Chapter 115: East Indies Campaign II
Part 1: First Naval Battle of Riau Strait
TIME: 07:57 NCT
DATE: War Day 910/5 Decemus, 1004 C.S. (Local)
LOCATION: Riau Strait, Dutch East Indies
Duerpaard: "Time?" He nodded to Cornelis.
Cornelis: "Oh-seven-fifty-eight." He turned to me. "We engage the enemy fleet as soon as we get to range. Time to engage is thirty minutes."
K: "Yeah. When we get close, I want the Frigates to charge the center. Destroyers hook around the flanks of the enemy fleet and start dropping torpedoes in criss-cross patterns until they run out. Utrecht moves to the center to support the Frigates. We'll try to pick off some of the smaller units, but I want some fire on a battleship to distract it. The Light Cruisers will each focus on one until it's sunk or they're out of torpedoes." I motioned with my hands.
Duerpaard: "A good idea. There might also be an island or two in the area, we can use as cover, if we need it." He nodded.|
K: "Also, when we engage, have the Frigates lay a smoke screen - we might get lucky and get off a few extra shots unanswered." I gestured.
It took us a bit to get into position. Once we did, though, we knew it - we could just see the smoke on the horizon of Tirek's ships.
TIME: 08:29 NCT
K: "Time to main gun range?" I asked, stepping up.
Cornelis: "We are within maximum range now." He nodded with a grin.
K: "Give me a target, Roell." I pointed to the Gunnery Director. "Alright, destroyers, break off!" I ordered.
Duerpaard relayed the instructions.
K: "Light Cruisers, move ahead, flank speed, prepare to engage." I paced, and looked at Roell, who was scanning the horizon with the Gunnery Director's sight.
Roell looked back at me and shrugged.
Roell: "The enemy force consists of cruisers and destroyers. Their main component is not present. I do not see any vessels that look like Battleships, but I can make out six cruisers, and a screening force of ten Destroyers that are approaching rapidly." He nodded to me.
K: "..he's pulling something. Change of plans! All ships come about and prepare to engage with long range gunfire! Destroyers and Frigates drop back and come about to a five kilometer distance from the Cruisers, and screen us from the enemy Destroyers." I pointed.
Duerpaard: "Ja!" He relayed my instructions expertly.
K: "We engage when the enemy crosses the 25 kilometer mark. Our entire fleet can fire within that range envelope. I want each ship to pick targets independently, and fire three fast full broadside salvoes - focus on the Destroyers." I paced a bit. "After that, we'll see what they have left and pick targets from there."
Roell: "Three minutes." He nodded.
I paced like an expectant parent. This was probably the largest solid fleet engagement in the war so far. Two fleets of roughly comparable strength in the open ocean, gun-and-torpedo. This wasn't like the ad-hoc defense of the Fillydelphia Harbor, or the engagements around Neighpon, where two fleets collided unexpectedly, and we had a decisive firepower and technology advantage.
Cornelis: "VUUR HOOFDKANON!" He yelled out, having been looking at his stopwatch.
I felt the 8.5-inch guns fire. A rippling broadside, they made the Utrecht lurch just a bit. The 155mm guns on the Light Cruisers fired at the same instant, and I could look ahead at the Destroyers doing the same thing. The whole fleet opened up, having "Crossed the T" of the enemy formation expertly.
I couldn't see the impacts at this range. I could only listen as the next salvo fired off, and looked to Roell for confirmation of what was going on.
Roell: "I can see hits all among the enemy destroyers! Second salvo arriving.. more hits.. I would say.. 50% hit rate!" He smiled. "Two destroyers in sinking condition.. one destroyer hit badly and burning.. one more hit with minor damage. That is four, Kolonel!"
K: "One more salvo. Aim our guns on one target per turret - pick ones that haven't taken a hit, yet." I nodded.
Cornelis relayed the information to the gunnery crews.
Duerpaard: "What do you think goes on here, Kolonel?" He asked, nervously pacing.
K: "The battleships are going to flank us just as his cruisers get in gun range. They'll probably come around the islands to Starboard. We can't see them, though." I looked to him. "It's what I'd do." And nodded. "We need to knock down his Destroyers so they can't torpedo us while we turn to engage." I said as the last salvo fired off.
Elsie: "This is.." She shook her head.
Lightning Dust: "I never imagined I'd be in the middle of a fleet battle.." She swallowed, hard. "Real nervous, General."
Sunset: "It's because you can't control the situation." She patted her shoulder. "Trust Kay. He'll get us out of this."
K: "Roell - effect on targets?" I asked.
Roell: "Two enemy destroyers sunk, one badly damaged, and both sinking condition destroyers from before are sunk as well. None of the enemy destroyers have escaped damage, one is still trying to advance. The others are losing power and falling behind. The cruisers have slipped from behind the destroyer screen and are advancing and firing - range is two-zero-triple-oh." He relayed.
K: "Have the Frigates take that last Destroyer, then have the screening force come about and fall back. Utrecht falls back to seaside. I want a line - De Ryuter, Zaen, Tromp, Speyk, Utrect, pointing back towards harbor. When the screening destroyers are ready, I want the destroyers between us and the Frigates and the Frigates out front." I gestured with my hands. "As we fall into position, independent fire on enemy vessels, targeting the ones in front by priority." I looked to Cornelis. "Have our guns focus on one ship at a time."
Duerpaard: "You're setting us up to face the islands to Starboard. You're THAT sure?" He paced over to the chart table.
K: "I am." I nodded.
Roell: "ADMIRAL! HE'S RIGHT! I can see smoke stack smoke coming from behind Galang Island!" He looked back at us.
K: "There's a tight channel there. DESTROYERS! All ahead flank! Course zero-five-zero! Light Cruisers, follow them! Cut across the channel and drop torpedoes en masse, then come about and hit the cruiser force here from the flank!" I looked at Duerpaard. "He's split his force to try and overwhelm us - we need to stay mobile." I nodded to Cornelis. "Have the Frigates start peppering the Cruisers with everything they have! Get to knife-fighting range and go evasive!"
Cornelis relayed these instructions as I slid over to the Gunnery Director and had a look myself. Indeed, the smoke stacks were peeking above the island's crest enough to see them. Exaclty as I predicted, he was trying to flank us and bottle us up in port, where we can't provide any assistance. We didn't have shore batteries he needed to worry about, either.
Duerpaard: "As he says - and Cornelis, as soon as we get an angle on the Battleships, open up on the lead one as it comes out of the slot!" He was starting to get it - going from a Manager of Ponies to a Commander of a Fleet.
Knowing that most foreign Flag Officers were promoted for managerial competence or technical ability, not combat experience (as there was precious little to be had), seeing Duerpaard start to make the connections brought a smile to my face.
My attention went to the enemy cruiser force on our flank - we were making distance from them, but they were firing on us with only the Frigates responding. Outnumbered almost 2-to-1 on Cruisers in the first place, my hope to take them piecemeal was dashed. I knew the Frigates stood little chance against them, as they didn't have torpedoes, but their 5-inch AP shells might be enough to damage or disable them above the waterline.
IF the enemy cruisers ignored them.
Which they did, instead trying to chase our Light Cruisers, who were about 40% faster (~25kts vs. ~35kts). Perfect.
As the enemy battle line of Battleships and Crusiers started to get towards the end of the channel, the entire line of Destroyers paraded across the cut at a 33-degree angle, and fired torpedoes at maximum speed. The Light Cruisers came almost broadside at 4 kilometers, and as the Battleships tried to maneuver, the Light Cruisers fired their torpedoes almost dead-on to them, making two "fans" of torpedo spreads at two different angles, like a spider's web.
I watched as the lead enemy battleship collided with its escorting Cruiser, then took five torpedoes to its midsection and back towards its rear turret, which was trying to traverse to get a line on Tromp. Everything went up, the main gun magazine detonating about one second after Torpedo Impact.
The second battleship in the line was struck once forward, as it was turning towards our Cruisers, only to be hit three times in the far aft by the Cruiser's torpedoes, and main gun fire to the superstructure. She started listing immediately.
Only the last battleship escaped unharmed, and only by turning out to sea and starting to disengage. In addition to the two critically wounded battleships, three more cruisers were hit with torpedoes - two fatally, as one's boilers detonated, and the other had its bow completely sheared off between its first and second turrets. No magazine explosion, but with the front ONE THIRD of the ship torn off, the rest of the ship started settling by the bow immediately.
That left two cruisers on our flank, that were retiring with the Battleship, and the remaining Cruiser Force almost ahead of us. Our Destroyers were out of position, trying to come about and hit the Front Cruiser Force on its flank, and both pairs of Light Cruisers were circling back behind us.
K: "Main Guns! Pick a cruiser target from the leading force! Give it all we got!" I nodded. "Have the Frigates fall back to cover us!"
I watched as the enemy cruiser front force started to make a turn seaward, to follow the Battleship. They also started picking targets at random, instead of trying to follow our Light Cruisers or focus on us. I saw Bali take an 8-inch shell through the rear superstructure below the Boat Deck, and immediately come to a halt - just as with Java, the Engine Room was just hit and I knew her power plants were dead.
K: "Move us in to protect Bali! She just lost her Engines!" I directed.
Duerpaard: "Kom naar links, drie-één-nul! Hoofdkanonnen, richt op de achterste kruiser als we breed opzij komen, en vuur!" He seconded.
K: "Incoming fire! Those two in the middle are having a beef with us!" I watched the gun flashes.
I could hear the shells coming, screeching through the air. I felt the ship lurch as the landed all around us, but I felt a resounding clang. Somewhere aft.
K: "Damage report!" I called.
Roell was nodding into the sound powered phone, and looked up.
Roell: "Minor damage. Rear battery director conning tower was hit, no penetration, injuries from spall, and the director itself is jammed." He nodded to me.
Cornelis: "Our shells hit the rear cruiser! Full penetration along her upper belt! Five hits and she is burning internally!" He reported, excitedly.
I looked back through the Director, and I could see the five remaining enemy Cruisers were trying to retreat. The Battleship was long gone, beating a hasty retreat seaward to the south-west. Its remaining undamaged cruisers were following it.
Duerpaard: "Mmm.. our cruisers have formed up. Destroyers request permission to engage Front Cruiser Force." He looked up to me.
K: "Admiral?" I nodded to him.
Duerpaard: "Mmm. We can't let them escape. Torpedojagers! Kom naar koers nul drie nul. Laat torpedo's in een onderbroken lijnenpatroon op de kruisers vallen!" He ordered.
I smiled broadly. He was getting it. A little on the job training, and he was getting it.
K: "Excellent choice." I smiled. "Have our cruisers provide gun fire support. Hammer them. Have Sumatra and Lombok go evacuate the crew from Bali along with any Stores they can make off with." And nodded firmly. "We beat them back."
Sunset: "Can I BREATHE now!?" She huffed, but smiled at me. "Great job, Kay."
K: "Eh." I nodded to Admiral Duerpaard. "Just had to train the new colt a bit." I smirked.
Duerpaard smiled back, warmly.
The Destroyers' torpedo run managed to damage three more enemy Cruisers severely, and sink one. Two of the damaged cruisers were abandoned, the third limped away.
That meant, out of the whole fleet, only two cruisers survived undamaged. One was damaged slightly. One severely. And one Battleship survived.
We took damage to Utrecht, and a couple minor shell hits to Tromp and Speyk. Bali was a total loss ("mobility kill") and would have to be towed back. So, we traded one Frigate for two thirds of the enemy fleet.
Not bad at all.
Now, for the ground forces.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Countering Invasion/Battle of Poto Island
TIME: 09:44 NCT
DATE: War Day 910/5 Decemus, 1004 C.S. (Local)
LOCATION: Poto Island, Dutch East Indies
I transferred to Rotterdam and, along with De Ryuter, we did a fast circuit around to Poto Island. We'd gotten a radio report that, as feared, Tirek's forces were landing exactly where we thought they would. And in force.
They were also landing further north, at Kawal Town, and I'd send De Ryuter to provide artillery support. Hopefully, the one-two punch of cruiser guns and a strong defense would be enough. I knew my officers had little combat experience, especially for a fight like this one, and we were facing elite troops.
Speaking of which, when we got around the southern tip of Bintan Island, we found that the landing beaches were covered by masses of landing craft all over the place. A half-sunk amphibious assault ship, no doubt shot up by one of what used to be Java's 5-inch guns, was off the coast, partially submerged in shallow water.
The Amphibious Assault Ship was armed with similar sized guns, and seemed to have been duelling with the shore batteries, resulting in a nearly double knock-out. The Assault Ship had six forward and four rear single 5-inch gun mounts. We had two 5-inch guns deployed along Poto Island. There was only one 5-inch gun from the Assault Ship still functioning - the others had all been destroyed.
Problem is, both of the positions our 5-inch guns were at, were smoking craters. Not a bad trade, all things considered, and with the angle the Assault Ship was listing or had settled to, the remaining gun had a very limited arc of fire.
K: "Commandeur.." I pointed to the remaining gun.
C. Roos: "Artilleristen. Vuur op dat overgebleven doelwit." She stated plainly. "Where you want to go ashore, Kolonel?"
K: "Put me and my team ashore over there.." I poined to the far, far side of the Poto Island beach. No landing craft there, and no sign of the enemy. "..I'll take direct command of the defenses there along with our backup team."
Our "backup team" was a half-company of Bluejackets from Bali. Bali was dead as far as this drawn-out battle was concerned. Her engines were severely damaged, and even with repairs, wouldn't be able to do more than 10 knots. So, we decided to abandon her and loot her for stores. She was beached and flooded almost up to her deck near the Naval Base with her guns manned, a sort of unsinkable shore battery.
Each Squad was led by an officer from Bali, backed by a Petty Officer, and then four Sailors. Each Squad had one Bjarnov LMG, three rifles, and two sub-machine guns. Good firepower, and the Dutch Navy did do basic infantry training, so they knew (roughly) how to conduct themselves. We had Bali's undamaged 11.5-meter motor sloop hooked up to one of Rotterdam's boat cranes.
I loaded aboard her with one of the squads from Bali, led by Luitenant ter zee der 1ste klasse (LTZD1K) Ondiepe Ondiepten. She was also the leader of Bali's rifle teams. The Captain of Bali was reassigned to De Ryuter, and her first officer to Utrecht, to replace the ship's 3rd officer, who'd been seriously wounded when the aft conning tower was hit.
Sunset: "We can do this. Right?" She checked her Kreuger.
Steela: "We can do this." She nodded firmly.
Elsie: "I hope I can do this." She examined her Madsen-Mosede SMG. "General?"
K: "We got this." I nodded. "Remember, this is a delaying action. We need to hold them back for another another eight hours." I nodded to Lt. Ondiepe. "You ready?"
Lt. Ondiepe: "I hope so, Kolonel." She snorted. "This will be rough."
K: "It will." I patted her shoulder.
The Sloop was lowered into the water. Bali's own crew were manning it, so, we managed to get a little extra space in here. We chose to bring extra ammo and water.
The Sloop made for shore, and we roughly beached it at moderate speed. All of us got out. We were followed by Rotterdam's whaleboats. As they beached, and the Ponies disembarked, we formed up.
Elsie: C> "This is Bravo Alpha to Braam Drie (Blackberry Three)! We're reinforcing you from the south-west! Check your fire!" She called in expertly.
K: "Come on." I nodded, and led the way (as always).
Up over the rise, we could see Braam Drie and that whole cliff face were under heavy fire. Invasion forces from the beach were pouring from landing craft, and while they were getting chopped down, they had enough time to stop and return fire. Some, smartly. I could see in the shadow of one of the firing arcs, a whole company of Troggles, with Goblin Suicide Bombers, gathering their forces for a push.
These troops were getting time to fire back on MY troops.. because of their weapons. The lack of magazines. The doctrine of single fire. Those were useless against battle rifles with a goodly supply of magazines. It wasn't the Dutch's fault - they were constrained by their technology and manufacturing ability. And hobbled by fifth columnists, that they couldn't reach out to us for help.
K: "We need to take those Troggles!" I pointed. "Sunset, you're our only sharpshooter! Set up HERE! Steela, cover her with the Ell-Em-Gee! Maud, you stay, too. Elsie, Teeka, Lieutenant, on me! FIX BAYONETS!"
Yes, a bayonet charge. It's literally the last thing any of them would expect someone to do in this kind of situation, and unconventional tactics are what you roll the dice on, to get you out of trouble.
I examined the enemy force through my binoculars. The Troggle troops looked armed with BRADLEY copies! So, that sure explains why most of Tirek's forces use Shermans - only his ELITES get the good stuff. He's still copying me, but he's being smartish about it.
K: "Ell-tee." I addressed her.
Lt. Ondiepe: "Yes, Kolonel?" She nodded.
K: "They have superior weapons. Those are Bradleys, in 7mm NEIGHTO." I pointed. "Their machine gunners are armed with Merrill Commando LMG's, and they have sharpshooters with Bradley DMR's. That Company is arranged like an Equestrian one." This.. was bad. "We need to get close, fire one volley, then charge. If we get in a protracted firefight, we'll probably lose. The only good news is, they don't look much bigger than us, physically."
Lt. Ondiepe: "Yes, Kolonel."
K: "On my go." I motioned for all the Dutch Sailors to get close to the rise. "Two round volley, then charge. LMG's at the far flanks and just pour fire at anything exposed" I instructed them, as Ondiepe translated.
Teeka: "Uhhmm.. me.. stay by you!" She grinned a bit.
K: "Alright." I pat her head. "READY!" I raised my captured Sherman. "FIRE!"
All the Dutch sailors rose at that moment, and fired twice. The shock of seeing us almost right next to them made the Troggles falter, and I saw 12 go down instantly.
K: "CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" I called, immediately throwing myself over the berm and making my way down towards them.
The Dutch Sailors followed, bayonets out, and yelling as they galloped.
We impacted the Troggles, and made the Goblin Suicide Bombers scatter - we weren't their targets, and they were SMART enough not to blow themselves up by friendlies. When they tried to make an unsupported charge at the Cliff Redoubt's blind spot, the LMG's from Bali mercilessly cut them down.
The explosions got the Redoubt's attention, but they couldn't spare us any fire. We were ~200 meters from them, out of their effective range.
When I got up to the first Troggle, I whipped my Sherman across his face like a baseball bat, but using the thinner top of the stock. His head caved in, and I could see both blood and bone eject from the wound, as I hit him with the very tip of the upper-rear of the butt plate. As he went down, I grabbed his Bradley, flipped it to full auto, tucked into a very low "1980's tacitcal" squat-stance, and emptied the magazine into a squad of his buddies.
On my left, a Troggle tackled me, and tried to beat me with his fists. He didn't see Teeka, who jammed her pistol in his ear, and pulled the trigger three times. Of note, these fuckers are HEAVY.. but they have the physical strength of a child. The hits hurt, but not by very much..
..they had a weakness..
Teeka: "YOU BE CAREFUL OR TEEKA NOT AIDE TO NO ONE!" She yelled at me, as I lashed out, and grabbed her away from a Troggle that was trying to stab her with a huge butcher's knife (not kidding).
As I snapped her around to face away from me, she dumped the rest of her mag in his gut at literal bad breath distance. She reloaded, and I grabbed the Bradley, reaching over and pulling a magazine from the one Teeka shot in the head.
I ran the bolt on the Bradley, and thought to myself.. NOW.. now I have my weapons. I set the GobboGirl down and stood up. The fight was pretty much over, with the last few Troggles being ganged up on by the Dutch sailors.
I stood, and nodded.
K: "We'll police the weapons later. I want a line of fire RIGHT HERE! Move up the LMG's, and let's flank the beach." I motioned for my team to join me.
I quickly gcut the tactical vests off of two Troggles with my knife, and took their mags. With a spare strap, I jungle taped two mags together, and inserted one into my new Bradley.
K: "Lightning! Grab a Bradley DMR!" I directed.
Lightning: "You got it!" She hefted one from a corpse, and used her wings to loot two nearby enemies for mags.
Steela: "Oooo.. new weapon!" She hefted the Merrill, immediately seeing its belt-fed utility over the magazine-fed Bjarnov. She passed her old LMG off to a sailor, along with her two drum magazines, and liberated a spare belt. "I like.. has.. more punchy feel, jae?"
K: "Yah." I smirked, and snapped the Bradley to my shoulder. "LET'EM HAVE IT!"
We all opened up at once, with perfect 45-degree flanking fire to the beach. With the enemy landing ship sunk, any remaining enemy troops were swimming to shore. The initial waves that made it had been stopped with heavy fighting, but now, they had no reinforcements coming and we had.. at least 25 Sailors left after that fight, now shooting them from the side.
Once we cut down most of them - precision shooting of about three magazines - I tapped Elsie, as I got the strap off my jungle taped (and empty) mags.
Elsie: "Bravo Alpha, first beach cleared. All Braam callsigns, report status." She looked at me with a small, faint, attracted grin - the ol' mare magic was there, as it was with many other girls, only Teeka slid between us.
Teeka: "Hey. Teeka no get to Aide him in bed, YOU no get to! And Teeka behind Steela!" She pointed.
Steela: "Heh. This is good fight, K!" She patted me on the shoulder.
Elsie: "Ah-well-I.." She coughed, shook her head, and held the radio handset to her ear. "..Braam one reports they're running low on ammunition and have 45% casualties. Braam two reports 50% ammo and 35% casualties. Braam four reports no action." She shrugged at me.
K: "Call Braam four to hoof it over to Braam Two's position. We'll make for Braam One. Maud? How are we doing?" I looked back to her.
She was furiosuly trying to stop the bleeding on Lt. Ondiepe's severed right foreleg (a bit above the hoof - she'd have a peg leg but she'd survive). I shrugged, and leaned over to Luitenant ter zee der 2de klasse Schip Boord, a chestnut stallion with a green mane.
K: "You're in command. Police these weapons up." I directed. "We'll get ready to move on Braam One. Cross level ammunition. Make sure all magazines are full." I stood up, and went about gathering a proper load myself. "Radio Rotterdam - release her and De Ryuter to provide support further up the coast."
Elsie: "Aye."
Lt. Boord: "Ja, Kolonel." He cleared his throat, a bit nervously, and issued his orders.
I knew these sailors would be the lowest "quality" trained troops I could get. They only had basic instruction, and while well armed, lacked the discipline of Marines or Army Infantry. Moreover, they'd been assigned to an Avsio or Colony Frigate, a mostly peacable assignment in the first place. Face to face violence wasn't their bag.
Now, we needed to move up to Braam One and give them support.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Battle of Poto Island, Part 2
TIME: 10:07 NCT
DATE: War Day 910/5 Decemus, 1004 C.S. (Local)
LOCATION: Poto Island, Dutch East Indies
I was armed with a Bradley, and a scope taken from a Bradley DMR. I'd used this setup before. Yes, it was a Tirek copy, but it was - as with the Shermans - a perfect copy. It felt right in my hands. I felt as though I could just HEAR the sounds of the tables turning.
We could hold out.
The remaining 25 sailors with me, plus Sunset, Steela, Maud, Lightning, Elsie and Teeka, were advancing to Braam One's position. These sailors had just had their first taste of a real mud fight. I'd charged enemy elite troops with bayonets, and won, and revealed that while they may be good at open field tactics, they were useless in a close combat situation.
This made sense - Porcines were much more deadly in close combat, but little more than mindless walking tanks in open field combat. While Goblins and Duregars were relatively good at both, and both fanatical enough to fight to the death, they lacked mastery in any specific area, and were a bit smaller than ponies, making their weapon selections slim.
Tirek had a diverse army, but unlike Ponies, he did not have true jacks-of-all-possible-trades. He had to integrate his forces carefully, or dictate battle on his terms.
Chess. It came down to chess.
Lt. Boord: "Kolonel. Just up 'head." He nodded and pointed with his SMG.
K: "Got it, Skip." I pronounced his name in English the way it sounded to my ears.
Elsie: "..I've lost radio contact with them." She frowned. "I wish we had some artillery to call in."
K: "We don't, so we make do." I stopped, and used the Bradley's scope to take a peek. "Braam one is in close contact with the enemy. I can see them now. Almost hoof-to-claw. We'll come in behind them and push the enemy back." I directed. "Double time, let's move!"
We moved around the side, then down behind them.
K: "BLUE TEAM! BLUE TEAM!" I shouted as we got in with them, just as a wave of Raptorians were broken, partly by our gunfire. I threw myself against a pile of sandbags. "Who's in charge, here?!"
They all looked at me with shrugs - what there were left. From one company of Dutch Marines and two of Colonial Infantry, I could count 17 remaining.
K: "Skip, take charge here!" I called to him as he moved in.
Lt. Boord: "Jae, Kolonel!" He quickly talked with the remaining soldiers, and turned to me. "They have no officers left. Only a Sergeant 3rd Class." He shrugged.
K: "Distribute the ammunition. Quickly." I nodded, and threw myself over the sandbags, only to see a company of Duregars with mixed weapons coming off the beach from the last landing craft. "OPEN FIRE!" I sighted down the Bradley's scope, and started shooting in short, controlled bursts of 2-4 rounds until my magazine went dry. I popped it out, flipped it, and inserted the jungle taped magazine in its place, hit the bolt release, and snapped the weapon back to my shoulder, to resume firing.
Lightning Dust: "That's a LOT of DUREGARS!" She squeezed off aimed shots as fast as she could. "We need reinforcements!"
K: "Deal with this first!" I redirected. "Stella!"
Stella: "I got it!" She slapped down the Merrill and started cutting loose. She'd 'stitched' three belts together and draped them about her person a bit, only to unlimber them now, and hose down the beach area.
I could see Rotterdam coming past us.
K: "Elsie! Contact Rotterdam! Get them in close! I need her 40's and 25's to hose down the beach!" I said, dropping my double mag and pulling a single fresh one, reloading.
Elsie: C> "This is Bravo Alpha Actual to Rotterdam! Get in close and get these ants off the beach! Use your autocannons!" She relayed.
Rotterdam almost instantly slowed, turned her broadside to us, and her autocannons and a couple 11mm machine guns opened up, hosing down the beach with the autocannon's explosive shells, and 11mm slugs.. we watched everything get chopped up, blown up, and blown apart in very short order.
Rotterdam's "A" Turrent then turned and fired to our blind spot, behind a large rocky point that jutted out past the beach and made for a smaller beach behind it. Both guns fired, and there was a dual explosion as both HE shells found their mark. The autocannons retasked to this hidden enemy, and hosed the area down.
Elsie: "Rotterdam reports the beaches are clear, and they're moving on to join De Ryuter." She nodded to me.
K: "Excellent." I stood up, reloading again. "Come on. I want to see what they shot at. Skip? Get this group reorganized, and call for Braam Four to send whomever they can here to firm up the defenses."
Myself, Elsie, Lightning, and Steela made our way down to that hidden beach.. and there, we found three waterlogged Duregar APC's, beached, and blown apart with 5-inch gunfire. They'd tried to land vehicles, but the vehicles had taken on too much water. Rotterdam stopped them before they could drain the vehicles and restart them. There was also another company of Troggles here.
K: "Alright.. police up all this ammo." I indicated, moving forwards to start with that. "Good NEIGHTO weapons and ammo. Most of Tirek's boys don't have these, and they're better weapons." I shrugged a bit, grabbing a HALF of a Troggle and pulling him out of the sand, to loot his magazines from him. "They're hitting us with everything." I shook my head.
Elsie: "Next stop after this, General?" She looked up at me.
K: "Kawal Town." I nodded firmly. "We'll take Bali's Sloop and catch up." I gestured. "Looks like the backup team is needed here."
Lightning: "No kidding." She frowned, stabbing a Troggle in the neck. "I.. I have to say.. General.." She lowered her head, grabbing a couple mags off his corpse. "I never thought.. I'd see the war this close." She flexed her wings.
K: "I didn't think there'd BE one, L-D." I shrugged.
Maud: "..Braam One has sustained fifty percent fatalities, and twenty percent casualties. As a unit, they are combat ineffective. The reinforcement from Bali and Braam Four should allow them to reachieve cohesion." She blinked exactly one time, pacing over by a Duregar.. stopping.. pulling out Boulder.. and viciously bashing its head in several times until brain matter sprayed out. "..Boulder needed to be sure."
K: "Gather ammo." I pointed to Sunset as she joined us. "We'll take Bali's sloop up the coast to Kawal Town. That's where we WANT them to invade. Rotterdam and De Ryuter should be there ahead of us."
Maud: "I see." She blinked exactly once. "This is.. far more tense than I thought it would be."
K: "You're doing excellently, Maud." I gave her a small smile.
A few of the sailors came over and grabbed a couple of the machine guns and belts. Steela helped them. They also grabbed one of those Goblin short 20mm cannons and some shells. I made sure my team all had 7mm NEIGHTO rifles and triple loads of ammo. I even got another strap and strapped up two sets of jungle mags. Once we had everything, I nodded to Skip as we were about to depart.
K: "You're in charge here, unless they send a Marine officer. Take care of your ponies. They can do this. YOU can do this." I patted him on the shoulder.
Lt. Boord: "T-Thank you, Kolonel." He nodded. "Celestia's Speed."
We then made our way back to the beach with the Sloop. Climbing aboard from the beach, Steela shoved the sloop back into the water all by herself, and made a running jump to get aboard. Sunset took the controls, and Lightning took the engine. We were off.
TIME: 11:01 NCT
LOCATION: Approaching Kawal Town, Dutch East Indies
K: "Steela. Get on the 11mm." I pointed. "They're holding the first line, but just barely."
I pointed to the beach - at least a full battalion of enemy troops made it ashore all at once, and reinforcements had pushed behind them. De Ryuter and Rotterdam were engaging a pair of enemy Destroyers and an Amphibious Assault Ship, having split them from the shore, leaving both sides without naval support.
The enemy was mostly off the beach, and grinding against the first line. That was defended by a full Regiment of Marines, and a Regiment of Colonial Troops. Kawal Town provided a road directly to the main city, and we had defense-in-depth planned.
K: "Elsie, raise Kawal One." I nodded.
Elsie: C> "Kawal One, Kawal One, this is Bravo Alpha! Come in, over!" She paused, looked up at me, and shook her head. "No answer."
K: "Their radio might be broken. Sunset, take this thing up the river past the first defensive line." I pointed.
Sunset: "Got it." She steered the sloop along the beach and towards the river that cut through the town.
Lightning Dust: "What's the plan, General?" She hefted her Bradley, eyeing the shore line.
K: "Get to the second line, send a messenger to the first, and have them fall back. Steel the second line against assault." I nodded. "Further from the beach, BUT, with fresh troops."
Steela: "Mmm. Is a good idea." She nodded. "Lure de enemy in with a false retreat, and hit them hard from fresh positions!"
K: "Which would also give our troops a chance to reorganize and resupply properly. Give them a break." I nodded.
Sunset: "It's like I told'ja! Kay's GOT this!" She beamed a grin. "We just have to do our part."
Steela: "Indeed." She made a short sniff and nodded firmly.
K: "We're still behind the 8-ball here. Tirek will simply land more. Remember what we're up against." I nodded as we started to get close to the second defensive line.
It didn't extend all the way to the river bank, but I was surprised to see no guards out, at least. I directed Sunset to get us to shore, and I was the first one off, as we beached the Sloop in shallow mud.
My boots hit gravel, and my Bradley came up. The rest of the team disembarked behind me.
No one. Not a single Pony or Deer. Nothing. The gooseflesh along my arms was up as I motioned for my team to advance. Teeka was very close to me, now holding a Madsen SMG. It was a bit big in her hands, but it worked.
We got up off the river bank and on to the town's streets. Still nothing.
Steela: "There should be guards. A scouting team. Something." She shook her head, and snorted. "I think this is not a case of negligence.."
K: "This is something else. Keep it tight." I cautioned, as I moved up the street.
Ahead, we could see the second fallback position.. it was totally abandoned. Nothing. No one.
As we got closer, I could smell something...
..is that paint?
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Painting the War/Battle of Kawal Town
TIME: 11:12 NCT
DATE: War Day 910/5 Decemus, 1004 C.S. (Local)
LOCATION: Kawal Town, Poto Island, Dutch East Indies
I started pacing around the area, looking.. and really examining everything I was looking at. I could smell something in the air that smelled like old fashioned lead-based paint.
Then, I realized.. there were doubles of certain objects. Two identical barrels. Two identical ammo cans (with the same numbers). Two sets of chairs. Two perfectly identical stones..
K: "..oh, my GOD!" I said, stopping.
Steela: "What is it, K!?" She paced up to me, covering the flank with her Merrill Commando.
K: "Susnet! Scan these objects, here! I think Beezen's been at work!" It hit me, and I shook my head. "In antiquity, he tried to sieze control of Paradise Estates by animating certain objects with magical paint. Drive the ponies mad and drive them out of the place." I wagged a finger. "What if.. he altered the paint to have another effect? In this case, turn ponies into inanimate objects?"
Sunset: "Oh, holy Celestia!" She snorted, frustratedly. "Polymorph Magic! I HATE that stuff!" She sniffed at the ammo cans, and scanned one, her horn glowing a bit. "..yeah, this is Polymorph alright. Concentrated into paint." She shrugged. "I'm not sure how to break the spell."
K: "Well..?" I shurgged. "Paint thinner?"
Maud: "..that might work. I will procure some. Come, Teeka." She paced off towards one of the larger buildings.
K: "We need to move ahead and hold the town further out. I'm pretty sure if these duplicate objects get damaged, the ponies and deer they once were, will be severely injured." I shrugged. "Talk about unconventional tactics!"
Steela: "You, me, Elsie, and Lightning?" She looked to the smaller Pegasus. "Come, Lightning. We have work to do."
K: "Yeah, come on, Elsie. This is a magic problem." I nodded.
Elsie: "Too wierd." She shook her head.
Steela: "Plan?" She nodded to me, casually, as we reached a rather nice ripple in the land that formed natural revetments.
K: "You three dig in right here. I'm going on ahead and see if I can get Kawal One to fall back here piecemeal." I nodded.
Elsie: "That's awfully risky." She frowned.
K: "We don't have much choice. The only troops between here and the main city are mostly ad hoc militia and Colonial Troops. Once they reach the city, it doesn't much matter - they'll start slaughtering everything in sight." I shrugged. "Stay here. Dig in good." I nodded.
Steela: "..I do not like it, but I will agree." She frowned a bit, and got her machine gun set up, with multiple belts connected.
Me? I moved on ahead. It was almost a full kilometer to the front line area. I moved at a careful walk - I would not put it past Tirek (and by extension, Beezen) to have sent troops on ahead, or around, the first defensive line.
Fortunately, the road was sunken for most of the distance, and I was able to pop up and look around a bit. As I expected, I could see Goblins moving in twos and threes. There had been some infiltration. Probably a platoon's worth.
I couldn't let them get to Steela and the others. I had two grenades left from the Arctic Expedition. Time to use them. I pulled one, and flicked it, then heaved it over the edge of the road. I could hear one of the Goblins call out as it landed. Then, an explosion, and several screams.
I moved back some, about 15 paces, peeked up again, and saw the other Goblins had stopped and gone back to help. They probably thought it was a mine or trap or something. So, I prepped the second grenade, and heaved it at the group. Another explosion, and more went down.
I advanced up the road another 25 paces, and popped up with my Bradley, exposing as little of me as possible, and just started shooting. Single shots. Carefully aimed. I got six of them before they drew a bead on me and fired back.
I ducked down, scrambled back some more, popped back up, and picked off the last three. I left the wounded where they lay. I wasn't going to waste time or ammo to finish them, I had neither to spare.
So, I continued my advance towards Kawal One. It took me almost thirty minutes at my slower, more careful pace.
TIME: 11:53 NCT
LOCATION: Outskirts of Kawal Town, Poto Island, Dutch East Indies
I could hear the battle up ahead. Furious fighting. Screaming. I could tell the line was holding, but I could also tell it was disorganzied. It was more that each individual pony or deer refused to fall, than all of them fighting as a cohesive unit.
Majoor Goossens was in command, here. As I came over the edge of the road, I could see just what I was afraid of. Everyone was fighting piecemeal, there was little cohesion, and there was certianly no one in charge. I advanced as far as where Majoor Goossens would have set up his forward command post, and looked for him.
There were very few ponies left here.
Kapitein Klapper: "Kolonel!" He was on a cot, bandaged, and bleeding..
K: "Captain." I knelt next to him. "How bad?"
Kapt. Klapper: "It is bad enough." He shook his head. "The Majoor is mortally wounded. I do not think we can hold."
K: "We have to. The line behind us is gone. Beezen got back there and used some kind of magic paint on everyone. They've all been turned into objects of some kind." I shrugged. "Sunset is trying to reverse it, but.." I shook my head. "..we need to withdraw in good order and set up another line of defense."
Kapt. Klapper: "..I see." He frowned. "You have a plan?"
K: "Not really, no." I smiled a bit, and shrugged. "Let's see what I can do. Time to improvise." I stood up.
Just a few more hours.
I paced away from the command area, and checked my Bradley, snapping it to my shoulder, and picking shots at long range, where ever I could. Magazine dry, I flicked the rifle to the side while pressing the magazine release, and as I flipped it back to the other side, I had another magazine for it, already. Inserted, I hit the bolt release, and started moving faster towards the melee.
Using my Bradley as a support weapon, I approached the first group I could, and started shooting the enemy on full auto.
K: "Terugtrekken!" I pointed behind us. "Terugtrekken! GO!" I ordered, taking their position all by myself.
The remaining enemy forces trying to press the small group all ganged up on me. That was fine - I had tricks. I reached down to the Sword of Rainbow's Light, and drew it onehanded in a backwards grip.
K: "CELESTIA, GIVE ME STRENGTH!" I screamed, holding the sword above me.
The sun dimmed, and firebolts came from the sword, incinerating dozens of the enemy on contact, reducing them to comical piles of ash.
That cut a chunk out of the enemy line. I moved to the next group in line.
K: "TERUGTRUKKEN! GO GO GO!" I screamed at them, over the din of gunfire. "SOMBRAAAA! GIVE! ME! STRENGTH!" I called out, and let the Bradley go slack on my shoulder, two-handing the sword, letting it jet me into the air.
I focused on what I wanted Sombra to do - send down a dark cloud of choking miasma on the enemy. As I was channeling his power, it wasn't a kill shot, but it was enough to force a LARGE chunk of the enemy to retreat, as I hovered about 12 feet off the sand.
K: "TWILIGHT SPARKLE! GIVE ME STRENGTH!" Time for Twilight.
This time, purple bolts of energy rained down from the sword's blade, shocking and zapping everything they touched, as another part of the enemy line was pushed to retreat.
I would hold Luna and Cadence in reserve for now. And Galactica Spark if I needed her.
The remaining clusters of surviving Dutch troops withdrew. The enemy retreated as a disorganized rabble. And I fell to the Earth, landing on my feet, and into a crouch.
We'd 'won' - we survived. That was enough. I pulled back with the rest of the Dutch forces, trusting Steela to stop them and force them to dig in when they got to her.
I was the last to fall back, and when I did, I moved past the command area, and personally carried Kapitein Klopper's stretcher with one other pony. Every single Dutch trooper had fallen back in good order - we left nothing for the enemy.
Once we got to where Steela had set up a defense, I saw Lightning reorganizing the retreated troops into Squads and Platoons. Whatever her beef might've been before, it was gone, now. She was a capable officer. Very trustworthy. And she'd adapted to working under pressure.
I set the Captain down in the rear of our lines as Maud came trotting up (a very-unlike-her speed).
Maud: "We have begun restoring the magically transformed ponies. Paint thinner and a small amount of Wortnester's Serum with Anafalia Root." She nodded to the side exactly once. "Your instincts were correct, K."
First time she'd called me anything but 'General.' I smiled a bit at her.
K: "I gotta get back to the troops - if you can spare a minute, to look at the wounded?" I gestured to them.
Maud: "Indeed." She started to pace away, paused, and looked back. "Boulder trusts you implicitly." Then lowered her head a slight bit, and looked away from me. "I no longer hold you responsible for my sister's transformation and departure. It was foalish of me to think otherwise." And paced off.
That's as close as I'd get to an apology. I took it, as I moved back to where the lines were.
K: "Report." I nodded to my team.
Steela: "Lines secured here. We are solid, K." She snorted a bit. "I BID THEM COME! We smash them!"
Lightning Dust: "All surviving troops reorganized into cohesive units, General." She nodded, taking her position. "We're ready for them."
Well.. we stabilized the front. Now.. what was next?
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Crashing Down/Second Naval Battle of Riau Strait
TIME: 17:04 NCT
DATE: War Day 910/5 Decemus, 1004 C.S. (Local)
LOCATION: Riau Strait, Dutch East Indies
I was back aboard Utrecht, with Sunset, Elsie and Teeka. Steela, Maud, and Lightning Dust were back in Kawal Town, helping out over there.
Adm. Duerpaard: "Kolonel." He smiled and offered me coffee. "We are holding well."
K: "Well?! You kidding? I thought we'd be overrun by now." I shrugged. "Again, I'm sorry about Majoor Goossens. He went down like a hero." I nodded a bit.
Adm. Duerpaard: "He was a good stallion." He raised his cup to me. "I will miss his humor. Though, your friendship has been most uplifting, I must say!" He smiled a bit. "I understand you have family?"
K: "I do." I sat at the chart table by him. "My wife, Applejack, my.. second mare.. is Princess Luna." I smiled. "And I have several children. Arthur Turner, Liberty, Starlight Mint, Rolfe, Pomme Florale, and Koringo."
Adm. Duerpaard: "My son is an Ensign. He is aboard our carrier, Batavi, as a pilot." He smiled a bit. "Smart lad. He will go far some day."
K: "Hopefully a day of peace." I poured coffee for both Teeka and Sunset.
Teeka: "Bih! Teeka should be one pouring coffee for you." She flirtatiously jabbed at me, hopping into the seat next to me, and swinging her feet.
Sunset: "Peace would be nice, yeah." She smiled. "How long until the Neighponese fleet gets here?"
K: "About an hour.. maybe less. They'll be coming in under radio silence, so they can take the enemy by surprise." I nodded a bit. "We scared off their fleet.." I shrugged.
Cornelis: "Ahh.." He paced up, scratching the back of his head. "..about that? A scout 'gyro reports that 36 enemy vessels are on the way. All those fleets. Seven battleships. They'll be in gun range in fifteen minutes. We're out ranged." He sighed.
Adm. Duerpaard: "...well!" He looked to me. "How we do this?"
K: "Action stations." I stood up. "Same assignments as last time, but under independent control. Tell the other ships to stick to their partners and try to stay as mobile as possible." I looked at Duerpaard. "This ship needs to stay nimble. Get us further out to sea along the flanks, try and take some pot shots, but we need to dodge fire as best as we can, and just run out the clock." I shrugged.
Adm. Duerpaard: "Signal all ships. This is Admiral Duerpaard. I am attacking!" He stood, marched to the center of the bridge, and snorted. "All ships - follow me!"
I grinned widely. He was going to take a chance and attack with a vastly inferior force and hope for the best. I admired his courage. This was a man I respected. A lot.
We charged the enemy battle line. This time, OUR "T" had been crossed. We were advancing in a double wedge formation, light ships in front.
Duerpaard: "Have the destroyers overshoot the enemy heavies and harrass from the rear." He ordered calmly. "The cruisers will engage at point-blank range. I want NO MISSES!" He encouraged.
K: "Going to line the cruisers up for a torpedo run?" I coyly needled.
Duerpaard: "Yes. With luck, we can cause some damage." He nodded to Cornelis. "We will have about five minutes where we will be out of range."
K: "Chancey. But it's not like we can retreat." I shrugged. "Let's do it."
Duerpaard: "All ahead flank! We hold fire until we are within 2,000 meters!" He stepped up to the oversized front window.. we could see the very edge of the smoke trails in the dying light behind us.
The destroyers raced forwards, with the Avisos on the edge, and we followed. The artillery from the enemy vessels started landing all around us almost immediately. It was.. very scary. Very. We all knew we were overmatched horribly.
The only thing we could do was try to hold out as long as possible, and inflict as much damage as we could. The situation wasn't entirely hopeless, as long as the enemy behaved poorly.
Cornelis: "Admiral... the enemy destroyers are breaking up our destroyer formation! They're trying to ram them!" He reported, looking through the high powered binoculars.
K: "You have a choice - target the enemy Dee-Dee's, or power through them and hope they're not suicide boats." I shrugged.
Duerpaard: "...mm. Cruisers - target the enemy destroyers! Our destroyers - maintain formation! Try to break through!" He ordered.
Cornelis: "Aye, Admiral." He relayed these instructions in Dutch, as the enemy ships grew closer.
Only once the enemy Destroyers were between our destroyers and cruisers, did they reveal their plan - they cut sharply in two directions and started firing torpedoes, at the same moment our cruisers targeted them.
Our destroyers regained formation, and cut past the enemy battleships, to their cruiser line in the rear. The enemy battleships started opening fire on our cruisers, ignoring the destroyers.
For self preservation, the destroyers targeted the enemy cruisers. Our shells started hitting the enemy Destroyers as we roughly broke into a rake formation, to dodge the torpedoes, which would prevent us from broadsiding the enemy fleet.
I saw three.. five.. seven enemy Destroyers get blown apart by close range Cruiser shells. One turret shot from Utrecht hit an enemy destroyer right below the funnel at 700 meters, obliterating the whole ship.
Duerpaard: "We are through the Destroyers! Broadside! Prepare for torpedo attack! Main guns, suppression fire! Pick targets independently!"
However, the enemy destroyers had bought time for the enemy battleships. They'd found range. The ship lurched as Zaen - to our port side - was rocked by no less than five impacts. Her aft magazine detonated.
The rest of us, though, were in position to fire on the enemy battleships with torpedoes. A nice broadside angle.
Duerpaard: "FIRE TORPEDOES!"
I felt our guns ripple-fire and screech towards their targets, as our battle line started to fire their torpedoes.
Just as Utrecht came fully broadside to the enemy battleships, I felt a shell slam into us. It hit aft, I heard the Torpedo Magazine blow up, as Cornelis looked up at us both and shook his head.
Duerpaard: "FINE! HOOFDKANNON! TARGET THE-"
*QUQATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM*
We all fell to the deck. Teeka screamed. Sunset yelled out. Admiral Duerpaard slammed against me, knocking us both over. The bridge was filled with smoke and screaming ponies.
K: "MAINTAIN FIRE!" I ordered. "Admiral?!"
I pulled him into my lap.
Blood. I saw a huge hole in the bridge, when I looked up, finally, my head in a daze.
K: "KAREL!" I tried holding my hands to his wounds. "PHARMACIST'S MATE TO THE BRIDGE!"
Karel: "..no, Kolonel. C-Cornelis, belay that." He coughed, and up came blood, as three more impacts registered along the side of the heavy cruiser.
Utrecht was going down. There was no other way to put it. The shell holes from the battleships were sucking in water right at the waterline, having penetrated just above the belt. Combined with buckling on her keel, she was taking on water. FAST.
K: "Admi.. Karel." I held his head up a bit. "Come on, we have to get out of here."
Karel: "..you know I cannot." He smiled a bit, blood oozing down his jaw. "The Captain goes down with their ship."
Cornelis: "Admiraal!" He pleaded.
Karel: "No, my cousin. You.. you must go." He nodded, coughing a bit. "FOR QUEEN AND NATION!" He shouted defiantly.
I picked him up, and set him in the command chair at the center of the bridge, propped up.
K: "As you wish, Admiraal." I saluted him.
Cornelis: "Ka.." He lowered his head. "Sir." And saluted as well, as Karel passed him his cutlass.
Roell: "We need to go. The list is increasing. She is going under." He helped a Petty Officer up, and pushed him out the hatch.
K: SPP/PA> "ATTENTION ALL HANDS! This is Kolonel K speaking for Admiraal Duerpaard! All hands abandon ship! All hands abandon ship!"
Another explosion rocked the aft deck area, and I could hear the rearmost 8-inch turret fire off one final salvo.
Sunset: "KAY! DAMMIT! COME ON!" She rushed over to me, and dragged me out.
Teeka: "WE MUST GO! TEEKA NO LIKE WATER!" She had my other hand.
Elsie: "..Admiral." She patted his shoulder. "The world will know your courage." She said, before turning and running after us.
K: "I'll never forget you, Karel!" I called back to him, as I was pulled from the bridge.
By the time we got down the conning tower, and then out on to the main deck, the deck was already awash. We were still being fired on, too. Both forward turrets were abandoned, as we were going down towards the bow, and they couldn't elevate enough to make up the difference.
Matroos: "LOOOOOOOOOOOK!" He yelled, pointing.
I heard a shell screech.. and all of a sudden, the battleship that had been bullying us, registered NINE massive impacts.. and it simply detonated.
Out of the haze of battle, I could see it. A massive shilouette.. truly massive. It seemed to float from the haze like a vengeful spirit. Overhead, I saw over two dozen aircraft suddenly speed over us. The enemy fleet was suddenly in a panic, I could see it..
..the Rising Sun.
That vengeful spirit, flying the Rising Sun flag, seemed to gingerly place itself between the sinking Utrecht and her enemies. I watched as the turrets retargeted on the next battleship in line.. and I felt the concussion as they all fired.
Another Tirek battleship.. simply vanished.
Above us, pegasus sailor ponies from the vengeful grey phantom started flying overhead, as the ship itself started dropping its boats from the stern.
They wore The Emperor's uniform.
Several of them came to me immediately, and bowed their heads.
Neighponese Sailor: "GENERAR!" He bowed. "DE EMPRAH SEND REGARDS! We evacuate you, now, yes?"
K: "See to the safety of all hands, first! I go LAST!" I insisted - technically, I was ranking officer aboard, and it was my duty.
Neighponese Sailor: "Aye!" He bowed again, and grabbed a Dutch sailor from the water.
Our friends were here.
{End of Chapter 115}
