((Somewhere over France))
The Empress Veronica shook as something hit it. An officer screamed as bullets smashed through a nearby window, striking metal and flesh with extreme prejudice.
"What the hell..." said Laskaris.
A small and dark shape shot past the bridge with a loud hum, and briefly John-Loukas could make out the shape of a hammer, sickle, and Britannian Union Flag.
The British had airplanes too.
"Red alert!" shouted John-Loukas. "Action stations! Set all stations to condition 1!"
Klaxons blared all throughout the ship as the crew manned their stations, among them the two rudimentary antiaircraft guns.
"Find that plane and shoot it down!" ordered John-Loukas.
"Uh, Captain, I think we have a bigger problem than one plane," said Laskaris, pointing in front of them.
Out of the clouds emerged a large airship, painted in all red, bristling with weapons all over. It was of the same design as the Empress Veronica, but it was twice as large and significantly more armed than the imperial ship, with five more light cannons and three more antiaircraft weapons, as well as what appeared to be a larger bomb bay and...a runway? John-Loukas swore he saw planes inside, getting ready to take off. On the side of the communist airship was written: Aiden Gray.
"Sir, they are hailing us over the wireless," said the communications officer.
"Patch them through," said John-Loukas.
"We are the proletariat," said a Britannian manon the other end, "Lower your weapons and surrender your ship. We will add your social and class distinctiveness to our own. Your experience will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."
"No," said John-Loukas.
"Reactionary bourgeois scum," said the woman, "I understand you recently bombed the poor proletariat in the free city of Paris."
"Yes, I ordered that," proclaimed John-Loukas.
"You will pay for your crimes against the proletariat!" said the man. "The Workers' Commonwealth and the liberated proletariat of Britannia shall triumph over the reactionaries in Constantinople and bring the revolution to all corners of the world! Surrender now and we shall not kill you all. Resist...and you already know what fate befalls you. It is no use resisting the revolution and inevitable victory of the proletariat."
"No," said John-Loukas, "I fight for Emperor and Empire, and I will not bend to some Syndicalist scum!"
There was no response for five seconds. Then there was a laugh.
"Fools," said the man, "Let us show you the true might of the proletariat!"
The Aiden Gray opened fire on the Empress Veronica, unleashing a devastating hail of flak from its cannons as its complement of biplanes strafed the imperial ship, tearing large holes in the sides of the Empress Veronica's hull.
The ship rocked from the sheer force of the impacts. Some crew screamed or lost their balance and were tossed overboard. Others bravely tried to man their stations.
"Engines three and four are down!" reported the chief engineering officer, "We have reports of fires breaking out dangerously close to the hydrogen reserves."
"Seal them off and execute Protocol Herculean," ordered John-Loukas.
"But sir, there are forty crewmembers still trying to escape from that section!"
"I hate to say this, but if we wait for them the flames could reach the hydrogen, in which case we all die! So do as I order you to do, and execute Protocol Herculean!" shouted John-Loukas.
"As you wish." The officer turned a key on his console.
There was a rumbling as thousands of gallons of ballast water were suddenly released from their holding chambers, rushing through the lower regions of the ship and dousing all flames. Looking out of the corner of his eye, John-Loukas saw water cascading out of the exhaust pipes and gaps in the hull, carrying with it all forty flailing crewmen over the edge into the abyss that was the sky.
"All fires accounted for," said the officer.
"Very well, get engines one and two fully operational!" ordered John-Loukas.
"Sir, even if we did, and I am pretty sure we can, we still wouldn't be able to outrun the communists," said Laskaris, "Their ship is too advanced and too fast."
John-Loukas leaned over. "I wasn't saying we retreat," he whispered.
"The reactionaries reveal themselves for who they really are," said the man, "Cowards, throwing away the lives of the proletariat as if they were trash. The reactionaries declare the wars, while the proletariat fights the battles. In war, the proletariat loses. But not today. Today, we have triumphed over the reactionaries in Constantinople! Today, the revolution will succeed!"
"Not on my watch," said John-Loukas, "Laskaris, full speed ahead."
The first officer smiled. "Yes, sir."
Laskaris gunned the throttle, and the Empress Veronica lurched forward, towards the port side of the Aiden Gray.
The voice came back, more panicked now. "What are you doing? Stop! Surrender to the proletariat at once!"
"I will never surrender to any traitor to the Empire!" said John-Loukas. "For Emperor and Empire!"
The Empress Veronica rammed into the side of the Aiden Gray, and both ships tumbled from the heavens, towards the earth below.
))
