Twenty-One

LIGHT! LIGHT LIGHT

The light burned his eyes

"What happened" Duinhir thought he meant to speak the words but his mouth was dry the words never came

"You had a heart attack, you're lucky to be alive" his wife Rowen said standing in front of him, she'd left formed her own island he hadn't seen her for more than a month.

"When..." he blurted out his lips finally finding movement

"After the attack" another voice said it was his son Alalcamenos someone else he rarely saw.

"Did we win?" he asked

Following the encounter with Repossession the Captain had called several other island's leaders to a council so far they were breaking even fighting on their own, the Draconians supplies continued to sail between outposts their miners continued to defend. It was obvious to the Captain that one sector alone couldn't win. "I have called off our attacks due to this encounter..." he was explaining before one of the others interrupted.

"Captain, we are not your sub-ordinates, this alliance came together under the understanding that we would work together not that we would follow your every command." Captain Simon Hell said quietly he was obviously annoyed by the recall order glancing over the gathering he could see that there was a few other agreeing with them.

"The Captain, did not mean it as it came out" Senator Michaels interrupted he hadn't been invited however the Captain was quietly glad he was here. "Instead it was an advisory message that informed you all that new information and options had become available. We wanted everyone to know what was on the table before action was made."

"What information?" Christopher "Seaking" King asked stepping to the fore he'd been at previous meetings however had been quiet and happy to allow others to ask questions now however he looked ready for a fight "Captain, it was your island that was hit by the Draconians, your call for us to hit the Draconians back. We answered your call because your attack against Blackheart showed us the power of working together, None of us have even seen Blackheart on the seas but now we see Draconians everywhere with no end our people are dying daily."

"Which is why I suggest a new approach." the Captain said "recently my fleet encounter Hayden Repossession at sea en-route to a Draconian target." he heard from the gathered commanders the word 'Repoman' one of Repossessions more polite nicknames. "He suggests that we unite the sectors and all work together, but that he cannot do anything himself. Instead he suggests that we unite the sectors with out own message. We have seen we are making an impact on some Draconian operations but the vast majority of them are still at strength and that supply convoys continue to keep them operational."

"So he expects us to go into his territory and bring pirates to us so what? he can sink them closer to home." Captain Rick suggested

"If we can gather the captains around Repo into an assault against the Draconians then perhaps we can unite all the forsaken islands, have them pass the message beyond our own range." Captain Alex War suggested

"Here in this sector we are struggling to come out even on a level par with the Draconians, not one of us have come out ahead of them. Repo suggests that we contact a pair of pirates Lord Viper and another Lord Daemonicus together if we can contact them then we can unite the three sectors." The Captain continued explaining the plan "so I suggest we break into four battle groups similar to the Blackheart operation." He said rolling out a map showing the Sectors 72,73 and 74. "Seaking, Nine-won-three, Buk and Alex War will coordinate this sectors defence, countering attacks against our islands, and attacks on the Draconians attacking Draconian bases, fleets and mine defenders. Rick, and Simon Hell will lead a task force in search of Lord Viper into Sector 74, this is not an offensive mission" the Captain stressed the importance of the fact. "If they are hostile to our ideas come on home no damage done" the Captain explained. "Carl Grim, Glyn and Sub-master Angelique will go in search of Lord Daemonicus."

"Needle in a haystack" Carl said quietly "he used to be big player in the region but I haven't seen him on the seas in months, his base is shrouded in secrecy. No-one has gone near him in a long time some say the area is haunted."

"Well we'll try anyway." The Captain said quietly "finally myself, Hawke and Mark Red will lead a force into 72 to Repossession's base of operations. We'll call him out and see just how legit he is with his offer we'll also see if anyone else is serious. I'll be honest I'm slight apprehensive about the idea but we'll see how this plays out." He said looking at the faces around the table "we have done the near impossible so far people let's take it a little further."

"What about Duinhir? Or Alalcamenos both have dropped off the map since Duinhir's attack." Nine-won-three asked he looked slightly irritated by the fact Duinhir had shown them all the use of airpower was possible again but then had disappeared once again.

"Unknown there has been nothing since his attack, Commodore Holloway has taken command of his surface assets that much my intelligence has uncovered however Holloway has his own way of working and doesn't appear to want/need our assistance. None of the Admirals carriers have been seen at sea since their initial attack, one was damaged by a submarine during the strike. Alalcamenos appears to be have problems with Draconians of his own - one of his crews has gone missing he is involved in operations to recover them and may be out of contact. They have strong fleets but so do we and we can do this if we act together, there is plenty experience in this force and plenty of knowledge about the Draconians here too.

Meanwhile across the seas

When he'd first woken up Duinhir had found he'd missed nearly six months of the war due to his heart attack, the Doctors had placed him in a coma to save his life and allow his body to regenerate. During this time both his wife Rowen and his son Alalcamenos had returned to care for him while Commodore Joshua Halloway had taken the Electra and her battle group back to sea to continue to support the sector's actions against the Draconians. As soon as he could he had returned to work despite having a heart-attack at 50 he was convinced that only he could make a difference, Rowen had supported him at first but again the strain of combat had caused her to leave him to "his war games" his son had stayed longer however his attaché Themocles while a capable commander didn't have enough of the respect of Alalcamenos's troops. Alone again Duinhir had overseen the completion of his island's new airstrip which would allow him to train new pilots and develop bigger ships, unfortunately he found out that the Yorktown which had been damaged in the previous fight by a Draconian Sub was still in dry-dock and would be for another month maybe more according to his engineers the entire flight deck would need to be re-laid.

He needed the resources and needed to get into the action but with the Electra at sea he needed something else instead he formed a new group based around the Enterprise, Hornet, two captured Draconian Battle-cruisers refitted with Forsaken technology and one of Duinhir's Terror Wolves, a Sea Wolf refitted with Draconian D33A Assault Cannons, advanced firing barrels and quicker autoloaders the ship would act as his flagship while he tested his carriers for a second time. Unlike before this time Artan had ordered his carriers to maximum capacity with twelve aircraft each. Beyond the strike group ten more Sea Wolves formed a perimeter screening for Draconian ships and submarines.

"Admiral" the Iroquois' commander said Artan looked over at Commander Garth Forsyth said getting his attention "Enterprise reports pilots are in briefings preparing for flight operations at 1000hrs."

"Good news" he said climbing up in his command chair and stroked the padded leather arm rest. "I miss my old chair." He said aloud. His comment drawing a few giggles from a couple of women who stop nearby, Artan just looked at them both and winked at them Duinhir reached to where the fleet phone should be hanging only to be grabbing at thin air. "Damn-it!" He exclaimed as he remembered that on the Advanced Sea Wolf's fleet phone was mounted on the bulk head besides the chair. He grabbed the phone and keyed the hand set. "All ships make flank speed and prepare for turn into the wind." He ordered and hung the phone backup.

The Terror Wolf and two Battle-cruisers easily made and maintained 30 knots however the two Carriers struggled in the turbulent seas. "Surface contact!" One of the radar operators called "Admiral, Draconian Battleship it's on its own sir." Artan smiled.

"Cancel all fleet operations bring on course with them"

"Cancelling flight operations coming to bearing 243 degrees." The officer of the deck braked following a nod from Commander Forsyth.

"Confirmed a single Battleship, its damaged Admiral" the sensor operator reported "and broadcasting distress."

"Good work Shelby" Forsyth said he looked at Duinhir, Artan looked at the sensors for a moment and nodded "All hands battle stations, battles station!" Forsyth shouted "bring online targeting systems, damage crews to their positions." He ordered commanding his ship the Officer of the Deck repeated his words throughout the ship.

"My intentions are to capture that ship. All ships prepare for boarding party action." Artan hung up the fleet phone and headed for the door. He glanced at Forsyth who nodded "Commander put your ship in front of that Battleship block her path, have both Battle-cruisers cover her flanks and have the carriers complete the box behind. If this lot wants to escape they go through us."

"We don't have as much armour as your Fortress Admiral." Forsyth warned before beginning to shout orders across the bridge. The Terror Wolf pulled in front of the Battleships crossing her parth the nimble destroyer easily matching the course despite the waves and speed, the two battlecruisers slipped into flanking positions just out of effective weapons range while the two Carriers closed the box behind them. "Incoming missiles" Forsyth warned he looked at Duinhir but the admiral remained quiet "maintain course, brace for contact!" The Commander ordered the brace of Cutlass missiles flew rapidly through the air three of them slamming into the forward hull causing minor damage. The Wolf was rocked by the impacts but maintained position "damage crews clear damaged sections."

"Cut engines." Duinhir ordered intending on stopping the Battleship, the Wolf's engines cut out moments later "weapons, fire a volley over her bow." He ordered Forsyth nodded to the weapons targeting officer, moments later there was a whirling sound as all five of the ship's D33-A Assault Cannons spun up and opened fire on the still closing Battleship. The advanced targeting systems on the Terror Wolf took the volley just over the Battleships damaged hull anyone on the deck would have felt the wind pushed by the shells.

"Still closing at speed" Shelby ordered "impact 3 minutes."

"Time to test that armour" Artan said quietly watching the contact close on the vessel it felt strange to be this close to an enemy without hearing weapons fire. The Battleships speed didn't change and the Draconian ship slammed into the Wolf's forward port side metal bent and turned under the impact and screamed as the two ships were locked together in a deadly embrace. Artan was thrown back into his chair by the impact momentarily stunning him. Forsyth was more prepared.

"Forward gun keep an eye on that ship pick off anyone on the deck." A D33 Assault Cannon was not designed for anti-personnel operations however it was still deadly for the task as the cannon began to spin up and engage the Draconian on deck "Admiral?"

"Boarding crews to stations have the Battle-cruisers close and add their marines to ours. Carriers to maintain position" Duinhir said regaining his composure.

On the deck Draconians were pouring from hatches across the ship Draconian soldiers pouring on to the deck. Bullets flew everywhere smashing into the Iroquois' hull as D33 fire cut down suited Draconian soldiers. Men and women on both side laid on their decks in a bloody mess that dripped into the sea turning the water a murky colour. Suddenly under the D33's fire and additional fire from the Iroquois' marines caused the Draconian guns to fall silent only visible hatch the led to the ships inner passageways a dark menacing looking place.

The Iroquois' marines surged forward coming up to the outer hatch and taking defensive positions to the right and left of the hatch. One marine gave the sergeant that was closest to the hatch a pear-shaped object, and the sergeant yanked out a cotter pin with his teeth and tossed the object through the hatch with a side-arm throwing motion. Inside the passage way the grenade could be heard bouncing off the bulkheads and a few seconds later the explosion went off and smoke rolled out the door. The sergeant held his left hand in the air with five fingers pointing skyward and started lowering one finger at a time. When all five of his fingers were closed in to a fist the sergeant and two other marines stormed through the hatch firing their automatic rifles as they went through the door. This same routine repeated itself many times as more marines from the other two carriers and the two battle-cruiser came aboard the stricken battleship.

Decks crews from the two carriers and both battle-cruisers came aboard the battleship and started to secure lines to the ship's bollards and throwing them back across to other deck seamen that was still on board the Iroquois. All the slack that was from the mooring lines until the battleship and the Sea Wolf would respond to the same helm commands the smaller ships powerful engines working overtime to control the crippled battleship. Slowly the carrier started forward motion and started an extra wide turn setting course for its home port, its escorts taking up defensive positions and the other two carriers following closely behind for protection.

All this was occurring while inside the battleship the Iroquois' marines both gained ground and lost ground, fighting from compartment to compartment. Alongside the additional marines from the two battlecruisers momentum was gained and slowly the Forsaken marines over came the battleship's defenders. But the cost in numbers was great and hours after the combat had begun only a few dozen of the ninety six marines that boarded were left, the massive suited Draconian soldiers able to take a lot of fire before falling each taking a couple of marines. With the ship mostly secure Duinhir had came across to from the Iroquois to the battleship just as the command deck of the Battleship was reached by his marines. A flash bang grenade had opened this last melee of combat and then the carnage had begun, without room to use weapons most of it was done in hand to hand combat. The Draconians were desperate not to lose however the Duinhir's marines well trained and equipped had overcome them but with continuing high levels of injury and loss. After the melee was over a few forsaken marines were off to one side bandaging their wounds as the rest gathered up the Draconians weapons which unlike their massive bulky environmental suits seemed to be standard personnel weapons issued to any ship board marine. This was the time that Admiral Artan Duinhir had waited for, his revenge his prize. Along with the marines who had stayed back to provide protection for him. Artan and the five men stepped on to the bridge of the Draconain Battleship and crossed the deck to stand before the Draconian battleship's captain

"Captain, accorded to Naval traditions of old. I ask for the surrender of your ship sir." Duinhir stood confident in his short 5 foot eight inch stance proud of his men's accomplishments despite the damage done and the carnage throughout the ship it would take weeks just to clean the ship out, and the heat was nearly unbearable. Duinhir had been on the ship less than fifteen minutes and already the excessive heat had made him sweat nearly uncontrollably.

The Draconian captain looked down at him, contempt in his eyes. "I will do no such thing Admiral!" He snarled his voice distorted by his suit the man was trying to use it to unhinge Duinhir and intimidate him despite the Admiral's armed bodyguard. "This is an Imperial Draconian vessel of the Red Fleet, I will not surrender this ship to you or any of your rabid band." He continued to ramble Duinhir raised his arm in it he held his service pistol not used in anger in years. "You threaten an unarmed man Admiral, does it make you feel big and strong, I will invite this failure like all others. I WILL NOT..." He begun to shout his voice echoing through the corridors, he was cut off however by a single shot.

The bullet had left Duinhir's pistol and struck the Draconian's chest going straight through the suit, there was a sound off gas escaping as the suit lost pressure and the Draconian stood there for a moment, for one second Duinhir had thought the Draconian had survived the shot, he'd aimed for the heart at point blank... the Admiral's mind raced for a few seconds then Draconian fell clattering to the deck there was silence on the bridge and on the ship for all of ten seconds before anyone spoke.. "Then the hard road is taken, sir" Artan said looking down at fallen Draconian "Major,Secure this ship!" Artan turned and started for the door. "Run these rats into the sea."

Duinhir left the battleship's bridge and stepped out on to its weather deck headed by for the Iroquois, he stopped and pulled the pistol out for its holster and looked at it for a few seconds. "This is war," He muttered before tossed the weapon overboard and it quickly sunk in to the sea, Artan knew that in the end before his death he will have to commit many more once unforgivable acts, but as he said this was war, and the times had changed since honor ruled the oceans. The Paragumo Carrier Task Force made its way back to Paragumo Island at the best possible speed that they could manage, Duinhir had rigged up several of the Sea Wolf escorts which had been securing the area to the Battleship towing it across the Forsaken Seas headng for home.