"Friedrich, please assist me in getting to the Norfolk." Isaac said as he looked at Friedrich and Australia.
"Actually. dear husband. Why don't we introduce this young child to Norfolk and get her integrated into the fleet?" Friedrich suggested.
"Hmm. that might be a better idea actually. Leaving her undefended as we approach the battlefield would not be a very good move." Isaac said as Australia looked at him.
"Australia, are you able to produce rigging?" Isaac asked.
"Yes sir. She's a bit outdated as far as rigging goes, but I believe it can do the trick." Australia said as she focused for a few seconds. from her back sprouted an older looking smokestack. Four large dual turrets came into existence along with the small wooden bridge sitting neatly on top of one of the turrets.
"Hmm. It'll be a bit of a balancing act, but it'll do. We're heading to the cruiser in the front of the fleet. I can direct you if you would like." Isaac said as Australia helped him climb onto one of the turrets.
"We'll be off then." Australia said as she jumped from her deck and onto the ocean's surface.
"So which way are we heading, Commander?" Australia asked as she held herself up against the hull of her vessel.
"Due west towards the carriers." Isaac said as she nodded and headed off. She stumbled a bit but Isaac gave her the benefit of just waking up from 21 years of being stuck at the bottom of the ocean.
"Alrighty then, tally ho." Australia said as she moved towards the center of the fleet on Isaac's command.
"Richthofen? That might not be the best idea." Eagle's voice came over Richthofen's radio as they approached the enemy fleet.
"Maybe not, but it allows me far better control over my air groups, and it is a lot more fun than just standing on a flight deck." Richthofen said
"Fun is not something one should consider when fighting a war!" Eagle cried.
"Too bad. It's way too fun not to be flying." Richthofen said as she opened the canopy of her BF-109.
"Do you two see what I see?" Richthofen asked as she looked to the waves below.
"The enemy fleet is directly below us?" Eagle asked.
"Ja. So let's get the party started!" Richthofen said with a wicked smile on her face.
"I can almost hear the bad idea coming." Eagle said in a strained tone.
"I don't do bad ideas, Frau Eagle. Just do what you'll do, and I'll do what I do." Richthofen said as she stood up in the cockpit, allowing the wind to rush past her face. The wicked smile grew further as the Jericho sirens on her Ju-87's began to blare, signaling the beginning of their dive into the head battleships of the enemy formation.
"Lady Richthofen... what are you doing?" Shinano's soft voice came over the radio.
"Engaging the enemy." Richthofen said as she used her foot to push her own flight stick forward, throwing her fighter into a dive, following her dive bombers in towards the clear area over the enemy formation.
"They aren't firing at her?" Eagle wondered back on her carrier, watching through the eyes of one of her Albacore torpedo bombers.
It was only when Eagle watched the first bomb impact the shields of the enemy battleship drones that she realized why.
"Richthofen, pull up! Those shields aren't the normal shields that we're used to! They're thicker and have a lot more protective capability. Something isn't right!" Eagle cried.
"Tch." Richthofen scowled and sat herself back down and pulled steeply out of her dive, watching in anger as her dive bombers were unable to pull up in time to avoid smashing, payload and all, into the shields of the leading battleships.
"I am reporting zero damage to the enemy shields." Richthofen said angrily, furious at being forced to take a step back and rethink.
"I need to report this to the commander, we may need heavy bombardment." Eagle said as Richthofen turned her plane around to head back towards her fleet.
"Is this it? The black sleek looking one?" Australia asked.
"That would be the one." Isaac said as she nodded, jumping from the ocean's surface onto the deck of the Norfolk.
"Commander!" Norfolk yelled from the bridge as soon as Australia landed on deck.
"Uh oh. That can't be good." Isaac said as he jumped off of Australia's rigging and ran towards the bridge, leaving Australia to look around the vessel in wonder.
"Bad news." Norfolk said as Isaac stepped onto the bridge, confronted immediately with recorded footage of the failed first strike.
"What the hell? What happened?" Isaac asked, rewinding and watching the footage several times to take it all in.
"The carriers are reporting that the shields on these battleship class drones are much thicker than the ones we have faced before. Eagle noticed that none of the ships fired on Richthofen as she initiated her dive. That when she said she realized that something was wrong." Norfolk said.
"Was there any damage done from the planes that did hit?" Isaac asked.
"If there was, it wasn't enough to notice. Also, the Hood was noticeably moved into the middle of the formation between New Guinea and here." Norfolk said, causing a look of concern to cross Isaac's face.
"Shit. What's their range?" Isaac asked.
"They've stopped moving, more than likely to contribute more than the normal amount of energy to their shields." Norfolk said.
"Is Vengeance here?" Isaac asked.
"I am, commander. I am below deck in the workshop." Vengeance said over the intercom.
"Is there anything we can do?" Isaac asked.
"I don't know. If those ships are being ordered to maintain formation and stand firm, they won't budge an inch. And since we seemingly lost the only piece of tech that you had to rip control away from those who command the drones, we can't force anything here." Vengeance said.
"So we've been stonewalled?" Isaac asked.
"So it appears." Norfolk said as Isaac watched the returning aircraft land on the carriers.
"We need to break those shields somehow. And I can't send U-556 in until we begin dealing damage. If they pick her up, she'll be torn to shreds by those guns." Isaac said as he sat at the steel table.
"Commander, there's more bad news." Norfolk said as she pulled up another feet of one of the Stukas sent to bomb the ships.
"They're moving?" Isaac asked.
"As soon as our aircraft left the area, they began moving." Norfolk said as Isaac thought about it.
"It's the Hood. It has to be." Isaac said.
"What is?" Norfolk asked.
"They're using her surface radar to detect our aircraft before they can get in range. Once she picks it up, they halt formation to pour energy into their shields." Isaac said.
"So we have to sink the Hood regardless?" Norfolk asked.
"No! I will not resort to that unless it is the only option we have left." Isaac snapped.
"Do we know the range of her surface radar?" Isaac asked.
"Considering that the fleet is still moving, not enough to reach the fleet if she is focused on air attacks." Norfolk said.
"Can we get above her radar?" Isaac asked.
"Her radar limit sits right around the average flight altitude of even our most advanced aircraft. Albacores are out of the question. And most planes can't climb fast enough to get to the right altitude before crossing into the radar path." Norfolk said, laying out the info on all the aircraft in their air wing.
"I wonder, get me Nimitz and MacArthur." Isaac said.
"Admiral?" Nimitz's voice came over the radio.
"Commander?" MacArthur said in a slightly agitated tone.
"Do either of you know if we have a union air wing based in Australia?" Isaac asked.
"What are you thinking?" Nimitz asked.
"The shields are too much for our smaller bombs to pierce, and the Albacores are too outdated to deal with delivering our heavy ordinance. I need bombers." Isaac said.
"We have a bunch of older B-17's laying in reserve at the airfields around Brisbane." MacArthur said after a long pause.
"Can we radio for their support?" Isaac asked.
"They are currently under the command of the Australian military. If they aren't taking this threat seriously, we won't be able to use them." MacArthur said.
"Shit... And we can't force their hand in any way?" Isaac asked.
"If they don't see the fleet incoming, they more than likely won't bring any of their forces to bear." Nimitz said.
"I have a suggestion, but nobody will like it." Vengeance said as she stepped onto the bridge carrying a blueprint.
"I'll hear it." Isaac said.
"Send one of our Siren aircraft to attack their facilities further inland." Vengeance said.
"What?!" Isaac asked. Similar reactions were garnered from MacArthur and Nimitz as well.
"It makes perfect logical sense, Commander. With humans knowing so little about the Sirens or their tech, it would be easy to say that one of these battleship class drones could launch an aircraft." Norfolk said.
"That is insane, even by our logic." Isaac said.
"We'd be attacking our own allies!" MacArthur yelled.
"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." Vengeance said.
"That's... not what that saying is meant for, Vengeance." Isaac said.
"Well, either way, I finished constructing one for the carriers to study." Vengeance said.
"What are the odds of use getting them to react?" Isaac asked.
"YOU'RE GOING ALONG WITH IT?!" Nimitz asked.
"No. I want Vengeance to open a communication channel to the military forces of Australia. "Isaac said as Australia stepped onto the bridge.
"I can help with that, I still have the proper frequency and I'm sure hearing the voice of a dead ship will be enough to russel em up a bit." Australia said softly.
"Australia... if you believe it will work, then we are going to bet on it." Isaac said as he radioed Richthofen.
"Richthofen, get more planes in the air. We need time, so we need to freeze their fleet." Isaac said.
"Ah. Heavier ordinance, Kommandant?" Richthofen asked.
"2.5k pound bombs should be enough to break those shields once you withdraw. I just need time, and can you pinpoint Hood in the formation?" Isaac asked.
"It shall be done. Glory to the Kommandant." Richthofen said as she cut the line.
"Australia, patch Vengeance through." Isaac said as Australia looked at him.
"Vengeance?" Australia asked.
"Smasher class Siren Elite. I am the one known as Vengeance. Isaac saved my life after I was betrayed by my own kind. So now, I serve him for the promise of revenge." Vengeance said.
"Ah. So getting an actual siren to announce their attack would force the armed forces to wake up." Australia said as she scratched her chin.
"In that case, I'll put you on the general channel so the intelligence boys can pick you up, give it the extra sense of realism." Australia said as she changed the frequency of the receiver. She gave the thumbs up to Vengeance, keeping the bridge quiet.
"Alright. Navigator... I want you to move towards the port we saw to the North. All the ports on this side of the continent seem to be undefended. Take the carriers with you. I have the battleships and are preparing to engage Apollyon outside of Brisbane." Vengeance said as Australia cut the line to the general channel.
Isaac nodded, changing the frequency back to the fleet.
"Richthofen, launch those aircraft, the line has been cast, so we need the time to see if they'll bite." Isaac said as he watched several squadrons of BF-109 fighters leave the deck of the Richthofen, led by the woman herself in the lead element.
"Come on, boys. Don't tell me you weren't listening to that." Isaac said as the fleet slowed their speed to a crawl, trying to buy time for the plan to fall into place.
"Kommandant, enemy fleet is 39 miles out. We are almost in gun range. "Richthofen reported as Isaac addressed the fleet.
"All hands, general quarters. We are nearly within range of the enemy fleet. Be ready for anything." Isaac said as he looked out into the uncertain sea.