Deviation Actions
Description
The Iron Duke was the fastest and best armored ship in the Cerulean skyfleet. Her twelve 16'in guns together with her state of the art fire control and rader systems, make her the deadliest ship in the Cerulean Empire.
As the most modern and best equiped ship of her day, she was penciled in as the new flagship for the Empire skyfleet even before her launch, following the tradion of the Cerulean Empire, the ship and her captain along with all her commissioned officers were made knights of the Empire by the emperor during her launch ceremonary.
Thats was when the emperor was shot by a suspected pirate sniper who managed to got away. The death of the Emperor made her the last knight, as the empire collapsed before a new emperor took the throne
She was put under command of Admiral Albert Graf von Spee in the hunt for the sky pirates, the Sky Raiders, the suspects of the crime.
8 months after her launch, she engaged the Sky Raiders' ship, Raider in a duel in which she was destroyed with the Raider.
Badoom. Badoom.
The ship hull shook as the conning tower's occupants grimaced.
"Fore avgas bunker's gone."
"Divert and see about overpressuring reserves."
"Aye sir."
"Turret C reports jam, one of the shells were a dud."
The captain winced, and turned to the helmswoman. "Turn us obliquely, have the rear guns do over the shoulder shots."
"...aye." She pushed back the rising dread. To do such a thing meant that the battle was becoming desperate. What had happened?
===
"Get those fires out!"
"Ri-AAUGH!"
"Medic!"
"Don't bother, just tend to him here, the ward's already full up!"
"Goddamnit, what's-" Another blast rocked the deck. The Iron Duke listed, but the young woman still had some fight in her and she remained, miraculously, upright.
"A-are we going to make it through this?"
"Yeah. Come on, it won't happen if we don't give it our all!"
Damage Control Team 3 hurried to put out the fire and patch some of the damaged avgas tanks.
===
Shells flew back and forth, ripping into either ship. The Raider was visibly burning from a few places amidships, and one of her main guns were out of action. In turn though, her broadside at the beginning had ripped a long series of dents and more than a few holes into the Iron Duke's flanks. A smoking ruin was all that was left of the bridge, while the port secondary bank was in tatters.
To cap it off, the Cerulean battleship was holed through the bow, the avgas tanks inside empty. Still, she fought on, refusing to bend the knee.
Another shot from its main cannons. C had gotten the gun cleared now and they were back in the fight. With a full broadside striking its hull the Raider visibly moved, yet came off not much the worse apparently. Meanwhile, a few bits of railing peeled away to fall into the abyss, the blast of the 16in guns having been closer than was safe.
On it went. Raider's A, B, and Z guns were blasted apart, yet it continued to fight with its C and Y. The much feared torpedo banks let loose and this time the Iron Duke could not evade them all. A blast went up from amidships. She listed, and this time her legs gave out from under her.
The captain ordered an emergency turn and fired the guns in quick succession, attempting to strike the Raider down with the Iron Duke, but without his A and Y, he didn't have the fire rate, and the maneuver presented an excellent angle.
A salvo slammed through the belt armor. Avgas burst out of their tanks.
As she began to fall, the crew could swear that a young woman spoke to them in sorrowful tones.
"I'm so sorry... I failed..."
The Raider, not willing to let the Iron Duke pass with grace, bracketed it again on the way down, before limping out of the battlespace.