U-37 smiled as she opened the top hatch, allowing the bulins to pour out and jump into their tiny boat. Isaac had to take a second look to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"U-37, did they... paint their faces?" Isaac asked.
"I guess they did. I was busy making sure we weren't torpedoed." U-37 said as Isaac watched the head bulin, her face marked like a duck, raise her wrench as they charged forward towards the first carrier class drone ship.
"Good Lord. I know they had a duck theme going, but this is just insane." Isaac said as he watched the head bulin peel open a hole in the side of the Carrier class drone ship using her wrench, allowing the other five to enter and begin causing havoc.
"Kommandant, I think they are beginning to terrify me..." U-37 said, her voice shaking.
"Why?" Isaac asked as a torpedo barely missed the Norfolk, slamming into the shields of the Akagi, causing no damage.
"I am seeing massive chunks of armor plating and electronics being thrown out of the hole in the side. Every single one of them are smiling like little demons." U-37 said.
"Well... that does seem like it would be a bit disconcerting … but if it works, it works. Let them do their work. Dive and begin searching for Lurker. I'm sending Surcouf and the others as well." Isaac said.
"Understood, Kommandant." U-37 said as she sank below the waves to begin her hunt.
"Surcouf, 47, 110. You three are up. Flush lurker out of hiding and get her onto the surface so the destroyers can target her." Isaac ordered.
"Understood, Commander. I'll keep watch over these three adorable little subs." Surcouf said as Isaac watched the three submarines head out beyond the reach of the fleet.
"Carriers, I want you to target the incoming destroyer waves. Their attacks may be random and un-aimed, but i don't want to take the chance." Isaac said as a torpedo struck home, flaring up the Norfolk's shields.
"Commander, that explosion knocked a few bolts loose and we are taking on water." Norfolk said as she looked at him.
"Get the remaining bulins on it. I want that flooding taken care of now." Isaac said as he tapped the side of his helmet.
"Battleships, tighten formation, we are letting torpedoes through. Destroyers, break off your attack and begin screening these torpedoes. We can't take this kind of damage." Isaac ordered into the radio.
"On it!" North Carolina said as Isaac saw her move her vessel directly in front of the Norfolk, blocking off any incoming torpedoes.
"North Carolina, if it gets to be too much for your shields, I want you to break off, do you hear me?" Isaac demanded.
"I will do the best I can, Commander." North Carolina said as her shield flared a bright blue, indicating multiple torpedo strikes.
"Damn... those really do hurt a bit." North Carolina said softly.
"Remember what I said." Isaac said as he switched channels again.
"Akagi, your planes are meant for anti ship combat. Swarm that fleet and sink those destroyers!" Isaac demanded.
"I would if their aircraft wouldn't shoot me down every time I get within range." Akagi argued.
"Head bulin." Isaac asked.
"Buli?" The head bulin asked, she sounded like she was breathing heavily.
"How goes the mission?" Isaac asked.
"Well, we found the power system, buli. We can have it destroyed in a few seconds." The bulin replied.
"Well, we need to shut down those carriers. So keep going." Isaac said as he looked at the carrier that the bulins had infiltrated, noticing that it listing heavily.
"They sure are efficient..." Isaac said.
"There it is. The Island of Niue." Smasher said.
"It's empty... something doesn't seem right." Navigator said.
"Well, Observer did say that the cockroach has our tech... he probably knew we were moving and somehow issued orders to this base." Smasher said.
"I guess. But that means there will be logs. We should find them and hunt down the fleet that escaped." Navigator said.
"Agreed. But be careful, he may have had the sea around the base mined." Smasher said.
"Understood." Navigator said as the majority of the drone fleet flooded into the harbor of Niue.
"Well, looks like he didn't place mines." Navigator said as she and Smasher stepped onto the docks.
"They left in a hurry. So they couldn't have deleted their logs." Navigator said as she rushed to the warehouse, finding the computer right away.
Smasher looked around, feeling that something was off. Her eyes focused on a dark shape in one of the bushes near the lab.
"Wait don't..." Smasher managed to say as she and Navigator were assaulted by the data bomb from Kitakaze. Smasher regained consciousness just in time to watch the dark object explode, triggering a massive chain reaction, detonating the rest of the harbor, trapping the fleet and destroying the base in it's entirety.
"Navigator!" Smasher yelled as she tried to run towards the raging inferno. She hadn't made it twenty feet before a fuel barrel exploded, sending massive chunks of shrapnel in every direction. One piece of searing hot steel sliced through Smasher's upper arm, amputating it at the shoulder, knocking her into the bay. The smell of burning oil, and a noxious smoke rose from the burning base.
Smasher struggled for a moment but managed to haul herself back onto the burning docks. She was left unable to send any long range communications due to the lingering effects of the data bomb.
"Navigator." Smasher said as she forced herself to her feet, limping through the flames and burning oil to reach what remained of the lab.
"Navigator! Are you still alive in there?" Smasher asked before her question was answered for her. In front of her, the siren known as Navigator was fixed to the far wall, held by pieces of rebar and a massive chunk of metal through her midsection.
"What the hell..." Smasher said as she watched Navigator turn her head.
"Run..." She said weakly as the last of her strength left her. Smasher managed to turn and get far enough away to escape the maw of a secondary explosion from several hidden powder bags and oil drums.
"They had us... They knew the moment we left. This... human." Smasher said as she summoned her rigging and took to the seas once more, blasting through the collapsed boulders that had entrapped her fleet.
"I can't go back... I'll be killed." Smasher said as she finally finished decoding the data bomb.
"Smasher, come in." Observer Zero spoke.
"What do you want?" Smasher growled.
"I lost contact with your entire fleet and Navigator. What happened?" Observer asked.
"The base was rigged to blow. YOU led us into a trap. YOU KNEW HE WOULD DETECT OUR MOVEMENT!" Smasher roared angrily.
"Oh right... I guess since he has 'that', he would advise his troops to evacuate and rig it all to blow." Observer said.
"THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!" Smasher screamed before the line cut out.
"Smasher! Smasher, come in!" Observer Zero called, receiving nothing in return.
"Shit... this could be bad. I might need to report this to the Empress." Observer said as she began pacing the ruins of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
An explosion ripped through the sky, scaring Mutsuki and causing her to tear up.
"Shh. Shh. Shh." Azmua said softly as she rocked Mutsuki back to sleep, comforting her.
"Akashi's ears hurt now..." Akashi said as she sat holding her ears.
"I guess we went a bit overboard on the explosives..." Kitakaze said as she looked back towards Niue.
"What was that?!" Howard's voice called over the radio.
"We booby-trapped the island after you left. Looks like those Sirens took the bait." Kitakaze said.
"How much ordinance did you use, Kitakaze?" Azuma asked.
"Every single bomb, torpedo, and powder bag in the armory." Kitakaze said.
"Kitakaze... don't you think that was a bit much?" Azmua asked.
"Akashi made it sound so bad. I wanted to make sure they were dead." Kitakaze said.
"I see. Well, let us be a bit more mindful in the future. The Shikikan now has no ammunition stores back on that base." Azuma said as Kitakaze gasped.
Kitakaze nodded.
"The sirens would have used it against him anyway, so no harm, no foul." Kitakaze said.
XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX
"Found you, siren!" U-37 said as she fired a torpedo at Lurker. Lurker seemed to be taken by surprise as she turned and ran in the opposite direction.
"She's heading for you, 47!" U-37 said as she fired another torpedo at Lurker.
"I see her, sister. Engaging." U-47 said as she too fired a spread at Lurker, forcing her down to avoid torpedoes from in front and behind her.
"110, she's coming!" U-47 said as U-110 rose from the shadows of a rock formation, scraping her hull in the process but scaring lurker enough to force her to surface.
"Kommandant, she has surfaced!" U-37 yelled over the radio.
"All able ships, direct fire at Lurker!" Isaac yelled over the radio. His fleet was rapid in their response, snapping shells of every caliber at the Siren Submarine, striking her with more shells than her carapace could ever hope to block, shattering the hard armor and piercing her body.
Her scream was heard over the general channel before slowly fading into nothingness.
"Norfolk, confirm?" Isaac asked.
"There are no sirens in the area. Lurker has been dispatched." Norfolk said as she showed Isaac a screen of Lurker's face with a red 'X' over it.
"Bulins, return to the Norfolk. We're scuttling this drone fleet and salvaging what we can." Isaac said.
"We have a gift, Commander." The head bulin said.
"Oh? What would that be?" Isaac asked.
"Blueprints! They are for the aircraft that these ships were using!" The bulin said.
"What?! How did you find that?" Isaac asked.
"We found it on the third carrier, Commander." The head bulin said.
"Commander. It might be a case of projection. Our carriers project their aircraft, but since Lurker was a submarine, she wouldn't know how to use the carriers if she didn't know the aircraft." Norfolk said.
"So... she learned the in's and out's of those aircraft just so she could control those carriers?" Isaac asked.
"It appears so, Commander. And it seems that she placed the blueprints, or what pass for blueprints, on one of the carriers that the bulins sunk." Norfolk said.
"I guess I'll have you look it over before giving it to the carriers then." Isaac said as he watched the little yellow rubber boat motor it's way back to the Norfolk.
"The raft has returned, Commander." Norfolk said with a smile.
"So it would seem." Isaac said as he shook his head.
"Gangut? Where are we heading?" Peter asked
"We are meeting up with Comrade Garner in New Guinea. I thought I told you this." Gangut said as she continued drinking,
"When is he going to arrive?" Peter asked.
"I don't know little one. Did you finish cleaning up the deck?" Gangut asked.
"Yes I did. Do you think Comrade Garner can beat them?" Peter asked.
"Beat who, little one?" Gangut asked.
"The sirens. The ones who subjugated the world." Peter said.
"I don't know. But Rossiya told me to go and find him, so here I am." Gangut said. She thought about his words and felt a bit of unease begin to form. The sirens hadn't really set foot outside of Königsberg since they took over Northern Parliament. Most of the governors made the existence of sirens a state secret. How did this young boy know about them?
"Where did you hear about the sirens?" Gangut asked.
"My father told me about them before he left for the war." Peter said.
"I see." Gangut said as New Guinea came into view on the far horizon.
"This kid is lying. Sirens were a deep state secret before they took over. Nobody but us Kansens and the top brass would know." Gangut thought to herself.
"What did your father say about them?" Gangut asked, curious as to how far the kid would go.
"That they were a technologically superior form of life." Peter said.
"I see. Well, go and make sure that the mooring is ready. We are coming into view of New Guinea.
"Okay." Peter said as he skipped away.
"This is not good." Gangut said quietly as she popped the cork on another bottle.
"I am picking something up on the radar screen. It looks like a massive fleet." Perkins said as Arizona and Kaga checked their own radar.
"I'm not seeing anything. What is the range?" Kaga asked.
"24,500 meters. I'm getting a huge blob." Perkins said.
"Reach out to them." Arizona said.
"What if it is the enemy?" Perkins asked.
"Then we fight to the last man." Kaga said as she aimed her guns in the general direction of Perkin's gaze.
"Unknown fleet. This is Lieutenant Commander Perkins of the USS Iowa. Please come in." Perkins spoke over the radio.
"Commander. A lieutenant Commander Perkins is hailing us. Should I let him through?" Norfolk asked.
"Do it. Isaac said as he sat at his desk.
"This is Lieutenant Commander Perkins of the USS Iowa. Please come in." The voice said.
"Lieutenant Commander Perkins, This is Commander Isaac Garner of the Azur Lane First and Second Fleet. We have you on radar. Welcome." Isaac said.
"I see smoke, are you in distress?" Perkins asked.
"Not at all, Perkins. Not at all. We just mopped up a fleet of Drones and the Siren controlling them. We were preparing to move out and continue towards New Guinea." Isaac said.
"Well, I guess myself and my crew are under your command. We will follow you." Perkins said.
"Excellent. I am seeing two ships accompanying you." Isaac said.
"Commander, I am Arizona. I am glad you have accepted us into the fleet." Arizona said.
"And I am here as well, Sakura Battleship Kaga. I trust that you have no qualms with me being here?" Kaga asked.
"The more the merrier." Isaac said.
"I'm here too, Shikikan. It's so good to hear your voice again." I-13 said over Arizona's radio. Isaac teared up immediately before issuing orders.
"Fleet. Hold position here and allow Iowa to join up. Once they are in formation, we will move forward. Keep your eyes on the skies. Norfolk said that there might be another fleet between us and New Guinea. We cannot afford to be ambushed." Isaac said as he took off his helmet, allowing the fleet to execute his orders.
"She really did survive." Isaac said as his tears began to fall.