Four figures stepped out of a sleek black Mercedes-Benz as it came to a stop in front of a small, snowy village. All of them were dressed identically, and they wore long, gray military coats, black boots and gloves, and the standard military hat issued to German military officers. The man who had gotten out of the passenger's seat tipped his hat to the driver, who nodded and drove off into the village.
Obergruppenfuhrer Mann smiled cordially at the other three. "Ah, the smell of the crisp, winter air in the Alps. It is truly a wonderful experience, so make sure you cherish it."
He then began walking towards the village, his face filled with cheer even as his cold blue eyes remained icy.
"Have you been here before, Strauss?" one of the men asked another as he glanced up at the mountains that surrounded the town.
Strauss, a tall man with close-cropped blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a strong chin shook his head. "I doubt I could even afford coming here. You're saying you've been here, Pachelbel?"
Pachelbel nodded with a reminiscent smile. He had blue eyes as well, though he had messy brown hair underneath his military cap. "Once, with my parents when I was younger. But what are you saying about not being able to afford this! You're an officer in the Reichspolizei."
Strauss shrugged. "Perhaps, though I would still prefer to be frugal. No one knows what may happen in the future."
"Ah, you're the same as ever," Pachelbel shook his head. "I thought you might loosen up after your reassignment to Berlin, but it seems city life taught you nothing. But here's some advice: you'd better live your life now, because things are only going to get more expensive when you mature. Look at me; if I ever came here again, I'd have to pay for my wife and two kids!"
"But surely their company would be well worth the cost," Strauss said, smiling a bit at Pachelbel's enthusiastic reply.
"Yeah, yeah. Of course you'd say something sensible like that," Pachelbel sighed in defeat. He then turned to the fourth and final member of the group, who had been quiet the whole time. "What about you? I assume you've never been to a place like this."
"M-Me? No," Bismarck answered. "I've just been on naval bases until I transferred to Lubeck…"
"That makes sense, I suppose," Pachelbel said. "Well, then, all the more reason to enjoy your trip here, right?"
"Don't forget that we're here on business. This is not a vacation," Strauss pointed out.
"Thanks, I'm aware of that," Pachelbel rolled his eyes.
"But still, the town of Andermatt is a wonderful place," Mann suddenly cut in, turning around. "There is also a very nice hotel here. I hear it is one of the best in Switzerland these days."
"Oh? Is that where we will be staying?" Pachelbel asked humorously.
"Haha! Only in your dreams, my friend," Mann chuckled. "We will be leaving tonight anyway, so we won't get the opportunity to spend the night if all goes smoothly."
"Do we know where the insurgents are located, Obergruppenfuhrer?" Strauss then questioned.
"Hm… Not yet, unfortunately," Mann replied. "But we will be meeting up with our contact at the beer hall in the center of town. She should hopefully have some information for us. However, we are bit early, so feel free to take a leisurely walk around town. Just meet back up at this spot in an hour and a half, all right?"
"Won't the enemy know we are here if we do that?" Strauss cautioned.
Mann wore his mysterious smile again. "They already know we are here, so it doesn't matter. However, I have assurances from our contact that they plan on proceeding with their meeting regardless. They know we are in the village, but they do not know that we also know their identities and location. Of course, I also had our driver and the Swiss authorities place checkpoints on all routes out of the town, so they will be stopped and arrested if they try to flee."
Bismarck noticed that one thing which had not changed since World War II was that Germany still had a large amount of influence on the European continent. With its mighty military and its economic influence, Germany was at the forefront of European affairs along with Britain, France, and Italy, and therefore Obergruppenfuhrer Mann was easily able to get the Swiss authorities' cooperation on this matter.
"Well, if that's the case, then we might as well take advantage of this opportunity," Pachelbel decided. "Will you be joining us, Obergruppenfuhrer? I was thinking of perhaps visiting a cafe or something."
"Sadly I have some calls to make and a few other things to check up on, but you three should go ahead," Mann said. "Especially you, Bismarck. This is a good chance for you to experience life outside of the military, no?"
"Right, sir," Bismarck replied, a bit unsurely.
"Good. Then I'm off," Mann saluted briefly before strolling further into the town.
"Now then, where should we go?" Pachelbel glanced about the area. "Any ideas, Strauss?"
"You're the one who's been here before. Shouldn't you be our guide?" Strauss parried.
Pachelbel gave him a flat look. "Yes, but that was many years ago. I barely remember it."
"We could go to a cafe like you suggested. Or we could try and see if we can get into that hotel," Strauss then offered.
"The expensive one? Do you think they would let us wander the place if we asked?"
"I doubt they would refuse three Reichspolizei officers," Strauss replied.
"Hey, now, isn't that an abuse of power?" Pachelbel smirked. "I never thought you would suggest something like that, Strauss…"
Refusing to take the bait, Strauss shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal if we're just taking a look inside. But if it bothers you that much, then perhaps we should just go to a cafe after all."
Pachelbel smiled at Strauss' even reply. "All right, all right. What about you, Bismarck? Any place you would like to visit?"
"Um… I don't have any place in particular in mind, no," Bismarck answered.
"Right… How about we just walk around town a bit, then? If we see somewhere interesting, we can stop," Pachelbel ultimately decided. "Maybe we'll even run into the insurgents and we can take them down and gift them to the Obergruppenfuhrer. Wouldn't that be nice!"
Strauss merely sighed as he followed the chuckling Pachelbel into the town. Bismarck walked behind them, still remaining quiet. As a ship girl, she kind of felt like she was out of place here on this mission, but she supposed having her along did increase their strength significantly. Since she had arrived in Lubeck, she had been trained in the use of small arms, and she knew that she could tank a lot more bullets than a normal human could if things came down to a firefight.
As the group walked through the cobblestone streets of Andermatt, Bismarck took in the sights of the town. It was surrounded by a beautiful landscape of snowy mountains, and she could see why it was a popular tourist destination. The town itself was mainly composed of small shops and houses, though there were also some restaurants and inns catering to those tourists. She could see a white church in the distance, its clocktower blending in with the icy landscape.
Pachelbel and Strauss, who had been engaged in their own conversation, turned to Bismarck.
"You've been pretty quiet this whole time, Bismarck," Pachelbel noted. "I thought it was your sister who was the lonely one, not you."
"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's just that I'm not used to missions like this," Bismarck said.
"Come on, no need to be so guarded," Pachelbel grinned. "We're your fellow countrymen, no? Even if you are way older than us."
"It's rude to comment on a lady's age," Strauss chided Pachelbel with a small grin.
"Oh, sorry," Pachelbel apologized. "But really, it's so cool to be able to talk with an actual World War II battleship like this. My son plays this game called 'World of Warships' or something, and he always plays as the Bismarck. I showed him a picture of you and told him that I would be going on a mission with you soon, but he said you 'weren't as cool' as the actual warship, hah!"
"Is that so…" That's the first time I've heard something like that...
"Moving on," Strauss glared at Pachelbel, "I heard you were stationed in Japan before you came back to Germany, Bismarck. How was it? Like us, they have reinstated the emperor's line, so perhaps our two countries are more similar now."
"I can't say much about the country itself since I was only on the naval base, but the ship girls there were good comrades," Bismarck told them, fondly remembering her fleet. "They weren't as militant as I remember Japan being in World War II, but they still have that fighting spirit."
"Like the samurai bushido? That sounds respectable," Pachelbel nodded approvingly. "But wasn't your commander there an American? What was his name again…"
"Rear Admiral Richard Maximilian Drake, born in the state of Pennsylvania to parents Draupadi and Brady Drake in the summer of 1995. Attended high school in that same state, then joined the United States Navy before the Great Churning through the officer program at the University of California in the city of Los Angeles," Strauss reminded him with a stern look. "You're a Reichspolizei officer. Shouldn't you know this?"
"Right, right, it just slipped my mind," Pachelbel waved him off with an easy smile.
So they looked into his background too? Bismarck thought. She supposed it made sense given the function of the Reichspolizei as a military intelligence agency. But even she didn't know any of that information, and neither Pachelbel nor Strauss had ever met Drake before.
"The Americans made quite a fuss in order to get our government to loan you to their fleet in Japan," Pachelbel then said. "Called in quite a few favors with our superiors. Looks like they really wanted you over there, huh?"
"I don't know about that. The American fleet admiral at the London Headquarters told me that Warspite was their first choice and that they had to settle for me," Bismarck recalled bitterly.
"Oh, how rude of them!" Pachelbel chided.
"You were being fairly rude yourself just minutes ago…" Strauss sighed again.
"Anyway, if you've fought the Abyssals before, then this mission will be fairly easy," Pachelbel assured her as the group walked past a building with the red Swiss flag hanging from it.
Now feeling a bit more comfortable, Bismarck decided to ask her companions a few questions of her own. "Do you two know each other from beforehand? You seem quite familiar."
Pachelbel nodded. "Yes, I was actually Strauss' first commander when he joined the Reichspolizei. Ah, how nostalgic… I remember when you were just a simple farm boy, Strauss, and now look at you! You've almost caught up to me in rank!"
"I hoped to be your superior by the next time I saw you, but it appears I fell short of that by a bit," Strauss teased.
"Hah. I bet you're planning on doing something ridiculous on this mission in order to impress the Obergruppenfuhrer, then," Pachelbel accused with a grin.
"Oh, please. I would never jeopardize the success of a mission like that," Strauss immediately denied. "Besides, wasn't it you who suggested we capture the insurgents early and hand them over to the Obergruppenfuhrer as a gift?"
"It was a joke!"
Bismarck watched them banter back and forth. This is my first mission with the Reichspolizei, but these two are not how I expected the officers to be. Everyone back at the Lubeck base is so strict and professional, just as many of the SS were during the War. But Pachelbel and Strauss seem to be fairly comfortable and free even on a mission like this. Is it because they are old comrades?
Once again, Bismarck felt that aching loneliness creep up on her. She was away from both her German ship girls as well as her fleet in Japan, and though she was being useful to her country like she always wanted to be, she did not feel happy. I wonder if this is how Tirpitz felt…
The group eventually decided to stop at a brown building that had a cafe on the ground floor. The building itself seemed to be some sort of hotel, though it didn't look that large or luxurious. The cafe was right out along the stone street, and since there weren't that many people walking around, there was a relaxing atmosphere to the setting.
"Well, Pachelbel, I assume you'll be treating us since you're the oldest," Strauss said as they sat down at a table.
"Why is it that it's only at times like these where you remember that I'm your senior," Pachelbel shook his head. "But since we're only going to order a few drinks, then I guess it's fine…"
Strauss patted him on the shoulder. "That's the spirit. I'll remember this and come visit you from time to time when you're in the retirement home."
"Oh, fuck you," Pachelbel shot back at him as the both of them grinned.
They ended up just ordering three coffees, and the trio sat around the table, enjoying the hot drinks in the cold, winter air of the Alps.
"Have you done any naval training since you got to Germany, Bismarck?" Pachelbel asked.
"I have been out to the bay a few times for sailing and target practice, but the officers there aren't used to working with a ship girl, so it's hard to find the right equipment to train with," Bismarck replied. "Most of the time I've just been at Reichspolizei headquarters…"
"What about your comrades? The others like Prinz Eugen and Graf Zeppelin," Strauss then asked.
"They are stationed elsewhere, so I don't know what they're up to," Bismarck admitted.
Pachelbel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "That seems strange that they would take a ship girl like you and stick her in the Reichspolizei. Of course, given your warship body, you're probably a better soldier than any of us in terms of physical capabilities, but I still think you would be better utilized on the sea."
Strauss agreed with that. "Yes, I believe your talents are being wasted here. It's unlikely that Lubeck will be attacked by Abyssals, but perhaps you should be on the frontlines elsewhere."
Bismarck looked down at her cup. "Yeah. It doesn't appear that our superiors think that way, though, so I don't have a choice."
"Even back when you were first sent to Japan, I heard there were many in the Reichstag who supported sending you there so you could gain some combat experience outside of just chasing away raiders," Strauss said. "It's strange that they have changed their opinion so drastically now."
"But you have to remember that the situation is different from it was back then," Pachelbel pointed out. "That was before the Battle of Okinawa. Now everyone wants their ship girls back in their own countries, and even the Grand European Fleet has all but been dissolved."
"You are right. It's short-sighted, but it's true," Strauss grunted in disappointment.
"People are scared, so it makes sense to have the ship girls return, at least for a while," Pachelbel countered. "My hope is that this is all just a political show and that International Fleet Command gets its act together soon. I'm not a naval commander, but even I can see that we have no chance of beating the Abyssals if we only care about protecting our own borders."
Pachelbel glanced at Bismarck. "What's wrong? You're staring at me with wide eyes. You don't agree?"
"N-No, that's not it," Bismarck hurriedly denied. "I was just surprised to hear you say something like that, that's all…"
"I agree. Pachelbel actually said something smart for once, which is out of character for him." Strauss couldn't help but throw in a quick jab with a small smirk.
"Oh, really? Interesting how being in the presence of a cute girl has suddenly turned you into a comedian, Strauss."
"W-Wha -!"
"So you've learned to attack, but can't take the counter, huh? You really are still a kid," Pachelbel grinned victoriously at Strauss. He then turned back to Bismarck. "I am curious as to why it's surprising, though. Have you been told the opposite by others?"
"I come from the Third Reich," Bismarck reminded them. "Back then, we saw Germany as the center of the world, and there was nothing more important than the Fatherland. The military police in my time, the Waffen-SS, were the most nationalistic out of all of us, which is why I found it strange that two officers of the Reichspolizei are putting humanity as a whole first. N-Not that it's a bad thing, of course!"
"Ah, that is interesting. Sometimes I forget you really are from a different era," Pachelbel smiled at her. "Yeah, I think it's fair to say that Germany and the world as a whole has grown more open to other cultures and peoples. Sure, the Great Churning was a nationalist movement and most governments nowadays are nominally nationalist, but the one good thing about the Abyssals was that they did help to bring humanity together."
"Yes, though I am afraid not everybody thinks like Pachelbel and I do," Strauss added. "There are still plenty in the Reichspolizei and Germany as a whole who would probably fit better with the Nazis than with us."
Pachelbel chuckled. "Well, we're no saints either. I've done some things that I'd rather not talk about, and I'm sure Strauss has too. But regardless, my goal in life is to make the world a better place for humanity as a whole, not just Germans. My contribution is going to be incredibly small, of course, but I can at least sleep at night if I keep that goal in mind."
"That's a nice goal to have. I like it," Bismarck nodded.
"The real surprising thing for me is you, Bismarck," Strauss then said. "You are quite literally a Nazi, but you don't act like one."
"I don't?"
"No. You're fairly tame for a Nazi, which I guess is a good thing," Pachelbel mused.
"Oh. I suppose it's because the Nazis were a political party, while I was just a machine of war," she said. "I fought for the Nazis, but… I didn't know about a lot of things they did. All I thought about was protecting Germany, and the Nazis were the ones who had built me and promised that they would make Germany strong. And they were right, for a while. But we all know how that ended."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Strauss apologized.
Bismarck shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, my primary purpose is still to protect Germany, and I don't care if it's the Fuhrer or the Kaiser who's in charge. As long as there is a threat to my people, then I will fight."
"That's something I think we can all agree on," Pachelbel said.
The trio finished their drinks and began heading over to the beer hall they planned to meet back up with the Obergruppenfuhrer. When they arrived in front of the entrance, they saw Mann already there, his hands in his military coat's pockets as his icy eyes surveyed the city.
"Sorry for the wait, sir," Pachelbel greeted.
"Oh, no, you are just on time," Mann smiled at them. "Let's go in now."
The beer hall was not very big, but there were a lot of people there. Bismarck heard some English and a few other languages like French being spoken in the hall in addition to the standard German, so it appeared that there were quite a few tourists present. Mann led them to a small table in the corner where a woman with shoulder-length dark hair and green eyes was already seated, a tall ale resting in front of her.
"Good afternoon," Mann cheerily greeted her as he sat down at the table along with his subordinates.
The woman merely nodded. "Those uniforms are very conspicuous. It didn't occur to you to wear something else?"
Mann shrugged. "The uniforms look nice. What can I say?"
Ignoring Mann's non-answer, the woman took a quick scan of the room with her sharp jade eyes. "Everything is going according to schedule regardless. I assume you know what that means, so I really don't have much to say here."
"Yes, though I would appreciate it if you could explain things to my comrades. I have only told them the general outline so far," Mann requested.
Their conversation was put on hold as Mann ordered beers for the himself and the three other Reichspolizei. After the drinks were brought, the woman explained the situation to Bismarck, Pachelbel, and Strauss.
"I assume you know that you are here to hunt down a group of insurgents who have decided to rebel against the Kaiser," the woman started. "They are part of the Blutfreiheit Association, a terrorist organization that aims to overthrow the Kaiser and reinstate a democratic government. As you probably already know, Blutfreiheit is not beyond using violent means to achieve their goals, and they are responsible for a number of attacks and assassinations on personnel of the Fourth Reich."
Bismarck had actually never heard of this association before. So there is still infighting like this going on even though we have to defeat the Abyssals…
"They are here in Andermatt today because some of their leaders are holding a meeting to coordinate the moving of a large arms cache into Germany," the woman continued. "They know that you are here today, but they assume that it is because you are here to handle the extradition of the prisoners."
"What prisoners?" Pachelbel asked, confused.
"Oh, that is just some excuse I developed," Mann interjected. "A week ago, some of our agents came here dressed as tourists and started a bar fight with each other. This was done in coordination with a select few Swiss authorities, and as planned, the Swiss authorities arrested our agents and are holding them in a cell here in town. This was all done to give the Reichspolizei an excuse to come to Andermatt."
"Ah. A clever plan," Strauss remarked. "However, would it not have been simpler to just come here dressed as tourists too, then? Why go through the trouble of setting up that excuse in the first place?"
"It's easier for us this way," Mann said. "Blutfreiheit were not even in Andermatt last week, which is why it was easy for us to smuggle in some of our agents in the guise of tourists. But today Blutfreiheit will be very alert, and so if we had come here dressed as tourists, then they may have figured out our ruse and it would have all been over. However, now that we have the convenient excuse of picking up unruly German citizens, Blutfreiheit will not be as cautious because they know exactly why we are here and where we are. Ironically, now that they can see that us Reichspolizei are clearly in Andermatt and making no attempt to hide our presence, they will not expect us to move against them. That's also why I only brought a few agents today; normally, an operation like this would require far more than just a handful of Reichspolizei."
This plan is quite elaborate. The Obergruppenfuhrer is a thorough man, Bismarck thought.
"Yes. And the plan seems to be working so far because Blutfreiheit has made no indication that they are going to change their meeting time or place," the woman said. "They will be convening at a small wooden ski shack located near the back of town. Your commander knows the place, and their meeting should have already started."
"It's already begun? What are we still doing here, then?" Pachelbel was surprised.
"Well, we had to set our meeting with our contact to overlap with their own meeting. It would have been bad if someone from Blutfreiheit saw us talking like this," Mann told them. "Regardless, it would be good if we got moving now. There are still only seven of them present at the meeting, correct?"
The woman nodded. "Seven, all armed."
"That's more than double our number, but we have the advantage of surprise," Mann said as he stood up. "And we have our secret weapon too."
"I won't disappoint you, sir," Bismarck firmly replied, though she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. She began to grow more conscious of the P7 pistol underneath her coat as the time of the operation drew closer and closer.
The Reichspolizei left the beer hall and began walking towards their final destination. Bismarck had never done an operation like this before, and though she knew that there was no way that seven humans would ever be as much of a threat as even the weakest Abyssal, she still felt apprehensive. Perhaps it was because she thought she would have to do something amazing to impress the Obergruppenfuhrer. He obviously had high expectations of her.
When they were close enough to see the small shack in the distance, Mann suddenly stopped.
"My apologies, but this is where I take my leave," he said. "An old man like me will only drag you down if it comes to a gunfight, so I will head elsewhere; there is something important I need to make sure of. But to replace me, we will have him take my spot."
Mann gestured in the direction of a man with a suit, sunglasses, and slicked back black hair who had appeared next to the group. Bismarck did not notice him approach them at all, and from the looks of surprise on Strauss' and Pachelbel's faces, they didn't either. But still, she did recognize him as Mendelssohn, their driver. He had said even less than Bismarck had during the ride over to Andermatt so she didn't know much about him, but if Mann trusted him, then he must be competent enough.
"Well, then, good luck," Mann gave the group one last smile. "If something goes wrong, please contact me. Otherwise, we will meet back up in front of the beer hall afterwards. See you soon."
Pachelbel frowned as Mann walked away. "Hm, the Obergruppenfuhrer would be a bit slower than us, but his accuracy with a pistol is still top-notch. Either way, he must really have something important to do if he's leaving this to us."
"Perhaps he expects Bismarck to simply mow down the enemies herself," Strauss posited.
"I think your expectations might be too high…" Bismarck replied.
"Eh, doesn't matter now, I guess. Let's get going," Pachelbel decided. "Remember, our orders are to him them in non-fatal spots or get them to surrender if we can, but we are allowed to kill them if necessary."
With that in mind, the four Reichspolizei slowly moved towards the shack. It was in an isolated position on the side of a snowy hill on the outskirts of town, and Blutfreiheit had posted no sentries.
Pachelbel pulled out his P7 handgun, and the others followed suit. "Okay… Bismarck, can you take point? You're the most durable out of all of us."
The battleship nodded. "Right. I'll begin our advance, then."
With Bismarck leading the way, the group got closer and closer to the door. The shack did have a few windows, but the view was blocked by some drapes, probably to prevent anyone from getting a look inside the illegal meeting.
All right. Now to breach. With one hand holding her pistol, Bismarck reached over to the doorknob to see if it was unlocked. If it was, then it would be a lot easier for them to break in and catch them by surprise.
Her gloved hand hovered over the doorknob, and she took a breath. Okay. I'm -
The door swung open, hitting Bismarck in the face. Momentarily stunned, she was unable to avoid the hail of bullets that came blasting out from within the cabin. Sharp pain stung at her, and due to the sheer volume of ammunition that was slamming into her, Bismarck lost her balance and fell onto the snow. Her blood stained the white snow red, and she heard shouting and more gunshots even as her ears rang and her vision swam. What… What happened?
Bismarck moaned in pain as she tried to regain her bearings. Though her body was sharply aching from the many spots she had been hit with the bullets, the most they could do to her was tear open her skin and some of her muscle if they hit just right. This was not nearly enough to kill a ship girl, and Bismarck fought through the pain and stood back up.
She saw Strauss over on the other side of the cabin, taking cover behind the wall. Mendelssohn was sprinting over to the opposite side of the cabin from Strauss in order to split the enemy forces, his P7 firing at an insurgent and dashing the enemy's brains onto the snow. However, a stray bullet did manage to hit Mendelssohn before he ducked behind cover, though it only got him in the shoulder.
Lying on the snow a few meters away from Bismarck was Pachelbel. His chest was punctured with a line of red bullet holes, and his unblinking blue eyes stared up at the clear sky. His hat had fallen off his head, but his P7 remained clutched in his hand.
No… I failed, Bismarck lamented as she stared at Pachelbel's lifeless body.
"What the - How is she still alive?" one of the insurgents said, just now noticing that Bismarck was back on her feet.
He lifted his rifle and aimed it at Bismarck, but he was taken aback when she roared and charged at him.
"F-Fuck!" the man cursed, missing his shot as he was thrown off by Bismarck's assault.
Her sapphire eyes filled with fury, Bismarck grabbed the man by his collar, jerked him downwards, and smashed her knee into his chin. When he stumbled, Bismarck got hold of his arm and twisted it, breaking it and making him cry out. He fell to his knees when Bismarck let him go.
Gritting her teeth in regret, the ship girl pulled the P7 free of Pachelbel's grip and turned it on the kneeling insurgent. Without hesitation, she fired, putting a hole in the man's head and dropping him.
This wasn't the first time she had killed a human, of course, but it was the first time she had done so from so close, close enough where she could see the person's face. Nevertheless, the only emotions in Bismarck's mind right now were anger and disappointment in herself.
They trusted me to be their trump card, and yet I…
The other Blutfreiheit members were closing in on Strauss and Mendelssohn, and there actually appeared to be more than seven of them. Given how little cover there was here, they would be overrun in seconds. However, these rebels had forgotten about Bismarck and left her for dead, and she would make them pay for their mistake.
Moving over to Strauss' side of the cabin, Bismarck shot an insurgent in the back twice, then turned her aim to another and hit him in the leg with two bullets. A huge amount of blood began spilling out of the wound as the insurgent cried out, indicating she had hit an artery.
The remaining two insurgents on this side now turned to face the new threat. The first one aimed and fired at Bismarck with her submachine gun, but Bismarck had read her line of sight and stepped out of the way. The ship girl shot at her and missed, but then quickly readjusted her aim and killed the rebel with a shot to the face. The final Blutfreiheit member had been shot dead by Strauss at the same time.
"We have to assist Mendelssohn," Strauss said urgently as he reloaded and began walking over to the other side of the cabin. "Go around from the front, Bismarck!"
The blonde battleship did just that and came up behind four insurgents, who were somehow being held off by Mendelssohn. The suited man was behind the other corner of the shack, occasionally peeking around it and shooting at the Blutfreiheit. Bismarck immediately downed one of them with a headshot, but that drew the attention of the others. Thankfully, Mendelssohn chose that moment to peek out again and shoot at them, forcing two of the rebels to keep their aim on him.
Bismarck aimed at another rebel, who was equipped with a pistol like she was. However, as she fired, the insurgent leapt out of the way and did a combat roll to avoid the shot. Narrowing her eyes in frustration, Bismarck took aim at his position again. However, her P7 clicked empty. The insurgent smiled and took that opportunity to shoot at Bismarck.
The shot bounced off her chest, mildly annoying her, but it didn't stop Bismarck from reaching into her pockets and pulling out another clip. She methodically reloaded her weapon, much to the shock of the insurgent.
"Impossible!" was the insurgent's last word as Bismarck put a bullet through his skull.
She then turned to face the remaining two Blutfreiheit members. By this time Strauss had joined Mendelssohn, and the two of them were keeping the insurgents at bay. Bismarck walked up behind the rebels, dropped her weapon, and grabbed the two unsuspecting enemies by their necks. She lifted the one in her right hand off the ground and smashed his head into the side of the cabin, splattering the wooden exterior with blood and bits of skull and brain matter.
With her right hand now free, Bismarck picked up the last remaining Blutfreiheit, a short woman, with both her hands. With a demonic scowl, Bismarck lifted the insurgent and snapped her spine over her knee. The insurgent let out a shrill scream before Bismarck broke her neck as well, ending her life.
Breathing heavily, Bismarck dropped the corpse. But the window to the cabin then smashed open from the inside, and one more Blutfreiheit member poked his assault rifle out the window and aimed at Bismarck.
Damn it! I'll kill you! Bismarck raged as she searched for the P7 she discarded.
However, that proved unnecessary, as Mendelssohn slid out from behind his cover and shot the insurgent in the head. The Blutfreiheit fell limp as he died on the windowsill.
"I will go check inside for any remaining hostiles," Mendelssohn said, dusting the snow off his suit. Despite his wound and having just come out of battle, his voice was even and emotionless.
Strauss came out from the other side of the cabin as well. He eyed the dead insurgent in the window. "I think that was the last of them."
Strauss then kicked at the snow in frustration. "Damn it! It was an ambush…"
A buzzing sound emerged from Strauss' coat, and he reached into his pocket to answer the call. "Hello? Obergruppenfuhrer?"
Bismarck was close enough to hear the voice on the other end. "Strauss? Get out of there. It's an ambush."
"Yes. We found that out the hard way, sir," Strauss replied. "All hostiles have been eliminated."
"I see… Any casualties?"
"... Pachelbel was killed in action."
"That is a terrible tragedy. These gutter trash will pay," Mann promised. "I must apologize, for though I considered this outcome unlikely, I did think that it was possible, and so I preemptively went and prevented our contact from leaving Andermatt. Now that she is in our possession, we will interrogate her and find out how and why this happened. Strauss, return with Bismarck to the beer hall. Mendelssohn will make sure that Pachelbel's body is taken back to Germany."
"Yes, sir."
He hung up the phone and turned to Bismarck. "The Obergruppenfuhrer has ordered us to return to the beer hall, and he says they have our contact, who set us up, in custody. Let's go."
Bismarck nodded as the adrenaline wore off. She took one last glance at Pachelbel's frozen eyes as he lay there in the snow, then followed after Strauss.
When they arrived at the beer hall, Obergruppenfuhrer Mann was standing out in front, awaiting them. He turned his gaze towards Bismarck first.
"Did you walk through town like that?"
Bismarck followed his eyes and looked down at her torso. Bloody bullet holes had been punctured through her military coat, and though it looked bad, she didn't feel that much pain anymore aside from a slight stinging sensation near her wounds. The Fairies in her body had also already stopped the bleeding.
"Well… If you are all right, then I suppose that is the important thing," Mann said, eyeing her curiously. "I assume you are not injured, Strauss?"
"No, sir. Please allow me to deal with the interrogations," he replied, trying to restrain his rage.
Mann's cold eyes twinkled in amusement. "As you wish. But take Bismarck with you."
"Bismarck? But shouldn't she get her injuries treated?"
"Ship girls are much better at healing than humans are, and even gunshot wounds are minor to them," Mann informed him as he turned back to Bismarck. "But still, this is my first time seeing such a thing in person… What a truly wondrous weapon…"
Strauss cleared his throat. "Obergruppenfuhrer, the location of the insurgents?"
"They are being held in the basement of that gift shop over there by some of our agents," Mann pointed across the street. "The woman who we met today along with two of her conspirators will be there. Get out of them how they knew about our plan, and why they decided to betray us. Also figure out where the actual meeting is taking place."
"Yes, sir."
Slightly apprehensively, Bismarck followed Strauss to the gift shop. She didn't know why she would be needed if they were going to interrogate prisoners, and she was still trying to get over the suddenness of the way the plan went wrong. Nevertheless, she dutifully trailed behind Strauss as a Reichspolizei who wasn't in uniform led them down the stairs into the basement. There, she saw the black-haired woman from earlier tied to a chair, along with two other men who were bound as well.
"I'll be taking it from here," Strauss said to the Reichspolizei who was standing guard by the prisoners.
The officer nodded to Strauss and made way for him. Bismarck hadn't been given any specific orders aside from following Strauss, so she just stood in the back with the other Reichspolizei officer.
The woman who they had met earlier looked up at Strauss. A wry smile made it to her face. "So you managed to survive, eh? Well, some of you did, at least."
Strauss smashed the back of his fist into her cheek, sending a glob of blood flying from her mouth.
"Tell me where the real meeting is taking place," he demanded in a dark tone.
With her lip bleeding, the woman scowled at him. "Go to hell, imperial scum."
Strauss punched her, breaking her nose. "I won't ask you so nicely again. Tell me."
"Eheh… Hehehe," the woman laughed weakly. "Look at you. You're no better than the Nazis. Is this really the state of our country now? The Abyssals have made Germany crazy, and we have turned a blind eye to the death of democracy because of them. I will gladly die to defy power-hungry fools like the Kaiser and bootlickers like you."
Pulling out his combat knife, Strauss stepped away from the woman. He went over to one of the men, and dragged the man and his chair in front of the woman.
"Tell me everything or I will gouge this man's eyes out, cut his ears and nose off, and then slit his throat," Strauss threatened.
The man's eyes bulged in fear. "W-Wait, what?! No!"
"You're free to tell me as well. I will spare you some pain if you do so," Strauss said to the man.
"B-But I don't know! Only she does!"
Strauss shrugged. "Then it's a shame for you."
The knife was then jammed into the man's eye, eliciting an inhuman shriek. Strauss then proceeded to dig his knife deeper and began moving it in a circle motion, his face calm and his blue eyes hard as steel.
An uneasy feeling churned in Bismarck's stomach as she watched from the back, and when the bloody eyeball was finally gouged out and hit the ground with a squelch amidst the man's tortured wails, she finally had enough and quickly headed back up the stairs. Without looking back, she slammed open the door to the gift shop and took a deep breath of the cold, alpine air. She screwed her eyes shut as she tried to rid her mind of the screaming. It couldn't be heard from out here, so the Reichspolizei had evidently chosen this place with that in mind.
"Taking a break, I see?"
She flashed her eyes back open and straightened herself out as Obergruppenfuhrer Mann approached. In spite of the situation, he still had that strange, affected smile on his face.
"I don't think there is much left for me to do down there, sir," Bismarck said.
Mann nodded. "Fine, if you say so. I thought you might be interested in learning some interrogation techniques, but I suppose it's not strictly necessary. Care for some?"
He held out a bar of Toblerone chocolate, but Bismarck was in no mood to eat anything right now. She shook her head.
"... So what did you think of your first mission?" Mann then asked.
Bismarck didn't know how to answer that. "Um, I… It was…"
Mann chuckled. "I see. But regardless, you did exceptionally well for your first time on an operation like this. Ship girls truly are marvelous, especially in terms of their durability. Any regular officer would have been dead if they took the same amount of fire that you did, yet you are perfectly healthy."
"Yes. The enemy was not too difficult to defeat," Bismarck replied. Though I still let an ally die…
"I think you can be a valuable asset to us, Bismarck," Mann told her. "If you continue your work with the Reichspolizei, no insurgency or rebel group or terrorist organization can ever stand up to us. Good people like Pachelbel will no longer have to die."
"But… I am a ship girl," she stated. "I belong on the water, fighting Abyssals. I shouldn't be doing this, sir…"
"Oh, that doesn't matter," Mann waved her off. "Of course, if you are needed to defend Germany from Abyssals, then that's where you will be sent. But for now, it doesn't appear that we are in any danger from them, no?"
"Okinawa was recently taken. The Abyssals are still strong," Bismarck argued.
"What's done is done, and that is across the world from us anyway," Mann shook his head. "Really, Bismarck. Have you not had enough of doing the bidding of the Americans and the Japanese? You were built by Germans and for Germans, were you not?"
That's true, but… Bismarck couldn't just abandon those she fought with.
She wore a resolute look as she faced her commander. "Sir. My duty is to protect humanity from the Abyssals, and that is what I will do. If I can't save Japan or any other country, then how can I be trusted to protect Germany? I'm sorry, but that is my purpose for existing. The Third Reich's greatest battleship will not abandon the fight after one defeat."
A brief silence followed, and Bismarck grew more and more tense as the seconds passed. Did I offend him?
Finally, Mann let out a small sigh. "So that is your viewpoint? It is much different from what I expected from a Nazi warship. But it is a noble cause nonetheless, I suppose. We will see where your future will lead you, battleship Bismarck."
The Obergruppenfuhrer walked away, leaving Bismarck by herself in front of the gift shop.
Right… I don't know what will happen in the future, but… In this life, this time, I won't run away. That I am sure of.