Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or mentioned in this draft, and I am most certainly not making any money off of it.
Chapter 2
The shells fired from The Shroud and The Undying Storm hit home, and in a matter of seconds there was a magnificent explosion; the sound of the three ships' ammunition storage going up in flame. The supporting cruisers and submarines began to go on the offensive. Seeing this display of hostility, the crew began to lose the little confidence that was brought by the sight of the destroyed battlships.
"Now we shall deal with the next big threat," the advisor said. "The submarines will definitely pose a greater threat than the cruisers. Comm. Officer, could you get a lock on their ship-to-ship communicatons? If we can get a lock, we can get an idea of how they are being deployed."
"Yes sir!" the comm officer said. "What good will that do?" the admiral asked. "As soon as the submarines dive, we won't be able to hit them."
The advisor explained patiently, "True, we cannot score a direct hit on the submarines underwater. however, the shells are still dangerous underwater. Letting even one of them explode against the sub's hull could result in a breach. I can use this principle to our advantage by firing near the subs, forcing them to move where I want them to. In order to secure a shooting solution against ships such as the Undying Storm, the subs must be at a depth of no more than appprox. eighteen meters, or periscope depth. And in order for them to achieve a torpedo lock, they must be at a range of no less than eight hundred meters from the target. The ships cannons can easily reach eight hundred meters, and a live shell can reach depths of eighteen meters and still have enough force to penetrate a submarine's hull. If aimed properly, we can force them into groups at the surface with the ships cannons. They will pop up where we let them, then we destroy them."
"Sir, we have a lock on the enemy transmitions. The nearest sub is then kilometers out, bearing one-zero-five travelling at twenty-three knots," the comm officer stated. "They can't seem to decide if we are really taking them on, or are simply trying to buy time for reinforcements to arrive."
"No surprise there," the advisor said calmly. "These aren't your conventional battle conditions. Firing control, this is the con, prepare the cannons for another salvo and await my orders."
Both the young student and the admiral had an expression of shock on their faces. The crazy advisor was actually serious about engaging the enemy subs with just two Grenadier class battleships. The way he explained his plan made sense, but was just a little too farfetched for either one of them to really get behind. In all the time she had known and worked with the advisor, she had never seen him be wrong about anything; however, she had never seen him do something this drastic before either.
"Con: firing control. Awaiting firing solutions, sir."
"Comm officer, what is the heading and mark of the wolf pack?"
"Sir, the sub fleet is bearing zero-nine-three mark two-one-five."
"As I suspected," the advisor said. "Transmit the data to The Shroud and order them to open fire on my command."
The two battleships opened fire on the sub fleet, informally known as a wolf packs. As the advisor predicted, the subs began to congregate at the surface of the water. Shortly after being drawn to the surface, they were soon destroyed by a hail of cannon fire. Now that the subs were destroyed, there was only one group left: the cruisers. While the battleships were engaging the subs, the cruisers used this opening to close in on the battlships' positions.
"And now for the finale," the advisor said with a cynical grin. "firing control, target the enemy cruisers. You may fire when ready." The Battleships fired on the approaching cruisers, which were closing in on the ships at an alarming rate. Despite their best efforts, however, they were being decimated. Yet there was one ship that refused to die. The flagship Liquidator was just now passing under the Undying Storm's firing range.
"Sir, we have one cruiser that made it through the barrage… and they are opening fire."
"Brace for impact. Bring the ship around bearing two-three-five. Aft turret three, target our unwanted guest and fire at will," the advisor instructed.
"Sir, that is too close for our cannons to target."
"If you aim the cannon directly at them, you can't miss at this range."
"Aye sir."
Suddenly, a blast rocked the ship. The cruiser wasn't going down without a fight. It had unloaded a missle into the battleship, cracking the hull. The advisor asked, "Damage report?"
"Con: Engine room. We are taking on water!"
"What is the extent of the damage?"
"Sir, we have leaks in aft compartment 6, G-Deck. I don't feel that it is serious enough to seal the bulkheads yet. I will inform you when it gets to that point."
"Understood. Firing control, what is the delay? Fire on the cruiser immediately."
As if on cue, the aft turret fired on the cruiser, landing a direct hit on the command deck. A second shot scored a hit on the ammunition storage, finishing the persistent off once and for all.
Well Admiral Henson, I do believe that we have won this engagement. If there is anything else you require from me, I will be in my quarters." He turned and looked at his student. "Did you enjoy your lesson today? I most certainly did." Words were not needed. The look in the young girl's eyes and the smile that streched across her face said it all. He was crazy...like a fox.