Legends

Chapter 11: The First Battle

Thus far the East Coast had been relatively untouched by the Abyssal War. New Jersey's magazine explosion notwithstanding, the Atlantic as a whole had remained relatively quiet compared to the fiery hellstorms that the allied fleets were dealing with in the Pacific. Not that there hadn't been attacks on US soil. A handful, all relatively minor and isolated but intel suggested these had been just preludes. The Abyssals feeling out their opponent in the west before turning their attentions away from a ravaged Europe. This was the first strike. And it came unexpectedly. There was evidence of an Abyssal carrier if the 109s streaking overhead as they concentrated their fire on the Command building were anything to go by. They were being backed up by old Swordfish biplanes which through MSSB made short work of the modern jets sent up to defend the base. From over the trees and presumably at Crystal Lake, a group of cruisers bombarded the base's runways and infrastructure as the planes used their guns to take out fleeing personnel.

This is what Tegran and Olympia saw as they reached the shore. Normandie had gotten the shipgirl contingent together and was doing her best to coordinate some sort of counterattack but her inexperience showed. Tegran was a Captain in Her Majesty's Navy. She had lost her only command to the Abyssals at the start of the war but not before inflicting damage the bastards wouldn't soon forget. And she'd been ordered to this base to train and protect her American counterparts. She didn't hesitate. She stepped off the dock, into the water.

Her rigging deployed immediately. It was dilapidated, rusted and in danger of falling apart due to the neglect she had given it over the years. But for now it held, keeping her afloat. "Muster stations!" She ordered her crew who immediately followed her commands. Passengers left the hallways and decks and retreated to their cabins out of the way unless otherwise tapped for assistance by the crew. The small arms were readied by the officers and boxes of flares were put out on either side of her bridge ready for firing. It wasn't much but it was all they had. Tegran took stock of the fleet's situation.

Normandie's pilots, despite their inexperience were holding off the worst of the incoming air strikes for now. The destroyers were quick and light on their feet, darting in to the mouth of the lake and out of the barrage as they quickly launched their torpedoes, then retreated under the cover of the fire from the shore batteries.

Tegran steamed up next to the converted carrier. "Normandie, give me a sit rep!" She ordered. She could see the questions burning in Normandie's eyes but the carrier wisely shoved them aside. Now was not the time!

"We've got a heavy cruiser contingent that's in Crystal Lake. Their carriers are presumably offshore somewhere to the south. I've got scouts looking near Ortley." Normandie answered.

"What are their numbers?"

"I count 4 heavies and 2 light cruisers. They look like Ne's and Ho's." Normandie replied. "The shore batteries are helping to redirect their fire off the main base. Bluenose and Thebaud are working on setting up the hidden battery for the aircraft to keep them away from the city."

"That's about as best as we can hope for right now." Tegran sighed. "Alright coordinate with Olympia." She began as said cruiser came up beside them. "Olympia, take Champlain and Nuenzer down the Tom's River to Crossley. I need to know how these bastards got so far inland without us knowing and if there's more on the way to outflank us."

"Yes ma'am."

"Normandie, I want aircover over the Heights and Beachwood on both sides of the river. If anything tries to slip in, I want to know about it!"

"Yes ma'am!" Normandie quickly developed that glassy eyed look that all carriers get when they were 'talking' to their planes. "Done!" She said as her scouts diverted their search for the missing Abyssal carrier and took up station guarding the river mouth. The rest of her planes began a series of dive bombs on the cruisers, harassing them and messing up their previously accurate fire.

"Good, the two of you coordinate. Normandie you see and report, NO heroics."

"Understood." The carrier nodded.

"What are you going to do?" Olympia asked.

Tegran's grin was unlike anything ever seen on an ocean liner. Olympia tried to think of a term better than bloodthirsty. "I, am going to teach those bastards a lesson in why they shouldn't attack US soil."

......................

The leader of the Abyssal squadron was a Ne-class. She was one of the old guard, the first to appear and wreak havoc on the earth. Those golden times were but a happy memory. Now it was a fight for every scrap of land and she could sense the tide was starting to turn. Something within her said what she was doing now would backfire and spell the end for every Abyssal out there. But the rest of her was happy to be drawing blood once more. And to be doing so from her beloved flagship, the great Lone Princess. Though she was not a warship, her beloved Princess had the heart of one and the Ne was honored to be the one chosen to carry out her orders. Her ichor sang and her cold heart trilled at the sound of her gunfire. Let the fire rain down!

.............................

One of the advantages to being human for so long was that you got used to it. There was little difficulty in the transition between sea and land as most kanmusu experienced when first putting away their rigging. For Tegran, stepping onto the beach and into the thick woods was as easy as simply disembarking from a cruise ship. Chatelin, Davis, and the cruiser Portland, a new summons from Norfolk were her escort. They were not as adaptable.

"Ugh, now I've got mud inside my shoes. Every time I step it goes squish!"

"Ach! Mossies, they're everywhere!"

"Someone please tell me why I'm stuck with these two brats." Portland fumed.

"Less whining more walking." Tegran said sternly in a tone that demanded silence. She got it and for the next mile it was maintained. As they came to a clearing though, she held up her hand. The company stopped and dropped low to the ground, muscles tense and even though they couldn't nor wouldn't dare deploy their rigging on land, it was hard to resist the urge. Especially when a rustle was heard. Tegran waited a few seconds, then lunged. There was an "oomph" sound and when Tegran looked she found herself sitting on Bluenose who looked up at her half frightened, half amused. "And my dream of being tackled by an ocean liner comes true." She purred.

Tegran briefly wondered how Bluenose could have known so quickly then realized that the sneaky schooner had probably been watching from the trees. She rolled her eyes and climbed off her. "Friendly." She called to her companions who relaxed when they saw who it was. Thebaud was leaning back against an oak tree, grinning like she'd just swallowed a canary. Bluenose glared at her. "Not. One. Word." She said and the American yacht threw up her hands, shaking her head in agreement while still grinning.

Tegran sighed and ordered the pair to join her in silence which they somehow managed to do. Not easy for a pair of chatterbox schooners.

The group managed to circle to the south shore of Crystal Lake, behind the Abyssal fleet. "Spread out." Tegran ordered them. "And stay hidden."

Attacking an enemy fleet from land was not just a risky strategy, usually it had the same result as storming an uphill beach against an enemy in a dependable fortified position. Memories of the aftermath of Iwo Jima surged up before she could stifle them and Tegran shuddered. "Oiii...." Andrews soft spoken voice pulled her back to the present before she could bury her bows in the past. After all, this would be very different than Iwo Jima. Tegran looked around her, having not just the view of an average human but also the view from the perspective of her lookouts, high in her crows nest. Their vision transferred to her. And what she could see made the grin on her face even wider. "This, is going to be magnificent." She said to herself. Taking one last look at the oblivious Abyssals, still concentrating their fire on Normandie's pesky planes, the liner merged into the thick woods, becoming one with them.