After putting on his PASGT helmet, Doctor Solace runs towards the bridge and arms his shotgun. His radar has picked up five more ships, and this time, they cannot be identified or scanned. It's as if they are using a jammer to block his radio signals. The only detail his radar can identify ais their size. Judging by how big they are, they appear to be either carriers or battlecruisers. If that's the case, then the superior firepower of the opponents will be too much for him to handle. Thankfully, he and his Eurocopter will be receiving some air support from Enterprise and the rest of the carriers. At least that way, he won't be outnumbered 40 to 1. Sure he may have superior weaponry, but that doesn't necessarily make him powerful against an entire fleet. Well, he'll just have to wait and see.
After arriving to the bridge, he activates his AA batteries and RIM missiles. This time, they are the real deal. Fully armed with explosives and ready to shred any aircraft to pieces. This time, DS has learned from his mistakes, and will not let himself or his Eurocopter fall into the same trap again. Last time he nearly got cut in half by one of those old torpedoes. He's not going to make the same mistake again.
With the first few bombers in missile range, he locks on and fires all his nine bow RIM missiles at once, which hit the first nine aircraft and cause damage to another five, forcing them to retreat with black smoke coming out of their motors, much to the impression of Vestal and Queen Elizabeth. Sure they saw DS in action a few minutes earlier, but the fact that he can lock on and fire his missiles from that distance, it's just not possible. They have to examine his weapons more carefully when this is over. Maybe they can even get their own anti-aircraft missile systems for themselves. They just have to arrange that with him.
After shooting down the first few aircraft, a shell lands near him, causing him to fall back and hit the wall. It's a good thing he's wearing a helmet, otheriwise it could have been fatal. How he was able to tell it was a shell, because the salvo was smaller than that of a bomb. That means it was fired from a destroyer. And it's not any type of destroyer. It's the one with the 5.9 inch guns. An upgrade of the previous model. The most popular destroyer in the Kriegsmarine and the Vichy French Navy. The Type 1936A destroyer.
After regaining his consciousness, he quickly gets up, picks up his shotgun and jumps on the water. To his surprise, a young, blonde girl, wearing a black and white dress and a black kriegsmarine hat, is facing him, and she is pointing her 5.9 inch cannon towards him. Seriously? Is the navy commanded by kids in this alternate universe? What else is he going to witness here? If that's common in this universe, then he landed in the wrong universe. Regardless, he must not let himself be distracted by the tiny details.
-'Z23, as I thought', says DS and points his shotgun at the young girl.
-'Identify yourself', says Z23 and prepares to pull the trigger.
-'I am Doctor Solace, lead ship of my class', replies DS and arms his shotgun. 'I assume you've never heard of me'.
-'No, I have not, and I don't care', replies Z23 in a serious voice tone. 'You are an enemy, so you must die. Unless you are willing to stand down and surrender'.
-'Not a chance', says DS and pulls the trigger, causing Z23 to dodge the shot. For a destroyer of her class, Z23 is impressively fast, much faster than her original model. She's probably received some upgrades to make herself that fast. Even so, that doesn't discourage DS from keeping up the fight.
After aiming more carefully, DS shoots again, this time with the bullet hitting her right knee, wounding her and causing her to lose her balance. He didn't want to shoot her, but he had no other choice. He could have used his stun gun, but when he's standing on top of water, the possibilities and dangers of electrocution are extermely high. He already learned from his mistake earlier with the short cicruit he suffered, and he is not willing to take such a risk any further. Even if there was no such danger, his stun gun has a very limited range, meaning it's ineffective from such a distance.
With Z23 immobilized, DS water skiis towards her, still pointing his shotgun. He still has five rounds in his weapon, and ready to use them if necessary, although he wishes to avoid such action. That's why he's prepared to make a deal with her. He doesn't wish to kill her or anybody else, so he'll keep that option as his last one and only if he's attacked again. Though he probably knows the outcome of this, he's still willing to give his enemy a chance.
-'H-How did you...', asks Z23, surprised by DS accurate shot.
-'Thanks to my radar of course', replies DS in his usual calm voice tone. 'Thanks to my latest radar, I can predict or at least estimate my opponent's moves and course of action. Hence how I knew', he explains and arms his shotgun again. 'Now then. I'm going to give you two options. You either stand down and surrender, or you turn around and recall the entire fleet. I don't want to kill or sink you, but if you fail to comply with either of the two options, I'll have to take drastic measures'.
But before he can finish his sentence, a shell lands near him, forcing him to jump back a few meters. He looks up, noticing a white haired girl wearing a red and grey uniform with four miniaturized 8 inch cannons on her left and right side.
-'Prinz Eugen. I should have known', he says and aims his shotgun at her.
-'Correct', replied Prinz Eugen, chuckling. 'And who is this mysterious individual?'.
-'I am Doctor Solace, lead ship of the Solace-class hospital ships', replies DS.
-'My my, I must admit, I haven't seen a ship like you before', says PE, still chuckling. 'And your voice sounds very cute'.
-'Well, I'll be the last thing you'll see before you go to your eternal sleep at the bottom of the sea', says DS and takes aim very carefully.
-'We'll see about that', chuckles PE and launches her three Arado seaplanes towards DS.
-'Not so fast', says DS and fires three missiles, hitting the three Arados and blasting them out of the sky before they get to drop their bombs, shocking both Z23 and PE. Just like the Azur Lane warships, they have never seen such a weapon either. And while they did witness the loss of the first bombers send by Kaga and Akagi, they couldn't tell where those 'suicide planes' came from. Now they know. But what shocks them more is the accuracy of those 'missiles'. They didn't think they would be so accurate as to follow their targets. Against such a weapon, it appears that they stand no chance.
-'I did not come unprepared', continues DS. 'I can blast your entire air squadrons with the push of a button or the pull of a trigger. And to prove you that I am not bluffing, observe this'.
He then types a code on his wrist computer and fires all of his RIM missiles at the same time, shooting down twelve VAL dive bombers that had been attempting to drop their bombs on Enterprise and Unicorn. This once again shocks PE and Z23, who have just realized the inferior position they are in. But that doesn't end there. Before they can react, DS makes a call to his Eurocopter through his two-way radio and gives it a specific command. The helicopter obeys and fires its rockets, shooting down five Kate Torpedo bomberes that had been targeing QE and Sheffield. Now PE and Z23 have seen everything. Against him, their planes stand no chance, and without their planes, they have no advantage over their enemies.
-'Now then, what's it gonna be?', asks DS.
-'Fine, we'll retreat', says PE, still shocked by what she has witnessed.
-'Not so fast', continues DS. 'Have the entire fleet retreat. I don't want to have anyone killed today'.
-'Fine', says PE and pulls her own two-way radio out her chest pocket. She then sets it in the right frequency and calls Kaga and Akagi. 'This is Prinz Eugen to the Sakura Imperial fleet. We have been ordered to retreat'
-'Sorry, please repeat that', says another female voice on the radio, sounding rather furious.
-'I repeat, all ships retreat', says PE again. 'Our squadrons have been taken out, we are unable to break through. Retreat back to base'.
-'Negative Prinz', says the female voice again. 'I came here to finish off the Grey Ghost. I'm not stopping now'.
Just then, a brown haired girl wearing a white kimono with a hood and a red skirt, and holding a katana sword, appears out of nowhere and jumps towards Enterprise. She then attempts to pull out her sword and stab Enterprise when all of a sudden, DS quickly takes aim and shoots at it, breaking it in half. It's a good thing his reflexes worked when they had to or it might have been too late for Enterprise as she was facing the other way.
-'My katana, it's ruined', yells the girl in fury.
-'That's the least of your problem', says DS, causing the girl to look at his direction.
-'Who are you?', asks the girl, still furious.
-'I am Doctor Solace, lead ship of my class', replies DS. 'And I would advise you not to push your luck'.
-'You dare interfere between me and Grey Ghost?', yells the girl. 'You're dead'.
She then attempts to charge towards DS when all of sudden, her right arm is shot by him and she starts to bleed. This time, the wound is much more serious as the bullet has reached all the way to the bone. Now her arm is completely paralyzed and she cannot pickup her other katana. She is so horrified by the sight of her wounded arm that her other hand is shaking as she tries to stop the bleeding. DS then throws a green, first aid metal box towards the girl. He might have shot her, but it's not worth killing her. She doesn't deserve death, nobody does, hence why he only shot her at the arm.
-'This was only a warning', says DS as he arms his shotgun again. 'Don't worry. With some surgery, antibiotics, and blood transfusion, it should heal within a few months. Now then, retreat or face total destruction'.
The girl looks at DS, infuriated at him for shooting at her. She then looks around, noticing she has no chance of winning with this wound. With so much blood coming out, she clearly cannot keep up fighting. If she keeps up, she'll either sink or even die. And she's not ready to leave this world, not until she settles the score with Enterprise.
-'Fine, we'll retreat', says the girl, growling in anger and looks at Enterprise. 'This isn't over Enterprise. Next time, you'll be lying at the bottom of the sea'. She then looks at DS, eager to have the final words. 'As for you Doctor Solace, I don't know who you are exactly, but the fact that you interfered just made you an enemy. You're next. Mark my word', she says as she sails away with PE carrying a wounded Z23.
Judging by her attitude and anger, she must have a very personal problem with Enterprise, otherwise she wouldn't be that determined to take her out for good. And judging by the way she fought, she has too much combat experience. That means from now on she'll be a very difficult opponent, and he'll jave to be very cautious. For a ship that has very little combat experience, DS will have to increase his training if he wishes to survive, despite his success in combating enemy aircraft. This is different though, as his main opponents are carriers, cruisers, and many other warships of the 19430s and 40s. He may be more modern, but that's not enough. From now on, things will get much more extreme for him and his Eurocopter.
(And that's all for today's chapter. I apologize for not updating sooner, but I'm busy with university and the fire service. Feel free to let me know what you think of today's chapter in the comments below. Also, feel free to check out my Youtube (Literature Defense Force), and Dailymotion (PeacekeeperLDF) channels. Until then, see you next time. Remember, your opinion is always important).