Chapter 8
*September 7th, 2023: ...I know it's been awhile since I wrote anything, but with how hectic and busy everything's been... yeah. Well, better late than never I guess.
Honestly? I'm scared shitless, and would love NOTHING more than just not go out there and risk getting my girls killed against the Sirens because I gave out bad orders. Yeah, I know. That's why they were created in the first place or whatever, but fuck that. I don't want to lose them. I don't want to die either. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!
...I seriously need a stiff drink, but yeah, no.
Man, if I'm this bad sober, then drunk me would be a hopeless wreck.
...Anyway, venting/rant session over. For now, anyway.
...
Y'know? writing all this shit out really did make me feel a little better. Still, I really, REALLY hope these aren't my last words. Ngl. It'd be embarrassing as fuck if somebody found this later and realized how much of a scared little shit I was. Call it useless male pride if you want but yeah, fuck off! *
xxx xxx xxx
Pacific Ocean: Area C-222.
[Explorer Unit 419 to Operations Leader Tester: Multiple unknown energy signatures detected entering within range of our assigned patrol area. Distance, 700. Orders?]
[Operations Leader Tester to Explorer Unit 419 and attached patrol units: Commence 'Open Observation' pattern 31-C. Engage only if it is confirmed that the unknowns contain an aerial combat support carrier and/or accompanying kansen. In which case, switch from 'Open Observation' to 'Gradual Probing' patterns 11-A through 25-E. Contact for further instructions if/when the situation changes. Otherwise, ignore them unless they attack first.]
[Explorer Unit 419 and attached patrol units to Operations Leader Tester: Understood.]
xxx xxx xxx
"...Ahh~! Take a good, long whiff of that sweet, salty ocean air!" cheerfully exclaimed a tall and buxom long haired bluenette wearing a rather form fitting (and very flattering) skintight outfit as she glided along the water's surface with her glittering, equally vibrant blue eyes taking in the sight of the world outside her island home. Unicorn, the petite light aircraft carrier next to her, shyly nodded while their petite pinkette fleet leader giggled at her friend's antics. "Hmm? And what's so funny, huh? Got something to say, Pinky?" New Jersey asked in a teasing tone while looking over her shoulder.
"No, no it's nothing, I promise. It's just nice seeing you both look so excited, that's all," Saratoga replied with a soft, honest smile. In that moment, the normally hyperactive and loud pinkette really looked like the 'Big Sister' she always claimed herself to be. At least, that's what New Jersey and Unicorn thought anyway. "...Hmm? What's up?"
"...Wow..!"
"..." 'Huh. I never thought she'd look... so mature.'
"It's just, you're both looking at me like it's the first time we've ever met or something. Everything alright? If something's on your mind, you know you can always talk to your Big Sister Sara!" said the little aircraft carrier with a wink before twirling into her characteristic little idol pose... that somehow generated sparkles in the process.
New Jersey just smiled and shook her head. "... 's nothing. Just that you really did look like a 'big sister' there for a sec, that's all,"
"Hey! I'll have you know that Sara is totally a Big Sister, so of course I'd look like one!"
"Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, while New Jersey and Saratoga were preoccupied with their little back and forth, Unicorn just quietly continued to enjoy the feel of the cool ocean breeze against her skin while letting her body move on its own.
xxx xxx xxx
At that exact moment, just outside the Liberty and shipgirl fleets' detection range.
[Explorer Unit 419 to attached patrol units: Confirmed: 2nd generation kansen units detected. Repeat: 2nd generation kansen units detected. Now shifting over from 'Open Observation' to 'Gradual Probing' mode. As per Operation Leader Tester's orders: All units, begin with scenario pattern 12-B]
With practice and synchronized, fluid motions, every Explorer unit and escort Pawns, Knights and Bishops in the immediate area simultaneously turned their guns on the still unaware ACSC and shipgirl fleets...-
...
[Explorer Unit 419 to attached patrol units: ...Commence opening barrage!]
-...and fired.
*BOOM! BOOM!*
xxx xxx xxx
On the bridge of the Liberty.
"Incoming wide area enemy artillery fire! Standard Executor and mass production type Siren waveform patterns confirmed! Directions: ten o'clock port and two o'clock starboard side! Distance: 300!" called out Enterprise from her console. "Estimated impact in just under a hundred seconds!"
"Tell our shipgirls to pull back to the rear and let the Liberty tank the shots! We will then commence covering fire as they move in to directly engage the enemy!" Liam ordered as he glanced down at the combat reports the three maids and Metis were sending his way. "Alright, deploy reactive energy barriers at max output and shift over to combat speed one! We're gonna charge in and force the enemy formation in half so the girls can take them on one at a time!"
"...A bit risky, but I do agree that it's likely our best option now that we've lost the element of surprise. Fortune favors the bold, after all," Metis commented as she ran through various simultaneous combat scenarios to see how her Commander's orders would most likely play out. "But, that's assuming the enemy doesn't have any more surprises waiting for us anyway."
"Our submarines haven't detected anyone else yet, so we 'should' be alright for now," Liam replied, trying to keep positive, at least on the outside anyway. 'Still sucks that they got the jump on us like that though...'
Metis nodded. "True, but this does confirm that we really couldn't afford to ignore them after all... If the Sirens were this trigger happy, imagine what they'd have done if they found Outer Heaven."
"...Yeah. We'd be screwed," Liam admitted, shuddering at the thought. "Anyway, something like this wasn't outside the realm of possibility for us, right? I mean, that's why we decided to bring as many shipgirls as we did, right?"
"True. And speaking of which," Metis then turned her attention to the three very busy maids currently working frantically to coordinate the two shipgirl fleets as they began to engage the now divided Sirens on either side of the Liberty. "It might have been a bit rushed, but it looks like our training efforts paid off, at least a little."
Liam nodded, thankful for at least not having to go into this battle completely inexperienced. "...Yeah." 'Still, I wish our first battle wasn't an ambush but oh well.'
Meanwhile, with the three maids turned bridge bunnies.
"This is Sirius to escort combat fleet leaders Prinz Eugen and Saratoga. Enemy forces currently number roughly twenty, with the majority being mass produced Pawns and Knights led by humanoid Explorers. They're fast, but shouldn't be anything you can't handle. The Liberty will back you up with covering fire, so keep your comm lines open for the warning."
[This is Prinz Eugen. Understood.]
[Sister Sara here! Roger that~!✩]
Meanwhile, Sheffield was working furiously to calibrate the Liberty's reactive shields, cursing her lot in life the whole time. 'Tch! Dammit all to hell! Why did I let those two talk me into taking this stressful job with a blasted game of rock-paper-scissors!'
"..." Enterprise, for her part, was quietly deploying several more observation drones to gather more data to get a better picture of the battle.
- With Prinz Eugen's fleet -
*BOOM!*
"Uwaaa! Too close! Blasted mass produced Siren wretches!" Vampire shouted with pure, haughty disgust as she narrowly evaded another round of fire from the two Pawns in front of her, even managing to knock a shell away with her unique, chain and anchor-like tail in the process before finally losing it. "Tch! How dare you! For you soulless puppets to think to bare your fangs at me! ...Know your place!"
Anger fully roused, the now very incensed silver haired noble vampire(?) summoned forth a blood red rapier to her right hand from within a swirl of rose petals, complete with a flourish before aiming her own guns at the now distracted Sirens. Meanwhile Belfast, who happened to be headed her way after finishing off her own enemy units, could only lightly giggle at her fellow Royal Navy fleet sister's rather showy antics. Eugen, on the other hand, could only shake her head and sigh in exasperation at the petite silverette's theatrics.
"...Is she always like that?" Eugen, who hadn't actually spent much time with Vampire herself, couldn't help but ask.
"Oh yes. Lady Vampire is quite the showy one indeed. Especially when she gets caught up in the moment like this. Just ask Master Liam after she's had one too many glasses of wine and feels the need to 'feed on his most sweet and delicious life's blood'," Belfast replied, smiling a bit at the memory of the absolutely priceless look on her beloved master's face during their first night in bed together.
"...Oh~? Now you've got me very curious..." Hearing this, Eugen naturally couldn't just let this prime and juicy bit of future teasing/blackmail material escape her scheming grasp so easily now. "Please, do share~ "
"Later, I promise. And only if you get more kills than I do, Lady Eugen."
"Oh? Challenge accepted then!"
- Meanwhile, a little further behind the three vanguard shipgirls -
"She really leans into the whole 'noble vampire with dark magic' aesthetic, huh? What with the swirling rose petals and all," Kii remarked, mildly amused at seeing the smaller, silver haired and twintailed beauty with blade in hand and guns blazing in a whirlwind dance of death, flower petals, and haughty insults.
"A little too flashy for me, but I won't deny the results," Jean Bart calmly replied. "Then again, Alabama there probably takes the cake. What with actually kicking the ones unfortunate enough to get too close to her."
And, just as the ponytailed brunette said, the very athletic and sporty looking Union girl put her toned and slender legs to good use as she sent another unfortunate Explorer flying backwards before finishing the Siren off with her mounted 356mm main guns. "...Eat this!"
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
"And that takes care of that!" Alabama declared with a proud, if subtle, grin and twinkle in her eye before moving on to help Eugen and the others. Just then, a call came in from the Liberty.
[Liberty to combat escort fleets 1 and 2: We will soon commence the first round of covering fire roughly thirty seconds from the end of this transmission. Repeat: We will soon commence the first round of covering fire roughly thirty seconds from the end of this transmission. Take cover girls!]
...
"Alright, you heard the Kommandant ladies! MOVE!"
xxx xxx xxx
A literal rain of death covered the sky above before the first explosions rang out from the combined assault of the Liberty's artillery fire and shipgirls' guns and bomber squadrons. And just like that, the entire battle situation was turned on its head when the Sirens made the mistake of pushing in too far, too fast and left themselves wide open by focusing too much on chasing them down instead of keeping their distance.
[Explorer Unit 323 to surrounding forces: Status report.]
...
[Explorer Unit 419 to Explorer Unit 323: 75% of total right flank combat forces either crippled or taken out completely. Unable to continue engaging. Recommend either retreat or reorganize our remaining forces to move in and reinforce the remaining left flank's units and hold until the mail Operations Leader Tester arrives.]
[Explorer Unit 323 to Explorer Unit 419 and accompanying surviving units: In accordance with the overall objectives as outlined by Operations Leader Tester: We should continue fighting until reinforcement units arrive.]
[Explorer Unit 419 to Explorer Unit 323: Understood. Now shifting to full offense and beginning background transfer of accumulated combat data.]
With roughly under half their total forces left, the remaining Sirens, under the general leadership of Explorer Units 323 and 419, initiated one final, all out offensive. After all, the more data they collected, the better.
[Explorer Unit 323 to all remaining forces: Use of 15% combat limiter release permitted under emergency exception protocols.]
With a chorus of affirmatives, the remaining Siren force began their 'last stand' with the deafening roar of their own artillery guns and torpedoes.
xxx xxx xxx
Several minutes into the shipgirls' second engagement with the Sirens.
"...Nnn! Go, away...!" Eldridge quietly hissed as she discharged another blast of super charged bio-electricity at the Knights relentlessly chasing her.
*ZZZZAAAAPPPP!*
Thanks to being on the water, Eldridge's already dangerous attacks were enhanced, nearly doubling in their damage output and completely halting the Sirens in their tracks as their systems were temporarily cut off from the shared network they used to communicate and coordinate their actions.
"...Ooh! Payback, time...!"
"...Zappy, zappy! So cool...!"
Meanwhile, and off to the side, Anchorage was obliviously cheering happily for her blonde fleet sister without a care in the world while Black Prince just shook her head and sighed at the little zapper's antics and Anchorage's reactions.
"...These girls, I swear. Just what was the Commander and Metis thinking, mixing up the fleets last minute like this..."
[Oh come on, don't be like that. Besides, Sister Sara is SUPER happy that she gets to have such cute little sisters on her team! And a fellow pinkette too! Just enjoy the moment, will you?]
"...Really? Can't you take this more seriously, Miss Sara?"
[Oh, but Big Sister Sara is always serious~!✩ Besides, it's not like being overly serious would do us any good, especially for those two; which is why Liam assigned them to the same fleet with plenty of reliable big sisters who can reliably keep an eye on them, like yours truly~!✩]
"...Uh huh, right."
Just then, and before the two could say anything else, Anchorage suddenly decided to join Eldridge... and ended up playing around more than fighting. Luckily, there weren't as many enemies left thanks to the Liberty's earlier attack while Jersey and Saratoga, who was still talking to Black Prince, were busy working with Eugen's fleet dealing with the rest and keeping them away from the childish pair.
"...Eldridge, so cool...!"
"... 'V'!"
"Well, at least they're staying on task, if nothing else," Black Prince said. "Anyway, we're pretty much done here. Do you want us to meet up with you and Miss Eugen's group, or hang back and guard the Liberty?"
[We've got it handled and should be done so just hang back and keep the Liberty safe.]
"Roger that," Black Prince then turned and called over to Eldridge and Anchorage. "Come on girls, time to take a stroll and make sure no one gets too close to the Commander, okay?"
"...Keep Liam, safe? Okay!" 'Good job means headpats... and lap!'
"Go, go!" 'Keep Teach safe means headpats and reading time!'
Without waiting for their fellow vanguard's reply, the two dashed off ahead, apparently hoping to see which one of them could get there first, prompting Black Prince to lightly shake her head before following after them. 'Well, I suppose making sure they stay out of trouble is a big sister's job too, right?'
- On the bridge of the Liberty -
"...Wow. I, seriously didn't expect that to work out as well as it did. Huh, lucky us I guess," Liam remarked while letting out a sigh of relief. 'Then again, that still felt a little too easy. I mean, would the Sirens really be caught off guard so easily like that, and with a force that small? Especially when they were able to get the jump on us in the first place?'
"Commander? What's wrong?" Metis asked, seeing the slight frown now on Liam's face.
"...Just, I'm not really sure what to make of what just happened. Like, don't you think their formation crumbled a little too easily there? I mean, I know we got them in a surprise attack too but still. I'm no expert on these things or whatever, but..."
Metis shook her head. "No, you're right. They surprised us first and pushed their numbers advantage right away. We might have succeeded in giving our fleets some breathing room just now but... the Sirens really shouldn't have taken nearly as many losses as they did. So yes, something does feel a little off about it..."
"...Hey. You don't think that they 'let' us hit them like that, do you?" Liam asked, voicing the only idea that made any sense at the moment. "Like, maybe they wanted to test what we could do? I mean, they have the ability to just endlessly keep spawning, so maybe they're okay with just... throwing away numbers like that if they think they can learn something from it...?"
"...That's true. Such behavior was quite common for them during the early years of the First Siren War... Wait, if that's true then-"
"-Incoming enemy reinforcements!" Enterprise shouted. "Distance: 200! Numbers: roughly sixty, with the bulk being humanoid Executor types with one very high level signal at the head of their formation... *gasp!* Signal match confirmed! It's an Elite Command Unit!"
"...Well, fuck me...!" Liam groaned, facepalming and cursing their incredibly bad luck. "That clinches it then. They baited us, and good too ... Shit!"
"You're probably right," Metis conceded, frustrated that she, a supposedly hyper advanced combat AI loaded with decades worth of Siren related combat records, could have missed this. "We hadn't seen them use these sorts of tactics in over half a century but there was no reason why I shouldn't have expected something like this either! Dammit!"
"Well, AI or not, this is your first time in the field too, so don't worry too much about it," Liam said reassuringly before turning his attention back to his three maid turned bridge bunnies. "Enterprise, keep an eye on the enemy and send that info to the others. Sirius, get in touch with the submarines and call them back, then tell the reserve fleet to get ready to sortie. It's earlier than I'd have liked, but oh well. Sheffield, begin charging the bow mounted ether cannons and resetting our reactive shields in time for the next wave!"
The three blondes nodded, each giving their affirmative before quickly moving to fulfill their Commander's orders.
"You're holding up rather well for a rank amateur. Even looking the part of a real Commander, if only a little bit," Metis half praised, half teased. Liam, meanwhile, just shrugged and smiled somewhat sheepishly.
"Fake it til you make it, right? Seriously though, I'm honestly scared shitless."
"Still, you really are doing a good job."
"Hehe. Thanks."
- Liberty: fleet launch deck -
"Looks like things are getting serious..," Peter Strasser thought aloud as she went over Enterprise's latest sitrep as she and the others prepared to head out.
"Oh, but that's quite fortunate for us, no?" Akagi said with a predatory smile on her face and matching glint in her eyes.
"The sly vixen's right," Taihou added while waving her tessen about, causing small crimson flames to flicker in and out, her own red eyes glowing ever so brightly with anticipation.
"...And of course you two battle maniacs would be excited," Strasser muttered, resigned that she'd likely have to let them do their own thing once they actually got outside. Meanwhile, Ayanami and Javelin were still busy trying to wake the ever sleeping Laffey up.
"Hey, Ayaya. I don't think just shaking her is gonna work..," Javelin said over her spacey fellow destroyer's shoulder.
"Well then. What do you suggest we do?" Ayanami asked back.
Hand on her hip and with an all too smug grin on her small and cute face, Javelin quickly produced a bottle of soda and uncorked it before stepping closer to the sleeping little rabbit. "Just leave it to me, 'kay? I've got this."
Ayanami just quirked an eyebrow but didn't reply, instead just stepping back and watched as the ponytail'd purplette held the freshly opened oxy-cola bottle close to the sleeping Laffey.
"...?"
The results were near instant.
"...Whoa!"
With speed faster than one thought possible, said freshly opened oxy-cola vanished and was being chugged down with reckless abandon by the lavender haired, twintailed bunny themed, ever sleepy destroyer... complete with a soft little burp of utter satisfaction at the end before producing another fresh bottle from, somewhere.
"...Holy crap, that actually worked? And where does she even keep pulling those from...?"
Javelin just shrugged. "Who knows. Anyway, Laffey's up now, so it's whatever, right?"
"Hey, I hate to intrude on your cute little merrymaking, but it's time to go," Strasser said, getting the three destroyers' attention.
"...Time to go?" Laffey asked, not really knowing what was going on.
Strasser nodded. "Ja. We've got Sirens to fight."
This statement seemed to perk up the little rabbit as a strangely, fierce light shone in Laffey's normally perpetually sleepy looking eyes.
"Oh, and apparently an Elite's shown up too," Strasser added.
"...Roger that..!" Laffey replied, now fully awake and motivated. Well, as 'awake' as she could manage anyway. Ayanami and Javelin simply nodded and silently followed after their taller Iron Blood fleet sister.
"Alright girls, I don't know what to expect out there, but remember not to act on your own. Got it?"
[Metis to Strasser Fleet: The enemy will be closing in less than seventy-five seconds.]
"About time!" Akagi said, her own crimson eyes flashing with anticipation.
...
*BBBOOOOMMMM!*
However, just as Strasser and the others were about to go and join the others, the Liberty began to violently shake from the sudden impact of something breaking through the aerial carrier's reactive energy shields and knocking them all off balance and onto the floor.
xxx xxx xxx
A few moments earlier; at the head of the incoming Siren formation.
"..."
Not one to waste time and wanting to make a good first impression, Tester aimed all of her beam cannons affixed to her vaguely manta ray shaped rigging at the flying ship off in the distance and, without a word, fired them all.
xxx xxx xxx
*BBBOOOOOMMM!*
Alarms blared loudly as the Liberty buckled under the strain of multiple high energy blasts breaking through its shields and striking against the aerial carrier's reactive armor reinforced hull.
"...Oof! Ah, fuck!" Liam hissed as he fell and hit his head. "What the hell was that!? And is everyone alright?"
"Moderate damage to the Liberty's port side. Luckily, the shields took the brunt of the attack so the damage was kept relatively minor," Sheffield reported after double checking the stream of damage reports coming in, paying special attention to the reserve deck. "Also, Strasser's fleet weren't hurt and managed to safely deploy just now."
"...Well, that's good. Anyway, deploy whatever repair drones we can spare and get things patched up as quick as possible, then turn the Liberty around to face the enemy fleet as fast as you can! And make sure our main ether cannons are ready to fire at a moment's notice! They want to hit us with a surprise attack, then we'll hit them right back!" Liam ordered as he sat back down and worked on bandaging his head.
"Yes Master!" said all three Royal Maids in unison.
"Metis."
"Yes?"
"Can you check and see if the girls outside are alright?"
Metis nodded. "Leave it to me."
"Great, thanks. Once you get in touch with them, tell them to get behind the Liberty and prepare to go on the offensive once we've fired off the main, bow mounted ether cannons."
- With the incoming Siren fleet led by Tester -
"..." 'Hmm. That aerial carrier's shields actually managed to absorb most of the energy from my cannons. Granted, I might have gone a little overboard there so I was a little worried there for a second there, but they managed to weather it all the same. I wonder what they'll do ne-Huh!?'
Tester's thoughts were abruptly cut short when her long range sensors suddenly picked up a rapidly incoming high energy wave headed her way from the direction of said unknown flying ship.
"...Shit, that might actually hurt...!"
A few seconds later, her whole world was swallowed up in the blindingly bright light of insanely hot and dense, super charged, weaponized ether.
...
*BBOOOMM!*
Moments later, anyone unfortunate enough to not protect themselves or evade in time was engulfed and thoroughly vaporized in a violent maelstrom of magical energy that left nothing behind but steam from super heated water. Or at least, that should have been the case anyway...
"...Oh man that was close...!"
Sadly for Liam and the others, Elite Sirens didn't earn their titles for nothing as Tester deactivated her light bluish spherical, multilayered barrier made of countless hexagons that was just large enough to barely cover and protect the entirety of her own personal fleet. Then, after taking a moment to catch her breath, the scantily clad, golden eyed, blue haired Siren stared at the approaching Liberty with a smug smirk.
"Better than I expected. Very good, very good. And almost just as powerful as the suppressed barrage I used only a moment ago too. Still, I doubt such a powerful weapon can be fired consecutively, which means..."
xxx xxx xxx
"...And of course she'd be able to block that attack..," Saratoga groaned.
"Well, she is a Siren Elite, so y'know," replied New Jersey, patting her on the back in a comforting manner.
"Feh! Elite or not, she's still going to fall like all the rest. I'll make sure of it myself!" Akagi confidently declared, eyes flashing with excitement at FINALLY being able to cut loose and vent her rage from the Siren's earlier surprise attack.
"Not before I roast her on a spit first!" hissed out an equally livid Taihou who was actually emitting crimson flames as she spoke.
"Wow those two are pissed," New Jersey cautiously observed while taking a small step back, both from the heat and the sheer amount of killing intent the pair were giving off.
"Well, you would be too if you almost got crushed by a pair of falling, very heavy metal doors," answered Strasser, frowning a bit recalling that particular memory.
"From when the Siren hit the Liberty?" Saratoga asked.
Strasser nodded. "Ja. They rushed in and pulled our three little vanguards away just seconds before they came crashing down on top of them. 'Pissed' would be quite the understatement for how angry they are... And that's not the only reason either. I think you get why, right?"
"...They actually attacked the Commander directly..," Saratoga answered, her normally vibrant lilac eyes dulling with the dark flames of an ungodly terrifying wrath that just looked so very, very wrong on her.
"...Big Sister Sara is really scary...!" Unicorn whispered while shaking like a leaf, tightly clutching an equally trembling Uni to her surprisingly well endowed chest, and hiding behind Kii, Alabama, and Jean Bart.
"Alright, that's enough of that ladies!" Eugen called out from the front of the three fleet formation with a rare tone of authority and seriousness in her voice. "The enemy is now just barely in range of our guns so get ready!"
Half a beat later and like a powerful magic spell was cast, all eighteen shipgirls shed all of their earlier silliness and fear away as they aimed and prepared to unleash their well earned vengeance.
...
And then, with a single swing of her gloved hand and command...
"...Und, feuer."
xxx xxx xxx
"Take that!" Javelin shouted as she removed her spear from another Knight before moving away and launching a quick burst at the two Explorers foolishly headed her way, their own swords in hand and guns at the ready. At the same time, similar scenes were playing out all over the place while the leaders of the three shipgirl fleets were busy 'getting acquainted' with Tester a little ways off from the others with the Liberty occasionally offering cover fire safely from the rear.
'Well now, they certainly recovered quickly after my, admittedly a little aggressive, 'greeting'. Still, they aren't my primary targets though... So, just who are they then? Well, not like it actually changes anything. They fit the testing variable conditions I was given just as well so I suppose it doesn't really matter in the end. Besides...' Tester then wore a feral smile as she deftly evaded Saratoga and Strasser's bombers while simultaneously blocking Eugen's saber with her lance, sparks erupting from the impact of their weapons clashing. 'Huh. That's not a bad strategy. The two aircraft carriers bombard me with endless planes and cannon fire while the heavy cruiser charges in and forces the match into close quarters combat while the aerial carrier covers the other shipgirls safely from the back and helps keeps the rest of my forces away. Well then, let's just see what sort of data you lot provide then, shall we?'
"...I don't like that look in her eyes," Strasser commented with some annoyance while watching Eugen and Tester's little melee and waiting for another opportunity to strike.
"Why?"
"Because it's like she's just playing around with us. Like she isn't really taking us seriously."
"...Um, she is an Elite Siren y'know. Maybe that's just how they are? Like, all cocky and stuff?" Saratoga posited, not entirely sure what to make of the enemy before them herself, having never actually met a real Siren before now.
Strasser shook her head before letting loose another squad of bombers. "No, it's not just that. Anyway, let's put that aside for now and focus on making her take us a little more seriously instead, ja?"
Saratoga smiled at the taller ravenette's suggestion. "Oh, I like that idea! Let's totally make this a three on one dance! It's a perfect chance for Big Sister Sara to show off her stuff too!"
Minds made up, the pair of aircraft carriers summoned their own weapons from the same unique 'subspace pocket' that housed their riggings and quickly moved in to join their silver haired fleet sister and really put some pressure on the smug Siren in front of them.
xxx xxx xxx
A/N:
AAANNNNDDDD... That's another chapter down!
1. Sorry, I know I said I wanted to released this at the end of the month, but stuff came up and I couldn't get to editing until Saturday afternoon. My mind just wasn't in it... Not really an excuse so much as simply being honest... Again, my apologies.
2. I had fun writing up this chapter. Admittedly, it's a bit all over the place jumping around scenes and all, but I think that accurately reflects the nature of how hectic things could get in battle, and remember... this is their first real one against the Sirens. That in mind, I wanted to be sure that I showed that by adding in moments entirely from their perspective.
3. The submarines are around but haven't made a proper appearance yet, but I plan to have them play a bigger role that'll give Liam and the others an edge in their first fight and and provide a better excuse for Tester to leave since she still has a mission to complete and a target to deal with.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and see you next release!