"Warspite! Come in! Warspite, damage report!" Isaac demanded as he looked to Vengeance, who was stood next to him in the command center on her bridge.
"I can control this vessel remotely, Isaac. Allow me to ascertain the damage." Vengeance spoke.
"No. Nobody can go on that vessel. Observer Zero is still on board and Warspite has gone dark, which means her shields will not protect anyone." Isaac spoke frantically as he watched more rockets come at the fleet, several slamming into the already crippled and sinking Warspite.
"Commoner, I have to check on her!" Elizabeth cried as Isaac turned to where she was in the fleet.
"Elizabeth, stay back! They could mistake your hull for the Warspite if you move too close." Isaac said as he wracked his brain to try and figure out a way to get to her.
Elizabeth made his choice much simpler as she jumped from her vessel and skated quickly towards the Warspite, her rigging active and providing ample AA cover with the main guns on her rigging.
"Elizabeth, you need to be quick. If you're going to defy orders, then at least make sure we save who we can. Get Observer Zero and find Warspite. All ships, close formation around the Warspite, give Elizabeth as much cover as she can get." Isaac said as the sirens began to blare from the port behind them. Isaac ran out to the walkway outside the bridge and looked back at the dry docks.
"What in the hell is that..." Isaac wondered as he saw Texas standing on the bow of a vessel that looked nothing like her old ship.
"I believe it's a completely new ship that Texas designed around her new guns and fire control system." Vengeance spoke. Isaac watched as her dry dock was flooded and the massive metal behemoth was floated into the port in the midst of the action. During the war, Isaac had been tasked with learning many schematics, including many that had been scrapped by the Navy. But Isaac knew this one.
"It's not new... in fact, this thing was thought up in 1916." Isaac spoke, realizing what Texas had used for inspiration.
"You seem to know something." Vengeance spoke as her shields shrugged off one of the rocket attacks aimed at her.
"Benjamin Tillman... C&R division of the Union Navy in 1916. He made several designs of battleship and submitted them to the Navy for approval. Other than that, all I know is that this is one of his designs based off the blueprints the Navy forced most of us mechanics to learn during our stay in the Naval Yards.
The new Texas sat firmly in the water. Twelve 16" guns sat in triple turrets along a sprawling deck that was packed with AA and Secondary guns. Closer inspection showed that Texas had kept her old callsign and had BB-35 painted on her bow. Isaac stood there, awestruck, only flinching when Vengeance's shields protected them from another rocket attack.
"You seem confused though." Vengeance noticed as the hull of the new Texas began to glow a bright blue.
"I didn't give her enough materials to do this... but yet it seems she has brought one of the Tillman designs to life." Isaac said as the blue glow continued to grow stronger.
"You need cover, Commander? Then you can count on me. The Will of the Lone Star will protect all of us." Texas spoke proudly as she stomped her heel on the deck of her newly minted vessel, sending the blue glow out in a massive wave across the fleet. Vengeance pulled Isaac inside and shut the door just before the wave passed over them. In her rush, she had placed him beneath her as they crashed to the floor.
"Ow..." Isaac wheezed as Vengeance stopped moving.
"Vengeance? What was that all about!?" Isaac asked.
"What... what is this feeling?" Vengeance asked.
"I don't feel anything." Isaac said as he tried to get out from under her.
"It feels like my entire body is being covered in some kind of heavy clothing, like one of your human knights from history." Vengeance spoke as Isaac managed to get to his feet and look out the massive bay windows to survey his fleet. All around, Isaac could see a second, more dense shield covering every ship in the fleet.
"Texas, report, what is this?" Isaac asked as he saw Elizabeth skating up to the Warspite, her small frame covered by a personal bubble as well.
"I used that blue dust that was kept away from the humans. Not only is it a great building material, but apparently it does what I want it to, when I want it to do it." Texas spoke.
"The Wisdom dust... so that's how you managed to pull that vessel off." Isaac responded.
"Yes, sir. I figured why not give you something you can take pride in, Commander." Texas spoke proudly.
"What did you do?" Isaac asked.
"I had wished for something more when I constructed my vessel. The dust must have been close enough to me to feel my desire for power and reacted, giving me what I needed to bring this... thing into existence." Texas spoke as her own shield flared after taking several direct rocket hits.
"And that blue wave?" Isaac asked.
"I wished to help cover my allies, but I knew I would not make it in time, so I think... the dust boosted our shields in response to my desire." Texas spoke proudly despite her apparent lack of knowledge.
"Kommandant, Are you alright?" Odin's voice was heard.
"Yeah, I'm okay. We haven't sustained any damage here." Isaac said.
"No, I mean, don't step outside. I'm getting that tingling sensation like when the powder went off last time." Odin clarified.
"And that answers my other question..." Isaac said as he looked at the blue dust that had settled on the deck of the Vengeance.
"Warspite!" Elizabeth cried as she crawled over the sinking wreck of the Warspite. Sure enough, she found Zero sat right next to a badly wounded Warspite.
"Get away from her, Siren!" Elizabeth cried as she aimed her rigging at the Siren, not knowing that Warspite was being kept alive by Observer's pressure on her wounds.
"I can't, she will die if I let go." Zero spoke, revealing the hand she was holding to Warspite's neck.
Elizabeth gasped.
"Commoner, come in!" Elizabeth cried.
"Elizabeth, what's wrong? Did you find Warspite?" Isaac asked.
"I did... she's..." Elizabeth found herself unable to talk.
"The Kansen known as Warspite will die in approximately five minutes without immediate medical care." Zero spoke.
"You!" Elizabeth cried as she advanced towards Zero and slapped her.
"If it weren't for you and your kind, Warspite wouldn't be in this position!" Elizabeth cried as Zero took the punches from Elizabeth while making sure to keep pressure on the wounds.
"Apollyon, if you wish for this one to have a chance... you need to get her help. I can carry her and keep pressure on her wounds. I just need you to tell me where." Zero spoke.
The line was silent for a few seconds as Isaac contemplated everything going on.
"Elizabeth, keep Zero under armed guard and escort her to the Norfolk. Vestal should still be there working on Bremerton. The Warspite is a total loss, abandon ship." Isaac ordered.
"Isaac, I should be there to assist." Vengeance spoke.
"I can't allow that. We need you here. We have yet to see the enemy and we have no clue what their strength is aside from the fact that they are launching rockets at us." Isaac spoke as he watched Zero carry Warspite behind the gun line towards the Norfolk, followed closely behind by Elizabeth who had her guns ready to fire into the Siren's back.
"Isaac, I am fully capable of multitasking." Vengeance reasoned.
"No. That's final. Aside from the fact that Zero is currently public enemy number one to you, you are one of the most powerful ships here. Your ability to control aircraft and Battleship guns at the same time makes you a valuable asset here." Isaac spoke, his face illuminated by the blue flair on Vengeance's shields.
Vengeance was about to argue when something in the distance caught her eye.
"They're in range." Vengeance spoke, fractions of a second before the fleet was rocked by heavy caliber shells.
"Shit. Do we have anything on radar?" Isaac asked as he rushed over to the radar screen.
"No. But if this is the case... I know exactly who we're up against." Vengeance spoke.
"Who?" Isaac asked, eager for any information.
"Temperance's Enforcer. She goes by XIV. And this phenomenon is her special ability." Vengeance spoke.
"Explain." Isaac demanded.
"XIV has the ability to visually and electronically conceal any fleet she takes command of. And that is a tactic that she uses frequently." Vengeance explained.
"So we have no way of confirming a hit?" Isaac asked as Vengeance pointed to the sky.
"It looks like that General of yours already took care of it." Vengeance said as the sound of B-17 bombers graced Isaac's ears.
"He's going to bomb them?" Isaac asked as he saw the Catalina flying in a large circle outside of the perceived enemy AA range.
"I do not know entirely, but I am assuming that he has a plan." Vengeance said as Isaac watched the bomb bay doors open and the bombers begin their drops.
"Are we aimed up?" The Flight commander asked.
"I'm giving you what I think is the enemy locations. The rockets are still firing so aim ahead of the smoke." Dawson spoke as he flew a large circle over the enemy fleet.
"Understood, dropping now." The flight commander said as his crews began dropping bombs over the enemy fleet.
Isaac watched the bombs fall and bounce off of something in the water before exploding in a cloud of bright yellow aviation paint. Sure enough, the pain illuminated any ships nearby to the detonation, giving Isaac the chance he needed.
"All Ships! Aim for the painted targets and give 'em hell! If your barrels aren't burning, you aren't firing fast enough! Destroy the enemy! Richthofen, if you can hear me, you and the the other carriers are clear to engage. Bombs, torpedoes, hell even the machine guns, light them up and hope we get a lucky hit on the leader." Isaac demanded as his entire gun line erupted in a hailstorm of white hot lead. Richthofen swung around behind the enemy fleet, now thoroughlyA coated in bright Yellow aviation paint, and began her run, ordering Zeppelin to take care of the fighter cover and Eagle to deal with torpedoes.
"We fight today for glorious victory!" Richthofen yelled as she and her following dive bombers chose their targets and began their dives. Her first pass was met with little resistance as XIV recovered from the use of such unconventional tactics. However, as she was pulling out, her bomber squadron was met with fierce plasma fire both from the ships below and the Siren Aircraft taking up pursuit.
"Zeppelin, I need cover here, they're on my ass." Richthofen spoke as Zeppelin acknowledged her request, sending her ME-155's to hunt down the enemy aircraft.
Richthofen focused on flying until she saw both of her escort fighters get shot down on both of her flanks.
"Hurensohn" Richthofen muttered as she kicked her foot up, smashing out her canopy and standing in her flight seat, turning around and using her foot to control the aircraft as her rifle appeared in her hands.
"You bastards can get really annoying, you know that?" Richthofen asked as she pulled the trigger, sending a bright yellow shot flying towards the enemy aircraft before exploding in a small ball of flak, causing the Aircraft to burst into flames and fall to the sea below.
"Eins." Richthofen whispered as she chambered another round, moving her foot to veer the aircraft to the left, avoiding an incoming swarm of plasma. Another trigger pull, another Enemy aircraft being fed to the deep blue sea.
"Zwei."
"Drei."
"Vier."
Richthofen counted her kills as aircraft after aircraft fell to the ocean. She was lining up number five when a lucky shot from a battleship class drone ship sent the Ironblood Carrier flying from her destroyed aircraft and into the ocean below, where the rest of her rigging was waiting for her just beneath the waves.
Isaac watched Richthofen go down in the middle of the Siren fleet.
"Richthofen, report!" Isaac yelled.
"I'm alright, Kommandant. I'm tougher than I look." Richthofen spoke as they angry yells of a familiar voice graced Isaac's ears.
Isaac looked out to the right side of the formation where Friedrich had suddenly crushed the rail on the bow of her vessel with a strong stomp of her foot.
"You shot down my sister! How dare you!" She yelled as her main guns focused down the battleship that shot down Richthofen.
A small smile crossed Isaac's face as the battle progressed slowly. His forces were turning a one sided battle into a stalemate thanks to the actions of Texas and MacArthur.
His happiness was cut short when Vestal's voice came over the radio.
"Commander... we have a problem." Vestal spoke somberly.
"Vestal?" Isaac asked.
"Warspite has passed."