Salamis
With the help of the tin-can cruisers, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were going at their maximum speed to finish the encirclement. They were firing at the Queen's convoy twenty kilometers over there, running in the darkness of the night. They were almost there when they were intercepted by daring Hellenic soldiers.
"We meet again, Gneisenau," Vasilefs Konstantinos said. "Shall I up the ante for you?"
"Meek, yet presumptuous. Shy, yet daring. No wonder they liked you so much."
"I am most delighted by such kind words coming from your foul mouth."
Scharnhorst held her sister who was about to go rampant. An unusual sight.
"It is their strategy. We should leave them to Littorio's group while we chase Queen Elizabeth."
The Ugly Sisters failed to realize two things. First, the dock and port yards to the west were mined. Secondly, the Hellenic group that went to meet them left mines behind their path, closing the east path.
"Wait! They are on you!" noticed Hipper.
The Hellenic destroyers were charging at the sisters who were behind the cruisers group.
"Alberico da Barbiano and Alberto da Giussano! Move back to us!" Gneisenau ordered.
From Hipper's cruiser group, Alberico and Alberto came to their aid.
On the other side, Vasilefs Georgios, who was leading the charge of the destroyers, ordered her comrades to ready their torpedoes. Upon her signal, they let hell unleashed.
[Battle B-1]
Before Littorio's group knew they were in a minefield, Carlo Mirabello hit a mine and disappeared. Littorio fulminated. Her plan had gone out the window now that it would require the work of their minesweeper to pass in the naval base. While they tried their luck closer to the zone of operation of Ironblood, they met a single figure blocking their way.
It was Salamis.
Behind her, they could see the battle fight between Ironblood and the Hellenic remnants.
"It seemed we failed," Littorio sighed.
"You are quite perceptive," answered Salamis. "Do not worry for Athens shall welcome you with a feast."
Littorio remembered they were on the verge of conquering the Hellenic territories. A strategic victory. With such defiance from her enemies, she felt defeated.
"I want to duel her!" Doria said in the hope of trying her retrofit.
Littorio held her back.
"With Mirabello already dead, I'm not taking any chance."
"Are you saying I can't defeat her alone!" Doria's voice resonated throughout the battlefield. Duilio had to restrain her. Littorio ignored her comrade.
Littorio declared to Salamis: "Don't come begging for mercy later."
"I was never going to duel any of you to begin with."
Salamis words were accompanied by a shelling coming from the coastal batteries and silhouettes in the port. They were hit and splintered.
"Ironblood steel and Eagle guns won't fail me! Come invaders! Let us bath in the glory of war!" Salamis screamed as she charged towed her enemy, her word high.
Littorio ordered her destroyers forward while they took care of their enemies on the coast. Camicia Nera led the charge.
[Battle B-2]
The two tin-can cruisers, Alberto and Alberico, had to dodge the deadly torpedoes as they knew their riggings couldn't handle much damage. It made Gneisenau upset as she thought they would shield them while they corrected their course. They had lost precious time to go after the Queen's group.
"Our plans got screwed by such stubbornness. Let's make them pay! Hipper, put your line of battle on our left side. We will continue the chase!"
Hipper obeyed Gneisenau's words.
The cruisers Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Numberg and Admiral Hipper, who were at less than a kilometer with their destroyers, turned back to face Vasilefs Konstantinos and her own destroyers. This time around, Hipper would be careful, for she already had had a taste of destroyer's determination and it was not in her benefit to close the distance.
After some minutes, Vasilefs Georgios noticed their cautiousness. It did not play in their favor. Their objective was to slow them down as much as possible. The torpedo barrage did little. Vasilefs Georgios left her destroyers in the line of battle and would talk privately to Vasilefs Konstantinos to not get their signal intercepted.
"If we want to slow them down, we will have to get closer…"
Vasilefs Konstantinos sighed. Their caution would get them no where and they were almost out of range of the coastal batteries support. The destroyers looked at her fearsome eyes. She wanted something. Konstantinos took in her hands her golden cross of the Iris Orthodoxy. This necklace had been given to her by Bretagne before she was transferred to the Hellenic Navy to further their war against the Sirens. This cross had baptized many warrior souls before their battle. It was not the first time she used it to give her comrades hope. The last time had been during the Gate War before their failed attack on the City. She had lost faith since then, but not her comrades who remained obsessed with the ceremony. Earlier, Salamis had asked for it and Konstantinos had given it to her. She felt obligated, as a leader.
"Oh, thy soul. Ad augusta per angusta (through difficulties to greatness) , remain fortes in fide (strong in faith). Know Pístis, elpís, agápē (Faith, hope, love). Await tomorrow, for it shall come with the sun high. And the gone, await us at the Golden Gate, for we shall be reunited forever after."
Vasilefs Georgios smiled.
"Do you know where the Golden Gate leads? Will we see our old comrades again?"
Vasilefs Konstantinos had never thought about it. If it was something to cross, like a door, then something would be on the other side. Or someone was waiting for her at the entrance to cross it first… If it was a saying passed down since her inception, it had to be great, beautiful and grand. She remembered and cackled.
"The Golden Land. Infinite happiness awaits us in the Golden Land."
Vasilefs Georgios returned to the destroyers leaving Vasilefs Konstantinos wondering. Vasilefs Georgios was fired up and worried at the same time. It was certainly stressful, to lead her comrades toward the sharks of Ironblood in a desperate attempt to break their rank. She forced a smile.
"Ok, comrades, prepare all the torpedoes and your Xiphos. The Golden Gate awaits us!"
The horn she sounded resonated throughout the battlefield, drawing the attention on them. Perfect.
"Charge! Αέρα!"
[Battle B-3]
Somewhere
While the Battle of Cape Spartivento had been a total loss in terms of data for Observer α, the simulation put forth by Tester β on the Hellenic Navy had born great fruits for their research.
"Faith! Faith!" repeated the Observer.
"What about it?!" repeated Tester β who was receiving not a single answer.
Observer α was furiously typing on her keyboard. It was an essay of numbers and letters, like a long mathematical formula put on chalkboard. Tester β was trying to keep up, but Observer's brain was going so fast, fumes were coming out of her ears. Red like a tomato, she had difficulty containing herself.
She finally settled down; her essay finished by a single dot.
"This thin line between machine and humans is giving us some wonderful result. I was right to make the cubes fall after all!"
Tester β was still awaiting her answer, bored by the Observer's cryptic words.
"Their beliefs, Tester! Their beliefs! Vasilefs Konstantinos answering his divine voice, believing in a reunion with her commander at the Golden Gates. Their prayers can give birth to unseen miracle! This miracle, we must seize it within the realm of number, capturing, confining it to our data.
If we want to have better adversaries, we must make them believe in a certain hope. Only if their hope and effort are great can they give birth to a miracle. Tester, we have a part of the answer. After Iberia and the Österreich, we have the final answer to your simulation! Finish the simulation while I formulate a document to The Compiler and Arbiter."
[…]
All the Z destroyers had an advantage at close range, cutting down their enemies with their superior firepower. If it was not enough, the cruisers offered additional support. Hydra was the last to fall, her sword held high, pierced from all side and flooding. She fell on top of Z7 who let her rest.
At last, Vasilefs Georgios' destroyer group had accomplished their mission with valor, dispersing and stopping the destroyers and cruisers in their path. They had also inflicted some important damage on their enemies with their torpedoes and swords. Leipzig and Numberg applied first aid to their allied cut by the swords.
"It hurts," screamed Z20 who was healed by Numberg.
"These swords are certainly not toys," she noticed.
Vasilefs Konstantinos had left them while she dueled with the more agile Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The vantage battleship stayed immobile, hammered by the Ugly Sister whose firepower was inferior, but more precise. They had been blessed with modern electronics while Konstantinos had a little retrofit to her equipment thanks to the Eagle Union. Nothing more.
Shattered, on fire and flooding, Vasilefs Konstantinos remained at peace with herself. Her breathing followed each of her salvoes. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst's riggings were damage by splinters and direct hits, but nothing major. Had Konstantinos run out of luck?
'If I fell, it would be God's will,' Vasilefs Konstantinos said.
She thought about the two battleships, Kilkis and Lemnos, retired from service years ago. The two battleships from the Eagle Union, sign of an Hellenic-Eagle friendship, had to be put out of service because of their old age.
"Are you sure you don't want to run away?" had asked Vasilefs Konstantinos to the old Kilkis and Lemnos.
They sipped their drink without minding the sound of the alarm of the base at the time.
"We would slow down our allies considerably. Our engines are just done," Kilkis said.
"We won't waste our opportunity to give our place on the hospital ship to Colleoni," Lemnos added. "She still might have some interesting information to give to the Royal Navy."
"And you are the flagship now, aren't you the one who should lead us, even in exile?" Kilkis asked.
"God forbid that I should live in exile!" Vasilefs Konstantinos said with fervor. "As my country falls, I will fall with it. Whosoever wishes to escape, let her save herself if she can, and whoever is ready to face death, let them follow me."
The distant sound of bombers sirens told her what was happening at Salamis. Still, Konstantinos called for support from them«.
"Batteries A and B, fire at Gneisenau!"
"Order received," a voice said.
The man on the other end of the phone line authorized a launching. The soldiers rapidly loaded the twin batteries as they knew they could not last longer under this bombing.
"Fire at 1!"
The batteries fired three salvoes before dive bombers dropped their load on the bunker. The anti-air position fired even when the bunker had been opened like a sardine can. Raging infernos engulfed the hills as the batteries were silenced one by one. Down in the port, Kilkis, Lemnos and York fired all their ammunition at the plane, making sure to fire their main gun out of the minefield's range; they did not want to detonate a single mine by accident.
The girls were as immobile as bunkers. York rapidly ran out of anti-air ammunition because she had given more to her fellow Royal Navy cruisers. She had to elevate her 203mm and fire in the sky, hoping that the power of the force would guide her shells to the enemy planes.
It was futile.
High in the sky, Sardegnian bombers had dropped their load on the immobile targets minutes ago. Their bombs finally appeared. Small black and round frame. In that last moment, she thought about Exeter. Could she wait at the Golden Gate, this mystic place Kilkis and Lemnos talked about earlier? Would the power of the force grant her this wish? A flash of light amongst the darkness of the sky, like a jacket opening.
And the Golden Gate appeared.
The bombs landed in a straight line, disabling York and Lemnos. The column of bombs fell on the hangars and docks, exploding oil barrels, tankers and ammunition depots. The Naval Base of Salamis was violently reduced to a blazing inferno. Kilkis was finished by a dive bomber.
While Salamis was being destroyed, Gneisenau was struck by two of the coastal guns, slowing her down and angering her even more. It was too late. The Queen's group was far away, beyond even the sight of their recon planes and her cruisers and destroyers were stuck behind because of wounds.
Littorio's voice could be heard, "It seems we are now encroaching on your ground," she said victoriously to Gneisenau.
She turned to see Vasilefs Konstantinos and Salamis together. Salamis was in her arms, barely breathing, bloody and her rigging was torn apart, a turret simply disappearing before in a catastrophic detonation. Vasilefs Konstantinos put her cross on the forehead of Salamis who had two tears streaming down her bloody cheeks, her breathing becoming faint. Vasilefs Konstantinos was performing an Iris Orthodoxy sacrament in front of the curious witnesses.
"On behalf of my comrade whose soul is departing, and who cannot speak for thyself, she is deserving of your love and affection. As she meets the journey's end, let this soul see the Golden Gate. Oh Lord! Amen." When she finished her ritual, she said on a more personal note: "Salamis, I could have never asked for a better comrade than you. Rest my friend."
Salamis' smile was frozen in time like the last minute hand of a worn out clock who had given its last tick. Konstantinos closed her eyes. Salamis seemed at peace like her old commander had been, years prior, on his death bed.
"I don't want some stupid guy in robes giving me my last rite! Get my girl over there!"
The commander pointed the bowed girls. Georgios Averof, the one concerned, took her cross and went beside him. His kind words had stayed with them since then.
"Beautiful miracles. Save our… country when it will be in time of need. For now, I'll wait at the Golden Gate and we'll cross in the Golden Land together. Promise?"
Averof held his pinky.
Years of shared happiness, joy, sadness and peace destroyed in the space of three days. Was it all they were good for? War? She wished some would learn their lesson. For that, she would need a power akin to Dreadnought or Alighieri. Could she muster such power? Did she really want to muster such power anyway? The coast was gone, her mission was done and she had the opportunity to finally see him again. Suddenly, a little crack opened in the sky where the sun's ray could pass through. Was it an omen? Vasilefs Konstantinos looked at the looming sun, letting go of Salamis.
Earlier, Littorio tried to interrupt the rite, but was held back by Duilio who could not let such an offense pass.
"You girls are such old timers," Littorio said. "Get out of the way if you don't want to be executed by firing squad!"
"I can't let our flagship attack people that are not even looking them in the eyes! It would be a disgrace to a battleship, even more to the flagship!"
"Go tell those morals to a submarine, you idiot!"
Their argument ended when Vasilefs Konstantinos could be seen bathing in the sunlight, a circle around her feet. They could not believe such a coincidence. Her enemies readied themselves for the last battle. The reload mechanism of Konstantinos' turrets could be heard. Without saying anything, Vasilefs Konstantinos opened fire in all direction, to no one in particular as she held no grudge. It would end with peace in her heart.
[Battle B-4]
As the wind settled down, as the clouds dispersed, as the fire were finally brought under control, the people of Salamis could go back to their daily life under the occupation of Sardegna. The bunkers and coastal batteries were but relics of the battle that had taken place on that faithful third day of the invasion. The riggings of the deceased shipgirls were sent to different scrapyards as prizes and the bodies that could be salvaged from the sea were buried in the remnants of the cemetery atop the hill. The bombs had scattered the tombstones and created holes where people had been laying for decades. Duilio and Tegetthoff oversaw their burial with full military honor, which Gneisenau and Littorio refused to even acknowledge.
"In another life, we could still have been friends," Tegetthoff whispered.
"Maybe they won in the end," said Duilio. "Our old friends inflicted us a morale defeat."
As they made their way down the hill, they met a little girl whose gaze was set on the cemetery.
"Who are they?" she asked, pointing her finger toward the hill.
Duilio and Tegetthoff turned to see what seemed like the heads of familiar people, talking to each other casually. As they made their way back up the hill with the little girl, they could hear familiar voices chitchatting behind the bushes. As they expected, when they arrived in the cemetery, it was empty of life.
A legend, a tale in Salamis was born on that day. After their vainly effort to protect Salamis, the last king and her comrades were now awaiting for the Golden Gate in the graveyard, out of everyone sight. Did Vasilefs Konstantinos, when the sun appeared, create such a miracle?