The Final Voyage

Chapter 2: The Battle of the Shadow's Fate

Chapter 2: The Battle of the Shadow’s Fate, August of 1945

Mykell looked through a viewport in his quarters. The waves lapped against the ship as it steamed along. The waters were strangely calm. They had been at sea for 2 weeks now. They still had plenty of supplies, and had not encountered any Japanese ships. The Sevastapol and Poltava had gone back to Russia, and they were joined by the Battleships Osljabja and Peresvet. Nothing else had changed, which made the voyage even more dull. Seconds later, a knock came from the door.

“Who is it?” Mykell challenged

“Lieutenant Malthus, sir,” replied the voice

“Come in,”

After stepping in, Klashmyir quickly said, “Sir, we have several unidentified ships off our starboard,”

Mykell turned his head from the viewport, his expression puzzled. He quickly walked out of the room towards the deck, quickly followed by Klashmyir. When he reached the deck, he saw the ships. Then he saw the smoke that came from them, and wondered where the smoke had come from. He heard a loud boom, and was realizing it could only mean one thing. He saw the flash of one of the unidentified ships guns firing in his direction, yet nothing hit the Shadow.

Another flash came from the ships. Mykell heard shells hitting their mark, yet it seemed the Shadow was not their target. Remembering their new companion ships, he quickly turned around to see the Osljabja in flames and sinking fast. He in turn quickly ran to the bridge, and ordered his gunners to take aim. Within seconds, the Shadow’s 12 inch guns took aim towards the Japanese ships. Within a minute, the first gun is fired from the Shadow. Within Minutes, all guns have fired, and the Japanese ship, now ablaze, sinks.

The Peresvet comes from the right of the Shadow, and fires one of its own guns, hitting the second Japanese ship. The Japanese, confused at the devastation one battleship has done, clumsily tries firing one of its guns. The attack ineffective, the Shadow reloads, aims its guns, and fires. As 2 more Japanese ships appeared, Mykell directed the attack from the bridge with fierce and quick strikes against the ships. The Peresvet took one ship, while the Shadow took the other. Both worked in tight coordination, exchanging targets often. Mykell later argued that this was to confuse the Japanese, and he later used the tactic again.

The Shadow had miraculously not taken any damage. It was a completely different scenario for the Japanese ships, however. Both sunk within minutes. During the skirmish, both ships had been pestered and bothered by Jap destroyers and frigates, none of which had done anything but be a metaphorical fly that flew around you randomly and uselessly.

After the skirmish had ended, twenty minutes later, Mykell sat down in his captain’s chair. He realized how heavy his breathing was, how fast his heart rate was, and how sweaty he had gotten. To him, that did not matter, but the fact that he had just sunk more than 4 Japanese ships within an hour. The thrill was just the same for German warships, but much more tense. The Japanese were much more quick and persistent. They put up a hell of a fight despite the confusion on their side. The Peresvet had taken a blow to their Stern, but nothing was bad enough to be worrisome.

The Shadow’s guns had overheated, however, and had to be left alone to be cooled. One had overheated to extremes that a water hose had to be used to cool the massive barrels of the gun, letting steam rise off of them into the air, only to disappear. The Peresvet’s were no better, if not worse due to the fires that broke out caused by the damage. Mykell surveyed the destruction caused to his ships, and the Japanese ships that had not sunk completely. His men were still picking off stragglers in the water with their Mosin Nagants and PPSHs. Several tried to call for surrender, but the most important thing Mykell was taught in training was to show no mercy in the face of the enemy. It does not show weakness, as some may say, but Mykell believes that it instead shows unhardened soldiers. Soldiers that had not experienced true war and it’s cruelties. The Germans had taught many ground troops he knew that war was not like it was told to be, especially with the Germans and their new tactics.

Mykell asked for a status report by Klashmyir. The guns had fired 4 shots each, which meant he was set back 12 pieces of ammunition. He did not know if that ammo could have saved his life in the future, but frankly Mykell did not care. Realistically, Mykell did not care for much anymore except to fulfill his mission to the best of his abilities, no matter the complications. If he ran out of ammunition, he would beat the enemy with the butt of his rifle.

After an hour or so, Mykell realized that this was no straggler unit, but a forward unit that would alert the main fleet. Whether or not the ships had done their task was unknown. This meant that they were not that far from Japan. Mykell nearly relaxed when he heard the boom of yet another gun, followed by another, and another. Each he held his breath, waiting for an explosion to indicate it hit his ship. When none came, he rushed outside. What he found was astonishing. He saw a magnificent ship, which flew the mighty flag of the United States, which waved in the air as if it itself had freedom. On the side of the ship was the number 63, and the guns were massive, making the Shadow’s guns look like a rifle did to a cannon.

The ship hailed the Shadow within minutes. The communications officer on that ship spoke in English. Mykell was the only man aboard who knew English well enough to speak and understand it.

“This is the U.S.S. Missouri, identification number 63. Identify yourself!” said the voice through the radio.

“I am Admiral Mykell Pershaw, captain of the Shadow of Destruction, Identification number 524,”

“Admiral, you are crossing into Japanese waters. Fortunately, you are on the allied side, and shall get free passage through U.S. held waters. Expect resistance in Japanese waters. What is your destination?”

“We are on a mission that is none of the United States’ concern. I can, however, assure you that it has nothing to do with the United States at all.”

“If your mission concerns Japan itself, we can provide support, as we have the same destination.”

“We would appreciate the support, and it would let us relieve out current companion ship.”

“Very well.” The link clicked off.