Summoning America

Chapter 95: Solidarity

Groun Sea

Nigrati vessels floated along the calm seas, flags fluttering in the wind while sailors unwound, chatting with their comrades. For weeks, they enjoyed an eerie peace that more closely resembled the calm before a storm, rather than a ceasefire. Many remained on edge, expecting a Gra Valkan attack at any moment, but others saw this as a victory. Maybe they really did deter the Gra Valkans, or so they claimed.

Although less than truthful, such thoughts had a beneficial impact on morale, and the Nigrati sailors defended their coastlines with revitalized ambition. They were granted hope in the last battle, and felt as if they could do anything. Yet, there was nothing they could do against enemies unseen.

Monsters lurked below the waves, tubular in form and emitting the telltale metallic noise of spinning turbines. Unlike the vicious sea creatures known to inhabit the barbarian seas, this monstrosity was artificial in nature, designed solely to infiltrate and kill. Dozens of such machines barreled toward the Nigrati fleet, undetected and untargetable. Traveling at depths unimaginable to the Nigrati, they avoided the surface-level mines that had destroyed many of their comrades' vessels.

The submarines emerged on the other side of the blockade of Napoleon-era warships, splitting off into groups to engage the Nigrati forces. The relatively stationary Nigrati vessels were easy targets for the Gra Valkan submarines. Fearing no retaliation from their disadvantaged enemies, the submarines moved closer. After lining up their shots, they fired.

Silent killers raced under the water, speeding toward the wooden underbellies of their targets like sailfish racing toward prey. With devastation matched only by leviathans of the deep, the torpedoes made contact and tore the wooden vessels asunder. Prized ironclads and mighty ships-of-the-line suffered as violently as their more lightly-armed brethren, exploding magnificently. Ammunition storages aboard the ships detonated, sending shrapnel flying toward other ships and into the sky while condemning the target itself to a watery grave.

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Admiral Makaan shot up from his bed upon hearing the first explosion. Looking out a viewport, he saw something that he hadn't witnessed in weeks – something that the deepest parts of his subconscious had expected. In the distance, a burning ship missing its entire midsection slowly sunk into the depths. Small figures – his men – jumped overboard, clinging to whatever buoyant debris they could get their hands on.

He watched the ironclad die with a look of shock plastered all across his face. If the enemy fleet had arrived, why was he not informed? He exited his quarters in a hurry, finding crewmen rushing around in a panic. His eyes darted as quickly as his men, in search of the ship's captain or a commanding officer who could give him an update. He clambered to the ship's bridge, finding all of the important personnel there. "Captain!" he called out, "What in the heavens was that?"

A series of three more detonations cried out, as if to answer his question.

The captain answered in a panic, unable to fathom what was going on either. "We're being attacked, sir! No visible enemies!"

Admiral Makaan's eyes grew wide in fearful realization. He knew just how far the most powerful Gra Valkan guns could extend, and scouts would have picked up movement long ago if a single ship had entered within visual range. Invisible killers could only mean one thing: submarines. Acting quickly, he issued an order, "Helmsman, bring us to full speed toward the shore and perform evasive zigzag maneuvers at random! Comms, send this instruction to the rest of the fleet and open a fleetwide channel!"

The communications officer quickly relayed the admiral's orders and offered him the manacomm when he was done, "Sir, you're fleetwide."

Makaan took the device. "All ships, fall back to the coast! We're under attack by Gra Valkan submarines. There is nothing we can do to retaliate, so we must force the enemy into shallow waters! Rescue teams are to use small crafts and lifeboats to avoid being targeted by the submarines!"