An excited grunt escaped the lips of an Imperial warrior.
He was gunning down a bunch of conscripts, who were crossing the street in a semi-disorganised, if not farcical, manner from the Krassin Icebreaker. Coupled with five of his fellow warriors, they just got onto the embankment and sounded off a couple bursts across the river. After taking a few steps, a large explosion flung them forward.
Moments later, he barely began to stand up when a thunderous blur rocked him and his squad. Knocked onto his left hips, the side of his helmet slammed against a car door as he fell. Inadvertently, his plasma rifle slid under the car, leaving him unarmed before he laid prone and tried to reach for it.
Unfortunately, pain shot through his ankles as he was dragged away from the car, where he found himself being suspended midair. Hanging upside down, he realised that he was manhandled by a mechanical shark maw, which was flinging him around for god knows how long. Outside his blurry perspective, his four teammates recovered and sprung into action to save their sergeant.
One warrior raised his plasma rifle and began to shoot, but he was simply swiped aside by a robotic maw, sweeping him into a lamp post and of his gun all at once. Concurrently, the mechanical monstrosity blocked a 14-round plasma volley before swooping and decapitating the other offending warrior. Despite this, the headless warrior comically staggered around for a second, its neck stump squirting blood before the body spasmed and fell over.
Meanwhile, the sergeant was intentionally flung around, knocking a third and fourth warrior upside the head; however, the impact was enough for the rigging to lose its grip and accidentally release him. Thus, the Japanese junior officer found himself spinning horizontally, eventually landing chest first into the pavement, his feet almost nicking an adjacent bus. A long, excruciating groan lingered his throat as he lackadaisically leaned his right arm.
In his peripherals, he saw the fifth/last surviving warrior rush over and try to lift him off the ground, but a metallic clamp clutched the private by his torso and threw him into the river. Painfully, the private screamed as he was separated from his superior, his voice distorted as he flew further away. As for the sergeant, he fell on his buttocks … again …
Within seconds, the sight of a white haired barbarian walked up to him … or rather, an incredibly gorgeous helga. In another life, especially one with different morals, he would have been smiling nervously, blushing if anything at the sight of a tall, lovely woman towering above his vulnerable and ragged state. Those black nylon legs, white silky corset, fur-lined cloak, and ornate peaked cap was pure eye-candy, enhanced further by her geisha-esque skin complexion.
What stopped him was a pair of robotic shark jaws sprouting from her back - now that was a deadly turn-off.
As his enemy instead of a potential girlfriend, he only saw her as a ponderous Russian whore with strange cybernetics. With a noiseless snarl, the warrior swiftly produced and threw a fist into her crotch. Unfortunately, he retracted his fist with an excruciating hiss, having struck, not squishy flesh underneath, but 225mm [hypercondensed] armour.
"Oh my~ that tickled." She mused, finding delight in the warrior's pain and agony. "Come on, try again~ Try again~"
Humiliated, he yelled as he arose and push-kicked her. But to his horror, his knee bent slightly upon impact, earning him an instant leg cramp … and a cracked knee cap. Although his leg was fine, he lost his balance and leaned into the wall, clutching his leg as he did so.
"Is that all you got?" The 183cm Russian heathen playfully taunted, completely unfazed by the puny human. "I've seen little babies hit harder than that. Bozhe moi, what kind of warrior are you if your people don't even train you properly? Tsh~, this 'bushido' is so pathetic."
But 'unfortunately' for her, he clearly understood Russian, thus instantly consumed in newfound rage and strength. Drawing his energy sword, he leaped towards her and prepared to deliver a downward slash. Sadly, a row of mechanical teeth snatched him by his torso, belonging to none other than Gangut's leftward rigging.
Instantly losing momentum, he lost his grip and breath, inadvertently swinging and dropping the energised katana onto the ground. Gangut, having knelt and retrieved the sword, inspected it momentarily by the handle. Suspended by the jaws, he tried to pry the jaws off him, but human muscle was no match for industrial grade hydraulics, Krupp cemented armour, and high-tensile steel.
"Hmm, that's a lovely knife you have." She complimented. "It would be shame if someone took it."
He was about to curse at her, but a slight squish of the jaws produced a laboured grunt out of him. But to his dismay, Gangut tossed the katana up in the air, where her rightward rigging chomped it down in one bite … midair. Infuriated, the warrior removed and tossed his helmet at her, but she nonchalantly slapped it aside anyway.
"Aw~, are you hungry?" She patted her left rigging, hearing its internal metallic creaking and growling seconds earlier. "How about some sushi?"
The helpless warrior, realising what was going to happen, yelped out loud, his eyes dilated upon comprehending the foreign speech. Terrified, he tried to push the lower jaw, but the upper jaw clamped onto his back, earning a vociferous grunt, and thus a complete loss of any grip. Sensing weaknesses in its human sized treat, the rigging raised itself and flung its prey midair, where he spun, landed head first into the jaws … and was swallowed in five seconds.
"Mmph…" She grumbled under her breath, resting her left hand onto her stomach. "That was quite a mouthful."
Then, moments after a long gulp, the rigging belched and dispelled the warrior's armour vest.
Unbeknownst to her, the group of conscripts - who were previously being shot at - witnessed much of the wicked scene, unsettled and terrified of seeing an entire man eaten alive from across the river. Standing behind them - near the Leningrad Mining University - were a few Imperial warriors, who were equally horrified at what they just saw. Unfortunately, when the conscripts looked over their shoulders, they yelped and scattered, apparently unaware of their presence the whole time.
Half a dozen gunshots barely rang out when a loud rumble was felt in the middle. Once the conscripts recovered, they reeled or cowered in fear, the sight being none other than Gangut. Stepping out of the micro crater, her left rigging picking up a car and hurling it at the disoriented warriors. While it only wounded one of them (who were also trapped underneath), the other two warriors let loose with full automatic plasma fire and the loudest battle cries they could muster.
"Get out of my way." She simply huffed, effortlessly swiping the duo with her rigging. The right one landed near the conscripts (where he was promptly shot in the head), with the other sliding atop a parked lorry and landed on the subsequent street. Fortunately for him, a pair of fellow warriors nearby rushed to his aid, dragging him around the corner upon noticing his back pain.
Meanwhile, the conscripts poked their heads out, still unsure whether or not the half-human buxom was friend or foe. Among them, two of the conscripts were female, who were equally horrified; however, unlike most of their male counterparts, the two young women in question were not blushing. In fact, the men were somewhat surprised when their comrade 'sisters' shook their heads with humbly irked expressions.
"Comrade Sergeant, tell me we dare not to follow ... her." One of the conscripts shuttered, remaining crouched behind a car.
"Net, we keep moving." He simply commanded as he began to jog towards an alleyway. "Davay poshli."
With some reluctance, the conscripts recomposed themselves and ventured onward.
As for Gangut, her attention was brought towards the Leningrad Mining University. There, a platoon of two Tsunami tanks were withering at the east side. Accompanying them were at least three squads, one of them taking cover behind the rearmost tank.
A quick twitch of her 'hydrophones' easily identified slews of familiar Russian commands and hollering inside the university, accompanied by sporadic exchanges of 7.62x39mm and plasma bolts. Almost immediately, she stood in place, observing the siege-in-progress a few metres from an adjacent crossroad. Normally, a 305mm shells would do the trick, but such ordinances fired that close would be catastrophic.
Unfortunately, she never had a chance to formulate a 'safer' approach, not when an ominous 'whopping-chopping' sound loomed from her right. She didn't even need to look, however, as her rightward rigging simply pivoted itself and gleamed an icing beam at the approaching Striker VX. Instantaneously frozen and glazed over, the Japanese transformer simply dove behind her, ungracefully shattering into hundreds of large pieces of ice.
Nearby, the warriors - along with their tank - heard the twinkling and chinking ice shards, almost comically turning towards her direction. Despite being outnumbered, Gangut briefly crackled her neck rightward, acknowledging her new predicament. In fact, she was so unbothered, that her leftward rigging nonchalantly grabbed, yanked, and tossed a lamp post at the group, causing the squad to scatter while causing no harm to the rearmost Tsunami tank.
The burst of Japanese chatter made it clear that the group was attempting a two-prong attack: five warriors taking cover and firing on each side. To conscripts, it would've been too coordinated and regimented to counter, but to Gangut, it was a painfully obvious tactic. In fact, she only needed her riggings to spew ice beams in front of them, immediately impeding and upsetting their movement.
As for the tanks, her rigging grabbed and chucked a car at the rearmost tank; however, the amphibious metal beast was quick on the draw, reducing the flying car into a fireball within one shot. But since the tank was turning in place, Gangut leaped, mildly smooshing its exposed right side. Regardless, her rigging ripped and hurled the turret away, where the rightward rigging dug inside the tank, snatching and devouring the driver whole.
The frontmost tank, having witnessed the carnage, wisely sped ahead and turned along a right bend. Meanwhile, the surviving gunner, loader, and commander inside the rearmost tank tried to destroy the rigging, but their plasma rifles had little effect on the man-eating machine. Instead, while the rigging was devouring the driver, the rigging simply swung aside, discombobulating the trio before the leftward rigging entered and froze them.
Nearby, the squad of warriors freed and reoriented themselves from the walls of ice and sudden bitter cold. Thereafter, they let loose upon Gangut; however, the rightward rigging shielded her back, allowing the leftward rigging to reemerge and unleash thick ice beams at the plasma-tooting samurai. Within seconds, all ten warriors were fully encased in metre-thick ice, their bodies losing heat and vitality not long after.
Concurrently, some of the warriors inside the Mining University heard the commotion outside, promptly appearing in the windows and shooting at the cybernetic newcomer. Surprisingly, Gangut didn't anticipate this; the plasma firestorm jolted her out of thought. Only if there weren't any fellow Russians inside, a 305mm shell would've easily dealt with the ambushers; however, upon leaping off the gutted tank, the muffled 'clanking' and 'rat-ta-tat' of AK47s/AKMs distracted, if not killed, the window-peepers.
Sensing the other, albeit 'cowardly', tank nearby, she lifted the decapitated tank [via her rigging] and threw it towards the corner. Although it was more of a show of force, the sight of a 20-odd-ton piece of machinery being tossed around like a toy was enough to startle two squads of Imperial warriors. Nicking the corner, tiny fragments pelted a few of the warriors, causing only minor scratches and bruises before they retreated further away.
On the other hand, the lone Tsunami tank was now accompanied by several Striker VXs, who remained airborne in hopes of outmanoeuvring and outrunning the shipgirl. But when she rounded the bend, her rightward rigging lackadaisically overturned a car, briefly shielding against a few plasma volleys before cartwheeling for 12 metres. Though nobody was caught by the flying car, glass and metal shards spewed everywhere - either as medium impact shrapnel or sluggish debris - and spooking the Strikers.
A couple of the warriors, who were hiding behind a bus across the street, popped out, realising the white-haired helga had her back turned. Upon unleashing a few bursts, however, Gangut didn't banter an eye at them as her rigging glazed the tank and the other warriors in ice. Once their rifles clicked empty, the duo quietly fled.
By contrast, the conscripts began trickling out of the university, marvelling at the shipgirl's 'masterpieces'. Among them were a handful of airborne troopers, bearing distinctive grey urban camouflage compared to the conscript's red camouflage patterns.
"Uh ... spasibo ..." One of the conscripts, a half-Asian Uzbek, squeaked, attracting the 183cm helga's attention.
"Ah, there's no need for that." She proudly thanked back. "It's my duty to protect the Union, comrade~!"
"On the topic of comrade..." An older, moustached Ukrainian jogged outside and inquired. "Who are you?"
"I am Gangut, a dreadnought of the Russian Empire ... or what's left of it." She introduced herself, snickering the last five words with distaste.
"Gangut?" The Ukrainian pondered; however, any further words died in his throat when he turned and found her staring at him.
"Ah why it's so nice to again, Comrade Corporal~" She squinted, befuddling him and his fellow conscripts.
"Corporal? I'm a Lieutenant!"
"You were [a Corporal] in 1943."
"Da, but that was more than 30 ye- wait a minute. Who are you again?"
"Heh, I'm Gangut."
"Gangut? Gangut, Gangut, Gangut? Where have...?" Then it occurred to him, "Hey! You're name's not Gangut, it's the Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya."
"Oh~?"
The Ukrainian was about to protest, but he didn't to look to know that his fellow comrades were looking at him with befuddled frowns or sweaty gazes. He dared not to speak anyway, not when those four robotic shark maws and battleship-esque machinery was jutting from the woman's back.
"Just call me Gangut, comrade. It's less of a mouthful, please."
"Fine, fine. Now, if you may, we need to get moving."
"Comrade Lieutenant?!" An unnamed conscript yelped.
"Huh?"
"Is she seriously tagging along? Surely, we don't know what she's capable of."
"Soldat, you're out of line, and da, she's coming with us."
"She has Allied technology."
"Allies?" The shipgirl parroted, her puzzlement surprising her fellow comrades. "You mean the British and Americans?"
"It's a long story, Comrade Gangut." An unnamed paratrooper groaned, outright superseding his regular army counterpart. "Right now, the Japanese are at our doorsteps, and through the Comrade Commander's orders, we're to regroup and gather every defender as possible."
"I can tell from all the planes and warships." She drearily evoked. "In fact, I destroy a couple of their battleships while I was at it."
"Well good, because the Comrade Commander told us to lookout for anything with 305mm guns. Judging from your appearance, you definitely fit the description."
"And you are?"
"Sergeant Vasilyonok."
"Sergeant Pavel." The Uzbek followed suit.
Then, the Ukrainian chimed. "Uh tak, Lieutenant Antin."
"We better get moving." Vasilyonok emphasised. "I'm surprised nobody shot at us, yet."
"Terror gets around fast, I suppose." Antin shrugged before turning around and barking. "Comrades, on my lead."
"Opa~" She said with some bewilderment. "Do you even know where you're going?"
Before he could answer, Vasilyonok chimed in. "The Japs have laid siege to the Leningrad State University. We haven't heard anything from our comrade paratroopers there. I fear they may be dead by now."
"We best get it to it then. What's the fastest way?"
"Down there." He turned and pointed at the Bol'shoy Prospekt Vasil'yevskogo Ostrova. "It's a straightaway, but it's dangerous."
"Ambush alleyway, indeed." An unnamed conscript grimaced, nodding at the windows and crossroads. "There's no way we-"
"Quit you're crying~" She silenced. "Follow me, comrades!"
Pavel, Antin, AND Vasilyonok had no chance to argue when she jolted ahead. Hesitantly, the crowd of conscripts and paratroopers followed, wary of the shipgirl's supposed capabilities and confidence. It was surprisingly uneventful for two city blocks ... until a pair of Striker VXs scudded overhead, turned around, and landed in front of her.
Before they could completely turn, a thick icing beam froze them over. A moment later, upon walking in between them, her riggings smashed their legs apart. In fact, her rigging grabbed the rightward Striker and hurled it downrange, where it flew over a bus and exploded in gigantic icy shards. Antin was about to frown inquisitively, but excruciated Japanese banter behind the bus told him otherwise.
"Japs behind the bus!" He shouted anyway. "Behind the bus!"
"Enemy movement, six o'clock." She calmly refuted. "Behind you."
Instinctively, he dashed and crouched behind a parked car, only a centimetre from two downward plasma bolts. Needless to say, a trailing conscript was scorched in his left shin and shoulder, his partner fatally shot in the back. The duo fell on their biceps and hips, clumsily breaking their falls, the former sliding beside the Ukrainian. Briskly, however, Antin leaned, reached, and yanked the dead conscript by his collar, narrowly avoiding another stream of Japanese plasma.
"Classical." The 183cm tall shipgirl sniggered, her rigging autonomously tearing the left Striker's legs and electronic innards apart.
"Classical what?" He hollered as he scavenged and passed ammo from the dead conscript.
"They're trying to isolate us." She explained, standing over the trio - plus the other Russians - and raising her rigging to shield them. "Throw armour and planes ahead of us, bog us down, and tighten the net with infantry. I think you may recall from the Siege."
"Da, I remember, but we were fighting the Nazis!"
"Comrade Lieutenant," The crippled conscript asked. "What is she talking about?"
"Pincer manoeuvre." He barked, hurryingly assessing everyone and surrounding environment. "We need to keep moving asap! Comrade Gangut, take care of the vehicles, we'll handle the grunts."
"Hmm." She hummed curtly.
Peering over his shoulders, his peripherals caught a glance of an incoming stream of plasma bolts over his left, aiming not for him, but Vasilyonok and his fellow paratroopers. Pinned within a small café across the street, the foursome were dealing with a wounded conscript, who had been shot in the chest and protected by nothing but the overturned tables and large broken slabs of ceramic countertop. Tracing the gunfire, Antin checked for a round in the chamber before raising and aiming for the Japs almost directly above him. With a single trigger pull, the warrior was dead; however, two more streams of plasma bolts rained down upon his position, not from overhead but from the windows across the street. Specks of molten metal spewed across the Ukrainian's face, narrowly singing his chevron moustache.
"Podavleniye, podavleniye!" A conscript shouted and dashed towards the duo, raising and firing his RPK at the windows at the same time.
"Soldat, chto ty delayesh'?!" Antin exclaimed. "You're going to get shot!"
"My squad is dead, Comrade Lieutenant." The machine gunner panted as he knelt and rested the bipod on the scorched bonnet.
"Nrgh...shoot the windows, fourth floor!"
"Reloading!"
Antin and the other conscript simply nodded and shot at the windows instead, covering the machine gunner before he fully reloaded. Firing in bursts, the duo were allowed to reload and kept their AKs pointed upward, waiting until the machine gunner was empty again. This would repeat twice until...
"Tanki, pozadi nas!" A conscript frantically cried.
Antin and most of the troops heard him, turning around to find four Tsunami tanks, two peering around the corners. But Vasilyonok and his paratroopers didn't hear him, however, not when they were still trapped inside the café. Gangut was unbothered, however.
Instead, her leftward rigging autonomously swiveled around, spewing a thick ice beam at the tanks. All the conscripts, including some of the paratroopers, could only gawked as they watched the Japanese amphibious tanks and their escorting soldiers become encased in metre thick ice. Antin - plus the limping conscript piggybacking him - and the machine gunner only taken a few steps away from the car when the Japs were frozen over.
"Those fucking Japs, in the windows!" A random conscript cursed nearby, taking refuge behind the rubble of corner pharmacy.
"You, soldat, where's your commanding officer?" Antin asked as he and his comrades resided behind an overturned Tsunami tank nearby.
"Here, Comrade Lieutenant!" Pavel said, leaning behind the rubble alongside seven others.
"Use you're GP!"
"I'm out of grenades!"
"Where's you're grenadier?!"
"He's right here-" Pavel gestured to the conscript crouched beside him. "-but we're out of rockets!"
"Well, give us covering fire! The paratroopers are pinned down across the street!"
"No, comrade! The Japs have surrounded us too!"
"Not from out here! Get out here, davay!" The Ukrainian hollered before lifting his radio for a new order. "Comrade Gangut."
"Da~?"
"Mark Pavel's position and raze the city block on my signal!"
"I'm at your disposal." She said with a mildly teasing voice.
"Davay poshli, get out!" Antin barked sternly, wavering the Uzbek and his comrades out of the rubble.
Once everyone crowded near the overturned vehicle, the Ukrainian commanded. "Gangut, let 'em have it!"
"Fire in the hole~" She confidently smirked, her leftward rigging autonomously swiveling around and firing a pair of 305mm shells at the buildings.
Needless to say that gigantic slabs of masonry, concrete, and plaster spewed all over, the impact itself smashing windows, roof tiles, and people. Two tyre-size slabs slipped between Pavel and a fellow conscript, but it was moving too fast for both to notice. It didn't stop the shockwave and air whooshes, however, coarsely knocking both men rightward, landing shoulders first as they passed a parked LADA. Unfortunately, one of those slabs scudded towards her...only to be lazily swiped-smashed by one of the robotic shark jaws.
"Bozhe moi...the firepower..." Pavel uttered.
"Da...who's hurt?" Antin asked.
"Besides some tinnitus, I'm okay." The machine gunner sniggered.
"Comrade Paratrooper, are you okay?"
"Da...yebat, what was that?" Vasilyonok asked on the radio.
"With pleasure~" Gangut chimed in with a chuckle.
"Comrade Lieutenant, she can't be serious..." Pavel muttered uneasily.
"We're coming to get you." Antin said, ignoring the uneasiness of his comrades. "Are you still in the café?"
"Net, we're outside. In fact-" Vasilyonok said before Antin looked around and saw the paratroopers jog from behind a fallen Striker VX. "-we see you, right now."
"Otlichno. Comrades, on my lead, poshli!" He hollered and nodded his head sideways.
The limping conscript initially stood up rather effortlessly, but his mild skipping didn't go unnoticed by his comrades. In fact, the lieutenant offered his left hand, but the conscript merely shook his head, silently refusing his help before continuing to skip along.
"Comrade Lieutenant, I been monitoring our communications." Gangut said, the two close enough to hear each other audibly. "It seems the paratroopers are everywhere, especially at a hotel a few blocks north."
"I don't see a radio on you. How did you know?"
"I'm a Battleship, Comrade Corporal~. I can hear radios within a 20km radius."
"Hmm..." Antin grunted rather distrustfully. "Did they mention any vehicles?"
"They have something have called 'Bullfrogs', three of them."
"Bullfrogs? You mean BTRs?"
"I mean what I say, corporal~"
"Stop that. Why do you keep calling me that?" He barked.
"Because you were a good little kid back then, always following orders." She said with a playful tone, her rigging snatching Burst Drone stalking behind the group. "Even now, you do not question the futility in even the most outrageous orders."
"I was 18 at the time. It was no youthful folly when I volunteered into the army."
"Eh, still a kid; naïve but determined, nonetheless. Fufu~"
"Oh shut up, you wretched woman." The Ukrainian groaned internally. "I swear, if you humiliate me one more time, I-"
"I think we just found the paratroopers." Pavel said, breaking Antin's train of thought on a partially charred corpse. "Or what's of them..."
Most of the men, especially all the paratroopers, were unbothered by the dead paratrooper's remains, the remainder withholding gags in their throat during and after passing it. Up ahead, the fine masonry of the Leningrad State University loomed ahead, its wrought iron gates smashed open a while ago. Between them and the university, however, half a dozen Striker VXs [in bipedal mode] had their backs facing Gangut and her comrades. No one dared not to shoot, not yet, not when the Japanese warbots remain surprisingly oblivious to the approaching Soviets.
"Comrade Gangut, are you seeing this?" Antin whispered.
"Da. It's a trap." She nodded.
"Kak? Pincer manouvre?"
"Net. Stop." She whispered, which Antin immediately obeyed.
Raising his right fist over his shoulder, everyone stopped, the conscripts particularly confused. Antin didn't dare to question her, his eyes intently swivelling around at the windows on either side of the street. "Comrades, get in front of me, now." She ordered, Vasilyonok beating Antin to the chase. Once everyone was in front of her, her left rigging hovering overhead a few seconds later. A few of the conscripts nearly shivered to the gnarly robotic shark maws, but then, the rigging dug into the ground and a sickeningly bloody squish followed. From its ascending maw, blood dripped profusely onto the street, a couple bits of bone falling out as well. Most importantly, the lower bisected half of a Japanese tankbuster thumped onto the ground, nothing left but everything below the belly button. The rigging munched on its food for a moment, a belch following after swallowing, the conical helmet of the tankbuster flying out thereafter.
The helmet bounced a few times before four more tankbusters emerged from the concrete, their heavy plasma cannons instantly ready to fire. Fortunately, no one fired a shot, not when the left rigging recoiled and jabbed the frontmost tankbuster, sending him flying into his fellow warriors. "Comrades, get down!" She barked, her right rigging raising and firing a freezing beam at the Striker VXs, who were immediately alerted by the commotion. Meanwhile, Antin raised his AK and fired upon the four tankbusters, a fellow conscript following suit.
"Yebat, we're out in the open! Keep moving." Antin said, briskly erecting and helping Pavel to his feet. "Comrade Gangut, remove those statues! We're heading into the university!"
"Net problem~!" She said on the radio, moving ahead and smashing the frozen Striker VXs aside with her rigging.
"Vasilyonok, have you heard anything from your comrades?"
"Net, nichego." The paratrooper sergeant curtly said, assuming a defensive position on the other side of the gate.
"On the contrary, there's at least twenty nine comrades inside." Gangut injected on the radio. "Oh, you're also going to like this."
"Ah yebat..." Antin groaned.
"There's children inside, many of them teenagers."
"The Pioneers!" Pavel exclaimed. "My cousin's must be in there! He's enrolled there!"
"Comrade, at ease! Vasilyonok, on my lead." Antin barked over his shoulder. Upon taking a few steps forward beyond the gateway, Antin spoke into his radio. "Comrade Gangut, do not let the Japs inside the university. I repeat, do not let them inside. We need time to find and rescue our comrades."
"K vashim uslugam~" She purred.
"Ugh...you are driving me up the wall!" He snarled internally before the Soviets disappeared inside the university.
Meanwhile...
"Comrade Commander, there she is!" Avrora pointed and said, lowering the binoculars. "That's Gangut."
The Commander, having previously offered her the binoculars, took a look for himself. From their position from the bell tower, the State Univeristy across the river dominated the view, Gangut in question almost hidden from view via the university roof and perimeter walls. He squinted for a very long time before she saw the distant woman and her rigging, all the while firing a few ice beams downrange at a pair of advancing Striker VXs.
"Comrade Dasha, do you have eyes on the Leningrad State University?" He asked on this headset.
"Da. I'm detecting numerous heat signatures, half of them are children."
"And outside?"
"Da...just...one. Just one."
"Is it a tall white haired woman with machinery on its back?"
There was no reply, however, but the Commander was not worried. Instead, he had a stern look, his binoculars already lowered from his face. "Comrade Commander, I...I don't believe this..." Dasha uttered.
"Leave the disbelief for later. At this point, we need as much help as possible. Can you establish contact with her?"
"Da, Comrade Commander. Standby, I'll need one moment."
"Ponimayu." He curtly nodded. It was a few seconds later he glanced at Avrora, his stern expression persisting.
"Comrade Avrora." He said and finally turned. "Are you sure about Gangut?"
"Da, Comrade Commander. She is a bit crazy, but she means well."
"Hmm. Okay, I need you to immediately retrieve her and the survivors in tow."
"Comrade Commander?" She asked a second before he turned away.
"Da?"
"What about the fortress?"
He was about to open his lips when his headset crackled. "Commander?"
"Go ahead, Dasha."
"I have a 'Grozny' on the line here." She said with modest confusion. "Does that name sound familiar to you?"
"Grozny? Grozny, Grozny, Grozny...?" He parroted and subsequently muttered.
"Grozny?" Avrora chirped. "I know her too!"
"Chto?" The Commander and Dasha said in near unison.
"Da, she was built in Leningrad. I know. I was there in 1940." The shipgirl added. "Comrade Dasha, do you have eyes on the Putilov Shipyard?"
"Putilov? Da, but its surrounded by the Japanese. What of it?"
"Gremyashchy, Gromky, and, in fact, all the Gnevny-class destroyers were built there."
"Ugh, yebat ... there's more?!" The Commander exclaimed internally, his eyebrows twitching slightly amid his stern expression.
"Comrade Avrora, are you insinuating something?" Dasha asked suspiciously.
"We can send somebody over there." The Commander blurted. "But for now, we're stuck here lest we're okay flying blind."
But just then...
"Hey, Commander?" Oleg chimed into the radiowaves. "I couldn't but overhear, but did somebody mention a shipyard?"
"Da. Putilov Shipyards."
"Ah, well, that's funny you mention that. I have a little situation on the southside of town."
"A situation?" The Commander frowned, turning southward and raising his binoculars. "Don't tell me. Motor Rifle survivors?"
"You guessed it. One of my lieutenants are pinned down in the vicinity, nothing but helicopters and burst drones down there."
"You're not suggesting artillery support, are you?"
"Net, net, that be impossible. Besides, don't you have your own men down there?"
The Commander was about to dismiss the claim, but realisation occurred upon lowering his binoculars. "Da...Captain Vyacheslav Grinko."
"Who?"
"Spetsnaz."