Blue-Jay1009: Yes, you're absolutely correct. Neither side knows just how badly the Hunters just got themselves kicked. Even Hiccup, who has been given a basic debrief of the Tech of the US and her Allies, didn't/won't be expecting this much of a defeat. It's important to remember here at some point that the Berkians lost a major battle and have since been unable to even launch a proper counterattack. Seeing the Hunters not only lose, but get obliterated with almost no allied casualties will have an effect on both Sides. I will be saying this right here though, not every Battle will go in the Way of the Allies as much as this did….
It was as If Thor himself descended from his Throne and brought down Mjolnir upon the Hunters. Chaos reigned aboard their ships as the roughly 36 remaining began to turn in directions. Some stayed true to their original mission and soldered forth towards the island, including the ship with the Hunter commander. Others didn't take any particular route but just turned their sails to whatever route could get them away as fast as possible, others headed back to Viggos base to report as best they could what happened.
The Hunter commander grimaced as they sailed past the wreckage of his former command ship, the main hull had vanished, and all that remained was sodden cloth from her sails and discarded and Burnt wood that bobbed up from the Wreck. The few Hunter ships heading towards the Island move behind the rocky coast, out of view of those strange, mysterious warships.
"What attacked us, sir?" Asked the captain of the longship, the Commander didn't have an answer at the moment. Instead he simply looked behind the mast of the ship at the smoking and flaming wreckage of what remained afloat of the Hunters Task force. The enemy had hit them from an impossible distance, with impossible precession, and their weapons…let's just say there weren't many damaged ships left afloat in the task force, for when their guns hit it was almost always a kill.
"I have no idea." He finally said, the few ships left sailing now passed a rocky coast, he saw waves breaking against the coast, throwing spray into the air and creating mist that rolled across the rocky slopes. He admired it for a moment as the Sunflare created rainbows. The Longship rocked in the waves, and of the 2 brigantines with them they had to stand and sail further from shore thanks to their larger draft.
As they sailed around the island a sense of dread began to take hold of him. He remembered seeing them take out their ships with hardly a care in the world. Would they stand a chance at close range? He remembered his old days of fighting, this wasn't his first rodeo after all. He remembered when he won against the Dragon Riders for the First time, keeping his men at the ready at all times, but most notably his innovation of a lamp-like device he used, powered by dragonfire, that lit up the sky in beams. It used a combination of Flightmare Gel and Special Glass from a Sandbuster, and using it he caught one of their Night Ambushes off guard and won the day. He was hailed as a Hero for that day, it had been the turning point of the war, when the Dragon Riders LOST with almost no hunter casualties. From there, with Night Operations useless to the Riders, their tactics were swiftly obsolete and their ability to attack Crippled. With no hope for an effective counteroffensive the Hunters made their operations more secure, exploiting this to their advantage. They had a base on just about every rock not under enemy control, and each played a part in their war machine. A Vast machine that was, Hundreds of Thousands of Men, Thousands of ships, the Best Technology in the Modern World, and now even the largest dragon force with the Combination of Krogans Dragon Flyers added to the Mix made them the undoubted reigning power of the Northern Hemisphere
Now today, one of the best Examples of that Machine, a Fleet of almost a Hundred Ships, was dismantled, destroyed and Discarded by a fleet a tenth the size bearing markings and constructions He had never seen in his 45 and a Half Years of Life in this world. He had seen many things in those years, including sacrifices to a screaming death, he had seen a flightmare consume one of his friends, but never had he felt such shock, such awe, such raw fear. His fleet had been wiped out from under him, and it was as if the gods had been the ones to take it away, cast into oblivion by the divine forces above his understanding.
As the ships rounded the island the sea stacks that made up the harbor's outer edges came into view. Between them, obscuring the view, lay a cliff. He had seen maps of the island, and rather detailed ones at that. He knew this place almost as well as the inhabitants, and he knew where he was. Just beyond that cliff, which extended far to see anything beyond it. The Intervening sea stacks made it impossible to see the enemy fleet, and as he watched the rocky cliff drew nearer, and nearer still. As he began to be able to see smaller details he gave the order.
"Hard to port, take us to battle!" He yelled, he gave a gulp right after, knowing full well the enemy had superior firepower, the best that he could hope for was that their weapons at closer range could stand a proper chance. He watched as the ships changed direction, the wind was in their favor, and on their new course drove them forward at what was to them a good pace.
As they emerged from the cliffs backside the harbor came into view. Angry waves drove quite a chop, which slapped against their hulls and caused the ships lowest in the water to have their crews soaked, including him. The Harbor itself held no ships, and he thought with relief the enemy had gone.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a gray shape dart forward. From it projected 2 masts which hoisted no sails and from it flew a flag he had never seen, adorned with stars and stripes. It was moving at such a pace that what may have been a mile away a moment ago seemed now half that distance a minute later.
This time he gave no way, "Attack!" He yelled, and using their 'Primitive' Methods the ships signaled each other. The Odds were against them, this time they had less than 10 ships, and while for now he could see one ship of the enemy fleet he knew there were more.
The Hunter ships began to fling boulders, this time they were in range, and while almost every catapult strike missed one hit home. He watched as the massive rock struck the Warships forward hull, and with a loud crack the rock broke apart, he expected to see a gaping hole in the ship's deck, for the enemy ship to begin to sink, but his heart sank as he saw a large dent had formed on the metal of the ships hull. Their weapon, their hope, their sense and pride for victory, had fallen so short but as to be an annoyance instead of an attack.
He saw an explosion occur near the foredeck of the ship, he thought for a moment a deadly accident had occurred aboard the ship, but then a second later he saw something wizz past him and strike one of their vessels. The Brig it struck had its Rear Superstructure torn up by the explosion, and its wreckage began to burn and sag.
"Keep firing!" He said as Ballista and Catapults fired. He grinned as more Dents formed along Spurances hull, although they were hardly effective stones could kill if you threw enough of them. He shouted as a Hit landed on the Superstructure near her Foremast, almost taking out her bridge and as he thought Victory with nearing he heard a crewman of the Longship yell and point at a nearby spot, he turned towards it and With horror he saw another ship emerge behind the sea stack, this one was steaming at a pace towards them, from it two Funnels Projected a Smoking blast shot with fire, and at her pace her engines were firing on all cylinders as she was going 32 knots, the fastest she could make and even outpacing Spurance.
It was the British Destroyer Thunderchild, Steaming headlong, coming to the rescue of the Spurance. He saw its cannons fire, and a Friendly longship was torn apart as the Mighty Metal Warlord came crashing down on them in sheets of flame.
"Keep firing, Ram that ship!" He ordered, he saw one of the Brigs move in towards Spurance, and the Thunderchilds Lighter guns peppered her with Gunfire. The Small Holes, However, wouldn't stop the Warship from ramming. The Brig's Sharp, Armored Bow Made contact with the Spurance at a Weird Angle, and he heard a Metallic Screech as the Metal armor of the Brig met the Spurance's steel Hull. The Spurance was the larger vessel, and the Brigs Bow Instantly crumbled, ripping her wooden construction apart as she quickly went down the drink. The Spurance however suffered extensive damage below the Waterline, and began to take on a list.
He didn't know the Spurance wasn't sinking, but he thought for sure it was, and gave a cheer of victory followed by the yelling of the Hunters.
Suddenly, another Longship took fire, the Spurance's main gun was very angry, and understandably so, for the blast shredded the longship apart and sent her charred remains to the bottom. The Thunderchild launched a Torpedo volley, and he watched with horror as one of the 2 launched hit their last brig, in an instant she was slain, her body ripped in 2 and thrown upwards as a plume of fire and smoke mixed with steam and water was shot high in the air, which came raining down as the 2 halves raised their far sides into the air, then sank into the ocean blue.
"Ram them!" he ordered as his longship sped towards the Spurance, the wind still on their side as the Massive Gray shape grew ever closer. He watched its main gun Fire at one of their ships and smash it to tiny pieces as it turned towards them. No matter, they were too close now so that by the time it reloaded they'd be too close for it to hit, although at the time he didn't know that either. He sighed, gripping the wooden hull of the ship, and thought about how good of a story this would have been to tell his friends and family back home on Northern Skalden Island, he thought of his home, its freezing shores as the Grey Wall Of the Spurance's hull.
Then the longship made impact with the Spurance, its construction coming apart as the Spurance remained undamaged from the Small Wooden ships attack. He was thrown clear, and with a splash he landed in the water. His eyes closed voluntarily as the sea consumed him, letting himself sink into the darkness of both the ocean and his mind.
So that battle happened, it could have gone better for both sides, and although the Spurance was damaged it remains afloat. The Thunderchild has proven itself as an Effective vessel for sure, as has the Spurance. Next Chapter will cover this battle from their Perspective, which will really show how unprepared the Hunters were for truly Modern Weaponry. This Chapter also was meant to try and establish some Humanity for the Hunters, and some backstory for their Commander, which I probably should have done better. I'll be expanding this idea in future Chapters.
Until then.
