1275psi
Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005 Status: offline
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19th Of may 120 miles south west of Portland NIGHT. Hornet wallows, moving at 10 knots now. About her, literally, the terrors of the night. Too many men have died in the last 200 years in these waters, too many ships have come to grief. Now, in the dark, in the rain, in these endless rollers, in this damn, damn dark, Her Captain can see how easily he can join them. Hornet is dark, blackened out, trying to hide. But not all the darkness is self induced, the fires, the flooding, has cut her generating ability to a critical limit. Her comms, basically, have failed. Her Navigator is working more by guess work than fact,' he has not been able to get a fix for , God, how many hours? Not since those damn battleships appeared. The Captain strains his eyes against the night, against the rain, seeking to see where the dark becomes darker, delineating where the sea becomes killing cliffs. Loch ard gorge, Tasmania, not so far apart really. And so many damn islands in between. Hornet struggles on, the rain beats down, the sea continues its slow, slow swallow up of his command. Melbourne seems a million miles away. And then, for a minute, it seems like ten million "Unknown ship!, bearing 230 degrees!" Men freeze. A thousand minds wonder just how long they can remain alive in these seas. "It's the Phoenix!"" It is the phoenix,, and she is not in much shape. 4 14 inch shells have hit her. Just 4. X turret is gone. The aft funnel is gone. She lists too. But she is here, here alongside, shepherding Hornet again. DD's Morrison, Blue, also join. Hornets Captain can return to his main worry, getting safely through the straight. Melbourne no longer seems so far away, now that they are no longer alone. No longer alone............ Starshells ripple across the sky, shimmering in the rain. CL Sendai, 3 DD's, cutting across the bow.......Torpedoe tubes swinging their way. Phoenix flashes her lights.......""Help is near, I will hold this little barsted off.......run" At ten knots, Hornet does.
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big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
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