Chapter 66: Counterblow (Finale)

"You seem in a good mood."

"I have every reason to be. And you don't seem to be that dour or glacial yourself, what's up?"

Sovetskaya gave Alexander a peculiar look, remarking, "Did you not recently…never mind."

Glancing at Tashkent, Le Malin, Émile, Jeanne and Jean as they sat around a table playing Tontine - which he was wary of indulging in since he wasn't sure his luck was abysmal or incredible - the Aloadae found no shortage of varied reactions, ranging from confusion at the Parliament Shipgirl's inquiry to a sort of smug understanding of what was being implied.

"No, don't nevermind that, if this is something important or uncertain that you're talking about in regards to my mood then I really want to hear about it. Gods only know I need all the mental help I can get."

Sovetskaya gave the room a cursory glance, appearing oddly embarrassed for a moment - garnering even more curiosity from those present - before a defeated sigh left her lips.

"You seemed more enthusiastic and energetic than before. I assumed it was because Prinz Eugen, Vampire and Émile cornered you in the showers."

Blinking at the blunt admission Alexander was honestly at a loss of how to respond when it was the Libre cruiser herself who took the lead, dramatically sighing as she lamented, "Alas, the cruel Ironblood insisted upon ensuring that the heat of the moment did not come to pass, despite dear Vampire so valiantly and enthusiastically making clear the offer of a foursome."

"...Right. Hard to sometimes remember that the Orthodoxy - despite the name - was pretty open about love and shit like that."

Not that one could have guessed by watching Jeanne's reaction, the second Cruiser from the faction flushing a bright scarlet as she hurriedly remarked, "I-is this really a proper topic of conversation for right now? In public?"

Tashkent sighed, blandly replying, "Some of us have had sex before, Miss Icon."

"B-but still!"

Émile merely cocked her head, curiously staring at the Destroyer as she asked, "You have experienced passion before?"

"...Sort of. It was a big, drunk party where a lot of people got drunk and partied about four years ago. I wasn't the only one that ended up in bed with someone that night."

Her eyes drifted towards Sovetskaya, the Destroyer smirking slightly as she teasingly said, "Even someone who normally wouldn't have-"

The second Parliament Shipgirl cleared her throat, sending the purple-haired Destroyer a warning look as Tashkent merely hummed in delight before glancing at her cards, Le Malin sighing in exhaustion as she resignedly stated, "It's your turn, Tashkent. Or should I go and take a nap while you're busy talking about other stuff?"

"I'll take you up on that."

Jean's growl as she stared at her cards caused both Destroyer's to grin, Le Malin's usual sleepy countenance vanishing as she teased, "I suppose the pirate doesn't actually live up to the stereotype of being good at cards."

"Save it, this game isn't about skill, it's about luck!"

"We're just gonna move on from the sex thing, huh?"

"But is this moment of fun not much more entertaining~?"

Chuckling at Émile's chirp Alexander leaned back in his chair, ignoring the groan from the piece of furniture as he reveled in the sheer moment of normality amidst the usual insanity that seemed to dominate his life nowadays. Just chilling with friends and comrades as the fleet made its way back to Azur Lane with victory fresh in their hearts, playing random games and trading banter back and forth.

[Master, you need to raise the alarm!]

And of course it was never meant to last long, the Aloadae blinking before sitting upright as TB abruptly jumped back into his mind, sounding more panicked than she ever had before.

"Woah, slow down! TB, what's happening-"

[You need to warn all forces that a missile strike is originating from the Basilica, likely nuclear capable! It's unknown when they'll launch but it could be at any moment!]

The words took a moment to process, another to properly sit in…and then two more for the ice to spread through his veins as his good cheer vanished like smoke in a hurricane.

"Get everyone moving towards Azur Lane at full speed and watch every fucking corner of the skies, the Old Sirens could be launching a strike at any moment!"

He barely noticed the storm of activity as the Shipgirls leapt into action - far more used to sudden changes in circumstances than he was - as he cast his attention towards the drones he had on patrol near the Basilica…only to find that a number of them were completely missing from his eyes, gone as if they had never existed in the first place.

"Oh fuck…"

Directing all nearby drones to move towards the Basilica as quickly as possible Alexander stood with bated breath, jaw clenched and fingers curled as he watched through the eyes of the Bakunawa as the various machines hurtled through the atmosphere, stealth forgotten in favor of speed.

It paid off in the worst way possible, a few fading smoke contrails that lead to the waters below confirming that his drones had indeed been identified and shot down, the Basilica full of activity as right before his eyes a massive warhead that could only be an ICBM was fired high into the sky, glowing like a nighttime star as it joined what was at least a dozen other already rapidly ascending warheads.

"TB, what the fuck is this?!"

[Assumedly a response to our discovery and elimination of the Siren base…or, even worse, what they had hoped we would do, to ensure we're out of position.]

"Away from Azur Lane."

Feeling as if he was about to be physically sick Alexander intently listened as TB rapidly continued with, [Empress has already mobilized Oratorio to annihilate the Basilica and launched every possible asset available to intercept the missiles, but they are limited and likely won't be able to destroy all of them. The Old Sirens - considering all that they have been studying as of late - won't have begun the launch unless they were certain of success.]

The protest that Richelieu and Algérie were still located within the building died on his lips, knowing full well that this was no time to try and attempt a rescue mission, not when the literal fate of the world could be riding on this moment.

"Got it."

Returning to the present he noted that the fleet was now a veritable hive of activity and that the deck below his feet had begun to tremble, engines pushing hard as the distant roar of aircraft were launched at a frantic pace as Sovetskaya motioned him over, the rest of the Shipgirls having retreated to their own vessels as the Aloadae complied.

"The Commander should be on any second, we already sent out a general alarm to all available forces and installations while Nagato and her cohort are on alert."

"Good."

Unable to find anything more meaningful than that to say Alexander stiffly stood at attention as Sovetskaya's radio crackled with static before clearing up, the Commander's stern voice coming through with, [Report.]

Glad that the man clearly picked up on the emergency heading their way Alexander quickly summarized, "The Basilica is launching missiles containing payloads equal to if not greater than the Shinsei's, I don't know how many they have in stock but at least twenty are already in the air, most heading towards Azur Lane but a few others seem to have alternate destinations. The Neo Sirens are moving Oratorio into position but TB says that's going to take at least an hour, we're on our own until then."

There was a few seconds of terse silence before the Commander replied, confidently and smoothly ordering, [Have the Bakunawa move a safe distance away from Azur Lane just in case a warhead does hit us, if we go down then your ship is going to be needed to serve as a new hub of engineering and manufacturing. Can any of your aircraft make it to us in time to help provide intercept?]

"No, we're too far out."

[Then hold your position until the Basilica is destroyed, ensure the fleet survives and that any civilian or resource critical areas of the Republic survive. We'll hold out here.]

Sovetskaya tensed, worriedly asking, "Commander, there is still-"

[You have your orders. Azur Lane over and out.]

The line clicked off, Alexander and the Shipgirl trading worried glances as the male released a trembling sigh, stating, "I'm going to need to focus for the next hour," before sliding down the bulkhead into a cross-legged position, eyes closing as he reached across the ocean to properly interface with the Bakunawa, ignoring how tenuous the connection was at this distance and forcing himself through the migraine that came with allowing more of his mind to leave it's fleshy shell.

Sirens, alarms, activity…even as cameras and microphones replaced his usual senses he could sense Azur Lane was a hive of activity and preparation as searchlights and radar warning systems - hastily repaired after the siege - sprung to life, the Aloadae tersely asking, "Purifier, Zero, anything you can do to help?"

"Most we can do is take direct control of those railguns and knock the missiles out of the sky, without our more advanced gear there's not much we can do."

"...How are you going to use coastal defense guns to knock high-angle missiles out of the sky?"

Zero sounded more than slightly resigned as she said, "Never underestimate a Purifier's capacity for unconventional forms of destruction."

"That's us~! We'll do what we can, Boss."

Resigned to hoping for the best when it came to those two he authorized Purifier to take direct command of the defense guns, watching as a few Azur Lane personnel jumped or startled as the enormous cannons sprung to life on their own, hissing and groaning as their universal mounts angled the barrels high up into the sky at almost seventy degree angles, something that had no doubt been intended more as a stress test or basis for other weapons rather than the railcannons.

"Be at ease, Alexander. We will provide what aid we can and Oratorio will destroy the Basilica in short order."

"Be at ease? There's a new missile being launched every twenty seconds, fifteen minutes have gone by and we have forty-five more to go. At least forty - if not more - are on their way and we're looking at at LEAST a hundred and thirty-five if they keep firing at the pace they are now. How the hell am I supposed to relax?"

Neither Siren bothered to reply to that as he instead ran through his stock of options. The Bakunawa had twelve specially designed warheads meant to shoot down any kind of ICBM before they got close enough to be a serious threat, as well as hundreds of point-defense cannons and shorter-ranged intercept missiles…but these were nuclear weapons. It didn't make any difference if he shot the things down before they physically reached the island, the simple proximity of those weapons would ensure the base was destroyed all the same.

With a clenched jaw and pounding heart he primed six of the twelve long-range missiles and fired them off in staggered intervals, the projectiles screaming into the upper atmosphere as he attempted to buy as much time for Azur Lane as he could, praying that they were lucky enough that the missiles weren't designed to detonate if their container was breached or tampered with-

-and grimaced as far above a blinding flash momentarily flared to life before quickly fading, the Old Sirens smart enough to put failsafes into the things even if they were knocked off course.

"Of fucking course they would. They're not trying to carefully and tactically destroy a single target, they're trying to blow up the goddamn world."

Resigning himself to the coming siege he spared one last glance through the Bakunawa's sensors at Azur Lane, the installation finally coming fully on line as all personnel had arrived at their stations, the base's shields flaring to life and everything that possibly could be done achieved in record time.

The dorms were dark, factories locked down tight, lights snuffed and it was hard to imagine the base doubling as what was basically a college campus for the Shipgirls, from what he'd seen.

"One of their last sanctuaries…I CAN'T let these fucks destroy it."

Allowing himself one final breath and moment of panic the Aloadae steeled his nerves as the last of the long-range missiles hit it's mark, one last sun bursting to life before fading as quickly as it arrived…and then the hard part began, a quick streak of fire kindling high overhead before three contrails burst to life and dived towards Azur Lane, stealth foregone in favor of speed as the battle was once more joined.

"And Oratorio?"

"Already moving into position, Empress. It should be ready to fire in thirty minutes."

"And the rest of our bases?"

"...Almost certain guarantees that they will be destroyed. Our limiting of resources and technology available during this time line ensures that our capabilities to fight off an assault of this magnitude are limited at best. The shortage of Wisdom Cubes doesn't help matters in the slightest."

"Those were decisions made with the best possible information we had available at that moment in time, no sense in bemoaning that fact now."

Arbiter VI nodded after a moment's hesitation, both Neo Sirens staring at the overall tactical display for the planet in quiet contemplation as the fate of their ultimate purpose was once again put on the line, no clear resolution in sight as nuclear weapons flew with alarming frequency across the globe, most targeting Azur Lane but almost a third locked onto other locations.

Most were resource or mining spots , as well as their own manufacturing bases that had limited means of defense and were essentially foregone conclusions. The only variables were the Shipgirl fleet by the Republic, the Sacred Sakura - the strange organism showing time and again that it was unpredictable on a good day - and Azur Lane itself.

"Empress, should we not deploy and-"

"And do what, exactly? This will be over in the next two hours one way or another and our hands are tied. Restrain yourself and remain prepared if there does come to pass some new plot or move made by the Old Sirens."

Empress was internally grateful that Arbiter left it at that, leaving the room to rejoin her fellows in readiness. After all, it allowed her arm to tighten around the chair she was sat upon, causing the material to groan as alien stress seized at her heart and mind…a stress that was not helped in the slightest as she once again looked to Azur Lane, the visual image provided by Observer Zero a grim one.

The skies above the base had already marked the island for death, clouds of radioactive material merely waiting for the constant detonations and shifts in force to cease so they could settle like a diseased blanket across its surface, the battle fought to preserve both the life of the Humans present and the material resources that could still be evacuated before the radiation poisoning became too extreme.

A prospect that seemed dangerously unlikely, a deafening roar echoing across the waters as a warhead came dangerously close to its target, detonating miles above the base but causing its shield to flare and the Bakunawa to list as the ocean was whipped into a frenzy, guns and missiles briefly falling silent before they resumed their firing at a fevered pace, the sky a hellish haze of fire, smoke and falling stars as Empress murmured, "Yet another test thrown before you, Alexander…will you succeed in this one?"

"Purifier, one heading in from North East, take it out!"

"Finally, I was getting bored just from watching the light show!"

Feeling as if his head was going to split in two from the strain of his control of the Bakunawa and everything he was doing Alexander fired yet another shotgun spread of drones into the rapidly expanding cloud of radiation, the machines not meant to last long as they merely threw themselves into random spirals intended to provide as much visual and sensor coverage as they could in the increasingly obscured airspace.

It was also mentally taxing to the extreme as he tried to control his vessel amidst the chaotic sea and keep track of the differing viewpoints the drones provided, a trio of engine contrails quickly making themselves apparent through the smoke as they rocketed free of the latest ICBM launched their way, the Aloadae sending another volley of missiles towards the warheads before returning his attention towards Purifier as the insane Siren angled the coastal cannons into impossible angles, firing in staggered salvos as kinetic munitions flew forward at lethal speeds, most of them missing the star-bright contrail taking the long way around the radiation cloud but one struck true, said star briefly spiraling out of control before it manually detonated its payload, Alexander grimacing as while the missile wasn't as close as the others had been it was closer to the ocean proper, kicking up a wave the others hadn't been able to match that was due to hit in just a few minutes.

"Come on, we have to be close by now!"

A wild check of the clock revealed that there was only two minutes to go until Oratorio opened fire on the Basilica, the end of the siege in sight if they could hold on just a little bit longer-

[Master, I'm not detecting any more missiles on approach to Azur Lane. These last twelve are all that we have to deal with!]

Too exhausted to react to the news with anything other than silent desperation Alexander readied the last full blown countermeasures he had kept in reserve, giving them the command to launch as they roared upwards, voice terse as he ordered, "Don't let your guard down, I don't trust these bastards to give up that easily."

[Of course.]

The next few moments passed in tense concentration, the male working overtime to ensure not a single warhead slipped past their net, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they had managed to weather the storm.

One final burst of nuclear brightness and there was only two more ICBMs headed their way, the Aloadae sending one last wave of drones upwards to watch the things like hawks…and frowned in confusion as the two carriers broke apart but no munitions flew towards the base, wishing the airspace wasn't such a mess of signal blocking crap as he maneuvered the observation blanket directly over Azur Lane in order to figure out what was happening…and felt his blood turn to ice as one of the drones picked up the sound of whistling air and nothing else, the radios and other forms of communication long since rendered useless to the constant nukes going off as he instructed Purifier to let loose with the coastal guns, the Bakunawa throwing every last missile, shell and cannon it had left in a desperate attempt to hit whatever bomb they'd thrown their way before it could land, Azur Lane catching on to the seriousness of the situation despite a lack of radiation signatures or engine contrails that would clue them in to what was going on, the island once more erupting to life as it filled the sky with tracers and flak-

-a triggered a muted but still powerful explosion among the thick clouds, the sight somehow doing more to aggravate the man than any nuclear blast could have.

The Old Sirens wouldn't have launched a conventional munition unless they were confident it would succeed where the others munitions hadn't, the Aloadae's heart pounding in his chest as he watched with steadily growing fear as no more hits were scored on the practically invisible bombs-

-and one hit the thus far steadfast shields of Azur Lane, the glowing panes of energy shimmering and flexing under the strain, three more flying in and hitting in quick succession as massive plumes of smoke and fire shot into the air, the protective measures finally snapping under the strain-

-and a final bomb flew unimpeded into the center of the island, erupting in a cataclysmic show of force as the Aloadae stared in open horror at what had just occurred, bits of flaming building and factory hitting the ground and waves in a giant spread as he snapped out of his shock a moment later, ordering, "Purifier, Zero, get in there and see what the damages are, I NEED answers!"

"Understood."

The fact that the bombing had finally stopped was of little comfort, Alexander staring with barely contained nausea at the gaping hole torn into the heart of Azur Lane.

A hole where the Commander's office had been just seconds ago.

"Oratorio is preparing to fire, Empress."

"Time until target destruction?"

"One minute."

Watching the tactical display with great interest as the massive orbital weapon began its final firing procedures to destroy the Basilica Empress was curious to note that she actually felt rather…excited for the coming destruction, a sort of irrational vindication that had never plagued her mind beforehand.

"Or perhaps I had just pretended it never existed."

Pushing that humbling thought to the wayside for the moment Empress instead watched through Oratorio's sensor suite as the source of so many of their problems both in this timeline and in others was marked, honed in on…and with a sun bright flash of energy became the second Old Siren target to be met with the wrath of the satellite weapon.

The building's shields broke upon the first strike, azure panes of energy melting away due to the fury of Oratorio, annihilating a missile that had just left one of the launch tubes and even slagging the uppermost floors of the structure, leaving it without protection for every subsequent blast that arrived in the span of an eyeblink.

One of the mightiest structures in this timeline peeled open like ripe fruit, effigies and artistic busts bursting into ash and fire at the slightest touch of inexorable and unstoppable power as the inferno caused a smile she had no control over to split Empress' lips.

A shame about the two Shipgirls still within the fortress but if it came down to them perishing or surviving under the continued thrall of the Old Sirens her preference was clear.

"The Basilica has been destroyed, Empress."

"Excellent, ensure its complete neutralization and then take stock of what our total losses were."

Some of the unexpected fervor of the previous moment was lost as Empress glared at the global tactical readout, more than a bit displeased at what she found. While not every warhead fired by the Old Sirens had been nuclear in nature that didn't mean they were lacking in destructive capability. Seven of the twelve bases they had scattered throughout the globe with significant shipbuilding capability had been struck by nuclear weapons and were a total loss, the other five being hit by missiles equipped with more conventional munitions and might be salvageable given a few weeks of repairs. The only real 'good' news was that the Old Sirens had focused their nuclear-capable arsenal on the more isolated northern bases, likely to ensure their complete destruction while the rest of their stations on the more habitable continents had suffered the remainder of the strikes that wouldn't leave lasting clouds of radiation in their wake.

Although even on that front events seemed unfortunately dire, many of the newly created factories and mining sites suffering critical damage with likely large tallies of wounded or dead.

It rankled the Neo Siren to admit, but the Old Sirens had dealt them a critical blow to both manufacturing and long term sustainability with a single, masterful stroke. The only question that remained was whether they were going to take advantage of this fact in any meaningful way or had simply seized upon a perceived weakness-

"Empress? There's…something beneath the Basilica."

Frowning at the wary remark from one of her Observers the woman returned her attention to Oratorio's sensors, watching through the plume of fire and smoke that was all that remained of the Basilica as a dark, ring like shape slowly drifted upwards from the waters surrounding the destroyed building, countless gallons falling into the structure as Empress felt her false blood run cold at the familiar and ominous import of what she was watching.

"Muster every available vessel and asset we have on standby. Prepare them for a full scale invasion of this timeline."