Washington and Ranger were walking at a brisk pace towards their vessels with Max in tow. As they took the last turn towards the marina, Washington saw a pair of dockyard workers moving towards them with crates of materials.
Washington put Max directly beside her as the workers came closer.
"Max, honey, let's let these workers pass us so they can go about their day, those boxes look quite heavy." Washington spoke as she refused to let the workers leave her sights for even a moment.
Max nodded as he and Washington stopped. This, however, was exactly what the workers wanted as they closed to within arm's reach of the pair before yelling out.
"Ave le Sirene, Salvatrici dell'Umanità!" The workers yelled as a hissing sound was heard coming from the crates. Washington reacted immediately.
"Ranger!" Washington yelled as she shoved Max back towards the red-haired carrier, who caught Max and immediately covered them in her shields while deploying her rigging.
"Ambush!" Ranger cried out, unaware that Minnie was nearby.
Washington managed to deploy her rigging and take a single step back before the charges went off, shaking the docks and sounding the alarm for the invasion to begin.
"Son of a bitch!" Washington yelled as she barely managed to activate her shielding, which ate almost all of the resulting explosion, with the rest of the energy forcing Washington to dig in her heels to keep from being thrown off her feet.
"Get your vessels out of the marina!" Minneapolis yelled from one of the alleys leading to the docks.
"Minnie?" Ranger asked.
"Yeah, I was following these assholes because they were heading for the marina. Didn't think they'd attack you directly." Minnie said as she ran over to the two Kansen. Max was crying and holding his ears as the explosion had not been something he had been expecting.
"How's the kid?" Minnie asked.
"I managed to get my shields up to protect him, but we need to get somewhere safe. I'm not dumb enough to think that this explosion wasn't the kickoff to this invasion." Ranger said as Washington stiffened.
"Ranger's right. The drone fleets are closing in. They are inching closer on the opposite side of the island. The ones on this side are remaining outside of the range of my guns. I can't strike them first." Washington said, taking her information from her spotter plane she had launched earlier.
"First things first, get your vessels out of port. I saw several sets of workers heading that way, they may be planning to plant the explosives under your keels. Get out into the bay, quickly." Minneapolis spoke as she scanned the area around them.
"Any word from Vittorio?" Washington asked as she picked up Max from Ranger's arms.
"No. It's likely that they just began building the two blueprint ships. Even if they manage to get the builds done by tomorrow, they still have to take a full day to reach here through the blockade, and if they plan on smashing through it, likely more." Minneapolis said.
"Why more?" Ranger asked.
"The battleship class drones are between us and Gibraltar. Easy pickings by you and Washington's standards, but I heard Agir is a cruiser. Which means August would likely be on her own for dealing with the heavy armor. I don't even know how much power they bring to the table; I just hope it's enough." Minnie said.
"Shit. God damn it!" Washington spat as she rubbed Max's back.
All three of them stiffened when a voice came Washington's rigging.
"Hello? Washington? Ranger-san? Minneapolis-san? Can anyone hear me?" The voice spoke.
"Who is this?" Washington asked.
"Sakura Submarine I-25. Back in action." I-25 spoke.
"Where are you?" Ranger asked.
"30 miles from Sicily. I managed to get my vessel back quickly once the assault team got back. I have been ordered by New Jersey-sama and Vittorio-sama to escort Max to Gibraltar, so he is not caught up in the fighting." I-25 explained.
"Where will you land? The main port is compromised. Explosives are expected to be littered throughout that area, avoid at all costs." Minneapolis warned.
"If you can meet me on the western edge of the island, I can surface and swim him from the beach to my vessel." I-25 said.
"I can make the trip. My shields can protect him." Washington said.
"We'll go as a group. Better to stick together and avoid another potential ambush." Minnie spoke flatly.
"Then let's move. I managed to get the engines up and running so I'll be moving my vessel out of port shortly." Washington said as Ranger and Minnie both nodded.
"Where do we park them? This port is compromised." Ranger asked.
"Well, right now we're in San Leone. I managed to get within the blockade and hide out in the islands outside of Marsala. I haven't been bothered as of yet." Minnie spoke.
"Then we head for Marsala. Did you get that, Sakura?" Washington asked.
"Sneaking in towards Marsala now. Sonar is picking up a heavy concentration of carrier and battleship class drones in front and to the north. They are moving in from the North as we speak." I-25 relayed.
"Got it. Let's move. It's one hell of a hike. It's still damn near 70 miles to Marsala." Washington spoke as she put Max on her back and began moving quickly to the west as her vessel left port under its own power.
"The blueprints have been placed and the construction has begun." Vittorio said as she emerged from the drydocks, met by New Jersey, Nimitz, Cole and Brooklyn.
"We should plan for the upcoming counter-offensive on Sicily. From what Minnie has been able to get through to us, It sounds like it's going to be a fight just to get there. Battleship class drones, Carriers, and even enemy submarines are known to be in the area as of right now." New Jersey said.
"If I may, I also authorized I-25 to head out to see what she can do in terms of getting Washington's kid out of harm's way." Vittorio spoke.
Nimitz looked at the two battleships.
"For a pair of ships like yourselves to be this competent despite the state of the world. It honestly amazes me." Nimitz said as he looked back at the Yorktown, noting that Pavel and Natalie had been removed and were being escorted by Duca and London respectively.
"What's that supposed to mean, Admiral?" New Jersey asked.
"You two saw how prominent Carriers were during this last conflict. They were made flagships more often than not. And with the way the world is evolving, carriers very well could make battleships obsolete. But yet, a solid portion of Europe is being held down by two very well-known battleships. And it's being done better than any human could have hoped. You two might be a shining example that Battleships still have a place in any Navy." Nimitz said.
NJ and Vittorio smiled.
"We appreciate the praise, Admiral. We're just trying to do our job." Vittorio spoke as the gestured towards the command center.
"We have a board in the command center. If you are ready, we can get started on putting together the task force to head for Sicily." New Jersey said.
"Right. Let's get a move on then. Something tells me we're already falling behind." Nimitz said as the five made their way towards the command building.