A Ship-of-the-Line

by KonceptKarma

Chapter 11. Arca Del Imperio

"Captain, ships sighted of the port bow! They're flying Ciervan flags!" The lookout called down. Gallant galloped over towards the port side of the ship, and looked towards the horizon. There were three Ciervan warships on course to intercept.
"What kind of ships are they?" Gallant yelled to the lookout.
"Two frigates, one man o' war!" He yelled back.
"You see Captain?" Ardid laughed as he spoke, "I told you I'd be the one laughing."
Unphased by Ardid's noise, Gallant turned to the crew, "Make ready for battle! Remember, stick to the plan!" Ardid's laughing was interrupted be Gallant's orders. Did he really have a plan for this? He was outnumbered, and heavily outgunned. Ardid could only shake his head in dismay at the captain's foolishness. Did he know who he was about to go into battle against. The deer captaining that small group of ships was Almirante Gamberro. The Ciervan navy nicknamed him the 'Raging Torrent' as a sign of his deadliness in battle. His flagship was the man o' war, the Arca Del Imperio, and one hundred twenty gun ship-of-the-line. Even one on one, the Resplendent would be outmatched, but he'd brought to frigates with him. Ardid smirked, the battle was already over, and it hadn't even begun yet. The Resplendent's alarm bell rang ferociously as the crew rushed to prepare the ship for battle. Keel galloped towards the helm, ready to report.
"It's ready Captain. It'll probably only work once, but it'll work well enough that one time." She reported.
"Right. Carronade, be ready on my command!" He yelled
"Aye, sir!" The unicorn yelled back. The crew moved like a machine, prepping the guns, and arming themselves for battle. Ardid was certainly surprised by the fervor with which the crew moved, even though they were outclassed in every way possible by the approaching forces, they still moved with eagerness for battle. However, the one thing that surprised him more than that, was Gallant. He had a look of sheer determination in his eyes that would make even the most distinguished and battle hardened captains think twice about engaging him. Ardid shook the though from his mind, if anything, Gallant should be the one afraid of Gamberro. It's not every day that you find an admiral who makes your own ships afraid to encounter him out at sea.

Aboard the Arca Del Imperio, Gamberro looked closely at the ERS Resplendent through his spyglass. The damage she'd received appeared to have been repaired.
"Well," He spoke to himself, "in that case, we'll just have to open up some new holes in her. Begin the attack!" Two flagmen signaled the frigates to break into an attack pattern. Both frigates turned off into a pincer formation.
"Come on now Captain," Gamberro chuckled to himself, "let's see what you're made of."

Gallant watched the frigates split off from the group.
"Hard to port, straight on towards the port side frigate!" He ordered. The helmsman steered the Resplendent so the bow was pointed straight towards the Ciervan warship. Ardid looked at Gallant in surprise. What was he planning on doing, he couldn't fire at the frigate this way, did he have some sort of death wish for his crew? The frigate fired it's port side guns at the Resplendent, sending water crashing up around her, and one or two shots grazing the bow, leaving no damage. As the Equestrian man o' war drew closer to the frigate, a swell lifted the bow out of the water, revealing a massive battering ram. This was what Keel had been diligently working on as the ship prepared to leave the harbor. The crew of the target frigate could only stare in disbelief as the man o' war collided with them at full speed. The frigate's hull cracked, groaned, and buckled under the weight of the massive ship that impacted them. With one final crack, the hull split, halving the frigate down the middle. As the Resplendent pushed it's way through the wreckage, a loud crack could be heard from the bow of the ship. The battering ram had snapped off under the stress of the attack. Keel hadn't had time to reinforce it or use strengthening magic on it. Luckily, she'd planned for a one time use, and the battering ram came off cleanly, leaving no damage to the rest of the hull.

Ardid stared in shock as the Ciervan frigate quickly sank below the surface. He'd never heard of a man o' war use a battering ram, much less be outfitted with one. The same could only go for Gamberro, he looked in shock as the Equestrian warship tore the frigate in half.
"Ready the guns! Send those cockroaches to tartarus!" The admiral yelled to his crew in rage. The crew faltered for a moment, and he drew his pistol.
"Anyone who does not obey my order will be labelled a traitor and shot on sight, is that clear?" He yelled.
"Aye, sir!" They called back in fear. The crew loaded the Arca Del Imperio's guns in record time, and brought them to bear on the Resplendent.
"Fire!" He yelled. All of the Imperio's starboard guns echoed across the sea. Meanwhile, Gallant stood aboard the Resplendent, waiting for the cannon fire to come, when it did, he quickly turned to Carronade.
"Now!" As he yelled the order, Carronade's magic flared. Just as the round shot from the Ciervan man o' war hit the fifty foot mark, they shattered into harmless particles of dust. Carronade had erected a magic barrier around the Resplendent, rendering their attack ineffective. As soon as the last projectile was stopped, the unicorn collapsed, and the barrier with him. It took all of his energy to make that barrier, and couldn't be used again. As they sailed past the Arca Del Imperio, the second frigate drew into view, which had brought itself around in order to assist the Imperio. Their guns starboard guns were aimed directly towards the frigate.
"Fire!" Gallant yelled. The Resplendent rocked back as all of her starboard guns let loose upon the second frigate. It's hull was punched wide open by the broadside. Gamberro's rage flared, he turned to the crew.
"Reload the guns, I want them sunk, now!" He yelled, and fired his pistol into the air. The crew hastily reloaded the guns, and the helmsman began to realign the ship for another broadside.
As they did this, Gallant turned to the Resplendent's helmsman, "Bring us around, we need to line up our port side guns!" The helmsman cranked the wheel, swinging the man o' war around.
"Captain," Stark yelled, "we won't turn in time, they're going to fire at us!"
"Brace for impact!" As he yelled out, the Arca Del Imperio had brought its guns to bear on the Resplendent. The thundering crack of cannon fire echoed across the sea, but it didn't come from the Imperio. Suddenly, the Ciervan man o' war was struck repeatedly by round shot. The crews of both ships looked to see where the shots had come from. Three frigates were closing in on their positions, all flying familiar flags.
"Those frigates are flying Equestrian flags sir, it's our allies!" The lookout called down. By this time, the Resplendent had brought it's guns to bear on the Imperio, while the bewildered Admiral aboard the Ciervan warship stood in shock.
"Sir, what are your orders?" Some of the crew asked, to which the admiral said nothing.
"Order, sir?" They asked more urgently.
The quartermaster spoke up, "We should surrender, raise the white flag!"
The admiral suddenly snapped back to reality, "No! We are not surrendering, bring the guns to bear on the Resplendent!" The crew didn't move.
A vein bulged in the admiral's forehead, "Do as I say or Ill..." Before he could finish, the quartermaster hit him on the back of the head with the butt of his sword, knocking him out. The crew of the Arca Del Imperio surrendered.

Gallant stood in shock as the three allied frigates surrounded the Ciervan warship. Suddenly, the crew broke out into a frenzied cheer. Gallant couldn't help but join them, they danced about the deck like a bunch of hooligans. One of the frigates pulled up alongside the Resplendent.
"Where's Captain Mainsail, we need to speak with him." An officer called out.
Gallant stepped forward, "Captain Mainsail is dead. He promoted me to acting captain until further notice."
"Right, we need you to follow us back to Pony Royale. The Admiral wants to speak with you." The officer continued. Gallant nodded, and turned to the crew.
"Let's head home boys!" He beamed
"Aye, sir!" They replied readily.