The steel doors of the warehouse were no match for Friedrich's serpent's maw. The sound of shredding steel rang out as the massive locking mechanism was torn from the doors. She walked ahead and opened the door for him. In front of the two of them, laid a warehouse full of unmarked crates.
"I wonder what this warehouse was used for?" Isaac asked.
"I do not have the answer to that, Kommandant. However, there were no markings on the outside of the building either, so this may be an unregistered storage facility." Friedrich spoke as Eagle and Rodney came to join them from the docks.
"I see. Hello, girls. Anything we can do for you?" Isaac asked as Friedrich turned around. Eagle flinched at the aura that Friedrich was giving off.
"Uh...no. Odin told us to come and help you two since the Commander is injured and she does not want him straining himself." Rodney said.
"I see. She really has made herself my second in command, huh. Well, I guess if she is suited for the job, I won't protest." Isaac said as Friedrich turned to him.
"Odin is a masterful tactician. Please consult her for our battles going forward. I am sure she will have use for everyone in your fleet. However... she may change your flagship as she sees fit. She has made it her mission, as well as ours, to protect you at all costs." Friedrich said.
"Now wait. Change the flagship? Isn't that the choice of the Commander and only the Commander?" Eagle asked, clearly not happy with the sudden change.
"Eagle. I am no master strategist. Nor am I some omnipotent being. If it is deemed safer for me to change flagships, rest assured knowing that it is not a decision based on personal feelings." Isaac said.
"But..." Eagle tried to complain before realizing it was pointless to argue.
"Don't worry, Eagle. Nothing has changed between us." Isaac said, her smile telling him that he had alleviated her fear.
"So, what do we have here?" Rodney asked as a crate went flying across the room, crashing against the wall, shattering the crate.
"The hell?" Isaac asked as he turned around.
"Friedrich! Please open them carefully, we don't know what is inside these crates." Isaac said as Friedrich placed the crate in her hands back on the ground.
"That one was empty. This warehouse is growing more curious by the minute." Friedrich said as Rodney went to the pile of wood and confirmed her claim.
"I want more hands here. Tear this place apart and bring me everything you find." Isaac said as his heart jumped with joy. Eagle ran back to the docks and pulled Mainz and Richelieu to help with the warehouse.
"Check all the crates before breaking them down. And anything you find must be brought to me." Isaac said as he watched the girls go to work. He felt a pair of eyes watching him and turned, finding Odin standing next to him, staring.
"I need to speak with you, Kommandant." Odin said.
"Help me down and I will join you." Isaac said as Odin reached up and lent her aid to help Isaac disembark the Iron Snake. He turned around and pet the seemingly sentient creature.
"Thank you. While utterly terrifying, you are a kind soul." Isaac said, earning him a weird look from Odin.
"You do know it is part of Friedrich's rigging, no?" Odin asked.
"I do. However, it seems to enjoy it when she pets it, so it must have some level of sentience. Anything I can do to keep it from eating me doesn't hurt." Isaac said as Odin offered her shoulder to lean on. Taka came running over to the two of them.
"Good lord! I heard from some of the others that you were banged up pretty bad. Let me take a look." Taka said.
"Was it really that bad?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, Kommandant. If it were not for your odd ability to cling to life, you would be dead from the amount of blood you lost." Odin said.
"I see. That would explain the weakness and light-headedness." Isaac said as Taka examined his wounds.
"Lucky for you, none of your wounds have picked up infection. Keep them covered and dry until they can heal. If I can find any antibiotics, I will ensure you get a round should you pick up an infection." Taka said as he quickly changed Isaac's bandages. The bleeding had stopped and the stitches were holding.
"That girl can really work a needle. These are some of the best stitches I have ever seen." Taka said as he tied off the bandage.
"The three of us seem to have some innate abilities. I do not know how to explain it. I am a tactician. Friedrich's maternal instincts are higher than usual, making her a good cook and decent when it comes to lending first aid. And Mainz... is a very, very good fighter. Not to say that the rest of us are not, but she has a state of mind that is hyper-focused on two things. Coffee, and combat." Odin spoke.
"I see. That makes you three extremely special among this fleet, huh?" Taka asked.
"Everyone in my fleet is special in their own way. I do not value anyone more than anyone else from a professional and functional standpoint." Isaac said.
"Explain, Kommandant." Odin spoke.
"I have promised myself to Nimi, and as soon as I can find a ring, Eagle will receive it. I have no more qualms with promising myself to members of my fleet. If it is something that both parties want, then I see no problem." Isaac said.
"You took an Ironblood as your first? Such a brave man." Odin spoke.
"I do not see nation. I see myself as a man, and you all as women. Nimi was a girl who fell in love with me, and I had fallen in love with her. That is why she has a ring on her finger." Isaac said.
"I see. And Eagle also shares that sentiment?" Odin asked.
"Yes. She and I share the same feelings." Isaac said.
"Then I will have to adjust my strategies. But do not think that I am above putting people where they need to be. If Z23 and Eagle are needed for an operation, they will be utilized." Odin said coldly.
"I understand. I think we all understand that our duty comes first." Isaac said.
"Good. That was what I wanted to talk to you about, Kommandant. I wanted to make sure that you knew I was not going to play to your favorites." Odin said.
"I don't have favorites." Isaac said as a whistle came from the warehouse.
"Help me get back there. It seems like they found something." Isaac said as Odin obliged his order.
"What the hell? It's all Japanese!" Isaac yelled, causing Taka and Fusou to come running.
"Is everything okay, Commander?" Taka asked.
"What the hell is all this?" Isaac asked.
"Master... please calm yourself. over exerting your body in that state will lead to more pain and a longer healing time." Fusou said.
"Those are Japanese landing craft. Each one capable of carrying 50 fully equipped men into battle. May come in handy if you plan on assaulting the islands on our trek north to Japan." Taka said.
"But there's four of them." Isaac said.
"This must have been a staging area right at the beginning of the Pacific war. The Emperor's forces must have used this warehouse as an unlisted storage unit to throw off the Americans." Taka said.
"And the weapons cache capable of arming at least 2 platoons?" Isaac asked.
"Staging area." Taka reiterated.
"Take it all. I believe we can man the assault craft with Fu, Taka, Hashirama, and Kido." Isaac said.
"No need, Commander." Eagle said as she walked up behind him.
"Explain?" Isaac asked.
"There is a decrepit transport ship sitting in an abandoned port two miles to the west. Looks like it is Sakura in nature. It has the cranes necessary to utilize the assault craft." Eagle said.
"How did we not see that, like... at all?" Isaac asked.
"We were too focused on dealing with a possessed battleship to notice a harmless cargo ship." Eagle said sarcastically.
"Watch your tone." Odin spoke.
"She has a point." Isaac said.
"Be that as it may, she will respect you." Odin said.
"So, I guess we send Taka and the others to get that ship in working order. Split the bulins and take half. Bring that ship to this port so we can load the assault craft." Isaac said.
"Understood. Boys! Let's move!" Taka yelled as Fu and the others grabbed some bulins and headed for the other port.
"What else did we find?" Isaac asked.
"A single type 95 heavy tank." Fusou said as she inspected the rest of the warehouse.
"A fucking tank?!" Isaac yelled, causing pain to shoot up his side.
"Commander. Please." Eagle said.
"Friedrich." Isaac called.
"Yes, mein Kommandant?" Friedrich asked as she closed well within his personal bubble.
"Can we open up the other two warehouses?" Isaac asked as a bead of sweat dripped down his back.
"Of course. It would be my pleasure." Friedrich said as her serpents ripped the locks off the other two warehouses.
"What?!" Isaac asked in disbelief. In front of him was what looked like a prototype for the WC matrix device back on Niue.
"Eagle. The cubes." Isaac said as he hobbled over to the machine with the help of Odin.
Eagle brought the two cubes that Yukikaze had provided them.
"Yukikaze had said that these belonged to a Union Carrier. I wonder who we will be greeting." Isaac said as he placed the cubes on the pad. He pressed the start button and found an analog counter.
"24 hours... This is going to be a big carrier." Isaac said.
"Well, should we continue exploring? I can see several blueprint tubes and crates of supplies." Fusou said softly.
"Yes. I also have need of a bulin to help me. I promised Eagle a steam catapult. If we can find the parts, I'd like to install it here. If anything, it will help her get her aircraft into the air faster." Isaac said.
"I believe we should wait for you to heal before we allow you to do any heavy lifting, commander." Rodney said.
"Ugh...I'm injured, not useless." Isaac retorted.
"If you reopen your wounds, you could get an infection. I must insist, Kommandant. Sit this one out and allow us to do the heavy lifting. If you want to have something to do, send out a radio transmission to the Island proper. See if we can't entice people to join us on our quest." Odin said.
"I guess I could do that. If there is anything of interest that you find, please let me know." Isaac said. Odin practically carried him back to the Eagle.
Isaac recorded a message to try and entice the people of Fiji to meet his fleet at the port he was working on. He left it on repeat and played it over Eagle's long range radio. Odin entered after he was finished.
"If we can get those boats filled, we can plan an invasion of New Guinea. Well... less invasion more of an occupation. Once we occupy New guinea, and we have the support of the island chain and the Philippines, we will have an open avenue and can mount a large scale invasion of Australia. With the tech they received from the Union, we could snowball our forces to help us in landings all over the world." Odin said.
"It's almost scary how quickly you came up with that..." Isaac said.
"It's my job, sir." Odin said.
"I'm beginning to feel tired. Could you help me to my quarters?" Isaac asked.
"Of course. I will oversee the rest of the operations until you wake up." Odin said.
"Having a vice commander... is really nice." Isaac said as he began breathing heavily.
"Kommandant. You need to rest, now." Odin said as she put him on her back, eliminating the need for him to walk. She quickly carried him through the ship until she found his quarters. Kicking in the door, she laid him gently on the bed, checking his stitches before covering him with the blanket.
"Rest well, Kommandant." Odin said as she closed the door and returned to the docks.