//------------------------------// // 11. The Battle of Cape Lune // Story: The Atlantean-Dominion War // by The Atlantean //------------------------------// Middle Road sat at the Helm two days later. Her Fireheart-class corvettes (Sundering Sea, Neptune, and Odyssey) had called in ready for action just ten minutes ago, patrolling the waters south and east of Summercrest. No Dominion vessels had been found in the small net, which would be deepened by the Captain’s arrival. Summercrest was visible to the north now, its shipyards busy with resurrecting USS Indianapolis. A light column of wispy smoke spiraled from the steel smokestack, lazily curling with the wind. After several months, they finally got the thing fueled with the right kind of stuff, which was a relief. The heavy cruiser’s guns were ready for action in case they were needed. Even with only the limited ammunition they had aboard, those things looked scary. As many of the nine tubes that were eight inches long and eight 5-inch weapons were trained to sea. “Chief, what is it now?” she asked as Tie Dye came up to her. “Captain, Neptune reports hostile ships inbound. They’ve just rounded the Cape Lune.” Deep breath. “Signal the other ships: battle stations.” Road raised her voice. “All crew to battle stations! This is not a drill!” The hubbub of Atlanteans morphed into chaos. The gun crews raced to their weapons and opened the gunports, loading the cannons as well. Buckets of water were hoisted up the masts in case of fire. The lookout in the crow’s nest was relieved and he flew down to the wardroom, as his secondary job aboard was being a medic. Powder and cannonballs were carried up by Unicorn magic so the guns could be reloaded faster. Middle Road held the wheel in her hooves. the grim lines on her face reflected her cutie mark: a tic-tac-toe board. She was finally being tested in combat. “Captain, message from Neptune: shitload of baddies. At least fifty ships of the line, thirty frigates, sixty brigs and sloops, forty corvettes, and twenty landing craft.” “By Harmony,” Middle Road whispered. “Four of us against two hundred of them. Odds of fifty to one. Tell Summercrest to send what they got. Fishing boats with rifleponies or cannon, armed dinghies, I don’t care. We’ll need to whittle them down as much as we can. And ask them if the project can handle a day or two at sea.” A few minutes later, Tie Dye came back. “They’re doing it. Harbormaster Nightmane says a couple days can’t hurt as long as nothing too major knocks holes in the side. They’ve just finished sealing the holes already there, you see, and the wall-things* in there are pretty banged up. Fuel will be a concern; I don’t have to tell you that we ain’t towing her back.” The Captain nodded. “To your post, Chief. Let’s get this show on the road.” ---------------- “Flood the drydock! Move it, move it!” the harbormaster cried. “Fire up all boilers! Fly the battle flag! Stow everything and get on! This ship’s headed to a fight!” “Mr. Nightmane, a few words before you go, please?”a newspaper reporter asked over the noise. “Shoot.” “What’s it like to be in command of the most powerful ship in the world?” “Overwhelming. I really hope this thing stays together. We’ve spent too much to let her die, but she’ll serve us well.” “Thank you. What was your reaction when you discovered the nature of the secret mission this vessel participated in?” “I was surprised that a magically deficient species such as the builder of this ship would even consider such weapons of mass destruction. My wish is that the need never arises.” “Thank you. That’s all.” Harbormaster Nightmane gestured for the reporter to leave, but he didn’t move. “I’ve been assigned to report the battle as it unfolds. I’d like to stay aboard, if you please.” “I have no concerns. Just stay out of the way.” The two headed to the “Bridge.” Why is it even called that? “All engines aft.” Nightmane held a book with the terms he needed. His crew had already memorized them. The drydock, now flooded, churned when Indianapolis’s twin screws bit. The heavy cruiser backed out of the shipyard and into the harbor slowly. “Port engine ahead. Rudder to starboard, ten degrees.” The ship turned to face the harbor’s mouth. The frigate Millennium, Captain Road’s flagship, was barely visible if you squinted hard enough. “Starboard engine ahead. Rudder to port, ten degrees.” Indianapolis completed her three-point turn and Nightmane ordered the rudder to return to amidships. “All engines ahead standard.” He felt the bow nose up as the screws bit deeper than before. The cruiser surged ahead, her bow slicing through the water. She reached the harbor mouth in less time than it took for most of the deployed fishing boats to go halfway. “Signal Millennium: ready for action. No holes so far.” ------------------ “Acknowledge.” Road looked to land, where the massive capital ship steamed effortlessly through the sea as if it wasn’t there. It wasn’t dependent on the wind, unlike everything else in the haphazard fleet. Turning to look ahead again, she was startled by the lookout’s cry: “White smoke bearing oh-nine-oh! Directly ahead!” Moments later, a radiopony hurried up the steps from the radio shack. “Captain, Neptune and Odyssey have engaged the enemy. Sundering Sea is coming as quick as those little sails will let her.” Out of nowhere,one of Indianapolis’s forward 8-inch guns bore to the east and fired. The concussion was astounding. Road followed the projectile with her binoculars as best she could and saw it slam into a Dominion frigate. The enemy vessel exploded spectacularly, showering everything around it with wood and soot-black smoke. “Holy shit.” A second gun fired, sending a huge column of water next to the nearest Dominion brig. The underwater blast caved in more than a few hull planks, causing the ship to founder rather quickly and it began to sink. Everypony watched in wonder. Over the next few hours, the steel ship’s long range kept the Dominion fleet from committing too much. But Neptune was in the line of fire, never hit by the Atlanteans, but pounded by the enemy. Her hull was pierced by a hundred holes from fifty-pound cannon roundshot, leaking and sinking. But her crew still fought valiantly as their naval corvette’s deck slipped beneath the waves - and stuck. The tiny ship’s captain had chosen the Cape Lune Sandbar to make his stand for this very reason. Eventually, a Dominion ship rammed Neptune, sending splinters across the water. The heavier ship of the line absolutely crushed the corvette and her crew, but got stuck on top of her as a result. She was an easy target for Indianapolis’s guns, exploding in a mushroom of debris. But the Domination Navy’s fleet edged closer to the meager defense: fifty fishing boats armed with a single 12-pound cannon, Sundering Sea, Millennium, Indianapolis, and the half-sunk Odyssey. “Signal Odyssey and Sundering Sea: Distract the big guns from the fishers. That’ll let ‘em get in close and shoot some holes. The cruiser stays at a distance and picks off whoever gets past us.” Captain road ordered. “Helm, take us in. Gun crews, ranged action, both sides!” Millennium’s sails filled with wind. Her open gunports whistled as the air blew through and around them. Gun crews rolled the cannons out so that they looked like black tubes in the side of an elegant vessel. Not elegant for long, Road thought. Then she stepped into hell. ---------------- The new frigate’s white sails were torn, flapping uselessly in the wind. An obscuring cloud of smoke was all that showed the ship’s location as her entire starboard side fired a second salvo. Then her port showed its full broadside to the Dominion ship of the line coming in to pound her. Tiny balls had slammed into the hull and ripped the rigging and sails. The masts had taken a beating in less than five minutes. “Punch some hole in those bastards!” Road cried. She still stood at the Helm, having taken it over herself. She spun to port and Millennium miraculously turned hard. The ship leaned to starboard and went right through its own cloud of gunsmoke. Then a gloriously loud CRACK was heard from the bowsprit as Millennium collided with a Dominion brig’s stern. The bowsprit snapped and fell overboard, bringing the entire forward rigging with it into the sea. On the rammed ship, the Captain’s cabin became a wrecked roomful of splintering wood and tumbling junk while Millennium went on. Glass shattered and stuff went everywhere. “Get that cut! We’re a sitting duck!” Tie Dye yelled. The Chief then personally went to help chop the ropes keeping the rigging on the ship. Others hurried to help. Meanwhile, the gun crews continued to fire as their cannons were reloaded, keeping a thick haze around the frigate. Another Dominion brig came in alongside through all the smoke and cannon fire. Its crew armed itself with the intent of boarding Captain Road’s ship. But one of the Atlanteans high up saw it coming and called down his report. “Prepare to repel boarders!” Road called. She pulled out a single-shot pistol and checked it for ammo. It was and she cocked it, making sure she had a sword at her side for melee combat. The Chief’s detail finished cutting the wrecked rigging from the port side. They grabbed their personal weapons and lined up at starboard. One of the starboard gun crews had an idea. The ponies loaded their cannon with everything they could find: bits of metal, tiny balls, even some of the stuff from the galley. Then the cannon fired and screams of pain could be heard from across the water. All the little bits served as canister, shredding the enemy at the close range. The Chief howled and leaped across the gap. If the enemy was distracted, she was taking advantage of it. More Atlanteans soon followed suit, jumping long and brandishing their swords. The surprised Dominion ship didn’t stand a chance; they’d thought Millennium would be easy to take, even with only half a crew to board her. Tie Dye scuttled the brig and returned to her ship. ----------------- Nightmane watched his ammunition count drop at an alarming rate. He’d left a couple rounds back in the yards for reverse-engineering, but it would take a long time. The 8-inch guns did remarkably well, blasting every ship they hit and nearly hit. As for the 5-inches, they were fine. They could depress lower and hit the smaller boats as Indianapolis cruised on the outskirts of the battle. But they didn’t have that awesome power their bigger cousins displayed. He saw Millennium accidently ram the enemy and counter-board that one brig. But his logic told him that he’d have to get in there to get them out. The Dominion still had almost a hundred ships left, and the Atlanteans lost half their fishing boats and two corvettes. Sundering Sea and Millennium were the only major friendly ships out in that mess. “All engines ahead flank. Hard to port.” he ordered. The heavy cruiser turned to show her beautiful starboard side to the enemy. Then her main turrets rotated and fired a full salvo. Combined with the secondaries, it annihilated almost everything out there. The heavy cruiser listed to port from the sudden firings, then rocked back to amidships. “Reload! Reload!” he yelled. An eager Dominion ship of the line fired its own broadside. Most shot fell short, but a couple dented the steel hull and bounced off. One punched through a thinner section and water rushed into the compartment. “Sir, we have a hull breach in the forward boiler room!” “Get the flooding under control! They ain’t sinking this battleship!” Damage control parties hurried to the flooding compartment. They used steam from the aft boilers to maintain pressure on the bilge pumps, which spat gallon after gallon of water back overboard. A 5-inch gun responded to the opposing ship in kind, its crew still chugging along. “Sir, the forward boilers are lost! The room is flooded; we’ll have to haul her back into dryck to fix that hole. Also, the “firebricks” used in the construction of the boilers disintegrated when the ocean hit them.” “Is the compartment sealed?” “Yes, sir.” “Get Captain Road out of that mess. Hard to starboard!” Indianapolis fell to port and her bow turned to starboard. She was a lot more sluggish, now that she dragged water and lost half her speed. Then the aft boilers picked up for lost time and steam pressure returned, sending the ship into a pell-mell acceleration into the fray. ------------------ Middle Road opened her eyes to ringing ears and complete chaos. Half her crew had gone overboard in lifeboats, getting picked up by the dozen remaining fishing boats. Then the Chief was over her, yelling something she couldn’t hear. A few seconds later, the ringing died down. “...So we gotta get off the ship!” “No! We can save her!” “Captain, we’ve lost her! Odyssey exploded right after that Dom ship blew a hole in our side. We have to abandon ship or die!” “But we’re on the sandbar…” “No, we’re not! We’ve foundered a mile south of it! Come on!” Tie Dye picked Middle Road up and tossed her down to a waiting lifeboat, then jumped in a minute later with the radio equipment. They watched the new but ancient Artemis-class frigate slip beneath the waves. In the few days they’d sailed her, nothing had lasted as long as the battle did. The Captain looked around groggily. She saw the steel warship blasting every single ship in its path at point blank range to smithereens. “It’s… so beautiful…” She slumped down onto the lifeboat’s deck.