To say that what happens in this chapter hasn't been influenced by recent events on the gaming front would be a lie. Personally I can understand what they tried to do but dear god they fell flat on execution. Still, I have hope but I have to deal with my disappointment somehow and this is it. Here's to hoping that certain parties realize what sort of a screwup they produced.
Chapter 350
“FIRE IN THE MAIN HANGAR!”
Rear Admiral Shepard turned on his heels but before he could say anything he realized that Captain Jackson certainly almost certainly had already sent damage control teams. Around him Vimy Ridge was shuddering from the near-misses by Japanese bombs. The entire Fleet was under attack but Able-Seven was getting the most of it, on account of her being the Carrier element.
The small Allied Force was one of several that scoured the South-China Sea free of Japanese vessels and the massive air attack was the sharpest response yet. Two of his destroyers were already gone and Quebec was afire astern.
Overall the fleet had already lost two Cruisers and six Destroyers, so it was no surprise that Force H was running south towards Singapore and land-base air cover as fast as they could.
Shepard had privately questioned the wisdom of sending the fleet out in packets but the 'suggestions' coming in from London had been very explicit.
But now he had better things to do. The hit that had started the fire in the Hangar had not only punched through the deck (stopped by the armour of the hangar deck itself) and ignited a fire consisting of parts of several Seafires but a second one had gouged a bite out of the island and taken almost all electronics on the ship with it.
Because of this Shepard had devolved tactical command of the fleet to Beattie aboard Hood and was now seriously considering leaving the flag bridge since there was little he could do beyond periodically sending blinker messages that Beattie could well do without. He had the fleet at best speed towards Allied territory and that was all that was to be done.
WHANG!
That was more than a mere near miss.
After a minute Jackson was reporting to his Admiral.
“It bounced off the armour forward, but there is a second fire in the hangar. And....” he shuddered before pulling himself together.
“Commander Henderson is dead, Sir.”
Jackson was visibly shattered by what had happened to his ship and to his First Officer whom he had considered to be a personal friend. What was worse in the short term was that Henderson had directed damage control and fire-fighting efforts in the Hangar.
Coming to a snap decision Shepard said: “I'll go down there and take over. You fight the ship.”
Jackson looked at his Admiral. Cuts and bruises everywhere, bleeding from his nose, a gash running along his right arm from which he was also bleeding. His uniform trousers were torn to shreds and he was bleeding out of several cuts there too. Knowing that he was not looking much different, Jackson merely nodded. When he was like this the Admiral was not to be stopped. His thick skull was legendary.
The Admiral took off his cap and ran a hand through his red hair. “Take care of your people.”
“Yes, Sir.” Jackson chose to forgo the salute. Not only was the Admiral gone already but his own arm was too damaged to move much.
Down below Shepard stepped into hell on earth, with fire, dead and wounded seemingly everywhere. He knew however that Vimy Ridge was in no immediate danger of sinking, if only he could get the fires under control.
As Vimy Ridge and Bonaventure, along with their escorts limped south they slowly drew out of range of Japanese land-based aircraft in Northern French-Indochina and as he ran through the smoke-filled corridors and past damage that wasn't critical enough for immediate attention until he reached a party of men trying to force their was past a warped hatch into the hangar.
“Any way into the hangar from this deck?”
“Not around here, Sir!” the Petty Officer yelled after having recovered from seeing the Admiral here in this state. “Up to frame 47 everything is warped and that hatchway over there,” he pointed over his shoulder with his chin “is blocked by that ruddy fire.”
As he turned to seek another way into the hangar deck he saw a fire-fighting party coming his way. He instantly commandeered it when he was told that they were going to the hatch anyway. When he inspected it he saw that it was already slightly open so there would be no danger of a flash fire.
There still was a wall of heat when they opened the hatch, but the few flames were quickly extinguished, being a separate, smaller fire that was already being fought from the other side.
Shepard stepped into the hangar and saw the scenes of semi-organized chaos that came with a ship that suffered battledamage and quickly spotted where he was needed the most. Up forward there was....
Suddenly Vimy Ridge was shaken by another explosion.
The last Japanese bomb of the day missed the Carrier itself, but the vibrations from the explosion on the surface of the water was enough to make the massive Canadian ship shudder and it threw the Admiral off his feet.
What happened next was a mixture of circumstance, negligence on part of panicked replacement crewmembers and plain bad luck.
Hidden behind the collapsed remnants of a Barracuda two forgotten drums with fuel exploded.
The shockwave threw the Admiral off his feet again, but most importantly shrapnel from the fuselage tore away the Admiral's left leg below the knee. Burning floatsam and petrol set several men on fire.
When he came to again a few minutes later he saw the state he was in and knew that his time on this earth was over and when a group of medics approached him he shooed them away.
As he slowly bled out he used his last strength to reflect that this was an ending worthy of his name and legacy.
~**---**~
Three days later a meeting was taking place in the same room and between the same people that had given the late Admiral Shepard his command.
“What now, Admiral?”
“Well, for the most part Vimy and Bony are being patched up at Singapore until they can make the crossing to India where they'll be repaired properly. We can count ourselves lucky, Sir.”
“How so, Admiral?”
“Well, were Vimy Ridge one of the pre-war Yank Carriers she would have been lost. As is we'll have to totally rebuild her hangar deck. Even the Island will need extensive repairs, though there a lot is cosmetic.”
“How long?”
“Three or four months at most, Sir.”
“That fast?”
“Supposing they don't discover any hidden damage Prime Minister.” the Admiral cautioned and took a sip from the glass of best Canadian Whisky he held.
“Frankly I am more worried about the personnel issue. Jackson is the senior Captain but frankly he's still far too junior for flag rank.”
“So what do you suggest we do?”
“He does have the ability to do it. Frankly, he's the best Carrier Officer we have at present and if Admiral Cunningham's reports are anything to go by he should go far, be it in the RCN or the Pom Navy.”
“He is running the squadron at present?” the Prime Minister asked. The Admiral just nodded and leaned back in his chair.
'Oh for politicians and their short attention span.' the Admiral thought and said aloud: “Yes, Prime Minister. At the very least until they reach India.”
“Do the Brits have any docks large enough to take a full-size carrier?”
The Admiral shook his head. “Two under construction. But even so the facilities there are better than anything Singapore could provide and anything in Australia is currently busy with overhauling Force Z and the rest of the British Pacific Fleet.”
The Prime Minister looked at the Admiral and frowned.
“So Admiral Cunningham is still expecting the big clash for this year or early 44?”
The Admiral nodded. “He is, Sir.”
The Prime Minister nodded also. “So let's hope we can send our Carriers to help. Considering the mess the Yanks have made of re-taking Guam the Nips will soon come after us.”
“When they do, by god we will give them their Decisive Battle and show them whose ocean this is.”
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