"What are we looking for?" Eugen asked as she sat on a small boulder overlooking the monastery.
"The natives here have said that this monastery is where Tester is hiding. So we are going to provide overwatch until Isaac can bring in the main force to take her out." Michael said.
"So, we get to sit here and be bored all day?" Eugen asked as she kicked her feet lazily.
"Eugen, I never remember you being one to get bored easily." Michael spoke as he took his eyes from the sights of his rifle.
"A lot happened, Michael… You might not fully understand everything. You were there when the war started. And then between then and now, you went missing without a trace. Lord Bismarck was sunk while under my watch. The Fatherland lost to the Soviets and the allied nations. And then the world fell to the sirens, where I was captured and subjected to torture that would kill most other Kansen… That's why Roon and I managed to survive… we're tough." Eugen said.
Michael took a moment to absorb what he had heard.
"So that has changed how you view things?" Michael asked.
"When we weren't being tortured or worked… we were left in cells. Alone. With nothing but our thoughts. I fell into despair. I wallowed in losing you. Failing Bismarck, and by extension, Tirpitz. The down time consisted of the darkest thoughts my mind could conjure. But somewhere along the line… something flipped. The bad thoughts stopped bothering me and I just became bored. I would sit nearly motionless for days on end. I think it's become something of a coping mechanism to keep me from going mad under the strain of my own memories of ineptitude." Eugen explained as she looked out towards the sea.
Michael sighed and sat up, making sure to keep an eye on the monesery below them.
"It really must have been hell for you, Eugen." Michael said as he extended his hand, beckoning her to his lap.
"It was. Not having a positive outlet drove me to seek happiness anywhere I could. And when the sirens implanted that cube into my neck… I knew deep down the Kaiser had been dead for some time. But it made me happy to be of use… so I left it alone. It drove me, however, to attack my own sisters alongside Roon." Eugen explained as she walked over and sat in Michael's lap.
"But that wasn't you." Michael said.
"Wasn't it though? It was my body. My rigging. My ship. My shells slammed into the Graf Spee and the Tirpitz alike. It was me… and I let it happen." Eugen lamented.
Any further lamentation was stopped cold by a soft hand gracing her cheek.
"Eugen. I've known you for a long time. That wasn't you. And while it is something to work on, you can't be held accountable for it. And as for Bismarck, the allies just outperformed us. You didn't sink her. If anyone is to blame, Blame Ark Royal. Blame King George the fifth. Blame the others in that task force for sinking Bismarck." Michael said softly, earning him a genuine smile from the Ironblood heavy cruiser.
"Always such a charmer, aren't you?" Eugen said as she wiped away a single tear.
"I have my moments." Michael said as he ruffled her ghostly white hair.
Down below, they watched as the battle began to ramp up in earnest.
"Oh look. It's the Kommandant." Eugen said as she pointed down to the streets where she could clearly see Isaac leading the charge from the front, followed by nearly two full battalions of soldiers and militiamen.
Michael sighed.
"I wonder if he is always that reckless." Michael thought aloud as he watched an Explorer try to flank Isaac, only to be blown away by the main guns of Odin and Musashi's rigging.
"In my short time of knowing him, he is probably the only leader I would follow come hell or high water. Sure, I would gladly serve others, like you. But he has something about him. There's a feeling of solidarity. He sees us all as a big family as opposed to a fleet of weapons. And according to Friedrich and Odin, among others, this is all he has left. His family is dead, killed by the sirens in America. So… as blasphemous as it sounds, I think he is doing it right, even if he is reckless." Eugen said as the two of them watched the final battle unfold from the cliff.
"Tanks! Move up to cover the left flank! The boys are getting bogged down by the Peace Breakers. Don't bother with the machine guns! Send AP through the core!" Isaac yelled over the radio as his remaining Shermans rolled past his left side and engaged the Peace Breakers that were pinning the left most portion of his forces.
"Jager, have you and the others made it back yet?" Isaac asked as he aimed his rifle and put down an Explorer with a well-placed shot to the neck.
"Ja. My men are doing one final sweep of the Yamato to ensure no stowaways. Are we needed at the front?" Wilhelm asked.
"We're making good progress. With the Kansens up front using their shields, we're keeping from sustaining heavy losses. We've managed to take another block towards the Monastery. Once you finish up there, return with your men to the Norfolk. Make sure she is doing alright in keeping the fleet AA active. I'm seeing plenty of Siren craft in the air and not enough of our own." Isaac said.
"Understood, Kommandant." Wilhelm replied before cutting the line.
Isaac tapped his helmet right before a blast of plasma grazed his chest plate.
"Kommandant! Get down!" Odin yelled as she pulled his arm, dragging him off the small pile of rubble that the sirens had used as a bulwark.
"I'm fine! Just a graze." Isaac said as he inspected himself before resuming his call.
"Enterprise, Richthofen. Come in!" Isaac spoke.
"Here, Admiral." Enterprise replied.
"You two coordinate our air power. Strategist class sirens have been detected and are throwing up a lot of aircraft." Isaac spoke.
"I understand. We will be in the air shortly." Enterprise replied.
"Keep Malan grounded. He did good with the bombers, but I don't know if he has the skills to outmaneuver a Siren craft. I won't allow him to throw his life away." Isaac said.
"I will relay the message to Eagle. She has questions for you, by the way." Enterprise spoke.
"Her questions will have to wait until we end this. Once we take down Tester, I will answer anything I can." Isaac said as an Explorer hopped over the rubble and sprinted towards him.
"Get back!" Musashi yelled as she tried to get her rigging around to fire at the Explorer.
Isaac stumbled back to try and evade before a red bladed sword swung past him, cleaving the Explorer in half.
"Keep your hands off him, peon!" Elizabeth yelled angrily through a heavy English accent.
"Lizzy?" Isaac asked, genuinely surprised.
"What? You don't think I drove off the Sirens with my good looks, did you?" Elizabeth spoke as she brought her sword up to deflect an incoming bolt of plasma fired by another Peace Breaker.
"Damn brutes." Elizabeth swore under her breath as Musashi and Odin stepped up, firing all of their guns on the Peace Breaker, overwhelming the Siren with white hot lead.
"These are the times that I wish I still had my guns." Elizabeth spoke as she pulled Isaac to his feet.
"You have a rifle, right?" Isaac asked as Elizabeth produced it to show him.
"I do. But I mean my main batteries. This rifle can only do so much." Elizabeth said as the rifle faded away.
"I see." Isaac said as he turned to see the smoldering corpse of the battleship class siren.
"There are more of them here than there were a few minutes ago. We must be on the right track." Isaac said as another wave poured out from the buildings ahead of them.
It was then that the building next to them exploded as a pair of Peace Breakers broke through. Any words Isaac thought he would hear as they barreled into him and his group were lost and replaced by vicious snarls and the sounds of plasma cannons charging to fire.
"They really are feral, aren't they?" Isaac asked as he barely managed to get back with help from Roon. The area where he was standing prior was then assaulted by a burst of plasma aimed at taking him out directly.
"Thanks for the back-up, Roon." Isaac spoke as Roon deployed her rigging, allowing Shrimpy to take the field in his full menacing size.
"Allow me to handle them, Kommandant. My time in the medical bay was a bit too long for my liking, and I'd like to get back to doing my job." Roon spoke as a similarly feral grin crossed her face, sending a chill down Isaac's spine.
"Can you handle them on your own?" Isaac asked as he scrambled to his feet.
"Easily. Go and get that bitch." Roon spoke as she got to work, meeting one of the opposing Peace Breakers with a force that far exceeded her supposed limits as a heavy cruiser.
"If you go down, I'll punish you severely when we put you back together." Isaac warned.
Roon laughed maniacally at the thought.
"As if you'd get the chance." She spat as her armored Gauntlet grabbed one of the mechanical arms of the Peace Breaker's rigging and tore it in half with ease, causing a considerable amount of shock and pain to the Peace Breaker she was attacking.
Isaac turned to everyone who had survived the push so far.
"This is it!" Isaac yelled as he tapped his helmet addressing every radio within the fleet.
"All forces converge on the Monastery! Push through and kill any opposition you come across. This is it people! We'll finish it here and now!" Isaac yelled as he heard the sounds of battle intensify in the town around them.
"Forward!" Isaac yelled as he took the lead. To his left a few streets over he saw the Baltimore sisters and their forces pushing forward under the command of Bremerton and Baltimore. To his right he saw Friedrich and Chief leading their forces, with Isaac seeing Chief now wielding a Thompson, probably lifted from a wounded soldier from MacArthur's forces. She stood on top of one of Friedrich's serpents and was laying down a lane of sustained fire in front of them, being sure to avoid Friedrich, who had decided to take a more hands on approach to dismantling her opponents.
"Liebling?" Nimi asked as she, Odin, Elizabeth, and Musashi all stood behind him.
"Let's do it. You know the score here; we get to her, and we put her down. Any information we can find, we will take and use against them." Isaac said as the women nodded.
Isaac reloaded his rifle and turned to the front.
With a singular yell, a wave of war cries followed as Isaac stormed the final block from the Monastery.