Chapter 6: Allies and a Stranger

Sirens blared throughout the base as the inhabitants rushed to their battle stations to prepare for the incoming attack. The I-401 was on standby at the entrance along with Takao, Haruna and Kirishima. In the control room was Hyuga, Yuriko and Makie. The detected ships had just made it into visible range, and screens display to the mental models what they were up against.

On the horizon were around 20 Nagara class cruisers in formation, with the unmistakable look of a Fleet Flagship in command. Yuriko knew what it was right away and gritted her teeth, a furious look in her eyes. She began to sprint out of the room to get to her ship, but was stopped by a wall of orange. She turns to Hyuga, who was stopping her.

"I know that ship, I need to destroy her!" She said, barely keeping control of herself.

"Now I'm not sure what you're about to try and do, but it probably won't be beneficial to us. Trust me, the others will be fine against her. It's your job to stay here and help with the defences." Hyuga calmly replied.

"You've never fought her, you have no idea! If they go out to fight, they'll-"

"Iona and the others won't lose. We've taken care of a Flagship before, we can do it again. Nothing can beat Iona!~" Hyuga interrupted.

As Hyuga was saying this, the little girl that Yuriko now knew was Makie hugs her legs and looks up at her.

"You don't think Haruharu will lose, do you? She won't!"

After taking a deep breath, Yuriko manages to calm herself. She walks back over to the large window that looked over the sea outside, watching the colourful battleships emerge from the base.

"Alright, I'll believe in them...but if they need help, don't expect me to hang around here." Yuriko said.

"I suppose if it's necessary, but I don't have as much trust in a stranger." Hyuga replied, before getting to work setting up defences.

The island the base was located in seemed to almost spring to life, with turrets and missile silos appearing out of nowhere. Once the departing ships left, a shield of orange surrounded the island. Yuriko watched all this, seemingly quite impressed by Hyuga, who was orchestrating the transformation. They were now battle ready, and just in time, as the first wave of ships approached.

Meanwhile, the defending fleet was in position, 4 fog ships that would defend the base at any cost. The ships were all linked by comms to communicate tactics and report on the situation, with Iona as the leader of the small group. As the enemy ships sail into range, both sides open fire. They had dealt with invasions like this before, but on a smaller scale. This was their biggest defence yet.

The I-401 submerges, disappearing under the water and prepare to counter attack the first wave of attacks, a barrage of missiles from the enemy cruisers and constant cannon fire on the shield surrounding the base. 3 active decoys are launched from the submarine, the identical ships brought into existence to take some of the hits, whilst the rest could be dealt with by counter-missiles.

Meanwhile on the surface, Haruna and Kirishima were preparing the real attack. Their ships were lined one before the other, and slowly began to change and open up, metal connectors at the ready. The two ships soon join together to become one large vessel, their colours mixing. With their ships open like this, there was only one thing to do.

"Are you sure this is gonna work? It's crazy!" Takao remarks, getting in position.

"Trust me, it'll work...I hope." Haruna replies.

"You don't sound too sure to me! Screw it, just tell me when you're ready." Takao says.

The two joint ships begin charging their ultimate weapon, the Super-Graviton cannon. With Iona underneath protecting the exposed ships who's cores were opened up, a bright glow emanating from within. The enemy ships were advancing all at once, a huge line of red. With the cannon pointed at the furthest right ship, the plan begins to unfold.

The sea itself that the enemy vessel was sailing on split, creating a pathway of land between the ship and its attackers. The force of the gravity was keeping them from falling, and the bright glowing was almost at its maximum. It would only be a matter of seconds before the huge weapon would fire, and the single ship would go up in flames.

"Takao, now!" Kirishima shouts over the comms.

The glowing red ship that was Takao begins accelerating from the position it was in next to the joint Haruna-Kirishima ship. Takao was facing them, and speeding towards them from the right. It had been calculated perfectly.

Pure, bright, colourful energy erupts in a straight laser path towards the Nagara ship, practically tearing the vessel in two, causing it to explode instantly in a ball of flame. At the very same time, Takao impacts the side of the Graviton Cannon, causing the whole ship to slowly turn, and the laser to slowly move from the furthest right to the left, moving down everything in its path. The enemy ships blow up one by one, the red lights that danced across their hulls unable to be seen from the line of explosions. Once everything settled, the fleet of ships was no longer there.

Celebrations erupt over the comms, and those like Yuriko who were in the control room of the base breath a sigh of relief, Yuriko especially. She had never seen tactics like those before, and was both confused and in awe at them. It was something only a team of people like this could achieve.

However, they knew it wasn't over yet. The group of Iona, Takao, Haruna and Kirishima get back in formation, waiting to see what the command ship in charge would do now. What would Makoa do now?

Suddenly, her voice echoed across the comms.

"I didn't think you'd deal with my little fleet so easily, congratulations. However, do you really think you stand a chance against a Flagship like me? You even took away my subordinate in hid her away in that base of yours. Were you afraid of letting her loose?" Makoa's voice booms.

Yuriko grits her teeth and resists the urge to ignore the order to stay.

"I'll just deal with you four, then everyone inside!"

Missile pods across the surface of Makoa's ship open simultaneously, and a rain of missiles come down on the group. There was about 50 in total, and 10 of them were corrosive.

"Evade if you can, but prepare for impact!"

As the missiles impact the ships and surrounding water they bring down destruction on an unprecedented scale. The Klein Shields off all four ships were overloaded and sent offline, but they had managed to avoid serious damage. However, this was all according to Makoa's plan.

Suddenly her ship emerges from the smoke, only mere metres away from the others. Even from that far away, a grin was visible on the flagship's face as she stood atop her ship.

"You played right into my hands, fools!" She laughs.

Before anyone could even respond, a crackling lightning surrounds the Flagship, blue in colour and clearly dangerous. It spreads leaves the ship, then in an instant it spreads the energy through the seawater, causing a bright flash of light. All four mental models recoil in pain, seemingly stunned simultaneously by the energy. Makoa simply drifts by, stops for a few seconds, then continues towards the base.

The defences were mostly spent, and Makoa would arrive at the dock at any moment.

"I can't let this go on any longer, you know I have to go!" Yuriko turns to Hyuga.

"Fine...go. You need to deal with her." Hyuga gives in.

"With pleasure..." Yuriko quickly exits to the dock.

Right in front of her was the Flagship, the one she hated so much. She draws her blades.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You wouldn't want this one to get hurt, would you?" Makoa grins, stepping into view.

Yuriko's eyes lit up with rage. Makoa had Haruna in a tight grip.

"Let go of her!" She shouts.

"You're not the one making demands here...Yuriko. It seems I've found the source of your corruption!" Makoa grins, holding Haruna up by the neck.