As he had stated to Isaac, Michael and the black death had made landfall. Eugen had kept her word and got them close enough to drop a lifeboat and row the rest of the way, only a hundred or so meters, to the shoreline. Once making landfall, Michael placed his rifle on his back before addressing the squad.
"This is a recon mission first and foremost. We should be prepared to rescue the Emperor if the possibility presents itself. However…you will be the one to decide if rescue is possible. My only condition for his rescue is if it looks as if he is being held against his will. If it seems like he is siding with the enemy, or is capable of becoming a liability… I'll leave the choice up to you." Michael said bluntly.
The men looked amongst themselves before speaking.
"Aren't you part of the Japanese Navy? Your uniform denotes as much… Do you have mixed feelings about this?" One of the men asked.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But at the same time, it's the life of one man versus the fate of humanity. We're fighting a war from the most bottom of bottoms. Sure we amassed a Navy. Sure we have elite soldiers. Sure we have the Kansen… but at the end of the day, we're fighting with everything we have and we still have yet to secure one piece of land from the Sirens. Japan will be the first. And if the Emperor has turned on humanity, then he is no ally to our cause." Michael spoke, remembering Eugen's pep talk.
The men were about to set out when Michael spoke again.
"And to address your concern of me being in the Japanese navy. I was conscripted in Germany and transferred here. I am not some soulless, heartless bastard who cares more for a man in an ivory tower than my fellow man. I am ordering you all… if Emperor Hirohito has been compromised and in any way is deemed by your lead element to be a detriment. You will exfiltrate the compound and I will order Eugen to bombard the palace in its entirety. If that doesn't work… Friedrich is in range. She can finish the job. I came from the Nazi regime and fell into the Imperial Navy. But this fleet… the Kansen… Isaac, Jager, even that detestable bastard Ben. You all have given me a chance not only to redeem myself, but to be a part of a fight that puts me back on the right side of history. As your acting captain, do what is best for humanity at large. Those are my statements and my orders as given. Am I clear?" Michael dictated.
"Transparent. Glad to see you've turned to the light." One of the men spoke as he rallied the men.
"Target building is twelve miles inland. Captain will follow us in until he spots a decent vantage point to provide overwatch. We do this quick and clean." The man spoke.
"What is your name, Soldier?" Michael asked.
"Tony. Z Special Unit, Australian Branch." Tony spoke through his mask.
"Tony. I'll do well to remember the name. You're on point. I'm assigning you full control on decision-making when inside the palace." Michael said as a small tug at his uniform drew his attention.
"I'll go with. If they run into trouble, I can aid them, Herr Michael." A small voice spoke.
"Eugen I thought you were… oh… you're not Eugen. What are you doing here, 47?" Michael asked.
"I am not a busty platinum haired heavy cruiser, you're correct. I followed Prinz Eugen here because Friedrich instructed me to do so. I am going with the Black Death to help in case we run into Oceana's or Peace Breakers. Their guns won't do much, so my torpedoes will have to do." 47 spoke.
"Glad to have ya, kid. Ready for a march?" Tony asked as 47 turned to him.
"Ready and able. Let's move." 47 said sternly.
Twenty minutes had passed since 110 had launched the Bulins from her rear torpedo tubes. She was getting worried since the shells had stopped landing nearly ten minutes prior. She was ready to reach for the radio when a small knock was heard from the access hatch on the sail.
110 jumped at the sound and scrambled to the radio.
"Chief? Is that you?" 110 asked softly.
"Yup. It's us. Care to let us in, we have equipment we need to store." Chief replied casually.
"Did you guys disable the cruiser?" 110 asked.
Chief stood on the partially exposed sail and looked back at the broken, slowly flooding remains of the radar cruiser that she and the other bulins had disassembled.
"Uh… yeah. I think we got it. Could you let us in, please? I don't want seawater ruining the radar system we… acquired. It needs to be in working order for Isaac." Chief reasoned.
"Oh… okay! On my way." 110 said as she set the sub to surface fully before running to the access hatch to let the bulins in.
Much to 110's surprise, the radar equipment had been disassembled into its base components so it could be effortlessly loaded onto the sub.
"We should remain here. Before we disabled the cruiser's radar, I saw a blip on the horizon coming from the direction of Alaska. Try reaching out to Nürnberg again." Chief said as she and the other bulins began drying themselves off and dumping water from their shoes.
U-110 was hesitant.
"Are you certain it's her?" 110 asked.
Chief shook her head.
"I only saw the blip. It was designated as a cruiser sized contact. But nothing more defining. It's either Nürnburg… or another radar cruiser. In which case, we should be hoping that your batteries have charged sufficiently to maneuver around it. But now would be the deciding moment in planning our next move. Please reach out to her." Chief said sternly.
110 nodded. She switched to the old Kriegsmarine channels she had used during the war and spoke softly over the abandoned channel.
"Mein Freund, Nürnberg, wenn du da draußen bist... schick mir bitte ein Zeichen. Ich höre für dich."
U-110 sat and closed her eyes. She held her hands to her ears and focused only on the sounds of the ocean around her. She heard the sounds of the two destroyer drones coming to rest on the ocean floor. She also heard the last bit of air being forced from the broken cruiser. As soon as the cruiser slipped below the waves, 110 heard nothing. She waited. Then suddenly, three short splashes. Then another. And one more, bringing the total to 9 splashes in the distance.
"Neun." U-110 whispered.
"Das ist Admiral Makarov, ehemals Nürnberg. Es wärmt mein Herz, nach so langer Zeit die Stimme eines Freundes zu hören, 110. Ich gehe auf eine Rauchsäule zu. Bist du da?" Makarov spoke firmly, her voice pained, likely on account of the patchwork repairs she had performed to get back to seaworthiness.
U-110 teared up.
"Yes. Yes, my friend. I'm here. Come to me and I will lead you to safety." 110 said happily.
"Da. I will try. The Bering sea tried to detain me, but I will not be held back when my sisters need help. That said… My repairs are failing. I am unsure how long my boilers will hold. I am not keeping steam pressure as well as I once did." Makarov spoke as U-110 stood.
"I will come to you then, my old friend. Continue your course. I have a repair team with me. We will get you back to the main fleet." 110 said as she threw the engines to full power and turned towards where Makarov was approaching.