"You, being a part of the Lottidentian Research Brigade?" Adelhied rested himself on the metal gurney behind him. "That's something. Jamie, or… Whoever you really are."
Her grin hadn't faded. "I am not in touch with the Lottidentians any longer. I've faded into obscurity in that division, not brigade. Where did you hear the word brigade from?"
"My sources got a little conflicted."
"So what?" She grasped the giant hand, feeling the texture of the skin, the many wounds and gashes. "I've been lead scientist of Krimvald's Unchean's Research Div; for longer than I've been in the newly German one. What makes you say I'd rebel? I hadn't done that even to Krimvald."
"As of the moment, you are a great asset." Adelheid sighed, "it'd be a pity to execute under reason of treason. We wish to keep you; so we have devised an… Alternate solution."
Jamie grabbed a magic gem. "Have you ever heard of inovation?" Her eyes probed the gem's dim yet noticeable blue glow.
"Inovation?"
"Yes." She threw the gem towards Adelheid; "that. That gem is part of the inovative thinking of the division. It's been five or so years since I've left that place. But, in the north, their adaptability is only because of how they harness those gems. You've heard that the magic aplitude of someone rises when they live further and further north?"
"That's common knowledge." He set the gem down on the gurney.
"They swallow these gems."
Adelheid's eyes lit up. "What do you mean by that? Did you also… Swallow gems?" He said in a sarcastic accent.
"I never did." Her eyes pierced Adelheid's, her face so stern now. "Never will. I 'did' have connections with the lottidentian government; but that is far severed now. And if you wish to know more about what 'I' have; then… Let me be."
( * )
"What did they say?" Captain Felmenn looked towards the horizon, his eyes trained for any sillhouetes in the deep blue.
"Captain, we're receiving information about their warship." The sailor held a long manuscript. Felmenn, looking at him now groaned.
"Just give me the big points."
The sailor cleared his throat; "What the MP got was that they have a steam ship sir. It's an iron-cladded variant of one of the Lottidentian galleons called… Called the Gershackemsiah? Forgive me sir, I don't how to pronounce it."
"It's alright, give me details about it."
"It says; 'two twin turrets,' with one funnel." Snapping to the other information; "estimated speed of twenty knots, but… Sir, as it says here; 'because of other magical equipment attached on it's propellors, we cannot say for certain that it is twenty knots.'"
"Which means the lottidentians are becoming a threat." He chuckled. "We're set for Gale, no?"
"We are, captain."
"Specifically, for an outpost. Many outposts at the Gale islands." A silhouete garnished itself from some corner of the small bridge, it sounded… Feminine.
Felmenn turned around, facing the woman.
"Good to see you captain Felmenn." Jeane shook his hand. "I had boarded, I thought you were notified of my boarding, but it doesn't seem like that's the case."
"Yes, I wasn't informed, good afternoon ma'am Jeane." His smile radiated the room; "I thought you were with the Deustchlands. So what brought you aboard?"
"I'm afraid we're going to have to stop in a Handerbour port."
"I wasn't informed of this." Felmenn reached for his radio operator; "please tell them to reach the adminstrator HQ and question them further about this… Handerbour port stop-"
"Oh and:" Jeane interupted, "also tell them to get the name of port, I was merely informed by Heduc in passing."
"Aye, sir--ma'am." The sailor left for the radio room.
The formation of the fleet was simple; the two deustchlands were situated some nine kilometers away from the Scharnhorst, starboard and portside. Behind the Scharnhorst were three ships; the SS Maguildafaulker (carrying only two battalions from Heduc's and Jeane's) and two cargo ships, one for oil, and one for the materials needed to make the outposts.
The entire fleet was some fourty or so kilometers away from the Handerbour shores; it had crossed the border between Germany and Handerbour some five hours ago, and two days from now they should reach the Gale Islands.
"I hear that the Hesians want more technology." Felmenn rested his back on the wall, as did Jeane looking at him. "Your battalion lies on the eastern borders against Hesia and Ruska, right?"
"Yes captain, what about it?"
"What… What do you think about this little battle happening between Betelion and Hesia?"
"The ships? I… I've only really read up about it in the newspapers, and only briefly. The rest of the action happens in Geo Port right?"
"Got to see if for my self one time, they introduced this… White ironclad heavycruiser and the Betelions had this Atago-looking light cruiser. They were pretty great inventions, especially if they received only a mediocre amount of help from us."
"They did get our education, the University and all."
"That, that is true-" He was interupted, when the sailor bounced into the bridge, "Ah, you're back. What'd they say?"
"Captain, we need to stop at James Port, thirty one degrees north, fourty degrees west. Here's the port, sir, on the map."
Looking at the location, tagged in black ink, he tapped at one part of the ocean, "this is where we are, approximately. It'd take atleast a day to get there," -he glidded his finger across the sea, massaging his chin- "then… The gale islands. But why this port? Did they mention it?"
"Ahm…" He looked nervous, "y-yes sir."
Felmenn raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What's the… sweating?"
"They have ordered us to bombard the port."
( * )
The Melrose Perci was in the end of making it's round trip around the Ferris sea, her sister ships just behind. The four white-claddened monsters of the sea were steaming gently towards Hesia's port Morlaine, the same port where the ship was quickly retrofitted.
It was night out, a full moon; the waters were strangely stagnant. The smooth, small waves, crashing weakily onto the white hulls being the only hint that there were waves. Since the night was bright, they could see a couple sillhouetes; some couple kilometers away. Possibly German ships or Betelionic ones, but they shied away, avoiding attention to themselves.
The Perci's sisters (Machiel, Herma, and Gretel) have all bit fitted with newer equipment, with the Herma (being fifty meters longer) having a standard four-turret configuration, Herma had also a shorter barrel size, and it's beam was cut from Perci's eighteen meter beam to her fifteen meter beam. She had also been fitted with a raked stem, more advanced propulsion systems, and more efficient engines.
The Hesians were… Without doubt, proud of their work.
The sailors were maintaing the boilers in the lower decks, the others were at their navigation posts, eyeing up the charts, maps, the compasses, the binoculars, and all others, making sure that they were going the correct direction.
At midship of the first deck, the radio men were busying themselves with turning the dials on their newly gotten radio (for it was expensive to have such a device, only the Melrose had it). When, a flurry of messages were pinging them. "Who are they?" Questioned one of the operators, "Hesian, Betelionic, German?"
The radioman put the mic up to his mouth, "This is HS-Melrose. State your vessel and country of origin." Beads of sweat laid down on his white trousers.
It was gibbrish for a couple seconds, before a voice came through; "This is Leberect Maaas, Germany. Captain Fremen, subbing General-Admiral; we were surveiling this area. You may proceed."
"Night, Maaas." The contact closed, the radio operator resting back on his chair and sighing, "that was nervewracking."
"If you'd met that Atago's captain, you'd think you were going to be hunted." The radio operator laughed, he couldn't help but join in.
"Say, I heard the Betelions were getting into making battleships, and so were we. I haven't seen any battleship making at all though."
"That's not up to your clearance." He put blankly, "even the higher ups aboard the Cesare wouldn't know jack about what the naval engineering corps do."
"Engineering." He pondered, "after this, I'll go to UG. My time in the navy ends this year."
"That's great, hope you become an engineer," he leaned closer to him; "it's hard in UG you know, the pre-uni in Port Geo is hard enough, the exams are killer!"
"H-hope I pass," he smiled ignorantly.
By the strike of morning, they had reached the port. Manning the engines were a hassle, if only they could re-engineer the machinery of the Cesare; speaking of, the Guilio was somewhere East of Hesia, in one of their naval showoff-ing around underdeveloped parts without much German influence.
It was a propaganda stunt, to get more people to Hesia or even the whole of the German Alliance so that they have more people operating the navy.
When, a radio message peered in; "we are requesting the officers, sailors, of the Melrose Perci to disembark and retire. For a month-long excerise under our newest warship. 'The Hesia.'"
It was all too sudden and soon there were trucks lining up the port, all of the Melrose's complement was extracted out, down from the captain and the very last engine worker. "What's happening?" The radio operator from before creeped to the sailor he talked to just the other night; "they're retiring out positions?"
"Yeah, that's… That's what I heard."
"They're making a battleship?" He sat down beside him.
"The Hesia, they're making it all secretive, having trucks en route to one of the ports south from here."
They were all gathered in a sort-of waiting area, as all were being transferred out in these trucks, jamming all two hundred of Melrose's sailors out in these twenty-capped trucks. But, Hesia didn't have that many trucks.
They started piling them up on the roofs, filing the floors, even making makeshift platforms with small wooden planks they'd find along the docks; attach them onto the metal edges, and pray that it didn't fall under their weight.
The two were the one of the last ones to get on the last of the jammed trucks, hanging on by the edges. As they journeyed the Hesian mountain range spanning the Hesian Penninsula, it was quite breezy, cold. They weren't wearing anything but their summer wear, and as the climbed in altitude, they complained farther and farther.
When, from beyond, could they see;
"A metal behemoth." The radio operator pointed his hand out to the port seemingly hidden in a little estuary in the mountain range.
"That's the Hesia," the sailor confirmed. "That's going to be our capital ship."
It was a sleek hunk of metal; it's bow to stern resembling the Guilio Cesare in so many ways. Up to midship did the hull extend outwards a little, almost like a short tumblehome.
It was a traditional four-turret configuration, with each turret sporting three thirty-five centimeter calibre barrels. It had two pretty large funnels painted black, whilst the rest of the hull remained a blank steel color.
Getting down to the hidden port; the two realized the size. It was some one hundred eighty meters long, but it looked more than that. Their admiral was standing atop this wooden stage, they were ordered to formation; and as quickly as they had gathered; the admiral started to form his speech.
"Sailors!" His voice cracked, yet no-one chuckled; he cleared his throat. "Sailors! I'm sure you have no idea what's happening, you had just been simply thrusted into this port. Welp, today you all will be sailing our newest battleship; the Hesia. The Melrose Perci; as we've seen, it's sailors are experienced. So, with some of the crew of the Guilio, you will be part in operating this massive beast!" He tipped his hat in salute; "thank you."
---
Over the next couple of days, the huge battleship finally screamed out of the little estuary in the mountains, it rounded to a steaming hot twenty-nine knots, the fastest by-class ship made. During the first day, there were some problems with the boilers, as the ship was running with experimental equipment; every second it was at sea, the engineers were burning heart attacks away like calories.
The Hesia was not being publically shown, but many vessels have seen it wandering in the Ferris sea. And since it flew the Hesian flag, there was no denying that the Hesians had built a battleship, meaning the BSS Betelionic finally had competiton.
"What!?" The Betelionic Admiral screamed. "The Hesians have made a battleship!?"
From over the radio; "yes, sir. It's currently conducting sea trials in the Ferris Sea. The German and Betelionic coast guard are witnessing it first hand."
"Alright, they want a challenge, we'll give them that." The admiral chuckled in his breath, "build another battleship! This time I want bigger!"
"But sir… Our tank trials need money to-"
"Can't you see!?" he screamed, "our navy is being belittled! We can't have that! I hear the naval engineering corps have been cooking up a new plan; enact it, now! I want it now!"
"Y-yes… Sir."
( * )
It was an overcast sky, the rain poured down and the waves were behemoths. Scharnhorst was mere kilometers away from it's target, the port, so visible from the bridge height. By that distance, the Handerbour sailors from the port should have probably seen by now the Scharnhorst.
"Elevation fifty!" An officer of the bridge said into a microphone, "use HE rounds."
Felmenn and Jeane watched from the gangway.
The turrets began turning starboard;
-0°-
-13°-
-25°-
-40°-
-60°-
Then 90° directly starboard. Then they rose, slowly reaching an angle of fifty degrees. This hard metal churning, the clug-clug of rounds entering the barrels. The soft kerplunk as the rounds locked and were sealed inside the barrels ready to fire. With all four of Scharnhorst's turrets aimed at the port; all that was needed to do now was the await the captain's orders.
"Captain?"
Felmenn used his binoculars, zooming in at it's max dial turn. "There are no ships on that port." He couldn't help but ponder, "what's happening?"
"Captain, the order."
He turned, "Fire a warning shot, I want it next to the port, the shore. Wait five minutes before firing the barrage."
"Aye, sir." The sailor quickly went inside.
Both being drenched in the rain; being jostled by the pitch and roll; Jeane placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Why would the lord want to bombard this port?" Felmenn turned around, looking at her, seeing if she had the answer to the dilemma.
"I do not know anything." She shrugged, "but if I were held at gunpoint to try and guess; I guess that this port held the rebels. I mean… Handerbour isn't exactly the best of countries. The rebels could've hid somewhere, and this place is one place where they could've hid."
"But, this'd basically thrust Germany into war with Handerbour."
In Jeane's mind, there was this flash of light; Eureka!
"Maybe that's what the lord wants." She grinned, "we were headed to the Gale Islands to combat the northerners into building our outposts, but if Germany instead occupies Handerbour, we'd have sieged more control over the Gale Islands and the Gale sea all at once! Think about it Felmenn!"
"Hm." It was a short sigh, "that may or may not be-"
Blast!
The first turret fired!
Felmenn quickly sighted in on the shore; a direct hit on the shore beside the port. He could see multiple silhouetes bouncing in the distance; there were no soldiers whatsoever. He grunted, then clicked his tongue. "Long live the Lord." He threw his binoculars on the metal gangway. "Ignore the previous order, fire at will."
-1-
The first turret had reloaded;
-2-
An alarm branged all along the bow and stern; the sailors around those areas evacuating immidiately.
-3-
Fire!
Eight hot searing rounds of fire soared the grey skies, turning it black with it's power. By the next second; a powerful blast! The port had been incinerated, and so did anything else inside of it.
Engulfed in black smoke, hot flame, the port city was decimated in under seconds without any retaliation from the Handerbour forces. There simply was nothing they could do.
Felmenn watched, his eyes observing the hot colors, the orange and red flickering, the light so mesmerizing, and the smell so strange and tantalizing. "Bear to half-speed, set course to Gale Islands."
"Aye!"
---
Inside the SS Maguildafaulkner, Heduc's and Jeane's troops were having the time of their lives; having been able to also view the massive explosion laid down by Scharnhorst's decimating turrets. The lobby's luxuries were still there, though the original luxurious food offereed to the first class passengers weren't there. As each and every soldier was only offered sweet gruel and the occasional slab of steak.
During their days out at sea, they've started writing letters about their stay on the Maguilda, and the radiomen acted like the newspaper carriers of Unchean, saying the recent news like; "Hesia makes a battleship! Or that Betelion tank trials succeed, and that; many have been accepted in the UG!"
Cool stuff like that.
Heduc was discussing plans about the Gale Islands.
Image in Comment
The Gale islands were very near to the Betelionic Empire, Handerbour had a little part of the Gale Sea on their borders, but the Betelionic had the majority with Kerfeliz (a country just above Betelion) occupies the other northern half of the sea.
He wasn't fully informed about the bombardment at the port city, but Germany was apparently making Handerbour a puppet state, it's been some weeks since this aggresiveness had happened and only now did it worsen. The MP found that Handerbour were part in housing rebels, and for pay-back, the bombardment of one of their three major ports.
If Germany gains control of atleast Northern Handerbour, transferring supplies from the Gale Islands to the main land will be much more easier. The main reason the Betelion Empire didn't want to assist Germany in transporting cargo from island-to-island, was because it was bound by this… Kerfeliz Act. Heduc didn't want to get into further detail, so he didn't ask what it meant.
There were two big islands of the seven island chain. The first big one being the southernmost one, which is where the fleet will land the day after. "We prioritise on building the outposts at the north side, and we renovate this old port" -Heduc slid his finger on it- "so cargo can pass more cleaner and faster."
"What if Kerfeliz or Lottidenty acts?" An officer questioned; "wasn't another main mission of ours to locate this Lottidentian ship? It was moving south, so we assumed it was going to try and provoke us. But If it came from Lottidenty; it should stop by…" He landed his finger on the Karfelizian capital. "Since it's one of the only other places north of Betelion to have oil, they should stop here and… Receive news about out bombardment in Handerbour."
"They'll ready their own reserve of troops to the Gale islands to secure their place in the islands." Heduc sighed, "and if Lottidenty and Kerfeliz have our technology, they might have some good-enough warships to deal damage."
"That one that we were worrying about, sir."
"The Lottidentian one?" He looked at him intently, "what about it?"
"We should expect more like them, as the hull was similar to a galleon, we should expect that they line their wooden galleons with metal then attach turrets onto their hulls, as well as sporting it with funnels and a propellor." The man thought about a bit more; "ship production shouldn't be too slow, so for the first half, they should hold pretty powerfully in North Gale."
Heduc led himself deeper in thought, looking at the map intently, as if hoping it would scream out an answer. "How the lord invaded Handerbour… It basically started a war."
"What could our lord be thinking at this moment?"
( * )
"Nothing." Hierd crumpled the paper map he was given. "What are my allies doing? They've gone and thrown themselves deeper and deeper in this own internal conflict about warships. When we're in the verge of war!"
He scratched his head irritatedly.
"I need Handerbour's northern-half, but the Lottidentians have already sent their delegations to Laplace and Ruska! Their making allies close to my borders! I need to get Hesia and Betelionic down the right path… The right… Path…" He froze in his steps; his eyes fixated on the blue abyss on the war-room map sprawled on his office table.
"I'll need to end Betelion and Hesia's little squabble with a big bang." He chuckled.
---
As the morning light entered the skies, and as the dark ocean, turned orange, then blue, lit-up under the gaze of the sun; there was only one thing that kept land enshrouded by shadow.
"The Yamato."