"The Shikikan?" Atago asked as she deployed her rigging the moment Heinrich's shells struck one of the land emplacements, throwing up a cloud of dust and smoke, confirming the destruction of the shore gun.
"Yup yup! He said to bring your vessels and to help you guys out! So, that's why I'm here!" Heinrich explained excitedly as Eisen swam excitedly around her in the water below.
Up on the hill where the gun emplacement was, a group of hooded figures rose with weapons drawn and immediately found and fired upon the new vessels sitting in the water.
"Eww! Small arms fire. It feels like ants on my skin!" Heinrich said as she turned her AA guns towards the men firing at her and opened up with two of her four 105mm AA guns.
Sure enough, several salvo's of 105mm was enough to silence the small arms fire from the hill.
"Looks like they know we're here. Oops." Heinrich said happily with her knuckles to her head.
"Heinrich, how did you get here?" Michael asked as Eugen used her rigging to hoist him up onto her vessel.
"Norfolk said she used a Mirror Sea. I just wanna fight! Now that I have a Kommandant, I can fight!" Heinrich said happily.
Michael thought as Eugen reacquainted herself with her vessel.
"Alright then. I shall assume command of this merry band until the Admiral arrives." Michael said as Heinrich, Atago and Eugen all looked at him.
"What's the order then, Shikikan?" Atago asked.
"Atago. You have powerful torpedoes. You might be able to help our carrier force with that enemy fleet. Heinrich, where is the fleet?" Michael asked.
"The fleet is three hours away." Heinrich said as her guns trained on a further gun emplacement, firing another salvo towards the shore battery, only for it to fall short and strike the beach.
"Ah damn." Heinrich said as she looked back at Michael.
"Heinrich and Atago, let's work our way around the island here before heading towards the enemy fleet. We'll take out enemy emplacements as we go so that we have a bit of a staging area to send the troop ships for landing." Michael said as he adjusted the Type 99 rifle on his back.
"Understood." Atago and Heinrich said as steam began to pour from the funnels of all three vessels.
Michael turned to Eugen.
"You're going to have to be extra vigilant. I need your eyes to see everything going on." Michael said.
"Why?" Eugen asked as she led him to the bridge.
"Amagi acts as my spotter. And as much as I am a Naval Commander, I am a marksman. Your rangefinder will help me guide my shots." Michael explained.
Eugen looked at his rifle.
"Is that how you do it? How can you even see?" Eugen asked.
You have a much better visual range than I do. If you use landmarks that I can see from here, I can adjust." Michael said as he checked his rifle.
"Four shots. We'll need to make them count until the Admiral brings in Kashino. She has a crate of 20mm shells for this." Michael said as Eugen took point at the head of the three cruisers.
"I understand, Michael. I shall be your eyes." Eugen said as she looked out the windows at the sea ahead.
"There are shore batteries littering this island. I'm surprised we didn't see them on our way in." Eugen remarked as Michael pulled up binoculars.
"It was dark when we landed. And we saw them uncover the AA emplacements when that first explosion went off. So it stands to reason that they were hiding the shore batteries as well." Michael said.
"You would know, Mr. Japanese Commander." Eugen poked in a teasing tone.
"I didn't take part in the Philippine Campaign. I was ordered to defend the homeland from potential invasion." Michael said, unamused by her teasing.
Eugen pouted at her joke falling short.
"Atago, that emplacement is on your side. Five hundred meters ahead. Destroy it before it can take aim." Michael ordered as he watched the five turrets of the Atago turn and open fire, sending ten 203mm shells flying into the heavy shore gun, sending it up in a column of flames.
"Good hit." Michael reported as the three cruisers steamed south in an attempt to round the island.
"Did they make it?" Isaac asked.
"Heinrich reports a successful jump. They made it and Michael has begun wreaking havoc behind enemy lines." Zero reported.
"Excellent." Isaac said as a siren blared onboard the Yume.
"What the?" Isaac asked as he looked towards the Yume, seeing her guns spin up and fire into the clouds.
"Ark Royal, in the air, Now!" Isaac yelled on the general channel.
"Understood. However, I must insist on a spot of respect, Commander." Ark Royal replied as several Spitfires were launched off the Ark Royal, rapidly climbing into the sky.
"Mayday. Mayday. Mayday." A familiar voice came in over the radio.
"Talisman! What's going on?!" Isaac yelled as he hit a red button on the desk, sounding the sirens aboard the Norfolk.
"I'm out of fuel and being hunted by Siren Aircraft. They sent them after me the moment I made my turn." Wilhelm reported.
"Damage to the airframe?" Isaac asked as he hit the side of his helmet, zooming in on the clouds, trying to find Wilhelm in the skies above the fleet.
"They just shredded my tail. My engines cut out nearly five minutes ago and I've been gliding. I tried to lose them, which is why it took so long, but I can't shake them." Wilhelm said, his breathing sounding heavy.
"Talisman, hang on. I'm sending Ark Royal's Spitfires to get them off of you. If you can drag the enemy aircraft out of the clouds, we can open up the AA." Isaac said. A few seconds later, a heavily damaged and burning Catalina burst from the clouds above the fleet. Mere seconds after that, a full air wing of Siren Aircraft burst into the open.
"All ships, target the Siren Aircraft!" Isaac ordered on the General channel as AA guns of all calibers opened up, blocking out the sun with flak clouds and tracers, mainly fired from the Enterprise and the Yume.
"Can you land the plane?" Isaac asked.
"I can't. The controls are locked up." Wilhelm said as he realized his trajectory.
"Sir… shoot me down. I'm headed right for the Bismarck." Wilhelm said.
"Request denied. Fight, god damn it!" Isaac ordered.
"I'm trying, sir. But with no tail, I can't pitch the airframe. I'm gliding right into the Bismarck if I'm not shot down." Wilhelm said.
"Shit…" Isaac said as another voice dominated the channel.
"I can take it. You're out of fuel, right?" Bismarck asked.
"I am. But I might damage one if not both of your forward turrets." Wilhelm said.
"I'm stronger than that. You just make sure to survive. I won't forgive you ramming my ship if you don't make it." Bismarck said as Isaac watched the burning mass of aluminum and steel crash into the forward deck of the Bismarck.
Isaac wrenched his eyes away.
"Destroy the Enemy!" Isaac yelled angrily as Norfolk's six and a quarter inch Dual Purpose guns rose to meet the rising threat, firing an airburst shell into the center of the Siren Air group every few seconds, decimating what the rest of the fleet left behind.
Bismarck was on her deck, several hoses pumping water onto the burning wreck of the Catalina. Wilhelm had managed to miss hitting either forward turret and crashed onto the wood deck, his momentum being halted by the large anchor chains, leaving the cockpit hanging precariously over the bow after breaking through the deck railing.
Isaac looked back after the last Siren Aircraft had fallen victim to the ocean's embrace.
"Bismarck, there's movement in the Cockpit, get him out of there!" Isaac ordered.
"On it, Kommandant." Bismarck said as she looked for an entrance into the mangled wreckage.
"I'll have to blast it open. I can't risk it." Bismarck said after taking a long look around the smoldering wreck.
"I can help, Shikikan." Kashino's voice was heard.
"If you can get in there, do it." Isaac said as the Kansens around the Bismarck looked on.
Kashino made her way to the Bismarck and jumped up onto the deck.
"Please pardon my intrusion, Lady Bismarck." Kashino said sheepishly as she used her bare hands to tear open the fuselage of the aluminum skinned airframe, opening the aircraft enough for Bismarck to get in and get to Wilhelm, who had passed out with his arms protecting his head. A small pool of blood was seen around his feet.
"I need Arizona. He's injured." Bismarck said as she wrenched Wilhelm from his seat and carried him to safety outside the plane.
"Understood." Isaac said as he tapped his helmet.
"Arizona, you need to get over to the Bismarck. Talisman is injured." Isaac said.
"I'm on my way, Commander." Arizona said as she cut the line.
"What do you want with the plane, Kommandant?" Bismarck asked.
"It's too far gone. See if we can get the bulins to scrap it." Isaac said as the fleet kept moving ahead.
"Isaac." Odin said.
"Report?" Isaac asked.
"We're seventy-five miles out. We're getting close." Odin said.
"This is it, then. No backing out now." Isaac said as the fleet powered on.