Post by Damen on Aug 22, 2009 0:58:54 GMT -5
So, we've got a thread regarding the Atheist Navy, we've got members who've joined and the names and types of their ships, however, that's as far as it's gone. And while the dispatches are interesting and amusing to write, they'll swiftly go nowhere. And I'm feeling creative, so I'm gonna kick off a story. Other members, feel free to contribute with your own characters and ships and so forth. I just ask that you not take control of another member’s character without asking them first.
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I looked at my ship as workers ran up and down her decks and arc welders rained a shower of sparks down her hull as the damage from two torpedo's and various shells was repaired. The le Fay was a heavy cruiser that, for all appearances, was a throwback to the Second World War. Her hull was long and heavily armored and she carried two batteries of eight inch cannons, three cannons to a turret. But while she was based on a World War Two design, that's where the history ended. Originally built with three cannon turrets, Beta Turret had her cannons removed and now housed three RD-13 Iron Chariot Railguns. The bow of the ship housed seven Vertical Launch Tubes and there were a number of missile pods along the ship's superstructure. A number of the smaller manned guns used for air defence had been replaced with Phalanx Close In Weapons Systems to help defend against jets and missiles, though turrets housing larger five inch cannons were still present on board. She may have been an old ship based on an old design, but she'd been refitted for a very modern battlefield. But my ship looked strange in the drydock in the same way as a beached whale. It was a sad sight for me, she needed to be back in the water.
"Commodore," the voice belonged to Captain Avery, who handed me a slip of paper with another dispatch on it, "The ANS Ceiling Cat sank while under tow. But the survivors have arrived at the hospital ship and are getting care."
"Thank you, Captain," I said as I read the message in my hand, which basically said the same things which were just told to me. The other man hurried away to supervise repairs. A lot of our vessels had whimsical names, but after so many of them had been lost in battle, we’d largely gave up on deep and meaningful names for our ships.
It was hard for me to remember how long ago the war had broken out, days just started bleeding together. But I remember how it’d happened. Religious fundamentalists felt that they were being oppressed and in the most conservative a movement to armed rebellion sprung up. At first it was isolated incidents, but as their zeal grew, they were considered full blown domestic terrorists. But because of their ideals and the fact that they started in small, strongly religious towns, they found a safe haven and their numbers grew until they stormed one state capitol and summarily executed those politicians they felt weren’t religious enough. Their numbers and violence grew until it became an all out civil war. As they gained new territory, they would acquire new weapons and vehicles as well as soldiers. As they advanced, we found ourselves pushed harder and harder to the coasts until the remains of our nation was water on one side and battlefields on the other. When that happened, the fight became a naval battle.
I’m not sure what we expected, but not that there would be so many of them. It quickly became apparent that there was a serious rift in our way of thinking, too. We were outnumbered almost six to one right from the start, and while we’d field highly advanced weapons and equipment, they’d just pick up whatever could kill or get them from point A to point B and wouldn’t stop coming. One of our ships was a match for any two or three of theirs of the same type, but they traveled in large numbers and we were constantly on the defensive.
I looked down at the dispatch and then back and the damaged hull of my vessel. The le Fay was my first command and I’d been offered command of a battleship with my promotion to the rank of Commodore, but I turned it down. I was used to my crew, and the ship meant too much to me. So I’d risen to the rank of Commodore, been given command of the 42nd Frigate Squadron (though there were different types of ships under my command), and I’d retained the le Fay as my flagship.
I turned from my proud but wounded warship and headed for an office nearby. It seemed one of my commanding officers wanted to speak with me.
---
I looked at my ship as workers ran up and down her decks and arc welders rained a shower of sparks down her hull as the damage from two torpedo's and various shells was repaired. The le Fay was a heavy cruiser that, for all appearances, was a throwback to the Second World War. Her hull was long and heavily armored and she carried two batteries of eight inch cannons, three cannons to a turret. But while she was based on a World War Two design, that's where the history ended. Originally built with three cannon turrets, Beta Turret had her cannons removed and now housed three RD-13 Iron Chariot Railguns. The bow of the ship housed seven Vertical Launch Tubes and there were a number of missile pods along the ship's superstructure. A number of the smaller manned guns used for air defence had been replaced with Phalanx Close In Weapons Systems to help defend against jets and missiles, though turrets housing larger five inch cannons were still present on board. She may have been an old ship based on an old design, but she'd been refitted for a very modern battlefield. But my ship looked strange in the drydock in the same way as a beached whale. It was a sad sight for me, she needed to be back in the water.
"Commodore," the voice belonged to Captain Avery, who handed me a slip of paper with another dispatch on it, "The ANS Ceiling Cat sank while under tow. But the survivors have arrived at the hospital ship and are getting care."
"Thank you, Captain," I said as I read the message in my hand, which basically said the same things which were just told to me. The other man hurried away to supervise repairs. A lot of our vessels had whimsical names, but after so many of them had been lost in battle, we’d largely gave up on deep and meaningful names for our ships.
It was hard for me to remember how long ago the war had broken out, days just started bleeding together. But I remember how it’d happened. Religious fundamentalists felt that they were being oppressed and in the most conservative a movement to armed rebellion sprung up. At first it was isolated incidents, but as their zeal grew, they were considered full blown domestic terrorists. But because of their ideals and the fact that they started in small, strongly religious towns, they found a safe haven and their numbers grew until they stormed one state capitol and summarily executed those politicians they felt weren’t religious enough. Their numbers and violence grew until it became an all out civil war. As they gained new territory, they would acquire new weapons and vehicles as well as soldiers. As they advanced, we found ourselves pushed harder and harder to the coasts until the remains of our nation was water on one side and battlefields on the other. When that happened, the fight became a naval battle.
I’m not sure what we expected, but not that there would be so many of them. It quickly became apparent that there was a serious rift in our way of thinking, too. We were outnumbered almost six to one right from the start, and while we’d field highly advanced weapons and equipment, they’d just pick up whatever could kill or get them from point A to point B and wouldn’t stop coming. One of our ships was a match for any two or three of theirs of the same type, but they traveled in large numbers and we were constantly on the defensive.
I looked down at the dispatch and then back and the damaged hull of my vessel. The le Fay was my first command and I’d been offered command of a battleship with my promotion to the rank of Commodore, but I turned it down. I was used to my crew, and the ship meant too much to me. So I’d risen to the rank of Commodore, been given command of the 42nd Frigate Squadron (though there were different types of ships under my command), and I’d retained the le Fay as my flagship.
I turned from my proud but wounded warship and headed for an office nearby. It seemed one of my commanding officers wanted to speak with me.
