P201 had been fighting the Siren fleet for the past 45 minutes. Thanks to the Ethiopian air force jets that appeared out of nowhere, the Sirens have suffered multiple casualties and none of them have managed to strike a single hit against P201. His speed and agility are far more superior and the fact that he is equipped with portable missiles, armed with a more deadly warhead makes him more powerful than any Siren battleship.
At the same time, the Azur Lane fleet, along with the Ethiopian Fleet, are heading towards the combat zone after hearing P201's distress call. They are all thankful that P201 was out there to warn them about the enemy attack none of them was expecting the Sirens to attempt another bombardment. Looks like they haven't learned their lesson yet. They need the Ethiopians to teach them what happens when they mess with someone who has superior weapons and strategies.
As soon as they arrive at the combat zone, they spot the Ethiopian aircraft attacking the Sirens and the Red Axis fleets. They try to identify the attackers before they receive confirmation by P201 that they are on their side.
In a few seconds, the battle is on. While the Red Axis and Azur Lane fleets have engaged each other, the Ethiopian fleet is fighting the Sirens, scoring multiple hits against the alien fleet without a single loss. No matter how many aircraft are deployed against them, no matter how many shells are shot, none manage to hit.
Just then, P201 spots a green haired girl wearing a black and white dress and a black cape with a medal on it.
He looks at the ship's structure and immediately identifies the ship to be Littorio. Just then, he comes up with a plan. If he can fire a missile at the magazine, he can cause an explosion that will breach the hull and will sink her. It will be his chance to avenge his fallen comrades who died protecting Abyssinia from the Italian Occupation.
He speeds towards Littorio, approaching her from the port side, and dematerializes his boat, allowing him to take proper aim. Before he can pull the trigger though, Littorio dematerializes her ship as well and fires her cannons at P201, prompting him to duck and evade the shots. Looks like she was somehow expecting that move. That means he'll need to move fast if he wants to his shot to be successful.
He presses his watch twice and his RPK changes shape, materializing into his PSL sniper rifle. He takes aim and pulls the trigger but the bullet misses, opening a hole in her cape. She's faster than he expected. Every time he tries to attack, she's able to predict his moves. And there's nothing he can do about that. All he can do is fight her until she makes a mistake.
His chance appears when she jumps in the air tries to kick him. Luckily, he is able to block her foot with his gun and punch her in the stomach as soon as she lands on the water. He then rematerializes his boat and aims the 50 caliber and the ZPU AA gun at her, forcing her to rematerialize her ship as well and aim her cannons at him. Unfortunately for her, P201 is able to distance himself from her and fire a missile which hits her magazine, causing a giant explosion, destroying her front turrets.
P201 looks at her ship burning while she tries to hold on from somewhere and struggling to stand up. He can't help but feel proud for what he just did. He just took out a battleship without taking a single hit. No patrol boat would be able to do that without at least taking some damage. Yet he succeeded without any issues.
He picks up his loudspeaker and yells out at Littorio while smiling.
P201: How do you like that you fascist face?
He's not expecting for an answer though. He's too excited to keep up fighting that he no longer considers Littorio a threat. The blast from the missile was so big that she has been put out of action for the rest of the battle. Her turrets are destroyed and her engines are disabled. She won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe they can capture her as a prisoner of war. She might be able to provide valuable information.
At the same time, Enterprise and Zuikaku are fighting each other in hand to hand combat. Zuikaku tries to slain Enterprise with her sword while she defends herself with her bow. The fight seems to be a stalemate as neither is able to gain the upper hand. At some point, Zuikaku is able to knock out Enterprise but is then stopped by Belfast who is then able to shoot her, forcing her to fall back. In general neither side is able to gain the upper hand. They are fighting in equal numbers, all except the Ethiopians. Their superior weapon systems are able to bring down every Siren ship and aircraft that approaches them within a distance of 20 meters. In the end, the Sirens have lost nearly all of their jets and half of their ships while the Ethiopian fleet hasn't suffered a single loss. In the end, they are the real victors in this battle.
Hornet and Richelieu are observing P201, admiring his fighting skills and his firepower. They want to provide him cover but he refused, saying he can mage on his own. It's the first time they see someone being so tough in battle, especially someone who is a patrol boat. Someone so tiny yet so determined that he stops at nothing. They wish they could be like him and fight like him, without any fear and without any hesitation.
As P201 is about to sink another Siren ship, he notices Unicorn's Fairey Swordfish biplanes heading towards another Siren ship while encountering heavy AA resistance. A very reckless move, sending her torpedo bombers without any fighter escort. She has already lost too many planes. She can't continue like that. If she loses all of her squadrons, she'll have nothing to defend herself with.
He grabs the radio and contacts Unicorn.
P201: Unicorn, this is P201. Are you receiving me.
After a few parasites, Unicorn's voice is heard on the radio.
Unicorn: Big bro. You're okay. I was so worried...
Before she can say anything more, P201 interrupts her.
P201: I'm okay. Listen, I need you to call off your planes. You risk losing all of your squadrons.
Unicorn responds in a rather worried voice.
Unicorn: And what about you big bro?
P201: Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I've been through worse. This is nothing.
Unicorn: Okay. Take care.
P201: Don't worry I will.
After putting down the radio he grabs the 50 caliber and heads towards another Siren ship, opening fire at any aircraft that try to attack him.
At the same time, F-1616 and F-1617, along with Surcouf, King George V, Illustrious, Cleveland and Queen Elizabeth were fighting against the Siren carriers and battleships, scoring many hits without taking any damage. F-1616 and his brother are very careful as to where they aim and shoot. P201 is among the enemy, hitting them form a close range. They don't want to accidentally hit one of their own ships.
Queen Elizabeth is staring at the two brothers in amazement and admiration. She doesn't want to admit it, but ever since she saw these two fighting, she has been starting to like them in some way and wants to know more about them.
Surcouf on the other hand has been acting very strangely since this morning. She's not her usual self. She can't seem to concentrate on whatever she's doing. Not only that, she's also more quiet than usual. Very quiet to be precise. She's the only one who hasn't opened fire yet and that's very suspicious.
Suspicious of her silence, F-1617 tries to contact Surcouf to ask if everything is okay. He gets no response. Strange. He tries again. Still, no response. Illustrious and King George try to contact her as well. Nothing. Could her radio be broken? No way. It was working just fine when they left the base. It couldn't have broken all of a sudden. Something's definitely wrong.
Then, to everyone's shock. Surcouf aims her turret 203mm guns at Illustrious and fires two shells, damaging her island and flight deck, preventing her from launching any planes. She then aims her cannon at King George and opens fire again, disabling her front turrets. She is about to aim at Queen Elizabeth when suddenly, four shells from F-1616 explode near her, damaging her hull and preventing her from diving.
Knowing she stands no chance against the Ethiopian ships, she aims her guns at F-1616 and sails at full speed towards the Red Axis fleet. This action leaves everyone shocked. Nobody expected this. Surcouf, who has been fighting for the Azur Lane alliance for over two years, suddenly turning on her allies. That's the most unexpected thing that has ever happened.
Queen Elizabeth tries to contact Surcouf. After a few attempts, she finally gets an answer.
Surcouf: This is Surcouf. I hear you.
QE: What do you think you are doing?
Surcouf: I'm sorry your majesty. After the last battle, I figured out that I have a lot more in common with the Red Axis than with you all. The Azur Lane alliance was doomed to fall from the start. Day after day, the Red Axis would score a victory. You may have thought you were winning when in reality it was all part of the Sirens and Red Axis plans. They lead you to believe that you could defeat them when they were actually letting you win. Well, I do not intend to fight for a side that is already doomed. I have much more to gain by joining the Red Axis. From now on, consider this my last transmission. Over and out.
Then, Akagi and Kaga, who had been listening to Surcouf's message, send their planes to provide cover for her until she reaches the fleet. Enterprise and Hornet send their own planes to sink her but are intercepted by Akagi and Kaga's planes. Suddenly, P201's voice is heard on the radio.
P201: All vessels retreat.
King George: Repeat that, I didn't copy.
P201: I repeat, all vessels retreat.
King George, still eager to fight, responds in a rather angry voice tone.
King George: And let those freaking Sirens win?
P201 responds in a rather serious voice tone.
P201: Now, before we lose any more aircraft or suffer any casualties.
Queen Elizabeth and King George want to keep fighting. They don't want to let their enemies get away like that. On the other hand, P201 has a point. King George and Illustrious are heavily wounded and if they continue to fight, it would mean suicide. Not only that, they've also lost too many aircraft and the Ethiopian helicopters and jets are not enough to take on the entire enemy fleet. They must retreat and regroup.
King George sighs and responds in a frustrated voice tone.
King George: Very well. We'll retreat.
Queen Elizabeth orders all ships to retreat and they obey. They are all furious, including the Ethiopian ships. They just lost an ally. They never expected this to happen right in front of their eyes. One of their most faithful allies turning on them. Why would she do that? Does she really have more to gain by joining the enemy?
Back at base, everyone was arguing about Surcouf's defection. The news had spread everywhere on the island and no one could agree as to why she defected. But P201 was the most furious of all and not with Surcouf or anyone else, but with himself. Since they returned, he's been walking left and right in Her Majesty's office, blaming himself for what happened out there
P201: It's all my fault. Mine. I should have expected that things would turn out exactly like this.
The shipgirls and the Ethiopian ships don't seem to understand what he means by all that as he appears to make no sense.
QE: What do you mean?
P201 sits across the window behind Queen Elizabeth's office and responds to her question.
P201: You might all wanna sit down. It's going to take some time.
QE: We hear you.
P201 sighs and responds.
P201: According to history. In my timeline, when France, or the Iris Orthodoxy, collapsed and was split in two, Surcouf was in Britain when all that happened. When she was ordered to surrender, she refused and a gunfight broke out, which ended with three soldiers dead. After that, she continued to fight alongside the allies until she mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again. During the war however, there were doubts on her loyalty. There were claims that she was spying for Vichy France, or Vichya Dominion as you call it, and was attacking allied ships in the Atlantic Ocean. None of this has ever been confirmed so we're not sure if it really happened or not. Now, there are four theories as to why she disappeared, none of which have ever been confirmed even today. The first theory is that she was swallowed by the Bermuda Triangle, a region where many ships and aircraft have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Although this theory has been dismissed, some still want to believe that. The second theory is that she was sunk after colliding with an American freighter outside of Panama. The problem here is that the freighter reported that the object in which it crashed was smaller than Surcouf although the cries of help were heard in English. The third theory is that she was sunk by American aircraft after being mistaken for a German U-boat, or an Iron Blood submarine as you call it. But there's a detail missing here as well. According to German documents, no submarine was lost in the area so it can be assumed that it was Surcouf but the wreck has yet to be discovered so until it's officially confirmed, we can't be sure that it was her. The fourth and most interesting theory is the one that concerns me the most. The fourth theory suggests that late at night in late 1941, she was spotted refueling a German U-boat at the coast of New London and was sunk.
The shipgirls are silent. All those theories have left them speechless. They never thought that Surcouf would go that low for her own benefit. They trusted her, they cared for her, and in return she betrays them. P201 was right not trusting her. Ever since he and his comrades got here, he was the only one who was suspicious about her intentions. Looks like his suspicions have been confirmed.
Queen Elizabeth drinks a sip of tea while P201 steps back and speaks again after a few seconds of silence.
P201: Now we know which theory is the real one. To be honest I knew from the start that this would happen but I wasn't sure. Now that I am, I'll have to be more careful. No, we're all going to have be careful. Whatever happens from now on, we have to be prepared for everything.
The shipgirls and his comrades all agree. Maybe they don't know much about history like P201 does, but they know that P201 is right. The betrayal of Surcouf and the sudden appearance of the Ethiopian air force has complicated things even further. Nobody is sure of what to expect next. They need to be on high alert. Now that Surcouf has joined the enemy, she'll definitely give them information regarding the island's defenses and the armaments of every ship, aircraft and other vehicles. If another attack takes place on the island, they'll have to use whatever they have at their disposal, and that includes the BM-21s.
Nobody knows what to do now. They can only hope that the Ethiopian air force will be their ace in the sleeve since they appeared only recently. For now it's better to lay low and come up with a plan. If the Sirens and the Red Axis want to attack again, then they'll need to create an effective strategy. Little do they know is that this is the beginning of the downfall for the Ethiopian navy and the Azur Lane alliance.
(And that's it for today's chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Until then, see you next time. Remember, your opinion is always important).