Chronicles of Two Powers

Chapter 29 - Fleet Problems

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Somewhere in the Eastern Jylonian Sea.

JSS Sandlestein, Task Force A

Fleet Problems 5.

The sky was clear, and the ocean was crystal blue. A task force in a V-shaped formation traversed the Eastern Jylonian Sea. No island was more than 100 miles from another.

One of the ships leading the formation was Baring, a Sandlestein-class fast battleship that had entered service only a year prior. The Sandlestein class was Jylon's newest class of fast battleships, succeeding the Claw-class. Like her predecessor, Baring was armed with 18-inch guns, but the Sandlestein class featured an additional turret and was nearly twice as heavy as the older ships.

The Admiral watched from the conning tower through its small portholes. It was mildly hot inside, and the crew kept their voices low as they waited for the next report. For now, the hostiles were traversing Jylonian waters without posing any immediate threat.

The waves remained calm and quiet until the XO entered the conning tower to deliver his report.

"Sir! Recon has spotted the enemy formation ten miles from our position, bearing Northeast Zero-Four-Five. Its composition is four destroyers and one battleship."

A Small task force, the Admiral thought to himself.

"Alright. Relay the message to the rest of the unit. We'll be pinpointing the location of the opposing forces."

"Aye, sir."

The Helmens began turning toward the northeast, toward starboard, following the rough direction given by the XO, and the rest of the fleet began to follow. Their composition was similar, though not exactly the same: one battleship, two cruisers, and two destroyers. At ten miles away, they should have been visible on the horizon, roughly five miles ahead. The fleet simply needed to get closer to determine their position and bring their guns into effective range.

The conflict with the Holy Empire persisted on the Cyax Islands.

Every week saw more casualties reported by Army and Marine Corps units engaged in bitter fighting through forests, urban areas, and heavily fortified mountain passes. Casualties continued to arrive just as quickly as replacements, but progress at the front remained negligible.

On the water, however, things were very different.

The Navy conducted its fleet exercises far away from the battlefield, hundreds of miles off the coast. As Congress became increasingly wary of using its few remaining capital ships after mysteriously losing several battleships to the Holy Empire's "Neptune's Javelins," the fleet was instructed not to venture into the area until the weapon could be understood.

The Admiral stood silently alongside his XO on the bridge wing, watching the grey waves roll beneath the hull. He remained quiet for a long time before finally speaking.

He did not understand it.

"The Navy does not want its remaining capital ships destroyed by the Holy Empire," he mused.

"Now that Task Force H has been..."

Admiral Gabrielle shook her head.

"We lost the Linkin Boxer. The Admiralty is unwilling to deploy any battleships near Cyax. In fact, they say that Marines and Army units are using civilian cargo ships for transport through the Jylonian Sea."