"Kronstadt has drawn Purifier's attention?" A small black furred kitsune asked.
"Yes, Nagato. Kronstadt has managed to force Purifier to chase after her instead of destroying that raiding fleet." Monarch spoke. Her left eye was bandaged over as she leaned on her saber in a sitting position.
"How are you holding up?" Nagato asked the Royal Battleship.
"My pride has been wounded, but I am alive. I will get revenge for the damage she caused to my vessel and my body." Monarch spoke.
"Your pride? What of mine? Not only was I not built properly to fight in the last war, but I was brought to life here in this wretched glacier field. You talk of pride. The fact I have not yet fired a single shell is downright demeaning." A woman clad in black spoke from the bow of an iced over H-class Battleship.
"Ulrich…please don't antagonize. We've all had it rough." Nagato spoke.
"Have we heard anything from Soyuz? Belorussiya? Rossiya? Hell, even the Lone wolf?" Monarch asked angrily.
"No, sadly. None of our Parliament allies have managed to get a transmission through. As for the Lone Wolf. I was visited by Shinano. He has smashed the resistance in the Philippines and also freed Yamato and Musashi from their shackles. The Sakura's mightiest ships are under one banner. He will come. They are making headway for the Sakura homeland. They wish to obtain ground forces and bolster their naval forces with our blueprint ships. They will then set upon the frozen ground of the Siberian Tundra to begin freeing the Northern Parliament from its captors." Nagato spoke.
"So he survived. Thank whatever gods there are." Monarch spoke as the three battleships looked across the waves. A lone heavy cruiser sat in the open, keeping an eye on the surrounding seas with her advanced radar and sonar arrays.
"What of her?" Ulrich asked.
"She may have a mind similar to that of a child. But she commands strength on par with Kronstadt, a hardened warrior among the Parliament. Truly… it is the Eagle Union who rightfully won the previous war. Every Kansen they produced is deadly, no matter the mental capability. Thankfully, we have Alaska, who is keeping an eye on her and helping her along." Nagato spoke as they watched the Heavy Cruiser return to their makeshift port on the ice flow.
"Nothing to report, Miss Nagato." The American cruiser spoke softly.
"Good job, Anchorage. Take a rest. Alaska and Kronstadt should be back within a day or so. They have succeeded in drawing Purifier away from the raid fleet that assaulted Wilhelmshaven." Nagato spoke as Anchorage came over and bowed her head.
Nagato sighed and gave the cruiser a pat on the head.
"Good work." Nagato repeated.
"Thank you!" Anchorage said happily as the three hardened battleships all cracked smiles at the sheer innocence of the heavy cruiser.
Cole, after the incident on the flight deck, had managed to make it down to the infirmary where many of the beds had been filled. Carina, a woman saved by Natalie who knew Lucia. Pavel, A close friend of Natalie's and a Russian soldier caught and tortured as a prisoner of war. Many men who managed to limp off the beaches also were here, seeking medical attention from other sailors who had basic knowledge of first aid.
Cole himself sat on one of the beds and finally drew a deep breath before looking down at the damage that had been inflicted on his legs. He had purposely kept himself from looking as he knew the pain would be borderline impossible to ignore if he knew the extent of the damage.
His legs looked like hell. Massive gashes that had managed to clot and several puncture wounds from being hit by the spall in the Tiger tank. His legs were coated in a thick layer of congealed blood and dirt that was keeping the outside air from infecting his open wounds.
"Yeah… I kinda figured that would be the case." Cole said softly to himself as he heard the curtain get pulled back.
"Cole… how are you holding up?" Brooklyn asked.
"I just managed to take a look. It's a miracle I've been able to walk." Cole said with a chuckle.
Brooklyn shook her head as she put on a pair of gloves and pulled a cart into his room.
"I managed to get my hands on supplies to clean you up. It isn't going to be the best… I'm not Vestal… but it will keep you from getting any worse until we get back to Gibraltar." Brooklyn said as she pulled a sterile towel off the cart and dipped it in a warm basin of water.
"Do you happen to have any morphine on that cart?" Cole asked as the pain slowly began to infect his psyche.
"I do. Here." Brooklyn said softly as she handed him a small syringe and a bottle of morphine to inject. Cole wasted no time and pulled half a dose of morphine and jabbed it into his arm, allowing the drug to flow quickly into his bloodstream, killing any notion of pain in minutes.
"Better?" Brooklyn asked with a hopeful smile.
"I'll live. Let's get these cleaned out and wrapped." Cole said as Brooklyn began cleaning his legs with the warm towel.
Cole gritted his teeth as the towel moved over the open gash on his right leg. Cole knew he would need stitches to close the wound and was preparing himself to have to close the wound himself.
Several minutes later, after his legs had been cleaned, Brooklyn approached him with a pair of tweezers.
"What are those for?" Cole asked.
"You have shrapnel in your legs, dummy. I have to pull them out or else you'll pick up an infection." Brooklyn explained.
"I guess that makes sense." Cole said as he laid back on the bed, allowing Brooklyn to shine the light on his legs so she could see clearly.
"You got lucky, Cole… There are only a few pieces stuck in here. The rest missed the bone and went right through." Brooklyn said as she slowly worked to pull the shockingly large chunks of steel from Cole's injured legs.
Cole laid back again after recognizing Brooklyn's remark. He tried to take his mind off the feeling of having metal tweezers poking around inside his leg. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to wait long for a distraction as the door to the medical bay opened, slamming into the wall from the sheer force applied to it. Several seconds later, the sound of a metal instrument tray hitting the floor was heard as several sailors ran towards the door.
"What's going on out there?" Cole asked.
Brooklyn poked her head into the hall to check.
"Natalie has come to the med bay. She isn't looking good. I think the severity of her injuries have finally caught up with her." Brooklyn said as Cole tried to sit up.
"You're not going anywhere. The others will care for her. You are my number one priority. It should be your priority to lay back and make sure you're not doing any more unnecessary damage." Brooklyn spoke as she removed her bloodied glove just to gently push Cole back to the bed.
Cole didn't have long to remain curious as he watched Yorktown enter the room across the hall from him, carrying a battered Natalie in her arms. She was followed by a pair of sailors carrying medical supplies and rolling a tank of oxygen.
"She didn't look that bad back on the flight deck…" Cole said.
"She's a tough woman… She's also lost someone important. She's been putting on one hell of a strong face. I don't think I'd be able to do the same if I had lost you. She should be commended." Brooklyn spoke softly as she pulled the last piece of shrapnel from Cole's leg.
"Now… I'm going to do what I can to close these bigger wounds. You may want to pull another dose of morphine just in case… I learned how to suture from Vestal… but I am nowhere near her level." Brooklyn spoke.
"I trust you, Brooklyn." Cole said as he pulled another dose of Morphine and handed the syringe to Brooklyn.
"Why are you handing this to me?" Brooklyn asked.
"If I pass out, make sure this is administered." Cole said as he laid back and prepared himself.
Brooklyn nodded.
"I can't knock you out for this… anesthesia is not something I am comfortable administering… so I apologize for the pain in advance." Brooklyn said as she threaded a needle and began working on suturing the deeper tissue of Cole's leg with surprising skill. As predicted, Cole blacked out shortly after the first pinch of the needle was felt in his deep leg tissue.
Isaac was on the bridge of the Norfolk, surrounded by Nimi, Norfolk and Shinano when a radio transmission from Gangut came over the radio.
"Comrade… come in please." Gangut spoke in a tone that thoroughly confused him.
"Gangut? Is everything okay?" Isaac asked as the other girls looked at each other trying to figure out the issue.
"No… no I very much am not, Comrade…" Gangut spoke as Isaac heard a sniffling on the other end.
"Gangut… what's going on up there? By my calculation, you should be at the entrance of the Bering Sea." Isaac said.
"I am… I know these waters. These waters are my home, Comrade… but… I have figured out why we have not received any transmissions from my sisters here in the north…" Gangut spoke.
Isaac's blood ran cold.
"What's going on…?" Isaac asked, dreading the answer he was about to receive.
"The Northern Parliament has been thoroughly decimated… I am staring… at Avrora." Gangut spoke as a scream was heard over the radio.
"It hurts! Please just kill me!" The voice screamed.
"Gangut?!" Isaac yelled as he jumped from his seat.
"It… it's awful. Isaac… she's beyond saving… I can't save her." Gangut spoke softly as the cries of pain continued.
"What do you mean you can't?" Isaac asked.
"She's been… oh god…" Gangut said as Friedrich's voice came over the radio.
"She has been impaled, dear husband. Her cube is stuck, impaled on the very tip of the spire where she now resides. There are black tendrils connecting her to her cube… I can only assume that this is the only thing keeping her alive. Her vessel is broken into several pieces at the base of this spire… she claims that her skin feels like it has been on fire for the past week… I am seeing black flecks under her skin at regular intervals… Dear Husband… she is irrecoverable. Any movement in her body will cause her an extreme amount of pain. Any movement in her cube will cause it to shatter. We cannot save her." Friedrich spoke solemnly.
Isaac stood still, frozen by the description of what had occurred to the protected cruiser.
A few seconds later, the voice he had heard screaming came over the radio.
"Lone… wolf. My name is Avrora. I have been left alive by the Siren Purifier for the express purpose of giving you a message. She…" Avrora spoke before the pain of speaking caused her to cry. Despite the pain, she continued.
"... She has destroyed the Northern Parliament and the country is currently being fortified in advance of your assault by the Wolfpack. She… she has made use of a special radar cruiser type drone ship to completely cover the oceans surrounding the Parliament… she can and will see everything you do. Turn back… do not enter the Bering Sea. She… she's…" Avrora spoke through her tears, the pain building further until all she could emit was a soft squeak as she used the majority of her will to continue.
"...She's a monster… please… do not kill yourself by entering these waters. Just… tell the world… we fought with everything we could… don't let them forget us." Avrora said as Isaac heard her cry from the buildup of pain.
"Avrora… what can we do for you… right now?" Isaac asked.
"My… job is done… My message… has been received. Please…kill me. Let this pain disappear. I… know there is no hope for my survival." Avrora spoke softly.
Isaac swallowed heavily.
"Are… you sure this is what you want? We can try and find a way." Isaac tried.
"I have served my purpose… please… let me rest. Even if I were to live… it would not be a life worth living. I would forever fear the ocean… I would fear the nights where I allow myself to sleep. Please… just end my suffering." Avrora begged.
"I…I'll do it, Comrade." Gangut spoke softly as she cut the line, cutting Isaac off from what was to come.
"Are you sure this is what you want… my old friend?" Gangut asked as she pulled a Makarov from her dress.
"Maybe… one final drink… to ease the pain, comrade?" Avrora asked softly.
"Of course. I'd say you've more than earned your share." Gangut said as she holstered her pistol and pulled a bottle of vodka from her dress, uncorking it and placing the bottle to Avrora's lips. Avrora took a long, heavy drink. Pulling away, the vodka was tainted by a small wisp of red as a small drop of blood escaped Avrora's lips.
Gangut corked the bottle and set it on the rocks below where Avrora was.
"I am ready." Avrora spoke as a tear fell from her eye.
"You will never be forgotten, my old friend." Gangut spoke as she once again drew her pistol and placed the barrel against Avrora's head.
Isaac's voice came from Friedrich's rigging.
"Don't do it! Gangut, I am ordering you to stand down!" Isaac yelled, but his voice was lost to Gangut as her mind was focused only on her friend.
"Proshchay moy drug. Mozhem li my vstretitʹsya snova ... v zalakh Valgally" Gangut spoke as tears streamed down her face.
"YA budu zhdatʹ tebya u vorot, moy drug." Avrora spoke as Gangut pulled the trigger, ending her friend's pain once and for all.*
Gangut watched the last motes of light leave Avrora's eyes. For the first time since Gangut had seen her in this state… Avrora was smiling. She had been freed of her pain.
Gangut fell to her knees as she screamed. Friedrich came over and embraced the Soviet battleship. Allen Sumner and U-47 watched from afar with their eyes cast to the sea. A deafening silence fell over the small recon fleet as Gangut wept over the loss of her friend.
XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX
*The conversation in Russian is along the lines of,
"Goodbye my friend. I shall see you in the halls of Valhalla."
"I shall be waiting by the gates, my friend."