"Commander?" Norfolk asked as her voice came through Isaac's helmet.
"Quiet." Isaac's voice came back. it was hoarse and no longer feeling the same pain as before.
"Commander?!" Norfolk asked, clearly shocked at the change.
"If you're too loud, you'll wake her up. She's been working really hard since the beginning. She needs her rest." Isaac said, an unusual cheeriness in his voice.
Norfolk knew immediately that this wasn't right.
"Commander... She's not asleep." Norfolk said softly.
"Of course she is. She has to be. This is just the exhaustion catching up with her." Isaac said as the line went quiet for a minute as Norfolk silenced her end.
"How is he?" Odin asked.
"He is saying that she is asleep. That she is just tired from the journey thus far." Norfolk said.
"He's in denial. He refuses to believe that this event even occurred." Odin said as Bremerton walked onto the bridge.
"Is the Commander okay? This can't be easy for him. I saw how he reacted to the General... It's like the universe decided to play the cruelest of jokes." Bremerton said softly.
"Killing Nimi was no joke." Odin spoke as her fist dented the steel table.
"I know. But right now he is in denial. If he remains stuck in that stage of grieving, he will lose his mind. He will be looking for her everywhere he looks. Just waiting for her to wake up. That is not healthy." Bremerton said.
"So what do we do?" Odin asked as Vengeance walked up to the table.
"Losing comrades is hard for everyone, even me. When Navigator was destroyed... it took all I had to come here instead of throwing myself into the fire. So I understand a little of Isaac's pain." Vengeance said.
"Navigator?" Bremerton asked, giving a weird look at Vengeance.
"I used to fight with the Sirens. I am a Smasher class Siren Battleship. Isaac took me in after I was betrayed and has already given me a better life than I could have hoped for." Vengeance said.
"But you're still a Siren." Bremerton asked accusingly.
"At my core, I am a Siren." Vengeance said.
"I won't ask why he trusts you, or what happened. But I have one question." Bremerton asked.
"Ask it, Union Cruiser." Vengeance spoke.
"If you're a siren, you know how we were created, right?" Bremerton asked as Vengeance smiled for the first time since she had arrived.
"That I do. And I am already working every angle I have in my arsenal." Vengeance said as Bremerton nodded.
"So we need to pull him away. Get his mind back on the battle." Bremerton said.
"That would make this series of tests easier." Vengeance said as Vestal came to the bridge as well.
"How are they, Vestal?" Odin asked.
"Deep lacerations to their extremities and massive bruising, but they will be just fine. How is the commander?" Vestal asked.
"He's in denial. He is refusing to leave her side." Odin said.
"Should I send one of the bulins to bring him out?" Vestal asked.
"No. I want to send someone who has a positive history with him." Odin said as she looked towards the destroyers in port.
"Norfolk." Odin spoke.
"Yes, Vice Commander?" Norfolk asked.
"Send for Eldridge. She has the best history with the Kommandand from what I hear." Odin said as Norfolk tuned her radio.
"Eldridge?" Norfolk asked softly, stirring the young destroyer from her slumber.
"Hmm?" Eldridge asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"Can you go find the Commander?" Norfolk asked.
"Okay." Eldridge said sleepily as she stood up and began slowly making her way towards the Z23.
"What can she accomplish?" Vestal asked.
"She is like a daughter to the Commander. He treated her as such while her ship was being constructed. I am hoping that her connection will help peel his mind away from Nimi. If we can get him focused on something else, we can begin making headway on the battlefield, as well as with Vengeance and whatever she has planned." Odin said.
"So you think the father daughter dynamic will be enough?" Vestal asked.
"I'm hoping. I can only do so much to motivate the other girls into action. We need his command. And he is useless to us right now in that state." Odin said.
"Um...Akagi? Intrepid? Why do I see you taxiing aircraft?" Odin asked as the sound of engines filled the port.
"The Commander has ordered us to get bombers in the air. He didn't explain why." Intrepid said.
"The Shikikan sounded like he was back to normal, if not a bit angry. So who am I to ignore a direct order?" Akagi asked as the planes took to the sky.
"This could be really bad. This could get really really bad." Bremerton said as she looked at Odin.
"Explain, quickly." Odin said.
"He could be preparing a scorched earth attack. The city in front of us has caused him nothing but pain since the moment he arrived. And with the loss of Nimi... it could have flipped a switch inside his head." Bremerton said.
"You mean he is planning on bombing the city?!" Odin asked.
"Look at the bomb loads on those aircraft. Each of those Aichi dive bombers is loaded to capacity. 810 pounds of high explosive. Those P-51s all have 1,000 pounds of bombs strapped to their airframes. And from the looks of it... he's sending their entire compliment out with the same loads. He wants this city wiped from the map." Bremerton stated as she watched the bombers rise into the sky.
"Commander, this is madness!" Norfolk yelled into the radio.
"No... this is justice." Isaac said as Norfolk and the others looked towards the Z23, only to find Isaac standing alone on the bow. Eldridge had not yet reached him.
"Commander, please, what of the Civilians?" Norfolk asked.
"My care for civilian life is what led to all of this. If they were truly civilians, they would have been long gone by now. Their lives no longer hold meaning to me. Akagi, Intrepid... Kill them all, let god sort them out." Isaac said in a low tone.
"Don't you dare execute that order." Odin said.
"Then remove him from command, otherwise... it's treason." Intrepid said.
"So be it." Odin said as she switched her channel to Isaac's radio system.
"Isaac Garner, as Vice Commander of this fleet, I hereby use the power granted to me to strip you of your command until further notice on the grounds of Mental incompetency and extremist actions in direct opposition to our cause. You will be confined to quarters until such time as you are able to act in such a manner befitting a commander of this navy. Kommandant... you are relieved of duty, return to quarters at once." Odin said as a tear rolled down her face.
"Akagi, Intrepid, land those damn bombers. You two are on lockdown until called upon by me personally." Odin said.
"I accept this punishment." Intrepid said as her P-51s ground to a halt on her flight deck.
"As do I. I'm sorry for putting you in such a position." Akagi said.
"It had to be done. Once he is better... I'll hand him command again. But he is too unstable right now to be of any use to us." Odin said.
"Friedrich, can you hear me?" Odin asked.
"Yes, I can hear you. What orders have I been given?" Friedrich asked as Odin turned to see her on the bridge.
"Until further notice, you and the rest of the fleet will receive orders from me. Isaac Garner has been relieved of his command, effective immediately. Please assist Eldridge in returning Isaac Garner to his Quarters." Odin said.
"As ordered, Kommandant." Friedrich said as she saluted with a fist over her heart before walking out onto the main deck.
"Isaac... come." Eldridge said as she extended a hand to a clearly shocked Isaac.
"What... just happened?" Isaac asked.
"I am sorry, Kommandant... it had to be done. Your mental state is not one that we can accept. Take time, grieve. You have worked your ass off to get this far. And once everything has settled from this, and you are able to stand back on your own two feet... I will relinquish my command back to you." Odin said as Friedrich came aboard the Z23.
"Come quietly... please, dear husband." Friedrich said as she took Isaac's hand, only to find that it moved unnaturally within her grasp. Upon examination, she found that several fingers had been broken and were hanging limply from his hand. This prompted Friedrich to look over every portion of his body, seeing that his injuries were far worse than a few broken fingers.
"Vestal, I need help now." Friedrich spoke as Isaac's nerves finally kicked in, the sudden influx of pain dropping him to the deck, much to the fear of both Friedrich and Eldridge.
"Isaac! Isaac!" Eldridge cried as she pushed on his chest with her small hands, trying to wake him back up.
"What happened?" Vestal asked as she came running towards the Z23.
"He just collapsed. I don't know what all is wrong, but I can tell from here that his leg isn't supposed to be sticking that far out." Friedrich said.
"Broken fingers... dislocated hip... signs of shock ... and trauma to the head. The first two and the last one I can see, but where is the shock?" Vestal asked herself as she noticed a clear liquid permeating through the bodysuit on Isaac's back. She looked at the liquid and the plate attached to his back and put two and two together.
"Friedrich, which way did he fall?" Vestal asked.
"I saw him go through the wall face first, as if something was pushing on his back. He turned mid fall to protect Nimi's body." Friedrich said, choking back tears.
"Plasma burns. His plate was superheated, probably used the back plate to shield both himself and Nimi from incoming fire. Once he landed on it, the suit could no longer provide the thermal protection and transferred the heat directly to his back. we need to get him to the med bay now, before we lose another soldier in this war." Vestal said as her words caused Eldridge and Friedrich to go wide eyed. A crowd had gathered at the base of the gangway, only to be thrown back by Friedrich and her rigging as she cleared a path.
"Get out of my way!" Friedrich yelled as her rigging carried Isaac towards the Norfolk.
"Commander, get those nurses up and about. I need all hands here." Vestal said.
"On it." Odin said as she radioed the med bay.
"Alright ladies. Isaac is being brought to the medical bay right now. Prepare to treat him." Odin said as the nurses scrambled to collect their materials.
"What are we dealing with?" Alice asked.
"Broken fingers, possible broken wrist, dislocated hip, major concussion, and possible third degree burns to the entirety of his back." Vestal radioed in.
"All that?! How was he able to get up?!" Odin yelled as she ran outside to receive him.
"Adrenaline is something humans produce in times of extreme stress or peril. It is like a shot of morphine mixed with alcohol and narcotics. If we don't act fast... there is a real chance that he could already be dead, miss Odin." ALice said as she gathered all the materials she could to get to work as fast as possible.
"Let us pray that is not the case." Odin murmured as she led Friedrich down the corridors and into the med bay.
"I leave him to you." Odin said as she left Friedrich and Eldridge to stand guard.