"Miss Parzival. This is urgent." The head bulin spoke as 556 climbed out of the hatch upon arriving at the Hood.
"What's wrong?" 556 asked.
"Purin has located a massive store of wisdom dust below deck in almost every available space. If that powder is agitated, it will go off and destroy everything." The head bulin said.
"Can we do anything about it?" 556 asked.
"We are currently debating whether to sink the vessel, or try to save it in lieu of our... losses." The Head bulin said.
"If we bring the vessel, the Kommandant might allow me to be with Lord Bismarck. Can we save it?" 556 asked.
"We'll have to cut a hole in the side to extract and otherwise dispose of the wisdom dust. I don't know how volatile this stuff is, but Purin says that if we so much as drop a barrel, this whole fleet, us and the Commander's fleet all go up." The head bulin said.
"We can't risk sinking the vessel. The flooding would be too unpredictable and would knock things around." 556 said.
"So we're left with extraction." The head bulin said.
"Let's dump it. If anything, we can use them as mines for the back end of this enemy fleet." 556 said as she kept an eye on the ships around her.
"Why did they stop firing?" The head bulin asked.
"I think they're linked to the Hood. Apollyon is known for getting up close and personal, so maybe this was the trap they set for him." 556 said.
"If it's a trap... where's the spring?" The head bulin asked.
"The dust can't go off without stimulation, right? What could set it off?" 556 asked.
"Impact. Fire. Explosions." The Purin said as she appeared on the top deck.
"A bomb... look for anything that resembles a bomb. Wires leading from the bridge that could connect to radar or sonar, we might be right in the middle of this." 556 said as the bulins all spread out and began looking.
Several seconds later, sparks were seen several feet in front of U-556 on the Hood's hull.
A bulin kicked out the armor and steel plates, exposing the inside of the ship to the world. The bulin leaned out and waved at 556, who gave a cautious wave back, keeping her eyes moving between all of the damaged and sinking battleship drones.
"We found something!" The bulin said.
"What did you find?" 556 asked.
"It looks like they might have thought that the Commander would bring this ship in right away, so it's slow. But there are wires coming from the radar and sonar devices that lead right to the boilers. This vessel is building heat and pressure down below and will go up any minute." The bulin said.
"We can't let this ship go up with this much powder on board. Start dumping it. Form a chain on my bow and get that powder in the water. The waves will drag it away from here." 556 said as she jumped aboard the Hood.
"Uh... Someone tell me why 556 just jumped on a ticking time bomb." Isaac said as Odin shrugged her shoulders.
"What are we going to do, Kommandant? We can't very well send anyone else in to help. If that goes up, its game over for everyone within it's blast radius." Odin said.
"We have to put our faith in 556. We already gave the order to retreat. Has she answered any of our hails?" Isaac asked.
"She has not, but I will continue trying to hail her." Odin said as Isaac looked to the skies.
"Delay that, execute evasive maneuvers. The bombers are leaving, so I believe we're about to be fired upon again." Isaac said as Odin gave a small nod.
"Understood, relaying the order now, Sir." Odin said as she ran back up the stairs to her bridge. Isaac witnessed the fleet spread out and begin moving unpredictably as his words soon became reality, watching shells splash down upon his fleet once more.
The Hood was rocked by the sudden commencement of fire from the enemy fleet, that, seemed to take no interest in 556.
"Why aren't they firing on us?" The head bulin asked as she helped 556 lower barrel after barrel into the waves.
"I don't know. Maybe we're too close to the Hood, and they're just focusing on ensuring that the Kommandant cant call for reinforcements." 556 said.
"But the Commander isn't here." The head bulin said as she and 556 ran back through the ship to grab more barrels, passing bulins as they went.
"We know that, but they don't. They just have orders. They aren't sentient beings. And since there isn't an Elite here to command them with some level of intelligence, they are assuming that we have the Kommandant on board, and are allowing him to fall into this trap." 556 said.
"That's quite the assumption, miss Parzival." The head bulin said, scratching her chin.
"It's the best I've got. Otherwise, we're all fucked when we get out of here." 556 said.
The head bulin nodded as the purin came running to them.
"We have a problem!" The Purin cried.
"What's wrong?" 556 asked.
"We've been trying to do what we can to fix the boilers, but there's no way to shut off the fuel flow. That being said... we found a gauge that measures the steam pressure and this vessel is approaching critical mass. We need to evacuate now or we will be caught in the blast." The Purin said.
"Alright. Everyone off the boat! Get back to U-556 and prepare to dive!" The head bulin yelled to the bulins as she began running through the ship to notify everyone.
556 nodded and ran towards the hole in the Hood's hull, jumping to the waves, being careful to avoid the barrels floating around them.
"556? 556? Come in." Odin's voice came in over 556's radio.
"Odin? What is it?" 556 asked.
"Finally, why haven't you been answering our hails?" Odin asked, slightly annoyed, her voice muffled by the sounds of shells impacting shields.
"I've been helping the bulins on the Hood. We're trying to disarm the trap here." 556 said.
"Any luck?" Odin asked.
"No. We can't stop the flow of fuel, and the pressure is at critical. I'm waiting for the bulins to load up and I will crash dive to attempt an escape." 556 said.
"Just hurry up, the fleet is in full retreat." Odin said as she cut the line, presumably to maneuver to avoid being hit.
556 went back onto the bow of her sub and counted the bulins.
"8...9... where's the head bulin?" 556 asked.
"She was right behind me when we left the boiler room." One of the bulins said.
"Did anyone see the head bulin?" 556 asked as the bulins shook their heads.
"Everyone in the sub and get ready, I'm going back to find her." 556 said as she jumped back to the Hood's deck and began running as fast as her legs would carry her.
"Something's wrong, Kommandant." Odin said as she returned to his side on the stern of her ship, watching as the enemy fleet became smaller and further away.
"What isn't wrong at this point?" Isaac said softly as he sat against the rear secondary turret, situated above the rear main turret.
"556 and the bulins have done everything that they could, but were unable to undo the modifications made to rig the Hood for detonation." Odin said.
"Give them the order to get out of there. I've already lost enough today. I don't need my repair team and a submarine to be added to the list." Isaac said.
"Isaac, look at me." Odin said as she sat with him, watching shells rain down just short of the fleet, indicating that Isaac's fleet had moved out of range.
Isaac looked at Odin, who touched his cheek, where a red mark shaped like her hand was still present.
"You did what you could. Your political affairs just got in the way of your commanding affairs. Save the politics for when we aren't on the battlefield." Odin said, kissing his cheek.
"I was just trying to honor their wishes. Keeping the fleet happy is my job, no?" Isaac asked.
"It is, but sometimes, instant gratification is not the way to go. Notice how having Elizabeth and Bismarck up front played little to our advantage. They would have been happy had you saved Hood anyway, so why jeopardize the fleet's composition in the first place?" Odin asked.
"I... I thought it might have helped." Isaac said.
"How? The moment you knew they had an emotional attachment, you should have kept them as far from the front as possible." Odin said.
"Is that what you would have done?" Isaac asked.
"I would have. In fact, I would have kept those two back from the front regardless, considering that they are the flagships of their respective camps." Odin said.
"Yeah... I guess I let my emotions get the best of me this time... Did we lose anyone in that last wave?" Isaac asked.
"Not that I know of, but we should focus on 556 right now. She's sitting next to a bomb of colossal magnitude. Because if that goes off, we need to get you and the men of the Missouri below deck before the fallout comes." Odin said.
"None of our ships, besides maybe the Shinano and the Norfolk have been left undamaged. And Norfolk... doesn't want to see me for a while." Isaac said.
"I doubt that." Odin said.
"You weren't there. You don't know." Isaac said as Odin looked at him.
"I only realized it after I went back to the bridge... but the whole of our argument was on blast to the fleet. I've been getting countless transmissions from the others, begging me to keep you aboard until we get to port. Norfolk herself has not stopped contacting me, asking me to bring you to her so she can make it right between you two. Your willingness to sacrifice yourself to get us to safety has reaffirmed the fleet's belief that you truly care and want this to succeed more than anything. Even Richelieu chimed in saying that while it is noble to lay your life on the line for your comrades, it is unwise to just throw it away." Odin said as she held Isaac's arm.
"I really need to get to work on something that shuts off your radios when you aren't using them..." Isaac said as he shook his head.
"And our oversight has saved your butt more times than not, so I'd accept it." Odin said as she looked towards where 556 was.
"Why haven't they left yet?" Odin asked.
"No man left behind? I know i gave her the order not to go in, so she's doing this on her own merit. And with the danger that the Hood poses... there isn't much we can do to help." Isaac said.
"Head Bulin!" 556 called as she made her way around several barrels of wisdom dust that littered the Boiler room of the Hood.
"Back here!" The Head bulin's voice was heard coming from a pile of barrels that had seemingly toppled over.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" 556 said.
"I'm fine. But I can't move. I'm the only thing keeping these things from hitting the ground." The head bulin said.
"I can help. Just hold on!" 556 said as a loud crack came from one of the boilers on the far end of the boiler room.
"There's no time, you need to go." The head bulin said.
"I won't leave you!" 556 said.
"Miss Parzival... I'm replaceable... you're not. You need to run before this ship goes up." The head bulin said.
"The Kommandant would never forgive me if I left you to die!" 556 said.
"And if you don't leave now, the rest of the bulins will die. You need to go." The head bulin said as the cracked boiler busted open, spewing flames and oil into the empty part that the others had cleared out.
"Go, quickly!" The head bulin said as the flames began to flow with the oil, making their way towards the barrels on the stern.
556 looked at the flames and grabbed one of the barrels, finding them to be too heavy for her to move.
"What are you doing?!" The head bulin asked frantically.
"Trying to save you!" 556 cried as she strained, trying to lift even one of the barrels.
"Just go... I've accepted my fate. Tell Mama... I'm sorry for not coming home this time. It was fun, to have a purpose... and a reason to fight. And tell the Commander... That I hope I was of use to him and the fleet." The head bulin said as 556 strained further, her grunts turning to screams as several bulins ran down the steps and grabbed her arms.
"Come on! We have to go now!" The Bulins said as 556 looked at the pile of barrels.
"She's stuck in there! Help me free her!" 556 cried.
"I'm sorry... she ordered us to get you to safety. We can't disobey her orders." The bulin said as they dragged a fighting 556 easily through the ship and onto the top deck.
"No! We have to save her!" 556 cried as several more violent cracks filled the air on the ship.
"The Boilers are going! We are leaving now!" The bulin said as they picked up 556 and jumped to her vessel, climbing into the hatch and closing it.
"Dive or we will do it for you!" The bulins said, looking like they were ready to wrestle control away from 556.
The thunder of guns outside did not subside as 556 finally gave up and sunk her vessel below the waves before pulling a sharp turn back towards Isaac's fleet.
"So this is it, huh? I wonder... would it have ended any other way?" The head bulin asked herself as the heat in the bowels of the ship rose steadily.
The head bulin slowly managed to lift one of the barrels enough for her to move and see what was coming.
"I'm sorry commander. I won't be coming back from this one. Thank you... for giving us a place in your fleet. Not as tools, but as actual fighting members. You gave us mere tools a purpose. A reason to live. Knowing that you did all that for us... I can go to my grave knowing that I did what I could to help achieve your goals. Thank you, Commander Isaac Garner. I only wish we could have had more time." The head bulin said as the flames hit the first barrel.
A flash of blue came from the Hood. Even nearly 35 miles away, Isaac could see it clear as day. Several seconds later, the sound of a massive explosion followed a colossal sonic boom, tearing away machine gun mounts, and slamming Isaac against the turret he was sitting against.
"Isaac, get up, quickly!" Odin said as she pulled him to his feet, finding the closest door and forcing him inside.
"Stay inside!" Odin yelled as she ran to the receiver on the rear fire control deck.
"Nimitz? Get your men inside, quickly. The ash from that explosion will massacre your men." Odin said frantically, as the Missouri's emergency siren could be heard throughout the fleet.
Odin switched the frequency.
"556? Come in!" Odin yelled.
No reply.
"556!" Odin yelled.
No reply.
"There's too much interference. I can't contact her." Odin said as she switched the channel again.
"Richthofen, what's your status?" Odin asked.
"I can launch again if needed, VizeKommandant." Richthofen said.
"Please. Find 556 and bring her in if you can launch. I can't contact her, and her vessel only slipped below the waves five minutes before the blast." Odin said.
"Understood. I'm scrambling a fighter now." Richthofen said as she looked across her flight deck to see the Eagle.
"Where are those bulin things?" Richthofen asked.
"Most of them were with 556." Odin replied.
"That English carrier is going to need a lot of help, along with the cruisers... I don't think anyone but myself, Shinano, and Norfolk got away unscathed." Richthofen said as a fine blue dust began to fall, causing Richthofen to look back at the enemy fleet and the massive mushroom cloud that had engulfed the battlefield.
"Go find 556, I'll begin coordinating repair efforts." Odin said as the fleet limped back towards Brisbane.