"Richthofen! Begin your dive! Shinano, fly your zeros low to try to distract those cruisers!" Enterprise yelled.
"Right." Richthofen spoke as she remained conserved as she and her flight of JU-87c's took a sharp dive towards the enemy formation. Shinano's fighters dove faster and steeper to get below Richthofen and attract the fire of the AA cruisers, keeping Richthofen safe through the majority of her dive.
"No fancy show?" Enterprise asked.
"This is serious. There is a real chance of death here, Enterprise. I may make some reckless moves in the heat of battle, but I am not so careless that I would risk myself being captured by the enemy." Richthofen replied as she released all four of her wing-bound 100 pound bombs on the lead cruiser, leading to massive damage to the AA array, which was busy trying to fire at Shinano's fighters. The destruction of the AA array led to a chain explosion within the AA cruiser, splitting the ship into several pieces from the force of the explosion.
"I see. Best to remain safe. The fleet is still around one hundred miles behind us." Enterprise said.
"Only one hundred miles?" Richthofen asked.
"Yeah? What do you mean only?" Enterprise asked.
"The Ability I used in the Second battle of Australia. I examined one of the weapons I produced. They can hit from there. I might be able to save some of our fighters for Air cover once the fleet arrives." Richthofen said as the beams of energy in the sky were joined by clouds of flak coming from the mainland.
"If you can activate it, then I say do it. Because I think we just woke up the island defenses." Enterprise spoke as she began to sweat, a product of her intense focus on evasion as clouds of flak exploded around her.
"I need a few minutes. Can you keep them off me, Graf?" Richthofen asked.
"Easily. Although, could you please expedite the process as much as possible? I may have heavier fighters, but that makes them more difficult to maneuver, and it's taking a lot to keep dodging these beams." Graf Zeppelin said as her ME-155A's dove down to distract the AA cruisers from the JU-87's that were pulling out of their dives.
Once clear, Richthofen took a deep breath and reached deep.
"Come on. I did it when we needed it most. I, Richthofen, Queen of the Skies, command it. Answer to my will!" Richthofen screamed inside her head.
"Commander, look." Odin spoke as they walked onto the bridge of the Norfolk.
"Things must be pretty bad if she needs to break those out." Isaac said as he watched the rear plating of the Manfred von Richthofen fold back, revealing the same rocket powered bombs she had used during the Battle of Australia. He and Odin watched as nineteen rockets were loaded onto racks that had appeared on the back of the flight deck.
Isaac tapped his helmet.
"Richthofen, everything alright?" Isaac asked.
"Kommandant. I am trying to focus." Richthofen replied.
Odin watched as the rockets ignited, launching the flying bombs into the sky over the fleet before powering on ahead of them towards the Philippines.
Isaac tapped his helmet again.
"Enterprise, come in." Isaac spoke.
"Commander, looking for a report?" Enterprise asked.
"I am. How does it look?" Isaac asked.
"We have only managed to sink one of the cruisers. It appears that if we damage the AA array in any way while it's active, the resulting power surge will cause the ship to experience a critical failure. That said, we have also managed to dawdle long enough to wake up the island's air defense. They know we're on the way." Enterprise reported.
"That's fine. I am preparing to move the fleet into battle positions. General Quarters has already been called." Isaac replied.
"Still. My failure is unacceptable. I will try to finish things up here." Enterprise said.
"Enterprise. You carried the union fleet through the entirety of the war in the pacific. You mustn't push yourself too hard. The fleet is coming. So hold out until then." Isaac said.
"As you command, sir." Enterprise said as the radio cut out.
Isaac tapped his helmet.
"Attention. We are within one hundred miles of our target. Battleships, form a perimeter around the fleet. Heavy cruisers, fill in the inner ring to protect the light cruisers and transport vessels. Destroyers… mainly Nimi since Laffey and Allen are busy, float throughout the formation and keep an eye out for enemy subs. We cant be caught off-guard here. Patty, get the subs reloaded and refueled. We'll need them to help Nimi keep an eye on things. We'll form up around the carriers. Move it!" Isaac ordered, his order followed by his helmet being filled with confirmations.
The fleet slowly rearranged themselves into the proper formation.
"Everyone, evade!" Richthofen yelled as the familiar sound of buzzing entered their area.
Everyone managed to get out of the way as nineteen buzzing V1 bombs punched out from the cloud cover and dove straight for all nineteen of the remaining cruisers.
The cruisers, detecting the bombs right as they left cloud cover, stopped firing their beams at the carrier-born aircraft and turned their attention to the bombs flying in.
"I can do it maybe one more time! Enterprise, order the torpedo bombers!" Richthofen yelled.
"On it. Eagle, Illustrious. Now's the time, get in low. Shinano, use your Zeros again to distract the cruisers." Enterprise spoke as the cruisers lined up their first target.
Eagle's Albacores and Illustrious's Swordfish dove down from the clouds in what could only be described as a warship's worst nightmare. Diving to just mere inches from the water's surface, the torpedo bombers dropped their payloads, dodging AA fire from the regular drones and land based installations. Up above, the nineteen bombs launched by Richthofen were blown to bits in short order, leaving the cruisers open to attack the air group once more.
Several tense seconds later, the torpedoes found their marks, detonating against the unarmored cruiser drones, taking out over half of the remaining AA cruisers with the first wave.
"Report?" Enterprise asked as the sky was filled with more flak, coming in thick as she neared the mainland.
"Five cruisers remain. four of the original ten Swordfish lost. Seven of the original twelve Albacores lost. ME-155a wing left with seven fighters, three lost. Zeros, one remains. JU-87c wing five of the original twenty remain." Shinano's voice spoke softly.
"Shit. We're still getting wiped out here. Richthofen, how many of those bombs can you launch?" Enterprise asked.
"Twenty." Richthofen replied.
"Send them all and target the cruisers. We need to shut down these AA monsters before the rest of this air fleet gets torn apart. Flak we can handle, but those beams are causing problems." Enterprise ordered.
Richthofen sighed.
"Alright. Keep them off me." Richthofen spoke as she closed her eyes and focused.
"Another round?" Isaac asked as he watched another round of rockets get loaded onto the racks.
"The fleet is in formation." Odin reported.
"Distance?" Isaac asked
"Seventy-five miles." Odin said.
"How much longer until we are in position to open fire and support them?" Isaac asked.
"Three hours at the earliest, and even then, Friedrich, Myself and Texas are the only ones with range long enough to make the attempt." Odin said.
"And the rest?" Isaac asked.
"With myself, Friedrich, and Texas at the head of the formation, as we advance, the others should be able to join in." Odin spoke.
Isaac grumbled a bit.
"Not trying to put you three down, but there might not be anything left once we get there. And three battleships might not be enough to distract the enemy fleet." Isaac said.
"I understand, Isaac. But Enterprise and Richthofen are the only ones out in the field. The remaining carriers are here. They can send more planes after a short rest." Odin said.
"Right… I forgot about that." Isaac said as he held his chest.
"Isaac?" Odin asked.
"It's nothing. Just a small bit of pain. I must not be one hundred percent yet." Isaac said as Odin took his helmet off.
"Isaac. You have us. You don't have to be strong all the time." Odin said as she cupped his cheek in her hand.
"I know… but…" Isaac started.
"No buts. Friedrich and I will protect you once we land. But you're not going any further than the beach." Odin spoke seriously.
"I can fight." Isaac said.
"No. That's final. You're in no condition to fight. Just be happy that Laffey didn't kill you with her little outburst. In all respects, you should be dead, this armor saved your life. So if you have to be sidelined for a battle or two, then I think that's a small price to pay." Odin said as she helped Isaac to his captain's chair.
Zero appeared on the desk in front of him.
"Commander." Zero spoke.
"What do you have?" Isaac asked.
"Norfolk is busy at the moment, but I have intercepted a request from our forward scouting party." Zero said.
"I'll hear it." Isaac said.
"They need assistance. They would like to assist the carrier force while also laying down covering fire from the inside. They report mass amounts of Cultists have begun digging in for the upcoming fight. AA emplacements have been uncovered and Michael believes he can see several land based heavy guns." Zero reported.
"What can we do?" Isaac asked.
"I have taught Norfolk how to use the Mirror Sea Generator. Since her makeup is mainly Siren, she should have no problem using it." Zero explained.
"So we could send in Eugen and Atago's vessels?" Isaac asked.
"Precisely." Zero said.
"Let's do it. Also… send in Prinz Heinrich. I can practically feel her chomping at the bit." Isaac said.
"I understand. I have asked Norfolk to the Bridge." Zero said as she disappeared.
Several minutes later, Norfolk appeared on the bridge carrying the black pyramid.
"Norfolk?" Isaac asked.
"You want to use it?" Norfolk asked.
"I do. Send in the Atago, The Prinz Eugen and Heinrich along with her vessel." Isaac said.
"Do you have any coordinates?" Norfolk asked.
"I… don't. I never received Michael's location." Isaac said, scratching his head.
"I have them." Zero said as she reappeared.
"You do?" Isaac asked.
"I intercepted their location when they tried to send a message to Norfolk." Zero said.
"Ah. Well, let's get the coordinates. Let's help them." Isaac said.
"9°12'48"N, 124°38'05"E" Zero spoke, allowing Norfolk to enter the information.
"Isaac. We should let Heinrich know." Odin said.
"I agree." Isaac said as he put his helmet back on and tapped the side.
"Prinz Heinrich?" Isaac asked.
"Hi hi! Kommandant! Do you have something more for me to do?!" Hienrich asked excitedly.
"I do. You're about to be sucked into a Mirror sea and thrown head first into combat. You'll be assisting Prinz Eugen and Atago." Isaac said.
"Okay! Sounds like fun." Heinrich replied.
"That's good. Make sure your guns are loaded. Rigging deployed." Isaac said.
"Eisen is ready for war, Kommandant! Let's go!" Heinrich said excitedly.
"Norfolk?" Isaac asked.
"Ready." Norfolk replied.
"Send it." Isaac said.
"Wait." Eugen said as she suddenly stopped running. Michael and Atago halted as well.
"What is it?" Michael asked.
"My vessel… it's being moved." Eugen said as a purple light appeared to their right, several hundred feet into the water.
The Atago, Prinz Eugen and another ship appeared from the light.
"My vessel?!" Atago cried.
"What the hell?!" Michael yelled.
"Hi hi! I'm here to help!" Prinz Heinrich's voice came from Prinz Eugen's rigging.
"Heinrich?!" Eugen cried.
"Kommandant sends his regards!" Heinrich said as her guns turned to face one of many land emplacements before opening fire.