Chapter 16
- With Liam, his shipgirls, and the mayor -
In the now crowded tournament observation booth.
"...So, I'm curious," the mayor began.
"Hm? What about?" Liam replied without taking his eyes off the sudden six on one match in the ring.
"Can someone explain how there can be two of the same shipgirl? I didn't know that was even possible."
Liam nodded. "Oh, yeah. I'd only learned about that just recently too, but this is the first time I've seen it myself, but then... it's been nothing but firsts for awhile now, each one more ridiculous than the last. Honestly, something like this barely even fazes me at this point."
"Heh, fair enough."
"Anyway, about why there can be more than one of any shipgirl? Before I answer that, I'm guessing you don't know very much about shipgirls in general, right?"
"Nope. Just that they're some kind of super weapon the Azur Lane Alliance developed to help us win the First Siren War and that only those called Commanders, like you, can lead them. That's it really. They haven't been seen in decades since then and any information about them comes by way of second or third hand rumors and tall tales."
"Makes sense. I didn't even really know anything about them either until I 'constructed' my first shipgirl, Akashi," Liam admitted. "Anyway, long story short, shipgirls are the result of a highly complex but streamlined 'grand summoning ritual' that needs a human intermediary with both a specific and high magical compatibility with the summoning system itself for it to work. From there, and assuming there aren't any other issues, it all just boils down to 'who' responds to the summoning request, which is what ultimately determines the form and personality the shipgirl takes when 'constructed' and why no one Commander will summon the exact same shipgirl regardless of whether they repeatedly use the same 'origin' and information vessel catalysts or not. Basically, you can think of the two Eugens down there as unique interpretations of the same heavy cruiser they derived their form and abilities from. Or, to put it all another way, even though they share the same base specs, history, identity, and purpose as shipgirls... the very fact that it was a different Commander who called out to and summoned them means that who responds will also naturally be different as well. For me, it was the silver haired tease while for this Yang Wen-li, it was the blue haired one with the more serious personality. Details might be different here and there, but at their core they are undeniably both the same but different Prinz Eugen."
"...I see. Well, no not really, but I guess that's magic for you."
Liam chuckled and nodded in understanding. "Well, it's not like I totally get it either, but that's how it was explained to me... even if it's all mostly just crazy nonsensical magical bullshit that flies right over my head half the time. All that really matters to me is that they're here and we get along, which is all that matters to me really. Leave all the how's, why's, and all that other complicated shit to the mages and researchers to puzzle out and make sense of. I've got my hands full as it is."
"Hahaha! You really do just go with the flow, don't you?" the mayor commented while having a good laugh after hearing the young Commander's honest, unfiltered feelings. "Well, I suppose you'd need to be that flexible to deal with such a ridiculous situation, huh. If nothing else, I think you're doing a fine job so far."
"Heh, thanks. That means a lot, actually."
"Just one more question then, if I may."
"Sure, shoot."
"Who do you think will win? Your Eugen, or the light, blue haired one?"
Liam smirked. "Isn't it obvious who I'd pick?"
Mayor Mason chuckled and nodded. "I suppose so."
- In the ring -
"...Hhhaaaahhhh!"
With a roar and a spin, Prinz Eugen(blue) let loose a tremendous surge of ether to push back Liam's shipgirls from attempting to encircle her before following up with another round of artillery fire from her own rigging's main guns. However, Liam's shipgirls were stubborn... incredibly stubborn.
'...Eei!"
*ZZZZZAAAAAPPPPP*
Instead of having their formation or resolve break from being clearly outmatched by someone obviously that much stronger than they were. If anything, the challenge only strengthened their desire to beat her.
"And... Bunny toss~! Yay~! "
"...Bang, bang...!"
"... 'Bang, bang'? Really?" Jean Bart had to wonder what was going through her fleet sisters' heads. They were no doubt strong and were definitely committed to kicking this blue haired bitch's ass, but even so... 'It's just so hard not to look at them and think that they're just playing around. Well, Not Eldridge though. No, she just trying to shock the other Eugen to kingdom come...'
*ZAP! ZAP! ZZZZAAAPPP!*
Meanwhile, Prinz Eugen(blue) was busy analyzing her fellow shipgirls' combat abilities while either deftly evading or outright tanking their attacks with her ether shields. Honestly, even if they didn't have as much power or experience as she did, the light bluenette was still quite impressed by their performance so far.
'Great teamwork aside, who the hell just up and throws one of their own teammates like that? And then there's my other self and her team,' the light bluenette threw a glance at Prinz Eugen(silver) as she readied and aimed her own main guns while Jean Bart and Belfast waited for any opening they could either spot or force open. 'Not a bad plan overall. Either my other self hits me while my back's turned, the other two go on the offensive themselves, or I get worn down by the zapper and her friends instead. Whichever comes first, I suppose.'
Sure she was holding back, but even Eugen(blue) could recognize a good plan when she saw one. Still, that didn't mean she would simply let them have their way or simply stay on the defensive though.
"...! Oh, cra-...Ugh!"
Blocking Laffey's kick with one of her shields, Prinz Eugen(blue) wasted no time retaliating with one of her own, landing a heel right into the little bunny's stomach with enough force to knock the wind out of her and send her crashing right into a now panicked Anchorage who desperately tried to catch the little bunny while Eldridge and the others fired off all their main guns at her the instant she turned her back on them to deal with Laffey.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
Though they managed to get the light bluenette back on the defensive with their prolonged barrage, Liam's shipgirls knew that simply firing their guns at Eugen(blue) alone wouldn't take her down and instead focused all their fire onto one single spot, with the goal of overwhelming and punching a hole through the bluenette's shields with sheer, brute strength. Luckily for them, Eldridge was continuously hammering Eugen(blue) with her anger fueled red bio-lightning at the same time, effectively keeping the light bluenette's attention focused solely on the little zapper and her teammates.
"...Huh, so that lightning of hers can even change colors?" Jean Bart observed between her rigging's artillery fire.
"Seems so," Belfast commented. "And, judging from how red and ominous it looks, I would imagine Miss Eldridge to be quite upset indeed."
"Well, her being mad about our date with Liam aside, this blue haired strumpet comes out of nowhere and not only ruins our match, but incites a sudden six on fight instead, and then watch as her best bunny friend gets effortlessly kicked away like a soccer ball. I'd be amazed if she wasn't pissed beyond all reason by now."
"Still, as angry as she must be, Frau Eldridge hasn't let it cloud her judgment or focus. It's damn impressive," Eugen(silver) praised as she fired off another salvo at her blue haired counterpart before finally seeing the sign she and the others were waiting. "...Oh?"
"Hm? What's up?" Jean Bart asked.
"A crack, that's what," Eugen(silver) said with a grin before readying her sword once more and rushing forward, fully intent on being the first one to get a shot at her other self. Luckily, the others picked up on her intentions and stopped firing the instant they saw her close in. Well, Eldridge was still angrily throwing lightning strikes here and there but, oh well.
"...!" 'Not good!'
Needless to say, even if she saw it coming, even Eugen(blue) wouldn't be able to evade or counterattack in time thanks to the others' efforts and could only barely block Eugen(silver)'s attack at the last second.
'...To think they'd actually manage to hit the exact same point over and over like that without me even noticing. Well played, hiding their true strategy like that! Alright then you lot, if it's a serious fight you want, then it's a serious fight you'll get!'
Prinz Eugen(blue) couldn't help but feel excited as her beautiful, red eyes lit up with the joy of what was about to happen. For humanoid weapons platforms like shipgirls, Eugen(blue) wanted nothing more than to enjoy a good fight every now and then, without the life or death induced stress of having to complete a mission or fight Sirens.
"Ah, das fühlt sich großartig!"
"...Oh my, it seems we've flipped her switch," Belfast observed.
"Heh, that other you's a total pervert... I mean, what else can you call her looking like that while gettin' ready for what's basically gonna amount to a gang bang!" Jean Bart added, unable to resist.
Prinz Eugen(silver), for her part, couldn't help but giggle at Jean Bart's little jab.
"Well, it's not quite the sort of gang bang I'd like to be a part of but oh well. Speaking of some group fun, we very much need to bring that up with our dear Kommandant later, ja?"
"...Seriously?"
"But of course! I'd never ever joke about something like that, I assure you."
"...Utter degenerates, the both of you," Belfast remarked, shaking her head at their antics... while at the same time in complete agreement with her fellow silverette.
"...Um, Laffey, Eldridge?"
"Hmm?" (x2)
"...What's a 'gang bang'? Is it some kinda game? And, um... is it something we can play with Teacher?"
"...Yes! To both!" Eldridge immediately replied without any shame and/or hesitation, happily sparking her excitement as her head quickly filled up... with less than wholesome images of this and that.
"...Oh? Okay! Yay! Play with Teacher! Gang bang with Teacher~! "
"...Yup...! *glug, glug, glug!*"
...
"...Belfast?"
"Hm? What is it, Lady Jean Bart?"
"...Should we talk to Anchorage later, and where in the fuck does that little bunny keep getting those oxy-colas from, seriously! ...Acutally, are those even really oxy-colas?"
"To your first question, I'm quite sure that we needn't worry about that for the time being. As for your second and third questions?...I, really don't know," Belfast answered, honestly wondering the same thing.
"Well, whatever. Let's just go back up our Eugen for now, Oui?"
"After you."
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[Lurker Unit 366 to Operations Leader Tester: Target fleet confirmed entering the outermost boundary of Area P-19's designated operations site. Also, no new movement from the Unknown fleet currently docked at the inhabited island in Area P-20. Requesting further orders.]
[Operations Leader Tester to Lurker Unit 366 and all attached units of Cluster 66's Control Group: Continue surveillance of both Kansen fleets while staying just outside of their detection ranges until the Target fleet enters the edges of the primary operations site. Meanwhile, a secondary detached unit will draw out and bait the Unknown fleet before holding them within the designated operations site, thereby forcing the Target fleet to either directly intervene or investigate the situation. While the aforementioned detached fleet carries out their assigned tasks, the rest of the Control group fleet will commence operations once both fleets are firmly encircled within the designated operations site. Remember, discretion and stealth are key to the operation's success so the deployment of stealth field layers is highly advised.]
[Lurker Unit 366 and attached fleets to Operations Leader Tester: Orders received. Moving out.]
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Somewhere on the island, with the brown haired man.
"And that ends my report."
[So, what are your thoughts about those new shipgirls Walter?]
"Honestly? It's still too early to say. That said, they're definitely a lively bunch filled with just as many eccentrics as any other shipgirl I've seen. Personally, I like them," replied the now named Walter. "If nothing else, they've got plenty of room to grow so I think what Eugen did will be a good experience for them in the long run. That, and their little advertising stunt here is definitely winning the locals over too. Dunno whose idea that was, but damn was it a good one."
[Hearing all that, I'm looking forward to meeting them and their Commander even more now. On that note, the Hyperion should be entering the Sirens' occupation zone within the hour.]
"Gotcha. I'll let you know if anything else comes up on my end then."
"Alright, thanks."
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Back in the ring, ten minutes into the six on one match.
"...Tch! Dammit! Sure we've gotten some good hits in on your blue haired counterpart, but even if we keep up our offensive... time's running out and we're probably gonna be the ones who tire out first," Jean Bart grumbled after yet another failed attempt to overpower the light bluenette Heavy Cruiser.
"Indeed. She's a very formidable opponent... More than that though, she's definitely holding back too," Belfast pointed out.
"But that's nothing we weren't expecting, right?"
"Fair enough. And if anything, I think Miss Anchorage honestly just sees it as another excuse to play around while Miss Laffey just likes fighting. As for Miss Eldridge? Well, if I had to venture a guess, then I think she's being fueled mostly by anger at another obstacle getting in the way of her time with our dear Master's lap. That, and our opponent is another Eugen."
"And what does her being Eugen have to do with anything?" Jean Bart asked.
"Simple, for how different they seem on the surface, they're still essentially the same person at their core. In which case...-"
"-...She just likes messing with people while not showing all her cards, which can only rub someone like Eldridge the wrong way, right?"
Belfast nodded. "Exactly. At any rate, we should get a little more serious as well."
"Yeah, let's get goi-...Oof!"
And, before she could finish, Jean Bart found herself suddenly 'catching' Anchorage and Laffey.
"Whoops. Might have put a bit more force into that kick than I should've, huh. My bad..," muttered Prinz Eugen(blue) with a sheepish smile that didn't look even remotely sincere, only further enraging an already angry blonde little zapper as she sped off at full speed with her guns blazing and bio-lightning bolts zipping by like divine punishment. 'Her combat abilities just suddenly spiked... And not just her either. It seems my other self's moves have gotten noticeably sharper too. Wunderbar!'
"...Hmph!" Cue some angry, if still very cute, glaring from the angry, petite zap happy blonde.
"You know dear, it's hard to take you seriously when you look just so cute, even when you're glaring at me!" Eugen(blue) shot back as she swiftly dodged Eldridge's attacks.
*ZAP!*
"...Hmph! Smiling Blue Tease, annoying!"
*CLANG!*
"While I can't disagree with you, I think it's best you not make her any more angry, ja? After all, I'm the one who will have to deal with it later," Eugen(silver) said as she struck with a fast, diagonal slash at her other self.
"...!"
*CLANG! CLANG!*
Sparks and ether flew about as Eugen(silver)'s simply decorated military saber pushed down against Eugen(blue)'s dual blades pushing back in a cross guard.
'Tch. I hate to admit it, but Eldridge's precision attacks and the others' own constant artillery bombardment is making it really hard for me to keep holding back... Heh, I can't say that the challenge doesn't make me happy though,' Eugen(blue) mentally mused with a wry smile while at the same time realizing just how much trouble her juniors were slowly but surely piling on while still holding back her true strength. 'Still, as Long Island would put it, they're farming a ton of EXP thanks to me, hehe.'
Then, as if reading her mind, her silver haired counterpart spoke up.
"You know, holding back is fine and all... but, if you don't start actually trying to end this sooner rather than later, then I'm afraid Frau Eldridge's going to lose her patience patience and try something even more... drastic... to try and finish you off."
'...She's not wrong. And, while I'm sure I could still probably handle whatever the little blonde can throw at me, I'm not sure what would happen if she used even more power than what she's shown off so far...' Taking a glance around, Eugen(blue) saw that not only were Belfast, Jean Bart, Laffey, and Anchorage in front of the little blonde in question (who had apparently stopped attacking at some point), but they had increased the intensity of their combined artillery barrage. "...You say that, but you don't actually sound all that worried, especially since you'd be caught in hte middle of whatever she might do, extreme or not."
Eugen(silver) smirked at her other self's observation. "Because I honestly want to see her go all out against you, obviously."
"Even if you or anyone else ends up getting caught up in it?"
Prinz Eugen(silver) just shrugged. "Hey, a win is a win. Besides, I think we need to do at least this much if we want to have even half a chance of taking down a monster like you."
"...You're all crazy, you know that?"
"Hah! Says the one still holding back while taking on six shipgirls at once!"
"Not as much as you might think actually."
"Oh? Well that makes me feel a little bit better. Even so, if it means winning, ending up collateral damage isn't too bad. All it really means is that our dear Kommandant will have to spoil us even more later. In that sense, we might even have to thank you later, my dear other me~ "
"..." Eugen(blue) had no words. Really, what could she even say to that. After all, while she could totally understand that line of thinking as a shipgirl herself, those were still not the thought processes of a sane person.
Eugen(silver) and the others, seeing the look on the bluenette's face, just smiled. "We aren't too worried. After all, Frau Eldridge has far more control over her powers than you'd think, so we shouldn't be hurt too badly. You, on the other hand... well, I can only hope your shields hold up until the very end."
"Tch!" 'To make me pour all my energy into my shields. Not bad for a last ditch gamble, and probably the only move they could play too. I suppose that's what I get for taking them too lightly, huh? Well regardless, I still have no intention of going down that easily!'
There were only a little less tan two minutes left now.
"Oh, it looks like Eldridge's just about ready to go now."
"...!"
Just then, Eugen(blue) barely caught sight of something rather unexpected.
"...Is she-"
Eugen(silver) just nodded. smiling that teasing, carefree and almost unbearably smug smile of hers.
"-She is, ja."
"...Ooh! *giggle, giggle* Zappy, tingly, sparkly~! ...And, toss~! "
Just like with Laffey a little earlier, Anchorage had picked up a now sparking Eldridge and... tossed her straight at a bewildered, still pinned down, Prinz Eugen(blue). But, before she could say or do anything, Eldridge was right in front of her, just close enough to hear what she said next.
"...Blue Tease, get zapped...!"
*ZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPP!*
In an instant, the whole ring was filled with the sounds of thunder and the endlessly bright flashes of countless lightning strikes streaming out of the blonde shipgirl turned shipgirl shaped hand grenade.
"...Oh, shi-"
*... Crack...!*
Unfortunately for her, that was just the last little push Liam's shipgirls needed to finally break through the older shipgirl's hexagon shaped ether shields.
- At around the same time, with Liam and the others -
"...Holy crap...!" was all Enterprise could utter at the sheer ridiculousness of her sisters' battle against Eugen(blue).
"Who knew little Eldridge made such an effective grenade," Sheffield observed with a little smirk. "Still, seeing both her and Laffey being used as makeshift missiles isn't just highly unorthodox, but oddly more effective than I expected." 'And absolutely hilarious, though I think I'll keep that thought to myself.'
"Oh, and what is it that has you smiling like that, dear Sheffy?" Sirius asked, seeing the rare smile on her normally placid and stoic looking maid's face.
Said Sheffy just shook her head. "It's nothing. More importantly, do you think that opening they made will be enough to turn things around for Eugen and the others?"
"Hm. It's tough to say. While I'd like to say 'yes', I don't think the other Eugen will make it easy for them. What about you, Master? What are your thoughts?"
"Me? Um, I think that if she keeps holding back for whatever reason then the others might actually have a real shot at getting a victory," Liam said. "Naturally, I'm still gonna root for our Eugen and the others, of course."
"Wait, she's holding back?" Mayor Mason asked, a surprised look on his face.
Liam nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I don't think there's any way that my girls, who've only been up and in service for that long, really have a shot at actually beating another shipgirl who's got hundreds of times more experience and service time... at least, not without a big handicap. Nah, I think this whole stunt is just her training them up in a way that only shipgirls can understand."
"I see. Well, I can certainly understand the logic in that. I mean, look at how well they've done so far."
"Yeah. I'm really proud of them!"
Just then-
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*
-the alarm on Liam's watch suddenly went off.
"Eh, Metis? What's up?" asked the grey haired Commander as he brought up his watch/communicator.
[Commander. Something urgent's come up.]
"... Something urgent? What happened?"
[... Sirens.]
"...What!? Are you sure!?"
[Unfortunately, yes. A few of the wide area surveillance drones I had scattered around the island's surrounding waters just barely picked up a Siren fleet headed our way.]
"... Numbers and composition."
[A mixed fleet of about three dozen. Most are standard, mass production ships with six humanoid Executors at the head, most likely meaning a formation of three groups of ten mass production ships led by two Executors.]
"Tch! Dammit!"
[Your orders, Commander?]
"Activate the Liberty and await further instructions. I'll get the girls and meet up with you."
[Understood.]
Finishing his call, Liam turned to the now very tense looking ex-teacher turned mayor.
"Well, you heard the lady. It seems the Sirens finally decided to make their move... and at the worst possible time too... *sigh* Though, to be honest, we kind of expected it but still..."
"... Are you going to head out there and fight them?"
"Well, that was one of the conditions for our stay here, right? Protecting the island and all that?"
"Heh. A fair point. But," he then turned towards the ring. "What about them?"
"My guess? They already know about the Sirens. Look, they even stopped fighting."
"What? How?"
"Shipgirls have some nifty abilities. I'm sure the maids there or one of the other shipgirls told them."
To prove his point, Liam pointed to the ring as Prinz Eugen(silver) and the others left one side of the ring likely headed towards them, while Eugen(blue) left in the opposite direction, abruptly ending the match then and there,.
"Anyway, if you'll excuse me. There's a lot to do and not nearly enough time to get it done."
Seeing the mayor nod, Liam got up and headed towards his shipgirls who, up until that point, waited patiently for their Commander's orders.
"Come on, let's get going."
Once Liam and the others were out of sight, Mayor Mason sighed deeply as he thought about how he was going to break the news and deal with the fallout that was sure to come because of it. 'Man, I'm seriously too fucking old for this shit...'
- With Prinz Eugen(blue) -
"Walter, come in."
[Eugen? What's up? Did you win your match?]
"Nein. A Siren fleet decided to choose now to come pay us a visit actually. Heh, talk about ironically bad timing. First I crash the party and now it's the Sirens' turn. Anyway, we need to go and link up with the Hyperion."
[What about the Sirens?]
"My counterpart, her sisters, and her Commander are already heading out to intercept them."
[Alright, I'll get the ship ready then.]
"Got it. I should be there in about two or three minutes."
[Roger that.]
- A little while later, aboard the Liberty -
"So? What's the situation with the Siren fleet?" Liam asked, now seated in his 'Commander's seat' on the bridge of the now moving ACSC(Aerial Combat Support Carrier) Liberty with a number of holoscreens displayed in front of him while Sirius, Sheffield, and Enterprise busily analyzed the information coming in and coordinating with the six deployed shipgirl fleets moving in a circle formation around the flying battleship. Metis, whose full body hologram was floating next him, nodded before giving her report.
"No real changes in their movements so far, though I'm sure they've noticed us by now. Interestingly, they seem to have begun slowing down and may be waiting for us to arrive..."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "..What? Are your serious? Think it's a trap then?"
"That's what the latest data feed suggests... and I've checked and rechecked said data over half a dozen times now," Metis confirmed.
"Yeah, definitely a trap then. And we're totally going to swim right into it too. Awesome."
Metis nodded. "In all likelihood, yes. However, trap or not..."
"Yeah. Either way, we can't just ignore them," Liam said.
"Unfortunately, no."
"... *sigh* Alright, seeing as we don't have any choice but to knowingly walk into a trap... Anyway, what are the chances that we're gonna end up surrounded?"
"All things considered, there is... a very high chance that we will get surrounded, yes. To use an appropriate slang term that most accurately describes a basic tenet of the Sirens' military doctrine... is to surround and 'zerg rush' the enemy with overwhelming numbers whenever they get the chance. Of course, that's assuming they don't have any other strategic goal in mind that is, like in our first battle against them for example."
Despite their grim and less than ideal situation, Liam couldn't help but smile hearing his de facto second in command actually use gaming terms to describe it with her usual, nearly emotionless face and tone.
"Well, that's how they've fought and won pretty much all their battles so far, right? If it ain't broke, why fix it, as they say. So basically, nine times out of ten, expect a battle then? And probably a long, drawn out one of attrition too?"
Metis nodded. "Pretty much, yes."
Lima sighed and cleared his throat before speaking into the intercom linked to all the deployed shipgirls.
"You all get that girls? Don't break formation or fight too aggressively unless ordered to, alright?"
...
[Strasser Fleet, copy.]
[Saratoga Fleet here! Roger that~!✩]
[Prinz Eugen Fleet, understood.]
"Good. Meanwhile, Archerfish, Surcouf, and Nautilus. You three will act as support for each of your assigned main attack fleets."
[Surcouf here. Commander. Oui, mais bien sur.]
[Archerfish here. Don't worry, we'll be sure to do a good job, Commander!]
[Nautilus here. Got it. But, um, what about you Commander? Shouldn't some of us stay and protect you?]
"Don't worry, we'll provide heavy shelling support and overall surveillance of the area from the rear of the formation, same as before. Luckily, the enemy doesn't seem to have any forces behind us right now so we should be fine for the time being. That being said, I may need to pull some of you from for guard duty if the situation calls for it so be ready for that, just in case. Regardless, I'm counting on all of you to do your best!"
[Yes, sir!] (x Everyone)
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With the Siren fleet patiently waiting for Liam and the others.
[Oceana Unit 1106 to Assault Fleet two: Message from Lurker Unite 366: 'Target fleet has entered first outer boundary line of the operation zone. Estimated time to arrival, provided there are no unexpected variables to the timetable, 360 seconds and counting'. That is all, and message received. Now, as per Operations Leader Tester's orders, we will now commence combat against the Unknown fleet once they enter firing range, with the main goal of keeping their attention on us while gradually increasing our combat power such that they will be forced to stay and try to take us out until it's time to begin the next phase of the operation. To that end, we will begin at 75% CPO and increase it by 5% every thirty seconds with a built in exception made if the Assault Fleet is at high risk of being sunk before then.]
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