//------------------------------// // 19: Sink the Bismarck // Story: The Jolly Rogers // by lockheed //------------------------------// ~~~~~ 10:15 Hours January 20, 1987 R.N.S. Neighvada Crystal Channel off the Coast of the Southern Crystal Empire ~~~~~ From my position on the bridge I looked down at the two turrets on the bow and all the sailors rushing to secure anything that was loose ahead of an approaching storm. “Worst storm I’ve seen in twenty years.” The captain said as he came up alongside me and looked out at the approaching clouds. “What are we out here for anyways?” “Canterlot and the Crystal City confirmed reports of a griffin battle fleet sailing into the channel.” “And our job is to take them out. Are there recon photos of the fleet?” “We do.” He said as he turned and grabbed an envelope off a desk and opened it up. Taking the pictures from him I turned and spread them across the navigation table in the middle of the bridge. Flipping the switch on the side I saw the light under the plexiglass top flicker before coming on. With a better view of the objects in the recon photos I went to work identifying them. “Looks like two aircraft carriers in the center with destroyers forming a ring around the outside of the fleet. Cruisers on the inside between the destroyers and carriers and, aw fuck.” “What? What is it?” “See these two ships here?” I asked as I pointed to two large ships flanking the carriers. “Yeah.” “Those are Bismarck class battleships. Eight fifteen inch guns, two on each of her four turrets. Those things’ll make short work of a dreadnought like this. Add in their belt armor and those things are nearly indestructible. Our shells‘ll just bounce off them. We need air support if we’re going to take down this fleet. How long until we rendezvous with the third fleet?” “Approximately sixteen hours with this storm that’s coming in.” “Radio Manehattan and tell them to send us both of their new carriers.” “Sir, is it wise to risk both of our carriers like that?” “There’s no reward without a bit of risk. If we don’t stop that fleet here and now then they’ll have free range of the entire eastern seaboard of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. We’ll fight them until we only have one ship if we have to but for now we need to tell the third fleet what we’re up against. And tell our escort destroyers to watch for periscopes. This is U-Boat territory up here.” “Yes sir.” The captain replied before sending word to the radio room. As I watched the storm clouds roll in I decided to go below and try to relax. Heading down two decks below the main deck I took off the navy dress jacket Celestia had given me for my time on the ship. Walking into the mess I grabbed a cold biscuit and sat down at a long table where five sailors sat with playing cards and over fifty bits worth of money piled up in between them. Taking a bite out of the stale biscuit I watched as money changed hooves many times. As time dragged on the ship began to pitch and roll with the growing waves and on more than one occasion the table began to slide on the smooth steel floor of the mess. Just as more cards were about to be dealt the red light on the wall began to flash and the drone of the ship’s alarm sent everyone scrambling. As we all ran through the corridors of the ship there were cries of “man your battle stations” all around us and the sound of the five inch guns firing on deck could be heard. Climbing up to the bridge I saw sailors on deck trying not to get sent overboard by the waves. “What the hell is going on?! It’s a complete cluster fuck below!” “Enemy cruiser sighted sir!” The captain said as he grabbed onto the navigation table to keep from falling over. “We’ve opened fire on her but the gun’s gyroscopes are having a hard time keeping up with the waves.” “Then open fire with the fifteen inch guns and don’t stop until that cruiser’s sunk!” “Aye sir!” Looking outside again I saw lightning continuously dancing across the sky with a bolt hitting the water every few seconds or so. “What about our escorts?!” “The Derby is taking on water and sinking sir!” “Jesus. What about the Ponyville?” “Her watertight doors are shut sir and she’s taken only minor damage!” “Tell the Ponyville to ride our wake! That should hopefully be a little smoother!” “Aye sir!” The captain hurried over for the bridge’s telephone and we all had to grab ahold of anything that was bolted down to keep from getting sent tumbling across the bridge with each wave. Looking out the port side of the bridge I saw the Derby sinking in the monster waves and her lifeboats being smashed to splinters. “There’re sailors in the water!” A voice yelled and everyone rushed to look out at the crew of the Derby desperately trying to keep their heads above water. “We’ve gotta help them!” “We stop for nothing! Get back to your stations!” The crew obeyed and we continued to plow through the water as the storm intensified. Down on deck the bow turrets had turned and the guns were desperately trying to find their mark. Finally they found a chance and the roar of the fifteen inch guns drowned out every other noise imaginable. Looking out across the water I watched the shock wave from the guns make its own wave. A few seconds later there was an orange flash in the distance and there was a call of “direct hit” from the second turret. The order to stand down was given and then we finally gave the order to turn around to pick up any survivors. As the ship turned to port we could see the few remnants of the Derby floating on the waves and only two heads still above water. Several sailors rushed out and threw life rings to the two sailors in the water. As the crew attempted to get the ship into position the sailors threw a rope ladder over the side and one of the two crew members in the water attempted to grab ahold. Just as he managed to get ahold of the ladder a wave came and slammed him against the hull of the ship. Everyone within view saw him go limp and slip below the water’s surface. The other attempted to grab him before he went too deep but he arrived too late. Grabbing hold of the ladder he hurried up to the deck before another wave could try and sweep him away. “Get him to the infirmary!” The captain yelled out to the crew on deck and they rushed him down below. “Any news from Manehattan?” “The carriers are going to leave the port at noon.” “What aircraft do they have on board?” “Twenty Wildcats, ten Corsairs, and five Avengers each.” “Any news from the air stations?” “A PB-1 spotted the enemy fleet at a standstill near the eye of the storm with three less destroyers than in the original recon photos.” “Fantastic. What about their battleships?” “Intercepted radio messages suggest their radio and radar antennas are damaged. As for the carriers, over half of their aircraft have been either damaged or destroyed.” “Even better.” There was a sudden commotion behind us and we turned to look at the crew who were franticly working by orders from the hydrophone operator. “What the hell is going on?” “Sir, contact on bearing of zero-nine-zero.” “What’s it sound like?” “Diesel engines sir. Twin screws. Sounds like a submarine.” “Any friendly submarines in the area?” The second mate quickly looked over the map and shook his head. “No friendly subs for over eighty miles sir.” “Fuck. Sound the alarm and call general quarters.” “Aye sir.” The first mate hurried over and activated the alarm while the captain called general quarters over the PA. Down below the crew hurried for their battle stations but when the sub was lost on the hydrophone an hour later the crew was told to stand down. ~~~~~ 00:55 Hours January 21, 1987 R.N.S. Neighvada ~~~~~ Standing just outside the port side of the bridge I looked out over the now calm water. “Thank heavens that storm finally passed.” The captain said as he stepped out to join me. “Care for a smoke?” “If you’re going to smoke then go back inside. That cherry can be seen for miles out here.” I told him as I looked at the horizon through my binoculars. Lowering them again, I let them dangle around my neck and I pulled my wool overcoat tighter around me. “Cold general?” “Just a bit. Between that storm getting me soaked in the afternoon and now it’s cold as hell, yes I am.” “Channel is smooth as glass.” He said right before he took a deep breath in through his nose. “You smell that?” I took a whiff and I detected a different smell in the cold. “Ice.” “Very good general. We may remake a naval man of you yet.” “Captain! Iceberg off the starboard bow.” We stepped inside and made out way over to the starboard side just in time to watch the iceberg pass by. “Sir.” We turned and faced the young petty officer who gave a message to the captain before stepping back inside. “The third fleet has radioed that they’re about to start signaling with the Morse lamp. Go tell the crew on the bridge to get the lamp ready and look for the third fleet.” “Aye captain.” Stepping back into the bridge I looked back at the captain who pulled a 40s style flashlight from his coat pocket and he began to signal the Ponyville. “Alright, listen up! Who here is the lamp operator?” A different petty officer than before raised his hoof and I told him to get his overcoat on. He did and he led the way up to one of the Morse lamps on the rear mast. When we reached the lamp I looked out at the horizon with my binoculars and saw a flashing in the distance. “TF on bearing three-six-zero.” Lowering my binoculars I looked over at the petty officer. “Looks like we have the third fleet. Signal them ‘Neighvada steaming due north’. We’ll see what they do from there.” “Aye sir.” He began to signal and a couple seconds after he stopped they began signaling back. “Will meet at World’s Fair in one hour.” The petty officer looked over at me in confusion. “What’s the World’s Fair?” “It’s the codename of the rendezvous point for us and the third fleet.” “Oh.” “Alright. Looks like that’s it for now. Shut off that lamp and let’s get back inside. It’s cold as fuck out here.” “Aye sir.” He shut off the Morse lamp and we made our way down to the deck. “Be careful sir. There can be ice patches on the deck.” No sooner had he said it when I felt all grip my boots had on the deck vanish and I fell backwards onto the deck. The petty officer rushed over and helped me up. “Thank you. What’s your name?” “Petty Officer Third Class Wood Wind, sir. All my friends just call me Woody.” “Well, thank you again Woody.” I went to step forward but I began slipping again but this time there was nothing to catch me as I slid towards the railing. I felt my hip hit the top part of the railing and I saw Wood Wind desperately trying to grab my arm as I fell backwards over the railing. Tumbling through the air I attempted to right myself and pencil dive into the water but I found myself falling face first towards the water. Sticking my arms out in front of me I dived into the ice cold water of the Crystal Channel. Opening my eyes I looked around me at the surprisingly clear water and down at the sea floor below me. About a hundred feet down the channel bottom was made entirely of glowing crystals. Swimming up to the surface I gasped for air and the sound of dozens of sailors yelling at me on the deck drew my attention away from the rainbow colored crystals under me. Rope ladders were thrown over the side as two search lights found me in the water and there was suddenly more frantic yelling as I swam towards the ladders. Grabbing ahold of one I slowly climbed up and was met by a medic. “General Jones I presume?” “Yes sir.” I was barely able to tell him with my teeth violently chattering. He rushed me down to the infirmary where they took my wet clothes and gave me a wool blanket to wrap around myself. “Hey doc?” “Yes?” “When I was in the water, I saw crystals.” “Yeah. We’re passing over the rainbow waters. The crystals on the sea floor emit light that they absorb during the day and at night the water around them looks like a liquid rainbow.” “It’s beautiful down there.” “You should see the Rainbow Falls. My parents built a house near the falls when they got married. Half my foalhood was spent swimming in a rainbow lake.” “We have nothing like that back on Earth.” “What do you have?” “Closest we have is Niagara Falls in upper New York state.” “What’s that like?” He asked as he pulled up a chair. “Well I’ve never been there myself but I’ve seen pictures from my dad and mom’s honeymoon when they went there and it’s magnificent.” “Can you walk on clouds?” “We wish. We couldn’t fly until a few hundred years ago when they made the hot air balloon.” “That’s quite a while.” “Not really when you look at how long humans have been around.” “So what are other humans like?” “I could go on for days about that but honestly, most humans are like ponies. We’re all different, we usually stick with our own race but you get places like New York or Chicago where everyone can sorta blend together, and we don’t particularly care for war. We’ll fight if we feel like we have to but we’re usually a fairly calm, happy race. At least in central Illinois we are.” “Illinois?” “It’s a state in the country I’m from. My home country is made up of states which are made up of counties. Each county has its own government which is less powerful than the state government which is less powerful than the national government. But, there are fifty states and all their governments combined are equal in power to the national government.” “So, the states are just as powerful as the king?” “America doesn’t have a king. Well, there was Elvis but he wasn’t the leader. We have a president. Every four years we vote on who the president should be.” “So the citizens are in control?” “That’s how it’s supposed to be. Every now and again you get those that lie and cheat their way to office but most are in there by our votes. Although the number lying their way in is growing.” “Who’s the president now?” “Shit, Regan I think?” “You don’t even know the leader of your country?” “It’s been a few months since I was there and he’s not exactly a young man. For all I know he could have died.” “So what are the other humans on this planet beside your four men and the other few in Equestria?” “Honestly, I don’t know who all’s here besides that SS officer that defected a couple weeks back and Hitler.” “Oh. Well General Jones, I would like you to stay down here for the rest of the night so we can make sure you’re not hypothermic or ill from being in the water.” “Alright. But do you have something for me to put on besides a blanket?” “We have a bathrobe.” “Bring it here.” He brought the bathrobe over and I slipped it on and tied it. Sitting down on the bed again I was fluffing the pillow when a sailor brought a telegram over to me. To Major General James Jones, Hi dad. Mom and the others say hi too. I figured since I couldn’t tell you to your face then I’d send you a telegram. The royal sisters approached me the other day after the ceremony and said they would like to have me do a screen test at their movie studio for some movie. Still debating whether to do it or just stick to making records. Also, what would you think about having grandfoals this early?” ~Sabre Setting the telegram aside I stood up and looked out the porthole above my bed at the water outside. It shimmered and looked like a shipload of watercolor paints had spilled into the ocean. A chuckling to my right drew my attention away and I looked at the only other patient in the room. “It’s always fun seeing someone see the Rainbow Waters for the first time. I remember the first time I saw them. I was seventeen and I spent the whole night on the deck of the ship with my head dangling over the side and I just watched the water.” Sitting down on my bed I faced him and looked him over. “What part of the ship you serve in?” “I was second mate on the R.N.S. Derby. You?” “Major General in the air force and tactical advisor to Princess Celestia. I’m onboard to help take care of the enemy fleet.” “Oh. Well I would salute you if I didn't have a chunk of the Derby removed from my arm a few hours ago.” “It’s fine. I figure you probably saw my ass when they took my clothes so I owe you the courtesy of not saluting me.” “It was like seeing a monkey with mange.” He said with a small laugh and I had to grin at that one. “I must say, that is a new way I’ve heard myself described.” “Well, I’m not wrong am I?” “No. I guess not.” “I heard you talking about your planet. Sorry you ended up here just to end up in a war.” “It’s fine. Everything happens for a reason and if I ended up in this war then there’s bound to be a good reason. We’re all born with a purpose, and if my purpose is to help wipe the Nazis off this planet then so be it. “Say, there’s a portable radio over there. You mind bringing that over here?” He asked and pointed to the radio on a table on the far side of the room. Getting up I brought the radio over and set it on the table between our beds. Turning it on the sound of a Manehattan radio station filled the room. “This is your friendly disk jockey. What’s a disk? Hell if I know. Up next is Romantic Rhythm and the Swing Sisters singing about, what else? Civilization.” The music filled the room and the stallion tapped his hoof on the mattress along to the music but stopped and looked over at me. “Your son is Specialist Sabre Rattle right?” “Yeah.” “Do you think he’d send an autograph to my daughter? She’s absolutely nuts about him.” “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. I’m sure he’ll get even more requests if that movie deal goes through and once the episode of the Blue Solo Show with him on it is on the TV.” “He got on the Blue Solo Show?” “Yeah. Some sort of welcome home special. He taped that the other day after he got his medals.” “Neat.” The song on the radio ended and the stallion in the other bed shut the radio off. “Well, it’s pretty late general. Goodnight.” I bid him good night and laid down on the hard mattress. Looking up at the grey ceiling I would spend the next few hours trying to sleep while watching the reflection of the rainbow waters on the ceiling. ~~~~~ 07:00 Hours R.N.S. Neighvada ~~~~~ Looking off the starboard side of the battleship I watched one of the two aircraft carriers from Manehattan steaming along with sailors getting her airplanes ready. “Sir!” The captain and I turned and looked at the first mate who waved us over and pointed to spots on the navigation chart. “The enemy battle fleet was just reported seventeen miles out by a Catalina recon plane.” “Seventeen?!” “Yes captain.” “Somepony radio the rest of the fleet and tell the! Call general quarters and get ready to take damage!” “Aye sir.” Red lights began flashing and the alarm buzzed all across the ship and soon the sound of alarms echoed from the ships around us. The radial engines on the carrier’s Wildcats sounded like a swarm of bees and AA guns opened up at a shadow overhead. “Sir, enemy recon plane has reported our position!” I watched as off to starboard Wildcat fighters scrambled to intercept any oncoming fighters or bombers while the carrier crews readied the Corsairs. “Enemy has been given the order to open fire, sir!” “General Jones, you’re the highest rank here. What now?” I looked around at the crew in the room who were all looking at me in return. Walking over to the navigation table I looked it over and the area between us and the enemy fleet. “We have enough room. Send two battleships and four cruisers to make a pincer maneuver. One battleship and two cruisers on each side. That should draw some of the fire from their battleships away from our carriers.” “But we’re also risking two battleships and four cruisers in the process.” “No reward without risk. Besides captain, do you want the full power of the enemy raining down on us or have their fire spread out?” He stood for a moment before nodding. “Somepony signal the rest of the fleet the new strategy.” A petty officer stood up and grabbed signaling flags before hurrying out to signal the other ships. Almost thirty seconds later there was a plume of water ahead of us and the bow turrets had opened fire in the direction of the enemy fleet. “Sir! Enemy aircraft reported flying in our direction!” “Tell the AA batteries to get ready! Everypony get ready to see some bombs!” The captain barked to the crew and they went to work alerting the AA gunners. The captain stepped over to me and we stepped outside into the chill January air. “General, what kind of aircraft are we going up against?” “Well from the recon photos I can safely say we’re looking at carrier capable 109s, 110s, 190s, and 87s. The griffins are going to throw every one of them at us and there will always be aircraft that get through our air cover and past our AA batteries. Let’s hope that today is not one of the days where that happens though.” I told him as more plumes of water rose into the air around us. Off to the port side of the Neighvada we watched the bow turrets of the recently repaired Califoalnia open fire on the enemy fleet. On the edge of the fleet we saw a destroyer take a direct hit on her bow and lift out of the water before settling back onto the surface and starting to sink moments later. “Sir, enemy aircraft sighted!” We looked north and saw over a dozen aircraft flying towards us and our fighters climbing to meet them. The long range AA guns opened fire and black puffs of smoke formed a wall in front of the enemy aircraft. Moments later we saw half of the aircraft emerge from the flak cloud and the short range gunners opened fire. The tracers from the AA guns on all the ships rivaled the best Fourth of July fireworks I had seen and proved even better when we saw aircraft going down in flames. But what the gunners had failed to notice was the dive bombers flying above the main group. As we watched the main flight of fighters and fighter/bombers we were alerted to the dive bombers presence by the wail of their sirens. Looking up we saw the shadows of them against the morning sky and the gunners opened fire on them but they were too late. The dive bombers pulled up and we heard the scream of the bombs as they fell towards the ships and the water. We felt the ship rock and there was a tremendous explosion on the stern of the ship. Running over to look, I saw the aft tripod mast twist and fall sideways into the channel as the crew inside jumped into the water in an attempt to save themselves. “Aft fire control is down captain!” The captain ran over and watched in horror as the mast sank to the bottom and crew members thrashed about in the water. We saw a group of ten sailors get swept under the stern of the ship and moment later a red spot in the white foam of the ship’s wake. Turning away I stepped inside where there were reports coming in from every ship in the fleet as well as from shore based recon aircraft. “General! Friendly aircraft report the two battleships and carriers are damaged and turning around for home!” “Then someone radio the closest friendly airfield and tell them to send a flight of B-17s out with a fighter escort. Drop tanks on those fighters too.” “Aye sir.” They went to work sending the message to the radio room and a few minutes later they reported the message had been sent. “Alright! The enemy is running for home with their tails between their legs and if we have anything to say about that, it is that they won’t be making it home. If they get within range of their home port then they’ll have fighter and bomber protection. We cannot allow that to happen. We have suffered damage and many lives have been lost within one short hour. Let’s make sure that they did not die in vain. If anyone here objects to hunting down the enemy fleet, speak now.” Looking around the bridge I saw no one speak up and the captain signaled full forward to the engine room. Turning around I stepped outside into the freezing air and looked at the horizon ahead of the Neighvada. ~~~~~ 11:35 Hours R.N.S. Neighvada Approximately Three Hundred Miles from St. Neighzaire, Prance ~~~~~ After fending off two more waves of aerial attacks and the aft turret being temporarily put out of action, we had finally caught up with the enemy fleet and had opened fire with the fifteen inch guns with additional fire from the Califoalnia. “Sir.” I turned around and looked at the captain who was holding a clipboard out for me. “We took roll and we’ve figured up the casualties. We’ve lost approximately twenty four crew members; we’ve got another seventy in the infirmary, and sixteen missing.” Taking the clipboard from him I looked over the names of the dead and missing. As I scanned over the missing I noticed a familiar name, Petty Officer Third Class Wood Wind. Handing the clipboard back to him I watched the Califoalnia’s guns fire in the direction of the black smoke from the crippled enemy ships. “General, that flight of B-17s is reporting that they’re approaching our position.” “What about their fighter escort?” “They’re to rendezvous with the three thirty second fighter group over us.” “The three thirty second?” “Yes sir.” “What bomb group is it?” “Ninety first bomb group sir.” “Jesus Christ. They deployed another group from Ponyville and they didn’t even bother to tell me. Can we make radio contact with the bombers or fighters?” “We can sir but we’ll have to have the radio room patch you through.” “Then do it. And hurry.” “Aye sir.” They went to work patching the bridge radio through to the B-17s and P-51s and a minute later they gave the microphone and a headset to me. “Bomber flight this is Neighvada, do you read?” “This is bomber flight, we read you loud n’ clear.” A deep, southern sounding voice replied. “Hey Mac. How’s it goin’ up there?” “Alright. No escort yet.” “Well you’ve got Dash flying escort today so what do you expect?” “If you’re gonna badmouth me over the radio at least make sure I can’t hear.” A tomboyish voice said and I quietly laughed to myself. “Mornin’ Dash. How are you liking deployment?” “This is the first real mission they've given us so today is good.” “What’ve they had you doing?” “Flying inland patrols over the Crystal Empire.” “What kind of combat is that?” “Exactly.” “Alright, that’s enough chatter for now. You two be careful up there.” “Will do.” I removed the headset and gave it back to the radio operator and was about to go below decks when the captain approached me with a telegram. “General Jones, you have been summoned to Canterlot.” “What for?” “The commanding general of the air force has retired on active duty. Celestia and Luna have placed you on the list of his potential successors.”