Bismarck and Tirpitz gripped their chairs with iron fists as they watched Arizona slip the scalpel blade below the surface of Wilhelm's chest cavity. Alice spoke softly with Arizona as she worked to keep her calm and her hands steady.
"Elizabeth… how certain are you that this surgery will work? Nothing back in the fatherland was anywhere near this advanced. Had we needed to entrust him to German doctors… he would be condemned as a dead man." Tirpitz asked.
"There is an eighty percent chance that we succeed. So the odds are in his favor." Elizabeth said bluntly.
"And the other twenty?" Bismarck asked.
"Infection is a very serious possibility here, even with that jet fuel vodka that Gangut provided us. But since we don't have access to an abundance of antibiotics, this is our best option." Elizabeth replied.
"So if we had antibiotics, it could boost his chances?" The sisters asked.
"It could. But if my knowledge serves me well, back in my own timeline, the best antibiotic we had at this point in history was Penicillin from the States. We formulated it first, and the States manufactured it, but Japan did not obtain a steady supply of it until 1948… two years from now if the timeline is similar." Elizabeth said.
The three Kansen watched as Arizona set the bloody scalpel on the surgical tray before taking a pair of steel weighted clamps and lifting the flap of skin she had created. Clamping the skin, the weight of the clamps kept the flap open as Arizona used a long pair of forceps to reach inside Wilhelm's chest and begin gently motivating the broken ribs back into place. Alice kept her fingers firmly planted on Wilhelm's carotid artery to keep tabs on his pulse. Arizona looked towards Alice, who nodded softly.
"What's going on?" Bismarck asked.
"They have a way to communicate. Wilhelm's heart rate looks like it's holding steady. But the longer we keep him open, the more risk we put on him." Elizabeth replied.
Arizona, after having carefully manipulated the ribs back into place, took the six brackets from another surgical tray and placed them over the broken sections of bone. The breaks were set right in the center of the brackets, leaving plenty of substance for the brackets to hold on to.
Alice pulled out a watch and checked it.
"Why does she have a watch?" Tirpitz asked.
"Alice knows that injuries involving bones are very serious. And very painful. She's probably keeping track of how long he's been under the effect of the morphine. Stop stressing so much." Elizabeth spoke in a slightly irritated tone.
Tirpitz looked ready to swing at Elizabeth but was stopped by Bismarck.
"She's right. Stressing right now won't do anything. They know what they're doing. We even have that little Eagle Union ship as a backup." Bismarck said.
Alice stood and walked to the Bismarck sisters.
"We are going to begin drilling into the bone… there is a slight chance that he will wake up due to the pain… I won't tell you to leave, but it might not be something you want to see. Additionally, since there is a chance that he wakes up, I will be restraining him so that he does not jeopardize his own survival." Alice spoke.
"Then give him more morphine…" Tirpitz suggested curtly.
"I can't. He's maxed on dosage. Any more and we risk severe health issues. I'm sorry, but he's going to have to fight through the pain if he wakes up." Alice spoke as the sound of a drill was heard. It was loud, but not loud enough to drown out the crunching of bone as the screws were set into place.
Wilhelm's body tensed, but Alice was already on top of restraining his arms, legs and chest. Wilhelm's eyes opened and he tried to move his arms to grasp at his chest.
"Jager. You need to relax. You're on the operating table, we're working to set your ribs. If you keep moving, you'll put yourself in danger." Alice spoke as Bismarck stood and walked to the bottle of alcohol by the sink and doused her hands. She then walked over to the bed where Wilhelm was.
The moment he saw her, the shaking stopped.
"You were hurt badly. They are fixing you. You're safe… just fight the pain a little more." Bismarck spoke softly as she laid her hands on his face.
Wilhelm relaxed despite the drill vibrating his chest.
"How many more?" Bismarck asked.
"Just one more. I'm almost done." Arizona spoke, keeping her sight focused on the procedure. Alice took a towel and wiped the sweat from Arizona's head.
"You're almost done. Stay strong." Bismarck whispered as she ran his finger over her ring. Wilhelm nodded and gritted his teeth.
As promised, a few seconds later, Arizona was done. The drill was set aside and Alice looked over the handywork. Using the lamp overhead, she visually checked each rib to ensure a proper reset.
"Close him up. Once we have him closed up, we'll transfuse a bag of blood to replace what he lost in surgery. We'll also need to wrap his chest again." Alice spoke.
Wilhelm took a breath. Despite the hole cut into his chest, he felt immediately better knowing he could breathe again.
"How long?" Wilhelm asked, his voice hoarse.
"Three days. I assume you mean since you were injured." Alice spoke.
Wilhelm nodded.
"I see… and the operation in Tokyo? Where are my men?" Wilhelm asked.
"I'll tell you, but until we close you up, I need you to stop talking. Too much movement and the needle could hit something important." Arizona spoke. Wilhelm nodded again.
"Admiral. How is the mission in Tokyo proceeding?" Arizona asked the open air.
"Michael is leading the team. I haven't gotten word back yet, but Friedrich and Amagi are with them. I'd know if something happened." Isaac replied. The sounds of battle were now practically nonexistent.
"And the battle here?" Arizona asked.
"We've seized control of the dockyards. What armor we have is guarding the main route into Kure as well as the men that survived the landing. How's Jager?" Isaac asked.
"The hard part is done. I've set his ribs. We're closing him up now. He will need time to recover." Arizona replied.
"He'll have it. When you get time, I need you and Alice to go to Kashino. She's complaining of pain, and seeing how big she's gotten since we left the Philippines, I can only imagine why." Isaac said.
"Will do. Thank you for the update." Arizona said. She turned back to Wilhelm.
"As far as we know, your men are still executing the mission. Michael is leading them. Friedrich and Amagi are on station as well." Arizona said. Wilhelm nodded as squeezed Bismarck's hand as Arizona returned her attention to sewing his chest cavity closed.
Isaac stood in the middle of Kure Naval Arsenal. His men were now patrolling the dockyards, as all the remaining fighting had been pushed to the front gates.
"Taka, do we have full control here?" Isaac asked.
"Yes sir. We have our troops and armor defending the gates. I have no doubt that we will maintain a hold here. We should begin work right away, however." Taka spoke.
"I understand." Isaac spoke as he tapped his helmet.
"Sarge. How goes the refloating?" Isaac asked.
"Inflation charges set. We've determined that the steel is still strong enough to withstand refloating, so we should have BB-64 in drydock by tomorrow morning." Sarge replied.
"Good. I'll have the other bulins take command of another tug here to push the hull of the Missouri into place as well." Isaac said.
"That would be a good idea. The quicker we set up, the quicker we can begin full blown construction." Sarge spoke.
"I like the sound of that, you guys know what we're building right?" Isaac asked.
"Montana-class battleship from the Eagle Union." Sarge said confidently.
"Good job. I'll leave it to you. Meanwhile, I'll go searching for the blueprints Zero mentioned were here." Isaac said as he tapped his helmet.
"Zero, you there?" Isaac asked.
"I am, sir. I assume that we've taken the port?" Zero asked.
"Yes. I'm going to have you lead me to the blueprints here. While we have the shipyards, I am going to build our new allies." Isaac replied.
"Understood sir. Please begin heading to the big warehouse towards the entrance." Zero said.
"Lead the way." Isaac said as he and Taka began making their way towards the entrance of the dockyards.