In the time that the monstrosity called the dreadnought appeared onto the battlefield, nearly a quarter of the Azur sky was forced to retreat. Multiple injuries, knocked unconscious or in critical condition, the armada struggled to hold its own against the Siren's secret weapon.
One look at the size and number of mounted guns the dreadnought had and it became clear why it's presence was such a game changer. The rate of fire, the intensity of attacks, its thick armor and every second staying alive was nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps, the one good thing about the situation is that the fleet was able to take out all the other Siren ships, allowing them to focus all their attention on the Siren's ace.
"We're getting reports of major casualties from the Light Cruisers and Battleship divisions," called out Belfast "
"Tell Cleveland and Warspite to issue evacuation orders," shouted Enterprise, skidding to her left, narrowly avoiding an enemy barrage "if they can't fight send them back."
"But if we do that our advantage…."
"We don't have any advantage here," interrupted Akagi "that damn thing makes all our attacks look like a joke."
"She's right about that," said Friedrich, firing multiple shots at the dreadnought, only to see it land surface level damage on the ship.
"Not even my weapons can scratch the monster," she said, gritting her teeth angrily.
"We have to do something," said Roon, "otherwise that thing won't stop till we're all dead."
"Tell the divisions to break formations and spread out," said Akagi "as long as we're close together, we're only making it easy for that thing to hit us."
"I'll scan the body," said Saint Louis "there has to be some weakness in the armor we can exploit."
Enterprise and Akagi nodded and Saint Louis left to fulfill her objective. As much as their plans did address some of the immediate problems, it did little to change the overarching problem at hand. They needed a way to figure out how to stop that monster and fast.
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An older man continually pounded his fists into a young child before throwing the boy into the nearby furniture.
"Useless piece of crap," said the man, spitting at the wounded child "not even worth the damn clothes I gave you."
"What's the point of having a child if you can't steal for your family from time to time?"
The older man dug into his pockets and pulled out a single cigarette. Then he put it in his mouth and lit it up with his lighter. After letting out a few puffs, he kicked the child in the chest once more then turned around and left.
That was his earliest childhood memory. He'd either get beat up for having a crack addict father or get beaten by his dad for having such a terrible mom. Either way, he was a punching bag for years, till he worked up the courage to run away.
For a many years, he lived his life on the streets. Living in squalor and filth, barely getting by, every day was struggle. Food was scarce and whenever there was, he'd have to fight for even the smallest morsels. Malnourished, weak and nearing death, he decided to enlist in the army. There, he'd have food, clothes, a roof over his head and basic cleanliness. Sure, it meant a harsh training period but that felt a lot better than a life on the streets.
It was during his training days, his life finally took a turn for the better.
The door to his cell room opened, letting in a little light. Through it came a menacing looking may, his laser-like stare recognizing the single living thing in the shadows.
"Well kid," said the man, with a sarcastic smile, "you're the first to have survived for so long in the Hole. Consider yourself lucky."
"I heard word that you got sent here for assaulting a superior officer. Why pray tell did you do that?"
"Because the piece of shit really pissed me off for no reason. And I've got an anger problem," he replied, still sitting on the ground, in the shadows.
"You and I both know that is a bold faced lie," said the older soldier, putting his arms on his sides "every incident of you attacking someone or getting into a fight, you've always told your superiors the same thing."
"Yet, the more I dig into those reports, the more I find out it has less to do with your anger issues and more to do with helping out your squadmates."
'I told you old man," he said, his voice brimming with anger "I've got an anger issue. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Why the hell is someone from high command coming all the way to see a bottom feeder like me?" he added.
"The thing is," said the older man "you may act like this loner type, but I see right through you. I don't know what kinda hell you been through growing up but there's potential in you to do good. Hell, there's potential in you to do great. Trouble is, not many people in the army see that."
"They'd rather be rid of you instead of risk putting a gun in your hand."
"And which camp do you sit in?" he asked, finally standing up.
"The former of course," replied the older man, smiling "you can come with me, realize your potential and put that 'anger' of yours to good use. Or, you can stew here in this wonderfully accommodating prison cell till they decide to get rid of you."
"You really make it sound like I got a choice," he said sarcastically "fair warning old man, none of my superiors could deal with me for more than a month."
"Well that's why records are meant to be broken," said the older man, extending his hand out.
That was when everything changed for him.
Watching every moment of his life play out in high definition, he imagined this must be what happens to people when they're about to die. It was nice to see that a life which started off bad took a turn for good. There were plenty of chances for it to get worse but it didn't. It was a long and rewarding life, but it wasn't over yet.
There was still one fight left and luckily enough, he had enough strength in him just for that.
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Slowly and weakly, he opened his eyes. His breathing was ragged and painful, his body felt like it weighed a ton and he had the mother of all headaches.
"…..mander," said a voice, but he was still trying to get over the stinging headache.
"Commander," said the voice again, this time a little clearer than before.
"Enter, Enterprise," he said, staggering to his feet. Only then, did he notice how his left foot was bleeding and a bone was sticking out of his right foot.
"Thank goodness," she said, sounding relieved "when that thing turned its guns on you…"
"Sorry about that," he said, pushing his bone back into his body and gritting his teeth so that no one worried about him.
Slowly, he got back to his feet for a second time, then took a good look at the dreadnought.
"How bad?" he asked
"Really bad," replied Akagi "we've lost nearly all our forces since it appeared."
"'Lost?'"
"Had to send them to Vestal before it was too late," elaborated Enterprise.
"How many of you can still fight? Sound off."
"Enterprise"
"Akagi"
"Cleveland"
"Hornet"
"Friedrich"
"Roon"
"Saint Louis"
"Warspite"
"Illustrious"
"Belfast"
"Queen… Elizabeth"
"Eugen"
"Wales"
"Here's what you're going to do," he said "stick to one side of the dreadnought and fire at the cannons. If you can take out more than half the cannons on one side, then there's an opening."
"An opening for what?" asked Queen Elizabeth.
"I'll let you know when I figure it out. Stick to quick strikes and don't stay in a single place for too long."
"Alright," said the group and positioned themselves to the left side of the dreadnought and started attacking.
Watching this, the Commander was at a loss of ideas. Even if they were able to clear one side of the Siren supership, there was still the problem of its impenetrable armor. Add do that, the two giant rail guns and time was running out. He had to think of something to level the playing field or else, they were going to lose.
It was in this moment of desperation, he turned to Omega's corpse and for a moment, a crazy idea ran through his mind. Siren tech was a fusion of a living thing and a machine. The body might no longer work, but the tech could.
With that in mind, he grabbed his sword and cut off her left arm, then bent down and picked it up. Looking at the arm, he thought about how bad his idea was. There had to be another way, another plan to defeat the Siren dreadnought.
But when he heard the cannons firing at the ocean waters and saw his team scrambling to take out some of the cannons, he remembered his promise.
The Commander then took out the communicator in his ear and placed the severed arm near his left stub. The machines inside the alien arm came to life and a number of wires sprouted out, digging into his left stub.
He fell to his knees enduring the pain in silence, but when he could feel the wires dig through his arm and spread throughout his body, the pain became too much for him.
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Queen Elizabeth fired multiple times at some of the cannons along with Friedrich and Roon. Then, they noticed one of the rail guns at the top gathering energy. They saw the barrels spinning in alternating sets.
"Everyone, get out of the way," shouted Friedrich "that thing's about to fire."
They saw the barrels now pointed at them and it seemed like the energy charge was complete. As it was about to fire, two energy beams from another location hit it, causing the rail gun to explode in a ball of fire.
"Sorry," he said, "that took a little longer than expected."
The team turned around, happy to see the Commander, but their joy faded when they saw what happened to him.
Where once there was a stub, there was now a mechanical left arm, mutated to fit his size and body. The many cuts and wounds he took during the fight were covered up with pieces of metal. Add to that, his black hair and yellow eyes and it was understood why the group seemed a little hesitant to approach him.
"Commander?" said Enterprise, cautiously taking a step forward.
"Please, don't come any closer," he said, holding his hand out "it's taking everything I have to not attack you."
"What is going on Commander?" asked Illustrious "what happened to you?"
"Took a risk and for now, it's paying off," he replied then opened and closed his left hand.
"The only way to stop that thing is by taking out the engine," he said, turning their attention back to the real problem
"And the only way to do that is to get onboard," said Cleveland.
"Exactly, which is why all of you need to get out of her now."
"What?" asked Saint Louis
"I'll go up there and take out the engine," he said, floating in the air and was about to take off.
"Oh no you don't," said Enterprise and Akagi, grabbing him by the feet and pulling him back down.
"What the? Didn't I tell you not to come near me?"
"Well we had no other choice, given the circumstances," said Akagi.
"Commander," said Enterprise "by your own admission, your fighting two fights right now. You can't go up there on your own and think you can beat it."
"Then what do you suggest I do? Take someone with me?"
"No, take all of us," said Eugen "the more of us there are, the better our chances."
"I can't take everyone," he said, shaking his head "at most, I can only take two of you with me."
"Fine then," said Akagi, stepping forward "I volunteer."
"So do I," said Enterprise, doing the same.
The Commander was about to take their hands, when he suddenly convulsed forward and rubbed his head.
"Commander," shouted the pair, immediately coming and picking him up.
"Commander are you sure you can do this?" asked Saint Louis
"I have to," he replied, slowly standing on his own "Omega's weapons are the only things that can penetrate the Siren armor."
"Let's go," he said, holding Akagi and Enterprise's hands. Without saying anything else to the others, the trio took off, heading to the dreadnought.
As they drew closer to the ship, it's cannons on the side fired continually at them, in an attempt to slow them down. The plan would have worked, if it weren't for everyone on the ground giving them covering fire.
"Keep going everyone," shouted Hornet, firing as many airplanes as she could at the ship.
"Enterprise, Akagi," said Friedrich, using her internal communicator.
"I'm speaking to you on an encrypted channel so don't say anything," she continued "as far as I'm concerned, there's only one objective for the two of you: bring him back."
The two understood the weight of her words. As much as he was concerned about them, they were equally concerned about him. This was reflected just a few moments ago when the group wanted to come with him, but couldn't due to his physical limitations. As much as they all wanted to help him fight, especially when it mattered most, this was all they could do.
"No matter what," she added, sounding desperate "bring him back."
The trio now landed on the edge of the ship. As the port and starboard cannons turned to the three of them, the Commander raised both his hands up, producing a shield around all three of them to block their barrage.
Now understanding why he had to be here, Enterprise and Akagi started firing at the barrels of the cannons just as they were about to fire. Their attacks detonated the ammunition inside and did twice as much damage as their regular attacks.
"Let's go Commander," called out Enterprise.
Nodding to her, the Commander pushed forward, all the while maintaining the shield. While he protected them, Akagi and Enterprise made sure each shot count. They could see how the enemy barrage was taxing his mind, making it harder for him to concentrate. Knowing that time was of the essence, the two displayed how dangerous they really were and fired airplanes and arrows into the cannon barrels, setting either side of the Siren dreadnought on fire.
Soon enough, the trio reached the second rail gun, which was about ready to fire. Akagi and Enterprise both wondered if it was possible, if the Commander's shield was strong enough to block a point-blank shot from a weapon ten times their size.
Neither of them wanted to risk it and instead fired down the barrels of the rail gun. However, they were surprised to see that the attack did not have the intended effect.
"Both of you," he said, turning to them "duck"
They did as told and the Commander lowered the shield. Then, he turned his left arm into a gun and fired a concentrated energy beam right down the centre of the rail gun. The energy beam was like a sword and sliced the giant gun in half.
The only problem was, it took a lot of energy from the Commander, who now fell forward, unable to handle the stress.
He could hear their voices, the voices of a millions Sirens screaming in his mind. They all told him to kill, to kill the two behind him, kill the others below and everyone else recovering a little further away. It would be easy for him to do it. With his new mutation and Omega's power, there was nothing stopping him.
'That's right,' he thought 'I have all the power I could ever want.'
'I could do anything. No, I can do anything. I could rule this world and theirs. I could, I could use the Sirens, change them, make them a force for good.'
'But they're not going to let that happen,' said an unfamiliar voice.
'They're going to stop you.'
'They don't want you to have that power.'
'They'll all turn on you.'
'Kill them'
'Kill them'
'Kill them'
'Kill them'
'Kill them'
'Kill them all.'
His mind was made up, he opened his eyes and turned to his two allies.
"Something's wrong," said Enterprise, tapping Akagi on the shoulder.
"Commander," shouted Akagi, seeing him and immediately noticing he was not himself "Commander don't do this."
"Damn it Commander," said Enterprise, forming an arrow "don't make me do this."
But he remained silent. The moment he took a step towards them, the pair knew that they were too late. Try as he might, the Commander had succumbed to the Siren infection and was now one of them.
Hesitant but seeing no other options, Enterprise fired an arrow. However, because of her mindset, the arrow did not hit him in the chest or stomach. Instead, it hit him on the side.
Advancing towards them, he suddenly noticed something shining on the ship deck. Upon further inspection, he found that it was his badge, which was probably knocked off of him from Enterprise's attack.
'The badge,' he thought, remembering the moment when Hood pinned it to his shirt, entrusting the fate of everyone in this world to him.
Then, he remembered Yorktown's smiling face and the kids in her class. Unicorn, Foote, Spencer, Thatcher, Fletcher, Charles and the rest.
He remembered Friedrich, Tirpitz and everyone else. One by one, the faces of Belfast, Illustrious, Eugen, Hornet, Wales, Cleveland, Saint Louis, Friedrich, Roon, Monarch, Neptune and everyone else flashed by his mind. At the end of it, he saw Enterprise's and Akagi smiling at him.
'Whatever it takes,' the prayer echoed through his mind once again.
Now, on his knees, clutching his head with his right hand, Akagi and Enterprise saw him raise his left arm up, then hit the deck with all his might. They saw how his fist had gone through the armor, then saw him tear off a chunk of the deck and throw it away.
As they came closer, they noticed a large blue orb glowing underneath the deck. Realizing what it was, the two wasted little time in assaulting the ship's core causing it to detonate. Almost immediately, they felt their footing turn bad, as the dreadnought could no longer remain flying in the air and was now crashing into the ground.
"Let's get out of here," he said, extending his hands out to both of them. They both grabbed his arms and together, the three of them flew off the ship, heading for a nearby island. On seeing this, the rest of the group headed in the same direction.
Now that they were safe and sound, the Commander quickly leapt back, putting some distance between them. Then, he grabbed his left arm and started to pull it off. As he did, he could hear the Siren voices growing louder and angrier. Their voices were banging on the inside of his mind, making it almost impossible to have a single thought.
That was when he noticed the rest of the group coming up the hill.
"Saint Louis," he called out, "cut off my arm. Do it now."
Without hesitation, Saint Louis came forward and with her spear, she sliced off the mutated arm in a single swing. The Commander then grabbed the arm and flung it into the air, where it was incinerated by a combined attack from Friedrich and Roon.
They all watched the dreadnought crash into the ocean, sending gallons of water into the sky.
"Is it…. Over?" asked Warspite, looking around.
"it is," replied Wales, as she and everyone else saw the Siren dreadnought sinking into the ocean.
"It's finally over," said Eugen, sighing in relief "that was…. That was too intense."
"Ohhhh I can't move my legs," said Queen Elizabeth.
"I for one would love to sleep in my room for a whole week," said Illustrious.
"I second that," added Belfast.
"I guess we'll have plenty of time to rest, now that the war's over, right Commander?" asked Enterprise, turning around. Her smile faded when she saw the metal that covered his body was gone, re-opening the wounds inflicted on him.
"Yeah," he said, with a weak smile and the color draining from his face "you all finally have the peace you….. deserve."
"Commander," shouted Enterprise, running to him and catching him as he fell down.
"No, no, no," said Akagi, tears forming in her eyes as everyone came around him "Commander, you can't. You can't go."
"We need to take him to Vestal," shouted Hornet "now!"
"It's too…. Late for me," he said.
"Don't you dare give up," shouted Wales "not now. Not after everything that's happened."
"That's right," said Warspite "you have to recover Commander, you have to… come back."
"Why?" asked Enterprise, crying as she held on to him "why did you do that? Why did you put your life at risk like that?"
"It was…." He said, but coughed up some blood "….. the only way."
"This isn't how it was supposed to end," said Roon, who could not hold back her emotions and was sobbing terribly "not like this."
"I'm sorry….. for that, but you….. shouldn't be …. Sad."
"And why not?" shouted Enterprise "you're going to die. Even if we rush you to the hospital now, it'll still be too late. How can you be okay with that?"
"Because… I found what I was looking for my whole life," he replied "a place…. To call my…. Own."
"And I'm glad…" he said, reaching out to Akagi, who immediately came and held his hand "that I got to protect you….. and everyone else."
Enterprise saw him slowly reach out and hold her hand before placing it on top of Akagi's. Then, he put his hand over both of them and said "enjoy the peace, you all fought so hard for."
With the last remnants of his strength, he smiled at them and then he became silent. Everyone could see the light fading from his eyes and soon enough, there was nothing left.
"Commander?" called out Akagi, slight moving him but no response.
"Commander," said Enterprise, clutching him tightly in the hope that some response would come.
Cleveland fell to her knees and covered her eyes. Hornet lowered her hat, her fist trembling. Belfast did her best to hold her emotions in, while Illustrious cried on her shoulder. Saint Louis shouted as loud as she could, venting her frustration. Wales kept rubbing her face, but tears continued flowing.
'I'm sorry Bismarck,' thought Friedrich, tears rolling down her cheeks 'I couldn't protect him.'
"What's the point of having peace if you're not there to share it with us?" cried Enterprise, "please Commander, come back."
It should have been a joyous day. Defeating the Sirens and ending the war was supposed to be something a momentous occasion, filled with parties and music.
But when the group met with the rest of the Armada and then headed back to base, there was no celebrating. The war was won and peace was restored. Yet victory only came through the sacrifice of their beloved Commander.
(AN: yep, the story's wrapping up now)