Wilhelm's plane caught the second arresting wire on the Enterprise before being pulled to a stop on the flight deck. The twenty men of the Black Death and several Bulins were waiting by the island.
"We were instructed to come and get you over to the Norfolk, Sir." One of the soldiers spoke.
"Understood. Why are the Bulins here?" Wilhelm asked.
"We're going by raft, sir. It's the safest mode of transport while the fleet is under fire." Chief said as she tipped her hat, earning herself a salute from Wilhelm. Chief giggled.
"I only wear the Admiral's cap. You don't have to salute me." Chief said with a smile as the other Bulins took to repairing and maintaining Wilhelm's loaner aircraft that he had been given by the Bulins, using Richthofen's BF-109s as inspiration.
"You girls kept me flying. It's a sign of respect." Wilhelm spoke as Chief nodded and pointed to the rope ladder off the edge of the flight deck.
"We should get moving. All these shells whizzing by us giving me the creeps… like in Australia." Chief said as she ran across the flight deck with Wilhelm and the Black Death in tow.
Several minutes later, a knock was heard on the door of Norfolk's bridge.
Isaac turned to face the door.
"It's open." He spoke as he rubbed Yume's head. She was still holding her ears as she usually spent battle with her mother, where she could be comforted by Shinano's tails.
Wilhelm and his men poured in, as well as a single Bulin who was carrying a pair of cushion-covered black pads connected by a rigid strap.
Isaac smiled as the Bulin gently coaxed Yume's hands away from her ears and slipped the pads onto her ears. Yume's mood seemed to improve immediately as the sounds of battle were muffled by the new Earmuffs she had been granted. She quickly adjusted to the sensation of something covering her ears and fell asleep in Isaac's arms.
"We're here, Sir. What's the mission?" Wilhelm asked.
"You are going to assault the Essex class carrier known as USS Shangri-la." Isaac said.
"That's all?" Wilhelm asked.
"I wouldn't be asking for you if it were the long and short of it. Zero has said that Shangri-la is under the complete control of a black wisdom cube. She is unable to form her own thoughts… or do pretty much anything that isn't dictated by the orders she has been given. She will not give mercy. She will not relent. She will kill herself before she gives up. That's the extent that this goes, or so I believe. And we need to treat this mission as such. So I need the elites to get in and get this done before she can off herself." Isaac said.
"I understand. So this is a time sensitive Op?" Wilhelm asked.
"We should consider that to be the case. Shangri-la is a Union tactician, like Odin for Ironblood and Amagi for the Sakura. Even Warspite for the Royal Navy could be considered such. I would very much hate for us to lose a union tactician when we have the chance to turn this in our favor." Isaac spoke as he realized something else.
"One second." Isaac spoke as he tapped his helmet.
"Friedrich, come in." Isaac spoke.
"Hmm? Dear Husband? What is it? I was sleeping… kind of fitting though… the dream was about you." Friedrich's sleepy voice came over the radio.
Isaac sighed softly.
"Look. We're being stonewalled by a blockade outside of Kure Naval Arsenals. Head for Yokosuka Naval Arsenal and see if you can't do something there. We won't be getting there for a while. We're facing down a fleet carrier here." Isaac said.
Friedrich's sleepy tone disappeared.
"Dear Husband. It's funny you say that. We are just now passing the mouth of Tokyo Bay. We are seeing a small drone fleet further inland along with what seems to be an American cruiser… Northampton class." Friedrich spoke, using what little knowledge of the Union's vessels to identify the hull of one USS Chicago.
"Fuck… another one? Friedrich, look. That cruiser is likely under the same effects as this fleet carrier. She will be unable to form any thoughts of her own and will act solely on the orders she received when she was activated. We need to remove the black cube from her neck and get her back to the fleet." Isaac said.
"Understood." Friedrich spoke.
"Can you four take them? Or should I detach Amagi and Michael to help oversee the assault?" Isaac asked.
"You can send Amagi and Michael, dear husband. But with how angry Gangut has gotten since we… buried Avrora, she might not leave much left if we engage." Friedrich spoke.
Isaac tapped his helmet again, merging Gangut into the radio channel.
"Gangut. Come in." Isaac spoke.
"Yesh, Comrade?" Gangut asked, her words slurring heavily indicating heavy intoxication.
"Gangut… are you sober enough to take the fight to the enemy?" Isaac asked.
"Absolutely, Comrade. Point my guns towards these Siren bastards and I will send them to hell with the most egregious wounds possible" Gangut spoke angrily as she recalled the state Avrora was left in.
"I am permitting you to engage the drone fleet in Tokyo Bay should you believe you can realistically win. I will be appointing Friedrich as the flagship for the Operation until Amagi and Michael arrive to oversee the capture of Yokosuka. The Northampton class cruiser is to be boarded and the Kansen is to be taken into custody and her black cube removed. Do not sink that specific cruiser. Everything else is fair game. Understood?" Isaac asked.
"Crystal clear, Comrade." Gangut spoke as she cut her line.
Isaac could hear a battle cry come through on Friedrich's end.
"Prikhodite i poluchite nemnogo vy, Siren ublyudki!" Gangut's scream of rage could be heard as she was finally allowed to vent some of her pent-up aggression over the death of her good friend.
"Friedrich. Watch her like a hawk. Protect her. You have Allen and 47 there with you. Use them as well. Torpedoes will be your ally here." Isaac spoke.
"I understand, Dear Husband. I will radio you when the deed is done." Friedrich spoke as she too cut her line to get in on the action.
Isaac sighed and turned to Wilhelm.
"You and your forces are to load up with Elizabeth for this mission. She apparently has something called a Chinook that is supposed to be the perfect tool to get you where you need to be. I want you on her flight deck and ready to depart in one hour. In that time, we are going to try and knock down this blockade enough to cut down their air defenses." Isaac said as Wilhelm nodded wordlessly.
Wilhelm turned to his men.
"You heard the Kommandant. Load up. Check your weapons and gear. We're going to be dropping onto the deck of an Aircraft carrier. Be wary of any threats that could present." Wilhelm spoke sternly through his mask.
"Right!" The men of the Black Death spoke in unison.
"You all are dismissed to check gear and weapons." Isaac spoke as the men filed off the bridge of the Norfolk.
Isaac tapped his helmet, connecting him to the Amagi.
"Amagi, come in." Isaac spoke.
"Ah, Shikikan. To what do I owe this honor?" Amagi asked as Isaac watched all ten of her sixteen-inch guns launch a salvo into the fog, striking a pair of drone battleships and detonating them from the inside.
"Excellent shot. But I need you and Michael to drop out of formation and make a beeline for Yokosuka." Isaac spoke.
"Understood, but may I ask why?" Amagi asked.
"Gangut's group has encountered a Northampton class cruiser under the same effects as Shangri-la. But they have also engaged a significantly smaller drone force. I want a member of the admiralty up there that way, when they succeed in locking down Tokyo Bay, we have some leverage." Isaac said.
"I understand. Michael is with me onboard. Can I request Prinz Eugen as an Escort? There are plenty of Sakura Destroyers and Submarines that might be in play here." Amagi spoke.
"You would know better than most. Permission granted." Isaac said as he turned to Norfolk, who nodded and relayed his order to Prinz Eugen, who also began falling out of formation.
"We shall be off then, Shikikan. I hope to see you in Yokosuka." Amagi said as she cut the line.
"As do I, Amagi… As do I." Isaac said as the fleet continued to hammer away at the steadfast blockade of drone ships.
Far in the distance, the Wildcats of the Shangri-la had taken off and circled the carrier as two full squadrons of Dauntless Dive Bombers took off in formation from the flight deck before being vectored straight for Isaac's fleet. A storm of bombs and bullets was rapidly approaching and could no longer be stopped.