"Commander, I have something on radar, but I can't tell what…"

"Damn storm… get as close as you dare to confirm the readings-"

As Martinez ordered Helena over the radio, Helena META spoke up. "It's a couple of sirens. They seem to already be aware of us."

Martinez deliberated for a moment. "Route the telemetry through to Friedrich and have us continue. We can't let anything keep us from getting out of the area."

"Understood."

A few seconds after giving his response, Martinez watched the turrets on the great hull of Friedrich Der Große traverse to position, slowly, before huge plumes of fire and smoke erupted from her cannons. Just after that, the grand report of the guns, evoking the percussion of a colossal orchestra, reached Martinez.

"They have been dealt with, kommandant."

The dark tone in her voice made him shudder.

"Scared of her?" The carrier asked.

"Somewhat." Martinez replied.

"Oh, you know she'd never hurt you."

"On purpose." He replied. Disconcerting images of what could happen in an accident with those titan guns swirled about through his thoughts.

"And they get even bigger still…" he mused.

He continued the line of thought while watching the ice pass by and through his fleet.

V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V

"Oh, another little band of foes. May I deal with them?"

"At your leisure."

V^V^V^V

"He's taken the bait, and then some. Be ready, he is approaching quickly."

"Yes, YES! Come unto your doom, fool!"

V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V

Martinez had lost count of how many sirens Friedrich had destroyed with her cannons. She seemed to take great pleasure in doing so, commenting on how she had to make the most of the rare opportunities she had to "exercise."

However, as the blizzard intensified, Helena META contacted him, her voice even more grim than usual.

"We have a massive contact inbound bearing 310."

"Oh, shit… any details?"

"It's… it's too bright to see. The sheer amount of light radiation given off by the target is obstructing my scan…"

Just then, Reno burst onto the comm feed, in a panic.

"IT'S HER! WE HAVE TO RUN, NOW!"

"Who? Calm down."

"The siren that stranded me and the others!"

The radio cut out, as a booming, sinister, obviously synthetic voice hijacked the comms.

"So we finally meet in battle, Odysseus…"

"Who is this?!"

"Why does it matter? Your death or, failing that, crippling is imminent."

"I deserve to know my killer's name, don't I?"

There was a pause.

"Very well. I am Enforcer Nineteen. The Sun. You'd do well to remember it for the short remainder of your existence."

"Funny… I didn't plan on dying today. Or for a long, long time."

"We will see about that."

A great disk of light ignited some ways in the distance. If not for the storm, Martinez would have been blinded.

Shangri-La looked up from her journal…

"A collapsed sun… how curious."

She was torn from her thoughts as the siren spoke again.

"Ha, the first victim offers herself to the flame!"

The ring flashed. It didn't reach Martinez and the main fleet, but it seemed to strike one of his vanguard.

"AHHHHHHHH!" A harsh, violent scream, as if they were being burnt, rang out.

"HELENA!"

The blue haired light cruiser had been caught in the light of the ring...no, not a ring, Martinez thought. A crown. If it was bright enough that it hurt to look at from the main fleet, it must be searing from where Helena was.

However, XIX didn't even have time to aim at the stricken ship before Friedrich counterattacked.

"You leave her be." Her tenderness had reformed into a cold fury.

"You have some spine, thrall. But it is unbecoming of you to strike your former masters-"

The siren didn't have time to finish nor did Martinez have time to digest what she said before a sound like the sky was falling was heard, as Friedrich's guns fired at an impossible rate, at the siren, spears of turbulent energy from the ship's secondary cannons joining the barrage of 16-inch shells soaring towards their target.

The ring dimmed and went out.

"So, that's how it's going to be. Clearly, I have… miscalculated. You have not seen the last of me, human, and next time, shall be the last!"

She faded from the scans soon after.

"All that, and we didn't even get a good look at her… I'm going to get Helena and take her to FDG." He said, rattled by the short but intense ordeal. He knew he was lucky that the siren had made the mistake of inviting Friedrich's rage.

As he made it on a small boat through the calmed storm to Helena's ship, he found her on the ground, convulsing slightly, steam rolling off of her. What was strange was that her eyes seemed to be glowing. He looked closer, and discovered that both of her eyes were lit from within, the light slowly fading. He picked her up and moved her to the shuttle, then sailed to Friedrich's ship.