPHHH! MMMM-MMMM!" he yelled.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh… shh… shh… shh," I whispered as I pulled out my blade.

The man died in my arms as I set him down before rolling him into the water with a subtle splash. Oberon soon climbed up and dusted himself off.

"A quiet kill," he said, "can I get one of those?"

I put my hand on his shoulder.

"No," I said, "Assassin's only."

Oberon grumbled and went up into the carrier. When I stepped onto this metal beast… I stopped dead.

"Heilige verdammte Bälle (Holy fucking balls)," I said.

"Told you they turned it into a factory," said Oberon.

"How did they manage to pull this shit off?" I asked.

"It wasn't easy actually, it took quite a while to get the schematics right so all of this weight wouldn't cause the carrier to sink to the bottom of the sea," said Oberon.

"I can tell," I thought.

I looked around the factory and saw the stack of crates for the factory, each of the crates were different shapes and sizes, others had warning labels and special markings, indicating what the contents were inside of each of those wooden boxes. Not wanting to stand around any longer than the next guy, Oberon and I made our way over to the crates so we could see what was inside.

"Hmm… let's see… I recognize this reinforced material… these components," he said as he opened some of the crates.

I went over to open one of the crates that had the warning labels. What I saw made me jump back in fear.

"Scheisse (Shit)!" I exclaimed.

"What is it?" asked Oberon.

I reached into the crate and pulled something out: A belt of bullets, commonly used by light and heavy machine guns. I took a close examination at one of the bullets, as I saw that there was something off about them. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first, until I felt something in my mind go off.

"Dear god… They didn't," I thought.

I turned towards Oberon and called him over.

"Do you know what these are?" I asked.

"If I had to guess I'd say these are standard .51 in MG 131 rounds," Oberon said as he approached me.

I tossed the belt to him, which he caught and almost had to keep it from slipping out of his hands.

"The hell? This belt seems a lot heavier than a standard bullet belt," he said.

"It is," I said, "those rounds aren't standard MG 131 rounds, those are customized rounds… .25 in, compacted just enough to punch through-"

"Opposing aircraft," interrupted a voice.