The shipyard was alive with activity. Tens of workers were gathered around a large Battleship, welding hundreds of components onto the structure. Pipes were leaking above them, water dripping from them. Every droplet that hit the shipyards floor made a boom due to the echoing effect. The observation deck was virtually deserted, except for one man.
He was in his late forties, his hair had mostly turned grey, although a few patches of Brown remained, trying to fight for control. He had deep blue eyes, filled with experience and confidence. He stood watching the room and what was happening before him, watching the workers attaching parts to the ship. To bad its not mine. He thought. Another man entered the room, and Kapitan Frank Wexler stood to attention, saluting.
"Kapitan, brilliant isnt it?" The Admiral walked into the room and stood next to him, staring at the scene laid before him.
Yes it is Sir. was Franks reply.
Look at it, the best piece of technology at our disposal, made for the defence of Rheinland against other ships of its class.
I hope it gets used well Sir.
Frank and the Admiral sat down in the chairs positioned by the window, still looking out over the building.
What sort of advances does it have Sir? Frank asked with keen interest. He had decided to remember all of the new advances in Rheinland technology, encase he needed to know them later.
It has a hold to store a Rheinland Cruiser, special research labs filled with some of our best scientists, several fighter and bomber squadrons, so many new features, asked to be put in by the Gott-Kanzler himself.
Its a masterpiece Sir.
Designed for combat against Cruisers, Battle Cruisers and Battleships, it has been equipped with the best anti-warship weaponry, packing a very powerful punch.
Beauty of a weapon, I like that Sir. Never judge a book by its cover. Frank chuckled, using old sayings like that was rare for him. If you dont mind me asking, who is taking command of this ship? The Admiral stopped looking out at the scene before him and turned to face the Kapitan.
You are, a look of shock filled Franks face, what, you think I dragged you all the way out here from your Gunboat to see this ship and then be let down when I told you that someone else was taking its command. Im not that cruel, especially when it comes to things like this. You will take command of this warship and aid us in the defence against Liberty and the new pirate Capital ships, which is if you want to of course. Frank was speechless, silence filled the small space and all that could be heard was the welding and the dripping off the pipe, seeming so far away from them.
Sir, I thought that Kapitans were only allowed to command Cruisers, why am I the exception to this?
Ive spoken to your crew-
Whatever theyve said it isnt true
-and they say youre the best theyve served under, evaluating a situation and acting accordingly, knowing your ships strengths and weaknesses, followed orders to stand down or enter a battle. Youre the perfect candidate for the exception. The talk was interrupted when they both realised the welding and clatter off tools had stopped. Cheers erupted from the construction site, and when Frank and the Admiral looked out of the window they saw the workers cheering, clapping, and congratulating each other on a job well done. The Admiral grasped the microphone in the observation deck and turned it on.
Today is a great day, this 1.8 billion credit Battleship comes into operation. I can not be more proud of you all then I am now, you have done something that very few can do, you have built one of the strongest ships ever to grace its presence in the Sirius Sector, the RNC- he took his hand off the microphone. -what do you want it called?
Well Sir, I thought that if I ever got to name a ship, I would call it the Sterbefall.
Ah, Defender, seems like a suitable name for a ship designed for defence. I believe we once had a Rheinland Cruiser under that name, but it was destroyed in battle. This seems like a brilliant replacement. He picked up the microphone again. The RNC-Sterbefall is one of the prides of the Rheinland Military, serving to protect the people, to destroy the enemy, to give us the edge against Liberty and the pirate scum! Cheers erupted in the construction floor, the dripping pipe was no longer audible and as soon as the cheering started, it ended. Frank and the Admiral watched as the ship was wheeled out into the sunlight, losing sight of it as it made a right turn and continued down the strip, sunlight bouncing off and making the ship look like a holy shrine. In a way it was, it was a shrine to the technological advances of the Sirius Sector, and also to the war hungry human race, always fighting, never ending, infinite.
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
The next day Frank was sitting in a leather chair, surrounded by the beeping of consoles and constant chatter of scientists arguing between two points. Frank tried to block them out of his head, but some managed to get through.
No, with these calculations the ship will probably burn up as we leave the atmosphere!
Ships cant do that; they could only do that as their entering the atmosphere!
Didnt you notice me heavy sarcasm look, these calculations will not work, their shifting to much power to the engines at once! Well-
Well be fine; Ive checked these calculations at least 3 times.
-probably explode and
ENOUGH! Frank shouted over the noise. Cant you two just agree on calculation instead of fighting like school children? Why dont you just use the parameters from another Battleship to set it?
We cant Sir, the scientist that believed his calculations were correct replied, because the Sterbefall is so different due to its improved systems weve had to write codes from the beginning. The other scientist cut in.
If we use the codes from an old Battleship then enough power wont be reaching the engines and well get nowhere, and if to much then the engines will go critical and explode, and has to be a precise amount.
Just work together and get it done. was all Frank could think of saying as a compromise. How long before were ready?
Well, the second scientist said before the other could open his mouth, once Ive gone through the calculations and corrected them-
They dont need correcting!
-we should be ready to go, Ill tell you over the comms once were ready.
Just go and get it done. The scientists left the room, and Frank was fairly certain he heard faint shouting coming from down the hall. God dam it he hit a button on the command chairs left armrest, sending multiple codes down a wire heading toward the hanger deck to allow him to talk to the people down there. The buttons around the ship were fingerprint sensitive. Doors, buttons, weapons, everything had to be accessed by giving your fingerprint, just in case the ship was breached. The system had been designed by the scientists on the ship, only the ships commander, the Admiral, and the Gott-Kanzler knew the codes to disable the system.
Back on the bridge, Frank started talking into the comms.
Please give me some good news done there.
Ja Sir, weve loaded several fighter and bomber squadrons aboard, along with the Rheinland Cruiser stored in the new cruiser bay several decks below where I am now.
Good to hear, Kapitan Wexler out.
Ja, Hauptfeldwebel Wensauer out. Hanns Wensauer was an old friend of Frank, they had been on several operations together. He was mainly for the fighters, so when he was offered a gunboat and the promotion that went with it he declined, saying he would rather stay with his Wrath. His fighter was personally customised by his pay checks. He preferred the slow weapons and was brilliant with his aim, so had purchased several CODENAME weapons from a freelance dealer based in Liberty.
Frank returned to his work in the bridge, checking system status with the crew around the ship. It took him 10 minutes but he got the answers he wanted.
Ja, weapons systems are at a go Sir.
We have our shield, currently at 90% and charging, 91
Navigation and sensors are online and fully operational, no bugs or faults detected.
Sir, were receiving word the launch area has been cleared and we should be able to launch whenever able.
Another 20 minutes later, he got the final answer.
Sir, weve managed to complete the calculations correctly. Seems there was nothing wrong with my calculations at all and... another voice cut in over the comm channel.
Oh you wish, there were at least 5
Anyway Sir, there online, the power flow has been tested and its stable, launch when ready.
Lets get this bird off the ground.
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.