"Alright. Bombs away, Commander." Eagle spoke calmly as her AP bombs pierced the Drone ships' shields, detonating on their decks causing mass amounts of damage.
"Good. Launch another wave, I want those shields gone before we get in range." Isaac said as he watched through binoculars. He saw tiny black specks rise against the blue backdrop of the sky.
"Belay that order. There is a Carrier among them. I want you to send up a squad of spitfires to escort your bombers. Once they release their payload, break off and engage the enemy aircraft." Isaac said without looking up from his binoculars.
"As you command. That carrier won't survive much longer." Eagle spoke.
"I appreciate the gusto, Eagle. But let's not get cocky. If Nimi and past experience has taught me anything, overconfidence is a bigger enemy than the sirens themselves." Isaac said as he put the radio receiver to his mouth.
"All hands, prepare for Anti Air combat. There is confirmed at least one carrier among their fleet. Omaha, I am handing express control of all AA operations to you. Utilize the fleet's AA as best you can." Isaac spoke as Omaha acknowledged his order.
"Short fuses. Those sirens like to fly low so they don't expend as much energy with their plasma weapons. And keep a tight envelope over the center of the fleet. They like to target Carriers first to try and take out opposing air capabilities." Omaha informed the fleet. Everyone made the proper adjustments as the first wave of the Drone ships came within range.
"Richelieu, Rodney. Armor Piercing. We still have shields to contend with. We have to slow their advance so that Eagle can destroy their carrier.
"Understood, Commander." Rodney spoke as Richelieu aimed her 8 forward mounted rifles.
Richelieu and Rodney fired. Isaac could feel the combined shockwave even inside the bridge of the Eagle.
"Remind me to never get on their bad side..." Isaac whispered.
"That goes for anyone, mein Liebling." Nimi spoke through the radio.
"Nimi, Triomphant. Stick with the fleet. Screen for torpedoes but do not leave the cover of the secondary batteries of our battleships. I refuse to allow any of our firepower be left without protection anymore." Isaac spoke.
"I see that you were paying attention during our first lesson. Remind me to come and teach you more modern techniques though. It seems that we are using a defense forward strategy." Nimi spoke.
"I'll disregard the near insubordinate tone and agree. After our last bout with a carrier division, I will not leave anything to chance. We condense our firepower and only break open our shell if it is our last resort." Isaac spoke.
"A respectable decision, Commander." Richelieu said as she fired another salvo. She was out of synch with Rodney, Probably due to her 380mm guns being easier to reload quickly when compared to Rodney's 406mm rifles.
"I appreciate the praise. Eagle, are we having an effect on their shields?" Isaac asked.
"Forward wave has lost their shields due to the continued efforts of our battleships. A torpedo assault would be recommended." Eagle spoke as her spitfires engaged the Siren aircraft. They broke off and began chasing down the aircraft as the Albacores went after their main target.
"Looks as if there is only one carrier. Bombs away. Good hit on target. Bombs have penetrated their shields. Second bombing run is commencing." Eagle spoke as she summoned another wave of Albacores.
"Nimi, Triomphant. Fire a narrow wave of torpedoes at the incoming first wave. Their shields are down and it will be the quickest way to send them to the bottom." Isaac spoke.
"Understood." Nimi and Triophant both spoke as they broke from the shell and advanced under the cover of Rodney and Richelieu's secondary guns. They released an ungodly number of torpedoes towards their enemy as the secondary and AA batteries of the fleet opened up to receive the enemy aircraft.
"We are keeping the aircraft out ahead of the battleships, sir." Omaha spoke.
"Good. That is excellent news. Any news from you, Eagle?" Isaac asked.
"Good news, actually. Despite the heavier AA that our enemy has, we got lucky to disable most of them with our bombing runs." Eagle said as Isaac confirmed torpedo hits on most of the targets in the first wave.
"Confirmed 3 out of 5 ships hit. Good effect on target. I can see them listing from here. Surcouf, feel free to use whatever torpedoes you have to sink the other two. Nimi, Triomphant, Get back behind the battleships after Surcouf has fired. I don't want you exposed to enemy fire longer than you have to." Isaac spoke as he confirmed two black spears slicing beneath the waves.
"I've never seen those kind of torpedoes before. I'll have to ask once the battle is over." Isaac thought to himself.
"Understood, returning to the battleship shell." Nimi spoke. Triomphant followed closely behind.
"Eagle, Status." Isaac demanded.
"Aircraft carrier is heavily damaged. Their flight deck is no longer operational. It is within range of the battleships. It looks like we still have two battleship class drones to deal with." Eagle reported.
"Understood. Richelieu, Rodney, Fusou. Break formation and set up a defensive wall with your shields to defend the fleet. Once the shields on the battleships are dealt with, I want full broadsides to rain down upon them. We have been lucky to be mostly out of range of their weapons. I'd like to keep it that way if possible." Isaac spoke.
"Understood, sir." Rodney and Richelieu spoke.
"Yes, my master." Fusou spoke.
"Bit of a weird title there, Fusou." Isaac spoke as he finally pulled himself from his binoculars.
"I can stop if you would like." Fusou suggested.
"It's fine. Just making a comment." Isaac spoke as the three battleships lined up in a semi circle formation in front of the fleet, allowing space for the destroyers to sneak torpedoes through.
"Surcouf. I believe that we have dealt with all cruiser class drone ships. Your torpedoes saw to that. Scout ahead of the fleet once the carrier is down. Anything you can collect in terms of salvage. vI'll take it here so that Nimi and I can get a good look at it to further increase our effectiveness.
"Understood." Surcouf spoke softly over the radio.
"Eagle, Begin an attack run on those battleships. Girls, send that carrier to Davy Jones." Isaac said as his battleships opened up, sending 29 heavy caliber shells screaming through the air, most of which landing directly on the carrier, piercing the armor and detonating within. Even without binoculars, Isaac could see that their single salvo was enough as a massive explosion rang out, breaking the ship in two. Isaac confirmed that Surcouf had departed the shell as he watched a long silver hunter slide underneath the battleships.
"All ships, good effect on target. Shields on the battleships are down. All ships, open fire and sink them." Isaac spoke as one of the battleships managed to get a shot away before being destroyed. The shot hit Richelieu's foremost turret but did next to no damage due to her stronger shields.
"Damage repot." Isaac demanded.
"Scratched paint and a small dent, sir. I'm fine." Richelieu spoke.
"Good." Isaac spoke as the battleships sunk below the waves after feeling the fury of Isaac's fleet.
"There are no other contacts on radar. We have cleared this battlefield." Eagle spoke, confirming with the battleships and Surcouf, who was salvaging pieces of armor and unused siren ammunition.
"Then this battle is ours. Well done." Isaac spoke as he allowed himself to relax.
"Everyone meet on the Eagle. I want to debrief over lunch. Let's get a move on. If they got radio transmissions away, I don't want to be here when reinforcements show up." Isaac spoke.
"Understood. Rejoining the shell. All ships set course for Fiji." Richelieu spoke as the battle group moved forward.
"Akashi." I-13 spoke.
"Nyaa?" Akashi asked as she sat in front of a pile of wisdom cubes.
"I see you work quickly. We found something else you might enjoy." I-13 spoke as she dropped the briefcase and Blueprints on the table.
"Nyaa! More ships to build!" Akashi spoke as she divided the cubes for each ship.
"You know how to do this already?" I-13 asked.
"Hai! The last Shikikan did the same when he made Roon-sama. She was...intense, nyaa." Akashi spoke, remembering the many many trips to the infirmary after getting caught in the crossfire of one of Roon's mood swings.
"I see. So how long will it take for these three?" I-13 asked.
"Akashi needs the battle records from the Shikikan's office. The battle data that they hold will be the only thing Akashi needs to bring these Kansen to life." Akashi spoke.
"Then I will retrieve it. If we can get lucky, We might be able to send them straight to Fiji to meet up with Shikikan." I-13 spoke.
I-13 walked up the path to the Commander's building. She found the door locked tight. She looked around to make sure nobody saw her as she launched her fighter aircraft to shoot out the door handle, completely bypassing the lock.
"Sorry, Shikikan. I'll fix it later." I-13 whispered as she slipped inside the building. After a quick look around, I-13 found what she needed and promptly left.
She returned to Akashi who had already fed the blueprints and schematics to the three piles of cubes.
"We have two battleships and a cruiser, nyaa. Which do you think Shikikan would like first?" Akashi asked.
"it doesn't really matter if we send them all at once. They're all Iron Blood so they can hold their own without a commander. And with three of them, I would shudder at the thought at facing them." I-13 spoke.
"Fair enough, nyaa. Let us build the one they call Odin first." Akashi spoke.
"Let's do it." I-13 spoke as she handed the files to Akashi.
"Lady Yukikaze. We are passing the far reach of the Philippines1. If we continue this course, we can hit Fiji in 32 hours, especially since the sea is in our favor." Taka spoke.
"Hold up, Taka. I see something in the water." Yukikaze spoke as she activated her rigging, something that was clearly a struggle for her.
"Lady Yukikaze. Please be careful. you haven't recovered from your torture. You haven't eaten anything in over three days." Taka spoke.
"Then make me something, nanoda. I see a pair of wisdom cubes floating out off my port bow. I'm going to retrieve them as a peace offering to the Shikikan." Yukikaze spoke.
"Then at least tie a rope to your waist. That way we can pull you back aboard should you over exert yourself." Taka said as the other three gathered around him.
"I'll be fine, Taka. Just get me a blanket, nanoda." Yukikaze spoke as she jumped from the bow onto the surface of the ocean.
Several minutes passed before Yukikaze returned with the cubes.
"See? I told you, nanoda. Don't question Yukikaze the Great." Yukikaze spoke as she handed the cubes to Hashirama, who wrapped them in the blanket.
"I could feel them. A Union Carrier. Very powerful, nanoda." Yukikaze spoke.
"I'm sure this Shikikan will be happy to add such a powerful ally to his ranks." Taka spoke.
"I hope so, nanoda. Can we eat? I am very hungry as you said." Yukikaze said as she fell into Taka's arms.
"Of course. Just keep holding course. full steam ahead. We can manage everything else." Taka said as he took her below deck.
"Alright everyone. Settle down." Isaac spoke as his fleet sat quietly in the mess hall.
"We won today's battle. the only casualty we suffered was some paint off Richelieu's turret. So I want to say well done. Our strategy was enough this time to keep everyone safe. and our preemptive measures ensured that we did not suffer at all under enemy air attack. That said, we have to steel ourselves. We are just under half way to Fiji by this point. We may face another stronger fleet as we approach. We may not. I do not have all the answers. We will keep our spotter planes in effect until we land in Fiji. Once there, we will stay for a few days for rest and repairs. After all, I'm sure that this will be a long grueling crawl to the Sakura homeland. I want to keep morale high despite our rushed schedule. So we will take some time to properly rest and relax in Fiji." Isaac spoke.
The mess hall grew loud with the sound of cheers.
"Quiet down!" Isaac yelled. The mess hall became eerily quiet.
"We are not perfect, however. We need to be on the lookout for new ships to add to our ranks. We will need a lot of firepower, not just for the Philippines, or for Sakura. But our goal is the entire world. So it is imperative that we help as many ships as we can. Keep your eyes peeled for cubes, submarines, or anything that could indicate a ship." Isaac spoke.
"Understood Commander." Richelieu said as the rest of the girls nod.
"Dismissed. Eat up before going back to performing your duties. Surcouf, Nimi, after lunch, meet me in the cargo hold with the scrap that Surcouf collected." Isaac spoke as he took his cup of tea and walked out.