Poseidon's Fury

[Holy Frankish Empire]

GDS Planète

Long Sea

Acting Commander Reinhardt watched through his binoculars at the horizon. GDS Planete and GDS Pomme were little more than glorified fishing vessels which were adapted to minesweeping. A bead of sweat ran from his receding hairline and trickled down his nose. The sea was unusually calm but the area was unusually hot for May. The Planete's bridge fans had stopped working as the Planete dipped its nose foward at a steady and pathetic 12 knots. About a half mile astern lay GDS Pomme. Reinhardt, the son of a Burgundian mother and Eiffellandian father, was increasingly annoyed at his mission. While the ship was fitted with sonar, it was defenseless to attack by any vessel short of a rowboat with a pistol. He sighed as his binoculars swung around again. Reinhardt saw himself on a fools errand. The might of the Burgundian Navy mostly lay in port or on senseless patrols, far away from the Long Sea. His binoculars came down as he sipped his coffee. He left the bridge with its two men on watch plus the helmsman and made his way to the deck. They gray paint was faded and chipped but the vessel had almost no rust to her. Reinhardt looked intently at his crew who were beginning to engage in routine tasks to stay busy. He assumed Lieutenant Blanciar on the Pomme had his crew doing similar things. A midshipman approached and urged him onto the bridge. Reinhardt was assuming a message was coming in from the Pomme which had exhibited engine problems before setting sail. Instead a crewman in engineer's coveralls pointed with an extended arm. Reinhardt brought his binoculars to his eyes and grimaced before turning to the helmsman to cut speed to half and called down the hatchway to the radio room to inform the Pomme to do the same.

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Eastern Long Sea

GDS Planète and Pomme had both turned around and left the Long Sea after spotting a large squadron on the horizon. Unknown to Commander Reinhardt, GDS Victoire, an aging battleship, had quietly nosed into the Long Sea with the old destroyer Ouistreham. The Victoire was the Burgundian flagship until 1951 and had undergone several refits in her days, most recently in 1953. The aft gun platforms had been removed and replaced with rocket batteries and a helicopter pad. Most of the secondary guns had been removed and replaced with smaller anti-air batteries. The bridge was much unlike the Planete. Commodore Claude de Vermette stood on Victoire's bustling bridge. de Vermette was nearing his 72nd year. He had passed the mandatory retirement age 5 years earlier but nobody had the heart to force him to retire. He was a favorite of all Burgundian sailors for his ability to remember the lowliest of sailors and for his manner of command. de Vermette was also one of the few serving officers to see combat. He was quietly known as the "Lion of Belsa". At the Battle of Belsa in 1919, de Vermette was a junior officer on board a destroyer and during the battle became the most senior officer after horrific casualties. de Vermette ordered the ship abandoned apart from a few men. He then turned his ship into a battering ram, steaming full speed into the side of a cruiser despite withering fire. In part he remained in service for these actions. He had also refused the rank of Admiral twice. Now de Vermette stared through binoculars as the ship moved forward at a steady 22 knots, the Ouistreham traveling a mile astern of the mighty battleship. The deployment had stayed from the news. His orders were ambiguous but ordered him to sail to Eiffelland and resupply. There he would receive further orders. Suddenly a petty officer called out a submarine off the starboard quarter. The ship went to battle stations for the first time since drills a month before.