"I understand. Give me a few seconds to get in position." Friedrich said as her vessel moved towards the Shinano.
"Friedrich, what are you doing?" Texas asked as she passed by.
"Shinano needs to be towed to New Guinea. Her steering gear and props were damaged in the last battle from the submarine that got through our defenses." Friedrich explained.
"I shall assist. After all, you've been the main shield for this fleet for the entire time I've been here. You're bound to lose steam at some point if you keep doing everything alone." Texas said.
"Oh? Well then I shall accept the assistance. Shinano has the biggest hull in the fleet besides Vengeance." Friedrich reasoned.
"Well, then let's get to it. If she needs to be towed, then she must be having trouble keeping up with the fleet." Texas said as the two lumbering Battleships moved through the formation towards the carriers.
"Boys, it's time to wake up. We have finally managed to sneak out of the Philippines. I can't remove all of this debris by myself." Amagi said as she entered the crew quarters of her vessel.
"I can't understand why you keep me in the crew quarters, dear. We've been together since '44." Michael said.
"You might be the Shikikan of this little rag tag group, my love. But you can't think that I'd let you leave a wounded sailor here with someone who would just as much shoot him as look after him." Amagi said with a knowing smile.
"I'll be fine, Amagi. If you want some alone time with him, I can more than hold off some Gerry pilot." Ben said as he stretched his arms.
"You should be more careful, Ben. Your stitches are going to rip." Amagi said.
"What stitches?" Ben asked as he lifted his arm, showing a scar where the massive gash used to be.
"How did you..." Michael started.
"I was a test subject. They turned me into some kind of super soldier. I'm stronger than I used to be. I heal faster than I used to. I can handle that wisdom dust shit that melted my friends..." Ben said before he stopped.
"Ben..." Michael said before Wilhelm sat on the bed next to Ben.
"They tested on you too?" Wilhelm asked.
"Too?" Ben retorted.
"My aircraft. It was a failed prototype. They wanted to test the cubes as a power source. A replacement for the fatherland's dwindling fuel reserves." Wilhelm said.
"Was?" Ben asked skeptically.
"After the crash... they rebuilt it. And they told me that I had to fly it again. Something about familiarity with the platform." Wilhelm said.
"It crashed? How did you survive?" Ben asked, his interest piqued.
"The testing area was over a once thought abandoned farmland in the fatherland. I was certain I was going to die, until I ditched it in a field. The investigation showed that the field had been plowed right before the crash. The excess cushion was enough to keep me from dying on impact." Wilhelm said.
"Talk about luck..." Ben said.
"Yeah. Luck." Wilhelm said as he undid the straps to his mask.
"There's a reason I don't let anyone see this face." Wilhelm said as he took the mask off, revealing a fully white eyeball.
"Ouch. Where'd ya get that?" Ben asked.
"A different incident, one where my luck was not so... fortuitous. I had to bail during a storm over Denmark. My chute deployed and I managed to grab my rifle before jumping. I landed in a forest where some backwoods foresters were firing off hunting rifles. Bad ricochet hit me in the eye...I was lucky to survive. A scouting group picked me up a short time later after they got reports of shots being fired and brought me to the medics." Wilhelm said.
"Can... can you see?" Ben asked.
"Yes. Well enough to fly at least." Wilhelm said as he stood and walked out of the room.
"Now get back in there. She needs you." Otto said as he stood outside Shinano's quarters with Isaac.
"I still don't know..." Isaac said as Otto pulled out a flask and opened it before giving it to Isaac.
"Not too much... but a little liquid courage is all you need." Otto said as Isaac took a swig and grimaced.
"Scotch?" Isaac asked as he forced himself to swallow.
"Always picks me right up, especially with Zeppelin sometimes. She can be quite aggressive when she wants something." Otto said.
"You need courage to go up against her?" Isaac remarked.
"We don't all have the type of stamina that you do, boy." Otto said.
Isaac took another swig before returning the flask.
"Now go in there and support your wife." Otto said as Isaac walked inside.
"How is she doing?" Isaac asked.
"Shhh." Vestal snapped.
"Oh, sorry. How is she doing?" Isaac whispered.
"Nothing bad has happened to the baby. Shinano is suffering from the bruise on her stomach that she received from her stumble. But the baby is already head down and her due date could be any day now." Vestal said.
"Any day?!" Isaac asked, only to be shushed by Vestal and Zeppelin.
"Yes. The baby has been developing quickly, as you have obviously seen. And I might have a theory as to why. Zeppelin and I have been discussing it at length while you were out and about." Vestal said.
"Oh? Please. I would like to hear it." Isaac said as he pulled over a seat.
"Well, us Kansens have traditional human bodies. But we also have vessels connected to them. We command a lot of power, and a lot of material. Zeppelin experienced the same thing Shinano is going through. And she thinks that our excess energy, that we have access to via our vessels, can be used for things like this. To speed along the growth of any child born from a Kansen." Vestal said.
"So... the fact that you all have a ship attached to you, means you can have a baby within a month?" Isaac asked.
"It seems to be a conscious action, but yes." Vestal simplified.
"Huh." Isaac said as he scratched his head.
"So to answer your question, your child may be born by the time that we land in New Guinea." Vestal said.
Isaac brought a hand to his head and rested it with a sigh.
"Are you alright, Isaac?" Alice asked.
"Yeah... just trying to wrap my head around it all." Isaac said.
"Wrap your head around it? You are going to be a father, plain and simple." Alice said.
"And I thought I would have 9 months to figure it out. But I am finding out that my daughter is already fully ready to be born, and she can be here any day." Isaac said.
"And I told you, you'll do great." Otto said as he poked his head in.
"Yeah, I know..." Isaac said as Shinano stirred.
"Isaac?" Shinano asked.
"Yes, my love?" Isaac asked as he moved to her bedside.
"My stomach." Shinano said softly as Isaac looked at the bruise on her stomach.
"Does it hurt?" Isaac asked.
Shinano nodded softly.
"Do we have ice?" Isaac asked as Shinano grabbed his hand and put it on the bruise.
"I can go grab some ice if you just wait here." Vestal said as she ran out of the room.
"Shinano, are you okay?" Isaac asked as he saw her grimace at the same moment that her stomach moved under his hand.
"She's ready." Shinano said softly as Isaac's eyes went wide.