Isaac looked at Friedrich after he cut the line.
"Looks like we are getting some new members of the fleet, Mein Kind." Friedrich said as she looked back at him.
"I agree. And a repair ship at that. I feel like the gods of war are smiling upon us." Isaac said.
"Don't let it get to your head, Mein Liebe Kind. The girls told me of your... bravado so to say." Friedrich said.
"Explain." Isaac said as he stood up and faced Friedrich.
"You rushed forward, with a minimal fleet, into the enemy. Apparently, you were injured on your first sortie." Friedrich said as she closed the distance between them but held back for a second. A look in Isaac's eyes told her he didn't mind as she took his chin in her hand.
"I just was thinking that we were prepared. I had put all my eggs in one basket. My fleet at the time was all I had, and I was fueled by a burning rage. The sirens I escaped killed my family. I wanted nothing more than to close the distance and I almost doomed my fleet." Isaac said as his face twisted into one of displeasure and self loathing.
"If you keep thinking yourself infallible, your fall will be tremendous and explosive. Keep calm, think of battle as a melody. Let it flow, back and forth like a well oiled instrument. Do not force anything. Do what you can. In the end, you will be victorious and a wonderful melody will be produced." Friedrich said as her arms slowly encircled Isaac.
"That makes sense, actually." Isaac said as he accepted her embrace. Her soft touch and gentle breathing was enough to calm his raging emotions.
"I am here to talk about it if you need. I always will be." Friedrich said softly as her hand ruffled Isaac's hair.
"Thank you, Friedrich. Shall we continue our rounds?" Isaac asked.
"Before you go, commander. I have a progress report on your new ship." The head Bulin spoke.
"Go ahead, little one." Friedrich said softly.
We have completed the hull in it's entirety. We are about to begin fitting the propulsion units and functional spaces within the hull before constructing the superstructure. We just had a few questions." The bulin said.
"Ask away." Isaac said as he got down eye level with her.
"We have the equipment here to utilize a siren based propulsion system. It is quieter than turbines and far more powerful in terms of raw speed. The downside is we need to reinvent the wheel with the steering gear. Current gear setups will break under the speed and stress." The bulin said.
"I see. I will allow it but I will need one of you to walk me through the blueprint so I know how to maintain it and repair it." Isaac said.
"That can be arranged, Commander. We also wanted clarification before we finalize the top deck." The bulin asked.
"Fire away." Isaac said.
"You requested the 6.25 inch dual purpose guns in eight double mounts, correct?" The bulin asked.
"Yes. But I would like to replace the torpedo mounts." Isaac said.
"What shall we replace them with?" The bulin asked.
"Anti-air Oerlikons, octuple barrel configuration." Isaac said.
"Knowing the dimensions, we can fit two in each spot, for a total of four octuple mounts, is that alright?" The bulin asked.
"Absolutely. Replace the regular 20mm single cannons with 40mm dual mounts if you can make the space. I want this ship to be a bulwark of AA firepower." Isaac said.
"That'll be a stretch, but we can make it happen, Commander. This ship will rival even the Cleveland class cruisers and the Union Battleships, Buli!" The bulin said.
"That is a lot of weight in ammunition, Mein Kind. What will you do about the excess weight?" Friedrich asked.
"That was the stretch, Miss Friedrich. The Siren plating has a much better density value for ship building. It floats a lot better than steel, so we can pile on the AA mounts with little to no effort. That said, we will have to do a complete redesign of the superstructure to match the Commander's specifications." The bulin said.
"Do what you must to make her capable. I leave the rest to you, little one." Isaac said as he ruffled the bulin's hair.
"Understood Commander. We won't disappoint." The bulin said while presenting an adorable salute.
"Such cute little beings." Isaac said as the Bulin ran to the others to relay the orders.
"Let us continue your rounds, Mein Kind." Friedrich said as she waited for him at the bottom of the scaffolding. Isaac watched as Odin strolled towards the work site.
"Friedrich, what are you doing with the Kommandant?" Odin asked.
"We were just coming to find you, Odin. I'm giving you today off. As a reward for your hard work since your arrival." Isaac said as he reached the bottom of the scaffolding.
"If those are your orders, I shall return to my ship and do maintenance and catch up on some battle tactics." Odin said as she turned and walked off towards her own steel behemoth.
"Friedrich. I'd like to find Intrepid." Isaac said.
"She is currently aboard her vessel receiving the aircraft from Niue." Friedrich said as she pointed to the massive Essex class carrier.
"Let's pay her a visit and see what Akashi sent us." Isaac said as they began the short journey over to the carrier. The made short work of navigating the ship and were soon on the flight deck with Intrepid.
"Good morning, Intrepid. What's the good news?" Isaac asked.
"Good morning. Commander. As you can see, Akashi has sent us a few things to aid with the construction of the new command ship. She sent us cubes and some blueprints for the little mechanics down there." Intrepid said as she handed Isaac the cubes and blueprints, which Friedrich took from him to carry herself.
"Was that all?" Isaac asked.
"No. She sent us a letter. Apparently they made a breakthrough in understanding the cubes just a bit more. She is currently constructing the second fleet, consisting of Akagi, Belfast, Helena, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina." Intrepid said as she skimmed the letter.
"Did she elaborate on the new discovery?" Isaac asked.
"No, but apparently it has to do with Akagi. That's all I know about the matter." Intrepid said.
"I see. Well, I will deliver these to the bulins and allow them to continue the project." Isaac said as he and Friedrich bid Intrepid farewell for the moment.
After droping off the supplies from Akashi, Isaac and Friedrich began walking around the port. Isaac saw the transport ship and pointed to it.
"I want to check in with Taka before we continue." Isaac said as Friedrich nodded happily. The made their way over to the transport ship. Isaac looked around the deck and saw gas cans, weapons, ammunition, and other items the human portion of the fleet would need.
"Welcome, Commander. I hope the ship is as you had hoped." Taka said as he made his presence known from the walkway that ran across the superstructure.
"It looks great! Where are the landing craft?" Isaac asked.
"Inside the well deck, ready to be loaded and launched. We also made a neat discovery during the repairs." Taka said.
"Well, don't leave me in suspense, spit it out." Isaac said.
"We found that the cranes can lift the tank and the trucks, so we managed to strap them down to the deck for rapid departure once you and your ships secure a port. We can launch the boats from the well deck while on approach." Taka said.
"Excellent. The carriers can take on any armor if we meet resistance. And if we succeed, we will have a fleet comprised solely of ground forces. With that, we may have a chance to take Japan after we mop up the Philippines." Isaac said before Friedrich put her hand on his shoulder.
"Remember, Mein Kind, modesty is what keeps your orchestra in tune. Bravado can only spice it up so much before it turns to arrogance." Friedrich said softly.
"You're right. But we got this far, I feel a little optimism is warranted." Isaac said.
"Well, I guess you have a point. Such an interesting character you are, mein kind." Friedrich said with a small chuckle.
"Well, I can tell you two are busy, I'll take my leave." Taka said as he walked away, disappearing into the bridge to manage his own daily tasks of managing the four hundred militiamen under his control.
Isaac and Friedrich turned to leave and went about tending to the rest of the fleet.
"Ughhh. Why does he have to have so much energy?" Eagle groaned as she managed to sit up in bed. Nimi had already gotten out of bed and managed to make it to the chair across the room.
"Agreed. To think he could outlast both of us." Nimi said as she looked at Eagle's hand.
"Eagle! Look!" Nimi said as she pointed to her left hand.
Eagle looked down and noticed the ring on her finger.
"He remembered." Eagle said as tears formed in her eyes.
"When did he propose to you?" Nimi asked, eager for details.
"When we talked on the way back to Tonga. He accepted my feelings for him and he reciprocated them to me. He promised himself to me that day and we sealed it that night in the bunks of my ship. It was embarrassing, yet liberating at the same time." Eagle said.
"Embarrassing, huh? How was he with you?" Nimi asked, now fully invested.
"He was amazing, as you would expect. Everything I wanted, he provided in spades. I never knew feeling the pleasures of a man could be so invigorating." Eagle said as she reminisced on her first time.
"He was gentle with me. I could tell he was a bit hesitant due to how small I look. But after plenty of assurance, he made me never want to leave that bed." Nimi shared, intriguing Eagle.
"I have a feeling we may be seeing another soon. I wonder how he will be with her." Nimi said.
"Oh? And who's the lucky lady?" Eagle asked.
"I think Friedrich has taken a liking to him." Nimi said as she looked at Eagle.
"What?! She'll smother him to death!" Eagle cried.
"I don't think so. Despite her terrifying presence, she doesn't seem like she'd be the dominant in the relationship. At least when it came to the bedroom. But she also has very strong maternal instincts. I've noticed that she has taken to adopting the entire fleet as her children. Something tells me that when this war is over, she will find a way for Isaac to get her pregnant." Nimi said with a chuckle.
"And what will you do? When this is all over?" Eagle asked.
"I will stay with my beloved. No matter where the rest of the fleet goes, at least I know that he won't be alone if I stay. And after hearing how he was treated back in the Union... I may push for him to start his new life in Europe. And I can guarantee that Friedrich, and any Ironblood ladies that he manages to swoon, will want him to live in Germany so they can still perform their duty to the Fatherland while being able to come home to him every night." Nimi said.
"I see. I don't know what I will do. Sure I want to stay with him, but I know that I won't be welcome in Germany." Eagle said.
"I'm sure he will just prefer to stay in Niue. It's already adapted for us Kansen, and it isn't like he can't live a good life on the Island. Plus, he has made a lot of friends here in the south Pacific." Nimi said as she began getting dressed, her legs still a bit shaky.
"I wouldn't mind that. The constant rain in the channel is a bit depressing compared to all the sun." Eagle said as she swung her legs out and also began getting dressed.
"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it." Nimi spoke, continuing to wonder about the future.
"Well, on that we can agree. Let's get up and grab some food, I'm starving." Eagle said as her stomach rumbled loudly. Nimi chuckled.
"Miss Akashi, We can commence the building of the battleships now. Helena has cleared the chamber and is inspecting her ship now." Belfast said with a bow.
"Belfast-san!" Akashi said as she ran over and hugged her.
"Hello, Akashi." Belfast said as she dropped a hand on her head and rubbed between her ears.
"Akashi is happy to see everyone coming home. Akashi was worried that the Sirens killed all Akashi's friends." Akashi said as she smiled with tears in her eyes.
"Don't worry, Akashi. Once we meet up with the Master, I'm sure he would love to find the third fleet. Kashino and Hibiki won't be lost forever, That I am sure of." Belfast said.
"But Forrest-Shikikan sent them to the Atlantic. Bismarck-sama and U-556 too." Akashi said quietly.
"And we will find them and bring them home. Everyone we can save, we will." Belfast said as she hugged the crying feline.
"Can we get those battleships built please?! I would like to be under way as soon as possible!" Akagi yelled from the flight deck of her ship as several large squadrons of Zeros circled the island.
"Of course, Lady Akagi." Belfast said as she placed Pennsylvania's cubes on the pad and pressed the start button.
"This commander seems to be a bit... personal with his fleet." Phoenix said nervously.
"Phoenix, it isn't nice to assume anything about him. I'm sure the girls wanted it just as much as he did." Vestal said.
"I only hope that to be the case." St. Louis said as the three of them continued onward.