"Kashino, huh? So you're the one that Shinano contacted?" Isaac asked as he removed his cap.
"Yes sir! I spent all night scrapping whatever drones were still afloat and brought them here for you. I hope you can find more work for me to do, I'm looking forward to sticking around... if you'd let me." Kashino said as she folded her hands over her very prominent chest.
"You'll have to remain back with Patty and the non combatants." Isaac said.
"That's alright. Although, I am capable of defensive fire. I have two 120mm AA guns that I can use for direct fire if required." Kashino said, seeming to try and sell herself to Isaac, as if he'd refuse her if she didn't make herself useful.
"That is very thoughtful, Kashino, but I don't think it would be wise to keep a support ship on the front lines." Isaac said as she walked closer.
"If those are your orders... please keep me in mind if you have tasks that you need done, Shikikan." Kashino said as she looked at the bulins who had surrounded her and were looking at her with soft eyes and warm smiles.
"They look as if they're looking at a big sister." Odin commented.
"You're not wrong... girls, if we're done ogling the newest member of our merry fleet, let's get those barges unloaded and begin working on the projects at hand." Isaac said as the bulins scattered to begin doing their assigned tasks.
"Projects, Shikikan?" Kashino asked.
"Building ships, repairing the vessels of those damaged in battle, and working out plans. I would say... help the ship builder bulins with their work, you seem up to the job." Isaac said as Kashino beamed brightly.
"I won't let you down!" Kashino said as Patty walked over with 110, 47, and 556.
"Who's this?" Patty asked as she looked at Kashino.
"I'm a munitions ship. Kashino, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kashino said as she bowed a bit, leaning too far forward and needing to be caught by Patty before she face planted.
"Wow..." Patty muttered as she helped Kashino regain her balance and put her back on her feet.
"I'm Platypus, Patty for short. I'm a submarine tender, and I look after these three for anything they need, take a load off the Commander." Patty said as Isaac smiled.
"And you're doing a fantastic job. I haven't seen those three smiling in a few days, so I'm glad you're having a positive impact." Isaac said.
Patty beamed brightly, causing a smile to cross Kashino's face.
"Looks like you two will be getting along quite nicely." Isaac said as he tipped his hat.
"Welcome to the fleet, Kashino. I am excited to have you join us on this noble crusade." Isaac said.
"I'm happy to be a part of it, Shikikan." Kashino said as she took the hands of the bulins that were waiting for her and began walking towards the barges to begin unloading them.
"Wasn't she sunk in 1942?" Isaac asked, remembering something his submariner buddy had said.
"She was, Shikikan." Shinano said softly.
"How is she here then?" Isaac asked.
"I can actually answer that, Herr Isaac." Otto said.
"Otto. Can you explain this please?" Isaac asked.
"There are cells forming as of late. Even though your crusade has only been on for 2 months, a lot of people have been empowered to fight or support where they can. My only idea as to how that ship is here, is someone found her cubes and brought her back to look for us. I would not be surprised if I saw more ships in the coming months that seemingly appear out of nowhere. You've managed to scrape together quite the covert support system." Otto said.
"My guess is the Queen found out and is using her influence to spread the word." Isaac wondered aloud.
"You're not too far off. That's precisely how this went down. That's why we came to you in New Guinea. This war has seen a lot of ears being kept to the ground, so when someone big sees something, the world quickly follows, Kommandant." Otto said.
"Well, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth any further than I already have." Isaac said as Norfolk came running over to him.
"Commander." Norfolk said as she stood before him.
"What is it, Norfolk" Isaac asked as he looked at the command ship with curiosity.
"I got a transmission, your ears only, from Intrepid." Norfolk said.
"Understood. I'll be right there." Isaac said as he turned to Shinano and Eagle.
"You two, take they day if you need it, manage repairs on your vessels. We're going to be here for a while, so I might try to put an ear to the ground and do some smaller jobs around the area." Isaac said.
"Like commissions?" Eagle asked.
"Commissions?" Isaac asked.
"Commander Forrest used to have us run tons of commissions out of Niue for the islands in the south pacific. Oil extraction, gear transport, defense missions. Anything you could think of, we did it." Eagle said.
"Yeah, then that sounds like what I want to try and do while we're here. Maybe travel up and down the coast of Australia to provide protection and to obtain resources. Maybe gather a following for an invasion force while we're at it." Isaac said as Eagle nodded.
"I can help Shinano put together some safer commission goals for you to look over if that helps." Eagle said.
"Like a secretary?" Isaac asked.
"I'm your wife... maybe if you're real good, I'll find a nice suit and we can play around with that for a night." Eagle said with a wink before walking away with Shinano.
"Quite active with your fleet, huh, Kommandant?" Otto asked.
"You managed to have a kid with Graf Zeppelin. So you have no room to talk." Isaac said.
"Commander, Intrepid is urging me to get you to hear her report." Norfolk said, disregarding the topic of his conversation.
"Alright. Come Otto, we can continue talking after I hear this report." Isaac said as the two of them followed Norfolk over to her vessel.
"Right in here, Commander." Norfolk said as she pointed to the radio room onboard the Norfolk.
"Morse code?" Isaac asked.
"I decided to let you translate it, after all, I stopped after I translated the 'for your eyes only' bit." Norfolk said.
"Alright. But next time, you have my permission to translate." Isaac said as he began quickly translating the long string of Morse code onto a separate piece of paper.
"Intrepid reporting. Good day Commander. I hope this report finds you well. I can only hope you have arrived in Australia. Your missing presence is surely different. Omaha seems to be taking it harder than most. We're still heading for Fiji. We just split away from Akagi's group a day ago. No Siren activity to report. Fleet relations are good. Surcouf and North Carolina have been on an on about fashion. Supposedly Helena has found it useful, because her sister, St. Louis, used to enjoy fashion. Permission is requested to set up a permanent relay for communications here to begin transmitting to the Bermuda base, and to you. Omaha has also been talking with Surcouf about something she demands I keep a secret. But between you and me, it's probably about you. I think Omaha misses you. May I suggest sending her a private message, letting her know that you haven't forgotten about her. Yukikaze has been a bit shy lately, especially since she is no longer tasked with watching Shinano, but I have been keeping her under my wing here, making sure she is doing well. She keeps talking about how she's gonna sink the enemy before we know that they're there. She argues with North Carolina and Surcouf a lot. The reason may be related to specific... hull design choices, more specifically, their 'torpedo protection'. She keeps saying it's not necessary to be efficient in battle. It makes me chuckle a bit. I'm doing better as well, Commander. Putting me at the head of my own fleet has brought up my self esteem and has made me a much better person in my opinion. Nothing else to report. Stay safe, Commander. We hope o hear from you soon. End Transmission.
"What was it, Commander?" Norfolk asked.
"Intrepid was giving us a status update on what's been happening with her fleet. I need you to send a return message." Isaac said.
"Alright. One second." Norfolk said as she sat at the desk next to him.
"Go ahead."
"Your message has been received and reviewed. We have arrived safely in Australia, but the battle we waged took it's toll. Head Bulin has been lost. I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. Your request for a relay station is approved unconditionally. Consider it an order to get it done. I wish you all well, and I will see you all in the near future. End Transmission."
"It's sent, Commander." Norfolk said.
"Excellent. I will pen a letter to Omaha personally. But for now, let's focus on what we need to do here." Isaac said as he stood from the desk, opening his journal and placing the transcribed letter from Intrepid inside before closing it and putting it back in his jacket.
"Isaac." Vengeance's voice was heard outside the radio room.
"Vengeance, good morning." Isaac said as he and Otto walked out to see Vengeance.
"What can I do for you?" Isaac asked.
"I have a request." Vengeance said.
"I'll hear it." Isaac said.
"Remove the gym and rec areas onboard my proposed hull and put in a command center like the one here." Vengeance said.
"Can I ask why?" Isaac asked as Norfolk came out, ready to defend her position.
"This last battle almost saw us destroyed due to the situation pertaining to your position in the fleet. Norfolk is a great command ship, but she can't be up front with the bigger guns. Her hull and shields are not enough to sustain that level of damage. But my hull, and my capabilities and processing power will be more than enough to be up front, allowing for rapid deployment of aircraft and effective heavy shell coverage. And, with a command Center on board, you could be on the front line while allowing Norfolk to coordinate AA defense around the carriers and supporting fleet. And should you need to fall back, she would be in the ideal position to keep you safe behind the heavy shields." Vengeance said.
"You make an excellent point. I can't put Norfolk up front, and I need the ability to command from multiple ships. This last battle proved that." Isaac said.
"Commander..." Norfolk said in a hurt tone.
"What? It's the truth. We almost fell apart during the last battle. I can't dispute that fact." Isaac said.
"But I was purpose built for you for this purpose..." Norfolk said.
"You're right, and you will still have that purpose. But you don't need to be so worried about being up front anymore. With Vengeance splitting the role, she can become a forward command center, while you remain protected by the fleet." Isaac said.
"But..." Norfolk said before being stopped by Isaac.
"This isn't a decision being made because of your actions. I already know that I'm to blame for what happened back there. This just makes logical sense. It keeps you safe, gives Vengeance the ability to do the damage she deserves, and allows me to have a place to command from the front if it's needed." Isaac said as he knelt down next to Norfolk. He drew her into a hug before whispering in her ear.
"I'm not going to remove my quarters from this ship. Your vessel is still my home. Vengeance will not have quarters onboard. So don't think I'm leaving you alone." Isaac whispered as he hugged her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.
Norfolk blushed heavily as Isaac let her go.
"I...uh... thank you, Commander... I need to... check on Nimi. She had a nightmare last night so I want to make sure she's doing okay." Norfolk lied as she ran off down the halls towards the crew quarters.
"What was that about, Isaac?" Vengeance asked.
"She was scared that you were replacing her. But you and I already agreed that your vessel will be combat forward. You don't need a place for me to stay long term." Isaac said.
"Exactly. And since I don't sleep, I don't need quarters of my own. Honestly... you should just add her to your harem too." Vengeance said, her voice maintaining its neutrality.
"I don't force it on any of them. I only accept if they come to me." Isaac said with a sigh.