Legends

Chapter 13: You May Fire When Ready

Olympia couldn't hide her grin if she tried when she saw Tegran deploy. She'd always known the captain had it in her! Despite Tegran's fierce denial she was beginning to embrace herself. Olympia's desire to see the kanmusu accept who she was was twofold. Yes it could help her country greatly as a kanmusu who'd been a human since long before the war had SecNav knows what to whip out on Abyssals. But it also would help Tegran as well. The war was changing her, and not in a good way. By keeping that shame and guilt bottled up inside Tegran was in danger of becoming the very things she was fighting. Accepting Titanic was the only way she could keep it at bay.

"Everyone hold onto your sterns, the Big T is back!"

Oh Olympia knew she'd pay for that announcement even as her radio crackled with questions from the other girls. She deflected them, telling them in no uncertain terms that they had an Abyssal force to fight and that curiosity would have to take a backseat for now! When she joined Tegran and Normandie she could see that her earlier assesment was correct. Tegran was glaring at her in a manner that made icebergs look balmy! "I, am so screwed." The cruiser thought but pushed aside her apprehension. She knew as did Tegran that now was not the time to settle scores. Olympia followed her orders to the letter, guiding the eager Neunzer downriver as the pair prepped to cut off the Abyssal cruisers escape.

Olympia would be lying if she said she wasn't concerned about Tegran. It wasn't that she doubted the captain's ability to handle herself in a fight. Tegran had been involved in every war since WW1! It was what she was doing now! The SAABDeS was a marvel of engineering considering the time frame it had been constructed under but scratching beneath the surface revealed it for what it really was, an over sophisticated piece of scrap! Old gunmounts that no one wanted (with good reason) modified to take modern rounds. And whatever else that pair of crazy schooners could come up with to shove in there. What could possibly go wrong?

A series of explosions told Olympia that the SAABDeS had been activated, whether it was working was another matter and she was in no position to see visually if it was. Her radio crackled, it was Tegran. "Olympia, you have two Hos and a Ne coming your way." "We have the welcome mat ready." Olympia replied, cracking her knuckles. Each digit made a popping sound that further served to excite her. She thought about the last time she'd fought a battle like this. Well as similar as she could remember. What could actually compare? Manila Bay was a walkover that for as long as it lasted counted as one of the most joyous occasions of her life. She turned her attentions to her crew as her main battery was readied for firing. On her bridge one fairy, his brass uniform identifying him as an Admiral gave her a salute. "Heeeyyyyy!!" She grinned. "Right you are sir." She replied to his order. She turned to the destroyer next to her. "Nuenzer, you may fire when ready!"

.....................................

Tegran was in motion before she even realized what she was doing. Being the farthest away meant she had to push her way through the assembled destroyers, cruiser and remaining yacht to get to what was left of Turret 2. A few fragmented panels, wires bundled in heeps around them were the most visible part of what remained from inside the turret. None of them wanted to but Tegran steeled herself and took the first steps into the mess. There were still small fires burning what remained of the few flammable bits not yet consumed but they had died down significantly since the first explosion. She picked her way through the debris, carefully marking things she felt needed to be examined more closely with semaphore flags. The smell of unburt fumes, charred wires and burnt flesh would turn away most and it caused Bluenose to go green in the gills and run off into the bushes somewhere to hurl. But Tegran remained unphased. As a veteran of both world wars she had seen many airplane crashes and before the Abyssals came she worked for Britain's Air Accident Investigation Branch or AAIB. She'd seen several grisly aftermaths including a commuter air crash in Scotland and the Concorde crash in Paris.

Pausing at a seemingly insignificant pile of debris she recognized it as parts of the main console for the 7 inch. The joystick used to control the elevation and position of the weapon was remarkably intact. But that was not what caught Tegran's attention. She knelt and lifted the panels one by one, setting them gently to the side in the same position they had been lying in so as not to tamper with the evidence too much. Removing the last one she nearly dropped it in shock. Then even all her training could not overcome the disgust she felt at what she saw and she recoiled, clamping a hand over her mouth. She deliberately held her breath, having no desire to have her nose assaulted in the same way her eyes were. It was Thebaud, or, what was left of her. The turrets design was sealtight, keeping the gunnman safe from an assault on the outside. This design meant that when the explosion occurred there was no where for the shock-waves to go. They simply reverberated around the inside of the turret. The effect had turned the schooner inside out with parts from deep within her hull now displayed clearly for Tegran to see.

One look from Tegran was all Portland needed and when Bluenose returned the cruiser grabbed and held the schooner back so she couldn't see. She did her best to soothe her but it was clear that she was just as mortified. When Tegran stood she was no longer a captain. She wasn't a Royal Navy officer. And she wasn't Tegran Sheera. She was RMS Titanic and her green eyes burned with the fury of a thousand souls. "Portland, take Bluenose back to base then join Normandie. Davis, Chatelin with me!"

"Aye ma'am!" The two destroyers fumbled over themselves to obey the command of their commanding officer, so suddenly changed. Titanic led the way through the jungle and down to the river where she deployed effortlessly, shaking some of the rust off her rigging. She made a note to have it repaired and ready for service as soon as possible. "We have some Abyssals to sink!" She said and this time her command was greeted with more enthusiasm as Davis and Chatelin were just as eager as her to exact revenge.