"Lady Yukikaze! We have several hits on the radar!" Taka yelled from the bridge.
"Damn. Can we identify what they are, nanoda?" Yukikaze asked.
"No... I do not have a good visual. There is a light fog coming off the ocean this evening." Taka said.
"Use the radio... I'll prepare the weapon systems." Yukikaze said as she rotated her gun mounts and her torpedo launchers.
"Unidentified fleet. This is Civilian Taka aboard the IJN Yukikaze. Please respond." Taka spoke.
Silence.
"I repeat. This is Civilian Taka aboard the IJN Yukikaze. We are in need of help. Lady Yukikaze is on her last legs and needs support. Please respond.
The sound of aircraft overhead gave the men and Yukikaze a bit of relief.
"Nanoda?! That's a Royal spitfire squadron. Taka! Fire the flares." Yukikaze spoke as a slight shine returned to her eyes.
Two bright white flares lit up the night. Suddenly the radio blared to life.
"Unidentified Sakura Destroyer. This is Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. Please kill your engines and disable your weapons systems. Fly a white flag. We are coming to collect you and your crew." Eagle's voice blared over the radio.
"Understood." Taka responded in his best English.
"Lady Yukikaze, kill the engines and shut down your weapon systems. Their fleet is coming to collect us." Taka yelled to the bow. Her hull immediately began to slow down as her weapons returned to a resting position.
"Now we wait." Yukikaze said quietly as she blacked out on the bow, prompting Taka to come running.
"Commander." Eagle stood at dinner.
"You may speak." Isaac said.
"50 miles out. We found her. Yukikaze has killed her engines and is complying with orders." Eagle said.
"Understood." Isaac said as he stood and addressed the fleet.
"All of you return to your ships, feel free to take your food with you. I will be away from the fleet to collect Yukikaze and her crew. I will be leaving Richelieu and Eagle in joint command until I return. I will be taking Nimi and Eldridge to help me." Isaac said as everyone stood and saluted.
"Alright you two, let's go." Isaac yelled as he threw on his jacket and ran through the halls of the Eagle and onto the flight deck. Isaac threw down a ladder to the waiting Eldridge below.
"Sorry, my love. Eldridge was closer." Isaac said as Nimi gave a small pout.
"It's fine. Just be prepared for when we reach Fiji." Nimi muttered as she jumped from the flight deck and skated over to her vessel.
"Isaac!" Eagle yelled from the flight deck as he stepped onto the deck of the Eldridge.
"Yes?" Isaac yelled as he scrambled to catch the STG that Eagle had tossed to him.
"Gotta act like a commander if we are to recruit Allies." Eagle said with a wink.
"Thanks." Isaac yelled up as he slung the rifle over his shoulder.
"Nimi, Eldridge. We are beginning a rescue operation. Keep weapon systems offline and keep the radios on. Eldridge, you can shut off the EM field until we reach our destination." Isaac said.
"Okay Isaac." Eldridge said as the crackling of electricity faded. Eldridge and Nimi broke formation and headed directly to where Eagle had found Yukikaze.
Isaac picked up the radio reciever.
"Eagle. I want you and Richelieu to keep the fleet moving. We are within range of Fiji. Keep your wits about you, you do not have Eldridge to shield your radar contacts." Isaac said.
"Understood commander. We will head for Fiji at flank speed. We hope that you stay safe. Don't keep us worrying for too long, you hear?" Eagle asked with a small giggle.
"Just keep the course. I will see you after I have collected our new ally." Isaac said as they broke the radio transmission.
"Alright you two. Flank speed. Let's not keep our new friend waiting." Isaac said.
"Understood Kommandant." Nimi said as the two destroyers leapt forward, their engines humming blissfully as they cut through the waves.
"Yukikaze! Wake up!" Taka yelled as he held her small form in his arms.
Yukikaze lay motionless, the strain on her body had put her out.
"FU! Get on the radio. We need help." Taka yelled as a small hand grabbed his coat.
"Stop...yelling. I'm sleeping, not dying, nanoda." Yukikaze said slowly.
"You have no room to talk, Lady Yukikaze. Just relax and let us handle this." Taka said as Fu go on the radio.
"Eagle? Anyone? Please respond." Fu spoke in slightly better English than Taka.
"This is Commander Isaac Garner aboard the USS Eldridge with KMS Z23. We have you on radar. We are on the way." Isaac spoke over the radio.
"Please hurry. Lady Yukikaze is not doing well. She has been exerting herself for days now and is in no shape to continue sailing on her own until she can rest." Fu explained.
"That is okay. I brought Z23 for that purpose exactly. However, I will have to board the Yukikaze to formally accept your surrender. As I am from the Union... and we are still technically at war." Isaac said.
"That is understandable. We will offer no resistance. Please, just help us." Fu said as the line went dead. The crew shielded their eyes as a fog lamp burned through the fog.
"Good lord." Taka whispered as two decked out destroyers pulled out of the fog in front of the Yukikaze.
"I'm glad we don't have to fight that." Hashirama said as the rest of the crew nodded.
The Eldridge pulled up alongside the Yukikaze. Isaac and a little girl placed a board to connect the two ships and crossed over onto the Yukikaze.
"Please have everyone on board come up on deck." Isaac said as he held his rifle in front of him.
"This is all of us. Four crew and Lady Yukikaze." Taka said as Isaac kneeled down to get eye level with Yukikaze.
"Hello." He said softly.
"Are you the Shikikan?" Yukikaze asked weakly.
"Yes. I am the commander of the newly reformed Azur Lane. Isaac Garner, it is nice to meet you, young one." Isaac said, referencing Shinano's last known call.
"You really are the Shikikan. Shinano-sama is waiting patiently for you. She and Nagato-sama are keeping the sirens at bay within the seas of Sakura Empire." Yukikaze said.
"Shh. Save your breath. You need to rest. We are going to tow you to Fiji so we can put you up for repairs. Your hull has definitely seen better days from an engineering perspective." Isaac said.
"Normally I'd protest your tone, nanoda... But I am too tired. Three weeks of torture... finally come to an end." Yukikaze spoke softly as she extended a small blanket to Isaac.
"We found a Union Carrier during our escape, nanoda. Please accept it as a peace offering." Yukikaze asked as she went under again.
"I accept your offering. You four, get aboard the Z23. I will stay with Yukikaze as she is towed to Fiji. Eldridge will follow to mask our radar signature." Isaac said.
"How?" Taka asked.
"I'll explain later. For now, just follow orders." Isaac said sternly.
"Alright, commander. I guess we can talk when we reach Fiji." Taka said as Isaac nodded.
"Do you have eyes on the commander?" Richelieu asked.
"Yes. They surrendered without any trouble and have begun towing the Yukikaze." Eagle said.
"That's good. Let us make the home stretch. We will hit the shores of Fiji in two hours." Richelieu said as she gazed at the night sky.
"Such a beautiful sight." Richelieu said as Eagle looked up to the sky as well.
"I have to agree. Tonight is a very beautiful night." Eagle said as she went back to watching the rescue operation.
" Looks like they are heading directly to Fiji then. We will meet them there." Eagle said.
"Understood." Richelieu responded as she relayed the message to the fleet.
"Looks like the Insect has reached Fiji. He really is making good headway." Observer said as she looked over recent communications from her drone fleets.
"No we cannot afford to break the blockades. Don't worry, the moment he passes Fiji, he'll have to fight like his life depends on it. There is next to no chance that he makes it to the Philippines." Observer spoke, seemingly to nobody.
"I understand, Empress. He will not survive long enough for him to disgrace you." Observer said.
"Such a pain. I wish we could have just kept toying with these humans... Ruling this planet is far too much work." Observer said as she walked around the mostly empty streets of the Sakura Empire.
"Looks like we are getting closer, Friedrich. We are now less than 24 hours from Fiji." Odin spoke.
"Good. I cannot wait to meet my new commander. I only hope he does not disappoint me." Friedrich said as she leaned against her forward turret.
"I just hope he knows what he's doing. An incompetent leader will be useless to us." Mainz said as she sat in one of the seats on her AA guns.
"He will be a good commander. After all he has lived this long. So he must have some skill to command such a large force." Odin said.
"I guess, but still. We maintain quite a bit of autonomy. So it's not like he has to be the best commander." Mainz said.
"We have to give him a chance, my child. After all, why should we be the ones to judge, we were constructed yesterday after all." Friedrich said.
"True." Odin said as they continued steaming towards Fiji.