Earlier, when the assault team left port.
"Eagle?" Isaac asked.
"Yes Commander?" Eagle asked as she pushed herself up from his chest to look at him.
"Cute. Can you send a fighter out to give me the ability to contact the assault group? I want to ensure everything is okay with them before they engage the enemy." Isaac said. "Also, could you please wipe your mouth? You have sauce on your cheek from dinner." Isaac said as he handed her a handkerchief.
"You do it, Commander~~" Eagle said as her fighter shimmered to life on her flight deck. Isaac smiled and kissed her cheek, getting the sauce off in his own way as she blushed happily.
"Fighter is in the air commander. They are already making good headway." Eagle said as Isaac could hear the conversation of the assault group as the fighter drew closer.
"Damn. I only gave you half a bottle, Friedrich. How are you gonna say that you're already this drunk?" Gangut said as she looked at Friedrich with a disappointed look.
Friedrich turned to look at Gangut as she rode atop one of her serpents.
"I'm not drunk, but I am a bit of a light weight. Even Nimi could out drink me if she wanted to." Friedrich said.
"Aren't you like the powerhouse of the Ironblood Navy?" Gangut asked.
"I was never built by my country's Navy. Isaac was the one who gave the order to have my blueprint brought to life." Friedrich said.
"Wow. Looks like the lone wolf has more sense than your useless Kriegsmarine." Gangut said in a snarky tone, stoking Friedrich's pride.
"While the Kriegsmarine were wrong to not construct my hull, I will not accept you bashing my homeland." Friedrich said.
"Ladies, please. You're both plastered. We don't need to have all of this drama." Bremerton said as the bulin rode atop the other Serpent.
"And you, Union girl, your Navy decided to drop bombs equivalent to the sun on Sakura. You have no right to talk about peace." Gangut said.
"Hey! It's not like I made that decision myself. Our President deemed it necessary to ending the war in the Pacific. It wasn't the Navy, or any of the Kansens in it." Bremerton said.
"And what of you? Your Army and Navy had the mentality of 'throw enough men at the problem and eventually it'll solve itself'." Friedrich said.
"ENOUGH!" The bulin yelled, shutting all three of the women up.
"You all are powerful in your own right, and your countries have all done things that have been wrong and terrible. Nobody is perfect. Got it?!" The bulin yelled as she gripped her hammer.
"Easy now little one." Friedrich said as she did her best to fight the haze in her head to calm the bulin down.
"I have spent nearly a month with Lady Shinano, and seeing others like me willing to fight, I want to fight too, and the three of you fighting over what had to be done is getting me mad. Knock it off, we have a target and we have orders. If you spend all the time fighting, then I will take the glory for this capture myself." The bulin said.
"Hey now, no need to be like that. We all want to get her too. It's just a matter of pride for us girls with countries and navies." Gangut said.
"And none of that matters now, does it?! You all serve Commander Isaac Garner. Your countries and pride do not matter. If they did, you wouldn't be here, and the sirens wouldn't have taken them over so damn easily. Isaac will bring you your pride if you bring him victory. That is my firm belief." The bulin said.
"You know... strangely enough that makes sense." Gangut said as she looked at Friedrich.
"Friedrich... let's put this aside. She's right. We fight under the same banner now. There will be no glory for anyone if that flag falls." Gangut said.
"Well said, Mein Freund." Friedrich said as she helped Gangut onto her rigging.
"Looks like the sensible one out of all of us is the one who wants nothing more than to fight." Bremerton said as they all made their way further into enemy territory.
"So, did anyone catch where Norfolk said that Oceana was hiding out?" Gangut asked.
"Yes. She should be about twenty more miles straight ahead. That is where her last known signal was." Bremerton said.
I hate the fact that the commander said we can't kill her. From what he said, it sounds like she really needs to go." The Bulin said.
"She does. She killed Nimi as we were attempting to escape an ambush. She also injured Isaac to the point where he was in a coma for several days. So in my opinion... I would rather kill her than bring her back to the port." Friedrich said as she stretched her arms.
"I honestly have no reason to kill her, other than the fact that she is a Siren, but if Comrade Garner wishes to do the deed himself, Why would I capitalize on that?" Gangut asked as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Same here really. I'm just glad to be under a commander that actually gives a crap about us. So if not being able to kill one lone siren is all it takes for him to have his vengeance, then I will gladly suffer the hardships of bringing in a siren alive to make him happy." Bremerton said.
"Are you guys really talking about that?" Isaac's voice came over the radio.
"What?" Everyone replied as they looked around for him.
"I had Eagle send out a fighter so I could keep in contact with you for a bit. Have you all seriously been arguing this whole time?" Isaac asked.
"Of course not, dear Husband. We are simply making banter." Friedrich said.
"Uh huh. Something tells me you're lying through your teeth, but I'll let it slide so long as you four don't kill each other." Isaac said.
"Now why would we do that? We're all on the same side." Gangut said.
"True, but I know the the nations you three represent, excluding miss bulin, are also very prideful. Russia, America, and Germany are all very prideful." Isaac said.
"Well, those three countries were the biggest fighters in this last world war. So it only makes sense." The bulin said.
"Shut it half pint." Gangut said.
"Gangut. Cut the attitude. You four are approaching Oceana's location. Please keep your eyes open." Isaac said.
"We will." Friedrich said.
"I know. Just try not to anger each other too much." Isaac said as his voice devolved into static.
"I guess he and Eagle are taking some time for themselves." Friedrich said.
"How can you tell?" Gangut asked as the other girls listened in.
"Notice how clear his voice was? It was obvious from the quality that it was in fact coming from the fighter overhead. She would have to be right next to him for his voice to sound like that coming from a fighter." Friedrich said.
"Well... good for him then. He definitely has a lot of stress built up from commanding a fleet of this size. It's only natural to seek relief in his loved ones." Gangut said.
"He cares so much for us. It makes me feel bad knowing I can't do more for my dear husband." Friedrich said as she teared up a bit.
"Hey. No need for waterworks, Friedrich. I'm sure he is happy with what you do for him." Bremerton said as she put a hand on Friedrich's shoulder.
"I know... but it just makes me feel bad. He is doing so much for us, yet I can only do so much for him." Friedrich said as she looked to the sky to try and stop her tears from flowing. She reached into her dress and pulled out a half full bottle of clear liquid.
"HEY!" Gangut yelled as Friedrich pulled out the cork and drank until the bottle was empty.
"Friedrich, that was not a good idea! You don't drink your problems away!" Bremerton said, wondering how she had the bottle in the first place.
"Shit... Comrade is going to kill me..." Gangut said as she watched Friedrich's tears slowly dry and a serine smile cross her face. A bit of music began to play from an unknown source, the volume keeping real low, but loud enough for everyone besides Friedrich to take an interest in.
"Can anyone else hear that?" Bremerton asked as she stood to check on Friedrich.
"I hear it, but where the hell is it coming from?" Gangut asked.
"It's Miss Friedrich." The bulin said.
"What?" Gangut asked.
"From what the other bulins say, whenever Miss Friedrich gets excited, they can always hear music coming from some unknown place." The bulin said.
"Oh lord. She's excited and fucking plastered... that's just great." Gangut said.
"I can sense her." Friedrich said softly as her rigging stopped dead on the path.
"They've stopped." Isaac said as he pointed to the screen.
"So they have. I wonder why." Eagle said as Richelieu and Rodney came onto the bridge.
"Ah, good evening commander. I see you and lady Eagle are quite busy." Richelieu said with a less than savory look.
"Not at all. Eagle and I are on watch, so we are watching the assault team. They have stopped for some reason." Isaac said as he leaned forward and looked at the map.
"Oh that's why." Isaac said.
"What is wrong, Commander?" Eagle asked as she slid off his lap and stood next to him as the other two battleships leaned over the other side of the table.
"They found her. But I can't help but think this is a trap. This was way too easy." Isaac said.
"I can send out a squadron to assist them." Eagle said.
"Get them prepped. They're walking into an ambush." Isaac said as he caught a hint of blue in the trees from Gangut's visor.
"Understood." Eagle said as a squadron of 6 fighters came into view on her flight deck. "Fighters ready, Commander." Eagle said.
"Launch!" Isaac yelled as he watched the screens with a look of fear.
"Intrepid!" Isaac yelled over the radio.
"Yes, Commander?!" Intrepid asked, startled by the sudden call.
"Get 2 squads of P-51s in the air and over to 13's group. Friedrich has walked into an ambush. I have a sinking feeling that these forests are swarming with the enemy." Isaac said.
"I understand commander. They are leaving the flight deck now." Intrepid said as both carriers launched their fighters into the dimly lit evening sky.
"What do you mean?" Gangut asked as Friedrich stumbled a bit, pointing at a small cabin dead ahead.
"So what's the plan?" Bremerton asked as everyone disembarked Friedrich's rigging.
Without warning, Friedrich shot her heand out in front of her.
"Go my serpentine children!" Friedrich said as her two serpents shot ahead of the group, smashing into the cabin, splintering the logs that made up its construction.
"Friedrich!" Gangut yelled as the trees came alive with the sounds of plasma bolts being fired.
"Shit! I've been found. Do not attack those two. I have need for them." Oceana said as she stared down Friedrich as her Serpents returned to her side.
"Hello~~~" Friedrich said as Gangut and Bremerton brought forth their rigging.
"So you finally had the courage to come after me. You want round two of what happened to your destroyer friend?" Oceana asked.
"No repeat. You won't hurt any of my children ever again. In fact... I am VERY much looking forward to hurting you." Friedrich said as Oceana continued to stare her down.
"Did you know my scouts found your little submarine and destroyer friends?" Oceana asked.
"Ooo. So scary. Too bad My dear husband already thought about that." Friedrich said as she sent forth one of her serpents, barely missing Oceana while kicking up a dust cloud.
"Ha! You mean the one that I had killed? I find it unlikely that you managed to bring the dead back to life." Oceana said as she rigging took a direct hit from the Bulin's warhammer.
"Why you little shit!" Oceana said as she was thrown sideways into a tree from the force of the impact.
"You see... the only reason you weren't killed that day, is because I couldn't bring out my rigging without bringing down the building. But here... I can use my rigging as much as I want." Friedrich said as several trees fell around her, chomped in half by her serpents.
"And she isn't the only one ordered to bring you down, Siren Whore." Gangut said as she fired her guns into the dust cloud, clipping Oceana's rigging again, sending chunks flying.
"Damn it!" Oceana said as she shot the ground with her remaining guns, sending up a dust cloud before attempting to run away.
"No. No. No. You aren't escaping me." Friedrich said as she hopped on the back of her rigging and sped off after Oceana, leaving Gangut and Bremerton to cleaun up the remaining explorers that surrounded the area.
"Oceana. There is a plane approaching our location. It looks like there are more Kansen jumping from it to get to the Sub and her friend." One explorer said through their Neural network.
"Shoot them! Delay them. I am on my way to provide backup. I'll need help as well. I have a very angry battleship on my rear." Oceana replied as she dodged and weaved through the trees, approaching the area that I-13 and Laffey were. Friedrich on the other hand, was using her rigging to chomp through any tree in her way, tearing a straight line through the forest as she slowly gained on the fleeing Siren.
"Not so tough now that you don't have a building and Civilians to shield you from my wrath." Friedrich said as she was almost within arms reach before Oceana ducked to the right side of a massive boulder, forcing Friedrich to veer off her attack to dodge.
"Tch. I won't let you get away." Friedrich said as she began to chase Oceana on foot, followed closely behind by the bulin.
"Ha, you think I'm running away?" Oceana asked as Friedrich was met bay a wall of plasma fire as she ran into a small clearing.
"Shit!" A voice yelled from the other side of the clearing. Friedrich looked to the side after taking cover behind the boulder, only to see Baltimore and Atago standing behind trees at the other end. Friedrich could see I-13 and Laffey slowly crawling through plasma fire to get to cover.
"See? I told you I wasn't running. I came here specifically to foil their escape. So now we can kill all of you, then move back on that city you so brutishly stole." Oceana said.
Friedrich scowled a bit until she heard both Eagle and Intrepid's voices.
"Get some, you Siren bitch!" Eagle 's voice came over the radio as machine gun fire riddled the ground, several shots hitting Oceana, throwing her into the clearing.
"Eagle, Intrepid, They're in the trees! Cover us!" Friedrich yelled as Gangut and Bremerton caught up to her and the bulin.
"Let's bag this bitch!" Gangut said as she jumped out from the tree line as the fighters overhead riddled the trees with machine gun fire.
"You're done Oceana. Your forces back at the cabin have all been eliminated." Bremerton said as she aimed the guns of her rigging at Oceana.
Oceana looked over in horror as Baltimore and Atago stood guard over North Carolina, who had sent up the AA balloon.
"The trees have been cleared. I can't see any more explorers in the area. Oceana is the only one left." Intrepid said.
"Same story here, girls." Eagle said as the fighters circled overhead.
The sound of an engine came once more as Friedrich and the others looked to the sky, seeing the Catalina come in towards the balloon.
"You girls get out of here! We can take her!" Gangut yelled as she and Friedrich walked forward and used their rigging to destroy what remained of Oceana's rigging.
"Thank you. We'll see you back at port." Baltimore said as she and the other girls attached themselves to the cable. Several seconds later, they grabed the cable and were pulled from the ground by the Catalina.
"You failed, Oceana. Now it's time for you to face your punishment." Gangut said as she picked up Oceana from the ground and tied her hands behind her back.
"Friedrich, get us back to base." Bremerton said as Friedrich nodded, bringing her serpents over from the small pile of dead Explorers.