"What's this?!" Michael asked as he watched countless robed figures appear on the beach and begin taking potshots at the bridge of the Prinz Eugen.
"Eugen, deal with them!" Michael ordered as Eugen turned her guns to the beach and fired, throwing sand and water tens of meters into the air.
"What's going on?" Atago asked.
"I can answer that!" Heinrich said as her radio mast reacted to intercepted transmissions from Cebu.
"Heinrich, talk to me." Michael said.
"The Kommandant is here! Tester has ordered her Wolfpack to meet the Kommandant here in the bay! She sounds like she's panicking. Like she was hoping that the Kommandant wouldn't be here." Heinrich explained.
"In the bay?" Michael asked as he saw small boats rounding the island with long tubes attached to the sides.
Michael looked through a pair of binoculars that Eugen had hanging on the wall.
His eyes went wide.
"PT boats! They're dumping torpedoes! Evasive maneuvers!" Michael yelled as the three heavy cruisers evaded the captured long lance torpedoes.
"Looks like we're going to have our hands full." Atago said as she trained her guns on the lead boat and waited.
"Destroy the PT boats! If we get hit before the Admiral makes it into the bay, we're toast." Michael yelled, feeling the pressure of three heavy cruisers opening up with every gun in their arsenal.
Atago and Heinrich slammed their rudders hard to starboard to get all of their guns firing as Eugen remained head on, avoiding another torpedo that scraped the paint below the waterline.
Shells landed all around the PT boats but the size of the craft in addition to the sheer speed of the small boats made it hard for the heavy cruisers to get enough fire on them to keep the PT boats at bay. A problem emphasized by the sudden explosion that rocked the Prinz Heinrich.
"HEINRICH! Damage report, now!" Michael yelled.
"Suicide boats… ow…" Heinrich said as black smoke poured from the Prinz Heinrich's smokestacks.
"Heinrich, damage report, damn it!" Michael ordered.
"Hole in the port midships. Engine room damaged. Flooding. Taking on too much water." Heinrich said in a forced tone.
"Fuck." Michael said as he slammed his fist into the desk.
"Eugen, contact the Admiral." Michael snapped.
"Jawohl!" Eugen said as she activated her radio.
"Mayday. Mayday. Mayday." These words froze Isaac to his core.
"Michael. Report." Isaac spoke.
"Heinrich's been hit badly. They closed in too quickly for her to get her shields up. She is flooding rapidly and is dead in the water. Requesting any support you can spare." Michael said.
"What did the damage?" Isaac asked.
"Suicide PT boats. The Wolfpack has stolen Japanese PT boats and packed them with torpedo warheads. We don't have the speed to hit them." Michael said.
"Understood. I'll see what I can do." Isaac said as he cut the line.
"Norfolk." Isaac ordered.
"Sir." Norfolk replied.
"I need another Mirror sea. Can you manage it?" Isaac asked.
"I'll need to rest afterwards… but I can relinquish the controls to Zero if I have to." Norfolk said.
"Zero. Are you harboring any thoughts of defying me?" Isaac asked.
"None. You could have killed me the moment I got here. Something deep down tells me that you wanted to. But you didn't. You spared me, and are now giving me the chance to strike back at those who turned on me for not wishing to fight you. I will never betray you, not willingly." Zero said.
Isaac looked at her.
"This is a big task. This vessel has been under Norfolk's control since it was built. Can you handle it?" Isaac asked.
"I can. I will if I must." Zero said.
"Norfolk. I need a mirror sea… a big one." Isaac said.
"How big?" Norfolk asked.
"All of us. Michael is in danger of being overrun. And if he goes down, they can turn their focus elsewhere. Get. Us. In. There." Isaac ordered.
"I understand, Isaac." Norfolk said as she kissed him deeply before turning to the black pyramid sitting on the desk.
Isaac tapped his helmet.
"All ships, prepare to be transported via Mirror sea. We will be in immediate danger once we exit, so get your guns loaded." Isaac ordered as Norfolk focused all of her energy, to the point of dimming the lights on the bridge, into the black pyramid. The pyramid, in turn, began to show streaks of purple as a massive orb formed ahead of the lead elements of the fleet.
Michael was holding onto his desk on the bridge of the Prinz Eugen as he watched Prinz Heinrich's deck catch fire as a result of the damage to the engine room.
"Heinrich, talk to me!" Michael yelled.
"I'm… okay." Heinrich said between breaths as she fought to keep the flames under control, using her shields to attempt to keep the water out.
"Eugen, can we do anything?!" Michael asked.
"Not when we're still under attack. Atago and I can only take so many more hits, so keeping them at bay has to be our top priority." Eugen said sadly.
"Fuck… Where is the Admiral?" Michael asked.
"On your right." Isaac's voice came as several ropes grappled onto the rail of the Prinz Heinrich from several other ships in the fleet that had appeared out of thin air.
"Fan out and protect the cruisers! I want those PT boats blown to hell!" Isaac yelled as Bulins crossed over the towing lines and onto the Prinz Heinrich before getting to work knocking down the fires.
"Mirror sea, Admiral?" Michael asked.
"We wouldn't have made it in time to save her otherwise. Fall back and let the light cruisers and destroyers screen those PT boats." Isaac said as the lights on the bridge of the Norfolk brightened as Norfolk released her focus.
"Isaac…" Norfolk said softly.
"Good work, my love. We'll take over from here." Isaac said as Zero took over the control of the ship.
Norfolk sat in a chair on the bridge and immediately fell asleep due to the strain of opening two mirror seas in relatively quick succession.
"Richelieu, Texas, Tennessee sisters. Take over the destruction of land emplacements. Carriers, give us air cover. I can practically feel the bombers incoming. Baltimore, Bremerton, Escort Taka and the other transports towards Cebu. I will join once we secure the area." Isaac ordered.
The fleet responded immediately to his will, and split as he had ordered.
"I can hear gunfire. Has it begun?" One of Wilhelm's men asked.
"One should assume. Which means anyone we find on the beach is hostile. We must not hesitate. The Kommandant may have given us armor and weapons, but even the most advanced technology can be broken. Use your judgement." Wilhelm spoke, his voice still being modified by the helmet.
"No disrespect, sir… you sound borderline demonic." Another man said.
"It keeps me anonymous, according to the Kommandant." Wilhelm said.
"I find it kind of cool. Makes you sound just as tough as you look." U-47 said offhandedly as she walked past Wilhelm.
Wilhelm chuckled for a couple seconds.
"Where are we at, U-47?" Wilhelm asked.
"Five hundred yards from shore. I can get you to one hundred yards, but you'll have to wade in the rest of the way. I don't have those rubber boats like Norfolk." U-47 said.
"Fine by me. Do you have any rocks you can get us in on? I think the main force of this island is occupied with preparing for an assault, so we might be able to sneak in if we come up by a rock outcrop." Wilhelm said.
"Understood. I'll see what I can find." U-47 said as she turned the sub to try and find cover for Wilhelm and his men.
"What the hell!?" Tester cried as she saw the entirety of Isaac's fleet emerge from a mirror sea into the bay.
"How did they get our tech?!" Tester cried.
"Tester. I have the answer to that." An Oceana said.
"Tell me!" Tester yelled.
"That odd ship, the half carrier. It is giving off the same energy readings as a Smasher class battleship. I believe one of our subordinates defected." The Oceana said.
"Well no shit! Empress said as much, but that doesn't mean they can utilize our Mirror seas!" Tester replied.
"I am also picking up a strange reading from one of the cruisers in their fleet. But I cannot place the feeling." The Oceana said.
Tester huffed.
"What is the status of the drone production?" Tester asked.
"We have a few units, but with his entire fleet here, they will do little to slow him down. We should prepare for the inevitable invasion." The Oceana said.
"I agree. He pretty much has control of the bay. And with no more Super battleship drones available… we can't force his hand. Send whatever we have to slow him down. We need to buy time for the Wolfpack to entrench themselves." Tester said as she watched the Carnage in the bay unfold as Isaac's fleet slowly spread out to cover ground.