Man of War Ch. 09

Year 2183 of the Empire (since Foundation Year)

Year 979 of the Third Era of Empire (Dragonheart Line)

Iovis, the twenty-second day of First Seed

Mid-morning

"Contact, sir!"

I was in the middle of writing in my diary that I didn't quite hear what was said to begin with, so I had to turn around to see Miranda in the doorway. "What was that?" I asked, unable to hide my surprise.

"Contact, sir. Ship on the horizon."

The moment we'd all been waiting for. The only question now; would they be friendly or not? Quickly putting on my coat, I followed Miranda outside and made my way to the bridge for a report. "Ship is due west on the horizon, but has changed tack since sighted and is now closing, sir. Estimated distance is three miles," Pressly reported.

"Hoist the flags and colours, Master. Don't suppose there's a way we can signal that we're friendly?"

Flags were the Imperial flag and those of the twelve realms. Colours were those of the Imperial family, Imperial Navy, and those adopted by the Normandy. As we were a lone ship, no flags were required for communication. I had only used that system once, during the Battle of the Five Apostles.

"No, sir. Not if it's a non-Imperial ship anyway. If it was, they'd recognise the flags and signal in return."

"What does the ship look like?"

"The barrelman reports of similar design, sire. But it needs to get closer for us to properly judge."

"Okay. We'll change tack slightly and see how they react." Gathering Pressly and Miranda over his map, I had a look. "Okay, so we're still heading north-west. Let's change due north-north-west and see how the other ship reacts. If it follows, then they are interested in our presence, and we'll need to decide on a course of action. If it doesn't follow, then we turn and follow it, see where it leads us." I glanced at them both. "Any questions?"

"No, sir," they chorused.

"Very well. You have your orders. Let's get it done." However, an unknown ship was on the horizon. For the first time during the voyage, the bell was rung. "Battle stations! Prepare for enemy contact!" I called.

Expect the best, prepare for the worst. That was what we were always told whenever at sea. We had no idea if any other design of ship could cross the reef. The Batarians had managed it, but they arrived in small ships and, admittedly, caught us completely by surprise. We're still not sure how they found us, and we had no idea why they immediately went on the attack. Unfortunately, we didn't capture any of them alive to ask the questions we wanted answered.

Taking the eyeglass, I walked forward to the side of the deck, extended it, and put an eye to the lens. I could barely see the ship, but it was there. I felt a surge of feelings. Nerves. Excitement. Even a little giddy. The Normandy was possibly on the verge of making history.

I felt and could see the Normandy change course, the ship in the distance should now appear to my immediate left. I kept my eye to the lens and checked their progress. It didn't take long to see what they were doing. They changed course to meet us. Both of us would soon have the wind completely at our backs, depending on the angles at which our ships moved.

"Lieutenant!" I called. I waited until I felt the presence of Miranda beside me. Glancing in her direction, I issued the order. "Ensure the cannons are ready. Port side."

"Aye, sir."

"I will need continuous information from watch officers. Make sure that flows to me."

"Aye, sir."

"And be ready to raid."

I noticed a smile, followed by a salute, coming to attention. "Aye-aye, sir."

She disappeared as I checked the progress of the unknown ship. I didn't call it an enemy ship. It wasn't that just yet. Maybe they were as curious about us as we were about them. But it was the first contact, and part of me wanted to be careful, just in case their ship ended up being more powerful, more advance, than our own.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Captain Alenko?"

"The Imperial Marines are prepared to defend the Normandy or attack the incoming ship at your order, sir."

"Very good, Captain. If required, you will hear the order."

"Aye, sir."

It was now easily visible on the horizon. Even at a distance, it did look formidable, though appearances could be deceiving. What made me smile is that the ship did appear to be of a similar design. It couldn't possibly be the Dunkerque. That was gone, at the bottom of the sea or beached somewhere far away. But were the people on this ship human? Or were they something else entirely? We had nothing in our vocabulary to describe anything discovered that wasn't human. I mean, not like the animals we reared for food or as pets. But people... people who were not humans... what did we call such things?

White sails. Dark wood. And it flew flag and colours, though they were too far away to make out, and would likely have been unrecognisable. I couldn't remain at the side all the time, walking past watch officers with their own eyeglasses. They'd barely had use for them our entire voyage. Now that we'd made contact, not a single inch of ocean would remain unobserved. I could sense the nerves from the crew, but also the excitement. We were making history, but it would either go fantastically well, or disastrously bad.

I could hear continuous information now stream back towards me at the quarterdeck, estimates on its closing speed and distance. When it was at one mile, I returned to the side for a last look. Looking through the lens, I changed judgement. Dual-mast only, so it wasn't like our ship. It would be smaller, less powerful, and fewer crew. The colours didn't look familiar; I didn't expect it would. I almost hoped they'd change tack so I could see their deck and just who was on the vessel.

"Mister Pressly, ensure the ship remains at port side in the event of a run," I ordered.

"Aye, sir."

Moving to the left of the quarterdeck, I could get in position so I could still see the ship. It changed tack, still coming towards us, but at a shallower angle, as if it wanted to cross our bow. And from the distance, I recognised...

"Humans," I stated.

"Those who called themselves Batarians looked like us, sir," Lawson stated, now back on the bridge.

"Well, it's definitely not the Dunkerque. It's too small." I paused, weighing up my options. If we just sailed by without firing, and they fired first, we'd take casualties. If we fired first, and they were friendly, then we would go to war with the first people met during this voyage. It was a horrible position to find myself in. And I wouldn't have wished it on any of my subordinates.

"Lieutenant, send the order; prepare the cannons to fire." I glanced at her and she remained still. Even I could understand the hesitation. "Now, Lieutenant!"

"Aye, sir!"

The ship was now close enough I didn't need the eyeglass. I could see the side of the ship clearly. There was only one deck of cannons, if the ship had cannons. If they had something else... I wondered if their captain was looking at us through an eyeglass, assessing our strength. It would see the cannons though. Maybe that would give them pause for thought.

"Change course, Pressly. Bring us up alongside. Let's see what their intentions are."

"Aye, sir," he called, followed by orders given immediately to Moreau. The other ship changed tack again. I tried to judge the distance on eye alone. I figured around five hundred metres. There was no way it was an Imperial ship. If they were humans, they were not of the Empire. So how would they react to our presence? The next few minutes would be critical.

Slowly but surely, our ship caught up with them as I felt our ship slow down. Their ship was still ahead as we closed on them. "Pressly, bring us in a little closer. Let's see what they do. I have faith in the strength of the Normandy."

If we were at five hundred metres, we were soon at four hundred metres. The stern of the other ship was still just ahead of our bow. We were closing slowly, inexorably. I had a thought. We'd never fought on the ocean before. When do we fire? Where? I'd obviously already considered all these options, shared those with officers, but I thought I'd better share. "Acting Lieutenant?"

Jane appeared immediately, saluting before asking, "Yes, sir?"

"Orders to fire. The upper deck aims for their top deck and masts. The lower deck aims for their cannons."

"Are we to fire without order, sir?"

"The men will know when to open fire, Lieutenant."

Eyeglass back at my eye, I could see their deck clearly. Definitely humans. Even from this distance, they looked just like us. I focused on the back of the ship, as if they thought like us, then their commanding officer should be there, but the side railing made it hard to see. Lowering the eyeglass, I looked at their hull and could see the portholes, and there were definitely cannons. Where they were being prepared to fire or not, we'd soon see.

The other ship was definitely slowing too, so I yelled at Pressly to order reduced sails at the same time. Anyone who thought action at sea was fast would have been disappointed by now. We were slowly but surely coming closer to the other ship. Some of that would due to the helmsman, some would be due to the wind, and two ships are almost naturally attracted to each other. Their helmsman would be doing the exact thing, just enough on the wheel to turn into us.

It was another ten minutes when our bow was level with their stern. I glanced at my own deck to see two lines of Marines, one on their knees, one standing behind, all with muskets raised, ready to open fire at the signal. If the other ship fired at our masts, they were fucked. I put that out of my mind...

Messages flowed up as soon as we started to become level. Watchmen were watching the portholes. They were readying to fire, cannons behind pushed forward. There was only one thing to order.

"Prepare cannons! Ready to open fire!"

So much for coming in peace.

Most ship captains would wait until we were completely level so they could deliver a complete broadside before turning away to prevent an immediate retaliation. "Moreau, turn into their ship in five seconds. Pressly, that's should be at least forty degrees to port. Do that for thirty seconds, then immediately return forty degrees to starboard. I want to see the eyes of those bastards if they're going to fire."

"Aye, sir. You heard the order, Quartermaster."

The ship turned, and I'm sure their captain was now intrigued as to our intentions. I glanced at the marines again. They remained in positions, muskets still raised, ready to fire at the order. The distance between our ship and theirs closed slowly but surely, at such as angle that they would only hit the front of our ship and the bow. I counted down in my head, Pressly no doubt judging by his own watch, before the ship lurched to starboard.

"Fire!" I yelled.

The order would have taken all of five seconds to reach the decks. The explosion of cannons below us was deafening. The ship lurched as the cannons were fired in succession. I simply watched their ship as it took a full broadside, immediately showing the power of the Normandy. The upper deck cannons blasted at their top deck. Their foremast took a cannonball and immediately started to crack. Within half a minute, it collapsed forward, and the ship immediately slowed. We couldn't hear their screams, but anyone caught by a cannon blast on the deck would now be dead or dying. As for the lower deck, there were already holes and I could hear men reporting what they could see.

"Master Pressly, bring the Normandy alongside the other vessel. I think it's time we went and said hello."

"Aye, sir."

I rushed down to the deck to stand with the waiting marines. Alenko had given the order to fix bayonets. They would still fire a volley, but in close quarters fighting, stabbing was preferred to shooting. I had my pistol holstered to my right, sheathed sword at my left. Despite the advent of gunpowder, the sword was the preferred weapon when fighting on deck.

Ropes with hooks were brought forward so men could throw them across, using sheer brute force to bring the ship closer. That's not how it actually worked, of course. Men just liked to believe that. No, the hooks were used and the ropes tied simply to keep the two ships close together.

Closer and closer the other ship came until we could see the devastation we'd caused. Bodies littered the top deck of their vessel, though there were armed men waiting for us. We could still see the lower deck, and we'd practically wiped out their cannon, noticing a couple of fires had broken out. Part of me thought we should pull back and watch the ship explode, but as long as their gunpowder was secure, we should be okay. That was the third thing a sailor feared most. Fire. It was probably the grisliest way to die at sea.

"Boarding party ready?" I called. Enthusiastic shouts were returned. "Prepare hooks!" I waited until the perfect moment before ordering their release. Watching them thrown was exciting in itself, most of them finding purchase on the railing or in holes that were now on the other ships top deck. Once they felt secure, the rope was tied to our ship until lines were taut.

The marines didn't waste any time, firing a volley at their top deck, and we could hear the screams of their fallen. Boards were now brought forward as I heard the call for reduced sails. Their foremast was completely gone. The crew remaining were now watching us, and there was no doubt they were already thinking of surrender. I wondered where their captain was. Maybe he was already dead...

"Drop anchor!" I called. While that was happening, I added, "Captain Alenko, I will be first across. If these bastards even look like their considering opening fire, give the order and I'll drop to the ground so you can return fire."

"Call down, sir?"

"Call down, Captain. I'll drop like a stone."

We watched and waited until both ships were practically stopped, thanks to the anchor on our ship. Only then were the boards lowered and secured, at least at our end. If they wanted, they could have pushed the boards off, but I think the fight was already out of them. Carefully I stepped onto the board and somewhat gingerly walked forward, striving to keep my balance without holding my arms out to the side.

Just before I stepped onto the deck of their ship, I unsheathed my sword and the men stepped back. I doubt it was my sword. There's no doubt the marines at my back had all of them in their sights. And they already looked like defeated men.

"I am Captain Shepard of the Normandy, Imperial Navy of the Twelve Realms. Do you understand me?" A few of them nodded. "Who of you or where is your captain?" A few of them pointed to the quarterdeck. "Is he alive?" A few more nods. I raised my hand and gestured for the marines to come across. "By authority of Emperor Uhtred VIII, the divine ruler of the Empire of the Twelve Realms, you are hereby prisoners, and subject to the naval code of conduct of the Twelve Realms regarding prisoners of war." I'll admit, we'd never actually used the naval code of conduct for prisoners of war before. I paused before shouting, "Captain Alenko?"

I felt his presence next to me. "Yes, Captain?"

"Ensure the wounded are treated. Gather any men who remain below decks. Secure their weapons."

"Aye, sir."

I turned and walked towards their quarterdeck, passing numerous bodies and bodies parts. What I saw what ghastly. A cannonball colliding with a soft human body could do horrific damage. One man had been decapitated. Another man was torn in half. The deck was covered in blood. I had a strong stomach, I'd been in battle, but still... It was tough to see.

Climbing the stairs, there was even more damage. The wheel to control the ship had been smashed, the helmsmen, or what remained of him, beside it. There was no sign of the ship's Master. And as for the captain, he was leaning against the railing, still alive, but he was losing blood aplenty as his lower left leg was gone, and that was the worst, or most visible of his injuries.

I crouched beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You are the captain of this vessel?"

"Captain Razak of the Batarian Seventh Flotilla. And you stand on the Aratoht. Or what remains of it."

"Batarian? But you're human?"

"That is who we are. That is where we are from. Bataria."

"And where is Bataria?"

He coughed, wiping his mouth of blood. "East of where your Empire lays. Three weeks' sail, two and a half if the winds are kind." My eyebrows must have raised in surprise. "Yes, we knew who you were once we saw you were human."

"Why did you try and fight?"

"I thought that as soon as you recognised us as human, you would know we were Batarians, and that you would open fire before finding out our intentions."

"Captain, can you answer me this. Are we alone on this world?"

"No. No, we are most definitely not alone. There are many..." He coughed again, more blood, took a deep breath. He was not long for this world. "This world on which we reside is enormous, Captain. You simply wouldn't know, having sat behind that reef of yours for centuries."

"How long have you known about us?"

"Long enough."

"Do you know anything about another Imperial ship from one hundred years ago?"

"No." He coughed again, more blood leaking from his mouth. "What will happen to my men?"

"Prisoners."

"And my ship?"

"It's been heavily damaged, Captain. We'll drag it with us, loosen the ropes, let if drift away, where it will then be scuttled by cannon fire."

"Very well. I wish to remain here and spend my final moments on my ship, Captain. May I ask one favour?"

"Name it."

"Treat my men well."

"I will grant you that favour." I would have treated them well anyway, but I figured I could give a dying man something good to hear in his final moments.

I rested my hand on his shoulder, feeling his hand grab my wrist. I did not know this man, but he was a captain, a fellow officer, and worthy of my respect having faced my ship in battle. He might have lost, but they had shown bravery in the face of a superior foe. I knew he was dying when the grip on my wrist started to loosen, and once his hand fell onto his lap, I knew he was dead. His unblinking eyes staring ahead, I closed them and whispered a prayer to the gods to accept this brave warrior into Elysium.

Returning to the main deck, I could hear plenty of yelling as those who survived below were brought up. Many were wounded, bleeding, scared. Not many looked at us with anger or hate. Most were probably surprised by our very arrival, looking at us as fellow humans and wondering who the hell we were. Approaching Alenko, I asked about surviving officers. "Captain. Lieutenant. Sailing Master. Purchasing Officer. Surgeon. All dead. Highest ranking officer alive that we've noticed so far is the Master-at-Arms. There might be another Lieutenant, but we haven't found them yet." He paused before asking, "Are we taking prisoners, sir?"

"We will. I'll have men sent over to grab whatever supplies they have. We'll need to did it quick and clean. I want this ship scuttled and us away in no more than two hours."

"Aye, sir."

Before leaving, I explored the ship and found the private quarters of the captain. Within I found his sword, which I would take as a trophy, and searched for any paperwork, whether it be orders or maps, that I could take back to the Normandy. I grabbed anything legible, though the cabin was also a mess, a cannon shot having blasted through both walls, leaving a trail of destruction.