After the Royals left the deck of the Norfolk, the flag given to Isaac by Warspite after Queen Elizabeth's death was run up the new Queen Elizabeth's mast. Isaac saw this from the deck and shed one final tear.
"Long live the Queen." He whispered as he tapped his helmet.
"Gangut, how goes the winterization?" Isaac asked.
"Friedrich and U-47 are already properly adapted to the Arctic. Allen Sumner only requires a small bit of work, if I can take a bulin, we can make the modifications while under way." Gangut reported.
"Request approved. We can always make more bulins, now that Akashi is here. Just make sure it isn't Chief." Isaac said.
"It's not. The others say she is experimenting with something on that tug of theirs." Gangut shot back.
"Good enough. I'll have to ask her about that. Anyway, you have permission to set out immediately. I want you and Friedrich to allow Allen and U-47 to scout for you. You two do not have particularly long range radar, and Chapayev reported that the enemy could somehow see where they were no matter how they used the environment. We have to assume that this is due to the Radar Cruisers that Vengeance briefed me on. The range of their radar is unknown, so I want you to take it slow once you reach the Bering Sea. If for some reason you are detected… send an SOS and turn back for Japan. I will not risk you or Friedrich or any of my fleet to chance when the Northern Parliament was so readily defeated. Understood?" Isaac asked.
"Clearly. We shall be off then. Do svidaniya, Comrade Garner." Gangut said as she cut the line.
"Friedrich." Isaac spoke.
"Yes, Dear husband?" Friedrich asked.
"Be careful. You may be H-class. You may be a battleship. You may possibly be the strongest ship in Ironblood history. But don't you dare get careless. I will not forgive you if you get yourself killed out there. I will swim to the depths of the Arctic and drag your hull up piece by piece if I have to." Isaac warned.
"I will not fall, dear husband. I will see to it that none shall survive an encounter with us. Have some faith in your loving wife." Friedrich said in a soft and sultry tone.
"I have the utmost faith in you. But I know our enemies. Please… come back to me." Isaac spoke softly.
"I will return. Have no fear, dear husband." Friedrich said as she blew a kiss over the radio before cutting the line.
The air was pierced by three loud fog horns as the scouting group began making their way out from the fleet and towards the Northern exit of the Archipelago. This commotion drew a crowd from the beaches of the surrounding islands. Isaac watched as families, still recovering from their hellish occupation smiled and waved to the departing girls that had helped save them from their captors.
Norfolk came up to Isaac and tapped his shoulder.
"Is everyone accounted for?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, Isaac." Norfolk said as Isaac snaked a hand around her waist.
"Isaac?" Norfolk asked as she leaned into his side.
"Send out the order to the fleet. We are going to follow them out. I've already notified those staying behind that they are no longer under my command for the time being. So we should be ready to push off." Isaac said.
"Taka and the Captain of the Athene have reported that all remaining crew members have been accounted for and are ready for departure." Norfolk said.
"Excellent. On a side note, Has anyone seen Stefan?" Isaac asked.
"Last anyone saw him, he was escorting Taihou to her quarters to rest." Norfolk said.
Isaac tapped his helmet.
"Taihou, come in." Isaac ordered.
"Shikikan?" Taihou asked, her voice suspiciously chipper.
"Where is Stefan? I have business I need him for." Isaac said.
There was some shuffling in the background before silence.
"Taihou?" Isaac asked.
"I'm here, Admiral." Stefan said, breathing heavily.
"Are you alright?" Isaac asked.
"I've been… busy the past few nights." Stefan admitted.
"I see. Well, have you decided to come along with us? Jager said there was some apprehension when he asked you to join us officially." Isaac said.
"In light of current… circumstances. I have decided that my fellow freedom fighters will be more than capable of defending our home for the foreseeable future. And after some… less than subtle coaxing from a certain heavy aircraft carrier, I have decided to join you on your noble quest to free this world." Stefan explained as Isaac heard Taihou titter in the background.
"I understand, Stefan. Taihou. Front and center." Isaac said, earning him another small bit of shuffling on the other end.
"I'm here, Shikikan." Taihou said happily.
"Do not overexert him. Let the man rest. I will not interfere with whatever relationship you and him have, but I will not have you constantly incapacitating my prodigy of guerilla warfare. Can we agree on this, Taihou?" Isaac asked.
A few moments of silence.
"I can agree to those terms, Shikikan. Stefan has been instrumental in helping me realize what has happened since my last… nap, shall I say. You will have him when you need him, but I would much prefer that he live aboard my vessel." Taihou said sternly.
"So long that he is available when I need him, then I will allow that arrangement. I expect you to put your all into keeping him safe." Isaac said.
"Nothing will harm a single hair on his head. Any that attempt to do so will be burned into nothingness." Taihou replied in a much more sinister tone.
"I expect nothing less. As you were." Isaac said as he cut the line.
"She seems… nice." Norfolk said with a nervous smile.
"There is a solid chance that her constant cycle of death and rebirth may have left her with some lingering traits of an unhinged personality… like possessiveness over a loved one. We may need to keep an eye on her if she becomes troublesome." Isaac said.
"Understood." Norfolk said as a knock came to the door.
"Door's open." Isaac said as Nimi walked in.
Isaac watched as she walked over to him and silently hugged him.
"It's going to be okay, Liebling." Nimi said softly.
"What is?" Isaac asked.
"Eagle told me everything. We're all here for you." Nimi said as she was unceremoniously swept off her feet by Isaac.
Nimi hugged him more as he returned it.
"I know you all are. Thank you." Isaac said as he let Nimi down and kissed her delicate lips.
"What are we doing now then?" Nimi asked.
"Norfolk, send the order. We're done here." Isaac said as Norfolk nodded.
"We setting course for Japan, Liebling?" Nimi asked.
"Full steam ahead." Isaac said with a smile as the Archipelago was rocked by the sheer number of horns piercing the night sky.
Cole and Brook sat on the frontmost Pershing tank as they approached the final stretch towards Wilhelmshaven. As Cole kept his eyes open for enemy traps and ambushes, Brooklyn thought back to right before they left the farm, where she had seen a scene between two unlikely people.
She remembered seeing Gneisenau walking over to Natalie as she was draining one of the remaining trucks of fuel. Brook thought Gneisenau was going to go off on her for some reason based on the hand on her hip and look in her eyes, but was shocked when the normally abrasive battleship hugged the Dutch woman out of the blue. Brook watched as the two let each other go and Gneisenau pulled the eyepatch out from her uniform, the same one she had looked at back on the beach. Brook assumed then and there that they had formed some kind of bond over the loss of a loved one… Scharnhorst in Gneisenau's case. Brooklyn was about to try and remember more when Cole nudged her.
"Everything okay, Brook?" Cole asked.
"Yeah. Yeah… just thinking back. What's up?" Brooklyn asked.
"Nothing. You just got real quiet." Cole said with a smile.
"Always so nosey… but I guess that's what a husband does, right?" Brooklyn asked as she looked at the ring on her finger.
"Always." Cole said with a smile.
It was then that the sound of buzzing drew their attention.
"I'm aiming for the freshly plowed field. Keep clear." Elbe's voice came over the tank's radio.
Sure enough, several JU-87's pierced the low cloud cover and slowed as much as they could before releasing six rather large crates into the freshly plowed soil of the field to their left.
"All tanks, halt! The fuel has just been dropped, hurry and let's get what survived." Cole said as he watched the crates embed themselves into the soil slightly before the crates themselves collapsed from the strain of being airdropped.
The tanks halted and any man that could walk made their way towards the field. Cole and Brook went as well.
"I don't smell gas. Maybe they all survived." Cole said as they arrived at the six crash sites. Sure enough, each crate held a single 55 gallon fuel drum, cushioned from the fall by loosely packed hay and soft soil.
"Commander, will this be enough fuel for your tanks to provide support for the duration of the raid?" Cole asked as the Tank commander came over to them.
"I don't know what your fleet did… but yeah. This will be plenty. How the hell did these things survive the fall?!" The commander asked.
"Freshly plowed fields, from what I hear, are capable of dampening quite a bit of impact. If I had to guess, we got lucky not to lose any." Cole said as he and Brook inspected the barrels.
"Cole. Elbe is saying that the fog has all but dissipated over the fleet. We need to get this loaded because the Admiral has issued orders to begin the assault." Brooklyn said.
"So be it." Cole said as he whistled.
"Get this fuel loaded! We need to move! The fleet has begun the assault without us! Remember the goal here people!" Cole yelled as the men worked hurriedly to load the fuel into the transport trucks.
Cole then turned to the tank commander.
"How soon can we roll these tanks into Wilhelmshaven?" Cole asked.
"We can be there within three hours. Should be long enough for your air support to soften up ground targets for us." The commander said.
"Let's move it along then. Hopefully we won't be too late. Yorktown's recon report isn't looking too good either. So we're heading right into the belly of the beast." Cole said as he and the Commander swallowed nervously.
"What's the hold up, boys? We have a schedule to keep." Natalie said as she and Ania walked over to them.
"Brook is getting bits of Yorktown's recon report. It's not looking good." Cole said.
"I could have told you that. Wilhelmshaven has turned into an even bigger stronghold than Berlin. Flak towers, panzer divisions, even remnants of the Luftwaffe. Our fight is going to be just as fierce as the battle of Stalingrad or the invasion of Normandy. I'd prepare yourself for such a fight." Natalie said as Cole nodded.
"Either way, we can't leave the fleet to fend for themselves, let's get moving." Cole said as they all made their way back to the convoy to continue their trek.