Ch. 5: An Initiation
0550 hrs - April 10th, 1972
95 Kilometers East by North East of the Azores Archipelago in the Atlantic.
Ford POV
Ugh… I can't sleep.
That was the foremost thought on my mind as I laid in a small cot onboard the Eskimo after spending nearly two hours trying to catch some sleep which seemed near impossible in the damp humid air of the bunk room.
Captain Augustus had advised me to get at least a few hours of rest into my system while I could before we entered the engagement zone, but sadly my adrenaline had other ideas for me, especially with how fast the last fourteen or so hours had been.
After receiving the order to mobilize back in Lisbon, the entire squadron had loaded up and was out of the port before midnight. Since then we had been on a steady course south of the Azores Islands where the reported attack had taken place.
In the initial briefing before we left, it was explained that a convoy of six Brazilian freighters bound for Gibraltar had been intercepted and then chased off course by a small number of remnant Siren warships.
While most of the convoy had made it to the Azores, some were sadly destroyed along the way before getting close enough to where the coastal defenses of the islands managed to drive the enemy ships off and tracked them taking a southern course back into the trade lanes.
Small attacks like these were the most common in the last few years since the official end of the war, or more accurately, since the destruction of the final Siren manufacturing fortress and the defeat of the enemy's last major armada in the second battle of Leyte Gulf in 1970.
Since then, the largest Siren force to date has only numbered at only a handful of ships at a time, though it was far more common for only one vessel to start stirring up trouble. As for how many had attacked the convoy, reports range that number from one to seven so it was anyone's guess how many were actually out there.
I rubbed my eyes awake as I stood and put my blouse and shoes back on. While trying to sleep with most of my uniform and my prosthetic leg on was uncomfortable especially with the mild humidity, I dared not undress more due to the fact I was aboard a Kansens' ship and I didn't really understand how it all worked or if she could see into every room.
I'll have to ask them about that sometime. I thought, and wondered if Chaser was the better person for that question with her more mature and understanding attitude.
While I could have saved myself the trouble and posted myself on the Danube, both Captain Augustus and I wanted me to get more experience working directly with a Kansen in battle, and now was as good a time as any.
As for Eskimo's thoughts on my presence aboard her ship, she had actually been pretty excited about having me with her. So much so that she was jumping up and down her hull for over an hour after leaving port, just giddy with enthusiasm as she gave me her personal tour of her ship.
Her positive and childlike attitude, despite being a bit hard to keep up with, was actually a bit of a relief after dealing with personalities like the often pissed off Pennsylvania and the bombastic Kirov. It just felt nice being around such a friendly presence.
Atlanta and Z23 had shown no real interest in having me aboard them, but neither did they seem to be opposed to the idea; Eldridge had recommended I not travel with her unless I wanted to suffer through random shocks from her hull, and U556 had still yet to breathe a word to me so I figured she was not an option at the moment either.
As I stepped out of my cabin, I tried to remember the right way to the galley for some coffee, but then I wondered if Eskimo even had coffee aboard. The idea of the energetic girl having access to caffeine was a scary thought.
Should have brought a thermos. I berated myself as I turned towards the bridge instead.
Opening the outer hatch onto the deck, I was greeted with a blast of thick sea air and a sprinkle of salt water on my face. It was early in the day and the sun had yet to even peak over the horizon, but the lighter night sky to the East foretold its arrival.
Despite the darkness, I could still make out a few white caps of the waves as the small Tribal class destroyer cut its way through the water like a knife through butter. Looking ahead, I tried to spot Chaser's carrier ahead of us, the outline was barely visible amongst the dark waves.
The entire squadron had formed a long spear formation on a compass course of one-two-zero East by South-East, as we entered the estimated battle zone south of the Azores with the lead elements consisting of U556 who was far ahead acting as a scout, then there was Kirov as the spear tip backed by Pennsylvania behind her with Z23 and Eldridge flanking both of the battlewagon's sides.
That was the forward element, the rear element where I was stationed was about five kilometers or more behind them and consisted of a single ship line with the Danube leading, Chaser's carrier in the middle, and trailing as the last ship of the formation was Eskimo.
The plan of action was for the forward element to be the hunters of the pack while Chaser's carrier provided air support from the rear element. The Danube and Eskimo were assigned as escorts for the carrier in the event one of the enemy ships flanked the forward unit.
Captain Augustus was commanding the operation from the Pennsylvania's CIC room while I was assigned to command the rear guard units. It was a fitting position for me since I was still anxious to prove myself, yet was relieved that the captain was easing me into my role as executive officer.
At least I hope that was her intention for sticking me as the rear guard.. I thought as I stepped up to the open bridge hatch, the room was a very small compartment that looked barely big enough to fit six bodies in it and I had to remind myself not to panic at the fact it was unoccupied by a crew despite the small ship going at a steady pace of nineteen knots.
Every station was vacant yet seemed active all the same with the helm wheel making small course adjustments on its own, it gave the whole ship a ghostly feel to it.
More so since the ship's Kansen was not present either.
I know they can control their ship from almost anywhere on it but where else could she be? I thought, wondering if Eskimo was perhaps on a bathroom break or even getting some sleep herself.
"HI-YA Commander!" a loud Scottish voice spoke from behind me, making me jump and nearly hitting my head on the bridge hatch.
Looking back I saw the fun-loving prankster smiling happily at my reaction to her surprise. Her red coat's white fur trim blowing in the breeze of the sea and her spectacled face laughing away at my expense.
"Ha ha ha! I love it when they jump!" she spoke, her laughter bringing a new life to the ship, brightening it and at the same time relieving a little of my stress despite my embarrassment.
"Y-yeah, you certainly got me good there." I admitted, still catching my breath from her scare. In all fairness, I had been given due warnings about Eskimo's habit of pranking people and I was starting to see why I was given so many apologetic looks when I boarded.
"Sure did! So, whatcha need sir? I thought you'd be asleep for a little longer?" she asked, her smile still a blaze on her face.
"I was just going to ask if you've got any coffee aboard?" I asked.
"Nah, Kirov says I'm not allowed to have coffee. Something' about me having all the energy I'll ever need already." Eskimo said as she leaned back and forth in tune with the rocking of her ship in the waves.
"I see… well that makes sense I guess." I whispered that last part as my spirit dropped at the absence of the precious sustenance, but also feeling some small relief that she was not allowed to it.
"But I got some tea I can whip up for you along with some sandwiches. How about that?" she asked and I accepted the offer, thinking it was better than nothing.
As we walked down to her galley, I asked how things were going so far for the operation.
"It's alright. But the river-boat broke her radar again, hopefully they fix it pretty soon before we run into those Sirens." Eskimo spoke as she skipped into her hull.
"River-boat?" I asked.
"Hm? Oh! Sorry, that's what I call the Danube." she said.
"Why?"
"Well, all crewed ships in the Defense Fleet are either named after mountains or rivers, so I like to call them river-boats or hill-boats, because some of their names are hard to say and it just sounds funnier!" Eskimo explained with a grin and a skip through a hatch.
"I guess that works." I said as we finally entered the ship's small galley and Eskimo got a kettle started then began fishing out some tea for us. "Have you been up all night?"
"No, I took a little nap in my own room for a while, then I heard you getting up and thought it would be fun to surprise you!" she explained as she prepped the tea leaves then sat down as we waited for the kettle.
"And you succeeded, but tell me more about the Danube's radar issue. I thought they worked on it before we left Lisbon?" I asked, hoping it wasn't too bad. Without radar, a ship was practically blind in the open ocean.
"They probably did, but that ship's radar has always been funky. I heard it was because the thing was a hand me down from who knows how many other ships. But don't you worry, Chaser has her own so we should be fine." she said.
"That's good, but I should check in with them later about it. What about the rest of the squadron? Any news on the enemy?" I asked as I felt Eskimo begin to tap her feet together under the table and did my best to ignore it.
"Everyone's good, no sign of those creepy Sirens yet. Aunt Augustus thinks we'll catch them sometime after sunrise if we keep this speed up. You want sugar and cream with your tea?"
Try as I may, I couldn't help but give a small laugh at Eskimo's nick-name for the captain.
"Yes on the sugar, no thanks on the cream. If I remember our conversation from the range yesterday, you said you've been with the squadron for quite a few years now, right?" I asked, interested in getting a conversation going.
"Yup! I used to be a part of Second Squadron before it was disbanded. And before that I was with the Home Fleet stationed out of Halifax." she said, then we both heard the kettle whistle and she got up for it.
"So why didn't you go back? To the Royal Navy I mean." I asked.
"Oh, well that's because, um…" she trailed off as she shut the stove off and lifted the kettle off, her previously positive demeanor replaced with an awkwardness that seemed a poor fit on the young destroyer.
Chaser had been just as awkward the other day when I had referred to the Royal Navy, and now seeing how Eskimo was being so hesitant, I began to wonder just what the Royal Navy was like to elicit such a reaction from both of their own Kansen.
But before I could ask anymore of her, Eskimo suddenly stopped mid-pour and her head perked up to the right as if she was listening for something.
"Eskimo?" My only answer was an open palm pointed at my face followed by a single finger to her mouth in a show to stay quiet as Eskimo closed her eyes in concentration while she set the kettle down. She stayed like that for a full ten seconds.
"That doesn't look right." she whispered as her brows crunched in concentration.
"What is it?" I asked despite her request for silence. She opened her eyes and looked at me in confusion.
"It's just…" she fidgeted nervously. "I think I'm picking something up on my sonar."
My first thought was that that was impossible since she wasn't at the sonar station, but then I remembered that Kansen and their ships were connected in an almost mystical fashion. If she could pilot her hull without a full crew, it stood to reason she could work the various sensor equipment by herself too.
That's gonna take a minute to get used to.
"Okay, from where?" I asked.
"It's…" she concentrated again, "on my bearing of about one-four-zero to one-five-zero, around… two? Maybe just over one kilometer away."
In my mind I pictured the squadron's formation and Eskimos hull in the rear, placed a three hundred and sixty degree protractor atop it, and realized the contact was nearly directly behind us just to the left of the ship's stern, but the fact they were within two kilometers distance from us is what got my nerves going.
In naval terms, that's a little too close for comfort. I thought and before I stood up.
"Let's get to the bridge and get a better look." I said as I headed out with Eskimo on my tail. It was a quick trip up despite the protesting soreness of my prosthetic as I climbed the steep stairs faster than usual. Once back in the pilot house I grabbed a pair of binoculars hanging on the wall and then stepped onto the small bridge wing.
"Do you still have contact?" I asked her, as I turned towards the ship's stern in the general direction she specified from before.
"Hang on, let me double-check." she said as she walked to an actual sonar station that had been placed within her bridge for better access and placed a headset on. "Yup, it's still there, now bearing one-two-zero at one kilometer out."
Looking through the binoculars in that direction yielded nothing on the sea with how dark it still was. I checked the time and we still had over an hour before sunrise by which time we should be nearing the estimated battle zone.
But even so I should still be able to see a surface contact that's just one kilometer out. My gut curled as I concluded that the contact must be under water.
"Start a broad weaving course and call Chaser to see if she is seeing anything on her radar. I'll call the Danube." I instructed, then walked back into the bridge to grab the ship's radio.
Eskimo lowered her headphones and mentally called Chaser directly while her hull turned to port as she began to weave in a zig-zag course to throw off anything that might be aiming at us.
"Danube, this is Eskimo." I announced into the mic.
"Danube actual here." was the reply, letting me know I was speaking to the escort's commanding officer, Lt. Commander Jen Howell.
"Commander Howell, Eskimo has a sonar contact on a bearing of one-two-zero at roughly one kilometer distance, can you confirm contact? Over." I said, hoping it was just a lost whale or something.
"We're checking now, stand by…" The voice of Commander Howell spoke, I waited only a few more seconds before she spoke again, "that's a confirmed contact for us too sir, but it's barely showing up on our screen. But whatever it is, it's keeping pace with us."
Glancing to Eskimo as she finished her talk with Chaser. "Chaser says she doesn't have anything showing on her radar."
Which means whatever it is out there, it is definitely under the surface. Which meant a submarine. I thought and quickly ignored the shiver of fear that hit me.
Siren sub attacks were not especially well known, mostly because there were not many of them to begin with. Sirens mainly focused on surface and air power during the war, with almost all of the confirmed sub sightings being up in the North Atlantic.
"XO, this is the captain." Captain Augustus's voice now filled the shared com-line of the squadron. "Sounds like we've got an unknown tale back there."
"Yes ma'am, nothing solid yet but I'd like to check it out just to be safe. Requesting permission to investigate?" I asked.
"Permission granted, but do not stray far from the formation, I want you back here in an hour if you can't find anything, understood?"
"Good copy ma'am. Danube, we'll be leaving our current station now, keep your eyes on our flanks in case this is a distraction. Copy?" I said.
"Copy that sir, good hunting."
With that said, I turned back to Eskimo who was looking at me expectantly.
"Alright, let's get it done then. Right standard rudder to bearing one-three-zero. Load all mounts and remove depth charge safeties. What's the slowest speed you can go while not cavitating your propellers?" I asked.
"I can make twelve knots while quiet, but ten is better honestly." she said.
"Perfect, once we make the turn slow to ten knots and then set the sonar to passive. If there is something out there, I want to hear them first. Once we get closer, we'll go active on the sonar." I ordered, stepping into the familiar feeling one has when in command.
Eskimo repeated my orders in confirmation and her hull came even more alive as it made its starboard turn towards my interception course with the unknown contact.
As the ship steadied it's turn, I suddenly remembered that while I was technically in command of this ship, it was still Eskimo's boat and I'm sure she had her own methods or traits when going into combat.
"I'm not overstepping myself, am I? I'm guessing you probably do these types of maneuvers on your own." I said, but Eskimo just waved my concern off.
"Your fine commander, I can do it myself if I need to, but I don't mind a co-pilot." she said, then stepped out onto the bridge wing and promptly activated her rigging in a flash of crystal blue embers.
A set of mechanical arms appeared behind her attached to her lower back, one held a quad-torpedo launcher, the other a smaller version of her main battery double barreled turret, and finishing it off was a set of ski poles and skates.
"Ta-da! I haven't shown you my rigging yet have I? How do I look? Cute right?!" she asked, showing off with a few twirls.
This was actually my first time seeing a Kansen activate their rigging up close. To say I was amazed by the sight of such machinery simply appearing out of nowhere on her back was an understatement. However…
"You look impressive. But… Why do you have ski gear attached to you?" I asked.
"Because skiing is fun!" was all she said. I had no
It was just shy of our one hour time limit when I got the call from Captain Augustus to start our way back into the formation after unsuccessfully searching for our ghost target.
After arriving at the anticipated interception area, Eskimo had gone active with the sonar and had rung it like an overused church bell on Sunday morning. Yet despite all the effort in trying to find the target, nothing had come up and we had guessed it was probably just a lost whale.
Now we were running at full speed to catch back up to the squadron which had finally spotted two enemy ships on the brightening horizon.
The forward spearhead unit was advancing on them while the rear support group slowed to remain at a safe distance just as planned with Chaser having already sent out her bomb equipped interceptors to assist.
As I stood out on Eskimo's bridge wing I was feeling a bit embarrassed that my first combat action in the squadron started out as a wild goose chase, but considering the circumstances I knew it was better to be safe than sorry.
But I still felt a nagging feeling at finding nothing. Having an unknown contact pop up and then disappear right as we are about to engage the enemy is just a bit much to consider as a simple coincidence. But I shook the feeling off as I looked through the binoculars again and watched as the squadron moved into its combat positions far ahead of us.
"How long until we meet back up with them?" I asked as I looked over to Eskimo who was kneeling on the floor in front of an open panel of her sonar system that showed a mess of wiring that she was checking over to ensure they were functioning.
"About fifteen minutes." she said, her fingers still entangled in the mess.
After not finding our ghost target, she had decided to take a quick look at her sonar systems to ensure it wasn't an error on her part. Considering the Danube had also picked the target up too, I was confident we had seen something, even if it ended up appearing to be nothing.
"Alright, I'm going to head down to the bathroom real quick, start putting that back together, faulty or not we will be needing it soon." I said, she sighed then nodded as she took her hands out and began placing the components back in place.
The only reason I had agreed to her taking it off line in the first place was because she said she could bring it back online in under a minute so I wasn't too worried about having it off for what had only been less than five minutes, at least I told myself I wasn't worried. As I turned to walk out of the bridge, my thoughts returned to a jumble of embarrassment from our failure.
I can hear it now: The new commander, back from his ghost hunting trip! I thought as I stepped through the opening onto the bridge wing. But as I was about to climb down Eskimo had reactivated the sonar and suddenly the loud sound of the sonar bell ringing called my attention back. "What's that?"
Eskimo was on her feet and over the controls in an instant, but when she put the headphones on, her face suddenly paled.
"Torpedo! Torpedo in the water!" she shouted and immediately thoughts of the restroom were shoved out the window as I grabbed the binoculars again.
"Bearing? Range?" I called as I looked across the ocean for any sign of a torpedo trail.
"Bearing is… zero-eight-zero! Range seven hundred meters! It's… Down doppler?!" she said the last words with relief and confusion.
The 'term doppler' referred to the direction a ships (or in this case torpedoes) screws were running towards with the only three answers being up, down, or null. Up meant the screws were coming towards us, down meant they were moving away, and null simply meant they were transitioning from one to the other.
If it's down-doppler for us that means it's thankfully heading away, but then… realization hit me hard as I looked out on the bearing and finally spotted the torpedoes' wake as it swam through the cold ocean waters… straight for Chaser!
"Shit! It's going for our carrier! Hard right rudder till you bare down on that torpedoes origin point! Push all engines ahead full!" I ordered as I reached for the radio. Eskimo only nodded as she stepped out to get the torpedoes' origin bearing.
"Chaser, Exec! Chaser, Exec!" I double called into the radio to get the carrier's immediate attention as Eskimo showed me a slip of paper that wrote the torpedoes origin compass bearing, I nodded in thanks.
"Chaser here sir, something wrong?" she responded.
"Chaser, I have a torpedo sighting on a compass bearing of three-three-zero heading directly for your carrier now approximately five hundred meters away on her starboard side, take evasive maneuvers to port immediately!" I nearly shouted into the mic and looked out the porthole waiting for a response that came only seconds later.
"Understood, proceeding to evade!" spoke the tense voice of Chaser as her hull sluggishly made the turn. Then the voice of Lt. Commander Howell spoke from the speaker.
"Danube here. We've got it and one other tag along fish on our sonar. Chaser, stay on that turn for thirty seconds then straighten out and you should be fine. Good spotting Exec."
"Copy that Howell. Chaser, once those fish pass, maintain evasive maneuvers due South-East. Do you have any anti-submarine armament available for your aircraft?" I asked.
"Negative sir, and even if I did I already sent them all to help the forward group, but the Danube should have a Seasprite helicopter for such a role."
"Howell, can you confirm?" I asked.
"Aye sir, we got one. We're spinning her up now. She'll be airborne in five mikes."
"Good copy Howell, keep your boat to the rear of the carrier to screen for any more incoming torps. Eskimo and I will head in and get the enemy off your back." I said with both acknowledging my orders and wishing me good hunting.
Stepping back out onto the observation deck, I saw Eskimo looking out at the sea as her hull began to straighten out its turn, bringing her right into the interception course towards where those torpedoes had come from.
"Anything on sonar?" I asked.
"Nothing yet." was all she said. Her face no longer had that familiar smile she always seemed to have. Instead her brows were pinched and her fists were clenched in anger.
I stood next to her as her hull cut through the swells, doing my best to control my nerves and remain calm. This was my first battle since I lost the Barry, and I refused to have it end the same way.
"Looks like we're dealing with an enemy sub, can't say I've got a lot of experience in ASW, how about you Eskimo?" I asked as I looked over the waves with the binoculars, but kept one hand on the railing as the ship kept a zig-zag course to throw off any torpedo attacks, causing all manner of rocking that made me glad I had so little food in my stomach. But my question was only met with silence.
Glancing back down at her, I saw she was still looking out at water, her gaze was still hard yet her hands were clenched so tight that they began shaking.
"Eskimo?" my voice brought her attention back to me. "Is something wrong?"
She unclenched her hands and took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Sorry, I'm fine sir, and sadly I'm all too familiar with them. I fought against a few during the war; they were mostly used against merchant convoys in the North Atlantic. I… I lost a lot of friends because of them." she said.
And for a moment, she finally looked her age of a young girl, nervous and maybe a bit scared of what was to come.
I know that look. I thought, as my hand found itself about to rest atop her head before I thought better of it and instead placed it on her shoulder in comfort.
"Then let's make sure this one doesn't take any more, okay?" she sniffed once then blew her nose into a handkerchief from her pocket. After folding it, she breathed in again and with a determined look, nodded back to me.
"Alright then, what more can you tell me about them?" I asked, as her hull made another turn into a standard zig-zag course to throw off any incoming torps.
"Well, for one thing they were much larger than our own subs and very rare. If I remember right, only twenty were ever confirmed to have been actually sighted, and only eleven have ever been confirmed as sunk. One of my old friends, Haida, said she spent nearly twelve hours searching for one only to have it pop up nowhere near where she was searching." she said.
Well, that's promising. I sarcastically thought.
"Armaments'?"
"Over a dozen torpedoes and maybe some missiles, some even have big deck mounted guns on their hulls. Nobody has ever seen one long enough to tell anymore than that. Oh! And here's some good news: they always seem to work alone, no one really knows why.." she seemed confident enough in her words that she put some peace of mind to my nervous thoughts.
But only some.
The idea of bringing Danube out to help was tempting, but it would be a rookie move to leave our only carrier undefended.
"What do you think our chances of finding it are?" I asked as a wave hit the bow, sending a splash of salt water onto the deck. We both came into the pilot house to avoid the unwanted shower.
"It's not impossible, but they are a lot tougher to locate than our own subs." she said as she sat on the sonar station while I plopped into the captain's chair. "They can dive over sixteen hundred meters deep, much deeper than my sonar can detect and something about their hulls material makes them even more difficult for our sonar to find except when their just below the surface, or by the crazy chance they happen to literally be right underneath-"
PING!
The familiar and harsh sound of the sonar seemed to silence everything else. The wind, the sea, even my own heart beat seemed to adhere to its order of stillness.
"...us." Eskimo whispered as both of us looked to the sonar screen, in its center was our ship and not too far away was a fading silhouette that was almost as large as than ours.
PING!
The shape reappeared again, a little closer than before at about one thousand meters out. A glance to the depth gauge had the target at around two hundred meters down, after another ping the depth gauge remained the same, which meant the sub wasn't going any lower for some reason.
Strange, pretty sure they should be diving to their maximum depth by now after firing those torpedoes, so why are they staying so close to the surface? I thought before, despite the dominating feeling to remain silent, I forced a breath into me.
"Adjust course left by fifteen degrees. Slow to eight knots. Set half of the depth charges to two hundred meters, the rest to two-fifty." I said, but after one second too long I looked down to Eskimo and saw she remained focused on the sonar screen with both her hands squeezing around it as the target faded then came back after another ping.
"Eskimo." I said firmer, she blinked and turned her unfocused glasses back to me. "Did you get that?"
Her gaze seemed to refocus with my words and she nodded slowly with a silent gulp as her ship answered her silent orders.
"Aye sir, coming left fifteen degrees, reducing speed, charges are set and loaded." she said at a near whisper.
I gave a confident smile, fake as it might have been, but it seemed to work and she slapped her cheeks and became as focused as she had before.
Onward we went, the closer we got to the target, the faster and louder the pinging seemed to become. It was torturous, both the waiting and the dread of what might happen if we missed something. My mind began to wander to various thoughts of what might go wrong and what must go right… And how I wished that pinging would just shut up!
Looking over to Eskimo, she seemed as tense as I was.
"Relax," I told her, causing her to take in another breath as she looked at me. "It's my first fight in a while too. But we need to stay focused."
"Y-yes sir… thanks." she said, whispering the last word.
Then we heard the familiar chop-chop-chop of a helicopter and I turned to look out the bridge door to see the expected Seasprite chopping its way towards us. I picked up the radio and set it for the listed aircraft frequency.
"Seasprite, this is Ford, I see you coming up on us. How's your armament looking, over." I clicked off and was met with a familiar Texas accent.
"And a good mornin' to you too Foxy! We're loaded with one torp and four sonar buoys just for little old you." the voice of none other than Lt. Mike Williamson spoke, his words raising my spirits as it always has.
"Good to have you out here Mikey. We've got the target sitting on my bearing of zero-one-five, a hundred and fifty meters out, and about two hundred meters below the waterline. Drop your buoys in a three kilometer square search area ahead of us. Copy?"
"Good copy, heading out. You go ahead and relax Foxy, this'll be a cakewalk boss." he responded, earning a smile from me but a part of me knew I needed to talk with him sometime about radio edict. After hanging the mic up again, I saw Eskimo looking back at me with a hand on her mouth as she tried to hold in a laugh.
"Something funny?" I asked.
"Pfft-hehe, I like how he calls you… Foxy! Ha ha ha!" she said as she laughed a few more times at my expense.
Now I'm really going to have a chat with him on radio edict! I thought as the young girl had her laugh at my expense.
But before I could say anything more about it the sonar beeped again and this time the target looked to have changed course and both of us watched the screen to see where the sub intended on going.
"It looks like it might be trying to get around us to get another shot at Chaser." Eskimo said, and I concurred with her assessment.
"So then…" I began thinking about what to do, there were dozens of options but I needed to choose the best one.
Naval tactics were often compared to a complex algebra problem; we had the problem before us with its many alternatives to finding the answer of C depending heavily on what our two parties decided what A and B were. It was not ideal since both sides had a say in the problems parameters, but the key was ensuring our side kept the ball in our corner, or as older sailors would call it; finding and holding the weather gauge.
At the moment, we had the enemy's general location and had air support, therefore we had the upper hand. Yet Sirens were notorious for being brutal in their attacks, even going so far as to be suicidal. If driven hard enough, this sub could simply try to ram us.
A basic attack might be easily avoided, yet a more complex one has too many tasks to keep track of. My mind thought furiously as I struggled to build up a plan, but eventually I remembered a little detail. It still hasn't gone deeper than two hundred meters… is it damaged?
"Hey Eskimo," she turned to me, "Does anything about this sub seem off to you?"
"Yeah, I was starting to think that too. Tracking it is almost too easy. It should have dived deep already, but it's staying level. Hang on." Eskimo placed the headphones back on her head, took a full ten seconds to listen, and then turned back to me. "It's propeller sounds like it's cavitating, roughly to; and I'm hearing some odd mechanical groaning sounds, like something is jammed. Perhaps it's already hurt?"
Some would not call it wise to rely on what we hoped was happening, but the idea actually wasn't too hard to believe. If I remembered right, most Siren ships encountered recently all appeared to already have sustained damage in prior battles. With the destruction of all Siren foundries, they are now unable to repair themselves or create any replacements. The inevitable hope was that eventually they would die out either from disrepair or by simply wearing them down.
But still… a wounded animal fights ten times harder when cornered. I thought.
"If that's true, we'll need to be even more cautious. So here's what we're going to do. Once Mikey has the sonar net set up, the sub will probably react by going on the offense either against us or the other ships. I think it would be better if we acted before it had the chance. We're already tracking it well enough, so I suggest we move in and try to take it out or at least keep its focus on us rather than the others. How does that sound to you?"
Normally I would just have ordered the plan and expected compliance, but considering I was on a Kansen's ship, I figured it was best to be polite about it. That and I was still a little rusty at this little game called war.
"Sounds good, let's do it." Eskimo said with a little of her enthusiasm finally returning to her.
"Okay then, come right to zero-four-zero. We'll sail to the right of it then turn to a parallel course, once there we'll use our better speed till we are just about to overtake it. Then we'll turn to a course of three-one-zero to cross right over the sub then drop a full spread right on top of the bastard."
I mentally winced at my slip with that swear word, but Eskimo merely grinned.
"Sorry. Now, Mikey should have the net in place and ready right as we're making the last turn so any changes from the sub that we can't detect, he will."
At least I hope he will. I thought, it seemed like a fair plan in my head, and thankfully Eskimo nodded in acceptance.
So I called up the plan with Mikey and instructed him that once his sonar net was made he was to radio us the subs relative position to make it easier for us to land a hit, then stand ready to fire his torpedo if our drops missed or failed to finish it.
With everyone ready, I ordered Eskimo to begin the turn right as Mikey dropped his second buoy, a minute later Eskimo made the second turn to bring her hull parallel to the enemy's course as she kicked her engines into flank speed.
The enemy would definitely hear our movements, but as long as we knew what it was doing, we still held the ball, it was just a matter of keeping it. Eskimo brought the sonar headphones back on her head as she sat and listened intently.
"It's now bearing sixty meters off our port side and seems to be on the same course as before." spoke Eskimo, her gun turrets training out in the same direction, no doubt itching to fire away. I stood next to her and gripped a railing in anticipation.
Knowing an enemy was out there and was that close yet being unable to physically see it was damned annoying.
"Now it's fifty meters out, we'll overtake them in less than a minute." she said.
"Okay, immediately as we pass them, make a half left standard rudder." I instructed and she simply nodded.
"And… there. Making the turn. Slowing back to one third speed at twelve knots." Eskimo said and her hull matched her instructions. "Sub is maintaining course."
That's it, just a little closer. I urged the enemy, my grip on the railing tightening as the sonar beeping went faster and faster. I could see the Seasrpite hovering far ahead as it dropped what must have been their last buoy and then it shifted away in preparation for their own shot. Right on que, Mikey's voice came over the radio.
"Exec, this is Williamson, Buoy's are away and screaming, we've got the asshole right where we expected him to be, looks like you've got 'em dead to rights Commander." the pilot reported.
I thanked him and then heard Eskimo start sounding off the distance of the target as the sonar continued to beep off.
"Target now directly ahead at three-three-zero," Ping
"Thirty meters… three-four-zero." Ping
"Twenty five meters… now three-three-zero" Ping
Just a little more…
"Wait…" her words caught my breath as I looked to see Eskimo squish her eyes hard in concentration. Ping!
"Target's inside minimum sonar range…" Ping!
Already? I thought as my hands grip tightened even more somehow.
"Heads up XO, the sub looks to be slowing its course. I'm losing its signal." I heard Mikey report, but had no time to call back.
"Hydrophone is strong…very strong" Ping! Ping!
"Over revving screws…" PING! PING!
They're speeding up? I thought, not making sense of it until Eskimo make it clear that was happening next.
"No!" her eyes flew open as she jumped up. "It's trying to pass on our side!"
Damn it!
"Hard right rudder! Hard over! Fire on your mark!" I yelled and gripped the rail as the ship lurched in response to Eskimo's will, turning hard in the direction where that sub should now be and passing right over it.
It let us get in close! I realized as I stepped outside to the bridge wing to watch behind us right as Eskimo called her mark. If we miss this drop, the subs rear torps might have a clean shot at Eskimos stern. How could I miss that!?
"Launching medium pattern!" she yelled as she came out too and jumped atop her pilot house as I heard the pop-pop-pop sound of depth charges being launched off their racks into the depths below.
"Left standard rudder!" I ordered, Eskimo neither complained or questioned, she did as I instructed and her hull turned opposite of our previous turn. "Start a zig-zag. If we missed, I don't want that sub to have a clean shot at us."
Eskimo nodded in understanding as her depth charges exploded and eight large accompanying water spouts rose up from the ocean surface where we had just been. Yet there were no accompanying follow-up explosions or any visual telling of a hit.
"Anything Eskimo?" I asked as I brought up my binoculars for a closer look.
"Nothing yet." she said as she leaned off the pilot house while gripping her mast.
That explosion would have raddled our sonar. I thought as I walked to the radio and called up Mikey for a report, hoping his sonar net could see anything.
"Nothing yet boss, no debris either. It'll take a minute for our sonar's to get back on the target if it's still there. Once we get it we'll launch our torpedo and finish him off." It wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, but it was what it was.
"Very well, proceed once you have a sighting." I ordered then hung up before I went out to see Eskimo still hanging off the mast.
"Okay Eskimo, we'll come about and start searching again, once we spot it we'll have our air-cover make their attack. At the very least we've given it a rough ride down there." I said, and Eskimo nodded in agreement as I reentered the bridge and took the first actual breath in.
We're okay, the ball is still in our corner, we've got this. I thought to myself, then the fleet radio squawked.
"Commander Ford, this is the captain, report." I heard the captain's voice on the COMM and picked up the phone mic.
"Captain, XO here. We've managed to successfully track the enemy sub and dropped one salvo of depth charges but no hits observed. Once the sea clears up from the charges, our Seasprite will use its sonar buoys to find the target again and hit them with its own torpedo. Over." I clicked off the mic and waited for her reply.
"Roger that, so far my group has successfully sunk one Pawn-class and now we're working on our second. It's going well enough over here so I'm sending Z23 your way to help you out, copy?"
"Good copy ma'am, and good hun-"
"Commander! Brace for impact!" I heard Eskimo shout and immediately dropped the mic without another word to the captain and instinctively grabbed the nearest solid grip I could.
A second later the entire ship seemed to jump up from its stern as if a giant had kicked it like a football. My grip proved only marginally effective as I ended up being thrown against the controls, my arm and head unfortunately colliding with something it shouldn't have. The impact was so intensely painful that I collapsed to the deck, my entire body suddenly feeling like heavy iron and my mind struggling not to black out as pain bombarded it.
For a few seconds everything was spinning and it hurt to think or move anything, I couldn't hear anything over a loud ringing noise in my ears and I tasted blood in my mouth.
Come on, get up! I urged my body despite its protests.
Groaning, I slowly lifted myself up to sit my back against a bulked and struggled to clear my eyes. At first everything was red and blurry but slowly I was able to focus and my sight finally returned and the ringing in my ears quieted if only a little.
That's when the pain came back, centering mainly from my forehead and my right arm. Looking down, I was thankful to see it was still attached, but I couldn't manage to move my fingers without it hurting. I brought my other hand to my head only for it to come back bloodied, from the disorientation I was feeling I knew I must have a concussion or something.
What was I going to do? Oh right, get up. I remembered.
Setting my injuries aside, I looked up and saw I was sitting next to the captain's chair. I gripped the arm rest and slowly pulled myself up, urging myself not to vomit from the intense drowsy attack from simply moving.
As I finally stood on my shaky legs while leaning heavily against the chair, the next thought that came to mind was what might have caused that explosion. Idiot, a torpedo hit us, that's the only explanation. Which means that sub is still alive down there. My mind berated me.
I pushed myself off the chair and made my way to the bridge wing to get a look at the hull and also mentally prepared myself to take a swim if the ship began to sink. A torpedo could literally blow a destroyer like the Eskimo in two, if that was what happened, I had seconds before the hull sank.
Have to see the damage. Have to find Eskimo. Such thoughts waded around my mind as I finally reached the wing and looked aft to see what was left. A plume of smoke was rising up from the rear of the ship and we had a small list already, but it didn't seem to be increasing… for now at least.
The rudder and props are probably gone. I thought as I began climbing down the ladder. We're gonna need a head count for the wounded, how many crew were there aboard? A hundred or more?
That number didn't sound right even though I knew that was how many should be aboard a ship this size, but then I remembered this wasn't an ordinary ship, this was a Kansen's hull which meant the only other crew member aboard was… Eskimo!
I cursed my slow brain for forgetting that fact and quickly began looking and calling out for her in what little voice I could find. It wasn't until I got down to the lower deck behind the pilot house that I finally found her lying face down at the bottom of the smoke stack, and she wasn't looking good.
Her rigging was missing the arm that had her torpedoes and her jacket was shredded, showing scraped skin beneath it. Laying next to her head were her glasses, it's left lens now cracked.
"Eskimo?!" I shouted as I slid down the rest of the steps regardless of the painful disorientation and was at her prone body in seconds.
"Come on Eskimo. I need you to wake up. Come on!" I said as I rolled her over onto her back, she thankfully was breathing and started coming to.
"C-Commander? Ugh… are you okay?" she asked as I sat her up against her hull and carefully put her glasses back on her face with a shaking hand.
"I'm alright… mostly, can you stand?" she nodded and I helped her up slowly and together we leaned against the railing as we looked back at the damage. "How's your ship?"
"Cough-cough. I think I've got some flooding in my rear compartments. All my hatches were shut tight so we should be okay. I think…" she steadied herself and took a deep breath, "I think my engine is busted. I can't feel my screws or rudder… or my rear turrets."
Then she glanced at me and noticed my own injuries.
"Commander! You're hurt!" she shouted as she noticed my bloodied arm and head.
"I'll live, just help me to the stern. We need to see how bad it is." She nodded with a sad look and together we began to head to the ship's stern, on the way I started to really feel the pain in my head.
"How does my head look? I hit it hard during the blast." I asked Eskimo, as she looked closer, her face grimaced at what she saw.
"You've got a gash on the right side of your forehead, but it doesn't look too serious… I think." she said, not really reassuring me but it would have to do for now.
Once closer to the stern, we found out why Eskimo couldn't control the rudder or screws, as expected they both weren't there anymore. The entire stern of the destroyer had been blasted off all the way up to the second rear turret which looked to be out of action too.
"M-my ship…" Eskimo sucked in a breath before slumping to the floor with tears building in her eyes.
Not knowing what else to do, I kneeled down beside her and rested my one good hand on her shoulder as she began to cry.
She's too young for this… Was my first thought, but I forced a stop to that line of thinking. Now was not the time for that, the enemy was still out there, probably itching for a second try at us.
"Listen to me Eskimo, I know it hurts but I need you to stay in the game with me, can you do that?" I asked gently, she sniffed once then nodded. Breathing in a lung full of foul smelling air I looked over the damage more closely.
I guess we were lucky, if that torpedo had hit somewhere amidships the entire ship would have been lost. I thought as I surveyed the wreckage and then froze as I spotted the cause of this disaster.
"Eskimo, on your feet, now!" I forcefully ordered, picking her up and steadying her stance. She was confused at first until she too spotted our adversary.
Rising up from the sea was a dark shape, its form was a smooth black like obsidian and its design was far larger than any submarine I had ever seen with a single rear conning tower and a single double-barreled turret mounted forward on its deck.
Along its hull were eerie dark red lines that formed what looked like two ugly eyes on its tower and on its bow was what looked like a huge well used ramming spike. The vessel reminded me somewhat of Jules Verne's written interpretation for a submarine, mechanical yet beastly at the same time.
But it wasn't as intimidating as it could have been since it was noticeably damaged as well with a few parts of it's hull caved in and scraped up, a few shell holes littering its side, with one massive misshapen chunk of its conning tower missing. Some of the damages already had heavy corrosion from the salt water meaning they were far older than this attack.
Now we know why it couldn't dive deeper than twenty meters. I thought, but remembered that despite its injuries, it still managed to get a hit on us.
I began thinking of what options there were for us but before I could think of anything, another explosion rocked the sea, only this time it had come from the Siren as a large spout of water arose from its side.
Was that a torpedo strike? I thought, then looked up to see the beautiful sight of the Seasprite flying towards the Siren with the sound of its machine-gun hammering away as the helicopter made a gun pass of all things.
Mikey you beautiful bastard! I thought as I watched the Seasprite bank away as the Siren sub began to list.
"WAHOO!" Eskimo shouted as she leapt up in victory. Then she surprised me by letting out a string of intense curses at the sub, the likes of which would have made my mother pale, but also make my grandfather smirk. When she was finished, she noticed me giving her a look and began to fidget in embarrassment.
"S-sorry about that sir. Um… please don't tell anyone what I said." she asked, and I made the motion of zipping my lips, much to her relief.
"Come on, let's get to the bridge, Z23 is on her way, can you inform her of our circumstances and tell her to get here as fast as possible." Eskimo nodded and we both made our way back to the bow as the young Kansen communicated with her friend.
As we went I kept glancing back to the Siren, praying that the Seasprites torpedo was enough. At the very least the sub's bow was aimed away from us so we wouldn't be hit by a torpedo again.
"She said she's on her way." Eskimo said as we passed her torpedo mount that looked offset from the blast as well.
"Thanks, any chance you can hit that ship with anything to sink it faster?" I asked, nodding back to the wounded Siren sub, but was met only with a shake of her head.
"Both my rear turrets are gone, and that blast jammed my torpedo mount. My front two turrets are still working but we'd need to somehow turn the bow to get them a clear shot."
"What about your rigging?" I asked, only to increase her downcast look as she glanced at her riggings missing arm.
"Too damaged, I don't think I can even skate on the water. I'm… useless right now." she said depressingly.
"None of that kind of talk, you hear. You're alive, that's honestly good enough for me." I admitted, which earned a small smile from her. "I can make it the rest of the way, you go try to get the torpedoes working again?"
"Um… okay, I'll do what I can." She said before she turned back to her torpedo mount, whether she succeeded or not, I needed to give her a task to focus on. Plus every working weapon counted.
By the time I reached the radio, I was out of breath and my arm's pain was almost unbearable. After I took a few seconds to rest, Il picked the mic up and set it for the Seasprite's channel.
"Williamson, this is Ford, do you read me?" I spoke, hoping we still had good COMM's. I was extremely relieved when his voice screamed back.
"HA HA! I knew a little kiss like that wouldn't do you in, how are you and the lady doing?" he asked.
"We're both okay for the most part, but Eskimo's hull is pretty much out of action. Watch yourself up there. That sub still looks to have some of its-"
"Oh SHIT! Hang on!" Mikey's shout was followed by the sound of a large gun battery firing away, and I knew it wasn't Eskimo's.
I ran out of the bridge and saw the slowly sinking Siren sub had activated its turret and was aiming up at the Seasprite. How much can that thing take before it fucking finally sinks!? I thought as I watched the helicopter dodge shot after shot, each was getting closer and closer.
"Come on Mike, veer off." I said, willing the pilot to hear my words. On his part, Mike showcased he was still a damn good pilot as he skillfully kept dodging the shots left and right. But he wasn't good enough as one shot finally clipped his tail rotors, sending the Seasprite spinning down to the sea below it.
"No!" I heard Eskimo shout from down on the main deck.
As the helicopter finally crashed into the sea with a large slash, Eskimo let out an angry yell and proceeded to aim her hull's small caliber anti-air guns at the Siren. The air was soon filled with the sound of AA guns blasting away at the sub.
While I had to admire her brave spirit, her efforts were getting nowhere since her guns had little to no effect on the siren other than annoying it and unfortunately drawing its attention.
The Siren slowly turned its guns upon the defenseless Eskimo and now, knowing of nothing more that could be done, I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.
Guess I'll end up losing another ship after all. I thought as a huge explosion silenced the whole world.
…
One second…
…
Three seconds…
…
Five seconds…?
Shouldn't I be dead by now? I thought as I slowly opened my eyes and to my surprise I was still standing exactly where I was before the explosion.
I glanced down to Eskimo who'd crouched behind her smoke stack and she seemed just as confused as I was. We both looked to the Siren sub only to see its final turret had been destroyed and was now in flames.
"Was that us?" I asked Eskimo, she only shrugged, then we both heard the sound of an engine high in the sky.
Aircraft? I thought as my eyes looked up.
A flight of twin engine planes were banking back around in formation. The most noticeable thing of them was the familiar bullseye identifier of the Royal Navy sent an immeasurable feeling of relief through me. Eskimo came up to the bridge, followed my line of sight, and mirrored my relief as she leaned against her railing in exhaustion.
"Thank God!" she wheezed out, I wholeheartedly agreed with her.
The pair of planes soon came around and began a steep dive for the sinking sub that was now completely defenseless against such an attack. With immense satisfaction, I watched both planes drop another set of bombs and this time they went right through what little armor the Siren had left and in the next moment the entire hulk blew to kingdom come.
It was a magnificent sight and I watched as the planes pulled up from their dives and circled around. One fluttered its wings in a universal greeting to us with Eskimo and I waving back as the two planes turned away, probably heading back towards their carrier.
I brought up my binoculars for a closer look at them as they left. They were small twin engine planes that I tried to remember the name of, but couldn't think of it, nor could I remember Chaser even having such aircraft.
"Eskimo," I got the girl's attention then handed her the binoculars, "Can you identify those planes?"
She nodded as she took the binoculars and looked up to the departing aircraft.
"Yeah, those are Royal Navy Sturgeon bombers." she said, then glanced at me with a confused look of her own. "But wait… I don't think they're from Chaser. She's never had planes that big on her deck."
My head ached at the confusion this matter was causing but I ignored it and looked back in the aircrafts direction, then I noticed that they were headed North-East. Chaser's carrier was supposed to be to the South of us.
If not Chaser, then who sent them? I thought, but remembered there were more important matters that needed attention.
"Eskimo, start looking around for survivors of the Seasprite, I'll go report in." I told Eskimo as I handed her the binoclars, she nodded and went off to look where the helicopter had crashed while I walked back up the bridge.
Before I entered, I looked back to what was now the large debris field of the Siren sub as the last of its hull sank into the depths of the sea. I was hardly what one would call a fully religious man, but I took just a few seconds to close my eyes and prayed a proper prayer of thanks to God that we'd made it through. Once I finished, I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the radio mic.
"Any Third Squadron elements, this is the Eskimo, radio check, over." I spoke into it and almost immediately the voice of Z23 replied.
"Gott sei Dank. Z23 here sir, I am almost at your location. What was that explosion? Is Eskimo alright?"
"Eskimo's okay, her hull not so much. She's still watertight but she'll need a tow back to port. The good news is the Siren has been sunk. What's the squadron's status?"
"The forward group is engaging the last of the enemy ships now, they should sink it very quickly."
"Roger that. Chaser, you there?" I said, shifting the conversation over to the carrier.
"Here sir, I am very relieved to hear you and Eskimo are well."
"Thanks, but is there any chance you sent air support our way? Specifically Sturgeons?" I asked.
"No sir, I don't even have that kind of craft aboard. The only planes I have are modified Seafire's, all of which are currently helping Pennsylvania and the others finishing off the last Siren ship. Why do you ask?"
So definitely not ours then. I thought as an unsettling feeling grew in my gut.
"Are there any other friendly naval forces out here other than us?" I asked Chaser.
"None that I am aware of sir."
"Commander Ford, this is Augustus, is something wrong over there? " The captain asked, no doubt overhearing us on the Pennsylvania.
"Not sure ma'am. A flight of aircraft Eskimo identified as British Sturgeons just flew in and took out the sub, saved us really. But Chaser just confirmed their not hers so we might have another Royal Navy Carrier somewhere out here, most likely from the North-East as that's the direction the Sturgeons flew when they were done." I explained.
"The only other Royal Navy force I know that's close to here is... Merda! Of course she would come here." The captain shouted back, making me recoil from the volume and worsening my headache.
I would have asked who she was talking about but a new woman's voice spoke from the radio that, while possessing a British accent, was by far the most smug tone I had ever heard.
"Tch, tch, tch. Such foul language is rather unbecoming of you dear Augustus." I didn't know why but something about her tone annoyed the hell out of me. It reminded me of a certain smug Commodore back in Dublin.
"Non di nuovo. How did you get this frequency? And what are you doing all the way out here?" asked the captain who appeared to already know who the as of yet unnamed newcomer.
"Heheh, I see you have not yet changed from that often unknowing attitude of yours. But now you must rejoice for I, Valiant the Vigilant, have come to see the end of these Siren wrenches!"
Valiant? Where have I heard that name before? I thought to myself then glanced at Eskimo who'd come over to listen ever since the new voice had announced itself, her face morphing into a scowl that seemed ill suited for her, like she had tasted a sour food.
"That won't be necessary Valiant, as we speak my squadron is sinking the final Siren. We're all finished here." Augustus said, her tone taking on a bit of smugness of its own that seemed ill suited coming from her.
"Oh my, how impressive. Though had we arrived first, my forces would surely have made quicker work of things, but I suppose you did the best you could with so few numbers." Even I could taste the bitterness of Valiant's words. Eskimo meanwhile sighed in annoyance with the biggest eye roll she could make.
I mouthed: Who's Valiant?
Eskimo was hesitant to answer, but mouthed: Later.
"Sigh. Valiant, I am not in any mood to continue this pointless bantering nor do I have the time. Is your admiral present? I would like to speak to him."
"Pointless bantering?! How dare you-huh? Hey! Give that back!" Before Valiant could say anything more, a new voice came over the line of a man who sounded to be British as well.
"Captain Augustus, this is Admiral Tiberius Chase, commanding officer of Fort Gibraltar's garrison fleet. Since all enemy warships have been dealt with, I propose we meet up back in Ponta Delgada to… reassess." Spoke the now named admiral.
"That would be fine sir, thank you." said Augustus, her tone returning to its normal respectfulness.
"Are you in any need of assistance before we part ways?" he asked.
"Negative sir, thankfully we have no casualties."
"Very good then Captain, I will see you in port. Chase out."
With that the line was quiet for a few moments until the captain instructed all ships to switch to an alternate radio channel since our previous COMM line had unwanted listeners.
"Okay Third Squadron, listen up. You all performed admirably today, ben fatto. We will now set a course North for São Miguel Island for refuel and light repairs, then we're heading home. Commander Ford, I'll have the Danube send you a lift to transfer over. We'll hook up Eskimo's hull for towing."
I sighed in relief of the operation officially being over, despite my shortcomings as a commander, we had prevailed with no casualties. But on the matter of jumping ship to the Danube…
A quick glance over to Eskimo who was now leaning over her hull railing and looking with sorrow at her aft section that still had smoke trailing from it.
Thinking on it for only a second, I carefully stood up and picked the mic up.
"... This is Ford, I copy. But I request permission to remain aboard Eskimo for now until we reach port?" I spoke into the mic. Eskimo, having overheard me, turned in surprise at my choice to stay with her despite her hull's damage.
"Very well commander, I'll be calling back for a debrief of your engagement with the enemy in an hour, so have the details ready. Again, great work from all of you, Augustus out." the radio went silent and I hung up the mic then walked to stand next to Eskimo.
"Um, sir. Why are you staying? You need to get your wounds looked at." she said.
As if to prove her point my head was struck again by a wave of drowsy pain and my arms wound was not settling down anytime soon. Despite my sad state of health I was confident I would live.
"As an officer, your first responsibility is to the sailors under your command, period." the words of my drill instructor rang true for me now just as they did years ago on the Barry.
"What kind of officer would I be if I just abandoned my post after a few scratches. Sorry, you're just stuck with me." I said, offering a knowing smile that she mirrored as she finally returned to the bubbly personality I knew she had.
"Besides, I'm pretty sure I never got to finish that tea from earlier."
Next - Ch. 6: Tense Introductions
A/N - Bit of a long wait, I'd say sorry but naval battle scenes are not the easiest to write.
I actually revised this chapter quite a bit all summer, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. (used to have over 17K words so be thankful I downsized.).
From now on I will be dedicating each chapter to one character at a time (for the most part) so the plot will shift between Ford and Reuenthal sporadically but hopefully .
Also this story will be divided into arcs, we're about half way done with the first arc. After we complete this arc, I plan on doing a light revision of the story thus far, mostly fixing any grammar and plot errors I missed previously.
And as a last point, I will be becoming a lot busier with less time available for writing like I used to due to real life events. I know, growing up sucks, but it's gotta be done.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a comment if you did.