Fourth Vector Ch. 49

Strange nodded to him and relayed the orders back to the ship's gunners. A minute later, the mighty battlecruiser rocked again, sending another salvo.

The Fourthie battleship never stood a chance. This last hit caught her just below the waterline, punching through several layers of armor and causing the ship to begin to list its starboard side. The Fourthie vessel managed to get off one more shot before going dead in the water, and soon its sailors could be seen abandoning ship.

"We got it, sir," announced Admiral Strange. "She's going down!"

"Excellent work, Admiral," replied Reynolds. "Now, let's see if we can take down another one!"

*****

Russ watched with a neutral expression as theNuma, one of the newer ships in the Galician fleet, went down by the stern. It had just taken punishing damage from what appeared to be a Javan battleship and it never stood a chance. Sailors were now jumping off the ship in droves, and they would be on their own until the battle ended and they could reclaim the survivors.

For now though, theVisby was engaged in a deadly duel with another enemy battleship. This battleship was burning thanks to the Sorellan fire, but it was only minor damage compared to the size of the ship itself. If anything, Russ was grateful that he had the distraction on the ship, so they couldn't focus their full attention on theVisby.

"Come on, land a good hit, land one," muttered Russ as his guns failed to inflict meaningful damage on the Javan battleship again.

Unfortunately, the Javan battleship was able to strike first. TheVisby moaned as heavy ordnance struck her on the port side bow, creating a gaping hole in his deck. It wasn't enough to cause irreversible damage, but it was enough for him to direct his firefighting crews to attend to the blaze that followed.

Luckily for him, theVisby struck the next blow. The powerful battleship managed to land several direct hits on the enemy battleship, sparking fires that broke out all along the vessel's deck. By the looks of things, two turrets had been disabled in the process, taking the battleship down to only half of their available guns.

It was the breather they needed because the next blow from the warship only managed light damage on theVisby, whereas it might have been much worse if the enemy had full use of all of their guns.

"Come on, boys, one more shot," said Russ. "Then we can strike down another Javan battleship!"

So far, this fight wasn't going the way the Javans thought it would. His gunners had been remarkably adept at taking down the enemy vessels for only minor losses of their own.

Russ just hoped that good luck continued as he finished off that Javan battleship.

*****

A short distance away, Jack was knocked from his feet as another powerful shot struck theDestiny. It was the second shot in the last ten minutes, this one destroying what remained of theDestiny's seaplane launchers and making it impossible for them to recover the plane that was now circling high above the Javan fleet.

The last shot had caused considerable damage to the ship's radar installation, which put them at a significant disadvantage.

The ship was still firing though, and Kyle's men were terrifyingly accurate as they pounded another cruiser from a distance. This cruiser had excellent gunners though and they were making theDestiny pay a heavy price in the process.

"Kyle, great shooting!" said Jack, watching as the enemy cruiser took more damage. "Can you give me another just like it?"

"Coming right up, Jack!" promised Kyle and theDestiny soon rocked again.

By this point, Abigail was now tugging on Jack's arm.

"Jack, we lost theVictory!" she shrieked, pointing to a Galician vessel a short distance away that was now halfway underwater.

Jack nodded but said nothing in response. In the last half hour, the Javan gunners had started to get proficient in acquiring their targets, and several of their ships were now abandoned or below the waves. It was the most devastating battle that Jack had been in since Aberdeen, and it still seemed likely that many more vessels would meet their ends before the fighting was over.

For now, all they could do was survive and keep firing but even theDestiny was taking a heavy amount of punishment.

The next shot from the enemy landed just in front of the bridge, obstructing their view in front of them as the ship burned. When the smoke had finally drifted away, the results of the shot were terrifying.

The second forward turret was now a smoking wreck. Damage reports revealed what Jack was too hesitant to say aloud.

"Jack, the second forward turret is now inoperable," announced Abigail in a solemn voice. "We're down to only a third of our guns!"

"Pivot the ship," replied Jack, causing Abigail to give him a strange look. "We're going to lead with our rear turret from now on. It's the only firepower we have left and I'm going to bring it to bear until we sink this cruiser, got it? Pivot the ship to the south and let's sink this fucker!"

Abigail nodded, and Stephanie and Cory took action to bring theDestiny around so that the rear turret had complete range of movement to fully concentrate on the enemy cruiser. Once they were locked on target, Kyle gave the order to fire.

Before the ship could answer, it took a small amount of damage from the enemy cruiser, peppering the deck and destroying a good portion of the bow.

"Gunners, fire now!" ordered Kyle.

Jack prayed for success for this next ordnance. One or two more good shots from the enemy cruiser might spell the end for theDestiny, and it was crucial that they won before that happened.

He got his wish as the enemy cruiser went up in flames as the shots connected. The ship went dead in the water and over the course of the next few minutes, developed a list to the port side.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. That had been too close to call, and now that theDestiny was down to only a third of her guns, the rest of this fight just became much more perilous.

*****

"Another destroyer down!" reported Luke with some excitement as he watched the Javan vessel go down a short distance away. TheValiant was giving the performance of her career, with over four Javan vessels already sunk or destroyed, with little damage to herself. That wouldn't last forever, as theValiant took a hit in the next few minutes that crippled part of her communications antenna. It was minor damage overall but it paled in comparison to what the Swabian cruiser beside them took.

Luke could almost feel the heat from the blast as a fireball consumed the Swabian vessel, cooking the men inside and causing irreparable damage to the ship. Explosions continued to rock the vessel as she went dead in the water, including several forceful blasts that had clearly reached the ammunition room.

"Good god," muttered Kim from beside him as they watched the inferno develop. "What a terrible way to go."

"It's going to be us unless we keep fighting," said Luke as he soon gestured to Reeves. "Next target, Reeves. Let's keep it up!"

Reeves instructed the gunners to take aim against the cruiser that had sunk the Swabian vessel next to them. This was fortunate for theValiant, as the enemy vessel was now targeting a Swabian cruiser on the other side of the burning one, meaning that they could strike without fear of immediate retribution.

It also meant the enemy cruiser was now facing two ships instead of one. TheValiant sent off three good salvos that managed to damage the enemy cruiser, but it was only the heavier guns of the Swabian vessel that managed to sink it, getting their revenge for the fallen sister ship.

"Come on, you bastards," growled Luke. "Is there anyone that can take theValiant down?"

*****

"Jack, I have two Picard destroyers going down, as well as a Carinthian battleship," reported Russ through the radio. "Admiral Sevolz is telling me that he's lost a battleship and a cruiser in the last half hour."

Jack muttered his acknowledgment to the report, finding the price for this battle to be heavy indeed. He knew that going toe-to-toe with the Javan Navy wasn't going to be easy but so far his fleet had paid a heavy cost for their victories.

At this point in the battle, it was still anyone's guess who might come out on top. Jack's fleet was giving their all against the Javans but there was always the threat that their all wouldn't be good enough.

For now though, theDestiny was finishing off a Javan light cruiser that was already burning uncontrollably, making the most use of her only turret that was still operable. The firefighting team had already managed to bring the various small blazes under control, and despite the radar being damaged beyond use, there was the hope that they could still survive this fight.

One last shot finished off the Javan light cruiser, sparking an explosion that soon ripped the ship into two pieces. She was still exploding as she sank below the waves, but before she could go under completely, Abigail had brought up a new problem.

"Jack, look at that warship right over there," she said, pointing to a terrifying vessel with her binoculars. "That's too big to be a cruiser, right?"

Jack checked out where she was pointing. Sure enough, the vessel in front of them was too big to be a cruiser but it was too small to be a battleship.

That could only mean one thing.

"That must be one of the battlecruisers we heard so much about," said Jack glumly. "It's a very real possibility that this ship might be Reynolds' flagship."

Abigail gave him a panicked look. "Jack, it's swinging its turrets in our direction. It's taking aim at us!"

Sure enough, the Javan battlecruiser was now targeting theDestiny. Any moment now, those powerful guns would unleash themselves on the already heavily-damaged cruiser.

"Kyle, lock on that battlecruiser with the remaining turret," instructed Jack. "Let's show Reynolds we can still cause him some pain."

Kyle never got the chance to respond before the battlecruiser fired its first ordnance. TheDestiny rocked with the heaviest hit she'd endured yet, bringing everyone on the bridge to their knees.

*****

Just as the battle began on sea, it started on land as well. Greg was in overall command of the Western Army as the first mortars began to rain on the center positions, indicating a higher likelihood of the position of the Javan attack. In accordance with the plan from yesterday, Ambros was in overall command in the center while Greg monitored the situation on the entire battlefield.

Throughout the night, several more lines of trenches and foxholes had been dug around the center, allowing their men the opportunity to bend backwards according to their battle plan.

So far, it appeared they were spot on. The Javan attack began a full hour after the sun rose that morning, obstructing Greg's ability to listen to the naval battle offshore.

For now, the most critical part of the attack was making sure that it occurred where Greg wanted it. Though the Western flanks had been pulled in tighter than they were in the first battle, they were still vulnerable due to the reinforcement of the center.

Hopefully, if a Javan attack materialized on the flank, he'd be able to redirect the center reserves to support those men under pressure.

In short order, the Western center came under an intense amount of pressure. After the mortars and artillery strikes ended, the mass of Javan infantry came forward, leaping from whatever concealment they could find in order to break the main line. Greg fielded radio calls from desperate commanders warning of the heavy pressure on their regiments for some time, until gradually those calls warned of their men breaking if they didn't pull back to the next line.

Once Greg had fielded enough of them, he got word to Ambros to coordinate the movement.

This better work, he thought as he reached out to his other senior commander.

*****

Near the center, Ambros was positioned in the thick of the action. Quite a few times, he or members of his staff had to hit the ground lest they be overwhelmed by a stray mortar or attacker that had gotten too close. So far, the weak Western center had done what it was supposed to do but now he had word from Greg that it was time for them to begin pulling back.

"Back to the second defensive line," ordered Ambros to his subordinates via radio. "Have your men pull back now while the defenders provide covering fire."

As the order went out, a mass of Western infantrymen--mostly Galicians and Swabians--hopped out of their prepared positions and moved the hundred yards to the next line, flopping down and taking aim while the men beside them covered their asses.

No sooner had they made the maneuver though saw the Javans quickly closing the distance between them and the second line, taking little time to consolidate the ground they'd conquered. Ambros saw it as a sign of their inexperience that they didn't stop to regroup before making the next assault, but what they lacked in experience was more than made up for in numbers.

With the second line fiercely engaged, the next step in the Javan plan was soon revealed. Great rows of tanks were soon pressing forward, bridging the gap between the trenches and using their combined weight to support the infantry attacks. With the support of the infantry, it made countering the tanks difficult, as most of Ambros' men couldn't get out of the trenches long enough to put on the sticky bombs and live to tell about it.

They continued to take heavy fire and casualties began to mount as the tanks pushed all the way up to the second line, at which point Ambros realized it was time to pull back again.

"Go to the third line at once," he ordered. "Abandon the second line. Keep pulling them in."

For now at least, the retreat to the third line was relatively orderly. A great bulge had now appeared in the Western center, while their flanks continued to hold their starting ground.

Soon enough, those attackers in the center would find themselves surrounded on all sides if they didn't break the center.

*****

General Menard was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

He was petrified about what was developing in this battle, acknowledging that the deeper his men made it into the Fourthie "bulge", the more perilous it became for them. Soon they would be surrounded on three sides, and nothing they'd managed to do had so far broken the Fourthie lines.

They had just gotten drawn deeper and deeper into the cauldron.

The worst part was that he'd already committed all the troops and tanks he had allocated to this battle, with no reserves left to throw the tide. At this point, Bancroft was commanding him to pull from the flanks to support the breach in the center, but the flanks had already been weakened enough as it was.

There would be no help for them if the Fourthies attacked in force on the wings.

Every instinct in Menard's body told him to pull back the men in the center, knowing the danger they were in but Bancroft would hear nothing of a retreat.

"Retreat, are you mad, Menard?" shouted Bancroft, smacking the general in his face with his gloves. "We're winning, you absolute dolt!"

"Sire, they were prepared for us to make this assault on the center," said Menard, his anxiety showing in his voice. "They keep ceding ground to another prepared position every time we overrun one. Soon our men are going to be surrounded on three sides and that's all it'll take for them to cut them off and destroy them!"

"Our men are going to break their center before that gets anywhere close to happening," argued Bancroft. "Get a hold of yourself, General! Victory is almost here!"

Menard shook his head. "Permission to begin withdrawing troops from the center requested, Sire."

"Permission denied," growled Bancroft. "If you make one more request like that, I'll demote you back to major and stick you in the damn center where you belong! Act like the general that you are, for the love of god!"

Menard looked around for anything to help his argument but kept coming up short. No matter what he could say to Bancroft, the Emperor would never accept defeat--not at this most pivotal time of the battle.

As the reports came in of another taken defensive line, Bancroft continued to gloat and issue orders to front line commanders.

"Find me Jack Easterbrook and make sure you take him alive!" he yelled. "Any man that kills him, even accidentally, will be crucified alongside his entire family. I need Easterbrook alive!"

Satisfied with his command, Bancroft resumed a seat outside Menard's tent, looking entirely pleased with himself. He looked out to sea, where even now they could just barely see the flashes on the horizon of the naval battle that was still ongoing.

"You'll learn to like being in command eventually, Menard," said Bancroft calmly, almost like he hadn't just been yelling at him. "There's a certain serenity to victory that makes all of this bloodshed worthwhile."

Menard didn't even have the courage to speak anymore. All he could do was look in the direction of the center and wait for the inevitable radio call to occur.

*****

"Back to the last line, damnit! And now we have to hold men!"

Ambros gave the desperate radio call as the fourth line was breached and once more the Galicians and Swabians were forced to cede ground. Now, there would be nowhere else for them to go. The fifth and final line beckoned, bolstered by what was the strongest defensive line yet.

If the fifth line was breached, the entire army would be split in two and it would completely disintegrate at that point, requiring each man to find the last measure of courage inside him. Ambros even dictated that their remaining tanks be dug in behind the defensive line, adding their firepower to the infantry below them.

The biggest problem that he faced was that not every man had managed to withdraw to the last lines. The Javan attack was so ferocious at this point, that groups of soldiers were getting cut off from the rest of their comrades, leaving pockets all across the center. These pockets would be eliminated one by one if they weren't relieved, and those men were absolutely vital to the strength of the center.

It reached the point that Ambros believed the fifth line wouldn't continue to hold without the support from the trapped men. He radioed over to Greg to report on the situation.

"Greg, we need more men shuffled over from the flanks," said Ambros urgently. "As many men as you can spare. If we don't, I believe the center will fold."

Greg's reply was swift and disappointing. "I don't have any more men to spare for you right now. The flanks have been stripped bare and if the Javans attack there, they will fold quickly. You have to make do with what you have right now, Ambros."

Ambros swore under his breath. Knowing that help wouldn't be coming, he switched his frequency to talk with the rest of his commanders.

"Hold your ground and don't cede one more inch to the enemy! I need every man out there to summon the last bit of courage and give this fight everything he has. There will be no retreat!"

The orders were given out to the men, Ambros said silent prayer that they would be able to keep holding.

Otherwise, this battle was lost.

*****

Nearly two hundred yards away from Ambros, Arnold's position was on the verge of being overrun.

The Javans just kept coming. The endless waves of soldiers pressing against his position was beginning to have its effect on the men. Three of them were dead next to Arnold, being unfortunate enough to catch a bullet that put an end to their lives.