Summoning America

Chapter 2: Island of Steel

Author's Note: Check out my discord server for updates, announcements, and discussion for my stories!

——

Principality of Qua Toyne

April 19, Central Calendar Year 1639, 6:30 P.M.

Qua Toyne Navy Second Fleet

Water splashed gently onto the ship's hull, providing a peaceful ambience as Captain Vansen admired the setting sun. Golden rays skimmed past the water, illuminating the ocean with a beautiful glow as the evening crept into the sky. His slumbery, dreamy state was interrupted by one of his lieutenants, who seemed to be quite confused as he tapped on his captain's shoulder.

"Eh, Captain?" He asked, clutching a spotting telescope.

Captain Vansen groaned, somewhat annoyed that his peaceful relaxation was cut short. "What is it? Spotted the Lourian navy or something?"

"No, nothing major like that, sir. I've spotted several islands out on the horizon."

This piqued the captain's interest, evident in his posture and facial expressions. "Islands? There aren't any islands off the coast of Maihark."

The lieutenant offered the captain his telescope. "Over yonder," he pointed toward a spot in the horizon. "I saw some shapes in the distance. I could only make out the silhouettes because of the setting sun."

Captain Vansen accepted the telescope. "Let me see," he said as he adjusted it, zooming into the specified location. Sure enough, several silhouettes appeared along the horizon. Handing the telescope back to his lieutenant, he frowned at the strange sight. "They don't look like islands; the overall structure of these things is too angular. It is likely that these are ships."

The lieutenant viewed the objects again. "Oh! They are much closer than they were before. They simply looked like islands earlier..." he trailed off. "Sir, shall we investigate? There shouldn't be any other patrols out here aside from us."

"Agreed. Helmsman!" Vansen called out. "Take us northeast, we are going to investigate the presence of these unknown ships!"

The helmsman complied, and the previously sleepy ship bustled with activity as the Qua Toyne sailors redirected their ship. Rowers below decks helped turn the ship around while sailors on deck adjusted the sails. Vansen continued to monitor the 'islands' on the horizon, noticing that they seemed to be closing in quite quickly. By the time Vansen's ship fully turned around, the unknown fleet had become visible, their ships having furled their sails yet maintaining a mind-boggling velocity. Soon enough, they approached his comparatively tiny vessel, and he looked up at the immense shadow of the metal ship before him. He carefully analyzed the vessel, noting that it had a large cannon placed near the bow. What he had previously mistaken for a mast turned out to be some sort of steel structure, complete with windows, spires, and lights. Several smaller cannons adorned the sides of the vessels, accompanied by tubes and other alien devices. On the hull of the ship, a white phrase presented itself; Vansen surmised that this was likely a designation for the vessel, as other ships had similar, yet different paintings.

As the ship approached, Vansen noticed several beings — humans, to his surprise — aboard waving at him and his crew. He waved back, and the humans aboard the metal ship pointed somewhere behind their metal ship. Within a few minutes, the metal ship had passed him, along with several other metal ships, seemingly forming a defensive perimeter around the enormous ship ahead. The size of this flat-topped vessel was such that even its large escorts were dwarfed by it. The height of the flat-top was immense; Vansen stared with his mouth agape as he attempted to make sense of the size of this behemoth. The vessel, a floating fortress to him, was many times the length of his own ship. If he had to estimate, the vessel clearly had the equivalent length of at least 10 Qua Toynian warships and a height of at least 3 of his vessels, mast included. The width of the vessel could be compared to 3 or 4 of his own ship, side by side.