"I can see the lifeboats."
"There are maybe 300 by my count."
"No sights of the Sirens or drone ships."
"Prepare any medical supplies to aid the wounded."
The fleet was alive with radio chatter as they approached the slowly sinking vessel. Isaac stood on Eagle's flight deck and watched through binoculars as his ships approached the wreckage.
"Akashi. Do what you can to keep that vessel above water as long as possible. If they have munitions, we'll take some of it for the trouble. We can trade it when we get to the Philippines." Isaac said.
"Hai!" Akashi said as she pulled from behind the fleet and lowered her crane into the water. Thankfully most of the ship was still unflooded since the main deck had been sealed.
"Rodney, get to the lifeboats and ascertain the wellbeing of the crew. We arent at war so we don't have authority to detain them unless they do us harm." Isaac said.
"As you command." Rodney said as she jumped onto the oceans surface and skated over to the lifeboats, where Isaac could tell they were shocked to see a woman walking on water.
"Alright. All of you, get your lifeboats to the HMS Rodney. I already have a ladder down on the port side." Rodney said.
"And who are you, lady?" One of the men asked in spotty english.
"I am Rodney. A kansen that controls that battleship you see before you." Rodney said.
"I dont believe you." The man retorted.
"Really? The walking on water? The guns on my hip? Me being the only one on-board that vessel? You still dont believe me?" Rodney asked as she crossed her arms.
"This aint good. She's crossing her arms. She only does that when she gets mad." Isaac spoke as he continued watching through the binoculars.
"Maybe you should head down there." Eagle suggested.
"Eagle... I can't walk on water." Isaac said.
"I know. But Eldridge seems pretty excited to help you." Eagle said as Isaac looked down off the starboard side. Eldridge had placed her hull right up against Eagle's and was waiting.
"I guess i'll go see what the problem is. You got a ladder?" Isaac asked.
"Yes sir. Give me one second." Eagle said as she went to a box that was built onto the flight deck. She pulled out a long rope ladder and dropped it over the side.
"You should hurry. Rodney may be kind but she snaps easily if you push too many buttons." Eagle warned.
"Duly noted." Isaac said as he climbed down the ladder and dropped onto the deck of the Eldridge.
"Isaac aboard." Eldridge said as she hugged his waist. She was shorter than even Z23, and Nimi stood at 4'11".
"Yes. Here I am. Let's get over to those lifeboats. We need to help Rodney get these guys aboard so we can move. We're sitting ducks." Isaac said
"Duck?" Eldridge asked.
"Yes. I'll show you one when we finally get to the Union... if that day ever comes." Isaac said.
"Okay." Eldridge said as she piloted her ship over to the survivors.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Isaac asked.
"They are calling me a witch for being able to walk on water. I've been trying to explain but they said they would rather take their chances with the sea than to deal with a witch. Their afraid I'll steal their souls or something." Rodney said.
"Good lord." Isaac thought aloud.
"Listen! If you don't want to die, i suggest you do what the young lady requested. We do not have time to debate with you on something so stupid. Do you really want to risk the lives of 299 other men just so you can die without contacting something you cant understand?" Isaac yelled.
"Who the hell are you?" Another man asked.
"I'm Commander Garner of Azur Lane. I am the one keeping these ships from sinking your vessel and the smuggled goods you have aboard. So, unless you want to drift the ocean until you die, i suggest you come with us." Isaac said. The man thought and nodded. Within half an hour, the lifeboats were pressed against the hull of the Rodney waiting to unload.
"Drop the cargo nets over the side. They're sturdy enough to handle people climbing aboard." Isaac said through the radio as he saw Rodney lower several thick black nets.
"I'm sure you can handle them and keep them on the main deck." Isaac said.
"But of course. I control every aspect of this ship. Nobody gets below deck unless I want them to." Rodney replied.
"Thats good. We dont need them plundering your ship. Keep your rigging active and use discretion if anyone acts up." Isaac said.
"As you command." Rodney replied.
"Akashi!" Isaac spoke into the reciever.
"Nyaa?" She replied.
"What do we got in terms of cargo?" Isaac asked.
"Firearms. Ammunition. Shells for 152 mm guns. And two cubes, nyaa." Akashi replied.
"Cubes?! How did they get their hands on those?" Isaac asked.
"Shikikan. I know where these smugglers were coming from, nyaa." Akashi said.
"How can you tell?" Isaac asked.
"Their cargo is labeled from the Philippines. Closer to the surigao strait, nyaa. And if thats the case, Akashi has two ideas of who these cubes belong to." Akashi said as she hung her head low.
"Who, Akashi?" Isaac asked.
"Fuso-san... or... Yamashiro-san." Akashi said solemnly.
"I see. Well keep those cubes safe. Bring the weapons and ammo to the Eagle and keep the shells onboard the Akashi. After that, we'll scuttle the ship." Isaac said.
"Hai." Akashi said as she finished collecting the useful crates before pulling her ship back.
"Eagle. Launch some Albacores to torpedo that vessel. Send it to the bottom." Isaac said as Eldridge pulled up to the ladder hanging from the Eagle's hull. Isaac climbed it after giving Eldridge a headpat.
"Aye, sir." Eagle responded as several biplanes took off quietly from the deck, dropping their payload quietly into the waves before circling back and landing. Several columns of water shot up, indicating that the torpedos had found their mark.
"Alright." Isaac said as he pulled himself back onto the flight deck.
He waited for the Akashi to bring him the crates he wanted before picking up the reciever on the command tower.
"Alright. Slight course alteration. We will be stopping at Nuku'alofa. That is the prominant port on the Island kingdom of Tonga. We will offload these survivors and most of their cargo after it has been inspected. From there we can either rest for a few hours out in the harbor or we can set sail towards Fiji. I'll take a census when we arrive in Tonga." Isaac said.
"Aye Aye, commander." The fleet replied in unison.
"Alright. Let's see what we got." Isaac said as he and Eagle went to where Akashi left the weapons crates. Isaac opened one of the crates and found a shipment of weapons that originated in Ironblood.
"Stg-44?" Isaac asked as he picked one up. It was heavy, not as heavy as an M1but close. He inspected the rifle in his hand when he saw a paper stuck in the barrel. With a bit of wiggling, he managed to pull out something he recognized immediately.
"These guys are geniuses!" Isaac yelled as he held the paper to the sky.
"Why is that?" Eagle asked, curious as to why Isaac was suddenly so happy.
"They were smuggling blueprints using a weapons cache as cover! And even then, nobody would have found the weapons cache among all of their legal cargo! So this wasnt a black market run, this was to whatever is left of the RAN! This is perfect. For now we can use these blueprints since Australia is still under Siren control. If we take the Philippines, we can have a friendly port of call to stage an Australian campaign." Isaac said.
"I see you took Nimi's lesson to heart. Youre starting to sound like a true Commander." Eagle said as she helped him pull out rifles and look through the blueprints.
"Torpedo launchers. Turret designs. Secondary weapon systems. Even an upgrade for Eldridge's hedgehog system. So many blueprints." Isaac said as he looked at Eagle.
"Theres even a catapault blueprint that I can fit onto your flight deck. Meaning we can launch land based fighters from your deck with proper training." Isaac said. Eagle was elated.
"So you mean I can launch Mustangs and Mosquitoes from this old deck of mine?!" Eagle asked excitedly.
"Yup. And I have my own design to help you with something... a little bigger. You won't be launching any B-17's but how about B-25 Mitchells?" Isaac asked.
"You mean... the heavy bombers used in the Doolittle raid?" Eagle asked.
"With a bit of compressed air in the catapault, we can launch a fully loaded B-25 by my calculations. Several since you dont need physical aircraft. You pull this off, you'll put those Union carriers to shame." Isaac said.
"I would be lying if i said i didn't like the sound of that." Eagle said happily. In a move Isaac didnt expect, Eagle walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek.
"I think youre my favorite commander yet." She whispered as she regained her composure and returned to piloting her ship.
"Wow." Isaac thought to himself. "Softer than any lips I've felt before. These girls really are something." He continued his internal monologue.
Isaac took all the blueprints, a rifle, and the ammo crate before resealing the weapons crate to send with the survivors.
"Alright fleet. Onwards, to Tonga." Isaac ordered.