Chapter 17
- In the area around the Liberty -
On the Liberty's port (left) side.
"Say, Kii?"
"Hmm? Eugen? What's up?".
"I know the middle of a battle isn't exactly the best time to ask, but... Why did you voluntarily decide not to participate today?" the silverette asked back. "I would have thought that getting to show off in front of so many people would've been right up your alley."
"Ah, well you aren't wrong but well, there were an odd number of us and I just happened to be one the odd one out. That and Shikikan personally asked me to be one of the referees since I had the better eye for that sort of thing. Well, that and to keep an eye on Archerfish-chan and the others."
"...Ah, I see." 'A good call on the Kommandant's part too.'
"Plus, I get a private dinner out of it when this is all over, so hey."
"Motivation is important, ja."
"Yup!" Kii agreed before cutting down the Oceana in front of her and moving on to the remaining mass production ships nearby. "That said, watching you all go at it really got my blood pumping though, y'know? So yeah, I think I'm gonna take this chance to go all out."
Eugen quietly chuckled as she watched how efficiently and brutally the long haired ravenette was disposing of the Sirens, even if they were a good deal more powerful than the ones they fought against yesterday...
...
'Still, this entire battle feels, like it's going a lot easier than it should, somehow... Suspicious. Very, very suspicious...'
xxx xxx xxx
[To detached Assault Groups One and Two: Encirclement of the primary experiment testing site is 93% complete and can move on to the next phase of the operation within 300 or so seconds.]
[Assault Group One to Encirclement fleet: Report received. Combat with Unknown fleet is proceeding as expected, though our forces have taken on more losses than initially estimated based on data from our last engagement. Fortunately, Assault Group Two is now reinforcing us. Likewise, Target fleet is about 100 or so seconds from entering the battle themselves.]
[Encirclement fleet to detached Assault Groups One and Two: Understood. Remember, while heavy damage is permitted against the test subject fleets, for the sake of our primary mission objectives and data collection, they are not to be sunk if at all possible. That said,, collateral damage is allowed.]
xxx xxx xxx
Liberty, starboard side, with Strasser's fleet-
"...Eeii!"
With a shout too cute and soft to possibly seem even remotely threatening Unicorn, who had switched spots with Laffey at some point earlier in the battle, launched a stream of attack drones in the likeness of antique looking fighter planes not seen since the days of the Great War. Meanwhile, her stuffed unicorn-Uni-was hopping up and down in the water in circles around her as if to cheer her on. Incidentally, Uni also zapped any Siren who tried to get too close to her (... not that it, he?, she? did very much damage though).
"...You know what, I'm just not even going to try and figure these things out anymore..," Strasser muttered to no one in particular as she used the opportunity opened up by her time altering skills to finish off another two mass production ships in an attempt to keep her mind off of futilely pondering such absurdities... Only to catch sight of Javelin and Ayanami about to get surrounded... only to proceed tomake short work of them. 'Looks like they have things covered then. Good.'
...
"... Hmph."
"Hehehe~ Nice try!"
Snorting in utter contempt or just outright teasing them, Ayanami and Javelin let loose a wave of ether that signaled the activation of their unique skills before the group of Sirens could even fire off a single shot at them.
"Okay, how about I show you real power of a 'Demon'!"
"... Aandd~ Full Power~! Go, go~!"
With a burst of speed no mass production type Siren could hope to match, the pair of lively destroyers proceeded to tear apart the bewildered and slow as bricks enemy at the seams. Satisfied that she didn't need to assist them, Strasser then turned her attention to her fellow aircraft carriers.
"If anything, it's those two I'm worried about..."
The twintailed ravenette couldn't help but let those thoughts slip as she watched the wicked vixen and phoenix in question in the middle of turning their corner of the battlefield into a true, if beautiful, vision of hell itself accented by crimson flames and endless, soft giggling.
"That's right~! Burn, burn, and burn some more~! Ufufufu~!"
"You know, seeing you like that... honestly makes me feel a little sorry for the Sirens..," Taihou remarked as she coolly observed the heavily damaged Bishops and Knights slowly getting devoured by the pair's hungry red flames.
"Hmm? Well now. I never thought I'd hear you, of all people, say something like that my dear Taihou-chan."
Taihou shrugged. "Even so, you can't deny how scary you can be when you get like that, ne Akagi-chan?" 'Well, not that I have any room to talk...'
"Hmph. Like you're like one to talk. I won't let you act like I'm the only one who can 'get a little too into it'! You're just as bad, if not worse, than I am!" Akagi pointed out with a faux pout.
Taihou gently scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about...! Anyway, let's just set all that aside and keep moving, shall we? After all, we can't let the others get ahead of us!"
"... Hai, hai," halfheartedly replied the vixen who just rolled her eyes before following after her dear best friend/rival.
Liberty, port side, with Prinz Eugen's fleet-
"Oh me, oh my. Today's just been one crazy thing after another hasn't it? Epic battles with my fellow sisters, meeting and sparring with another version of myself, and now... another riveting life or death struggle with a horde of lovely Sirens! Really now, what's a girl to do with so much attention?"
"... One, could you please not think out loud like that? And two, are you trying to jinx us?" Jean Bart grumbled next to the smiling, hard to read silverette as they dealt the finishing blow to a particularly stubborn pair of Oceana Executors and their escort Pawns.
"How rude! And can you seriously blame me for feeling this way?"
"..."
"...Well?"
"Okay, okay. You've got a point. It's just, I guess I was surprised that even you could be so rattled like this is all. It's throwing me off my game, or somethin' like that."
"Fair enough, but that reminds me... I wonder where that blue haired me disappeared to..."
"Well, if I were her and heard about a Siren attack, I'd go get reinforcements too, right?"
"So you think her Commander's nearby then?"
"It stands to reason anyway. Unfortunately, we're neck deep in battle and there's either too much network traffic or heavy jamming in the way to get a decent read on anything or communicate properly with anyone..."
"Oui, and it's messin' with my rigging's targeting systems and makin' it really hard to land any decent hits too. Not that I mind fighting up close and personal... but, that also means we can't move too far from each other either."
Eugen nodded gravely. "Which is actually also why I'm hoping she is getting us some reinforcements. Then again, I get the sense that that's also what the Sirens are waiting for..."
"You think?"
"Who knows, but it's better to be cautious and assume the worst when it comes to the Sirens."
"Ah, gotcha. Alright then, let's put that complicated stuff on the back burner for now and just beat the shit outta these bitches, 'kay?"
"After you, Frau Jean Bart."
Their little chat over, the pair engaged in another exchange of narrow evasions, attacks and counterattacks, blocks with their ether shields and increasing waves of Sirens and, slowly but surely, they were being overwhelmed and worn down bit by bit.
Liberty, bow, with Saratoga's fleet-
"...Ugh. This is no way to treat an idol, y'know...!" whined the petite pinkette aircraft carrier as she tried to catch her breath after who knows how many volleys of support artillery fire and airstrikes for what seemed like an eternity to her while New Jersey and Alabama (who had also ended up swapping places with Black Prince at some point) kept the Siren forces that slipped past the vanguard from reaching her.
"Hahahaha! Idol, huh? Man, just how many titles do you need, huh?" New Jersey asked with her trademark, hearty laugh.
"Ugh! I don't wanna hear that from someone who calls herself the 'Black Dragon' and dresses like a freaking slutty, playboy space bunny so leave me alone, dammit!" protested the flustered pinkette.
"Hahahaha! Guess you got a point there, don'cha? But whatever, I make for one damn sexy bunny anyway! You're just mad I have a great ass and can show it off! And we all know our dear Honey's a total ass man anyway!"
"...Uuu...!"
Saratoga couldn't refute any of that and, as if to add insult to injury, Alabama chose that moment to deal the final blow.
"I mean, you shoulda seen how hard he was tryin' to keep his boner under control when I was rubbin' up on him with my irresistible boot~!"
...
"... Seriously!? You actually did that with the Commander!? What. the. hell!?"
Alabama just nodded to New Jersey's question, a hint of total and supreme smugness reflected in her faint smile. "... Yup, sure did."
... And with that, the pinkette finally exploded.
"... GOD FUCKING DAMMIT! FINE! IF THAT'S HOW IT'S GONNA BE, THEN WHEN THIS PIECE OF SHIT BATTLE IS OVER AND DONE WITH, I'MMA SHOW THAT STUPID, ASS LOVING IDIOT OF A PERVERT COMMANDER WHAT REAL BOOTY FEELS LIKE! UGH! DAMN YOU AND YOUR SACKS OF FAT! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! TIME TO SHOW EVERYONE WHY BIG(?) SISTERS THAT COME IN SMOL PACKAGES ARE THE BEST!"
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
Without another word, Saratoga sped off like a shipgirl possessed, destroying whatever poor Siren had the misfortune of being in her way. It was truly a sight to behold too. Fire, explosions, yelling, and the aura of utter wrath that only cute and petite big(?) sisters could unleash.
"...Oh, wow. She really lost it, huh?"
"Think I went too far?"
New Jersey shook her head. "Nah. But it doesn't really matter. Plenty of Sirens to let her vent her frustrations on so it's all good. If anything, I kinda feel bad for Honey though."
"Huh, why?"
"Because Little Sara's gonna be a real needy brat to deal with later, that's why. And she's probably gonna cry her brains out the whole time too. Nice big, crocodile tears too."
"...Hehe!"
Meanwhile...
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
...Saratoga on the warpath was only getting started
- Aboard the Liberty, bridge -
*deep shiver*
"...Commander?" Meis asked, quirking a curious, shapely digital eyebrow.
"...! Oh, sorry. Just had this really bad feeling all of a sudden. Like my life might be in danger?"
"... Oh?" Metis observed. "What, is this that 'sixth sense' thing you humans sometimes talk about?"
"I dunno, maybe? Either way, no denying that this 'sixth sense', or whatever it is, has saved my ass more than once so I've learned not to ignore it."
"...How curious. Perhaps it's a magical or psychic ability then? Hm, if it is just highly developed intuition I wonder if I can learn to gain an ability like that one day?"
Lima chuckled. "Who knows. But I mean, you are a super advanced AI so I wouldn't be surprised if you did."
"Heh, that is something to work towards then."
And, having said as much, the ever stoic electronic fairy gave her dear, silly Commander one of her rare, heartfelt and sincere smiles. It was the kind of thing that really demonstrated just little it mattered that she was an AI or not... only to quickly shift gears and slip back into her 'serious adjutant mode'. "Anyway, as pleasant as that little chat was, we've got trouble."
"Huh? Trouble? What, more enemy reinforcements?"
"Worse." Metis replied as she brought up several screen full of information on the current state of the battle. "Due to the heavy jamming and some unknown stealth field, we weren't able to pick any of this up until just now but, as you can see, the Sirens have successfully managed to surround us, likely in a wide area encirclement maneuver. Not only that, but another ship has been caught up in it too... and not just any ship either. It's another 'aerial combat support carrier' just like ours."
"...! What!?"
On the center screen Metis brought up was, like she'd said, the image of a ship identical in design to the Liberty but painted in the colors of the modern Azur Lane Alliance. In front of the unknown ship were also a number of smaller formations as well.
"Are those smaller groups what I think they are?"
"Other shipgirls? Yes, and it's highly likely they belong to the other Eugen's Commander. At least, they aren't any other viable conclusions that can be inferred based on the limited evidence we currently have."
"Damn. The Sirens got us good, didn't they? Getting us all bunched in like this I mean."
Metis nodded. "It looks that way, at any rate."
"And can we get in touch with them?"
"The enemy's jamming isn't making it easy, but I should be able to open up a secure channel in a few minutes. Until then, however..."
"We just have to hold on, right?"
"Yes."
"Right, then that's what will have to do. Fingers crossed and all that."
- With Javelin and Ayanami -
"Eh? Ah crap!" Narrowly dodging an Oceana's cannon fire, Javelin, almost by instinct at this point, jabbed her spear right into its torso before kicking it away and finishing it off with a barrage from her own guns. "Ugh! They just keep coming!"
"You okay, Javelin-chan?"
"Y, yeah. Just getting a little tired... Um, how about you Ayaya? You holding up okay?"
"...Same here. Just, a little tired. Yes."
"... Uuu... I, I hope Laffey and the others are okay."
"Mm. I'm sure Laffey-chan and the others are fine, yes!"
"...I hope so. Anyway, let's.. -wait, who's that?"
"Javelin-chan? What are you... nani?"
Some distance away from where they were fighting, scores of Sirens were suddenly being swept away by several unknown shipgirls moving in front of a ship that looked eerily similar to the Liberty.
"Hey. Does, does that mean what I think it means?"
Javelin's eyes went wide with surprise at the sight, and not just her either. The sudden appearance of what looked like their own reinforcements was shocking enough to have everyone, shipgirl and Siren alike, stop what they were doing and turn to watch the newcomers in action. Well, almost everyone anyway.
"... The Sirens, they're wide open now! Yes!"
Sword in hand and a fire in her eyes, Ayanami charged forward and cut down the nearest distracted Executor and watched as it began to break apart in that unusual way humanoid Sirens do when fatally damaged. Satisfied, she then turned and called out to the still confused light purplette behind her.
"Oi, Javelin-chan! Snap out of it!"
"Hu, huh? Oh, yeah. O, okay! You're right!"
- With Prinz Eugen's fleet -
"Heh, looks like the cavalry came," Kii observed after wiping her shapely brow. "That other you didn't waste any time, huh?"
"It seems so anyway. By the way, the submarines have been awfully quiet. You'd think they'd be making a real fuss by now, ja?"
"About that. Seems they were all busy covering our rear lines. Nobody noticed because of the jamming but a few Assassins and Lurkers tried to ambush us," Jean Bart answered.
"Heh. They finally get some action and it's all behind the scenes huh," Eugen commented with a light chuckle. "So, do we go over and say hi? Or..."
Kii just shrugged. "I mean, it doesn't really change anything either way, right? We still have a ton of Sirens left, so I think we should focus on that first, y'know?"
"True enough. Alright, let's get back to it then."
"By the way, where are Frau Belfast and the others?"
"Oh, right. They uh... charged ahead the moment the other shipgirls were spotted," Kii said, pointing over at the shrinking figures of Vampire, Belfast, and Black Prince in the distance. "Seems Vampire got impatient with just being defensive. And, well, you know how Black Prince and Belfast are."
With a sigh, Eugen lightly shook her head before instantly shifting gears once more. "In any case, we can't leave the Liberty undefended so we'll just have to trust that they'll be okay on their own."
- Aboard the Liberty, bridge -
"Channel signal boosters enabled. Adjusting data traffic filtering now."
"Security protocols A-001 through A-007, condition green. No errors."
"Connection established. Now bringing it up onscreen."
After a bit of screen flicker and a few seconds later, Liam now found himself face to face with Admiral Yang Wen-li of the Azur Lane Alliance Navy's infamous '13th Fleet' and one of its only two currently active shipgirl fleet Commanders.
[Greetings, I'm Admiral Yang Wen-li of the Azur Lane Alliance Navy and Commander of the 13th Fleet aboard the ACSC 'Hyperion'.]
Finishing his polite but short greeting, the slightly shorter than average man with dark hair grey eyes saluted a slightly flustered Liam while offering him a friendly, slightly awkward but open smile. Honestly, outside of the uniform and reputation, the man staring back at Liam looked about as much of a soldier as Liam did... which is to say, he didn't look like he'd served a day in his life. 'Still, you know what they say about not judging a book by its cover and all that...'
"Greetings to you too, Admiral. My name is Liam Archer, leader of the um, newly established 'Outer Heaven Mercenary Group' and Commander of the ACSC 'Liberty' and its attached shipgirl fleets."
[Hm? You look a bit nervous, Mr. Archer. Is everything alright?]
"Well if I'm being honest, it's not every day that a random nobody like me gets to meet a real living legend, y'know?"
[Really, I'm not all that big a deal you know. Just a wannabe historian who ended up a soldier, that's all. Anyway, Miss Eugen's told me a bit about your shipgirls and, from what I can see, you've all been doing very well so far. Still, it's quite a predicament we've found ourselves, isn't it?]
"They're tricky bastards for sure, yeah."
Admiral Yang nodded.
[Honestly, there really wasn't much either of us could have done regardless. With things as they were, we'd probably still would've ended up surrounded no matter what happened. All we can do right now is clear out as many Sirens here as we can before breaking through and collapsing their encirclement.]
"Sounds good to me. So, do you have any ideas? Y'know, being the more experienced one here and all that."
[... About that. With the forces we currently have, and the time we have to act, I think...]
...
And with their minds made up and time not on their side, the Unbeatable Magician wasted no time sharing his plans with Liam and the others, making sure to get his and Metis's input since this would be their first time working together. Needless to say, the Admiral was fairly impressed by Liam's ability to quickly adapt to his circumstances and go with the flow. He wasn't a soldier and didn't think like one either, but he recognized a fellow crafty mind when he saw one.
- With some of the 13th Fleet's shipgirls -
"Hey, Enty?"
"Hm? What's the matter, Yorktown?"
"What did Commander Yang say?"
"Yeah, we'll be moving out in a wide crane wing formation and surround the Sirens from the outside while that other Commander's forces handle them from the other end. Once that's done, we'll be reorganizing into a series of smaller wedge formations and punch through a single spot in the enemy's encirclement. Afterwards, we'll work on breaking the Sirens up into smaller, more manageable chunks. Ideally, we'd want to get rid of them all in one go while their lines are still in disarray, but who knows how things will go though. Anyway, that's the the overall strategic goal we have for the time being."
"Those are gonna be some pretty complicated maneuvers to be pulling off with a bunch of shipgirls we've only literally just met y'know," Hornet commented as she doubled checked her rigging's guns.
"True, but it's not the first time we've had to do it. Besides, I don't think these girls will be as half as troublesome as the fleet back in Europa...," Enterprise replied with a slight shudder as she recalled a certain, overly flirtatious, egocentric green haired Sardegnan shipgirl with a 'loud', slightly obnoxious personality. 'Seriously, as long as none of them act like her, then I'll be happy...'
"...Psst! ... Hey, Yorktown," Hornet motioned, whispering to her sister.
"Hm? Hornet?"
"Was Miss Littorio really that bad?"
"...You have no idea. Well, to be fair, she didn't really bother me but Enty and, for whatever reason, Bremerton on the other hand... Yeah, let's just say that she didn't leave a very good first impression. Now, it wasn't anything serious and was just her being friendly but, well, you know how Enty and Bremerton are about stuff like that."
"... I can imagine. Yeah. Glad I was busy and off her radar."
"Well, dressed the way you are, yeah..."
Cue a round of shuddering.
"... Hey. If you two are done whispering about 'she who shall not be named'," cut in a frosty Enterprise raring to put unpleasant memories out of her mind and focus on the present. "everyone else is ready so let's get moving already."
"Coming!" (x2)
xxx xxx xxx
With most of Liam's forces doing their best to finish off the Sirens from behind, Yang's forces simultaneously rushed in from the other side in a wide crane wing formation with Enterprise and Essex's fleets in the center, Queen Elizabeth and Harbin's fleets taking the left wing, while Bismarck and Unzen's took the right wing while the Hyperion brought up the rear covered by their own submarine forces for the time being.
"Alright girls! light 'em up!"
With those loud and direct words from the boisterous and always ready to fight Harbin, the whole sky quickly filled up with artillery shells and combat drones raining down on the Sirens like divine punishment from the heavens above, the first and opening move in a a risky all or nothing counteroffensive.
- Right wing -
"... Und Feuer."
*RRRROOOOOAAARRRR*
With a roar, Geryon, Bismarck's dragon-like semi-autonomous named rigging's main guns began tearing through the bewildered and disoriented Siren lines as they struggled to figure out which side to deal with first now that they were boxed in. Meanwhile Odin, who was to her left, silently nodded and let loose her 'Rolling Thunder' which, against Sirens, was especially effective while Graf Zeppelin released her ether as if she were spreading her wings to both protect her fellow Iron Blood shipgirls' defenses and increase her own attack planes' offensive power. All in all, it was the perfect battle formation. Likewise, their vanguard were just as impressive, if a little more carefree... even managing to have a friendly chat whilst in the middle of fighting.
"Oi, Eugen!"
"Hm. Hipper? What is it, my dear sweet sister?"
"... Okay, first. Could you not say things like that!? Seriously! And two. What was it like, meeting another you?"
"Oh, well... For one, she seemed just as well endowed as me?"
"...I hate you. And what the hell!? I wasn't asking about whether or not she has pointlessly big tits like you!"
"You know, dear sister, I would only be considered only a bit bigger than average though?" Eugen pointed out... arms under her breasts as if to mock her... much to her beloved sister's annoyance.
"...Okay, whatever. But seriously. what was she like?" Admiral Hipper asked again, genuinely curious and wanting to just change topics. 'Ugh! And it's not my damn fault I came out so freakin' small! Dammit! Damn cows!'
"Hm, well... she, was certainly strong. Very strong. And incredibly difficult to read. That said, I do think we really were more or less the same on the inside. If nothing else, she's much more guarded than I am."
"...So, you two really are alike then? ... Great, just great."
"If there was one major difference between us, it'd be that she's more fond of teasing people than I am."
"Says you! You mess with me all the fucking time, you saidst! Bully! Big tiddied cow!" Hipper loudly protested.
"Ja, but you just have the loveliest reactions and are my dear, sweet little sister~!"
...
"...I hate you sometimes."
"Ah, but I adore you oh so much!"
*BBBOOOOMMMM!*
"...I'm amazed you two can just chat away without a care in the world with so many enemies around us...," cut in a sincerely amazed, mildly impressed, and overall exasperated Z23 as she sunk another Pawn. "Really, can't you two take things more seriously?"
"We could but, other than their large numbers, there's really not much reason to sweat it, right?" Hipper countered before effortlessly dodging a charging pair of Oceana units that she and Eugen then quickly cut down in one well timed, simultaneous and synchronized movement. "See?"
"Okay, sure, but they aren't the ones we need to worry about. It's the ones surrounding us that we need to really worry about. After all, we only have so long before they decide to act."
"Oh, about that, according to little U-556, she and the other submarines have been busy keeping them from fully completing their encirclement," Eugen added.
"Huh? But I thought they were going to guard the Kommandant though?"
"Well that was the idea, but with the enemy looking like they might attack any second now, it was decided to have them go and distract them."
"Anyway, things seem just about done here, nein?" Hipper said, pointing out how empty their section of the battlefield had suddenly become.
"Huh? What happened? Where did all the Sirens go? Did we really finish them all off?"
"Frau Unzen's team took care of the rest, and it looks like 'Her Majesty's' side should be wrapping things up soon too."
"...Oh. I guess, there really wasn't any reason to worry, huh?" 'Still, it's not like we can totally relax yet either. After all, encirclement aside, no Elites have shown up yet... Which, knowing them and past experiences, can only mean one thing...'
...
[Attention, this is Metis of the Liberty to all units in the field. Two high energy signatures have been detected at the western edge of the combat zone. Likewise, the enemy formation surrounding us is also beginning to move. I repeat, a high...]
'... I knew it...'
All Z23 could do was sigh and mentally grumble as she and the others began to quickly reorganize themselves before carrying out the next phase of the operation.
xxx xxx xxx
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
A stray round struck the side of the Liberty but was deflected by its ether shields. That said, Liam, Metis and the three maids couldn't help but still be shook up from the residual impact vibrations.
"Master, all of the enemy Sirens within range of the Liberty and Hyperion have finally been eliminated and the temporary joint fleet is now commencing a counteroffensive. Admiral Yang is sending over updated map data along with an outline on what his Rosenritter forces will be doing in the meantime in order to help us better coordinate the next phase of the operation better," Sheffield reported.
"Rosenritter?"
"The Azur Lane Alliance's elite marine corps, front line special operations unit. They were founded by defectors of the old Crimson Axis. Their current and thirteenth generation leader is one Captain Walter von Schonkopf, a man who is intensely loyal to Admiral Yang himself rather than the Azur Lane Alliance itself. Or at least, that's what the data I managed to find on him suggests," Metis explained.
"So, not only does he have his own fleet of shipgirls, but a whole group of badass marines too?"
"Not only that, but the Rosenritter have the distinction of being one of the few armored infantry units capable of fighting off Sirens with any level of success even if it's just against mass production ships. So far, the only other force that's pulled that off are the Order of the Black Knights under the Royal Islands' 2nd Prince, Lelouch vi Britannia."
"Oh, that's the skinny looking, dark haired one who always has that smug look on his face, right? The one everyone calls 'The Black Prince' and who's supposed to be a genius tactician or whatever?"
Metis nodded. "The very same. At any rate, we're getting off topic. Have you finished looking over the updated battle plans and our roles in them?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. We're gonna be doing some more heavy lifting this time around, yeah?"
The Liberty and the Hyperion are to keep the encirclement from reforming once it's been broken and to keep them in disarray as long as possible with our main bow mounted ether cannons while the Rosenritter and our submarines protect us."
"Sorry, but how are those Rosenritter guys supposed to do that, exactly?"
"They have custom made wanzers."
"Wait, they have bipedal combat mecha!?"
"They do, but they aren't very fast but they're powerful enough to at least put up a fight against Pawns, Knights, and Rooks."
Just then.
"Honorable Master! Two high energy signatures rapidly closing in! ETA with our deployed shipgirl forces, 150 seconds!"
"Wait, did you say two? And are they what I think they are!?"
Sirius nodded her head. "Yes, one of the energy patterns matches the unit we fought against yesterday, the one called Tester. The other is unknown, but based on its output and proximity to Tester..."
"...Another Elite, right?"
"... Most likely, yes."
"Dammit!" 'We knew for sure that Tester would probably show up sooner or later, but two of them!?' "Alright, Enterprise, tell Eugen and Strasser's fleets to engage Tester while Saratoga keeps chipping away at the other Sirens. I'll get in touch with Admiral Yang and have him divert some of his forces to deal with the other Elite while the rest stick to the original plan. Sure, Elites might have shown up now but our overall strategic goal hasn't changed."
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
xxx xxx xxx
At the western edge of the Siren forces' encirclement formation, western edge.
"...Hey, you sure you wanted me along? I mean, I might go a little overboard once we start fighting, y'know?" asked the long, light blue/lavender haired and golden eyed Siren Elite next to Tester and riding what looked like some kind of hmmerhead shark mecha... with lots of guns and flanked by two attack drones.
"If it was just the Unknown fleet then no, but the Target fleet being here as well changes things," Tester replied. "Besides, while it's true that you might be a bigger battle junkie than me, you still aren't one to forget our true mission objectives either."
"...Hmph. That's some awfully high praise of me. Still, you do know why I'm called 'Purifier' though, right? I 'purify' things, and usually with extreme force."
"Which is why you are only here to help. Besides, isn't that why you temporarily transferred your limit access codes over to me before coming?" Tester reminded.
"Okay, fair enough, but I can still rough 'em up a bit, right?"
"That's fine. Oh, and just ignore the two flying ships in the rear. They aren't much of a threat even if they fire their main ether cannons at us."
"Heh, alrighty then! Later then~!"
Watching her fellow Elite playfully wave and speed off, Tester could only sigh and shake her head before following after, ready to engage Liam's shipgirls once again. 'It might be us just killing time and all, but this is still a good chance for a rematch. Hopefully though, those little submarine brats won't get in the way this time...'
xxx xxx xxx
A/N
Thanks for voting on the Tempesta shipgirls, assuming you did that is.
Edited: 11/27/2023
Okay, I'm not at all happy about this but I have to be fair and do my due diligence about this when mistakes come up.
The voting wasn't 3 to 2 for Liam getting the Tempesta shipgirls. It was 3 to 2 against him getting the Tempesta shipgirls.
Apparently, I didn't even get the DM notifications concerning the vote change and had to look for it once I was made aware of it. Having said that, it was made 'during' the voting period and therefore 'must' be addressed on my end. Thus, Liam will NOT get the Tempesta shipgirls, they will be given to another Commander as their 'exclusive faction' and the Northern Union will stay Liam's own exclusive faction'. No one else will get any Northern Union shipgirls and the same is applied to the Tempesta. Besides, they're too small a faction to split up and there are already 2 other Commanders, which means there 'will' be a 4th Commander at some point, who will most likely not be affiliated with Azur Lane similarly to Liam.
Again, sorry for the mistake on my part for not noticing until after I posted but I needed to fix this even if I'm not exactly happy about it. Democracy and all that. Ah, just to be clear, nobody else DM'd me in regards to this voting or any other subject of this story. I made sure to triple check my inbox since, like I said, I hadn't even received any notifications for whatever reason until like, just last night and this morning.
Full disclosure though. Had FF been working fine, then no late votes would've been counted and the voting results would've been tieed at 2 to 2. In which case, I would've been the tie breaking vote.
Anyway, I hope this clears things up and we're on the same page now.
Anyway, thanks again for reading and voting. It means a lot to see the interest. Right then, until next chapter!