"Commander. Commander, wake up." Norfolk spoke softly as her form came through on Isaac's wrist gauntlet.
"1500 already?" Isaac asked as he looked around. His helmet was resting on the bench with his cleaned and oiled weapon.
"Yes sir. I have taken the liberty of getting Odin to get everyone together in the warehouse to begin our final brief." Norfolk said.
"Can you feel my hand if I do this?" Isaac asked as he touched where her head would be.
"No sir. But the meaning is not lost on me. Thank you, Commander." Norfolk said softly.
"Well, I guess if everyone is waiting, then we best not keep this held up." Isaac said as he grabbed his helmet and headed for the top deck. The evening sun lit his path as he looked down at the port. Everything was cleaned up and prepared to vacate.
"Norfolk. How are you feeling?" Isaac asked softly as he looked at his palm. To his surprise, she appeared sitting cross-legged in his hand.
"I manifested into reality just this morning, and yet I already feel unwanted. I feel like no matter what good I can do, I will always have to play defense." Norfolk said.
"I completely understand your pain, Norfolk." Isaac said softly as she disappeared from his hand as Isaac continued towards the warehouse.
"KOMMANDANT ON DECK!" Odin yelled as soon as she saw him enter, causing the fleet, the humans included, to turn and salute to him. Isaac nodded as he passed by, walking up to some stacked crates near the back of the warehouse.
"Alright. Take your seats and listen up." Isaac shouted in a less than happy tone.
"As you all know, we are a fleet. A mass of blood and steel forged in the fires of war to fight for our homes..." Isaac began as he looked over the crowd, suddenly noticing the natural divide within the crowd.
"...But it has come to my attention that some unsavory attitudes are deep seated within the fleet. Now, normally I would dismiss some petty squabbles as just pride in your homes. But this is not it, and if it is not nipped in the bud right now, it will tear this fleet apart when it comes down to the nitty gritty..." Isaac continued as he held out his hand. Within a few seconds, Norfolk appeared in his hand, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.
"... This is Norfolk. A Kansen of this fleet. And my personal assistant who will be helping me conduct this fleet in tandem with my Vice Commander. Earlier today, two among you had the privilege of meeting her before I was able to introduce her to the fleet. It was your reactions to her that alerted me to these deep seated notions of not only yourselves, but a possible precedent among the fleet..." Isaac elaborated as he glared at both Odin and Friedrich.
"...The precedent of animosity based on one's appearance, or race, or nationality will not be welcome among this fleet. I will not tolerate it, as I take it as a personal affront. If any of you cannot abide by this one simple rule, I will not hesitate to bench you until I can find a more suitable use for you. This goes for everyone. We are this planet's only hope for freedom. Our only enemy are the Sirens, and those who support them. Which brings me back to my original point..." Isaac said as he moved his hand out to his side, his gauntlet producing a much bigger display of Norfolk that was as tall as he was.
"She is not a Siren. Just as all of you appear for one reason or another, her appearance is dictated by the materials used in her construction. She has already made herself as useful as the rest of you in her 9 short hours walking this earth. She has already given me intel that, if I had not known, would have led us right into an ambush. Yet, based on her appearance alone, she was threatened and almost fired upon by two members of this fleet. Odin... and my dear Friedrich..." Isaac said as the entire room turned to look at the two chastised battleships.
"Commander... please don't hold it against them. Forgiveness may be a new concept to me, but I do not hold a grudge." Norfolk said as she turned to face him.
The room stopped and looked back up at Isaac.
"I understand that you bare no grudge... But I have to punish such a thing. Having a nasty precedent in the fleet is not only a sour taste in my mouth, but it is dangerous if the enemy finds out. They will turn us against each other." Isaac said as the room looked at each other.
"Odin. Friedrich. As you two are still two of the most powerful ships in my fleet, I will not punish you in a way that hinders your combat effectiveness. But you will pay for giving such a terrible narrative a foothold in this fleet. By my count, there are 475 people in this room. You two will spend the last day in port making a meal for the entirety of this fleet. You will not rest until everyone is fed. Your superiority will be met with Servitude." Isaac said as the room turned to look at the two girls once again.
"We understand, Kommandant." Odin spoke up.
"Do not let this happen again." Isaac said as he cleared his throat.
"Now, with that out of the way, I will lay out the plan to move on New Guinea. Odin, up here, now." Isaac said as he watched her walk up to his soap box.
"Yes, Kommandant?" Odin asked.
"I want you to be up here as I give the plan." Isaac said as he handed her a piece of chalk.
"Understood." Odin said as she stood next to Isaac.
"We will leave port in two days, the 20th of September. I will now split the fleet, this formation will be used during our assault." Isaac said as he scanned the room.
"Sub-fleet leaders will be the carriers. First Fleet's Eagle. Second Fleet's Akagi. And Union Carrier Intrepid. You three will have your own screening fleet, barring the battleships." Isaac said.
"Cruisers Helena, Belfast, Omaha, and Norfolk will sit between the carriers on the back line. Our AA will provide extra support for the Carriers. Destroyers Triomphant, Yukikaze, Nimi, and Eldridge will escort and screen our assault transport. Vestal, you are an important asset to this fleet. As such, you will stay behind the carriers. Battleships. You all have massive guns, but I also know it is not easy to reload those heavy shells when you are alone. So I have decided, since there are many of you, your jobs too, will be split. Pennsylvania, Friedrich, North Carolina, and Richelieu, you four will be our offshore artillery. Rodney, Fusou, and our heavy cruiser Mainz. You three will be the AA portion of our battleship armada. You all will still be inside the AA envelope of the carrier group, but there is never such a thing as too much AA." Isaac said as he turned to face what Odin had drawn based on his description.
"As you all can see. The Destroyers will be the ones escorting our landing craft after they depart from the battleship arc. Once we have secured a port, we will advance and offload our equipment." Isaac said. The rumble in the room slowly grew as the members of the fleet looked among themselves to discuss the plan.
"I have not finished yet." Isaac said as he turned to Norfolk.
"Tell them what you told me." Isaac said as Norfolk faced the crowd.
"The Siren submarine known as Lurker has survived her encounter with this port. Using the database I possess, I can say with accuracy, that she is well within our area of operation when we make a move for New Guinea. Based on her current power output... she has collected a blockade of drone ships to try to break us before we even make it half way. While I cannot detect drone ships, I can say that her levels indicate heavy usage of Carrier class and Destroyer class drone ships. This only brings one thing to mind, diversionary tactics. She will attempt to tear this fleet apart herself as she distracts us with Torpedoes and aircraft." Norfolk said as the room drew quiet.
"That said, she does not have the power to control them as intricately as Tester or Observer. Her planes and torpedoes will not have the same impact, as she has a much smaller power reserve to work with. If we see through her deceit, we can break her instead." Norfolk said as the silent room went up in a roar of cheers. She sheepishly looked at Isaac.
"You may return to your ship now, if that is your wish." Isaac said softly as Norfolk disappeared from the crate.
"Quiet!" Isaac yelled. At his order, the room fell silent.
"I expect all of you to fight as if your lives depend on it. This fleet is the closest thing I have to a family now. I will not forgive any of you if you die on me." Isaac said as he snapped to the most formal salute he could produce. His fleet followed suit.
"You are all dismissed. I want the carriers, North Carolina, Mainz, and Nimi on the Norfolk at 0600 tomorrow morning. The rest of you, get ready. Two days from now, we take New Guinea." Isaac said as the warehouse erupted into a thunderous applause as several main batteries fired out to sea.