The sky above the fleet began to darken as Enterprise and Richthofen led a massive air wing towards the West Northwest.
"Let's go over this one more time." Enterprise said as she remained connected to the other carriers.
Richthofen and the others waited in silence as Enterprise laid out their plans.
"We'd be dumb to think that we are going in to an optimal situation. Shinano, your Zeros will have to run interference for any carrier threat the enemy has. We cannot be expected to strike everything all at once without them getting a warning of some kind. We have to expect enemy aircraft." Enterprise said as she looked back to see several Zeros in the formation rock their wings, indicating that Shinano had heard and understood her, despite being asleep at Isaac's side.
"That'll take getting used to…" Enterprise muttered to herself as she continued.
"Richthofen and I will fly and attack targets of interest, as well as point out targets for the rest of you. Bombs will be our main source of damage, but Eagle, your torpedoes will be very important should this fleet be heavy in battleship power." Enterprise said as Eagle internalized her part of the mission.
"Should I hang back and wait for orders to begin torpedo runs?" Eagle asked as her Albacores kept pace with the rest of the air fleet.
"That would be best. Your Albacores are a bit slower than the rest of us when it comes to combat, so when Richthofen and I designate targets, you take them out with torpedoes if you have the shot. We're still 450 miles from this enemy fleet. So we won't be able to reinforce ourselves. Same thing for your swordfish, Illustrious." Enterprise spoke.
"I understand completely, Enterprise." Illustrious responded over the radio.
"And me?" Zeppelin asked as Enterprise looked over and saw BF-109's carrying drop tanks for fuel.
"Looks like you've sent fighters. So you'll have to follow Shinano's lead. Your fighters are heavier and more durable, so you can stay stuck in a bit longer than Shinano's Zeros." Enterprise reasoned.
"I have bombs as well. Targets of opportunity?" Zeppelin asked.
"Works for me, just don't use your aircraft wastefully. We only have one shot at this." Enterprise warned.
"And I guess I just hold back until we lure them out?" Vengeance asked.
"Yes. You are armed exclusively with Wisdom Dust bombs. So we can't risk any of your planes being shot down or unleashing those weapons upon the population." Enterprise spoke.
"Understood." Vengeance said as Enterprise gave one last monologue to the group.
"This is a very important mission for the sake of the fleet, and the people of the Philippines. We must succeed here so we can make the incoming invasion a success. Our main objective is to draw out the enemy fleet so we can wipe away any and all naval resistance ahead of landing on the beaches. Failure is anything other than that." Enterprise said as she waited, hearing a wave of affirmations from the other carriers as they headed towards the Philippines.
Atago yawned as she awoke to Michael and Eugen sitting in each other's company inside their tent.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Eugen said with a small smile as she cozied herself up to Michael's lap.
"Good morning. Anything new?" Atago asked.
"The enemy fleet is holding steady. Cultists are still meandering about the islands here, but it looks like something has put them on edge. Also, there is a small camp of them on the beach below us, hence us sitting here." Michael said softly.
"I see. Well, Baltimore has our report. So it's only a matter of time before the Shikikan has our report." Atago said.
"How did you manage that?" Eugen asked.
"Lady Shinano is a woman of many mysteries. She granted me the ability to see my beloved in my dreams." Atago explained.
"Lady Shinano? The Fox lady?" Eugen asked.
"Yes. Shinano is the third ship of her class. She is the third sister of the Yamato class. I've never met her before ending up with Isaac's fleet. But from what the others have said, she has the ability to influence the world through her dreams. And any dreams induced by her have special properties… like allowing Atago and Baltimore to communicate our report to the Admiral." Michael explained.
"Huh. That's a strange ability. I'm surprised we never heard of it, despite being allied with Japan during the war." Eugen said as she looked at the roof of the tent.
"To be fair, most of us believed her to be a myth. After all, the entire Yamato project was secret even to the majority of the Navy." Michael said.
"I guess that makes sense. They were meant to stand against the Americans, no?" Eugen asked.
"Initially the Yamatos were meant to face off against the Iowa class Fast Battleships of the Eagle Union, yes." Atago interjected.
"Huh. Oh well. Not that it matters now anyway. The Second World War has come to a close. Now we all fight for the same side." Eugen said with a small forced smile.
Michael noticed.
"Eugen. I understand the feelings of pride, and how hard they are to suppress. You're still among friends here. And the Admiral seems like a kind man, so no need to hold onto such troubling emotions." Michael spoke.
"I know… it just hurts knowing that we ultimately stood no chance." Eugen said as a sound from outside the tent drew their attention. Eugen's rigging appeared, being careful to not injure Michael by leaning forward.
"What's going on?" Michael whispered.
"Hey! Over here! It looks like something came through here!" A voice from outside, maybe 50 meters away, spoke.
"Shit, do you think they found us?" Michael asked as he reached for his rifle.
Atago slowly reached for her sword.
"It looks like somebody has been camping out nearby." Another voice spoke.
Michael sighed.
"What do we do? The robed men say that we have to report anything weird that we see." A third voice, a female, asked.
Michael realized this was a hunting party.
"Eugen. Atago. Apprehend them immediately." Michael spoke softly.
Eugen and Atago nodded.
Eugen and Atago crawled out of the tent and dashed in different directions, quickly ensnaring the local hunting party in their trap.
"Wait, what?!" The woman shouted as her two male hunter friends were knocked unconscious by the back of Atago's blade.
"Sorry, Frauline. Orders are orders." Eugen said as she knocked the woman unconscious.
"You got her?" Atago asked as she carried the two men on her shoulders.
"Ja. Let's get them back to Michael. Our tent is big enough, no?" Eugen asked.
"We can make it work. These three will be excellent for gathering more information on the lay of the land. All we've managed so far is to warn them of the enemy fleet." Atago said as the two of them made their way back to the tent.
"Gotta hurry!" Brooklyn reinforced her mission as she steamed at full speed towards Gibraltar.
Brooklyn's eyes were red from the amount of tears that had fallen after learning about Benson's injuries.
"I can't believe they'd do something so horrible… we were trying to help them." Brooklyn spoke as the sound of an aircraft above her vessel drew her attention.
"Brooklyn?" Ranger's voice called out.
"Ranger! I'm almost there! I'll have the parts in no time!" Brooklyn said, earning her a full minute of silence.
"Ranger?" Brooklyn asked.
"Brook… I'm calling off the mission." Ranger said, her tone indicative of a great sadness.
"Ranger?" Brooklyn asked again.
"Brook… Benson is gone. She passed away not too long after you left… this fighter has been looking for you for well over an hour. The mission has been cancelled." Ranger said.
"That… that's not possible." Brooklyn said as fresh tears stung her eyes.
"It is… and it has come to pass. Continue to Gibraltar and prepare for the Fleet's arrival. We are only a day or so behind you." Ranger said as she cut the line. The fighter left Brooklyn's airspace and headed back the way Brooklyn came from.
"Benson… died?" Brroklyn asked the uncaring abyss of the open ocean.
Brooklyn looked up to the sky, the blue slowly giving way to grey overcast clouds. Just as the first raindrop hit her deck, something on her radar caught her attention.
"Hmm?" Brooklyn asked, wiping her tears as the rain began to fall.
Brooklyn checked her radar screen to see a single blip off her starboard side. She watched for a few minutes, slowing to a near halt to see if the blip moved. After waiting a few more minutes to confirm that the blip was not moving, Brooklyn maneuvered to gain a heading towards the blip.
Brooklyn steadied herself, steeling her voice as to not come across as a crying mess.
"Unidentified contact. This is USS Brooklyn, light cruiser of the Union Navy. Please respond." Brooklyn spoke.
No worded response came, but a small tape came out from her morse code machine.
Three dots. Three dashes. Three dots.
"SOS" Brooklyn's veins went cold.
Someone was out there, tapping away on a telegraph, as they remained stranded at sea.
"We may have lost Benson… but I will not allow anyone else to die if I can help it." Brooklyn said as she spotted an island ahead of her.
"An island? This far out?" Brooklyn asked herself as she checked the map that hung on her bridge.
"If I remember correctly. The fleet is back here." Brooklyn said as she pointed to the middle of the Atlantic that spanned between Bermuda and Gibraltar.
"And if they're a day behind me… that means this island must be Madiera." Brooklyn said as she looked ahead at the island.
"The SOS is still strong. It's consistent. But I'm not seeing a vessel." Brooklyn said as she looked out from her bridge, spotting a small green spot in the waves.
"That's the blip." Brooklyn said as she checked her Radar screen.
"It's too small to be a vessel." Brooklyn said as another blip appeared on her radar.
"This one's bigger!" Brooklyn said as she scanned the horizon, her eyes eventually resting on the silhouette of a small vessel that was on the far side of the first blip.
"It doesn't look like a drone…" Brooklyn spoke to herself as she came to a halt next to the first blip.
"A Sakura aircraft?" Brooklyn asked.
"Incoming vessel, please Identify!" A woman cried on the radio.
"Unknown vessel, this is USS Brooklyn, light cruiser of the Union Navy. Who are you?" Brooklyn asked.
"HMS Matchless! I-25 hasn't come up in three days and her aircraft has finally run out of energy. She's in trouble!" Matchless cried over the radio.
"I-25?" Brooklyn asked.
"She's a Sakura aviation Submarine! She was carrying several members of the 82nd airborne out of Normandy. We were trying to get south to Santa Cruz, away from Observer Alpha." Matchless explained.
"That makes no sense…" Brooklyn spoke suspiciously.
"I know… and I promise I'll explain. But please help them!" Matchless cried.
Brooklyn furrowed her brow.
"I don't even know how I could help…" Brooklyn said.
"Just please! Anything helps!" Matchless said as Brooklyn switched on her sonar. Sure enough, 300 feet down was a tubular vessel resting on the sea floor.
"Do you have a damage report?" Brooklyn asked as she took off her outer layer of clothing and folded it on her deck.
"Her Ballast tanks ruptured and have completely flooded. She's stuck down there and the crew is running out of time!" Matchless spoke, her tone indicative of rising excitement at the prospect of her friends being rescued.
"Can you radio her and tell her to unlock the top hatch? How many men are there?" Brooklyn asked.
"3 men and herself." Matchless said as Brooklyn saw a small trail of bubbles pop on the surface.
"Looks like the hatch is open…" Brooklyn said as she steeled her resolve.
"Tell those men to get ready. I'm on my way." Brooklyn said as she dove into the water before dropping her anchor. As the anchor fell, she grabbed the chain and rode it down further into the cold water until the hard metal of her anchor hit the hard metal exterior of I-25's vessel.
After a few seconds to collect her bearings, Brooklyn found her way to the hatch, where she climbed inside and closed the outer door, allowing the water inside to be forced out before the inner door opened, dropping Brooklyn into the Submarine.
"Hello?" Brooklyn called out.
"Matchless?" A woman's voice called out.
"This is Brooklyn, Cruiser of the Eagle Union. Matchless is on the surface." Brooklyn responded.
"A union cruiser?" A man's voice was heard.
"Sir. Wake up. We have a way out." Another man spoke.
"What's going on down there?" Brooklyn called out.
"Our Sergeant is injured. He helped us escape Normandy. Took several bullets to the shoulder. We managed to patch him up but he hasn't woken up." One of the men said as they appeared at the end of the hall within Brooklyn's eyesight.
"I'll get him up first." Brooklyn said as she pushed the wet hair from her face.
"Up? How are you going to manage that, lady?" The soldier asked.
"I dropped anchor next to this vessel. I can hold my breath a lot longer than you. I'll swim you all up and we'll scuttle the vessel. I can't raise this vessel." Brooklyn admitted.
"That's… insane." The soldier spoke as another soldier stood next to him as a female made herself known as well.
"It's just the four of you?" Brooklyn asked.
"Yes. These three were the only ones I was able to get out… but we got hit during the dive and it ruptured my ballast tanks… I'm fine… but I can't repair the damage to the vessel without using a drydock." The woman, who Brooklyn assumed was I-25, spoke.
Brooklyn sighed.
"Can you swim?" Brooklyn asked.
I-25 nodded.
"Good. I'll only have to make 3 trips then." Brooklyn said as she took several deep breaths.
"You all got names?" Brooklyn asked.
The first soldier stepped up.
"Private Timothy Thomas… but these two have taken to calling me T. Behind me, carrying Sergeant Cole, is Corporal Joseph Clap, but we call him Joe." Timothy spoke.
"I see. Well. T. Joe. You two are going to wait down here with I-25 until I return. I will take Cole up first." Brooklyn said.
T and Joe nodded as Cole stirred.
"What's… going on?" Cole asked.
"Sir. We're being rescued. Brooklyn of the Union has come to our aid." T spoke as he pointed to Brooklyn, who stood before all of them in nothing more than a wet bra and pair of panties.
Cole looked at Brooklyn with judging eyes.
"Miss… why are you naked?" Cole asked.
"Makes it easier to swim. Now, you want to get out of here or not, Sergeant?" Brooklyn asked.
Cole nodded.
"Alright. Can you walk?" Brooklyn asked.
Cole nodded again as Joe let him down to the ground.
"I'm going to need you to hold your breath as long as you possibly can. I can only pass air once on the way up, so please try to hold your breath." Brooklyn said.
"How far down are we?" Cole asked as he walked over to Brooklyn.
"300 feet. I have to ascend slowly so you three don't get decompression sickness. So it will take at least five minutes to ascend." Brooklyn said as she held Cole against her. She could feel his muscles shiver as her cold skin touched him.
"It's cold water… I-25. When I lock the inner door, please flood the chamber so that Cole doesn't succumb to shock." Brooklyn said as she helped Cole up the ladder to the hatch.
"I understand." I-25 said as Cole and Brooklyn entered the hatch and closed it behind them. As soon as the lock engaged, the capsule flooded with sea water.
"Alright Cole, deep breath." Brooklyn said as she too took a deep breath and began holding it as the water covered their heads. An audible click from the door and the outer hatch swung open, allowing Brooklyn to practically drag Cole out of the Submarine and towards her anchor chain.
Looking down at Cole, Brooklyn could see the calmness on Cole's face.
'He must be used to things like this.' Brooklyn thought to herself as she began slowly ascending the anchor chain, pulling Cole along with one arm as she kicked and climbed with her other.
About halfway up the chain, Brooklyn noticed a small red line seeping through the bandages on Cole's shoulder. The first thought in her mind was…
'Sharks!' Brooklyn thought as she looked around, seeing several darting figures in the cold water around them.
'They must have been attracted by the blood. But I can't climb any faster or I will risk hurting him.' Brooklyn said as she looked down, just in time to see bubbles begin to escape Cole's lips.
'He's running out of air. Shit!' Brooklyn thought as she summoned her rigging, keeping the barrels trained on the shadows as they darted around them.
Cole let out his final bit of air, the look of fear in his eyes was apparent to Brooklyn as she locked her lips with his, allowing a fresh breath of air to fill his lungs.
'Please calm down.' Cole couldn't understand how he heard it, but somehow Brooklyn's voice reached his mind, calming his heart and mind as she made the final push to the surface, breaking the ocean's surface and stepping firmly onto the waves.
Brooklyn let out a breath, accompanied by a bit of steam in the chilly air of the Atlantic.
"Hold on, Cole." Brooklyn said as she jumped aboard her vessel, setting Cole onto the deck and running to find her clothes.
"It isn't much, but I didn't prepare any blankets. Use this to dry off and keep warm. If you can find the emergency blankets, please get them out here before it starts to rain. Matchless should be on her way to assist in making sure you all are okay." Brooklyn said as she took another breath and dove from her vessel back into the icy waves of the Atlantic.
Twenty minutes and two trips later, Brooklyn jumped back onto her deck for the final time with I-25 and T.
Brooklyn collapsed to the deck, breathing heavily as the cold finally began taking its toll.
Cole and the other soldiers scrambled to get Brooklyn out of her soaked undergarments the moment she blacked out on her deck.
"Sorry, Miss. But we need to get you out of those cold clothes and into something warmer." T, the squad medic, spoke as he grabbed the last dry blanket and used it to tightly wrap Brooklyn, ensuring that none of her remaining body heat escaped. Matchless dropped anchor next to the Brooklyn and jumped aboard to see this.
"Is she okay?" Matchless asked as she saw the Soldiers working tirelessly to keep Brooklyn from losing any more heat.
"She pulled us all out. I don't know how she managed it, or what she placed her resolve in… but she did it." Joe said as they finished wrapping Brooklyn.
The five of them looked at Brooklyn, astonished at the resolve it took to rescue everyone aboard the submarine.
"What do we do now?" Matchless asked.
"We should make port at the island ahead until she wakes up. She had to be out here for a reason, right?" I-25 asked.
"And your vessel?" Matchless asked.
"Depth charges. Destroy it so that we can salvage the cubes." I-25 said as she helped the men pick up Brooklyn to move her into the superstructure of her ship.
Matchless nodded and bounded over to her own vessel, dropping depth charges over the area where I-25 went down. After several minutes, a pair of cubes rose to the surface and were collected by Matchless as she attached a tow line to Brooklyn's vessel and took her under tow to the island ahead.
Deep inside Brooklyn's mind, a single thought rang out.
'I did it. Even if I couldn't save Benson… I managed to save someone.'