Well, I'm back above water now so I can give ya'll the new chapter. Whew, I'll tell ya, I ain't NEVER seen flooding like that before. I've been through Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Katrina and Rita, and never seen a mess like this. Bridges washed out, culverts collapsed, fields flooded, home literally lifted off their foundations and sunk. Hell, even Sibley Lake in my hometown of Natchitoches went over the embankment. Flooded out parts of Highway 6, Mariner's Restaurant, and the NPSO Lake Patrol Post, flooded the first floor of Natchitoches Central High School, and damn near flooded Northwestern State University.
Well anyway, the water is receding, cleanup has begun and now things are getting back to normal. Here's that Chapter I promised.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE SPYRO UNIVERSE. ONLY MY OCS.
Chapter 27: Battle of White Sands Part 2
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Joshua watched in shock as the smokescreen disipated. The enemy's cover blown by the aircraft already aloft, they abandoned a disguised approach and was now moving in at full speed. The Beowulf's radar operator confimed the report that Gerald had radioed to them.
Out of the smoke came a fleet numbering fourteen vessels. Confirmed were two Tyrann-class battlecruisers, two Schmerz-class cruisers, two Schrecken-class cruisers, two Wilhelm-class anti-air cruisers, two Kreuz-class heavy destroyers and three Fury-class destroyers. These ships were surrounding a single carrier that looked to be three times as big as the Bastion. Not only was it a large ship but it was unique in its design.
All carriers have a single landing deck and an 'island' bridge on either the port or starboard side. This carrier had two flight decks and had a large 'tower' bridge dead center between the flight decks, amidships. Through his binoculars, Josh could see aircraft preparing to take off from the carrier. He immediately turned to the radar operator.
"What's the range on that carrier?!" The crewman quickly did some calculations and then turned to him.
"Sir, the enemy carrier is at 15,000 yards. It's within range but we do not have a clear shot! Those escorts are spoiling our aim!" Immediately a young sailor came up to Josh, fear evident in his voice.
"Sir, we are facing a superior enemy force. They outnumber us two to one and outgun us four to one. For the sake of the crew, we must fall back and await reinforcements." Josh turned to him, eyes blazing with fury but then he sighed.
"I understand your concerns however, we cannot fall back. If we retreat, the enemy will take White Sands and will likely use it as a point to launch missions to intercept and destroy our ground and air forces trying to liberate Tullinar. Whatever casualties there will be already may as well be doubled or tripled. Not to mention the risk that that carrier has one of those 'Ragnarok' bombs on board. What if they decide to attack the Tullinar capital like they did Praetoria? Are we to fall back because we 'are not adequately prepared' and allow such an atrocity to go unchallenged? I understand your concerns are for the crew, your comrades, but remember that we are sailors in the Syllian Royal Navy and that we do not back down, nor give in. I will carry out a call for reinforcements but they won't arrive for some time. Until we are relieved, this is our fight and ours alone."
The sailor, chastised but now confident, nodded and returned to his post before a sharp whistle got his attention.
"Midshipman Ford. One more thing, never tell me the odds." The sailor nodded and then returned to his duties. Josh turned to the radar operator.
"Plot distance to nearest enemy ship and chart a firing solution for the guns. Have all turrets load armor-piercing rounds! Signal our destroyers to launch torpedoes in a full six by two spread into the enemy fleet. Set them to detonate either when they contact the ship's hull or sense their magnetic fields! Prepare to fire all primary and secondary batteries as soon as you get the firing solution!"
The bridge crew quickly did their numbers and then reported.
"Commander! Closest target is the first of two Wilhelm-class anti-air cruisers. Range is 10,500 yards, suggested gun elevation for main guns is 12.6 degrees, secondary guns 24.2 degrees!" Josh nodded.
"Send it!"
From the bridge, Josh could see the forward turret lifting its three 11.5 inch guns and knew that the seven starboard 5.5 inch guns and two stern turrets were also raising. A moment later, the gunnery officer on the bridge looked to him.
"Ready to fire sir!" Josh nodded.
"Fire guns, full complement!"
The turret crews must have heard him through the PA system for as soon as he uttered the word 'fire' the guns roared out their defiance. The recoil of fifteen cannons rattled the windows in the bridge and Josh feld the ship lurch as the guns recoiled in their turrets.
The first volley sailed through the air, rounds glowing red hot from the heat of the power charges that had launched them. The thing about armor-piercing rounds is that they tended to whistle loudly as they arced through the air. Doubtlessly to the crew of the enemy ship these rounds sounded akin to a chorus of the damned for no sooner had she started to turn and evade then the rounds came down upon her.
The three rounds from the forward turret crashed through the aft bridge and severely damaged the engine room beneath as fire erupted from her rear-most smokestack moment before the aft bridge erupted into flames. Three of the 5.5 inch shells missed but the other four found their mark, peppering the anti-air platforms and sending shrapnel into others. the shells from turret 2 struck the bridge, blowing it in half and the rounds from turret 3 struck the magazine in one of the forward turrets causing an explosion which ripped the turrets (and a good portion of the foredeck) from the ship and sent flaming debris into the nearby ships.
None of which did anything beyond pissing off the crews aboard the enemy carrier and battlecruisers.
An explosion from the enemy formation caught Josh's eye and he saw that the Minotaur had fired a broadside as well, only their target was a Kreuz-class heavy destroyer that had been lining up a torpedo spread on them. The broadside had ripped the destroyer open like a tin can and it was already sinking. The cruiser the Beowulf had hit started going down by the head as the crew rushed to escape their doomed ship.
(Two down with two broadsides. As long as those battlecruisers don't get a bead on us we should be fine.)
A moment later, two geysers of water erupted from another cruiser that had been hit by torpedoes fired from the Minerva. It didn't sink but it listed so heavily that it's main guns were rendered useless and started releasing a smokescreen to cover its retreat.
Shells from the Aurora, Tribal, and Solent struck one of the Schrecken-class cruisers, disabling its rear guns and engines allowing the Solent to fire a quick spread of torpedoes that hit and capsized the ship, sinking it.
Suddenly there was a sound Josh found he dreaded to hear and instinctively yelled to take cover a second before a dud 8 inch shell tore the starboard and port hatches off the bridge as it went through and felt the ship shudder as another round (this one NOT a dud) ripped through the second smokestack. Josh looked through the now open hatch to see steam and smoke billowing from the damaged smokestack and the he turned and saw one of the two battlecruisers across from them, the guns on its number 2 turret smoking.
"Someone radio the air units and see if we can't put a dent in that battlecruiser!" Anne came forward and shook her head.
"No use. Every time one of our planes gets close to the fleet, that anti-air cruiser throws enough lead up to sink a battleship. We have to deal with that anti-air first before they can attack. Until then all they can do is keep their fighters off of us." Josh nodded and then scanned for the remaining Wilhelm cruiser. A moment later he spotted it and cursed.
"Coward's hiding behind another of their cruisers. We can't directly target him." At that moment, the sonar operator raised his hand.
"Sir, I've got a contact. It matches one of our A-class submarines. I think it's A-22." Josh turned with an idea forming.
"Can we contact them?" He smiled at the sonar operator's nod and then relayed what he wished A-22 to do.
While the directions were being relayed, Josh caught sight of a small splinter group breaking from the main force containing one cruiser and two destroyers. He noticed the Minerva and Minotaur moving to intercept them. Gazing about he saw the Bastion making steam towards the Lion while firing her 3.5 inch guns at whatever vessel or aircraft foolish enough to bear down on her. A destroyer turned and began to pursue her until a loud whine pierced the sky and a familiar blood-red plane opened fire with all guns, raking the ship with explosive rounds and setting off the reserve torpedoes which all but blew the ship in half.
Almost immediately, the AA cruiser opened fire on Gerald's plane as he tried to climb above the flak bursts and tracers that were filling the air with black clouds and bursts of green light. Josh held his breath as the the plane dodged and rolled this way and that and sometimes diving in between ships to escape the tracers. The sonar operator suddenly whooped and turned in his seat.
"Commander! A-22 heard and acknowledged our request! Full spread of torpedoes inbound on the enemy AA cruiser, ETA forty seconds!" Josh shook himself from his fear and then looked to the gunnery officers.
"New targets! Bow turret, focus fire on that cruiser group in front of us, protect the Bastion. Stern guns, try and soften up that flak coming from that heavy destroyer, starboard and port batteries switch to anti-air mode and start hammering at those enemy planes already airborne!"
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Gerald finally found an opening in the fire and went through it, rising rapidly as the sea battle dwindled beneath him. As soon as he was clear, he got a bead on an enemy fighter and fired his weapons. The heavy cannon rounds ripped the right wing and part of the tail off, sending the plane in a free fall down to the waters below.
Looking around, he saw one of his nuggets was in trouble and angled the plane on an intercept trajectory. Before he reached him though, tracers shot past him and destroyed the enemy plane. Moments later, he heard Reyson's voice on the radio.
"Now Gerald, what would you do if I wasn't here to watch your back?" Gerald chuckled.
"Probably die happy, having you watch my back is a little unnerving, especially considering how that last burst nearly downed me. What are you drunk or just that poor a shot?"
"Hey, unlike you, I always hit what I'm aiming at." Gerald looked below and spotted a Syllian destroyer under threat from a battlecruiser.
"Well, here's your chance. We need you to cover us while we make a run on one of the enemy's capital ships. Attention Blue Flight, we have a battlecruiser baring down on one of our destroyers. Looks to be the Aurora. Let's give 'em a hand shall we?"
Blue flight was at his side quickly and then, as one, they dove at the large ship. Some fired rockets at the ships weak parts, some dropped bombs, and Gerald fired his cannons. The AA guns on the battlecruiser were almost vertical as they fired upwards at the incoming attack aircraft. Getting a closer look as he dove, Gerald could see aircraft preparing to take off from the battlecruiser's stern deck.
"No wonder there's so many aircraft, these damn battlecruisers are hybrid vessels! Part battlecruiser, part carrier!"
That's when he saw it.
From above he could see that the battlecruiser had armoring all around it and had an impressive amount of forward and side firepower, however, its stern section was entirely defenceless. It was completely dedicated to the lauching and retrieval of aircraft. He immediately recalled a story he'd read years ago.
"Thus when the demon turned to strike at the fallen maiden, the knight saw the creature's defences were weakened on its back and through the lance with all his might..." He keyed the radio.
"Gerald Ross to Beowulf. I have found a weak spot on the battlecruisers. If you can, try and get behind them, they have no visible weapons on the stern!"
An explosion caught his attention and he saw the AA cruiser, which had given them so much grief, explode as four torpedoes from A-22 struck it, flooding the port side of the ship causing it to completely capsize in under thirty seconds. During the Callinar Incursion, Gerald had seen a ship capsize and take all hands with her to the deep and, despite himself, muttered a prayer for those still trapped below deck as the upturned belly of the ship vanished beneath the waves.
"Attention, all planes, the enemy's sole remaining AA cruiser is sunk, launch full attack on the carrier and battlecruisers!"
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Josh sighed with relief as the last AA cruiser went down by the stern, by all appearances, her crew going every man for himself as they leapt into the waters. Above the fighters were engaging the enemy planes and he saw an entire flight bearing down on one of the two battlecruisers. A split second later the flight released their ordnance. The bombs hurtled down like bolts from heaven and slammed into the ship's aft bridge and flight deck. Rockets struck the merrimack bunker midship and the cannon rounds ventilated the forward bridge. Moments later the ship was lifted up midsection by an internal explosion of some kind which ripped the monsterous capital ship in half. He chuckled and then grabbed his radio.
"Attention all ships, we have destroyed roughly half the enemy fleet! Keep up the fire!" Then he saw Anne pointing at something and, turning to look, he paled at what he saw.
The second battlecruiser was broadside with the Solent. All six of her 8 inch guns in her forward turrets angled at the destroyer and the ten 8 inch guns in the port merrimack bunker turned as best they could to line up their shots. Hurriedly, Josh grabbed the radio.
"Solent! Enemy battlecruiser on your starboard side! Evasive maneuvers, NOW!"
The Solent's alarms blared but it was too late. The enemy ship fired all the guns and there was a sickening explosion as each and every shell hit the destroyer. It was like watching a train strike an small animal. The Solent immediately caught fire as the bow and stern magazines exploded, further dooming the ship. Josh watched as crewmen flailed in the water and hoped there were enough of them to save.
Then came the unthinkable.
"Captain! That battlecruiser is turning its machineguns on the survivors!"
Josh's gazed snapped to the battlecruiser and he watched in horror as the machineguns on the port side started firing at the wreck of the Solent. Men were swinmming frantically to escape the burning fuel oil and now bullets were coming at them. The sea was tinged black with fuel and then it turned red with the blood of the crew. Josh could hear the screams of the wounded, the dying, the burning, and the curses of those who used their last breath to shout at the gunners on the battlecruiser. He also smelled the blood of the crew dying in the water, the excitement and eager anticipation of the gunners on the battlecruiser.
He grew angrier and gripped the radio transciever with such force he bent it. Cursing audibly, he stepped out ont the bridge and gave a glance back at Anne, he didn't even recognize the look of shock on her face as his eyes had turned from their usual green to a bright gold/silver mix and his teeth had already started to lengthen, and spoke, almost growling.
"I'll be right back..."
Before Anne or any of the crew could ask what he meant, Josh leapt from the bridge and transformed into his true self in mid air. Gone was Joshua de Launces, the man. In his place was Joshua de Launces, the dragon, who hovered above the bridge, muzzle twisted into a savage snarl that showed his many gleaming white fangs. He gave his wings one or two stationary flaps and then took off towards the battlecruiser that had cut down the Solent's crew.
As he released a roar that seemingly shook both heaven and earth, there was no doubt in anyone's mind, he was royally pissed off.
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Reyson had seen the battlecruiser gun down the Solent's crew and was about to give them a taste of their own medicine when he heard a roar that came just as much through the radio as through the air and saw a massive white-silver dragon launch itself from the bridge of the Beowulf and make a bee-line for the battlecruiser. Reyson gave a grin and clicked his radio.
"You boys wanna see why no one messes with one of Syllia's own de Launces dragons? Well, now's your chance. Commander de Launces has just shifted and he's going to kick some serious ass."
Reyson watched as Joshua hurled down onto the battlecruiser like the sword of Judgement itself, he smashed into the stern deck which was unarmored, tossing planes, bombs, topedoes, and other things everywhere. The crew was stunned for a moment and then hurriedly began firing small arms at him but the bullets just pinged off his scales. Using his claws, tail blade, and even his fangs, Josh made quick work of the deck crew and then went towards the aft bridge.
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He was vengeance.
He was rage.
He was fury.
He was justice.
Though not the oldest of James and Lysa's four children, Josh nevertheless was actually the biggest when in his dragon form. He was a good six feet taller than his brother, was more well muscled thanks to the Navy's intensive survival training, his wingspan was as wide as his Father's, and his tail was almost the same length as his body, so long in fact when he was younger he was always tripping over it, his cutlass shaped tailblade always gouging something when he moved it. Underneath the glossy scales, large, toned muscles rippled and flexed when he moved, if anyone had been standing by him while he moved, they would have heard his muscles creaking as he flexed and moved them. He was, quite literally, the strongest dragon in his family, physically speaking.
He had never shifted before while in combat but at the moment he didn't give a damn.
He landed down on the aft deck of the ship with such force that he actually forced the stern of the ship to dip into the ocean eighteen feet before it came back level. The disorientation was enough for him to begin his attack on the ship. After making quick work of the deck crew, he broke the ship's radio mast from the aft bridge and, holding it in his foreclaws like a spear, tossed it through the forward bridge. He then wrapped his muscular tail around the second smokestack, broke it free with a solid wrench and used it as a club bashing the aft bridge tower until it broke free with a shriek and fell over the side.
Soldiers were coming out of the merrimack bunkers on the port and starboard sides to see what the hell the noise was, had just enough time to pale and turn back to run for the safety of the bunker before Josh gripped them in his claws and tossed them either overboard or tossed them into the gun positions that moments ago had been engaged in wholesale murder. Using his forelegs, he ripped the roof of the port bunker open and started clawing and raking the men cowing inside it with his claws. It was at once exhilerating yet also repugnant.
He was enjoying, or perhaps more appropriately, savoring, their fear, the scent of adrenaline. He felt almost drunk with his anger. The screams of those he mauled and ripped apart not touching the human side of his conciousness. Right now, he was not a human in the Syllian Navy.
He was a dragon. A dragon who had seen his comrades cut down like dogs. Men and women he had met with, spoken with, drank with, and fought with.
One man tried to turn one of the machineguns on him but with a twist of his neck, Joshua grabbed the man with his fangs and bit down. Hard.
To say that the crewmen who saw this screamed was an understatement. Josh could swear their screaming somehow gained an even higher pitch to it, some went as far as to raise their screams an octave. Still, angry he may be, but he was not a murderer. His human side coming forth and gripping control as human blood flooded his mouth, coated his tongue and teeth.
The man's lower half fell to the deck and Joshua spat the other half into the sea, much to the delight of the sharks that had now gathered at the scent of blood. He allowed a moment to retch and use seawater to rinse his mouth before he turned to the starboard bunker, fangs still gleaming but still stained with gore, and as before, ripped this one apart with his claws, killing the enemy within the fortification like a terrier going after rats that had dug themselves into their burrows.
Next and last was the forward bridge and the two turrets on the bow. Using the first smokestack as he had used the second, Josh used it like a hammer and impacted the top two levels of the bridge before giving it a shove and sending it falling onto the two turrets that were smashed by the weight of the structure. Then, not satisfied with that, he dove into the water on the starboard side, swam under the ship and saw a small structure that looked to be some sort of sub pen. He twisted through the water like a corkscrew and again ripped the structure free of the ship, snarling satisfiedly as he saw men also fall from the hole in the ship and scream underwater as they saw what awaited them.
He released the sub pen to sink and then surfaced, climbed aboard the ship to shake the water from his wings and lifted off to return to the Beowulf, not sparing a glance as the battlecruiser, which now caught fire as the magazine ruptured, rolled, and sank beneath the waves.
As he made ready to land on the Beowulf, he began changing mid-landing and by the time he landed back on the lookout post, his wings had shrunk back into his back and he straightened his uniform as if nothing had happened and took his position on the bridge despite the shocked stares of his crew. Anne approached him, somewhat fearful and tapped his shoulder.
"F-Feel better, sir?" Josh gazed around at their frightened expressions and sighed deeply.
"Yes. Forgive me, I quite lost myself for a moment. Father and Mother always told me to never shift out of anger nor attack with rage. It's just that, seeing men under my command being murdered like that...it just...I saw red and there's no excuse for it. If you wish me to, I shall relieve myself and allow you command, Ann-Lieutenant."
This announcement somewhat shocked her and the crew but then she allowed her fear to fade as she realized that, despite the change, the scales...the fangs...this was still the same man who was her Captain. Her friend.
The man she had fallen in love with.
Anne stepped back and saluted and smiled.
"Welcome back aboard sir! Damn glad to see that those bastards got their just rewards." This was seconded by the crew as they began cheering and one joked about how to 'remind him to never piss the Commander off'. Josh nodded but then sank back into his chair and breathed heaviy for a moment, his face going gaunt for a moment as he also began to perspire heavily as if a great physical toll had just made itself known to him. Josh saw the crew's expression change and he waved them off.
"I forgot how exhausting that is. In my rage I forget how difficult it is to break a steel superstructure from its moorings or how difficult it is to crush a smokestack with my tail. I daresay I won't be shifting for a while, and when I do, I'll definately be hurting. Most likely I'll be spending the entirety of my next shore leave tending to those aches." The gunnery officer laughed.
"No need to worry about that, sir. You rest, we've pretty much got the bastards wrapped up now." No sooner had the words been out of his mouth than the radar operator paled and turned to face Josh.
"Sir, I've got new contacts on the mid-range scope. Twenty-eight ships closing fast. Twelve of them battleship sized. All hostile."
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To be continued...