Times of War and Diplomacy

[johncmcleod]

Times of War and Diplomacy
by John McLeod

Chapter 1: Unification of an Empire

[Note: This is a story loosely based on a Civ 3 game. Though I give reference to actually places (the Dunvegan castle at the Isle of Skye is real. It’s my ancestors’ land, home of the MacLeods of Lewis), this isn’t played with a world map. I just named places of my kingdom after the British provinces. Also, the rebellion is just a storyline for a change of government. And finally, when I mention a division I don’t mean one unit or one army. I just mean a large group of units.]

The members of the Lords of Wales rowed through an eerie mist that crawled through the straight, blocking out the moon and the stars. They were headed towards the Dunvegan Castle, home of the MacLeods of Lewis in the Isle of Skye. There they would meet up with their Scottish counterpart, the Lords of Scotland. They had no more time to consider their upcoming meeting, as the large estate came into view. The boats finally crashed upon the sandy shore, making a crunching noise. The knights quietly strolled up to the castle doors. The leader of them grabbed the ring of a knocker in the shape of a dragons’s head and pounded it on the thick, wooden door. A narrow slit opened in the door. Two blue eyes of a servant looked through.

“They have some sir!” He yelled across the hallway to his master.

“Good. Let them in.” A strong voice replied. It was the voice of John MacLeod, Chief of the MacLeods. The door creaked as it slowly opened. The knights from Wales, all 51 of them, walked in and were showed to a large room filled with chairs. The Lords of Scotland were already seated, along with a couple other English.

“Saxon scum!” A Welsh knight spat.

“Settle down! We must learn to work together. After all, a strong and unified Britain is what we want.”

The Welsh took seats in the large room. The was a space at the front of the room for speakers. John went up to speak.

“As you all know, we have met today to devise a plan for the removal of Elizabeth. She is weak and indecisive. Russia is at war with our great friends, Germany. If we come to their aid now, the combination of our forces may be enough to stop the Russians. If we don’t, Germany will be crushed. And then Russia will come to us and feast on British blood. Another reason is we need to get rid of this terrible government. Anyone with common sense could tell a monarchy is not a good way to run a country. Britain had very prosperous and peaceful times back several hundred years ago with a republic as a government. But the monarchy took over. We need to set up a republic. After Elizabeth is removed, I propose one candidate from Wales, Scotland, England, and Ireland would run for a Prime Minister. The public would vote for who would run the country. Whoever won would then kill Elizabeth (who’ll be in captivity) and would then have eternal youth. And there would be no more taxation without representation!” (-: The knights cheered after that. “All in favour of me say I!” The knights roared in approval.

“Good then. I have already planned an assault that would rid Elizabeth from Britain. She is staying at Count Sheffield’s castle. Though she has a guard of over 400 swordsmen, but we have such great fighting skills, and I think they won’t be a problem. Our main advantage is surprise. The swordsmen all are facing to the east of the castle, to the land. This is because the water side of the castle is being guarded by many galleys. The commander of this fleet is on our side, and he‘ll let us through. They won‘t expect us coming from that side.”

“John, I think it should be you who leads this mission. You have better fighting skills than I.” Dylan Howell, commander of the Welsh knights said.

“Very well then. We’ll load up on the boats tomorrow at 6:00. Any questions? Good.” With that the knights all went off to their quarters and went to bed.

The next morning the knights got on their horses and loaded up on several large galleys and rowed through the fog on to Sheffield’s castle. When they got to the line created by the English galleys, they passed through and went on to the shores of Sheffield’s estate. When they got there, they unloaded and galloped towards the castle.

Edward Gallagher was one of the Scottish knights. He was extremely glad to be on their mission. He thought Elizabeth was a good person but a terrible leader. Many generals went off with their own troops on their own and did as they pleased. She was weak and had no control over them. Edward stopped his thoughts as they neared the castle. For the first time in a long time he pondered death. He might not ever leave this field, and it scared him. It was his first time fighting in a large battle. He was very well skilled, you had to be to be a Lord of Scotland, and had fought well in many small skirmishes, but nothing this big.

He got an adrenaline rush as he saw the swordsmen come to meet the knights. He had hoped they could get the queen first, but then again he was getting the battle out of the way.

From the beginning Edward could tell the knights would annihilate the swordsmen. The first assaulting wave of swordsmen was immediately torn down by the knights in the front. Edward galloped to the front of the battle, looking for action. A swordsmen charged him. Their swords met with a clang, and then Edward skillfully faked low and then let out a yell as he chopped of the Saxon’s head. Another Saxon near saw Edwards skills and began to flee. Edward ran over him with his horse.

Edward then got to more business. He charged another Saxon who wasn’t facing the same way as Edward. Edward thrust his sword into the Saxon’s back and dragged him several yards before he could get his sword out of the man’s spine. The Englishman looked like a human shish-ka-bob. Edward galloped towards another Saxon and with great precision and skill knocked the sword from the Saxon’s hand and then sliced the Saxon through his abdomen, causing his guts to pour out. The next Saxon Edward headed for didn’t go down so easily. He ran up behind Edward and aimed for his neck. Edward moved at the last moment, but fell off his horse. The swordsman pounced on Edward. Edward flung his arm out and knocked over the swordsman. They both got up. The swordsman faked to the left and then bashed Edward on the head, rattling the helmet and causing a good deal of noise, which distracted Edward. The swordsman slashed at Edward’s sword, knocking it out of his hands. But Edward wasn’t finished. He tackled the swordsman and knocked his sword out of his hands. They both got up, and the Scotsman started punching the swordsman to death with his brass knuckles.

Edward had been so busy fighting his own battles he didn’t look around at the unfolding situation around him. In a matter of minutes, the knights had routed the swordsman. The ground was covered with dead Saxons, and Edward only saw five or six knights on the ground. The remaining Saxons were running away up a road headed towards another city. “Cowards,” Edward mused to himself. He then looked up and saw some knights head for the castle, and he followed. They road through the lush, once emerald and now bloodstained red grasses towards the gray stone fortress. They were met with a fortune when they got there. The keykeeper had been slain, and his keys were lying right next to the door. The knights opened up the door and set out to look for Elizabeth. Edward galloped through the house filled with elegant furnishings, noting every turn he took. He finally got to the guest bedroom where Elizabeth was. She was madly trying to fit many belongings into a large suitcase. She gasped as she saw Edward and several other knights come into the room, including Howell and MacLeod.

“Sorry Elizabeth. We just need a somewhat decent leader in times like this. You’re under arrest.

“Ohhhh,” Elizabeth groaned, “Please don’t put me in a hot and smelly prison. And I demand that I get four milk baths a day.” The knights exploded out laughing. “Don’t laugh! How can you blame a girl just trying to keep clean?” Elizabeth wasn’t joking, and didn’t find the situation very funny. She was put in chains and lead away.

Edward hoped the new republic being set up would become a strong government quickly. He hoped that a good part of the British military would immediately pledge its allegiance to the new government. The cold German winter would only last another three or four months, and when it ended, the Russians would resume their offensive. Bismarck would need all the help he could get.



So what do ya think so far? If you think this will be bad, don't give up hope. Keep checking for chapter 2, this will get better. I think this will blow my best story yet, A Grand Day, out of the water.

[Metaliturtle]

Personal preference forces me to say, "Please separate dialogue!!"

[johncmcleod]

Separate dialogue? What do you mean? I started a new paragraph after something was said by a different person.

[The Bloody Baro]

Keep it up!!!!!!!!!

[Jaguar]

ok, while you read my story I'll read yours.

[Jaguar]

*goes off to nominate it*

[johncmcleod]

Chapter 2
The Beginning of Vengeance

3.441 months later

“Stewart, read me your reports of our troops again, will you? I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” Prime Minister MacLeod said to his Military Advisor.

“We have one pikeman division based in London, the London Guard. We have another pikeman division in Liverpool, one in Coventry, and one in Newport. We have four pikeman divisions, 19 knight divisions, and 10 swordsmen divisions are all based at Nuremberg. Sir, are you still sure you want everything based there?”

“Yes, I am. Instinct tells me not to, but then again, it is impossible for the Russians to send an army over the Trummerberg, Regenmantel, and Schach mountain ranges. Four peaks of them haven’t been scaled yet. How are they supposed to send an army over those mountains? And what about the catapults? Catherine has yet to mount an invasion without catapults. She’s obsessed with them. And an attack by sea is impossible. The Germans have almost destroyed the entire Russian navy. They can’t send more than Catherine’s body guard. The Russians have no choice but to travel through Nuremberg.”

“You’re right, I guess.” The Military Advisor sighed.

“Just to think. Remember it was only three and a half months ago when we overthrew the government? With the soldiers of the former queen’s army that were loyal to us, we had 4 divisions. Now after the mobilizing we have 36.”

At that moment a servant of John MacLeod came into the room, out of breath.

“Sir! Remember the squadron of galleys with explorers on them you sent away 1 year ago? The ships you loaded with explorers and sent for the far southwestern seas?

“Yes. Why?”

“Well, um, they found a continent down there inhabited by a people called ‘Greeks’. The first thing our sailors did was what you told them to do, trade world maps. Well, here’s their world map.” The advisor gave John a map of Greece. “The second thing they did was also what you ordered them to do. We traded some of our silks for one of their luxuries, spices. Those are at the port right now. But the third thing they did, was not one of your orders.

Apparently the captain of one of the ships figured out a way to smoke the spices, and he got high and ordered the ships to attack [that was the work of a ‘friend’, he attacked them and then saved over my previous game]. One of the ships was destroyed and then other one was badly damaged but managed to get away with the maps and spices. Well, they’re back and they have bad news. The Greeks are rather angry with us and our ships saw them send a large invasion force against us. Luckily they don’t know about Desertania (a continent found by British explorers that had no resources and was nothing but desert and uninhabitable), and they’re going to sail right into it. That’ll slow them down, but nonetheless, they’ll be here in a week!”

“What!” John screamed at the top of his lungs. “SO WE’RE ABOUT TO HAVE ENEMIES WITH (PUT TOGHETHER) A FOURFOLD ADVANTAGE OF MEN OVER US BECAUSE OF SOME DRUGGIE @^*&#? THAT’S OUTRAGEOUS!” He slammed his fist on the table, almost knocking it over.

“Yep. That pretty much sums it all up.”

At that moment John exhaled the contents of his stomach all over the servant.

“You may leave now,” John ordered in an embarrassed voice.




General Edward Gallagher looked at a piece of parchment that one of his servants had given to him. He barked orders to his aides.

“Get the men lined up immediately. We’re moving out. You there! Yes, you in the gay looking purple tights! Gather the workers and tell them to pack up. C’mon! Let’s move!” The large camp was crawling with thousands of soldiers trying to get in order for marching and hundreds of servants and workers packing up tents and other things. The whole process lasted about 20 minutes. At the end it was a beautiful sight. Thousands of troops were all in perfect rows, and they were followed by workers carrying packs and lead by Gallagher’s officers. They began to march briskly through the day and into a good part of the night, taking little breaks. Though the walk through the hills, plains, and deserts was not very strenuous, the soldiers didn’t get a chance to look at the beautiful Regenmantel Mountains, for they were using up all of their energy going as fast as they could towards the coast. The same thing happened for the next few days, and everyone was always too tired to even remember it. The whole march seemed like a dreamland.

When it was all over, the men loaded up onto the thousands ships [one galley unit obviously isn’t one ship] waiting for them. Almost the whole entire navy was there. When the last of the ships loaded up, they left for Britain. The Greeks would be there in only days. The British would just be in the nick of time.



Admiral Edmund Cunningham went to bed with an unusually uneasy feeling. The last time he had a feeling like this, it was the night before the Richardson Crisis. He just couldn’t figure out what could go wrong…

“LARGE FLEET AHEAD!!!! LARGE FLEET AHEAD!!!!” The watchman screamed. Bells on all the ships began to ring and the soldiers got up, not knowing what was happening. Edmund woke up from his sleep immediately. He looked out the window of his quarters. The stars had moved. And sure enough, the moon and the stars illuminated a massive fleet, bigger than the British one, coming out of the mist, right towards the galleys. He ran outside and yelled to the other ships the orders. The would all turn around and go the opposite way, towards the German fleet. The combined fleets would be enough to destroy the Greeks.

Edmund watched as the ships carried out their orders. The were heading towards Germany full sails. He didn’t think the Greeks could stand a chance against the speed of the galleys. That changed as he looked on in horror at the opposing fleet.

“Yancey!” He called to one of his officers. Yancey quickly came to him. “Are those ships getting closer or am I crazy?”

“Well, I think…oh Lord. You’re right. They’re much fast than we are!” Yancey got down on his knees and started praying. Edmund was about to say something to him when an arrow went right through Yancey’s skill, in one ear and out the other. Edmund heard the screams of several other sailors. He summoned the courage to turn around. Another large Greek fleet was heading right for them, and was within range.

“ATACK!!!” Edmund screamed. The ships exchanged volleys of arrows. Several arrows landed right by Edmund, though none hit him. At the same time, the fleet behind him was closing in and within firing range. The British fleet was being crushed by the largest naval fleet in history. The life was literally being squeezed out of the British military in one night.

Edmund stood there right on the deck, giving out orders despite being in the open. “Fire at that ship!” He ordered to the marine archers. They complied and shot hail after hails of arrows at it. He stopped what he was doing as he saw the other ships. The Greek ships behind him were firing arrows tipped with fire at the Brits. The ship right behind Edmund was almost immediately incinerated. The fires spread faster than the fastest British messengers up onto the sails and mast. The bottom of the mast collapsed and fell through the deck, setting everything on fire. He watched in horror as sailors covered with fire were running around crazily, jumping off the ship.

Edmund turned around to see the ship that had just been closing in on his ship still there, and only feet away from Edmund. Below its waterline there was a bronze ram in the shape of a serpent. He didn’t have time to look at it much longer. It bashed the ships hull, smashing a large whole below the waterline. The ship shuddered, then began to tip over from the awesome force of the blow.

“TO THE DEATH!!!!!!” Those were the last orders the admiral would give.

The London Palace
That morning, several hours later


“Sir, I regret to inform that the whole British fleet has disappeared.” It was one of John’s cabinet members.

John dropped his tea, breaking the mug. He still kept eye contact with the servant.

“Could you please repeat that?” John was trying to keep calm, but he was shaking and sweating.

“You heard me. We’re doomed!” The cabinet member ran out of the room, afraid of John’s reaction. Though John was a kind person, anyone who had something this terrible happen to them would lose their temper.

“Sir, Alexander is here to see you.” It was a servant of John. Alexander strutted into the room with a smirk on his face.

“I really like your @^$# hat and that gay makeup you’re wearing,” John spat.

“I don’t think you are in the position to say things like that. After all, you started this war.” Alexander grinned.

“Let’s get this over with. What do you want for peace?!”

“Well, first I’d like a small tax of, hmm, 19 gold per year and an amount of incense, ivory, and silks per year. All of this for 20 years. And, I just signed a mutual protection pact with Russia, which is at peace with you don’t worry. Don’t ask how, it’s a long story but it was my work. I will always renew that pact with Russia when it ends, so don’t get any ideas about going to help your friend, Germany. They’re doomed. So how about it?”

“Deal!” John grimaced, but he knew it was the only way for peace.


One week later


General Dylan Howell got a message telling him to report to London. He was still shook up about what had happened. He and the other generals were on the only boat that survived. It made him feel guilty. He wondered what the message was for, though.



General Edward Gallagher got the same message, along with all of the former Lords of Wales and Scotland.



A servant showed the generals into John’s room and then locked the doors. John was first to speak.

“No, this isn’t a reunion of the Lords of Scotland and Wales. It’s because of what Alexander has done to us. Because of this treaty, you will be going behind enemy lines. You will completely lose identity of who you are and where you are from. If they capture one of you and they see you’re from here, we’ll be destroyed. I am about to send letters to your next of kin saying you’re dead. They can’t know you exist. If anyone doesn’t want to be part of this, please leave the room.” No one did. “Good then. You will be landing off the coast of Texacoco. That’s a strange name for a Greek city, don’t you think? Anyway, Dylan Howell will be your commander. You will be doing hit and run attacks behind enemy lines, and you’ll do whatever you can to disrupt the enemy, such as tearing up roads or killing messengers. I give you the name ‘The Knights of Vengeance’. Right that down, will you? I like it.” A servant feverishly scribbled the name on a piece of parchment. “Well, you’ll be leaving now. I can’t tell you where yet, but Dylan will lead you there. Godspeed!”

With that the Knights of Vengeance headed away from the palace. None of them had any idea that one of the guards in that room was a spy.


So now whadya think?

[johncmcleod]

Chapter 3
The Knights of Vengeance

2.19 months later


Edward Gallagher looked through his spy glass at the enemy camp below them. He had been behind enemy lines now for the last two months. It had been very stressful. He never new if he would live to see the next day- and even worse, his loved ones thought he was dead and they could never be told the truth. The last two months for him had been hellish. His best friend, Lamar Wellington, had been captured by Greeks. Lamar had no choice but to use his suicide kit, so he wouldn’t be interrogated. Edward watched him die. His thoughts were interrupted as the order to move out came.

The knights road across the dry plains, lighted by a waning moon. The stars shown brilliantly-not a cloud was on the flat horizon. Green nebulae was pasted across the sky, with a foreground of thousands of blue and reddish stars. The knights galloped right into the camp.

Edward galloped right on top of the first tent he saw, knocking over the lantern in it and trampling the unaware Greek soldiers. The knocked over lamp ignited a fire that was well fueled by the dry grasses. It spread through the camp and managed to drive away some Greek horses. Edward then picked up and wrapped the top of it with cloth that he found on the ground. He light it on fire and used it as a torch. He thrusted the torch into the next tent he came to, lighting it and those who were in it on fire. He did the same to the next tent and the next.

Edwards success with the torch came to an abrupt end. A swordsman came from his right side and slashed the torch from his hands. The Grecian slashed Edward across his side, but to no luck. The sword couldn’t penetrate the mail, it hit it at a bad angle. Edward angrily sliced off the Grecian’s arm and rode away from the crumpled figure.

Edward came to the next soldier-he was much easier. He slashed his sword with all of his might at Edward. Edward easily deflected the attempt with his shield, then sliced the soldier’s scull vertically in half with a single blow. Edward came to another soldier. All he had to do was run him over. The next soldier Edward came to was almost as bad as the last. He swung at Edward with his sword and missed. Edward proceded in slicing off the man’s head.

“Too easy,” He laughed to himself. He soon stopped laughing.

A wooden flagpole was thrusted out in front of Edward’s horse right as it passed by an officer’s tent. The horse did a face plant into the hard ground. Edward was flung from the horse and landed back first in front of the horse. An officer stooped over Edward with a dagger.

“You are looking at the last person you’ll ever see,” the officer spoke menacingly. The officer raised the dagger in the air, about to stab Edward. Edward watched as the dagger plummeted towards his chest at an amazing speed. But it wasn’t good enough for Edward. He punched the man’s wrist, knocking the dagger out of his hands. He pushed himself off the ground and faced the officer. He looked at his sword, which was directly behind the officer. The officer unsheathed a sword from his belt. The officer swung at Edmund’s head. He ducked leaving the officer in an awkward position from the back swing. Edward faked for the man’s stomach. He dropped the sword and moved to block it, finding the fist didn’t come for the stomach. He looked up as the brass knuckles slammed into his face, breaking his nose and teeth.

The rest of the bewildered Grecians dropped their weapons and ran, as they saw so many of their comrades get killed with ease. They didn’t see the knights crouched down behind some tall grasses. The knights charged and eliminated every last Greek soul.



Three days later
MacLeod’s palace in London


Alexander stormed into MacLeod’s room, trying to control his anger.

“Oh yes. The fellow with the makeup.” MacLeod sneered at Alexander.

“That makeup cost me 14 gold, bi*ch!”

“Let’s get to business,” MacLeod replied sternly. “Why are you here?”

“You! I’m having reports of large groups of my soldiers ’disappearing! I know you have something to do with it! Once I find the evidence of it, I will release it to the public and then I will declare war on you!” Alexander stormed out of the room, not knowing he would have that information very soon.




Eight days later
On a far off British held tiny island near Greece

The guards on watch at fort MacDougal began to ring the alarm bell. A huge invasion fleet was headed right for Britain. The catapults at the fort fired volleys of stones at the ships. It didn’t do very much. The watched on as the ships went by the fortress. Right at that moment the Greek men who had been tunneling for days finally made it to under the fortress. The loaded up its foundation with a curious substance called ‘saltpeter’ and then lit a fuse. They all made it out in time and boarded a ship hidden in the trees of the island and left. Several minutes later a huge explosion shook the island and destroyed every human being there.


I beg, please post stuff about this story!!!! I am dying for suggestions. I don't care if you think the story is bad, average, or great, please post something.

[civman2000]

hey, you wrote 2 sections in half an hour! Give us time!

It's great! About the knightsw, were playing in a mod with hidden nationality knights

[johncmcleod]

Well, actually, my friend made this mod. He made these knights that had better stats (attack 6, defense 3) and they had a hidden nationality but he made them extremely expensive.

[johncmcleod]

bump because hardly any people wwill tell me what they think about the story and they won't give me suggestions. And the next installment will come when I return from Seattle (I haven't had time to write a story).

[Kramerman]

This is Great! And to think you were able to wind this story together out of an inspirational civ game is phenomenal. I think it is I who should be asking you for pointers. It took me years of thought to develope my story from the original idea I had.

As for the next installment, I don't know how much advice I can give you without knowing the outcome that the events will culminate to. And your writting style is definately professional as far as syntax and description. Unfortunately I haven't been writing long enough to have developed any tricks or anything, so I don'y have any writing secrets to let you in on. The story is worthy and I would gladly nominate it in the contest.
I will avidly await your next installment, I wish I could of been of more help. Off to write my own next installment. I fortunately have my story pretty much laid out, so no writer's block for me!

Kman

[Verto]

Good story. My one complaint would be, decide whether you want to write a comedy or a more historical story. For example:

“Oh yes. The fellow with the makeup.” MacLeod sneered at Alexander.

“That makeup cost me 14 gold, bi*ch!”

“Let’s get to business,” MacLeod replied sternly. “Why are you here?”

This doesn't fit with the majority of the story, which has a more serious tone. Overall, very good. Detailed, but not too extensively, with a good plot.

Oh, and friends don't let friends screw up Civ games.

[johncmcleod]

Thanks for the input! Yeah, that part was out of tone. I just wanted to lighten the story up at a couple of parts. The next installment is coming up soon, I think. The thing is, my family might take me camping tomorrow. If they do I won't be able to write for a couple of days. Just to warn you though, it probably will be short and not that great. It's kind of a 'transition' chapter, like a leading tone in music, if you will. It's the end of one part that is leading to the next part, and I'll try my best to make it good. And about that 'friend'. He thought the whole thing was hilarious, but he shut up after I gave him a couple whacks. It was kind of good for me though. It laid a great task before me.

[Kramerman]

If you are interested in a nomination in the contest, It would be a pleasure to give you one, but if you would prefer to finish your story first, let me know.

Kman

[Metaliturtle]

I think this one has been in a contest already K-man

[Kramerman]

Damn it!
The rules were so simple, yet I managed to F--- them up! Sheesh! I am amazed at my own damn uncany idiocy sometime. I better remove my nomination.

Kman

[Metaliturtle]

Don't worry about it, it's happened before

[johncmcleod]

As I said before, this chapter is a transition chapter. Don't rip on me!



Chapter 4: The End of an Era

"The Greek ships came by the thousands, appearing through the mist. The mist was the only thing that separated us from our lives before this and utter despair."
-from the journal of Harrison Madison
1st Nottingham Guard

“INVASION!!!” A pikeman screamed at the top of his lungs. “SOUND THE BELLS! SOUND THE BELLS!”

The invasion bells of Nottingham rung loudly, signaling to the next town to ring their bells, so the next town would ring their bells, and so on. In less than a couple hours all of the invasion bells of every town in Britain rung.

Meanwhile the pikemen of the 1st Nottingham Guard fortified themselves on a hill overlooking the ocean. Nottingham was surrounded by a mountain in every direction except one, north, where a hill was. The hill was the easiest way to get into the town, and the Greeks would have to fight the pikemen before they could take the town and its iron rich mountains.

As the Greek ships came close to the shore, they unloaded the swordsmen and knights into the shallow waters who advanced to the beach to the northwest of the pikemen. A couple of the pikemen jumped and went to move towards where they were landing, but the commander yelled, “Stay back. Our best chance is to defend them from up here.”

It seemed like hours to the Nottingham Guard as a seemingly endless stream of knights and swordsmen advanced towards them. When they got to the hill. They began to mass up. Finally a huge group of swordsmen advanced up the hill. The Greeks were obviously trying to save the cavalry (I don’t mean the unit, I mean mounted units) for later. The swordsmen hiked up the hill slowly, advancing towards the pikemen. When they were only about thirty feet from the pikemen, they yelled and charged.

The first wave looked as if it was knocked down by a giant baseball bat. Wait, they play cricket in Britain. A giant cricket bat. The moment a Greek soldier came close enough to a pikeman, he stabbed the Greek with his long pike. The second wave came the same way, and right as it was beaten away, a pikemen yelled, “Ha-ha! We have become elite!”

One of the pikemen, Bailey Sullivan, was doing his best not to run. At the first wave, he thrusted his pike into the chest of a Greek soldier. It went through him and out the other side. From there, he had a human tipped pike. He batted away other Greek soldiers with it, knocking them down and rolling them down the hill. He couldn’t stand it. Everything in his body and mind told him to run, but he knew he couldn’t. He fought a war within himself as the whole thing was going on. Instinct vs. Bravery.

The Greeks paused their attack. The Britons could soon see why. Hundreds of catapults fired onto the hill. The Brits didn’t think they would be a problem until the cannonballs came towards them. The cannonballs were covered in fire. They fell all around the British, setting the grass and many pikemen on fire. Other pikemen became trapped in the flames and roasted alive in their iron armor. At this moment the knights came in and began to finish the job.

Bailey wasn’t going to give up his position. A knight headed for him, with the intention of slicing his head off. The knight didn’t quite get there. Bailey thrusted his pike into the man’s chest. It went through the armor and through his heart, knocking him off the horse. Bailey then got an idea. He climbed onto the horse and charged another Greek knight. The Greek saw this and charged towards him, his sword pointing towards Bailey. The Greek galloped gallantly at his foe. Only he was abruptly stopped short as the pike went through his throat, knocking him off the horse.

Right at that moment, Bailey was knocked off his horse. A Greek knight had pushed him off. Bailey watched the knight’s horse step on the pike, breaking it. He got up. The knight began to charge him. He was about to decapitate Bailey, but Bailey threw a world class punch right at the horses jaw. The horse fell down crushing the knight’s leg under his weight. The knight screamed in pain as he was trapped and his knee was dislocated.

Bailey then went to stab the knight. He raised a pike he found into the air and-



“John!”

Crikey! The Greek’s life would be spared for the moment.

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing!”

“I’m on the computer, mom!”

“You’ve been on it for like 2 hours! Research shows that computers don’t teach you inner skills, and doing chores teaches you resiliency. So come one up, you gotta sweep the driveway.” A classic line from my mom, a high school counselor.

“Hold on a sec!”


Bailey’s pike plummeted through the man’s chest.


But Bailey’s efforts still couldn’t help turn the tide. The pikemen were almost completely overrun. He began to retreat towards the town. He heard a noise behind him. He began to turn around, but right at that moment, he was surrounded by utter blackness. He felt like he was rising away from his body. Then he heard a voice. It was his. “Wait a minute. You’re not dead yet.” He felt something grab his leg and pull him down to where he was before. It all faded out then. He thought he’d been spared, but the whole scene was only a dream…




John MacLeod stood there on the coast of the southern tip of Britain, right by Leeds. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Greece now controlled Britain.

“Come on sir. It’s time to go to new Britain.” New Britain was the island they had newly found down south and had just established a town. MacLeod watched as settlers, workers, and the remnants of the British Army loaded up onto the last galleys bound for new Britain.

MacLeod raised his sword into the air. Everyone who knew him knew it was extremely short impromptu later-to-be-famous-speech time.

“May the Lord help us clear this land of the Greek stench! The land that English, Irish, Welsh, and Scottish had toiled upon for thousands of years, that had been given to them by god. Lord, help us and our posterity make every Greek soul on this continent loyal to Alexander and his sons suffer!”

He boarded a galley and stared at Britain until it finally went out of sight.



Come on people now! Please post some suggestions everybody get together, try to critique this post right now.

Only you old timers or those who have seen those get back with the 60’s CD commercials will get that lame joke.

I know you guys will tell me as a suggestion to decide wether it's an epic or comedy, but it's an epic, I just add in a couple of stupid parts here and there to lighten it up a bit. I'm not funny enough to write a full blown comedy.

[Metaliturtle]

I'm not funny enough to write a full blown comedy.

True that

[Kramerman]

Excellent!
I think I see where this story is goig now. I leave the story telling to you, it is your story, after all, but I was givin very good advice on characterization by some fellow on my thread. If I had a faster connection Id get you the link, but ,y comp is too slow. Once you go cable it is really hard to get back to 56k, its so tedious, almost painful. Anyway, check out my thread, it is one of the more recent posts where the suggestions were made, I intend to probably use them to some degree in my upcoming installments to try out the different styles.

Kman

P.S. the story itself is, good like I said above, but I didn't particularly like the mother interuption thing. But my taste in stories are those that are all in continuity, so that opinion would probably vary wildly with different people.

[Metaliturtle]

Kman bummed because it taking to long to get mega porns??

just kidding Kman

[Kramerman]

uh...only kidding... right...... porn... frustrated... uhhh... need faster connection...yes...faster...

Kman

[johncmcleod]

I’m sorry for the last installment. Hope this one is five times better, and I think this will be my best installment yet. Oh, and you can imagine what happened to the Knights of Vengeance. I can see them now, at their extraction point on a hill on the ocean next to the Greek city of Tenochtilan, fighting off hordes of Greeks, just waiting for the ships to come. And they never did come. I had to use every ship for the evacuation of Britain.

Chapter 5: A War of Changes

[Be sure to remember that through the rest of the story, the equipment, planes, tanks etc. aren’t real British planes. I made them up. This is Civ3, not real life.]

“Hello, George.” George Dickinson, MacLeod’s military advisor walked into the room.

“Hello, John.” The began their daily game of chess, MacLeod being white, as usual. “The invasion plans are now complete. The invasion will begin at your will.”

“Yes, remember that I’ve already seen them? They’re excellent plans, and the thought of Britons on that soil once again makes my spine tingle with excitement. One can tell you graduated from New Leeds Military Institute. The only problem is I’m not sure about the opening move. You see, just like chess, the opening move can be very vital.” His opening move was moving the pawn at B2 to B4. “Polish Defense. You see, our first move must cripple their chances of counterattack so there is no counterattack once they learn of the invasion. The Greek aircraft carrier Machlas is carrying three fighter squadrons and one bomber squadron, and the carrier Alexander is right by it, carrying four bomber squadrons. Once they learn of the attack, they might knock out some of our transport ships before we can land the second wave. The first thing we must do is knock out those carriers. And we will knock them out with submarines. The Greeks won’t know what hit them.” During this time, the two men had been playing a brisk chess game. “Mate in three moves,” John announced. George had fallen in a trap, and now resistance was futile. John hadn’t lost a game in hundreds of years.

John reflected back on those hundreds of years. The beginning times of New Britain had very rough. Natural disasters had damaged many towns and raging barbarians had almost destroyed them. But they made it through. And then one day, he finally realized he had eternal youth. He was 65 and yet looked like he was under 30.

“Oh, and John? Are you still sure you don’t want help from the Zulu and the Iroquois?” The Zulu, Iroquois, and British were all very good friends with each other. The Zulu and Iroquois were on two large islands next to New Britain.

“Yes, I’m sure. We must do this ourselves.


MAY 29, 1937
0451 HOURS
OFF THE COAST OF NOTTINGHAM

Two Greek sailors stood on watch, bickering with one another, and looking at the seemingly endless ocean between Greece and their biggest enemy, Britain.

“I don’t care if you have the same name as Alexander. That doesn’t make you better than everyone else,” one barked at the other. He walked off towards the other side of the ship. He was almost there when he stopped. Something white was in the water, coming right towards the ship, and closing in fast. It took him a while to finally realize what it was.

“TORPEDO IN THE WA-” He was cut off as a torpedo slammed into the ship, hitting the munitions storage area and creating a huge fireball. Another explosion, even bigger went off as the firestorm incinerated the fuel storage area.


Captain Perry looked through the periscope of his submarine at the carnage. The whole ship cheered. It was a perfect shot. The other submarine’s two torpedos hit the other carrier and sent it to the depths below. The mission was accomplished.

0514 HOURS
THE SKIES OF NEWPORT

Captain Paul Williams searched the skies for signs of Greek fighters. The mission was to clear the skies before the bombers unleashed mayhem over the Greek armor near Coventry. They hadn’t seen a single Greek aircraft in sight. The would fly to Newport and then turn around and head back for the carrier.

“ETA 15 minutes,” he announced over the radio to his other squadron members. He looked at the horizon. It was a gorgeous sunrise. But he stopped thinking about its beauty as he saw about 20 large dots coming from the rising sun. They were getting bigger, and he immediately realized what they were. “Greek bandits! Two o’clock! Engage immediately!” He banked his Grissom Lightningbolt aircraft and headed right for the Greeks. The squadron met them quickly.

The fighters met head on. Both sides shot at each other immediately, being trigger happy, for it was their first combat experience. The planes closed in on each other so fast though that no one hit anyone else. Paul pulled the steering wheel back hard, elevating until he was going parallel to the ground. He spun his aircraft so it was right side up. A Greek fighter was right in his sights.

The Greek did a hard bank turn to the left. But Paul’s reflexes were too quick for him to be shaken so easily. He banked to the left even harder. He had an inside shot at the Greek fighter. He squeezed the trigger hard, the synchronized 30mm cannon and the 4 Johnson .49 caliber wing mounted machine guns all spewing out tracers and bullets at his target. The light armored Greek aircraft could no withstand the beating. The bullets tore through the fuselage and then in the area where the wings were connected to it. The wings fell off and the fuselage broke in two. The smoking plane spiraled downwards and crashed into the ground. It was Paul’s first kill. He then did a victory roll over the town ahead of him, making sure they saw.

Once he was done, he banked hard to the left and got a Greek plane in his sights. He aimed for the center of the fuselage when he heard, “Williams! You got one on your tail!” He turned around and looked through the back of the canopy. A Greek plane was right behind him. It fired, and its tracers bounced off the wings of the plane. Paul then banked hard to the left. The Greek followed and while he was still banking Paul banked hard to the right. The Greek lost him, but got right back on him. He pulled up hard, trying to get back behind the Greek it didn’t work. The Greek seemed to know Paul’s every move. The Greek fired, and bullets bounced off the wings.

“I can’t shake him! Need backup now!” Right at that moment, Paul turned around to see a British plane though being followed by another Greek plain get right on the Greek’s six. He fired, and hit the oil tank. The plane exploded in mid air. He then managed to shake the Greek plane behind him. It was his wingman, Charlie Sullivan.

Paul then saw another Greek plane go by him. He was at a terrible angle of deflection, and he ruddered hard to the left. He immediately realized the risk didn’t pay off. He went into a fast, horizontal spin. He frantically kicked both rudder pedals and tried to stop the spin. And then the plane started going downwards a little bit. He still couldn’t gain control of the aircraft. And a he was headed for a mountain, which was so close he couldn’t see much else through his canopy.

“I’m going down!” he yelled. “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! AHHHH!!!!!” He screamed as the plane was only about one hundred feet away from the mountain. He was able to make out many small features of it. And he knew this was the end for him. His plane slammed in to the side of the rocky mountain. The oil tank exploded, leaving him and the plane only in pieces. The last thing he did was turn around and look back at the dogfight. He smiled, realizing he had done his part, he guessed. The Greeks had almost no planes left, and his squadron had lost hardly anyone. Probably only one other than himself. And then, shear blackness.

0602 HOURS
NEAR THE SKIES OF NEWPORT

1st Air Sergeant Ben Thomas, the top turret gunner, looked over at the pilot, Lieutenant Gavin O’Connor. “What’s our ETA?” He asked.

“20 minutes,” he replied.

“I can’t believe we haven’t seen any Greek fighters. Our planes must have done well.” The O’Connell Albatross shuddered a bit. As if answering his call, they heard a voice on the radio, “Enemy fighters! Twelve o’clock! Maintain formation at all costs!” And there they were, a group of Greek fighters heading right for them.

They grew larger and larger, and they got in range of the gunners of the O’Connell Albatrosses. The planes tore through the formation, firing at everything in sight. The didn’t damage much though because of the head on attack. They were in range only for a few brief seconds. They all turned around and tried attacks from different angles, most of them coming from behind.

One got Ben’s plane in his sights. He got right up behind the bomber. “We’ve got one on our tail!” The tail gunner, Jason, replied. He fired his twin .49 caliber machine guns at the Greek plane. It dodged some, but most of the bullets hit it. The Greek fired back, hitting the plane in many different places. But it was bad for the Greek more than it was bad for the bomber. It left him in a vulnerable position. Jason fired. The machine guns chewed the Greek plane apart, sending it down to the ground. Everyone on his plane cheered.

But the Greeks wouldn’t stop. Another one got behind and above the bomber, so it was out of range of the tail gunner. It was now Ben’s turn. The Greek fired, hitting the top of the plane. Ben fired back, hitting the Greek plane. The Greek came in for another pass at the same angle. Bullets tore through the bombers fuselage, but damaged nothing. Ben fired at the Greek with a fury in his eyes. The Greek plane lost a wing to the machine guns. It spun out of control and went down to the ground. The whole crew of the bomber cheered. Two kills in one minute. It must’ve been a bomber record.

“The lead bomber is dropping bombs. Let ‘em go, Harry!” The pilot announced to Harold Jennings, the bombardier. Harold got the Greek armor columns in the sights of his MacDonald bombsight. He opened the bomb bay doors and released hell over the Greek armor. He watched as his bombs and other bombs exploded on and near the Greek tanks. Scores of Greek tanks exploded, and when the bombs stopped falling, hardly any Greek tanks could be seen through the dust. The bombers began to turn around, still being pursued by the Greek fighters.

Ben’s bomber’s good luck began to end. “Greek fighters, nine o’clock,” the left waist gunner, Brian McGale announced. “I got ‘im in my sights.” He fired his .49 caliber machine gun at it. The bullets didn’t deter the Greek fighter. He poured bullets into the bomber, hitting it all over the fuselage. Three hit Brian in the face, chest, and stomach. The force of them knocked him over, and blood spattered everywhere.

“@^#*! He’s dead! Let’s get payback on those-” He was cut off as the plane shuddered. A Greek plane was going very slow and firing at them from head on, hitting the plane everywhere in the nose. One bullet went through the plexiglass and hit the pilot in the chest. He died instantly.

“We just lost Gavin!” the co-pilot, John McLaughlin yelled to the bewildered crew. It was now up to John to fly the plane, single handedly. The other members didn’t have time to grieve. More Greek fighters came in. One from behind and the other from 3 o’clock. The one from behind didn’t seem to mind the bullets Jason fired at him. The Greek unleashed hell on the bombers number 1 engine. The engine exploded. The plane then went off to the right, still undaunted by the tail gunner. The Greek then knocked out the number 4 engine.

And the Greek still wasn’t finished. He came in from 3 o’clock where the other one was. The both shot bullets through the fuselage. And they hit the right waist gunner all over. He spun around and hit the ground hard, blood spewing everywhere. Blood was now all over the surviving members of the aircraft.

But the Greek wasn’t yet done. He went down and attacked from under the plane. The crew members heard the belly turret gunner yelling curses over the radio as he tried to hit the Greek. They then heard the guns stopped. A scream came over the radio and they heard the sound of a liquid pouring over the plexiglass.

“I’m gonna get that Go-” Ben stopped as the Greek fighter came from above. Ben thirsted for vengeance. He fired at the Greek. The bullets tore through the Greek plane and hit the oil tank. It made a huge explosion, destroying the fighter in mid air, right where it was. The whole crew yelled with glee. The deaths of the other crew members had been avenged.

Meanwhile, John this whole time had been struggling to fly the crippled plane. The bombers finally made it to the carrier. But it wasn’t over yet. John still had to land it. The other bombers cleared the way for the damaged plane. John then headed for the carrier. The runway filled his window.

“You’re coming in too fast!” The radio man on the carrier yelled. John then pulled on a lever, extending the flaps. The plane stalled in mid air and landed smoothly on the carrier. It was an incredible landing.






Shoot, gotta go. Please post suggestions! Also, I need a little bit of help from you good writers such as Kman, civman, metaliturtle, and/or Grundel, and/or anyone else. You see, the rest of this chapter is about the invasion. I need to write a bunch out of it (I don’t want to just skim over a huge and very important invasion), but I don’t know how I can without just skimming over it. All I can do is just describe a bunch of battles, but then the story would be very repetitious and it would sound like the same stuff happening over and over and over again.

Also, this is the first story I’ve seen with descriptions of air combat, especially in the point of view of bombers. Are there any other stories with that? If so, put a link to them. I like reading about air combat.

[johncmcleod]

No replies in ten hours? I must've really done bad. Could you guys tell me that than rather saying nothing? I hate the suspense.

[GeneralTacticus]

Great! Only problem I have with this, though, is that you went from one time period to another a bit fast for my liking. Still excellent, though.

Also, this is the first story I’ve seen with descriptions of air combat, especially in the point of view of bombers. Are there any other stories with that? If so, put a link to them. I like reading about air combat.

I'll see what I can find. I have to go pretty soon though.

Shoot, gotta go. Please post suggestions! Also, I need a little bit of help from you good writers such as Kman, civman, metaliturtle, and/or Grundel, and/or anyone else. You see, the rest of this chapter is about the invasion. I need to write a bunch out of it (I don’t want to just skim over a huge and very important invasion), but I don’t know how I can without just skimming over it. All I can do is just describe a bunch of battles, but then the story would be very repetitious and it would sound like the same stuff happening over and over and over again.

I don't see why you would need to describe all of the battles in detail. Do one in depth and the rest in passing (maybe just do the highlights of each one). Just my two cents worth.

[Kramerman]

I don't see why you would need to describe all of the battles in detail. Do one in depth and the rest in passing (maybe just do the highlights of each one). Just my two cents worth.

I agree. What I've done and it seems to be pretty successful is to sumarize some entire campaigns, then on another level I'll sumerize some of the less important battles, and so far, I've only had one really important battle that I've needed to describe in full detail. If done correctly, I think this can potentially have the same effect as watching the first half hour of Saving Private Ryan, or all of Black Hawk Down (The book is excellent by the way, though I read it well before the movie so I dont know if I saw the movie first if it would of changed things). I don't really have this technique down yet, but I think by using alot of detail, a good mix of both dialogue and narration, very good and appropriate vocab and phrasing, and focusing on the battle through the perspective of only a few different characters then you can maybe get a "chills" effect on your readers. This is always what I am trying to achieve anyway. The battles Ive done have beeen from commanders' perspectivesw, so they include quite abit about tactics and strategy, but I fear to much of this might bogg down the story and bore the reader. I'm looking forward to being able to write a good battle scene from a soldier in the thick of battle. This is all still very "experimental" to me though, mind you, so I dont have it down to a science yet, really I barely have it as a idea.

Kman

The arieal combat scene was excellent! I think I'm goiing to use this as a model for when I get to this point in my story, if you don't mind, cause I have no idea how to do this.

[johncmcleod]

Ok. Here’s the next part. I’ll try to write well from the commander’s point of view, which isn’t my strong spot. I’ll also aim for much better character development. Yes, I read road cages reply and it’s very helpful. Believe me, the character development in Chapter 6 (that's a couple installments away) will be excellent. I will introduce one, maybe two more characters in that chapter. Thanks for all the comments! I appreciate every single bit of them. Oh, and yes Kman, you can use my air scenes as a foundation for another part of your story, but you must give me 2 gpt, your world map, and the secrets of the superconductor (:

Chapter 5 Part Two

“Our commanders told us of the horrors we would meet as and after we hit our former beaches. But nothing could prepare us for the experiences ahead of us.”
-from the journal of Corporal Peter Ganely
3rd Royal Marines Battalion

0657 HOURS
THE SHORES OF MANCHESTER

Private Michael McCormack pressed his rifle against he chest as the transport ship headed out for the target. He was shocked, how it all ended up. In the first place, he joined the marines just to get away from his parents. His parents, how he couldn’t stand them. All they did was nag and tell him it’s best for him to do this and that and he hated it. He guessed when you’ve lived with someone for 19 years you get sick of them.

And only a couple weeks after he made it past boot camp and was assigned to a marines unit, the war started and his battalion, the 3rd, was assigned to be the first unit to land. Though it was an honor, he knew his chances of survival were thin. The first unit in almost always gets nearly wiped out before the second unit in reinforces it.

Oh, how he missed his home, New Leeds. He didn’t care if he had to live with his parents for the rest of his life, he just didn’t want to go to battle.

His thoughts were interrupted as the doors of the transport ship opened and he looked at the plains ahead of him. He saw Greek soldiers crouched down there, waiting to shoot the invaders. The sergeant yelled for them to move out. The marines stepped out of the transport, wading in the warm and shallow waters of the ocean. Right at that time, the Greek line exploded with fire. Michael could count hundreds of muzzle flashes, mainly from machine guns. Bullets landed right and left of Michael and his comrades. Several were hit immediately. The water turned blood red.

But the marines kept on trudging towards the shores. And right at that time the battleships and destroyers opened fire. Explosions landed all over the beach, knocking out machine gun nest, snipers, and crouched Greek soldiers. Then the bombardment finally stopped. The marines went in to finish the job. They figured that the Greeks were almost eliminated. They were wrong.

The marines finally hit the beach, firing at the Greeks on the shore. Most of them were on the shore when finally all hell broke loose. The plains all around them, in a semi-circle opened fire. And at the same time, huge sounds erupted from the plains beyond them, as artillery began to pound them. The explosions landed all over the beach. Each one threw British in the air, making them do flips and then hit the ground hard, dead. Machine guns everywhere began to mow down the marines. Three marines in front of Michael got riddled with bullets. Once the first ones hit they were too stunned to move. The just stood there, as the bullets tore through there body, blood spurting out from everywhere. Michael ducked, and bullets landed all around him, but nothing hitting him.

He laid on the ground, just hoping he wouldn’t get hit. He couldn’t bring himself up to attack the enemy. He hated all of this. He just wished he was at home, not fighting. He had wanted Britain to be Britain’s again, but now, he just didn’t care. The Greeks could have it, he didn’t care, he just didn’t want to fight. He turned around and saw a sergeant hit the ground right by him, dodging bullets.

Michael heard a voice come over the sergeant’s radio. “TITAN, this is EAGLE. Status?”

“We’re under heavy fire!” the sergeant yelled over the radio. “Requesting air support! Coordinates Y-8-0-4-niner-FOXTROT-3, over!”

“Request granted. Sending air support immediately.” Michael knew that the Greeks were about to get hit bad. He knew that after most of them had been taken out he would have to advance. He laid there, waiting for the bombers to come. They finally did.

He heard the rumbling of engines over head. He looked up, and saw 3 dozen bombers coming right for them, flying low level. They flew right over him and began to drop their payload only yards ahead of him. Explosions sent the sand flying upwards right in front of him. They kept on landing farther away from him and closer to the Greeks. Finally, right were the Greeks were dozens of explosions came. They knocked the Greeks right out of their positions. Bombs landed right in trenches, machine gun nests, and barricades, killing half of the Greeks there. They finally began to run. That made it even better for the Brits. Several bombers flew right overhead of the Greeks, strafing them. Most of the Greeks fell.

And then finally, the shells from Greek artillery stopped falling. The bombers had knocked them out.

“Move out!” Major Johnson, the commander of the battalion yelled. The British advanced through the fields and formed a perimeter around the lading zone, protecting the landing infantry units from the Greeks. This part had been easy for Michael. He hadn’t seen a single Greek since the bombers took them out. He crouched there in his position, looking for the enemy. His eyes stopped as he saw something in the bushes ahead of him move. He got on his stomach and crawled to the spot. He removed the safety, fearing he might have to kill someone. Right at that moment, he saw something silver coming towards him. It was a knife. But Michael reflexes were too quick. He stepped on the knife and fired right at the bush in front of him. A Greek sniper fell out, dead.

1702 HOURS
THE BRITISH OCEAN, NEAR NEW BRITAIN

A British sailor knocked on the door of Captain James MacNair’s quarters. “The new orders from New London have just been decoded, sir.”

“Thank you.” James read the report sent from the capital. It told him of the situation. The British had just discovered a small Greek fleet headed towards New Britain. Their plan: invasion. The Greeks knew the British had left hardly anyone behind to defend New Britain. Almost all of the units were sent to invade Greece. So the Greeks’ plan was to get as many extra troops as they had together, invade New Britain and do as much damage as possible so the public might grow tired of the war. The invasion then would stop. Another reason for the plan was they might be able to divert British forces from the invasion.

The British had sent every naval unit except one to Greece to invade it. The one was James’ submarine, the Dauntless, which went out several miles off the coast. They figured because the rest of the British fleet would take out the Greeks, the Greeks wouldn’t have enough left to mount an invasion. And, if the Greeks did invade the British were close enough to New Britain to catch up with them. But the British were wrong in both assumptions. The British were annihilating the Greek navy, but they hadn’t destroyed everything yet. And the British fleet had strayed out far, chasing the remaining Greeks. They were too far away to stop the Greek fleet headed for New Britain. The Greeks were expected to reach James’ sub any moment now. It was all up to James’ submarine to stop them.

His thoughts were interrupted abruptly as he heard the voice of a sailor over the intercom. “Conn. Sonar, cavitating. I’ve got new contacts, bearings 325, 336, 321, 324, 319, and 329. Four battleships, one carrier, and one transport.” James breathed a sigh of relief. No destroyers to detect them.

He went to the weapons room to give his crew further orders. “Let’s take out the transport first,” he said to one of the sailors.

“We can’t do that sir. The battleships and carrier have surrounded it. The torpedo wouldn’t get past the battleships and carrier with their decoys.” How could I have been so stupid? James thought to himself. He knew the Greeks would form a barrier around the transport.

“Okay. Lets get them one at a time. Lets get the lead battleship, the one at 319.” The sailor set torpedo tube 3 to target the battleship at that bearing. He pressed several buttons, readying the torpedo for launch. He heard the noises coming from the torpedo room stop. James followed standard protocol by being the one to fire it. He lifted the glass case over the red FIRE button and pressed it. He heard the sound of the torpedo speeding through the water. After several seconds, the sailor announced the torpedo’s status. “Unit is running normally,” he said with a grin. They waited for what seems like an eternity. Then finally, he heard an explosion in the water.

“Conn, sonar. Explosion, bearing 307. Torpedo has detonated!” The sailor in the sonar room announced. The whole submarine cheered. They then fired a torpedo and successfully hit the carrier. It was too big for the torpedo to bite on the decoys. James then fired multiple torpedoes, all at the battleships. Unfortunately for the Greeks, only two torpedoes bit on the decoys. They followed all of the decoys, switching targets. The decoys then, automatically, went away from the Greek ships. They all did, leaving the rest of the torpedoes heading for the Greek battleships. Two went down to the bottom, joining the other battleship and carrier.

James then prepared to destroy the final battleship. But he was interrupted. “Conn, sonar, cavitating. I’ve got a new contact, bearing 080. Designated Greek class 1 destroyer.” James swore aloud. The remaining battleship was now right above the submarine, and the destroyer’s sonar now revealed where the Britons were.

“DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!” He yelled over the intercom to the helmsman. Alarms resounded through the ship. All the doors were closed and the crew made preparations for an emergency dive. The submarine began to dive at a steep angle. James stopped his thoughts as he heard a faint noise. It was an explosion above him. Right then, a deafening roar-like explosion made the whole submarine shake. Sailors all over the ship fell over. “Depth charges!” He thought aloud. Another one exploded right on top of the ship. Everyone on the ship fell over.

When James got up, he heard a dreadful sound. A clanging noise, right above him. The depth charge had bounced off the top of the submarine. James immediately knew this one would be close. “Ah, shi-” he was cut off as a deafening noise reverberated through the ship, knocking everyone over again. He heard the sound of running water. “We’ve got leaks in the quarters!” A sailor yelled. Several strong sailors all ran to the room and fixed the leak.

James yelled to one of the sailors in the weapon room. “Is there anyway we can blow them up!”

“Yes, sir but it’s not recommended to fire a torpedo when depth charges are exploding near the ship!” He yelled over the thuds of the depth charges.

“Well I don’t care! We gotta take out that battleship!” The sailor then fired a torpedo at the battleship. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief when the torpedo made it out of the tube with out prematurely exploding. The whole ship cheered then as the battleship was hit. The explosions stopped. James then had the submarine go in towards the transport. But he then had to stop again.

“Conn, sonar, cavitating. I’ve got a new contact bearing 054. Designated class 2 Greek submarine.” James cursed at his luck. If the Greeks kept on coming, he’d run out of torpedoes.

“Conn, sonar! I’ve got a new contact bearing 053, 052, 051, 050, 049, designated torpedo!”

“Fire the decoy in tube 3 and fire the torpedo net in tube 4! ” James ordered. The crew watched over the sonar screen as the torpedo got closer and closer to the ship. It didn’t go for the decoy and it went through the torpedo net.

“All ahead full! Rudder 40 degrees left!” We’re going to go through the coral reef and hope the torpedo hit’s the coral.” The helmsman looked at the captain like he was crazy, though he followed orders. It seemed they were doomed.

The submarine sped through the coral reef, the crew praying they wouldn’t hit anything. Then finally, the torpedo hit the sides of the reef and exploded. They had been spared.

“Fire torpedo in tube 2!” James ordered.

“Torpedo in the water!” The weapons officer announced. “Unit is running normally.” The crew watched and waited as the torpedo sped for the Greek submarine. Their prayers were answered. It hit the Greek sub square on and sank it. It was now the destroyer’s turn. The Brits sent it to the bottom and then fired two torpedoes that hit and sank the transport.

1803 HOURS
NEAR THE SHORES OF MANCHESTER

Corporal Sam Wilson of the 3rd Royal Marines battalion stood in the fields near Manchester with the other his and other marine battalion. They had been there the whole day, forming a perimeter around the beaches, protecting the trucks and tanks and army infantry units that were unloading there. Nothing had happened the whole day. He hadn’t even had to use his weapon, a flamethrower the whole day. He loved being a shock trooper. Being a shock trooper took a lot of training and hard work, and was very dangerous. Flamethrowers were still in their infancy and accidents with them were common. One had already happened that day. One of the shock troopers of the his battalion had stupidly broken a rule. He was smoking while on duty. He was now ashes. But, shock troopers got a lot of respect from the other soldiers. It was something Sam never had at home.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard loud booms coming from the distance, and then explosions nearby. It was a surprise artillery attack from the Greeks at the hill nearby. “Move out! We gotta capture the artillery battery!” Major Johnson yelled. Explosions landed right and left of the marines, killing many of them. Sam realized that a fragment from one of the explosions could possibly go right through his oil tank and cause an explosion. But he knew he couldn’t stop running. More explosions hit, killing dozens of men around him. But they kept going and they finally got to the hill.

Right at that moment the pillboxes surrounding the artillery opened fire. Bullets whizzed through the air, and dozens of marines were hit. Their attack had been slowed. Right at that moment hordes of Greek soldiers came running down the hill at the disoriented marines, mopping them up. A shock trooper near Sam was hit, and his tank exploded. He hoped the same wouldn’t happen to him. He removed the safety of his flamethrower, determined to wipe out every last Greek soul there. Some of the British began to run, but it didn’t stop Sam.

He fired at a Greek soldier right in front of him. The Greek was engulfed in the flames and was killed instantly. He then ran right in front of a cluster of Greeks right in front of him. They all looked at him and raised their weapons, but it was too late. They all became covered in flames and ran around wildly. Sam then held down the trigger of his flamethrower and unleashed hell on the whole surrounding area. Dozens of Greeks were lit on fire. They could do nothing to stop him.

A few tried, though. Several surrounded him. But for some reason none of them had any weapons, not even knives. He couldn’t burn them, though, for they were too close and then flames could kill himself. He would have to use his hand to hand combat skills. They all charged at him. He punched the first one hard in the face, knocking him over. He kicked to his side at another Greek, hitting the Greek in the knee and making him fall over in pain. He grabbed another Greek’s head and threw him down to the ground behind him. Two more Greeks charged Sam, running at full speed. Sam tripped the first, sending him face first into a large rock beside him. Sam stuck his foot out and then when the Greek got there Sam grabbed the Greek’s back and flung him over, causing him to do ¾ of a front flip. The Greek landed hard on his back. All of the Greeks laid down on the ground, too much in pain to do anything. Sam ran off, back towards the center of the battle.

A marine immediately pulled him over to the foot of the hill. All the marines had been pinned down by several pillboxes. “We need you to take out those three pillboxes right there! Once that happens, we can get up the hill and take the other ones from behind!” The marine yelled over all the gunfire. “GO!!”

Sam began to climb the hill, hugging it to stay away from the gunfire. He slowly climbed it. He realized luck was on his side. None of the Greeks had even seen him. Once Sam was about 20 feet from the pillboxes, pulled the trigger of his flamethrower. The flames shot right through the opening of the pillbox, incinerating everything inside. The other two pillboxes noticed. The fired at him. Sam pressed against the side of the hill. Two bullets hit him on the helmet, making loud panging noises. He quickly looked up and fired a brief spurt into one of the pillboxes. The flames burned the men inside it, and went through a tunnel under it and ignited a cache of artillery shells. The whole top of the hill blew up, sending fragments everywhere and killing all the Greeks. Samuel was flung from the hill and landed hard on his stomach.

The explosions and gunfire then ceased. A calm went over the grasslands, but soon afterwards the whole ground moaned. Bodies were everywhere. Several marines saw Sam, the hero laying on the ground. The wind had been knocked out of him. They helped him to his feet, and he brushed himself up. “Are you all right?” They asked.

“All in a day’s work,” he replied.


Please, I beg the members of this forum for suggestions, or whatever they think about the story! I want people to tell me what they like and dislike. And most ofall, I want people to say what they think about it, whether it's bad, okay, or great. Right now, you! Yes, I'm talking to you. Don't like around at someone else. I'm talking to you. Write a reply and say what you think. No, don't wait, do it now!

[Kramerman]

This was really good. I loved the style. I got chills in a couple of parts.

A few tried, though. Several surrounded him. But for some reason none of them had any weapons, not even knives. He couldn’t burn them, though, for they were too close and then flames could kill himself

Its not really a big deal, but I just thought this was kinda weak, i mean, that these soldiers just 'happened' to not have any weapons. But im totally a realism type of guy, and this didnt seem all that 'real' to me. No biggy.

Two bullets hit him on the helmet, making loud panging noises.

This is just something real technical, but if these are kinda like WWII style, steel helmets like I invisioned while reading this story, then bullets, unless they were just barely glancing hits, would of gone straight through it. A medium powered rifle round (like AK-47 or 30-06 or something) can go through even a modern kevlar helmet if it hits at the right angle (I think it has to be at least, like 60 degrees, otherwise it would deflect.) This is just a little stupid thing though that doesn't matter. I probably shouldn't have said anything, im sure the last thing you want to hear is little pointless criticism like that.
But, I guess it could be considered a really good sign if these trivial things were the only things that i could find that I didn't like about this installment.

Keep going

Kman

[johncmcleod]

Thanks! Yeah, that one part was kinda weak. You see, it was 12:30 at night and I was thinking of that really funny part in Airplane when Kramer is at the airport and those religious guys with the flowers surround him, and I just couldn't resisit putting it in the story. I did not know that bullets would go through a steel helmet like that. I saw a part in a war movie where bullets hit someone's helmet dead on and it didn't do much. So much for hollywood. Next installment coming soon, I hope. The problem is the family reunion is coming to town, and even when I have time to write my mom will say, "JOHN!!!! OUR FAMILY IS HERE AND WE DON'T SEE THEM MUCH AT ALL AND I WANT YOU TO BE SOCIAL, SO GET OFF THAT COMPUTER!"