"Come on. Come on. Wake up." A woman spoke in a hushed voice.
"Find her now! The cubes of both Phoenix and St. Louis are missing." Another voice spoke.
"Come on, Vestal. Let me out there to buy you some time!" A bright red haired woman said as she and a small pink haired woman sat huddled in the dark next to a WC matrix device.
"No, Phoenix! If you go out there now without us knowing where your ship is, we are dead before we even get out of here." Vestal said as the tube raised slowly, revealing another woman, her blue hair being the most prominent feature.
"Sister!" Phoenix cried softly as she ran forward to catch her.
"Phoenix? Vestal? Where are we?" St. Louis asked.
"Pearl Harbor. The sirens unleashed a superweapon after our victory over Sakura. I managed to survive the blast, I don't know how. But I can say with certainty that pretty much every Kansen has fallen victim to the device. Even Miss Enterprise has fallen victim. The blast originated from around the Washington area of Eagle Union." Vestal said softly.
"So what are we doing now? Why bring us back?" St. Louis asked.
"I got a message, kinda. Words in my head that I do not know the origin of. There is a savior for this world. A commander. He is currently making his way up the island chain towards Sakura to liberate them. The voices told me that he has been furloughed in Fiji for a couple weeks. I need the two of you to help me get to him." Vestal said.
"Voices? Vestal, are you sure you're not going crazy?" Phoenix asked.
"I am sure... the voice reminded me of some of the Sakura Carriers. One that the crew of the Archerfish sunk. They said that she had some sort of weird ability to communicate with anyone she chooses. Nobody knows how, but she seems to be telling the truth. The sirens here at pearl have been chatting about an "insect" making its way up the island chain. So there is truth to it." Vestal said.
"Alright then. How do you want to do this then? From the sound of it, this base is crawling with sirens." Phoenix asked.
"Before reviving you two, I managed to convince a few soldiers here on base to create a diversion in about an hour. We hide out until then, then we escape under the ensuing chaos." Vestal said.
"Such a devious plan for a repair ship, Vestal." St. Louis said.
"When war changes, you have to change with it." Vestal said sadly.
"We'll be in the safety of that commanders fleet before too long. I already sunk once. I'll sink again to make sure you two get there." Phoenix said.
"No. We get there together, or we sink together. I was forced to leave you before, dear sister. I will not do it again." St. Louis said as she hugged Phoenix.
A massive explosion rocked the base as the sirens began to blare.
"What the hell are these ants doing?!" One of the sirens spoke as she ran towards the explosion.
"Looks like they're early. Such good men. We will return to free you." Vestal said as she pulled St. Louis and Phoenix to their feet.
"We need to move, now!" Vestal yelled as she picked up an M1 that she had carried with her to the device.
"Vestal?! Why are you carrying that?!" Phoenix asked.
"One of the soldiers gave it to me to help protect myself. I can't do my duty if I am killed before I leave port." Vestal said as she kicked open the doors.
"Get to your ships!" Vestal spoke as she looked around.
St. Louis and Phoenix ran to their ships that had appeared several spaces down from the warehouse.
"Found her!" A younger looking siren spoke before being gunned down by Vestal.
"Damn. We need to leave, now." Vestal said as she shouldered the rifle and began running towards her own ship.
"Vestal!" Phoenix's voice came over the radio.
"Go! I'll follow" St. Louis said as her 6 inch guns opened up on the Sirens that were advancing on their position. Vestal managed to board her ship and pulled out of port behind Phoenix. She ran to the stern and took aim with her rifle, shooting any Sirens that managed to get past St. Louis's guns.
"Let's go! Don't let those soldiers' lives be in vain!" Vestal yelled as St. Louis pulled out of port.
"Incoming Drone ships!" Phoenix yelled as she opened up with her 6 inch batteries as well.
"Flank speed, you two. I can keep up." Vestal said as a loud banging came from within her ship. Thick black smoke began to pour from the smoke stack, covering all three ships in a black smokescreen.
"Vestal! Are you okay?" Phoenix and St. Louis asked in unison.
"Yes. I learned a new trick in the past month, and I've been waiting to put it to use. It'll requires some decent repairs, but if I sacrifice one of the boilers by flooding it with oil, it burns the oil in a very inefficient manner, causing much more black smoke. I'm only using it this once, because it does not feel too good." Vestal said as she gripped her side.
"Radar indicates the path directly ahead is open. If we gun it, we can escape under this cloud of smoke." St. Louis said.
"Then, let's go! I can make the repairs once we are under way." Vestal said.
"Understood. Let us get alongside you and we'll shield you from any potential torpedoes." Phoenix said.
"No! Straight line. Get us out of here before they can form a plan. Thankfully they don't have any battleship class drones in the area." Vestal said as they made their way from the smoke cloud and out into open water.
"I-13-san. Akashi has something for you to test." Akashi said as she emerged from the lab.
"What did you come up with, Akashi?" I-13 asked as she sat on the newly repaired but decommissioned Drone ship.
"Akashi thinks she has found a way to reverse engineer the command module, Nyaa" Akashi said as she handed I-13 a small box with a spiraled antenna attached to the side.
"This little thing will control drone ships?" I-13 asked.
"Hai. Not only that, but if Akashi did it right, regular ships too, nyaa." Akashi said.
"And you want me to test it?" I-13 asked.
"Hai." Akashi said bluntly.
"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. Where do I put this?" I-13 asked.
"Place it somewhere safe, nyaa. If it is damaged, you will lose control of any ships you are controlling besides your own, nyaa." Akashi said.
"Let me go and install it, then we can do a trial run. Will you be joining me?" I-13 asked.
"No, nyaa. Akashi still needs to figure out what happened with this little one here." Akashi said as she motioned to the gold haired bulin that was next to her.
"I see." I-13 said as she walked over to her submarine and went inside. A few minutes later, the once red hues of the drone ship bled blue and activated. Much to Akashi's surprise, she could hear I-13 from the docks.
"Alright. I have it installed. I tried to connect it to the drone ship, is it working?" I-13 asked, her voice coming from the drone ship.
"Hai. The drone ship seems to be under your command, nyaa." Akashi said as the drone ship rotated it's weapons.
"I'm trying to rotate the weapons. Can you confirm?" I-13 asked.
"They are turning, nyaa." Akashi said, her excitement building.
"Okay. I'm going to launch my aircraft so I can see what is going on." I-13 said as the tube next to her conning tower opened and loaded an aircraft onto her catapult. Launching the aircraft, I-13 was able to see the entire bay that the base rested in.
"Alright. Let's test this thing out." I-13 said as she dived below the surface. Almost as soon as she was beneath the waves, the allied drone ship pulled out of port and maneuvered so it was directly on top of I-13.
"Huh." I-13 said to herself as she began to move towards the opening of the bay. The drone ship slowly followed behind her.
"Akashi. I'm going to take this on a patrol run." I-13 spoke over the radio.
"Be careful, nyaa" Akashi said as she and the new bulin returned to the lab.
The armored car slid to a halt outside a mansion overlooking a vast shanty town.
"Fucking Bureaucrats." Odin spat as she opened the door and dragged Alexander out into the light of day. Friedrich climbed out as well and took Alexander from Odin.
"If he tries anything, kill him." Odin said as she walked to the front door of the mansion. She kicked in the door to find a pristine foyer.
"Where is the destroyer?" Odin growled.
"In the basement. She has a room down there where she is well cared for." Alexander said through his busted lips.
"The basement?! You keep a child in the basement?!" Odin yelled as she turned and slammed her fist into Alexander's stomach. His face turned red as he coughed and struggled to regain his breath.
"You are a horrible man, treating a child like that." Odin said as she looked at Friedrich.
"Give him here. I'll take care of him. I have a feeling that little destroyer will like you a little bit better." Odin said as Friedrich nodded.
"If we don't find her, your life is forfeit." Odin whispered in Alexander's ear, causing him to physically recoil.
"Child? Are you here?" Friedrich called softly as she entered the house. Odin followed with her sword held to Alexander's neck.
"Mutsuki? Are you here, little one?" Friedrich asked in a soothing tone.
Friedrich walked into the basement and heard the soft sound of a child crying.
"Mutsuki?" Friedrich called out.
"Help!" The crying voice cried out.
"What did you do to her!?" Odin roared as her blade pressed further into Alexander's neck.
"Hold on, my child." Friedrich said to Odin as she opened the door.
Inside was a well lit room that could very well have been the master bedroom with how well it was decorated. The tiny destroyer was on the floor crying that a box had fallen on her foot and had trapped her.
"Oh, you poor child. How did this happen?" Friedrich asked as she gently lifted the box.
"The nice man left Mutsuki some candy. Mutsuki tried to get it and fell, then the box fell on her foot." Mutsuki said as she cried. Friedrich looked at her foot and found that her tiny ankle had swollen. After moving it while comforting the tiny destroyer, she found that the ankle was not broken.
"Come, my child. We are going to get you out of here." Friedrich said as she picked up Mutsuki.
"You're lucky. If you had done anything, you wouldn't be here." Odin said as she threw Alexander aside and sheathed her sword.
"Friedrich. Take her to the car. I'll destroy any equipment he could use to report." Odin said.
"No! If it gets destroyed, they'll return and kill all of us!" Alexander said frantically.
"Not my problem, cockroach. The fact that you sold out your people to the sirens makes you just as bad." Odin said as Friedrich took Mutsuki outside.
"So you're going to let my people die? Just like that? What would your commander think?" Alexander said.
"It is not our problem. We seek to end the siren scourge. But you openly accepted their protection and even kept a hostage, no matter how well you treated her. To me, you are my enemy." Odin said as she formed her rigging.
"You can't kill me! I run this island! Without me, this Island will fall!" Alexander said.
"You share power with another Governor. One who lives among his people instead of on a hill outside the shanty. He helps his people, where you squander your wealth buying the best things that you can buy. You are not only a siren sympathizer, but a common criminal as well." Odin said as Alex began backing up slowly.
"So... you have the same views as your twisted leader, huh?" Alexander said as he grabbed a pistol and began bringing it around. A single shot from Odin's rigging put an end to that motion. The gun was blasted to pieces, sending shrapnel into Alexander's hand.
"No. I follow my Kommandant. Not the madman who ran the Fatherland. Be thankful I am allowing you to live. You can explain to your siren overlords how much you have failed. Live with your own failure." Odin said as she grabbed a struggling Alexander and lit up the basement, destroying all the siren tech and setting fire to the mansion. As the building went up, Odin walked slowly through the flames.
Once outside, she threw him to the ground and regrouped with Friedrich.
"Let's go, Friedrich. We need to take this little one to the Kommandant." Odin said as she climbed into the car. Once everyone was loaded, Odin turned the car around and drove off back towards the hospital, leaving Alexander to weep in front of his burning home.