Chapters Prologue
"There is no Equestria, and furthermore, Admiral, there is hardly even a Gaia. I would prefer to call this place Oceania, but...for whatever reason my sister believes it should be called Gaia. She has her views, and I have mine, and that is the way the cookie crumbles." -Chancellor Luna, New Lunar Republic
As Luna stated, many, many years prior, the Gaia of old doesn't exist. With the sinking of most of the earth into the sea's murky depths, most of the life has followed suit, making lives for themselves on the sea. I was born on the sea, and will die on the sea as well, or so the old saying goes.
Sentient life, be it pony, dog, griffon, or other, now reside in massive ships of iron, some up to three kilometers long, called homeships, and armed to the teeth. When they first started out, they were mostly wooden ships, possibly with bronze or copper bottoms. Now, however, they're pure steel, which is gathered from submerged mines, accessible only by submarine.
Oh, I'm getting off track in my age. Heh, age. Being an alicorn certainly...I'm doing it again, aren't I? Back on track... Homeships are the "capitals" of a faction, or country, and is the flagship of the faction's commander. For example, Princess Celestia, commander in chief of the Solar Empire, leads from her Homeship, the SES radiant. It is, as I remember, two point three kilometers long, and it's guns include two massive forty-three inch forward cannons. Not only that, but it's armor is over four thousand millimeters thick along the deck. The deck. Not to mention the armadas of ships, massive, several thousand ship strong armadas, that accompanied the ships. To go up against a Homeship requires equal parts cunning, insanity, and vision, not to mention the firepower of an equally strong armada to back you.
Even today, border wars are frequent and pirates are plentiful, but I digress. We haven't had a full scale war since... Not since I came into possession of the SS Valiant. And let me tell you, that was quite the story. So if you'll buy the drinks, then maybe I'll tell you. Oh, barkeep?
Book I: The Crucible
Chapter 1: Meeting an old friend
"Damn the Lunar guns! All ahead full!" -Admiral Blueblood, of the SES battleship Blue Mountain, during the battle of North Point strait.
In the area of the grand sea, once known as the Poncific ocean, there were four very, very important islands. Four islands, and they were all within three hundred nautical miles of each other. Such a grouping was incredibly rare on Gaia. For the average exploration fleet, they were often times lucky to find one island every few thousand nautical miles. Let alone four all together.
Obviously, whomever controlled the four islands had a veritable fortress on their hands. Currently, two factions, possibly the two largest, though it was debatable, controlled the islands, using them as farms, and trading ports. A year ago, these two factions were at war, but had finally declared a cease-fire. Thus had ended a rather bloody fifteen year war. Massive amounts of ships had been sunk or scuttled on both sides, until the battle came to a head at a spot on the sea named the northern strait. There, a New Lunar Republic armada, led by the newly promoted admiral Stormy Wynters, held it's own against a Solar Empire armada three times it's size, headed by admiral Blueblood, Princess Celestia of the Solar Empire's nephew. His flagship was sunk in the battle, and he went the way of his ship- to the bottom of the ocean. Thus, both Celestia and Luna negotiated an uneasy truce, which stands to this day.
Upon this tense situation came the SS Poseidon, a Germane mark 717 U-boat. The Poseidon was armed with twenty torpedo tubes, ten on either side, a single 30mm anti-aircraft gun, which was placed above the crow's nest, and two deck guns. The deck guns had been specially ordered by the captain- Krupp Naval Arms 17.5 centimeter rifled cannons, with an operational range of just over three nautical miles.
From the bridge, the Poseidon's Captain, an alicorn mare, viewed the islands through the periscope. "Seems to be several Lunar and Solar ships, of military and civilian make... Helmsmare?"
"Aye, Captain?" The helmsmare, a Pegasus, saluted.
"Surface the sub. We don't want to scare the solars or the lunars."
"Aye-aye captain!"
Once surfaced, the U-boat continued on it's course, towards the islands. The captain, and her first mate stood in the crow's nest, on the ledge just below the AA gun, that wrapped around the entire crow's best tower.
The captain's first mate put forth a question. "Uhm, Twilight, why are we headed into the Crucible? Our supplies and diesel levels are fine, and we don't have any jobs that send us here."
Captain Twilight Sparkle lowered her binoculars, and turned to her first mate. " Well Spike, we're entering the Crucible to meet with a good friend of mine. He sent me correspondence through my radio telegraph, and...He thinks he's onto something big."
"Oh? How big?"
"Take on a fleet big." The drake paused, and blinked twice.
"Are you implying-?"
She cut him off. "No. I'm not implying anything. This could just be a wild albatross chase, after all."
Spike shrugged. "Whatever you say, Twi."
As the U-boat entered the massive central bay created by the four islands, a plain, light blue flag was run up the flagpole. The light blue flag signified neutrality amongst all factions, so as that no pony save pirates would bother the U-boat. Thus, once the U-boat came into contact with another ship- A lunar battleship- the U-boat was left alone.
In the middle of the Crucible, as the islands were nicknamed, was a floating dry-dock platform, where ponies could dock for repairs, re-armament, resupply, or relaxation at the dock's bar. Twilight had the Poseidon docked here, and she, along with Spike and her head gunner, also a Pegasus, went to the bar for information.
The bar was packed with Gaians of all nationalities. There were Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, New and Old crystal imperials, Lunars, Solars, hay, there were even a couple changelings. However, one pony in particular was who Twilight was looking for. Her two crew mates followed her, as the three sat down in a corner booth, across from a Lunar Pegasus stallion.
"Captain Twilight Sparkle, formerly Rear admiral Sparkle of the Solar Empire's fourth Armada. Dishonorably discharged due to a retreat against orders during to battle of North Point. Good to see you." The stallion introduced, off-handedly.
Captain Thunderlane, formerly the dread pirate Storm Cloud, King of all pirates. Disowned by pirates and factions alike due to the Southern Sea." Twilight returned, evenly.
There was a small pause, and then grins broke out amongst all four ponies' faces. "Ahh how are you doing you old horse you?" Thunderlane joked, sipping at a glass.
"Fairly well. You know Spike, but this is my new Gunnery Master, Lighting Dust." The opal mare shook the ex-pirate's hand.
"A pleasure." Thunderlane smiled, genuinely.
Twilight cracked her knuckles. "Alright, let's get down to business. You said..." She looked around, and lowered her voice. "You said you found something big?"
He whispered as well. "Aye. Ever heard of the SES Valiant ship?"
"Can't say I have."
He leaned in even closer. "She's a Homeship."
Twilight froze, and stared at the now grinning stallion.
She shook her head clear, then stared hard at the stallion. "My ship. Now."
Once in Twilight's private office, Thunderlane sat down across from the mare. "Ok, 'Lane, what's up?"
"Aside from the obvious? She's better than Celestia's Radiant. Two point nine kilometers long, five thousand, six hundred milimeters of armor on the deck, and it's got four fifty-five inchers; two on each end. Not to mention two forward torpedo tubes, several depth charge stations, no less than forty AA batteries, and twelve thirty-one inch guns."
"And you know this how?" Thunderlane opened his satchel, and placed on Twilight's desk a large, rolled up graph paper, with the ship's design specifications on it.
The stallion leaned over the desk. "I took my crew to where it's being built, up north. I estimate we have three months, and that we'll need a skeleton crew of five thousand to sail her and man the guns." He paused. "And she's guarded well, but..."
"But what?"
No guards on the ship itself, just unarmed engineers. And the defenses are all ocean-based. So, if we attack by land,"
"We could take the ship, turn it's guns on the defenses, and sail out with a Homeship." Twilight finished."
The pirate said nothing, but grinned widely. Twilight followed suit, her grin larger than his.
As the Thunderlane returned to his ship, Twilight established radio contact with the stallion, on a secure frequency. "Testing, testing, this is the Poseidon."
Thunderlane's radio operator replied back. "This is the Breaker, we receive you, over."
Thunderlane's ship, the Wave Breaker, was an Artedeux "Tiger" class battleship, with a full complement of AA guns, and 25 inch rifled guns. They left the dry dock, and were nearly out of the Crucible, when a shell flew across the battleship's stern.
Immediately, Twilighf's U-boat dived, and the two maneuvered to attack the enemy. It was a Griffonic battleship- Dreadnought class, armed with dangerous 33 inch smoothbore guns. The two battleships aimed their guns, and began to duke it out with each other, as Twilight's U-boat moved unseen through the water.
The Breaker's guns roared, one shell busting through the ship's side, above the waterline. Then, inexplicably, the griffon ship detonated spectacularly, and Twilight's U-boat surfaced, having hit the Griffon's ammunition room.
A Dreadnought was dangerous, but a U-boat, even more so. What really worried the two captains was why the Griffons had fired upon the battleship. According to Thunderlane, there was no reason for them to do so. It was...strange...
And their troubles were only just beginning.
Book 1: The Crucible
Chapter 2: The Homefleet
"Of course assaulting a Homefleet is impossible. I mean honestly, have you seen how many ships are in the supporting armada? Thousands. And a Homeship could probably destroy an armada on it's own, let alone when supported by an armada." -Ret. Admiral Soarin Wynters; Solar 15th exploration fleet
The Poseidon and the Wave Breaker had one destination at the moment- Solar waters. If Thunderlane's contact in the Solar Fleet was still reliable, the solar Homefleet was stationed at the Forlorn Isle, near the edge of what was regarded as Solar territory. That meant one of two things.
Either Celestia was back on the warpath, or she was on patrol. Twilight sincerely hoped it was the latter...
All worries aside though, the two ships- Twilight's U-boat moving at periscope depth- sailed towards the Forlorn Isle. The two arrived without issue, around eleven O' clock at night, western sea time.
Sure enough, they were halted by a massive Halifax class Broadsider battleship. Twilight surfaced the sub to avoid conflict, as a Halifax class Broadsider could go toe to toe with both the Breaker and the Poseidon. At this close range, a Broadsider would win hands down.
Broadsiders, like monitors, were subtypes of Battleships. Whereas monitors had massive guns, but much weaker armor, Broadaiders had large caliber but short ranged guns, and extremely thick armor. The armor on a Halifax class, for example,was designed to be 3.3 meters thick at the deck, and 3.8 at the belt.
Respectfully, neither side made defensive manouvers against each other, and guns were kept at rest position. A rowboat was sent from the Broadsider, carrying the Halifax's officer.
The officer of this particular Halifax class Broadsider knew Sparkle quite well, and Sparkle knew her quite well. "Welcome aboard my humble vessel, captain." Twilight greeted.
The mare snorted. "Humble is not how I'd put it, Sparkle. All the same, it's good to see you." The two shook hands.
Twilight smiled, faintly. "And you too, Sunset Shimmer." The red and yellow maned unicorn mare smiled as well.
"Alright, let's get to business. It's nice, catching up, but I'd imagine you have business around here?"
"Straight to the point, as always..." Twilight reminisced. She shook her head and continued. "Thunderlane and I need to speak with Celestia. It's urgent."
Shimmer frowned. "Urgent?"
Twilight nodded. "We got fired upon by a Griffonic Dreadnought class." Sunset blinked once. Twice.
An hour or so later and the former solar captain, along with the former king of pirates, sat in front of Celestia, who was sitting behind her office desk, on board the SES Radiant.
"So you both mean to tell me that a Griffonic national vessel fired upon both of your ships in the middle of The Crucible?" Celestia inquired, sipping at a cup of tea.
Thunderlane supplied the answer. "Aye. She nearly shot out one of my aft engine blocks. Twilight sunk it with a torpedo to the ammunition storage, but if not for that, she'd have sunk my Artedeux."
Twilight continued. "We were hoping that you would have known why the vessel fired upon us."
Celestia frowned. "I do not know why a lone Griffonic vessel would have fired upon two ships flying flags of neutrality, dreadnought or otherwise. A dreadnought is no good against a U-boat, and they hardly keep up with newer vessels like the Atedeux class ships as it is."
"Could they have been pirates flying a friendly flag?" Twilight inquired.
Thunderlane snorted. "What, against a neutral flag? They'd have sooner assumed we were changeling vessels or armed merchants and steered clear...no, this was a Griffonic vessel, with it's own orders."
"The captain could have had their own goals in mind, as well." The solar empire's monarch sipped at her tea. "They are griffons, after all. They aren't the most...authority-respecting race on Gaia."
"But then why would they have fired upon us, even accounting for that? I haven't made any griffons mad, and as far as I know, neither has Thunderlane." Twilight interjected, with said stallion nodding to confirm her supposition.
Celestia ran a hand down her dress' chest area, smoothing out a wrinkle in the fabric. "Then I do not see a reason that gave them plausible reason to fire upon you."
"Well...could a...you know...." Twilight trailed off, making a small circle with her right index finger. "A...uh... You know... Could they have ordered it?"
"Who, Twilight? You may have trained under my guidance a while ago, but that doesn't mean I understand what you mean when you deign not to say it aloud." The elder alicorn chuckled. "I am many things, but a telepath is not one of those things."
Twilight gulped, her throat dry. "Don't take this the wrong way, Celestia, but...uhm...could a Solarist have ordered them to attack us?"
Celestia paused, and the room temperature seemed to drop several degrees. "What?"
Twilight raised her hands in self-defense. " just hear me out, Celestia. You and I both know you maintain good relations with the Griffonic empire. Could a rogue, or angry Solarist have bought a Griffonic ship and it's crew, and ordered them to hunt me or Thunderlane down?"
"Twilight, do not point fingers at my ponies, please?"
Twilight met Celestia's gaze, and stood up from the desk. "Answer the question, your highness."
Celestia stood up as well. "Get. Out."
Thunderlane rose to his feet, but said nothing.
Twilight continued to press for answers. "Celestia, you have to admit it could be possible for an angry Solarist to have ordered us to be fired upon!"
Celestia's ethereal mane began to flicker with orange and yellow specks racing through it, her body shook with anger, and her eyes were nearly popping out of her sockets. The sun goddess' horn lit up in it's tell-tale yellow aura, and with a flash of light, both Twilight and Thunderlane found themselves in the SES Radiant's main dry dock.
All Homeship class battleships were outfitted with two or three miniature dry-docks, capable of holding up to two aircraft carrier class naval vessels, or five battleships. The Homeship dry docks operated like a canal lock would have, back in the old world. The dock is separated into three sections: the exit, the middle, and the docking station itself. Ships sailed into the middle of the lock, which was then sealed, and the water drained out. The ships were at this point suspended by massive lift cranes, powered by the Homeship's massive Diesel engines, and carried into the docking station, where they are set to rest for the duration of the dock. The whole process takes about a half hour, but can take up to two hours, depending on the type of ship.
This type of dry dock was where Twilight and Thunderlane now found themselves.
"Great!" Twilight groaned, balling her fists. "I ought to-"
"Ought to what, Twilight? You did piss her off on her own ship." Thunderlane reminded the alicorn mare.
"True, that was my fault, but we do still need answers."
The pirate stallion nodded. "Time to question the other half."
"The other half?" Thunderlane nodded, and smirked.
"Yeah, the other half." Just what the "other half" was, Twilight would have to wait to find out.
