Deep Seas Chapter 26

26.

The Surface

Left ‘sponson’ Gunner Smith on the armored vehicle cried out when the armor-piercing rounds tore into him after it penetrated the armor thickness. He had removed his chain mail tunic for the heat was overbearing. The heat of the projectiles burned into his unprotected flesh as if he was stabbed by the red hot poker. His pain was gone in seconds when his life was snuffed out.

More incoming projectiles soon reached the interior of the tank and ricochet across the compartment. It tore into the soft flesh of the other occupants until one of the projectiles ignited the ammo on the rack.

The Mark I Tank had discovered it nemesis in the close fight in the city.

The exo-skeleton unit at seven feet in height with the extended limbs was a formidable opponent with the rotary mini cannons on both their hands with the ammo belt linked to the backpack. The unit hid behind the walls and only appeared at close range to fire at the tank. It focussed on the side ‘sponson’ where the armor plates were thinner and the front top where the fuel tanks were located.

“I’ll be darned.” Colonel Braddock cursed when he saw the loss of one more of his tanks. He was covering the flanks and trying to direct the battle in the city. At that moment he had lost six tanks and was upset at the loss.  Street fighting was part of their training but those exoskeletons were a new form of enemy. 

The 3^rd Guards was also holding their positions with the exo-skeleton threat. They hid in between the walls and supported by the others in the counter-attack.

“Can you contact Kingsley?” Colonel Braddock was getting worried. The battle was going into a stalemate. The operator shook his head. He had recalled his tanks and they were all lined up on the main street. Fuel was low and he needed reinforcement to fight in these terrains.

Unknown to Braddock, Colonel Kingsley was putting his own battle plan into action.

Sergeant Ernie was a batter in the cricket team during his school years. He joined the Army and they made him the runner for the communications squad. He soon went up the rank when he showed them his fancy works on the explosives. On that day, he led the squad of explosives equipped men into the ruins of the city. He was backed up by a rifle squad who will provide fire cover.

The sergeant held up his left fingers to halt the men behind him. He peeked over the corner and saw the enemy post. There were three of them there but only two were manning the Vickers Machine gun. The third guy was watching their flanks with the rifle. They have the view of the three streets before them from their vantage point. There was an exo-skeleton standing guard next to the gun post. The gun post was too far to lob the grenades and the makeshift post had piled rubbles to protect it.

“Reckon you can bowl me one over?” Sergeant Ernie asked his old cricket mate and Corporal then.

“Blimey, it will be a jiffy.” Corporal Kent whispered back. “What you going to use for the bat?”

Corporal Kent then smiled. He knew the answer and then gauged the distance to bat. If his bowl was true to the mark, given the design of the bat he reckoned it will be a cinch.

“Like in the old days.” Sergeant Ernie smiled. They used to do it with the apples over the orchard wall. Then it was only a wooden plank from the wooden fence but on that day, Ernie decided to use his Enfield rifle stock. Corporal Kent crawled over to the far side of the street. He then assessed the best sport to do the run-up before the bowl while the Sergeant braced himself for the batter. He had reversed his Enfield rifle for the bat. The grenade came soaring across like the floater and the bat went up. It hit the grenade and away it went towards the machine gun post. It looked like a home run but the grenade did not land on the ground. It was caught in the cupped hands of Sergeant Smith of the 3^rd Guards. He saw the dark object being tossed over. His instinct from his previous experience as the catcher was to caught it on the fly. He looked at it and muttered.

“Guess it’s not my day.” The grenade exploded in the hands. 

It took out the machine gun post but the exo-skeleton was still functional. It was then the 2^nd Regiment went in gun blazing. They were firing to distract the exoskeleton while the Sergeant rushed in. He tossed the two grenades at the feet of the exoskeleton. It was its weak point where the operator groin and inside thighs were not protected. The explosion blew upwards into the exoskeleton frame and killed its human operator.

Sergeant Ernie picked himself up and looked at the standing slumped exoskeleton. It was sad to him when you ended up killing your own mates.

“You okay, Sergeant?” Corporal Kent asked of him. The latter nodded and then followed closely with the others while they searched for the other exoskeleton. That was their third and he was told that there were a dozen more of them there. With the five squads out there, Sergeant Ernie felt that they have done their fair share. Well, nothing was ever true and fair in war.

The hidden exoskeleton stepped out of the corner and fired its cannons at the two squads. They never stood a chance against it. The Sergeant died holding the grenade with the pin still intact.

Wing Commander Pierre flew in low to allow his aide to drop the bombs. It was a difficult task considering that both sides were dressed alike. He only had the luxury of knowing that when he flew to the West, his enemy was there. His craft, the Caldron G4 of the Allied Forces swept down towards the rooftops of the bricks terraced homes.

“Henri, do you see any of the gun posts?” Pierre asked his aide behind.

“No I do not see them. Maybe….” The wings of the Caldron G4 shook when the bullets tore holes on its wings. Henri looked up and saw the twin Sopwith Camel diving at them. The biplanes were firing the top-mounted double Lewis guns at the Caldron.

“Qu’est-ca que la…” Pierre cursed at the other crafts. “We are your allies, you fool.”

His attack was not missed by his squadron of Caldron flyers. The four flying crafts swooped in and shot at the Sopwith.

The twin Sopwith saw the Caldron and then fled the skies.

Upon landing, Wing Commander met up with his Allied Commander

“Yes we have news that Lady Jan had acquired some Sopwith and Dirigibles. We don’t know how but she got it. They were supposed to fly down south but there may be some renegades.”

“Renegades? They sounded more like hired killers.” Pierre frowned on his comment. “Any news from Lord Henry?’

Down south Lady Jan was not amused at the loss of her allies. She glared at the two General who was seated comfortably near the window. She paced herself in the Hall to the bar counter and then poured herself a drink. She did not offer the drinks to the other. Senior Captain Cheng Ha had denied the earlier round of drinks but Senior Adviser Liang had held onto his drink and not touching a drop. Kosovan was standing at the far corner near the window holding the bottle of wine

“Lady Jan, it was not my fault the line we held was pushed back.” General Clarke defended himself and then motioned towards the other officer. “General Wheatley had the command.”

“General Wheatley, I do not condone failure.” Lady Jan looked at the General who was accused as the person in charge. General Wheatley was to reply but his voice was stifled by the bottle that was shafted into his mouth. General Wheatley had his head pulled back by Kosovan with the left hand and the bottle pushed further into his throat with the right. The suffocating General reached out for the bottle but the pouring wine into his lungs was drowning him. General Clarke sat there dumbstruck by the action on Wheatley.

“General Clarke, now you will work for me. You will lead your army on the defense wall of the Rising East.” Lady Jan gave the order. She then looked at Senior Captain Cheng Ha.

“You will take command of the fleet now. All the ships have been recalled to the ports.”

Up north, Colonel Kingsley army met up with the armored division. He was then mobilizing the army to go south. The war was to take up more current in its flow.

The Depth

The Tempest and the Typhoon were pushing hard on the engines to outrun the pursuing cruiser, Albatross. Both the Captains knew that it was able to outrun it but they were not giving each other up. Unknown to the two Captains the cruiser was not alone in its pursuit. The destroyer from Devan was en-route to join the pursuit.

“Signal Senior Captain Fei Hung that we are near to your last known position.” Destroyer Captain Cheng reported in. His ship named after the smaller fishes of the sea; The Catfish was two hundred feet in length with a beam of over twenty feet and the draft line at ten feet. It was powered by the triple expansion engine and the double propellers with a top speed of twenty-five knots. Its deck was the three two-inch guns on single mounting turrets six Vickers machine-gun posts.  It held a crew of sixty sailors.

“We have sight, Captain.” The sailor on the lookout called in. Captain Cheng took the looking glass to look at the horizon where the two ships were seen. It was too far away to fire on them but they will cut off its escape. He heard of the sinking of the smaller submerged and it was time to fight for real with another fighting ship. He was not keen to sink the unarmed trawlers but those were orders.

On the Typhoon captain Evans saw the destroyer on the aft. He swore under his own breath that it was a bad day to go fishing. He called on the guns to ready. 

“Signal the Tempest.” Captain Evans called out. “She got to let flee with Colleen.”

On the Tempest, Boatswain I Conlay turned to Captain Banner. She had sailed the submerged back and had it in tow. With the slower speed of the submerged, they could not outrun the pursuer unless they were towed by the Tempest. The cruiser could have overtaken them but it kept its distance. She then knew why it was doing that when she sighted the destroyer. They were to be pen up and then attack.

“I want to take the Colleen. I can make a difference in the waters.” Her request was denied. The cruiser with its bigger guns started the salvo. Conlay was assigned the wheel. The guns on the Tempest were loaded but it held its fire.

“Drop the Colleen. We are going in without it.” Without the Colleen in tow, the trawler had more speed and was able to move across the sea waves. Conlay sailed the ship in a zig-zag movement to avoid the shelling. It was inevitable for the shells the cruiser soon came in close range. The shells rocked the trawler with its explosions in the water. It was like the rising waves had impacted on the ship. She turned the wheel to the port side but it was a mistake. The shell landed on the deck at the two-pounder mounted turret. The impact triggered off the spare shells and created a bigger explosion. The Tempest rocked on the explosion and soon its hull gave way.

“Abandon ship!” Captain Banner called out. He looked at the distressed Boatswain. “It’s not your fault. We got the shorter end of the straw.”

Conlay shook her head and ran for the rails. She dived into the cold water and swam to her submerged which was afloat on the surface. It was detached with the two ropes on the aft. She climbed in through the hatch. She gunned up the engine and then pulled away. She saw the Tempest went down but her target was the cruiser.

She got one chance to redeem herself against it. She ignored the sailors struggling in the cold water while she steered the submerged. The air inside the submerged was humid and dry but it was breathable. She saw the sea predators coming in. It was something she cannot assist then.

“Captain!” The sailor on the lookout post called out. “A submerged at portside.”

Captain Fei Hung was glad that he had posted the lookouts on the ship. He feared that his own submerged could have been downed by one of the enemies. He was not told how many they have but caution prevailed then.

“Release the depth charges on my command. Revolver cannons to fire on sight.”

The chattering sound of the revolver guns was heard. The gunners were keen to shoot but he knew the craft was still a distance away. The gun was effective on other surface ships but once the bullets end inside the water its velocity was reduced and thus its impact power.

Conlay did not see the bullets but she heard the thudding sound on the hull. The craft was holding up and soon she was within sight of the cruiser. It was then the cruiser released its depth charges. The hundred pounds weighed charges detonated below the sea surface and caused ripples in the water. The Colleen was shaken by the explosions and it was pushed off course. The explosion also caused the Colleen’s viewer to shatter and the water was surging in. It filled up the view tube and then forced its way into the hull. Conlay felt the stinging impact on her face and then pulled away. She closed her eyes while concentrating on the wheel. She compensated for her diversion by the explosions and prayed that she got it right. She pulled at the lever to trigger the explosives at the tip.

“The ship is there!” The sailor on the lookout called out. The revolving cannons all re-direct towards it. The surfaced submerged sailing blind had surface close to the cruiser. It was under intense fire from the cannons. Inside the submerged Conlay saw the cannon shots had penetrated into the hull. She knew then that she had surfaced the craft by mistake. She pulled the lever to dive the craft. The Colleen bobbed downward but it was taking in water from the penetrated holes.

“The ship is too near!” The sailor on the lookout shouted but his warning was too late. The submerged craft hit the hull at the cruiser stern and the explosions tore through the hull into the engine compartment. It was a small tear but the surging seawater was filling up the lower engine levels.

“Seal the compartment and stop the engine.” Captain Fei Hung gave the command. He saw the other ship was escaping but the destroyer had its guns trained on it. It will suffer a similar fate like the other ship but his cruiser was damaged.

Captain Evans considered his options; he could try to evade the destroyer but the odds of doing it were slim. Alternatively, he could try his luck at fighting. Both choices were suicidal. The shells from the destroyer came raining down near his ship. They were within the range of the destroyer. He made up his mind then.

“Ram the destroyer.” Captain Evans told his crews. The ship sped towards the destroyer head-on. It was separated by a distance of a thousand yards. The distance narrowed when both ships were seen to be on a collision. The revolving cannons were firing but it was ineffective at that speed and range. The Typhoon also returned fire. At five hundred yards the cannon shots were hitting the hulls of both ships.

“Captain, we are taking in water.” The crew shouted to Captain Evans. He nodded and steered the ship to run parallel on starboard. When both ships were parallel cannon fires were exchanged. The deck of the destroyer was seen with parts of it damaged. The Typhoon was not doing fine with its aft hitting close to the draft line but it was still sailing.

“Captain, we are taking on fire.” The crew of the destroyer reported in. The Captain was to respond when he saw the towering creature on the starboard. The serpent had risen with its head up at above twenty-five feet before the ship trawler. Its head bobbed down and then surfaced just beneath the draft line of the Typhoon. It slammed its head into the trawler's side and caused it to tilt. The serpent came on for the second attack and trawler end up smashing into the destroyer. The Typhoon soared on the rising waves and landed on its side on the destroyer. The serpent was not giving on its attack. It slammed it head onto the keel of the Typhoon and pushed it onto the deck of the destroyer. The trawler slid across the deck and uprooted the twin cannons there. It kept on its attack and finally, the trawler on top of the destroyer caught fire.

“Fire!’ The destroyer crews rushed to douse the fire and the serpent had disappeared into the sea again. The destroyer fire soon spread and then the fire lit up the depth charges. It soon exploded and took both ships down to the sea bed. The large serpent was at two hundred feet below while it swam with leisure on its victory above.