• Published 15th Feb 2012
  • 17,133 Views, 446 Comments

Battleships are Magic - totallynotabrony

  • ...
44
 446
 17,133

Chapter 7

USS Wisconsin

With the fortress flattened, it was time to begin landing the fighting force. The majority of the smaller boats had no way to unload directly onto an unimproved shore, so it was decided to send part of the Marine detachment to assist.

Zecora requested to go along. Twilight had no problem with that, and sent her down to the deck where the Marines were loading up.

One of the small boats was having trouble with its outboard engine. The Marine officer in charge of the landing assigned Corporal Boyle and the zebra to the other boat.

“It would sure be nice to be doing this from an LHD,” commented one of the men loading equipment into the boat. The landing ship he referred to would be equipped with amphibious armored vehicles and attack helicopters.

“It’s just a standard beach landing into dragon occupied territory,” said the officer wryly. More seriously he said, “There could be survivors hidden in the rubble or unexpected reinforcements. Stay alert.”

Boyle shrugged. “You want a beach, sir, we’ll get you a beach.”

The zebra nodded. “I have come too far to see this fail. Let us hurry now before our advantage goes stale.”

The troublesome motor did not look like it could be repaired quickly. A few more men crowded into the other boat, dangerously overloading it. The pilot would have to be very careful with the waves.

Wisconsin had approached close to shore to give the landing boat an easier time of it. The rest of the fleet was not far behind.

“I guess survivors won’t be a problem,” a Marine commented. “That place is dusted. I don’t even see two rocks stacked on top of each other.”

The boat started its decent into the water. Boyle clutched his rifle and hung on to the side of the boat as it slapped the waves. After the winch cables were unhooked, the pilot turned the boat towards shore.

Mount Zebar

There had once been a community living in buildings clinging to the side of the mountain. They’d all fled when the dragons had come.

It was an ideal location for a base. There was a good view in all directions. Northeast there was an old seaside fort. To the northwest was the former Zebrican capitol. To the south were the meager lands that the zebras still held. Directly east was the sea. It was only barely visible in the distance, but a faint glimmer on the horizon was better than nothing.

A dragon named Firebreak was in charge of the mountain. Terrorvane had appointed him, and none dared question orders from that dragon. Shortly after sunrise, Firebreak was woken up by a commotion outside the building he had picked for himself.

He poked his head out and saw a newly arrived dragon who seemed panicked and looked like he had been hurt. The dragon was talking quickly and appeared frightened. Firebreak came out to see what was going on.

“I think Claws and Gembly got away but the rest of them are dead! The fortress was completely wiped out.”

“How could that happen?” asked one of the dragons.

“I don’t know! There were these explosions that came without warning! It might have been bombs, but I didn’t see where they could have come from.”

Firebreak didn’t believe that the coastal fortress could have simply been destroyed, but the distraught dragon had to come from somewhere. He told one of his assistants to go check it out.

The Shores of Zebrica

Zecora was the first one out of the boat. She looked like she’d been waiting for that moment for a long time.

Corporal Boyle climbed out and helped drag the boat up out of the waves. Nine Marines had managed to fit inside for the trip to shore.

“Secure the area and verify that we’re alone here,” ordered the officer. “The first boat is due in fifteen minutes.”

The men picked over the rubble of the fort. There were several dead dragons, some of them literally shredded by the barrage. A slow sweep of the vicinity turned up no signs of life.

The Marines met back at the beach and prepared to receive the incoming boats. One of them suddenly shouted and pointed at the sky.

A lone dragon was coming their way from the south. It turned and made a slow circle over the battleship, giving it a wide berth. Its circle carried it back over land and it began to spiral down.

“Take cover!”

Boyle sprinted for a heap of dirt left over from the fortress. The dragon landed on top of the rubble. It was clear that it had seen them.

Somebody fired. The dragon did not seem to know what to make of the sound. As close as the range was, Boyle hated to believe the shooter had missed, but the dragon showed little reaction. Boyle raised his M16 and took careful aim.

His shot to the center of the dragon’s snout got its attention. It reared back, roaring in pain. It didn’t look like it caused much harm, though.

The dragon sucked in a breath, eyes locked on Boyle’s position. He ducked down just before a ball of fire sizzled over his head. He heard someone else firing and chanced a look out.

The dragon spit more fire and hit one of the Marines with a glancing blow. Part of the man’s uniform erupted in flames. Throwing caution to the wind, Boyle sprinted from cover and grabbed the man, dragging him behind a rock. He slapped at the fire, smothering it with sand.

“Thanks,” muttered the man. His clothing was crispy, but he didn’t look too badly injured. Boyle pulled him to his feet and they both looked over the rock.

The dragon attacked a group of Marines hiding behind another pile of rubble. It spotted Boyle and sucked in another breath. Before it could release it, Zecora burst from cover and charged. She leapt from the top of a pile of stone and bucked the dragon in the face.

Seeing an opportunity, Boyle and the rest of the Marines began firing, pressing the attack. Confused and in pain, the dragon took off, heading back the way it had come.

Somebody from Wisconsin radioed to ask what their situation was. The officer told them that the beach was clear. The dragon had gotten away, and would undoubtedly tell the rest of his kind. The UL’s element of surprise was lost, so they had to move as quickly as possible and get the fighting force landed. The officer also asked for a citation of bravery for Zecora.

Animals and equipment soon began coming ashore. Now that there was a UL foothold in Zebrica, things would get a little easier. The griffins and pegasi could fly in, and there would be a permanent staff headquarters.

Unicorns began moving rubble to construct the base. Twilight packed up the war room and moved her headquarters ashore. Battle plans called for the UL would push south to link up with the Zebrican resistance as soon as possible.

The day had begun with naval gunfire smashing the area to bits, but as the sun set much of the debris had been cleared. Many members of the UL force continued to work, dedicated to their tasks. Those that could be spared were called to an assembly. It was important to keep spirits up, and a ceremony to mark their victory in the first battle of the Zebrican War was just the thing.

Twilight asked Zecora to speak. There was no podium, no stage, just a rough patch of dirt and piles of war supplies.

Zecora didn’t mind. She smiled. “I hereby establish Forward Operating Base Friendship. I cannot think of a better group of creatures to be friends with!”

Mount Zebar

The news of the fort was disturbing. The dragon from earlier had calmed down and began telling his story in more detail. He mentioned a mysterious high-pitched noise just before the explosions began.

Firebreak’s advisor arrived back from his scouting mission looking stunned.

“The fort is gone, but you’re not going to believe what else I saw.”

He sat down, rubbing his nose absently. It felt like there was something lodged under his scales, and it hurt.

“What happened?” asked Firebreak.

“There’s nothing left of the fort. I mean, it was totally demolished. Right there in the ocean was one huge ship and a whole lot of other ones. I’ve never seen anything like that big ship. Maybe they have some kind of special weapon on it?”

“Are you hurt?”

“Not really. There were these creatures in the ruins of the fort. They had some kind of weapons, but I left before they could get me pinned down.”

“Did it look like an invasion force?”

The dragon nodded seriously. “Yes, it did.”

“Are you all right to fly?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Go to Fireholm. Terrorvane needs to know about this.”

The dragon gulped. Bringing bad news to Terrorvane was a frightening prospect.

Canterlot

“It seems that the attack was successful,” said Princess Celestia, reading from the letter Twilight had sent.

Princess Luna nodded. “The strategy relies on speed. It’s not a simple case of trading blows. We must keep pressing and deny them any chance to counterattack.”

Celestia nodded. “Most of the UL forces are now in Zebrica. They should begin moving soon.”

“How did Wisconsin fare?” Luna asked.

Celestia glanced at the letter. “It seems that the ship’s attack was successful nearly beyond belief. Twilight writes that it very nearly inspired Shock and Awe in our own forces.”

Luna laughed. There had been precious little of that around the castle since war had been declared. “I’m glad. Speaking of the humans, have we reached a solution to send them home?”

“Surprisingly, we’re close. It’s a very unexplored branch of enchantment, but the Royal Magic Institute has made good progress. Perhaps they will make a breakthrough in a few days.”

Luna was quiet for a moment. “Should we wait to tell them?”

Celestia thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t like to take advantage of them by holding off their return home, but the truth is we need their help.”

“Their wouldn’t be anything wrong with waiting until the scientists were completely done, would there?”

“I suppose not. All right, we’ll wait.” Celestia put the letter down.

FOB Friendship

Twilight glanced across the water to where the battleship lay, waiting for the army to begin its march. The UL forces were planning to move down the coast under the protection of the ship to meet with the zebra army. Once they were united, they would begin to sweep the dragons from the country.

There was one problem, though, and it was a big one. Within sight of the shore was Mount Zebar, a dragon stronghold. It was more heavily defended than the coastal fortress, and the dragons would probably be prepared for an attack.

The battle plan called for high speed. Despite the festive atmosphere from the day before, today the UL army must begin moving.

Before the sun rose, the nations massed their forces and formed marching columns. With the griffins and pegasi flying combat air patrols, the army began to move.

Scouts ahead of the main force had been keeping a careful eye on the mountain. Corporal Boyle was with them. Using radios, they had been keeping in touch with the rest of the UL and with the ship.

There appeared to be all types of dragons living on the mountain. They came in a wide range of colors and dimensions. The one the Marines had encountered the day before seemed to be about average in size.

The light assault rifles did not seem to be very effective against thick dragon hide. While the supplies were being transferred to the beach, the Marines had raided Wisconsin’s armory for more powerful weapons. Laying beside Boyle was a M2 .50 caliber machine gun and armor piercing ammunition. It was a giant weapon compared to his rifle, and Boyle had been grateful for a pony’s help in carrying it.

A familiar buzz carried through the air, and Boyle looked up to see the Pioneer fly overhead. He lifted a hand and waved at it.

USS Wisconsin

Petty Officer Lemoore had been the recon pilot more often than not in the past few days. Many considered him the best on the boat, and lately Fire Control was demanding nothing less than perfection. He just wished they would let him sleep once in a while. The last time he’d nearly missed the catch net set up on the ship’s fantail that was used for retrieving the UAV.

The mountain was considerably higher than the surrounding terrain. That would put the Pioneer a little closer than Lemoore would like to fire-breathing dragons, but it was an important mission. Without highly accurate maps of Zebrica, they had no idea what the range was.

As the Pioneer approached, Lemoore held his breath. Fire Control used tracking equipment aboard the UAV to measure distances for gunnery calculations. It looked like the range was going to be stretching things to the limit, but Wisconsin would be able to put steel on target.

Mount Zebar

The dragon that had survived the destruction of the fort was resting. He had been cut and bruised by flying debris. Firebreak told him to heal up and they would see about setting up a counterattack.

His eyes popped open. A faint buzzing noise had stirred him awake.

Shouting an alarm, the dragon leaped off the mountain, trying to get out of the area. He beat his wings hard, but was nearly knocked out of the sky by a massive detonation behind him as something slammed into the mountain.

The dragon righted himself in the air and flew on, having narrowly escaped a second time.

A few miles away, the creatures of the UL army let out a collective ohhhh as if watching a fireworks show. The battleship gunners alternated high explosive and armor piercing shells, turning the top portion of the mountain into gravel.

Rainbow Dash had a good view of the destruction from her position with the Sky Corps above the UL ground forces. A few dragons had gotten away, but none had approached the UL forces. After Wisconsin secured her guns, Rainbow swooped towards the Pioneer, giving the camera a congratulatory smile. It dipped its wings in response, and headed back for the ship.

FOB Friendship

The reports coming in were positive. Twilight was happy with the continued progress, but still cautious. The dragons were fully alerted to the UL’s presence now, and it could only be a matter of time before they organized and attacked.

The zebra army had withdrawn to the city of Buckswanna. It was their last garrison left, and if the UL didn’t get there soon they could be overrun. The dragons had laid siege to the city, and something needed to be done to break their lines. With a little more help from Wisconsin, the UL army could enter the city. Twilight needed to select a target.

The list of candidates for the battleship to obliterate took some time to pick through. Eventually, she decided on a camp relatively near the coast. With it out of the way, the UL would have no problem marching right through.

Near Buckswanna

The dragon that had twice eluded Wisconsin arrived in a camp set up to attack the zebra army’s position around the city of Buckswanna. He was nervous and trembling. This was not the war he’d signed up for.

Most dragons in the camp noticed the condition their guest was in and wondered what he’d been through. He told them that the base at Mount Zebar was gone.

He told his story to any dragon who would listen. Most did. Rumors had slowly been growing about some terrible weapon the UL was employing. No dragon seemed to know what it was, and that made the fear all the more unbearable. All of them noticed that the attacks seemed to be getting closer and closer to their position.

The dragon who had seen the destruction firsthand was shakily telling about the horrible things he’d seen when everyone in the camp suddenly became aware of a buzzing noise.

The dragon’s eyes went wide. He dropped to his knees, his clawed forelegs extended to the sky.

“I’ve had enough! Please don’t kill me!”

USS Wisconsin

The battleship had retreated out to sea in order to set up another over-the-horizon surprise attack. The guns were trained, and the range was being calculated. All that was needed was to get the Pioneer over the target to confirm the firing solution.

The video screen transmitted the feed from the UAV. Petty Officer Lemoore was once again back at the controls. He blinked sleepily, unsure for a moment what he was seeing. The video was clear as day, but Lemoore couldn’t believe it. He turned to Captain Mittal, who was standing next to him.

"Sir, they want to surrender, what should I do with them?"

Mittal blinked, surprised by the sudden turn of events. “Secure guns. Get the ground forces on the radio and explain the situation.”

Near Buckswanna

Corporal Boyle asked the radio operator aboard the ship to repeat himself. He and the rest of the scouts were in position with the dragon camp in sight.

“That’s right, they’re surrendering. Get over there and take charge.”

Boyle felt that perhaps the sailor was underestimating the situation, but said that he would. He walked with the group towards the camp.

The M2 machine gun had a press trigger located on the back, rather than the more conventional pull trigger underneath. It would be a little awkward, but it could be fired with a hoof. Boyle had trained his pony helper to operate it, just in case.

As the group approached, Boyle realized that the man on the radio had underestimated the situation, and badly. The camp wasn’t surrendering, all the dragons in Buckswanna were.

The pegasi and griffin air support arrived quickly and helped secure the area. The UL ground forces weren’t far behind. Zecora led them into the city.

Boyle thought the union of UL and zebra forces looked like Christmas, birthdays, and the Fourth of July rolled into one. There was a huge celebration in the making, but word from Field Marshall Sparkle at Friendship cut it short.

The path to the Zebrican capitol city was largely undefended, and it was a prime opportunity to keep the UL’s momentum moving forward. Everyone agreed that retaking the capitol would be a better use of time than having a party. Then they could have a bigger party.

With supplies from the UL, the zebra army was refreshed and they happily joined up to begin the journey. They would be leaving the coast, and Wisconsin, but taking Buckswanna without a shot fired was a confidence boost to all, and having the extra troops didn’t hurt.

The battleship stayed near the coast to coerce the dragon prisoners into cooperating with the small contingent left behind to guard them. The expected counterattack still had not materialized.

USS Wisconsin

Mittal was surprised to receive a letter from Canterlot. The mystery of the storm that had brought the ship to this world had been cracked. He quietly suppressed the urge to shout with joy.

It would take the cooperation of many unicorns to provide enough magic for such a large spell, but it seemed to be possible to send the ship back. All they had to do was return to Equestria to a special place that was being prepared.

There were still duties to be performed, though. While the ship was effectively out of action for the moment, the war was still not over. Mittal thought about the problem for a long time. If it was possible to send them back, then would it be possible to visit again? Would the United Lands be interested in setting up a lasting political relationship? If yes, then Mittal needed to ensure that that they won the war so the UL would still be around to establish a relationship with.

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a lookout. “There’s a large group of dragons incoming!”

Fireholm

Ember Glow couldn’t remember a time when he’d had such bad news to deliver. The UL had attacked with an unexpected ferocity and speed. The seaside fortress had apparently been annihilated and replaced with a UL camp. A dragon from Mount Zebar had reported seeing a huge ship right off the coast, and then the base there had been violently erased as well. The entire dragon presence at Buckswanna had surrendered without a fight, and now the UL force was on the way to recapture the former Zebrican capitol. Oh, Terrorvane was going to kill him.

The big dragon took the news better than Ember Glow thought, which was still not very well. After cursing and swearing for nearly a full minute, he demanded that all the dragons left in the land take to the air and go on the attack.

The denizens of Fireholm caught the tone of his voice and knew that Terrorvane had reached previously unheard of levels of rage. The stories of the mysterious steel ship had even reached Fireholm, and many of them did not want to go.

Still, they all took off, heading for battle. Some planned to discretely break off the main formation and desert.

Terrorvane watched them go. He turned to Ember Glow and snarled, “THAT MEANS YOU TOO!”

USS Wisconsin

There were more dragons being held prisoner than there were incoming from the air, but it was still a significant and uncomfortable number.

Ironically, the battleship probably had more air defense capability during World War Two than she had in her current configuration. The machine guns and autocannons had been removed. In the battle group, there would have been at least one missile cruiser to provide protection, but now they were all alone and it felt very lonely.

There were some old AAVT rounds aboard for the twelve 5-inch guns that were used as the ship’s secondary weapons. AAVT was a designation that signified anti-aircraft ordinance rigged with a proximity fuse that would explode close to a target.

There were also robotic Close In Weapon System units. Wisconsin carried four of the CIWS, one at each corner of the superstructure. They utilized a self-contained radar and a 20 millimeter gatling gun to track and kill hostile objects that were getting too close to the ship.

Mittal ordered battle stations. Gun crews scrambled to their weapons and everything aboard was locked down.

Wisconsin had been built to trade shots with foreign battleships and carried heavy protection. The citadel buried in the superstructure was armored with 17 inches of steel. Not every sailor would fit inside, though, and the dragons’ capabilities were still largely unknown to the humans. Mittal could only cope that their weapons would keep the attackers at bay.

The gun crews were given the order to fire at their discretion. With so many targets to choose from, the automated gun director couldn’t keep up. It would have to be manual control.

One of the 5 inch turrets did not respond. Mittal remembered that it was the one crewed by Marines, most of whom were ashore. That left only four guns on one side of the ship to intercept the dragons. The other turrets were on the other side, and unable to engage.

Black puffs of smoke began to appear in the dragon formation as the guns came to life. The proximity warheads were doing their job, but each gun could only sustain 15 rounds per minute. Between them, that was an average of one shot per second.

The attack scattered the dragons. Their dispersal made for harder target acquisition. Pegasi and griffins took to the sky, doing their best to get the upper hand. The gun crews stopped firing, wary of hitting a friendly.

The aerial battle raged for a short while. A couple of dragons managed to break off, heading for the ship. It was the deciding factor in the battle and the last mistake they ever made.

The two CIWS closest to the action woke up. Detecting incoming targets, both systems activated, spinning up their gatling guns. Each machine sprayed tungsten penetrator ammunition at the rate of 75 per second. The sound was less like a machine gun and more like a chainsaw. The approaching dragons tumbled into the sea, riddled with holes.

Seeing the ruin of their fellows, the rest of the dragon attack broke. The UL Sky Corps drove them away. Battle stations were cleared, and everyone on the ship breathed easier.

One of the Marines on duty in Buckswanna radioed to the ship.

“There’s a dragon here that just turned himself in. Name’s Ember Glow. He says he knows where we can find Terrorvane.”