//------------------------------// // 1945: Clash of the Titans // Story: Danger Zone // by Lt Rainbow Slash //------------------------------// 1150 HOURS 7 APRIL, 1945 SOUTH OF KYUSHU Rarity stood as the cool sea air blew around her. She was standing just outside of the Honesty's bridge as she steamed at her cruising twenty knots. Rarity turned and trotted back inside. "Range?" The unicorn captain asked her nearby gunnery officer as she entred. The female pegasus glanced down at her screen before replying, "Six kilometers ma'am!" Rarity nodded and looked ahead through a pair of binoculars. A small fleet greeted her. At last count there were eight destroyers accompanied by a Agano-class light cruiser and the Yamareto. The battleship looked monstrous. Many would have called Rarity's tactics 'suicide.' After all she was negating many of her advantages by closing the range. Such as the superior Equestrian fire control radar. But those who said so were simply unfamiliar with the technologies of the future. The Honesty had been fully modernized since she was built in 1950. Modern firing computers and radars allowed her main battery of 460 mm guns to hit targets with amazing accuracy from over forty kilometers away. She had four Phalanx Close In Weapons Systems, and twelve radar controlled secondary turrets along the ship's sides that held two dual-purpose 127 mm guns each. The Phalanxes were originally designed to intercept low flying aircraft and missiles. The 127s on the other hoof were good for blowing apart smaller ships like destroyers and putting up a veritable wall of proximity-fused anti-aircraft shells. Her firepower was augmented by a dozen Vertical Launch Systems just behind the superstructure that were capable of launching anything from Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles, to Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TALMs). And then there was the Magical Amplification and Direction System, or the MADS. It was a useful gadget designed to amplify a unicorns magic abilities. It was a large dish mounted atop the superstructure. I had a crew below inside the bowels of the ship of ten unicorns. Most of the time it was used to produce small shields to stop incoming projectiles. Today though Rarity had them casting a good sized illusion spell in front of the ship. They couldn't produce one powerful enough to hide the entire ship, but it could hide them from view in one direction. It wasn't a often used spell, as radar and infrared could see right through it. But the Yamareto had no radar. Rarity lowered her binoculars and turned to her gunnery officer, "All main battery face starboard. And tell me when we have closed to three kilometers." The Lieutenant nodded to her and began issuing orders over her headset. With a loud whir the huge main turrets began rotating, swinging their massive guns to face the right side. The massive turrets were slow, and it took almost thirty seconds for them to rotate the full ninety degrees. When they were done Rarity turned back to the gunnery officer. "Now would you be a dear and get the Harpoons locked on seven of the eight destroyers?" "Aye ma'am." She nodded back, "Three klicks ma'am!" Rarity absorbed this information and set the next part of her plan into motion: "Helm. Hard to port!" "Aye Captain!" The helmspony replied, throwing the ship into a hard left turn. Rarity braced herself as the ship listed heavily to the right as she turned. "Switch MADS to defensive mode!" Rarity barked once more. She raised her binoculars again. The Neighpanese worked fast as her ship seemed to appear out of thin air. She could see figures running around on the enemy ships. And the Yamareto's main battery was already rotating to bear on them. The Honesty continued to pull around. "Midships!" Rarity ordered and the ship straightened out broadside on on a parallel course with the enemy fleet. Rarity began issuing rapid fire orders, "Helm flank speed! Main battery, two salvos fire on the cruiser. Fire Harpoons. Secondaries target the destroyer that isn't receiving a Harpoon." "Aye Captain!""Yes Ma'am!" A chorus of affirmative answers rang through the bridge. A second later there were several loud roars as the Harpoon missiles flew off their launchers. Next there was a over dozen gunshots as the 127 mm secondaries opened up. Then Rarity had a couple seconds to cover her ears before the world exploded. Being on a Element-class battleship as its main battery fired a broadside was an experience in itself. There was the flash and roar of the twelve 460 mm guns. The concussion from the guns shook the entire ship. It was like getting bucked in the chest, even inside the closed in bridge. The huge shells flew covering the distance between the fleet and the ship in seconds in a slow arc. They crashed down straddling the Cruiser. Two rounds landed short but the other ten smashed into the ship. Massive shells wreaked havoc blasting and blackening the superstructure, punching holes through the hull and detonating inside. In an instant the once proud cruiser was reduced to a burning blackened shell of it former self, slowing and listing heavily. At the same time the Harpoon missiles found their mark punching through most of the destroyers. Rarity spotted one as it skimmed the waves and smashed into one of the Neighpanese ships. It impacted the small destroyer midships just above the waterline punching a huge hole in the side and detonating. She watched as the ship was blown in two, it's back broken. The other destroyers suffered much the same fate. All that were hit by Harpoons were completely out of action. The last destroyer was taking a beating as well. The twelve secondaries were peppering it with rapid accurate fire. Each barrel could put out a round every four seconds. The small destroyer managed to get off two rounds from it guns before it succumbed. They both were deflected by the MADS as it projected a shield to deflect both rounds into the water in short of the Honesty. The destroyer was burning stem to stern and covered in shell strikes. She slowly lost steam and began to list. "Hold secondaries." Rarity ordered. Just then the main battery fired a second salvo at the cruiser. Once again they were perfectly aimed, nine of the twelve rounds impacting. The Cruiser began to list even more heavily and by then was completely dead in the water. Rarity could see ponies leaping from the doomed ship through her binoculars. "INCOMING!" One of the nearby officers yelled. Rarity just had time to look and see nine orange projectiles soaring through the air. At the last second semi-transparent meter square golden shields appeared. Each shell was tracked by radar as it came in and fed to a computer. The computer the calculated the most efficient way to redirect the shell. Two shells struck angled shields and were sent down into the water before they could hit the ship. Another five went skittering off over top the super structure. But the last was close enough to one of the others as to have its radar signature blocked. No shield appeared to deflect it and it plowed into the ship. The whole ship shook and there was a roar as the huge shell detonated. "Get me a damage report!" Rarity ordered once the shaking had stopped, "Main and secondary battery fire at will! Helm five degrees to starboard!" The ship turned slightly as the guns quickly started up again, the rapid patter of the secondaries followed by a roar as the main battery fired a salvo. Small flashes began appearing as the smaller shells began detonating along the huge Yamareto. They were followed by the main guns as they smashed into the battleship. Small flashes began appearing as the Neighpanese secondaries began firing back. "Ma'am!" A nearby Ensign yelled over the din, "Reports say the shell impacted the VLS. It is currently offline. Minor fires have been brought under control." Rarity cursed under her breath. The VLS was their main advantage over the enemy. Without it they would be much more vulnerable to massed attacks by enemy ships and Kamikazes. She needed to sink the enemy battleship as fast as possible and get moving south to where the friendly carriers near Okineighwa could cover them more effectively from Kamikazes. The Neighpanese secondary rounds began to land around the ship as they closed the range even further. The MADs began creating shields to deflect them. Then came the big 460 mm main battery of the Yamareto. Once again one or two landed short while the majority were redirected. The Honesty's guns returned the favor firing another broadside straight into the other ship with no shields to stop them. "Ma'am!" Yelled one of the bridge crew, "MADs reports they are at fifty percent! They can't take much more." Another one of the bridge crew piped up. "Ma'am. A CAP of Corsairs and Four Harpoon armed Hornets off the Midnight are overhead asking for orders." "Well what are they waiting for? Blow that damn ship out of the water!" Rarity replied. "Aye aye!" Was the reply. She turned back and took a good look at the opposing battleship. She was listing slightly towards them but still maintaining a good 27 knots. Gaping holes covered her side from the Honesty's accurate gunfire, but she stubbornly refused to go down. Then there was a familiar roar. Eight missiles streaked past the bow of the Honesty as the four fighter jets that launched them peeled off behind. They flew true and smashed into the battleship at the waterline spread from stem to stern. Huge holes were blasted in the side, sealing the monster battleship's fate. It took less than a minute for her to take on water and capsize. But before she went down her forward turrets fired one last defiant salvo, forcing the MADs to once again deflect four of the six projectiles. Soon the upside down hull fell behind the ship. Rarity had a sad smile on her face as the last of the enemy fleet slipped beneath the waves.