"What do you mean she failed!?" Tester screeched.
"I'm sorry, I am only the messenger. I barely got out of there alive with this information, so a little humility would be nice." Lurker said as Tester glared at her.
"So you mean to tell me, that not only is that cockroach still alive and kicking, but the ship we sent to kill him has been wrenched from our mind control?!" Tester yelled.
"That appears to be the case. That cockroach that you so passionately hate, has found a way to rid her of our mind control and has adopted her into his fleet." Lurker said as she cradled the stump that was now her right arm. Bright yellow liquid dripped from the wound as well as her left eye.
"And those injuries?" Tester asked.
"He has an advanced ASW destroyer who is far to eager to dump mortars into the water. Had it not been for this carapace on my back, I would have been blown to bits." Lurker growled.
"And you said you saw something else. What did you see?" Tester asked.
"Strategist didn't tell you?" Lurker shot back.
"You know that bitch and I don't talk. Not after her decision to pre-emptively nudge Sakura into a war with Union. I got blamed by the Empress for that for the entirety of the war! So no, I didn't hear anything from that stupid carrier." Tester said.
"Well, all grudges aside. His fleet is building a ship. Not a cube based ship. An actual ship from scratch." Lurker said.
"So? We can destroy it just like any other." Tester said.
"Tester. He figured out how to effectively utilize the armor from our drone ships. His entire hull is made of those plates. Our laser and plasma weaponry is useless against that." Lurker said.
"So he had a bit of armor. He's finally catching up to the modern age. "Tester said.
"We lost the warehouse in Fiji. And with the death of Alexander, we have no ears in Fiji. His port is on full lockdown. Those Ironblood harlots don't ever leave his side. We hid 'that' there." Lurker said.
"That?" Tester asked a few moments before realizing what it was Lurker was talking about.
"Can we sneak in and retrieve it?!" Tester asked.
"No. They constantly tune their sonar, so submarines are out. And they have massive firepower in the form of those Ironblood girls and his mass of battleships. We can't even use aircraft due to the enhanced radar capabilities of them being in port. He has armed a small ground force and they are defending the port with their lives, so the pack can't even get close. We lost 'it'." Lurker said.
"Shit. That was straight from the empress herself. We were told to hide it. How were we to know that he was headed for that port?" Tester asked.
"I don't know. But we have to assume that once he gets that new ship online, he will know everything. And we will have to throw everything at him just to survive the carnage he will be capable of wreaking." Lurker said.
"Are we any closer to finding that damn carrier? If he finds her, and uses 'that'. Sakura will be lost. Dragon Empery would fall shortly after since the humans that live there are so strongly defiant." Tester said.
"What do we do?" Lurker asked.
"We can still pull some surprises. I doubt he has seen a mirror sea, and no amount of knowledge will negate the devastating logistical effects that will have on his fleet. So long as we are able to keep those Parliament girls at bay. Those damn Soviets managed to rebuild them all and are using them to fight. If we let even one of them escape to this theater, a mirror sea will be like a bucket of water on an oil fire." Tester said.
"So we fight with what we got, while we reinforce the northern sea?" Lurker asked.
"Yes. We need to keep that fleet at bay as long as we can. If we kill him before he contacts them, we may still have a chance to end this little rebellion." Tester said as she turned and walked away.
"Vestal. Look!" Phoenix said as she pointed out towards the horizon.
"That's Tokelau. We are not quite there yet." Vestal said.
"Aww, damn. I was hoping that we were almost there." Phoenix said.
"No, not yet. But we are about five days out. We have made excellent time despite our shaky escape." Vestal said.
"I hope the Commander is still there when we arrive." St. Louis said.
"I am sure he will be." Vestal said
"Akashi, I would prefer if you would hurry and construct the second fleet. I want nothing more right now than to hold my husband's journal and read his last words. So the faster you revive those cubes, the faster we can leave." Akagi said, her tiny frame still causing Akashi to giggle.
"Akashi is working on it. Shikikan requested a blueprint and any available blank cubes, so Akashi is filling his order so Intrepid-san can take her fighter back to Fiji." Akashi said.
"Then send me with it. Have the rest of second fleet tow my ship to Fiji." Akagi said impatiently.
"No. You are needed on your ship, Akagi-chan. Akashi doesn't know if you're able to command your full size ship with the condition your cubes are in, nyaa." Akashi said.
"Damn... Then hurry your tiny green tail! Just because I look like a child doesn't mean my fuse has grown longer. I want to get under way." Akagi said.
"Then put one of the cubes on the pad, nyaa. You still have to wait for the ships to be constructed." Akashi said.
"Fine." Akagi said as she gingerly placed a cube on the pad and hit the start button.
"Two hours." Akagi said.
"Ah, Belfast-san is first, nyaa? Maybe she can make Akashi some tea." Akashi said in a joking tone.
"This is not time for jokes. I'm going to ensure that I can still use my ship." Akagi said as she stormed off.
Akashi shot up from her workstation and ran to the airfield.
"Intrepid-san?" Akashi yelled into the cockpit of the remaining aircraft.
"Hello again Akashi. Do you have the materials I asked for?" Intrepid asked.
"Hai. They are in place in the cockpit and ready to be returned to you. Also please let Shikikan know that the second fleet is being constructed and will be with him by the end of the week." Akashi said happily.
"Alright. Thank you for the wonderful work. I will retrieve my plane and deliver the news to the commander." Intrepid said as the engine fired up, causing dirt and sand to fly behind the aircraft.
"Alright, nyaa. You are good to launch, Intrepid-san!" Akashi yelled as the canopy closed, encapsulating the trio of wisdom cubes and several blueprint tubes.
"Kommandant... Liebling... I'm sorry. We let one get away." Nimi said as Isaac stepped out of the armored car.
"You let one what?!" Odin yelled furiously.
"Odin. Calm yourself this instant." Isaac said, his firm commanding voice finding its footing once again.
"I... Yes Kommandant." Odin said with a salute.
"Explain what happened, Nimi." Isaac said calmly.
"We were constructing the ship when the siren went off. We detected something underwater. The others thought it to be another submarine until I looked through my old war records. It turned out to be the submarine class Siren known as Lurker. She had spoofed our sonar and got within range of the port. She more than likely saw the project. We tried to stop her... but my judgement allowed her to escape us." Nimi said as she hung her head.
Isaac went over and knelt down to get face to face with her.
"Are you hurt?" Isaac asked.
"But..." Nimi protested.
"Answer my question." Isaac insisted softly.
"Just a few bumps and bruises. She managed to fire off torpedoes before she escaped." Nimi said softly as Isaac hugged her close.
"I'm glad to see that you're safe. We all make mistakes. Maybe we can make this work in our favor. If we do something like this, it may confuse them and trip them up." Isaac said.
"Kommandant, with all due respect, she let the enemy get away. You can't honestly be considering letting her off without consequence." Odin said.
"As much as you are my Vice-Commander, I will call the shots now that I am back in action. She even said it herself, this siren spoofed our sonar capabilities. But the fact that we found her before it was too late is a testament to the efficiency of this fleet. If I hear anymore talk of punishment over this, I will consider that a direct form of insubordination and I will have Friedrich step in to detain you until I deem you worthy of forgiveness." Isaac said coldly.
"I...Understood, Kommandant." Odin said, clearly surprised at Isaac's assertive tone.
"Now, I've been away for about a week. I would like to spend some time with the members of my fleet and catch up on everything. I would also like to personally thank the carrier that saved my life during the warehouse fire." Isaac said.
"That last bit will have to wait. She is currently flying her plane back here after dropping off the Sakura destroyer to Akashi." Nimi said.
"Got it. Odin, don't just stand there. You're with me. I want to know everything going on in this port before I turn in for the night." Isaac said as Odin took her spot at his right side.
"I must apologize for stepping out of line back there, Kommandant." Odin said.
"I am sure you had an entirely reasonable explanation." Isaac said as they walked over to the dry dock.
"According to some things I found back at base, the Ironblood faction was not treated well during the war. The kansen were abused by their Kommandants and were punished relentlessly for the slightest mistake. I was never given form until a little over a week ago. I still act like a Kriegsmarine Kommandant." Odin said with a hung head.
"Odin. Where I come from, people are punished for much less. I was abused as well. And I know how bad it can get. I had to attend my uncle's funeral at the age of seven. They found out that he was talking to a white lady. They didn't like that too much. So, one night... he wound up dead in the streets. Nobody was arrested because nobody cared enough to waste the energy." Isaac said as Odin looked at him.
"I refuse to let myself be the kind of person that my fleet fears. Especially since I heard that Eldridge was the one lobbing shots. I would have made the same call. So it was not purely Nimi's fault. We underestimated the enemy. And I will not pin something like that on anyone unless everyone else shares the blame." Isaac said.
"Then I once again have reframed my image of you." Odin said as she looked up at him.
"Is that a good thing?" Isaac asked.
"Yes." Odin said curtly.
"I see. So, this is the new ship?" Isaac asked, trying his best to avoid delving deeper into the subject of Odin's opinion of him.
"Yes, Kommandant. We are integrating siren armor plates and tech to increase the durability of the ship. We plan on making comfort for you an utmost point of interest. Large dining area. A proper bedroom. And a massive command bridge, comparable to Eagle's bridge." Odin said.
"Excellent. Can the galley support the entire fleet?" Isaac asked.
"Yes. The Galley will be able to support a massive fleet of fifty ships. So rest assured you will be able to have meals with everyone." Odin said.
"Good. I want this fleet to be more like a well knit family. Might just be me trying to replace mine. But I think having a mentality like that will promote a much more efficient fleet." Isaac said as he turned to see the line of ships moored in the port.
"How has everyone been?" Isaac asked.
"Nothing too bad. The four hundred men are currently aboard the transport, making sure everything is squared away. We managed to clear the docks of the equipment." Odin said as Isaac looked around. Sure enough, the tank, landing craft, and munitions were gone, loaded aboard the transport ship ready for departure.
"I left Taka in charge of them. They should have rations to eat." Isaac said as he turned to the Z23.
"Are you heading to bed, Kommandant?" Odin asked.
"Yup. Keep Friedrich away as best you can." Isaac joked as he climbed aboard the Z23.
"Liebling... what are you doing here?" Nimi asked as Isaac scooped her off her feet.
"I feel like sleeping here tonight. Does that bother you?" Isaac asked.
"Not at all... I just figured.." Nimi said as her words were cut off.
Isaac released her lips.
"I have been cooped up in a hospital for far too long. Is it so wrong that I want you to stay with me tonight, my love?" Isaac asked as he kicked open the door, only to hear Eagle's voice behind him.
"Oh? You're going to sleep among the fleet tonight? Well, I guess I'll just have to join you then. Hope you don't mind, Nimi." Eagle said with a smile. Nimi smiled in return.
"What's mine is yours." Nimi replied as Eagle pushed Isaac into the bedroom with Nimi and closed the door behind her, locking it.
"You've gotten bolder, Eagle." Nimi said as she quickly disrobed both her and Isaac. Eagle lagged behind by only a few seconds.
"My first time with him gave me the confidence needed to do something like this." Eagle said.
Eagle pushed Isaac to the bed as Nimi and eagle flanked him on both sides.
"Don't worry, Liebling. We'll take real good care of you." Nimi whispered in his ear as the two girls chuckled before descending on their hopeless commander.