//------------------------------// // 11 - A City Under Seige // Story: Battlestations: Equestrian Seas // by Shadow Quill //------------------------------// Celestia’s sun rose gently over the waves, ribbons of light bouncing over the rise and fall of the water as a new day began in the city of Manehattan.  Ponies awoke in their beds to the majesty of the dawn before moving about their morning routines, the sky a calm and clear blue that seemed to match the chipper yet subdued energy the awakening city exuded.  Many ponies made note of the thick fog bank obscuring the waters to the Southeast of the city but felt there was no need to bother alerting the weather crews.  Unless the fog started to move inland, there was no real reason to clear it, which meant nopony was aware of the eyes that watched them from within the concealing mist.   Kepler lowered his binoculars after several seconds of observing the pony city, his mind categorizing information at a rapid pace as he inspected it for any signs of danger or enemy ships.  After failing to see anything that would indicate the city was preparing for an attack, he turned his attention to the rest of the bridge crew.  The officers around him were dutifully operating their respective stations, although he saw several casting glances at the pony city just a few kilometers away, their bodies shifting with anticipation for what was about to happen.  “What is the status of our armaments?”  Kepler’s tone was calm and clear, cutting through the nervous excitement that permeated the air of the bridge.  “Primary and secondary cannons are loaded and aimed at the target.”  The tercel comms officer glanced up from his station to meet Kepler’s gaze as he spoke.  “We have a clear line of sight to the airship docks and the military port.” Kepler nodded his understanding.  “Good.  Tell the weapons crews to prepare for a shore bombardment.  We are going to level the docks and destroy as many of the ships moored there as possible.”  Kepler turned to the hen operating the station next to the Kapitänleutnant.  “Are the troop transports prepared for landing?” The Fähnrich zur See smiled.  “Ready to go and awaiting all clear from us, sir.  The captains say the soldiers are itching to try their new toys in combat.” “Tell them they are to stand by until we complete our bombardment,” Kepler cautioned.  “We don’t want any chance of friendly fire with how much power we’ll be throwing at the enemy.” She snapped a quick salute.  “Aye, sir.” Kepler turned his attention back to the city sprawled before him.  The small dots of pegasi flying above the streets and the multitudes of colorful beings that moved between the buildings created the image of a beehive in his mind.  A beehive that was about to get an extremely hard kick in the teeth.  The Tyr was positioned for a full broadside, near the edge of the fog bank, while the transports stayed further back to minimize the chances of being spotted by enemy lookouts.  There was no doubt in Kepler’s mind that the fog around the ship would be blown away by the weapons firing, thus he wanted to minimize the risk of any return fire from shore hitting the transports.  Silence hung over the bridge as everyone waited for the fateful moment, the earlier excitement now reduced to an uneasy tension.  Kepler let his gaze travel over the city one last time before placing his hoof against the comms crystal mounted in the center of his command station.  The bright blue jewel lit up at his touch, carrying his voice to the crew stations with perfect clarity. “All hands, prepare for shore bombardment.  Crew members are ordered to clear the deck until weapons fire ceases.  Loading crews, begin the assault on my mark.”  Kepler paused and counted down from thirty in his head, allowing time for the crew to get below decks. Once he reached zero, Kepler took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and spoke a single word that would change the world, “Fire.” The sound that followed was unlike anything heard before by any gryphon or changeling.  They had gotten a taste of it when they had destroyed the patrol ship the day prior, but nothing could compare to the raw fury that rocked the ship sideways as all her cannons unloaded their fiery destruction in one seismic blast.  The fog around the ship didn’t dissipate so much as it was torn to ribbons, revealing the ship in all its terrible glory as eruptions of smoke and flame billowed from the barrels of her cannons.  Kepler almost lost his footing from the shift of the deck below him, with several of the bridge crew actually falling to the floor from the sudden movement, but that didn’t stop anyone from witnessing the results of their initial attack. The shells streaked through the air with such speed that it was nearly impossible to follow their trajectory, even with the crew’s superior eyesight.  Mere seconds after they had been fired, the high-explosive rounds came crashing back to earth among the ships and buildings that made up the military port.  The shockwaves from each detonation could almost be seen by the spellbound crew of the Tyr, wood and stone being rent asunder as fire and smoke rose into the morning sky.  Kepler had only a moment to think before the rattling thunder below his hooves began again, the slightly different timing of the weapon crews causing a syncopated delay between each cannon firing.  The city before them shifted from a smoothly flowing river to a turbulent frenzy in an instant, ponies running and flying in every direction as panic set in under the withering assault.  Kepler paid the general citizens little mind, his focus being on the base they were targeting and the seaside weapons that could be used against them.  So far, they had been silent, but he knew it was only a matter of time until that changed. Seemingly in reply to his thoughts, one of the cannon emplacements began to turn towards them, the ponies controlling the weapon scrambling to get the barrel to bear while the ground and waters around them roiled from the force of the detonations.  Finally, the cannon was turned to face the Tyr and a lance of bright blue energy shot from the end of the barrel barely a second before the emplacement and the entire crew were engulfed in fire and smoke.  Kepler watched the bolt of magic streak in a perfectly straight line towards the bow of the ship, his hoof pressing into the comms crystal as he cried, “Incoming fire!  All hands brace for impact!” Just then, the bolt impacted the hull, the energy splashing against the metal plating as Kepler waited for damage reports to start flooding the comms.  Yet, after a moment of anticipation, a shocked comms officer turned to face him, the tercel saying with almost stupefied clarity, “No damage reported from the enemy’s attack, sir.  It seems that the magic was redirected from the ship somehow.” Kepler had to use every ounce of his will not to drop his jaw in surprise, his analytical side quickly filing the information away to be explored later.  Right now, he had to focus on the mission. “Until we know for sure what happened, assume that this was luck.  I won’t risk my crew because we think the enemy can’t hurt us.  We would be fools to do so until we are absolutely sure that is the case.”  Kepler turned to Whiteclaw beside him.  “Ahead half, Korvettenkapitän.  I want to make it harder for the ponies to hit us in case they can get those other embankments operational.” He snapped a salute.  “Ahead half, aye sir!”  The ship rumbled to life and began to move forward, even as the firing crews continued to unload on the city before them with extreme prejudice.  By now, the docks had been reduced to rubble, and the few ships that had been moored there were nothing more than splinters and twisted metal.  Kepler spotted several groups of pegasi flying up from different parts of the base, their numbers shifting from double to triple digits in a matter of minutes as seemingly every available pegasus took to the air.  Sunlight gleamed on the tips of hundreds of spears as the swarm began to fly in their direction.  Kepler activated the comms again.  “Cease fire.  All crews cease fire.”  He waited for the cannons to go silent, noting that the swarm of pegasi slowed to a halt as well once the last shot echoed into nothing.  “All hands, prepare for airborne assault from pegasi soldiers.  Shoot as many as you can before they can get on deck but be prepared for a possible boarding attempt.”  Kepler did his best to keep his voice level as the swarm began to move towards them once again, his pulse rapidly increasing at the thought of having to repel the ponies should they gain a foothold on board.  Seconds passed, and the pegasi drew closer with each breath while the crew scrambled to bring their anti-air defenses to bear.  Kepler could almost hear the clicking of the gears as the flak cannons and machine gun turrets rotated to face their foe.  Then, seemingly in an instant, the air between the Tyr and the approaching ponies was ignited as hundreds of tracer rounds streaked from the ship, flak shells creating clouds of expanding smoke among the glowing projectiles.  Kepler watched with wide eyes as the pegasi were shredded by the overlapping weapons’ fire, their plate armor doing nothing to protect them from the flak shrapnel and the wall of bullets that had appeared before them.  Bodies dropped from the sky like flies, and the water was painted pink from the blood that rained down from above.  In less than a minute, what had once been a force of hundreds had been reduced to a few dozen soldiers.  The weapons crews slowly halted their attack without Kepler needing to order them, as it was perfectly clear to both sides that any attempt to board the ship by air would be a suicidal endeavor.  What little of the pegasi that remained quickly flew back to shore, their weapons and armor falling to the crimson waves in their haste to put as much distance between them and the ship as possible.  Kepler felt that he should have been relieved by their successful defense, but all he could focus on were the ponies being cut down in droves by their superior might.  This had not been a battle.  It had been a massacre.  The stallion was barely aware of the transports moving around the Tyr as they flew towards the battered city, his thoughts consumed with the images of pegasi falling from the air with their bodies torn to pieces by his people’s technology.  Had he made a mistake?  Was he doing the right thing?  Kepler was pulled from his internal struggle by a paw against his shoulder, his gaze focusing on the forlorn expression worn by Whiteclaw and some of the other officers as they glanced at him from their stations.  There was nothing that needed to be said between them.  It was an understanding that went deeper than anything words could convey.  The gryphons were an honorable people, Kepler knew this from his time living among them, and it helped a little bit knowing that they were similarly upset by how effective his weapons were at killing. Kepler placed his hoof over the Korvettenkapitän’s paw, nodding his thanks before turning his attention to the rest of the bridge.  “Alright, we’ve completed our mission and destroyed the airship docks along with the naval presence in the city.  We are going to stay near to shore for now to support the landing as needed.  Should it become necessary, we will sail further out to sea to defend the troops from any ships that are sent against us and to prevent a retaliation against the Empire.  Those will be your standing orders until the situation calls for a change of plans.  Is that understood?” “Sir, yes sir!” was the unanimous reply. Kepler nodded.  “Good.  Keep me informed of changes to the situation.  I’m going to take a moment and inform the King of what has happened.” A murmur of agreement followed him out the door as he walked through the corridors of the upper decks until he reached his own quarters.  As he had expected, the changeling mare from before was waiting for him, her eyes having changed to that of her Queen.  “I see that your initial assault has proven successful.”  Chrysalis ran her tongue over her puppet’s lips as she smiled with sinister glee.  “Oh how I wish I could have been there to see those pitiful ponies running around in helpless panic.” “You can let the King know that the attack was a success,” Kepler stated flatly.  “The docks and any ships that were present in the port have been destroyed and our troops are moving in to attack the city proper as we speak.  If the general population proves to be as weak as their military then the city should be ours without much trouble.” Chrysalis hummed in approval while walking around the stallion with a predatory glint in her eye.  “So it would seem, and from what my drone has witnessed, your technology played a key role in that destruction.  You decimated the pegasi guards with barely any effort and you could level the city entirely if you so choose.  Oh, the possibilities your technology present to us make my spine tingle with anticipation.” Kepler did his best to hide his unease as the puppet drone walked towards him until her muzzle was nearly touching his.  “It makes me wonder what else you may be hiding inside that devious little mind of yours.”  Kepler jerked back as the drone’s tongue ran from the base of his neck up to the bottom of his jaw, his obvious disgust only making Chrysalis laugh as she stepped back.  “But we can talk about that at another time.  I have a report to make to our mutual acquaintance, and you have a little hen to go talk to.”  Her smile showed a mouthful of fangs as the glow of her presence faded from her drone’s eyes.  “Make sure to say hello for me, I’m dying to see how this little romance of yours plays out.” With those parting words, the Queen left entirely, leaving Kepler alone with the drone as her eyes returned to their uniform blue.  The drone said nothing as she walked past him and opened the door, the metallic clang of the portal closing only enhancing the gravity of Kepler’s situation.  All at once, the weight of the day’s events came crashing down on his shoulders, and the stallion could do little more than climb into his bed and close his eyes, though sleep eluded him for some time as the bloodied faces of the pegasi guards flashed across his vision.  Finally, exhaustion drew him into a dreamless sleep, one that did next to nothing to help him recover from the stress he had endured.   Kepler awoke a few hours later and simply laid there for a moment, his mind pondering on what he was going to do about Gloria.  By all rights, he could tie her up and throw her overboard to drown for all the Empire cared about her fate, but he knew he would never be able to do something like that even if he was ordered to.  He cared for her too much to see her come to harm.  But what could he possibly do?  She had deserted her post in order to be with him, and he had Chrysalis’ confirmation that she was in love with him.  But did he feel the same?  Could he go against the people that had given him a purpose in this new and strange world just to save a lovestruck girl?  Kepler groaned as he covered his face with his hooves, “Why do these things have to be so complicated?” Unfortunately, the question was left unanswered as a knock sounded from his door.  A sigh escaped his lips as he called out for the crew member to enter, his gaze falling onto the Feldgendarmerie who had taken Gloria to the brig the previous day.  “Sir, the prisoner has awoken and is ready for questioning.”  His deep voice rumbled from his chest instead of his beak, while his talons rapped against his uniform in a salute.  “Shall we proceed with the interrogation?” Kepler heaved himself from the bed’s embrace and walked past the tercel.  “Lead the way.  I have some words that I would like to share with the Vizefeldwebel.” Evidently, his sour mood was not lost on the officer, who simply nodded and led Kepler into the deeper parts of the ship.  Their journey led to the level just below the aft mess hall, the dim lighting and cramped corridors making Kepler slightly uneasy about what he would find ahead.  He had never been to the brig in either the Tyr or the original Bismarck, and as his eyes beheld the line of cells and the gryphon chained to the far wall within the first, he hoped that it would not be a common occurrence.  Her feathers were still crusted with salt from her time at sea, and a bruise had swollen one eye almost completely shut.  Kepler glanced at the Feldgendarmerie beside him in silent accusation, but the tercel didn’t seem to care other than to challenge the stallion’s glare with one of his own.  Each knew what the other was thinking, with neither being happy with what they were getting in response.  Kepler snorted in frustration and turned back to face the cell, his gaze locking with a single ice blue eye that lit up in joy upon seeing his face. Kepler hated to squash the happiness before him, but he had a job to do.  “Feldgendarmerie, open the cell.  I have some things to discuss with Fraulein Windcutter.” Gloria’s smile faded as he walked into the cell, a cold fear replacing the hope that had been there before, upon seeing the frown on his muzzle.  The door closed behind him, leaving the Feldgendarmerie just outside in case anything happened.  What Gloria could possibly do with her forelegs chained to the wall above her head Kepler had no idea, so he tried to push the concept of her as a threat from his mind.  He might not have been sure of his feelings towards her, but his emotions concerning the matter did not change the fact that he wasn’t there to help her. “Gloria Windcutter,” his tone seemed to cut her like a knife as she flinched away from him, “you have a lot of explaining to do.”