Cole kept the tank moving despite the damage sustained so far. Chatter on the radio gave Cole hope as the tanks he had brought were being used to monstrous effect on the lighter armor in the area. The heavier guns were still in play, but the Shermans and Pershings were more than capable of maneuvering to make the enemy guns glance off long enough to escape. Machine gun fire rattled through the city streets as Cole's men fought from window to doorway to make their way towards the now destroyed city center.
Gneisenau remained seated right outside the driver's hatch, being sure to remain out of the arc of fire of the 8.8cm cannon on the turret.
"Where do you think Natalie went?" Gneisenau asked.
"I wouldn't have a clue, Gneisenau. She ran off without saying a single word. At this point she could be just about anywhere." Cole said as he rolled the tank closer to the warehouses in the port city. Cole had decided after the destruction of the town square, to take a wider arc to get towards the fleet, a choice he would come to praise himself for as Gneisenau looked down at him.
"She's fighting with that Siren of hers. I'm sure she'll be fine… right?" Gneisenau asked.
"You've taken quite a liking to Natalie in the short time you've known her, Gneisenau… anything you want to air out?" Cole asked as he pushed further into the warehouse district. The sounds of battle were far off. The sounds of the streets around them were eerily quiet.
"She's been through a lot, that dutchman. Surviving the war, the Siren takeover, and fighting for over four months through this Siren subjugation. She's lost her family, her wife, her friends… Something I can relate to in some sense. Brook gave me a small sliver of hope that I would find Scharnhorst. That small bit of hope is what is keeping me going right now…" Gneisenau said.
"I see. You know what they say. Desperate times call for strange bedfellows." Cole said.
"What, just because I'm german?" Gneisenau asked in a slightly accusatory voice.
"Well, you hit it off with Brook during our last little skirmish. And now you're questioning whether you are falling for a dutchman. I'd say that's a bit off, considering your previous affiliations." Cole said.
"I had no choice in the matter. Orders are orders." Gneisenau said sharply.
"I know that. Especially when those orders are coming from a fascist megalomaniac. Believe me, I understand the desire not to earn yourself a death warrant." Cole said with a chuckle as the sound of gunfire came from the warehouse to their right.
"Natalie!" Gneisenau spoke frantically.
"Get this gun turned around! We're blowing open this fucking wall!" Cole said as he backed off just enough to keep the tank from being destroyed by its own shell. The tank rocked on it's chassis as the massive cannon fired and blew a hole in the brick wall of the warehouse, sending the light of day flooding into the darkened warehouse.
"Natalie!" Gneisenau yelled as the aforementioned woman came tumbling through the wall with Observer Alpha's human body clenched tightly as they fought. As soon as they stopped tumbling, Natalie took Alpha's wrists into her hand and pulled them up, preventing Alpha from attempting a retreat as Natalie began driving her boot into Alpha's face, causing a few teeth and black liquid to go flying with each stomp.
Cole was watching intently, waiting to see if he was needed to assist when a massive shape filled the road ahead of them, beyond where Alpha was hiding.
"Mein Gott…" Gneisenau spoke as she gripped Cole's shoulder.
"Get us out of here." Gneisenau spoke as she looked directly at the massive shape in the street.
"What the fuck is that?!" Cole yelled.
"It's a Maus! We can't beat it. It's armor is too thick, we need to get the tank out of here!" Gneisenau spoke frantically as the Maus fired it's massive 12.8cm cannon, hitting the Tiger head on and putting a massive hole in the lower glacis, the shell barely avoiding Cole's legs and barreling right into the rear of the tank, lodging itself into the engine block. Cole grimaced as his legs were cut up by the hot pieces of spall lining, miraculously, none of the shrapnel severed anything important.
"Son of a bitch!" Cole yelled.
"Abandon the vehicle and get inside that warehouse!" Gneisenau yelled as the hatches flew open and the three sailors and Cole scrambled to get out.
"Cole, your legs!" Gneisenau spoke.
"I've had worse. Let's get out of here!" Cole yelled as he saw the engine of the tiger begin to smoke before a small flame poked through the engine vents. Cole and the sailors ran across the rubble-filled street and into the Warehouse. Just as Cole was about to enter the warehouse, he heard the sound of a dive bomber coming in. Looking to the sky, he saw one of Elbe's planes diving with several BF-109's on its tail, shredding the tail with machine gun fire. But it was too late, the plane and all four 50 kilogram bombs slammed into the Maus in a kamikaze style attack, disabling the tank entirely. Cole took a final look back to see Natalie pinning the battered Alpha to the side of an abandoned jeep. Natalie looked worse for wear but she was managing.
"Keep your eyes peeled, Natalie. Alpha's a tricky one according to the Admiral." Cole whispered as he turned and headed inside. Just a few steps later, he felt the heat of a fire and the screams of someone other than Natalie coming from outside the building around where Natalie was.
Cole silently thanked the powers that be that he didn't have to bear witness to a fate so grotesque. Little did he know, Alpha would not meet her end here, and she would have him burned into her memory the next time they met.
Deeper inside the warehouse, the sounds of battle continued. The naval cannons out at sea still hammering away at the drone fleet as well as small arms fire and explosions coming from the soldiers and tankers. The whistling of bombs could be heard if one stopped and listened close. The fight was still in full force despite Alpha being incapacitated.
Cole and his three men trekked on with Gneisenau as their support. The sounds of fighting were coming from deeper inside the maze of hallways.
"Cole!" Brooklyn's voice was heard.
"Down here!" Cole yelled as the sound of Brooklyn's heels came running towards them.
"Oh thank god… When I saw the Tiger like it was, I feared the worst." Brooklyn said as she ran up to Cole and hugged him for everything she was worth.
"We need to find those blueprints. That's the whole reason we came here." Cole said as Gneisenau kicked in a door to their right. Inside was a swath of computer screens with images and video feed of the war going on out in town.
"This looks promising." Cole said as all five entered the room. After a quick search, Cole found a safe that was left ajar. Opening the door, Cole found a treasure trove of documents and Blueprints.
"Blueprints for Agir and August von Parseval. And… a file…on Isaac Garner. Well… that can't be good." Cole said.
"Why not?" Gneisenau asked.
"Isaac Garner is the Admiral of Azur Lane. The reason we were sent here in the first place… and she has a file detailing everything he has done since he popped up on their radar. From his takeover of Fiji… to the detonation of the Azur Lane Facility on Niue… to an… errant wisdom related detonation off South America?! This has nearly every bit of information on this guy!" Cole spoke as the others came and looked at the file.
Sure enough, a picture of Isaac Garner was clipped to a long list of feats and accomplishments as well as the last known fleet composition gathered from his invasion of the Philippines.
"We can't let them have this information." Cole said.
"Agreed. Burn it." Gneisenau and Brooklyn said in unison.
Cole handed Brooklyn the blueprints and took a lighter from his pocket.
"Here's to hoping she didn't get to send this to anyone." Cole said as he brought the flame of the lighter to the corner of the file, setting it alight before allowing it to burn away completely before releasing it and allowing the ash to fall to the floor.
Everyone turned when the sound of machine gun fire was heard coming from out in the hall.
"Brooklyn, get back to Nimitz. We'll take a look here." Cole said.
"I refuse, I'm not going anywhere." Brooklyn said as she passed the blueprints to one of the sailors who put them in a bag before handing them back to Brooklyn.
Cole sighed.
"Alright. Then we sweep the complex. I was informed of a prison somewhere in this town… and I have a feeling it's here in this warehouse. We will free everyone we can." Cole said.
"Roger!" Everyone else spoke as they all made their way into the hallway.
Howdy everyone. I don't do many messages here because I like to keep things simpler here than I do on Reddit. However, this chapter may be very confusing without context. This chapter is meant to coincide with the Raid chapter from Reddit User U/Tinselyboyo, who has been writing alongside me for this specific arc of the story. If you are interested in how Natalie fights Observer Alpha from the start, please go and check his chapter for more on his side of this event. Thank you all for the support and I hope to keep you all entertained further into the future. Thanks again. Thunder out.