Drums of War (Abyssal Operation Hydra)
| Drums of War (Abyssal Operation Hydra) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 06 June 2017 |
| Location: | Central Sea Zone |
| Synopsis: | A routine United States Navy patrol comes across something unexpected. The enemy is making their move. |
| Cast of Characters: | 2211 |
| Tinyplot: | Abyssal Operation Hydra |
Mood BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcCrxjGBEgk
Patrol Squadron 63
Destroyers USS Gridley and USS Farragut
North-Central Pacific, 235 nautical miles from nearest shoreline
--
"Sir, we have a visual contact. Also appearing on radar."
Captain Haddock leans over the radarman's shoulder, examining the scope. Once he has the bearing, he steps away to peer out the bridge's windows with his binoculars. Lowering them, he squints, then lifts them again, "Looks like Black Fleet. Solo. New type. Gunners to stations."
Since the first appearance of the Abyssal Navy, these kinds of defensive patrols have become the norm for American servicemen. Most enemy activity has been centered on the south Pacific, amidst the islands and atolls, but occasionally small groups wander this far North and need to be chased off. A task that the United States Navy has used to its advantage, as firmly drilled sailors dash to their positions. Gridley's forward gun rotates and de-elevates.
On the captain's order, the gun fires a single shell and promptly ejects its spent casing.
Across the waves, a pale-skinned woman in a black, ragged uniform weaves to one side, the water erupting in a geyser. It wasn't even directly aimed at her. A warning shot. Though her eyes are hidden behind the armored visor covering her face, her lips curl. The Farragut's gun fires next, the shot landing closer, and the Abyssal ship-girl leans away from it. Her feet dig in and she slides to a stop, regarding the vessels. She presents her full profile to the captain's binoculars, lifting the bulky shields she carries and slamming them down against the ocean's surface.
"Shield batteries. Some modification on the Ru class?" Captain Haddock lowers his binoculars again, "She's moving into an attack posture. No more warning shots, send her packing." At the order, the Gridley's gun opens up again. The reload is only a few seconds, the cannon mount ejecting spent casings as fast as it can launch their contents. The magazine's 10 rounds are emptied in short order, and the fire halts while the men below decks wrestle a fresh one into place.
On the water, the unknown Abyssal ship lifts her shields. Water erupts around her and shells slam into the barrier she presents, skipping off across the waves. Once the barrage ends, though, she simply lowers her arms to display the fanged smirk she's wearing. One shield is raised, then slammed into its partner, producing a clash of steel that resounds across the sea. Captain Haddock's eyes narrow when he hears it. The rhythmic pounding of one shield against the other.
"Captain, the sonar--!"
As the unknown Abyssal slams her equipment together, black shapes rise out of the sea around her. The smooth black hulls of Abyssal destroyers. The mangled, semi-human shapes of cruisers. A similarly pale woman in a crisp black uniform and peaked cap, trailing snakes from the small of her back tipped with cannons. A pale girl with short white hair, wearing gauntlets fashioned out of torpedo launchers.
Behind them, the sea begins to swell, a black shape rising from within the gathering Abyssal fleet. The Dreadnought continues slamming her rigging together, the drums of war soon joined by the Heavy Cruiser's cannons striking together. To her other side, the Destroyer girl glances to her comrades, then closes her gauntlets into fists and joins the cacophony by slamming her knuckles together.
Captain Haddock drops his binoculars, too stunned to speak.
Rising from the sea behind that row of devils, the unmistakably massive, barnacle-encrusted, flat-topped form of an aircraft carrier, water still pouring out of openings in the sides and sluicing off the flight deck in sheets.
