Baden squinted as a gust of wind blew hair across her face, reaching up to move it aside so she could look over her fleet. A few rain droplets darkened the ground, the promise of a real storm on the way, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was some ill omen for the operation. At the very least, it didn't bode well for the carrier groups if the weather continued to get worse. She didn't envy Tirpitz being in the position to have to make that decision about whether or not Graf Zeppelin would be of any use in this weather.
Shaking her head, she made her way down the steps leading to the dock, all eyes turning to her. For a moment, she locked eyes with her sister, feeling the unease lift some from her shoulders at the slight nod from Bayern. She could do this. She'd stared down the Royal Navy's fleet once. This was nothing in comparison, hardly more than a warm up. There was nothing to fear.
She stopped before the gathered fleet, passing one last glance over them to give herself another moment to steel her nerves and try to find the words she needed. If Kronprinz were here, she'd know what to say. Why is the speech the hard part?
"Many of us bear the scars of the Sirens' first attacks upon our hulls, and the wars we have waged against our sisters from the Great War. For decades, the Sirens have had us on the backfoot, a situation that was made worse by the conflict among our countries," Baden stated, the words coming easy now as if someone else were speaking through her. "It is now our time to show them why they call us the dreadnoughts, for all that would stand in our way shall be crushed beneath our might. For the honor and glory of the Iron Blood, and as the flagship of this fleet, I, battleship Baden, issue you this command: Go forth and drive the Sirens from our waters!"
Most of the girls moved quickly to prepare their ships while Baden made her way to hers, flashes of light breaking the grey of the storm as if they themselves were the impending lightning, but Bayern instead fell in to follow her younger sister. "Something's bothering you. Talk to me."
"Just wondering if that speech was enough," Baden said with a shake of her head. "I'm still not very good at it. I don't really see a point to it, but I know it means a lot to them."
"You're still our flagship," Bayern countered, a small smile on her lips. "No one could ever replace you for us. Not Bismarck, nor even Mackensen or Friedrich. We respect them, but we follow you. To the ends of the earth and into the depths of Hell if you ask. Just remember that there's nothing we wouldn't bare our fangs at for you. Now, the fleet's waiting. Shall we?"
Baden nodded, the two stepping off the edge of the dock as the pair of battleships broke apart in flashes of light to rearrange themselves into their riggings, the matching black steel lances and shields the last pieces to fall into place. As the fleet disappeared into the stormy darkness, the rain began to fall harder, as if celebrating the return of the fleet into the open waters… or warning them of their mistake.
"This is Augusta checking in. We've reached the three hour mark of the operation. Please provide status and progress reports."
Over the engines of planes returning to their carriers, Midway could just barely hear the transmission and a few scattered responses of some fleets having successfully bombarded a facility or just preparing to launch their attack on their first target, while others were still making their approaches. She had to strain to hear both Baden and Barham's reports over static crackling, but she chalked that up to both being older ships with less refined communications equipment. Thus far, nothing too worrisome, even with the reports of foul weather that had kicked up in the North Sea.
Somehow, the fact it was going so smoothly made her uneasy. Much more uneasy than if anyone had reported problems. Even against small facilities, they should be facing some sort of resistance, but there had been little to none so far.
"Well, nothing to do about it except keep going," Midway muttered, picking up her comms device. "Eagle Union Pacific Fleet. This is Midway. We've just finished bombardment of a small-scale Siren facility southeast of San Clemente. No resistance. I don't think it was in any sort of active use."
"That seems to be the case for most of these facilities…" Augusta mused. "The Sirens shouldn't have seen us coming."
"I don't think they were prepared for us," Duilio said over the comms.
"Duilio is right. We're not the reason they've cleared out, at least in the Méditerranée," Primauguet agreed. "Some of our targets have come up already damaged or even completely neutralized before we've arrived. Either the Sirens are thinking we'll take control of the bases and are sabotaging them beforehand, or there's another player on the board. I don't think the Crown is as inactive as they want us to believe."
Augusta sighed, hearing the accusation in Primauguet's tone. "If that's really the case, at least it would appear that the Crown and the Sirens aren't working together, but let's not jump to conclusions either way just yet. On another topic, has anyone heard from Mackensen's fleet?"
"She said they'd head down toward the Caribbean when we talked just before launch," Tirpitz spoke up. "About half an hour ago, they were just getting within range of a target, but her comms have been acting up."
"Try contacting her again. The fact she's not answering doesn't sit well with me, but maybe she's just being difficult and not speaking to me."
Tirpitz sighed. "That isn't like her, but very well. Give me a bit to try reaching her."
Midway tuned out the chatter for the next few minutes, only making note of a couple more reports of disabled facilities. Just as she, Franklin, and Hornet prepared to launch a new wave of recon planes, sharp crackling came through the comms.
"...Crown Ha– …facility… don't–"
"Mackensen? Mackensen, what's going on over there?!" Augusta demanded.
"That wasn't Mackensen," Franklin corrected, having come close to Midway so she could speak. "That sounded like Zuihou. It sounded like she was trying to warn us about something at Crown Haven, but…"
"I can't make contact with Mackensen, either," Tirpitz added. "It's looking like they may have -"
"Entered a Mirror Sea," Augusta finished through gritted teeth. "Dammit! I knew I shouldn't have allowed her to take the Commander! Do we have a fleet at the Panama fortress that we can scramble to go after them?"
"Save your resources," Baden said, cutting into the conversation. "Let's not throw another fleet into the fray. Mackensen picked a fleet that could handle themselves even in the worst case scenario. I'd place money on them getting themselves out of there before the rescue fleet even arrives."
"The Commander is with them," Augusta countered. "I can't accept taking the risk of not sending a rescue fleet."
"Do what you will, then."
"Ooowwww. Mackensen, what the hell?" Zuihou complained, picking herself up from where she'd been thrown onto the deck of her ship. "Why'd you go and sail us straight into a storm?"
Mackensen didn't answer, paying attention to her riggings as they craned for looks at their surroundings rather than the carrier demanding answers. After a long while, she sighed, recalling the beasts and returning them to the form of her ship, sitting herself atop one of the guns. "Is everyone alright?" A brief silence ensued while the girls checked themselves over before calling affirmatives. "Good. That's going to make this easier."
"Really?" Biloxi demanded, turning on Mackensen. Her aft guns had shifted to take aim in Mackensen's direction, a silent promise if she didn't like the battlecruiser's next words. "You threw us straight into a Mirror Sea!"
"Please point those elsewhere. It won't do us any good to sink each other here. Though you're welcome to try once we've found our way out of here." Mackensen waited until Biloxi shifted her guns away before continuing to speak. "Yes, I did steer us into a Mirror Sea, although that wasn't the intention. I dislike the issue of finding ourselves in one as much as the next person."
"That all means… what, exactly?" Apocrypha asked. "What is a Mirror Sea?"
"Think of it as a pocket dimension created by the Sirens. Usually a storm like we went through a moment ago marks entering one," Dunkerque explained, frowning at Mackensen. "In order to get out, we'll have to find the power source and disable it."
"That sounds easy enough?" Apocrypha said uncertainly. Despite how simple it sounded, the way the fleet had reacted to the new situation indicated that it was something much easier said than done.
Vercingetorix shook her head. "We do not know what kind of resistance we might find here. If we are lucky, it's been abandoned and the resistance we do find will be nothing more than outdated mass-produced ships. On the other end of the scale, it could be a more recent Mirror Sea with new technologies we have yet to face, or even the presence of humanoid type Sirens. We will be in trouble if that turns out to be the situation we have found ourselves in."
"Oh…"
Mackensen nodded, looking over toward Zuihou. "Can you launch recon planes? Let's get our bearings and go from there. If we can figure out what we're dealing with from the sky first, we'll be better off."
"You've got it."
On instinct, Apocrypha ducked as Zuihou launched her planes, the aircraft rippling the water with the wind from their engines until they ascended and flew out of sight. As if there had been some sort of cue Apocrypha had missed, the rest of the fleet quickly settled back into focusing on the task at hand rather than fighting amongst each other. She caught Mackensen watching her, suddenly realizing that the battlecruiser was expecting her to take over calling the shots for the moment. She wasn't sure if she felt more like screaming at being put on the spot or thanking her, but that would have to wait.
"Exeter, Carabiniere. I want you two to scout ahead, but don't go too far. Stay in sight. We'll proceed forward slowly with caution. Report back if there's anything that seems even slightly out of the ordinary."
The two nodded and picked up speed, themselves eventually disappearing into the distance like the planes had. Apocrypha sighed, finding somewhere to sit and watching the horizon. Please don't let this be where it ends…
Augusta blew out a breath between pursed lips, glaring at the open ocean before her. "Figures we'd be in the middle of a change in watch at Panama. Dammit!"
Wales sighed, finally deciding to redirect Augusta's attention. "There's nothing we can do. Mackensen is capable, and so are the rest of the girls with her. They'll keep the Commander safe. We don't have a choice but to trust them right now," she said. "We need to focus on the mission. I'm worried about Barham and Baden's fleets if they're reporting foul weather."
It was a poor excuse, especially when they'd just checked in a few moments ago, but it was obvious enough to Augusta what Wales was really trying to do. She took a moment to calm herself and nodded, picking up her communicator. "Barham, can you hear me."
"Augusta? Yes, I hear you," Barham answered. "Is there something you require of me?"
Augusta felt a small weight lift from her shoulders. At least one fleet she was worried about seemed to still be safe. "How are conditions on your end?"
"Weather is poor, but not of concern," Barham informed her. "The usual for the North Sea. I've asked the carriers to return home with a few escorts, though. We will not be able to get any planes up in this weather."
Augusta clicked her tongue in annoyance at that news. She didn't doubt Barham's capabilities, but that fleet hadn't been built with a lack of carriers in mind. "Alright. What is your plan, then?"
Barham took a while to answer, and for a moment Augusta feared that another fleet had found trouble. Finally, Barham spoke again. "We plan to take our current target, and then we will change course and join up with Baden's fleet. Augusta… If I asked you to call off the operation now, would you? If I said that my very spirit screams that we're making a mistake trying to pull such a big move so early?"
Augusta quickly shared a look with Wales. "Barham, what are you saying?"
"Pay me no mind," she replied, tiredness creeping into her tone. "It was nothing more than something floating around as a thought. I will let you know when we've met with Baden's fleet. Please keep yourselves safe."
Augusta didn't respond, hearing the click of Barham closing the channel. "'Just a thought,' huh?" she mused, tapping a finger against her arm. "Wales, what do you think? I don't… We've worked too hard to get to this point just to turn around, but…"
Wales smiled reassuringly. "It's still fine, Augusta," she promised. "Barham's sense of intangible things is not something to be taken lightly, and I understand your concern that she has a bad feeling. But if she had a genuine vision, she would not only hint at it. She would have said outright that we need to call off a fleet or the entire operation. I can say that much for her."
Augusta only made a humming sound of acknowledgment but didn't seem reassured. Wales sighed, shaking her head. "This isn't like you, being so indecisive. Is the situation with Mackensen bothering you that much or are you not telling me something?"
"I can't hide anything from you, can I?" Augusta asked, that in and of itself an admission of guilt. "It's not only the Commander's fleet, though that's top priority right now. I hate knowing that I can't do anything about it."
"What else is distracting you?"
Augusta smiled sheepishly at being caught trying to avoid the full question. "The fact that there are signs of the Iberian Crown being active, and that it seems like they've come up with firepower that doesn't match the number of survivors there should be after everything. Oriskany said that there was a ship from the Crown meeting with Friedrich while she was there for discussions. And when I got back to my office after the operation meeting, it was obvious someone had gone through my things. Given who showed up late, I have my suspicions about the Northern Parliament, but I can't figure out why they would be looking for that information."
Wales frowned, able to figure out where Augusta's mind was going. "You think there's some connection between all of this and the disappearances of Kalinin and Kaganovich?"
Augusta shook her head. "Not quite. And don't forget Molotov and Voroshilov. Things with the Northern Parliament just aren't adding up either. I'd hoped this operation would show a united front and remind everyone who the real enemy is, but it feels like it's just highlighted how divided things still are. Everyone is still looking to stab each other in the back to get a leg up for themselves."
"Augusta, my planes have spotted a Siren fleet approaching from 10 o'clock!" called a pink-haired woman.
"We'll have to finish this discussion another time, Wales. Ranger, you know the drill - get those planes up and don't give them an inch to make a move! We'll sink every last one of them here!"
"There's some sort of construct to the southeast," Zuihou informed the fleet, opening her eyes so she could look in the direction her planes were returning from. "Carabiniere and Exeter, are you able to confirm from the surface?"
"There's nothing here," Carabiniere responded, but then quickly corrected herself. "Wait, I do see something! It's… There's a whole city underwater?! We couldn't see it until we were right over it."
Apocrypha blinked, looking at the other fleet members in surprise, even more shocked to see that this didn't even sound like something strange to them. "Why are you all acting so normal about an underwater city?!" she questioned. "That's not normal!"
"Actually, it's pretty par for the course in a Mirror Sea," Biloxi explained, shrugging. "Sometimes the facilities in Mirror Seas are pretty normal, but it's not a surprise if there's something underwater or floating in the air or whatever."
"Biloxi is right," Mackensen agreed. "Let's meet up with Carabiniere and Exeter and find the entrance to the city. The power source will likely be somewhere in there."
Apocrypha frowned, leaning over the side of Vercingetorix's ship to watch the water below them as they sailed toward the coordinates sent by the scouting pair. "How are we supposed to get underwater? None of you are submarines. Unless someone's able to turn into one."
Zuihou snorted. "Technically, any ship could become a submarine. Just once, and permanently, but technically."
"That's not even funny," Dunkerque muttered, shaking her head but only getting a shrug and wry smile from Zuihou.
"I'm not saying we should sink ourselves," Zuihou pointed out. "The Commander asked a question and I gave her an answer. But we all know there's probably some hidden entrance on the surface. It's just going to take some searching to find it."
It was a few hours before they reached the city's coordinates, Carabiniere and Exeter standing nearby while Zuihou's planes had been sent out again to circle above the area. From a distance on the surface, the water above the city had appeared no different, but up close there was almost a perfectly clear view down on the city, only blemished by the water's ripples.
Apocrypha looked between the almost perfectly clear surface and the planes above, debating how deep the layer of water over the city might actually be to still be fairly clear. "Zuihou, I want you to try something. See if one of your planes can break through the 'ceiling' over the city, would you?"
Zuihou looked at her skeptically. "You want me to crash one of my planes into the water? Seriously? Have you lost your mind?"
Apocrypha shook her head. "I have a theory I want to test. Don't crash the plane, but see if the guns can put a scratch on this top layer."
Zuihou sighed. "Fine. Everyone, please move back. This isn't going to be pretty if it hits the water," she warned. Once they had all moved back a distance, she called one of the planes down, directing the craft into a dive toward the surface above the city. Structures within the city lit up as the plane drew close, breaking the water's surface and opening fire on the aircraft at the same time as its machine guns opened up to lay fire across the water's surface before being brought down by the anti-air fire.
Zuihou winced as the wreckage smashed into the water, calling more planes down to fire on the dome beneath the surface while others fired at the AA turrets. Most of the planes were shot down, only a couple managing to strafe the dome where thin, glowing cracks had started to form, but even those planes were quickly shot down as they ascended in preparation for another run.
Mackensen had already converted her ship back into her riggings again, the other girls following suit except for Vercingetorix, and Apocrypha could hear the groan of steel as her guns were brought around to aim at the new structures that had risen above the water. Mackensen's rust red beasts wound around her restlessly, skeletal jaws clacking impatiently in anticipation of being given their orders. Before Mackensen could give the order, Apocrypha cut in.
"We don't know if blasting an opening into the dome will trigger other defensive structures. Let's look for the actual entrance for a while first. If we haven't found it in, say, two hours, we'll force our way through. Deal?"
Mackensen scrutinized her, stroking one of the metallic beasts while she considered the options presented. "Fine."
"There's an island not too far from this spot," Zuihou commented, tilting her head curiously as she sent her planes to investigate. "There's a small mass-produced fleet there, too. Heh. Guess the Sirens know we're here at this point. I didn't see it when I found the city here, so it must have been raised like the anti-air devices."
"Why are we still standing around, then? Let's go!" Biloxi pushed, already moving to follow the path of the aircraft.
By the time they reached the islet, Zuihou's planes had already put the mass-produced fleet out of commission, leaving smoking wreckage in the water. Mackensen motioned for the fleet to remain on standby nearby, approaching the wreckages to inspect them. "These are outdated models. Maybe a few minor upgrades, but nothing significant," she announced, circling the damaged ships one last time before making her way onto the shore. "This island isn't big. I'm not surprised you missed it, Zuihou."
"I'm telling you, it wasn't here before," the carrier argued, herself stepping onto the sand of the shore. "This close to where we saw the city, even though it's this small, I couldn't have missed it unless it wasn't here. Especially with ships anchored right off of the shore."
Vercingetorix rolled her eyes, helping Apocrypha down from her ship before finally transforming the ship into her rigging to join the others. "Arguing about whether it was here previously or not aside, it should not take us long to investigate an island of such small size. Commander, please stay close."
Apocrypha nodded, following closely behind Vercingetorix while the group explored the island, something eventually catching her eye. She tapped Vercingetorix's arm to get her attention before pointing to a waterfall. At first glance, it seemed normal enough, except for the lack of even so much as a pool at the base of it. "I think we found our entrance."
Vercingetorix whistled to get the others' attention. "The Commander's found something. Over here."
The fleet crowded near the waterfall, sharing looks amongst themselves as if in a silent argument who was going to take the chance checking it out first. Finally, Biloxi stepped forward, one hand on the cold, wet stone as she inched forward until her hand felt the edge of an opening. She steeled herself and then stepped around the edge and through the falling water, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness of the yawning cavern before her. "There's an opening here and what looks like stairs. The water flows down the stairs, though. It's going to be slippery if we try going this way," she warned. "And it's dark. Visibility is going to be horrible. It could be a setup for an ambush."
Apocrypha fidgeted, wrestling with herself on if it was worth the risk if this turned out to be a dead end that didn't connect to the underwater city. At the same time, they needed to find a way out, and this was their first sign they'd actually be able to do something with. "We'll go slow and stay close. Let's see where this leads."
