First Clash

February 18, 2003 - Waters South of Mahé - Southern Expanse

Mahé was a small island in the Southern Expanse, only two kilometres long. It was uninhabited, much like the other Gaul territories in the Southern Expanse. They were controlled in name only, and had been untouched by humans for the past few centuries. 

After leaving leaving Kaafu, Java had planned to lead her task force to Diego Garcia, the center of the Southern Expanse. However, while they were preparing to get underway, they received word from the main Hollandian Fleet to rendezvous at Mahé. Now that Hollandia was no longer a part of the Europan War, they could freely mobilise their entire navy to take part in the hunt for the Builder. Admiral De Ruyter, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, had chosen to lead the fleet herself.

Looking through a pair of binoculars, Java could see a fleet coming towards them from the north. That was strange, as the main force wasn't scheduled to arrive for another day. As she stared at it longer, she realized the fleet was far too small to be the Hollandian main force. Some other nation knew where they were, and was headed straight for them. 

***

1126

Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya was the oldest of the four battleships of the Communist Union's Red Navy. She was one of the first shipgirls in the world to have been created by the Singularity, and had seen more battlefields in her lifetime than most. Now she was serving in a fleet under the command of an old friend of hers, Gnevny. She didn't know why they were here, but she trusted Gnevny. She had pulled off many miracles in the past, and seemed to have impossible knowledge and abilities. 

They had been planning to go to Mahé, but, now that there was another fleet there, things were going to get complicated. At the very least, it looked like it was a small force, and one that they had a definite advantage against. The Communist Union was still a neutral country, and, if they handled this situation well, that's how things would stay.

As she was thinking that, a phone rang on her bridge. She picked it up in her gloved hand and brought it up to her ear, hearing the receiver click as her long brown hair was pushed aside by her hand.

"This is Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya. Who is this?" 

The speaker on the other side responded in a quiet voice, their words slightly scrambled by the phone.

"Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya, this is Gnevny. Do you have visual on the fleet ahead of us?"

"Yes, I do." 

She walked out onto her observation deck, the phone still in her hand. From here, not only could she see the foreign fleet, but she could also see many of her allies, mostly destroyers, arrayed in a wide arc in front of her. She could also see her first turret, with three twelve-inch guns mounted side by side. Her other three turrets were behind her superstructure, and were just as powerful. 

"Good. Are they within your firing range?"

"Yes, they are. Why are you asking, Gnevny? Are you trying to start a war here?"

A noise came from the phone. Oktyabrskaya had to assume that it was a mechanical issue, because it was a sound that she had never heard from Gnevny's lips. It almost sounded like a laugh. 

"If you do this right, there won't be anyone to declare war on us. Your targets are the two cruisers. We will handle the destroyers and submarines. Fire at will."

Oktyabrskaya sighed, and put the phone on the steel railing as Gnevny hung up. She could see the destroyers and submarines that made up the rest of the fleet speeding up, Gnevny among them. 

"I'll do my job just fine, so make sure you don't drop the ball." She said aloud to no one in particular. She raised the barrels of her first turret, and fired.

***

1142

It had been fifteen minutes since the incoming fleet had sent three large shells flying at the Hollandian task force. It was clear to Java that they were outmatched, and would stand no chance in a fight. She sent a request for help to the main fleet, and then ordered her force to flee south. Within a few minutes, they had gotten out of the enemy battleship's range, but the enemy destroyers kept slowly closing the distance between them. 

During the few minutes that the battleship's guns were able to reach them, several of its large shells struck Java's hull with devastating force. Her aft-most gun mount had been completely destroyed, reducing her ability to defend against the destroyers. She had also lost a number of her internal systems, and while the damage wasn't serious to her hull, it was for her body. She was suffering from internal bleeding in several spots, and one of her arms had been blown off completely. The pain was overwhelming, to the point that she could hardly even move, yet she still kept sailing on. 

If they could last for a day, the main fleet would arrive. They just had to hold out long enough...

What was she even saying? Java knew that they wouldn't last that long. In less than fifteen minutes, the destroyers would catch up to them and sink them all. Even if the battleship was too far away to fire, the destroyers alone had Java's task force completely outmatched. 

She looked out at the horizon ahead of her, praying for the sight of her sister, Sumatra, and the other ships of the main force. She couldn't believe her eyes. There was a fleet there. It wasn't the main fleet, it looked too small for that. Had they been caught in a pincer? It didn't matter. It looked like this was going to be the end. 

***

1146

The two fleets ahead of them were still engaged. The aggressor's battleship had fallen back, unable to keep up with the speed at which the battle was moving. The defenders were far outmatched. There were half a dozen of them, easily outnumbered by the twenty-some destroyers charging at them. The largest of their ships, a mere light cruiser, had taken significant damage, and was visibly slowing.

Dunkerque, the commander of the fleet sent by the Republic of Gaul to take part in the international hunt, would normally not have cared. The actions of foreign nations were not any problem of hers, especially if those nations were at war with each other. However, the battleship was now sitting only a few kilometres off of Mahé. 

Mahé was a Gaul colony, and, as such, the waters around it were also Gaul's. Since the aggressors seemed to want to start as many wars as they could, and were already picking a fight with the Republic by being in their territory, Dunkerque figured she might as well indulge them.

She picked up an intercom, holding it to her mouth as she sent out a message to the two fleets.

"Attention, unidentified fleet. This is the Gaul battleship Dunkerque, Rear Admiral of the Marine Nationale. You are currently in Gaul waters. Surrender yourselves immediately, or face the consequences."