Chapter 59: Counterblow (Part 1)

"This is ridiculous. Are we not supposed to be doing something meaningful, or at the very least useful during this endeavor?"

"Relax, would you? It's not like the carriers are doing much of anything either and they have way longer range than us."

"Not after we were given these new missiles, they don't!"

"I heard that. And I'm more than willing to put that claim to the test."

"Sisters? I know this has thus far been something of a boring first expedition for many of us but do try not to get into arguments in enemy territory."

Chao Ho rolled her eyes at Jeanne's composed and slightly admonishing tone, staring off at Essex's distant figure atop the deck of her carrier, planes being launched once every ten minutes as her coat fluttered madly in the wind.

"Can't outrange a cannon barrage at this distance, can you?"

Just to drive the point home the redheaded cruiser teasingly tilted one of her emplacements in the carrier's general direction, the Empery shipgirl able to tell even from this distance that the Union shipgirl was scowling with competitive spirit. Union girls were always like that, just raring for a fight-

"So that would make you a Union girl, hmm~?"

"GAH?! Stop doing that silent walk thing, would you?!"

"And miss out on your delightful reactions? Never~!"

Heart rate returning to something approximating normal Chao Ho gave Ying Swei an annoyed glare, her younger sister merely giggling as she chastised, "Now now, you know I've taught you several times not to antagonize the others."

"Would you stop treating me like I'm the younger sibling?"

The half-redheaded cruiser resisted the urge to blush as her sibling glomped her in an overly affectionate hug, Ying Swei cooing, "Only when you stop acting like the younger. Just because you're bored isn't any reason to irritate the others, especially in a combat zone."

"Then why are you here, when we're in a 'combat' zone?"

Ying Swei stuck out her tongue, cheerfully remarking, "Because I'm the younger sister and can get away with those sorts of things~!"

Not bothering to hide the scowl at her sister's selective immaturity Chao Ho instead looked to the coastline, frowning as she asked, "Is it just me or are things too quiet?"

"No, it is definitely quiet. Reconnaissance said the Sirens don't have too significant a naval force in the area but if nothing else their land bases should have launched an attack or at least scouts."

Both cruisers fell silent, the general feeling of the fleet being a quietly growing sense of tension and wariness. Nothing so bad as to affect their discipline and efficiency - they'd been at war long enough to grow acclimated to the sensation - but what had expected to be a trial by fire was instead turning into a trial by caution.

"Everyone meet up on the battleship Bay Hill in fifteen minutes, Admiral wants to talk to us."

Enterprise's words had the sisters glancing towards each other, leaping off Chao Ho's ship and skating towards their target at a swift pace before leaping aboard the ad hoc and patchwork vessel, waving to the busy crew as they saluted or nodded, going about their duties with a calm efficiency.

"I have to say, many of these older vessels look strange compared to ours, seeing how they were so immaculately molded and constructed."

Stepping over a length of power cable hastily bolted to the ground and covered by rubber shielding Chao Ho found herself agreeing with her sister's words, the duo arriving at the command bridge and finding most of their sister's already in attendance with Admiral Harrison, only Jean Bart and Sovetskaya arriving after them a scant few seconds later.

"Good, if everyone's in attendance then let's get started. Put bluntly we have a rather concerning lack of Sirens around and overhead drones haven't revealed anything out of the ordinary, as long as you don't count the absence of enemies ordinary."

The man manipulated the planning table, its recent addition to the vessel clear to see through the hastily implemented welding and scent of electronics that clung to the device.

"To make matters even more disconcerting about half an hour ago we picked up a distress signal about three miles inland, just outside one of the Siren land bases. To make matters even worse than worse it's a genuine one."

"Genuine, Admiral?"

One of the Human officers also in attendance seemed confused by that statement, Harrison replying, "The Bakunawa ran a check on the provided info and it's real, not some hoax or trap. It wasn't even running on the standard channels, we didn't find it until we started searching for additional signals when there was no earlier response."

Sovetskaya frowned, her and Enterprise exchanging meaningful glances as the Parliament shipgirl asked, "Do we have aerial images of the Siren base in question?"

Turning towards one of the busy bridge crew the younger man in question shook his head in frustration, responding, "Apologies, Admiral, but whatever feed those things are sending back is corrupted or…well whatever the term the manual said it is."

Essex approached, worriedly asking, "May I take a look?"

"Help yourself, Ma'am."

The carrier went to work on the computer as the tech watched - stealing a few embarrassed glances the shipgirl's way as she did so - as Harrison scowled, murmuring, "Think this is the work of our 'true' enemy?"

"Alexander's drones haven't failed under their own power before…I would recommend bringing up the fleet to readiness, Admiral."

"We're in agreement then. Well, Enterprise? Think you can range outwards and spot any unpleasant surprises in store for us?"

The pale-haired carrier snapped to attention, eyes drifting slightly out of focus as she increased the frequency and range of her aircraft's patrols, the Admiral turning to the rest of the shipgirls and stating, "Well I know most of you were going to use this mission as a test run for your enhanced capabilities, I think that might have just gotten an upgrade."

As if on cue Essex returned to the present, frowning at the computer with a troubled expression as she relayed, "Yup, they're shutting off as soon as they pass overhead and turning back on once they clear the base. Just like when we rescued all of you."

"Well shit."

Tashkent and Bart glanced at each other as they perfectly voiced their thoughts on the matter, the Admiral snorting as he stated, "Well I think that's a rather succinct way of putting it. Everyone return to your ships and get ready for combat, no telling who or what will go hunting for us. Or when. We'll commence a limited landing near the distress beacon, any of you ladies feel like roughing it through the jungle?"

While she didn't exactly like the idea of traipsing through hot, sweaty dirt and foliage the redheaded cruiser stepped forward alongside her sister and Émile, the trio most assured of their speed and footwork if things turned bad.

"That would be us, Admiral~! Fleet of foot on stage or battlefield, you can count on us~!"

"Aren't I supposed to be the speedy one?"

"Yes, but you're lazy and will fall behind."

Tashkent sent Chao Ho a neutral glare that the Empery shipgirl returned without shame, Harrison nodding as he said, "Then godspeed. Find Lieutenant Mathers and report to him, he'll let you know what the details of the mission are in more specific detail."

A round of salutes, nods or waves left the shipgirls - their means of responding to authority as eclectic as ever - as they raced off, Chao Ho unable to shake the feeling that things were about to turn very bad indeed.

"You need to better control your negativity, sister of steps. Would the crewmen not feel better if we went off to war with a smile rather than a frown?"

Rolling her eyes at Émile's eternal positivity the cruiser bluntly responded, "You and my sister can handle that part, I'll stick to what I know."

"Being a dour and unattractive lady, you mean?"

"Bite me, little sister!"

Chao Ho did her best to ignore the snickers of her two companions, wondering what sort of grievous crime she'd past committed to be stuck with such irresponsibly optimistic people.

"Gotta say, we're glad you ladies decided to come along for the ride. Now you didn't hear this from me, but…"

The roguish and battle-scarred face of Lieutenant Mathers leaned in conspiratorially, whispering to the trio of shipgirls, "The boys are grateful to have a pretty face ride off to battle with them, makes em' feel confident and jazzed up."

He dramatically shook his head, lamenting, "Poor lads. Not a single one of em' with a wife as pretty as mine waiting back home for em'."

Émile giggled at the man's words, leaning around his considerable bulk to flash a charming smile at the assembly of tough and combat-ready young men, near unanimously causing them to blush or shyly avert their gazes, Mathers complaining, "Seriously?! What are all of you, fresh off of becoming real men and never knowing a lady's touch outside of your mother's hand holding? Marines, ARE YOU THAT PATHETIC?!"

"NO, LIEUTENANT!"

"THEN LET ME HEAR YOU ROAR!"

"OORAH!"

Émile met Ying Swei's gaze, both cruisers grinning before pumping their arms and happily shouting, "OORAH!" as the transport fell silent for a moment, several eyes blinking at the unexpected action…and snickers of laughter broke out, Mathers shouting, "What are you jokers laughing at, you just got out esprit de corps'd by a couple of refined young ladies! God's above, what has my beloved corps come to…"

Ying Swei giggled, grabbing Chao Ho's hand - the redhead hiding her face in her free appendage during the whole interaction out of mortification - and pulling her towards the seated troops, chirping, "I think they have motivation and spirit aplenty, Lieutenant~! Stop hiding and introduce yourself to everyone, sister!"

"I, I wasn't hiding!"

Émile snickered at the older sister's eternally prickly nature before meeting Mather's lopsided grin, the man quietly stating, "I appreciate you and yours coming along for this ride, Miss Émile. As well as playing along. The boys are on edge and a little bit of joking around dulls the fear. Doesn't help that we're moving out to examine what's almost certainly a trap of some flavor, fitted with gear we've barely had two weeks to practice with and flying to said ambush on a vehicle that was experimental until a few months ago."

The Iris shipgirl tilted her head, poking the side of the helicopter before musing, "That is true, now that you mention it. Having spent a few weeks at Azur Lane where this sort of technology is commonplace it skews one's perception of how available it actually is."

She sent a pointed glance towards the single-shot guns the Marines carried as well as the simple exoskeletons adorning their limbs, all of it more or less scaled down versions of the sort Alexander had used.

"Your men are very brave for using this untested technology in actual combat."

"Pfft, don't tell em' that directly or they'll fall all over themselves with blushes and stutters. Honestly, hard ass killers on the field but off of it you'd think none of them even made it to first base, let alone get laid."

Mathers shook his head, remarking, "Shame Curtis couldn't come along for the ride, if half the rumor mill is true the guy would be a big damn help with that suit of his. Save us the trouble of dying."

Briefly toying with how much of the truth she could tell Émile eventually replied, "To my understanding he was not a soldier for very long, you might just be surprised with how much he would defer to your authority."

She allowed her expression to harden, confidently stating, "And do not speak so casually of dying. Not when we walk at your side."

Before Mathers could respond to that a synthetic voice filled the cabin with, [Five minutes until GPS location arrival. Prepare for disembarking.]

"Guess that's our cue. Alright ladies and actually useful ladies, listen up!"

Striding down the cramped interior of the helicopter and doing a rather impressive job of maintaining his balance despite the swaying and jostling he bellowed, "Now you may have all read the briefing but I know better and don't trust any of you to know which end of a gun is the dangerous bit, let alone comprehend the written language of our species!"

Émile cocked her head at the odd address, Chao Ho and Ying Swei sharing her bemusement. Doubly so since the assembled Marines just seemed amused more than offended at the insults.

"Well, there was precious little chance to actually take part in land combat alongside allies other than firing off distant barrages. Perhaps they are all like this?"

"A Siren distress signal was located a couple dozen kilometers off the Panama coastline, one deemed genuine and supposedly not a trap. But if it was safe they wouldn't send in the Marines, now would they? Our job is simple! Investigate the beacon, find out just what's going on over there and if need be kick plenty of Siren ass!"

"OORAH!"

"And for the love of GOD do not get it into your heads to be a hero just to impress the ladies! They are a damn sight scarier and tougher than your miserable squishy bits are so if they tell you to duck or fall back I expect you to say where and collapse on your ass!"

Émile giggled at the wordplay, Chao Ho blushing at the man's words while Ying Swei just gave a friendly wave to the soldiers as the aircraft shuddered, slewing a bit as it came to a stop.

"Get tactical Marines!"

The doors slid open and allowed a rush of warm and moist air to flood inside, Émile immediately leaping into a free fall before the craft had even settled on the ground, her Empery sisters hot on her tail as they smoothly glided down a series of large and bright green tree trunks, alighting upon the ground with their Riggings armed and already scanning the area, the Iris cruiser marveling at the newfound strength her second skin seemed to hum with.

Whereas before it might have felt like an extension of her body - a third arm or leg, or maybe even an additional eye - now it felt as natural as breathing, a thrumming and pulsing rhythm that was just there, as if the previous connection had merely been a test run of what she could potentially do.

Hisses and loud thuds snapped the cruiser out of her introspection as the rest of the soldiers landed, not even bothering to wait until the helicopter fully landed although not to the same extent they had.

Mathers called out a few instructions and the Marines spread out, moving in an extended line as Émile took to the treetops alongside her sisters, deciding that a little bit of elevation never hurt anyone.

Besides, it was a fun opportunity to stretch her legs a little~!

"We'll move ahead and from above, Lieutenant. We will inform you of anything we discover!"

Leaping into the trees before anyone could raise additional questions or concerns the trio of cruisers used their natural agility and coordination to traverse the terrain, eyes peeled for any signs of danger and occasionally marveling at the wildlife that ran from their approach.

"So many places to see and so many things to do! Perhaps I should start making a list?"

Forcing herself to focus on the matter at hand the cruiser kept her eyes peeled and attention present, eyeing the various bits of scenery and wildlife with a discerning gaze before the natural vibrancy and clamor of the area abruptly faded away, Émile blinking as the change had caught her off guard, Chao Ho and Ying Swei also pausing as they gave each other meaningful looks.

"It seems our quarry is not far ahead."

"What tipped you off?"

"Now now, sister, behave yourself while I inform our allies of what's before us."

Ying Swei hopped back the way they came, Émile bounding over to Chao Ho as the redhead squinted into the distance, mentally asking, "Does that look like a Mirror Sea to you?"

"It does indeed. I suppose this is the part where we go ahead and touch it, see what happens, yes?"

"You make it sound so damn easy."

Both cruisers slipped out of the canopy to where Ying Swei was quietly speaking to Mathers, the man meeting their gazes with a quiet intensity as they relayed, "A large Mirror Sea is ahead, right in the middle of a clearing. Mayhap a few kilometers length and width."

"And here I thought they could only make those on the waves."

Émile shrugged, replying, "There have been scattered reports of Mirror Seas manifesting on land, just not very many of them."

"Well ain't we the lucky ones? Alright, you ladies are the experts here, what's the game plan?"

The trio of cruisers glanced at each other, Ying Swei eventually replying with a cheerful, "We get close and enter it, naturally. If you will have your men stay ready and waiting to fire should anything go awry on the perimeter while we investigate that would be ideal, Lieutenant."

While clearly not happy to be relegated to the sidelines the man merely nodded, the soldiers taking up a wide arc as the shipgirls returned to their previous post, cautiously approaching the shifting mists of the Mirror Sea that spread out over a not insignificant part of the jungle, ominous in its silence.

"Ugh, why did we get stuck with this mission again?"

"Unless my memory is faulty, we volunteered~!"

"That's somehow even worse!"

Ignoring the expected complaints and mutters from the prickly Empery they nonetheless approached the ominous cloud, Émile glancing backwards as their concealed allies gave a variety of thumbs up in their direction before nodding to her sisters.

"Ready?"

"About as ready as can be."

The blonde didn't waste any further time or words, reaching forward and touching the shifting mists-

-before the entire Mirror Sea vanished with a quiet whoomph, normal space returning to the world as both revealed sides blinked in surprise, Émile well and truly caught off guard.

Before them was the remnant of a massive battle that had seemingly taken place between Siren forces, countless drones and mechanized forces lying about in scattered piles as they leaked caustic smoke or burning electronics into the air, terrain scored and marked by physical munitions and energy weaponry alike.

And not more than twenty meters in front of them stood a truly bewildering sight. Thirty or so smaller Bunker class drones while three Towers stood behind them, thirty-three glowing optical sensors staring their way in machine confusion as they didn't immediately attack. And further beyond even that rested a large, jellyfish like machine that clutched a pale-skinned and dress-clad Siren in unyielding steel, some manner of nasty looking contraption burrowing into the woman's skull as rivulets of crimson stained her skin and attire, Rigging laying broken and destroyed around her.

What Émile found most bizarre was the expression of their supposed enemy's face, one of both extreme concentration but also immense agony.

"Intruder de-"

A volley of cannonfire cut off the drone's words, Chao Ho blinking at her automatic response as a tender silence spread across the landscape, smoke curling from her gun barrels as with a mechanical groan her target collapsed, all eyes trained on the destroyed machine before shifting back to the redhead.

"...Merde."

The rare curse slipped from Émile's lips a second before the world exploded into chaos.