Episode 2: Together Again

'I was right. Natalie and Ania are here, and by the looks of things, I better get involved.' Lucia thought.

"Back up!" Brooklyn yelled as she stood between Cole and the hooded figure.

"Oi! Put the guns down!" The tankers yelled as they leveled their rifles at Cole's group.

In return, the men in Cole's group leveled their rifles at the small group of tankers. It was then that Brooklyn saw a turret slowly turning their way.

"I don't think you want to do that, Tanker. My guns are a whole lot bigger than yours." Brooklyn spoke as the cannon from the tank leveled at her.

Out beyond the view from the beach, all fifteen guns of the Brooklyn turned to face the beach and loaded HE.

"Look man. Point that thing away from us, or I turn this beach to glass." Brooklyn spoke.

Lucia ran forward and turned to face Cole.

"Stop this! They're friendly, I swear on my life. These are some of the ones you're looking for!" Lucia spoke desperately.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Fall back, fall back!"

The cry was repeated in the evening air, sending the men of E Company running up the hill. They stayed together, remembering what happened the last time they ran in different directions to escape something, when they had lost Major Winters.

"Carina, how are the engineers?" Speirs asked as Carina ran up to his side.

"Gut. Not far… hinter us." Carina responded, gasping for air.

"Don't pass out on me yet Carina, we still have a long way to go. Wisdom munitions have a very large AoE." Spiers said before turning and following the rest of his men.

Carina glanced back toward the engineers, who waved her on.

"Eile, Eile!" Carina called, to which a few of the engineers came running up the hill.

"There's no way we can lay the line and still make it. Martin, Hensley, and Phillip have volunteered to stay behind to make sure the charges go off."

Carina looked at the three engineers who smiled, then turned and ran back toward the bridge. Carina bowed her head for a moment, before turning and running after Spiers, the rest of the engineers hot on her trail.

XXXXXXXXXX

"She has a name. It's Ania. She's a defective Siren. She's been following me around for some time now. She's the one who patched up my arm." Dutchess said as she unveiled a metal arm plated with Siren armor.

"So you ARE a cultist. I knew it would have been better to blow you away." Brooklyn ground out as one of the tanks off to the side aimed the cannon squarely at her.

Less than a hundred meters to the left of both groups, a pillar of sand shot into the air, followed by a deafening boom and the sight of a hole being poked in the fog.

"Get. That. Gun. Away. From. Us." Brooklyn ground out slowly.

"What was that?!" The tankers shouted.

"If you don't want me to miss… keep aiming those guns at me. The next shell won't be a warning shot." Brooklyn spoke menacingly.

"You threaten them with death?!" Dutchess growled as she walked forward and grabbed Brooklyn by her shirt, using her other hand to keep the barrels of Brook's rigging away from her face.

Even with Brooklyn being a Kansen, and a powerful one at that, she could not escape the grasp of the large Dutch woman who held her captive.

"Put her down!" Cole yelled as he leveled his rifle at Dutchess.

"All of you knock it the hell off!" Lucia yelled angrily, seemingly annoyed at being ignored for so long.

"Lucia?" Dutchess asked.

"Yes. It's me… again. Look, these guys are super sketchy around Sirens, okay? Just keep Ania away from Brooklyn. I think once they see she isn't going to hurt them, they'll calm down." Lucia explained.

Cole felt a tingle down his spine.

"Brook… if you fire your guns, we'll all be killed. I'm ordering you to return your batteries to rest." Cole spoke, sensing that Brookyln had adjusted her firing calculations to target the tanks.

"Then tell them the same!" Brooklyn yelled as she struggled in Dutchess's ironclad grip.

"Tankers, if you are Union, I'm absorbing you under my command, as acting Commander in the region serving under Fleet Admiral Nimitz. Return your guns to rest and lay down your arms. We will be doing the same." Cole shouted.

No movement.

'Please lower you guns. You all should know and trust me right?' Lucia pleaded in her thoughts.

"I'm serious. You are about to be shelled into oblivion by all fifteen six-inch guns on a Brooklyn class cruiser. Your tanks will not protect you. Lay down your arms… I can't hold her temper forever." Cole spoke as the men realized that the woman in Dutchess's grip was actively controlling the warship in the water behind them. Without a moment to spare, the men threw down their weapons and turned the tank turrets away.

"Brook. They're unarmed. Do as I asked, please. And deactivate your rigging. Dutchess, can you put her down please?" Cole asked as he lowered his weapon.

"Fine… but if she pulls something like that again, I won't hold back." Dutchess growled as she dropped Brooklyn to the ground before walking to Ania and sitting next to her, as if she was comforting her.

"Brook, you alright?" Cole asked.

"That thing… She's changed that woman. Her strength is unlike anything I've seen a human put out. And her eye… it's not normal. Whoever Ania is… she's dangerous. Keep your guard up." Brooklyn whispered as an uneasy peace fell over the group.

"Get out of the water and build some fires to dry off. We gotta figure out our next move before beelining it towards Wilhelmshaven." Cole said as he pulled a map from his breast pocket.

"Wilhelmshaven?" Dutchess asked.

"Yeah?" Cole asked.

"We were heading there ourselves actually. Quite a coincidence." Dutchess said as she stood up and walked to Lucia before giving her a hug.

"Good to see you made it." Dutchess whispered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Phillip looked up at the bridge looming up in front of them. Not taking a moment to think about what he was doing, Philip grabbed one of the steel beams and began to climb. As he climbed, only one thought ran through his mind.

'Damn this bridge and the sirens to hell.'

Pulling a knife from his pocket, Phillip cut the fuse wire, making it so it would only be a few seconds until detonation. Glancing up at Martin and Hensley who were still climbing to their own set of charges, Phillip prayed they would reach them. The train could be here at any minute.

The other two engineers reached their own sets of charges, and copied Philips's actions in cutting the fuses. In the waning light, Phillip saw each of them nod and give a thumbs up. Phillip acknowledged them, and from his pocket, withdrew a small lighter.

"I hope to hell this works." Philip said, before flicking the wheel.

It did. Bringing the feeble flame to the wire, Philip took one last glance at Martin and Hensley.

"It's been nice knowing you." Philip called, "See you on the other side."

He lit the fuse.

In that moment, Philip saw his life flash before his eyes. From his earliest memories of the family farm in Wyoming, to a few moments before. Phillip wished he had more time to spend in those memories. Unfortunately for these three brave engineers, they had run out of time. The flame had reached the TNT charges.