Instead of heading for the main gate and harbor across the plaza, Bismarck vaulted the back wall of the depot and dropped to the strip of shore outside.
Last night, Hikaru rotated the whole artificial island so the depot side would face the incoming enemy. The place everyone had to hold was not the far harbor a kilometer away—it was this wall and the scant "beach" directly behind the depot. (Strictly speaking there wasn't any sand; that was just the idea.)
Through the night the girls moved anything of value into the depot. Hikaru, Vampire, California, and the other non-combatants were set to ride it out inside.
Everything else on the island could be bombed to rubble. The depot was the last line.
Concentrating the defense had a clear upside: Missouri stood backed right up to the depot wall—on the other side of that wall, seated cross-legged, was Hikaru. She could both fight and "bodyguard" him at nearly the same spot. With so few hands, that kind of "multitask" mattered.
Inside, Hikaru nodded to Moskva.
California huffed in with an A-frame ladder and set it against the wall.
Moskva thanked her, flicked the caps off a field binocular, scrambled up, and raised the glass to the square firing slit they'd cut in the masonry so Hikaru could see out.
"Lexington's carrier group has launched. In the tactical section, Changchun is firing missiles," she reported, calm and crisp.
Hikaru noticed one rung of the ladder sag, just a hair.
Moskva frowned back. "What was that?"
"Probably our sisters in the inner base," Vampire said, neat in brown shoes and white stockings under her nurse outfit. "They're all here."
Right—the ladder was depot stock. The girls in the mirror-world base could "touch" it, too. One of them must have stepped on, peeking through the slit to watch the fight they couldn't join. In their way, everyone was standing with them.
Moskva lowered the binocular and, in a softer voice to Hikaru, said, "I can't stand the G-Faction most days… but Bismarck keeps her word. She'll win."
Given history, the Soviet and the German faction sniping went without saying. Hikaru hadn't expected Moskva to stake that much faith on Bismarck.
He beckoned, scooped the pouting Glowworm—grumpy at being benched—into his arms, and looked around the room.
Ella, California, Vampire, Moskva, Tenryuu… and Glowworm in his lap.
Except for the newcomer California—plainly anxious and unable to sit still—the rest weren't worried. They knew what their base could do. Even if today wasn't the day, as long as no one sank, they'd make it a victory—and come back for the Abyssals later, with more sisters at their side.
Vampire, especially, was quietly pleased. She'd been cranking out custom warheads for days. Those "spiked" fish—mixed from blood and her own power—lay row on row outside on the prep ground. First time contributing to a battle this big; she was proud.
As for Vestal, she was outside the wall, prepping with the carrier group. Whoever first said it wasn't wrong: today's fight would be decided by two "little" girls—Vestal on defense, and Z17 on the strike.
The guests were another story. Yamato, Alaska, St. George, Blücher, and Deutschland—five outsiders—were visibly tense. Even the special meal sets (a few had snuck bites already) couldn't wash that edge away.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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