Sargon
01-26-2010, 01:36 PM
The battle raged above the waves...a storm of metal and fire that saw two great fleets locked into a struggle of steel. Bits of it rained down to the seabed and Susano'o Mikoto the god of the seas and storms stirred in his slumber as the pinpricks caused him to scratch himself and stir...
High above, the mighty superbattleship Musashi endured pounding such as no other ship had. Streams of bombs and torpedoes rained down on the behemoth which was reckoned even more stoutly built than her sister Yamato, many of the lessons of her construction having been incorporated into Musashi as she was being built.
The first attacks started at 10:27 with a bomb bouncing off the armour of 'A' turret and a torpedo hit amidships. This barely affects the mountainous ship as she continues to speed through the waves at 24 knots, full of fight when the second attack wave arrives at 12:03. This attack bites more into her thick hide though, delivering 2 more bomb hits and 3 more torpedoes. Any other ship would be suffering quite significantly by now, but this merely drops her speed to 22 knots.
After a brief lull, the third attack wave arrives at 13:31 slamming another 6 bombs and 4 torpedoes into the massive bulk of the vessel. yet still she steams on at 20 knots having taken punishment that would have sunk just about any other ship. Parts of her hull plating tear off and descend to the seabed. Susano'o stirs rather more and begins to wonder what is disturbing him as he begins to open his eyes...
The fourth attack at 14:12 is seen off with no results, but the fifth arrives at 14:55 with a hail of hits adding three more torpedo and four more bomb strikes leaving the Musashi reduced to 16 knots, still impressive after all the damage she has suffered. Susano'o looks up and observes the battle going on. Have I been asleep so long that the men of this world have advanced thus far? The thoughts circled and then stretched out across the ether of existence, in search of the other gods, but he could find none, not even any foreign ones. Am I the last?
Even as these musings issued forth, at 15:25, at least 10 more bombs crash down onto Musashi's decks, perhaps as many as 13, as well as more near misses adding to other ones that narrowly missed in the day's previous strikes boiling the sea by her sides, loosening more plates and springing seams. A further 11 torpedoes crash into her already battered sides, one entering the hole left by a previous hit. Musashi is at last fatally hit, but astoundingly still manages to move forward. Her captain, Rear Admiral Tomiguchi, signals Vice Admiral Kurita, in charge of the Centre Force, "Speed 6 knots, capable of operation. Damage great. What shall we do?". Kurita orders the crippled superdreadnought to leave formation and attempt to beach herself on a nearby island. It may just be possible to do so given she still has power.
Inoguchi turns his ship towards the nearest island he can find, mobilises the crews to repair what damage they can and correct the list, and for a while it seems they may indeed make it. As Kurita reverses his course and passes by the wounded giant's position at 16:21, he can see the ship still moving but not long afterwards the power fails, and the one remaining shaft stops turning. For the next few hours the ship drifts, but the island is not close enough and finally at 19:36, after the Emperor's portrait has been secured, the battle ensign lowered and both given to strong swimmers, the massive ship rolls over and sinks, taking Inoguchi and over a thousand of her 2,400 strong crew with her.
Susano'o is still pondering his solitude as he is hit on the head by the superbattleship. The mischievous god had hoped that this nice deep trench would be a good place for a long nap, but now realises that with a 72,000 ton battleship seeking to take up residence with him, he might not have chosen so well. He needs room to stretch out in after all and this pinprick is annoying him. Grumbling, he decides to return the ship to the surface, but his ever malicious mind decides to do something to the grand vessel and its crew as well as any of their enemies who come across them. With a wave of his gnarled arm he touches the ship with his sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, that he retrieved from the bottom of the sea after the Taira clan had so carelessly lost it at the battle of Dan-no-ura. He chuckled as he sent the ship off to a grouping of ships that were an enemy force, and then returned to his nap....
In the darkness of the night, the restored Musashi rises once more to ride upon the waves. Finding herself in different location and with contacts nearby, the crew seek vengeance upon their attackers and any current enemy of the Land of the Rising Sun. Cursed to sail the seas for all eternity as Japan's protector, the ship is a ghost, and any opponent of whatever description will be lost upon encountering her as her phantom shells hit each time without fail and destroy anything they touch no matter from whence it came and how advanced it may be as she roams the seas of the world, leaving only individual survivors struggling in the sea.
As the men of the USS Essex of US fleet to the north known as Task Force 38 look out into the night, something appears in their midst undetected by radar, and horror and unstoppable disaster wracks the fleet to its utter doom...
But that applies not to her enemies. If they cease to be enemies, then no harm is done, only tales of a mysterious vessel with an odd glow about it are carried to the shores of those who encounter her. Tales of a ghostly Flying Dutchman sporting a Japanese Naval Ensign that cannot be destroyed by any means are told by those waterlogged souls who manage to survive their lost ships, and of those ships that are not enemies who reach port to tell of their unnerving encounter....
No other gods or entities are present to undo Susano'o's work as he is the last such left in all of legend, myth, reality and faith. Only he can change things if he so desires*...the world's reactions over the coming years will be interesting to observe....
EDIT: Forgot to put in the bit about nukes. When the first couple are used on Japan, they wake Susano'o up, and in his annoyance he makes it that no more can be used against the country. However, he also gives the die hards in the leadership a kick up the arse for forcing the US to use them because one of them landed near a nice resting post he used in the past and isn't happy it's gone up in smoke. Now you have a more reasonable leadership. The ghost ship can't be everywhere by the way - it was just given a helping hand by Susano'o to be in the right place that time.
I'm more interested in the cultural effects of people being aware that there's something odd out there. After the war, how does it affect mariners when there's something that no matter how many times it is glimpsed, it scares and unsettles people quite a bit. Does it affect trade routes? Do we see less reliance of ships for trade? Will TV crews brave the risk and go in search of it?
Author's note: Why Musashi? Because I've had enough of Yamato getting the limelight. By all accounts, Musashi was the better and stronger ship, and it's about time she was used for a change. Plus not only the name of an ancient province, but of a great swordsman too. ;)
And before anyone complains, I am quite aware of the usual total of hits Musashi took, but according to her TROM at combinedfleet.com where each hit is individually gone into detail, the number of detailed hits when added up comes to more than they say they do on the very same page further down! They do admit however that the true number of hits is difficult to be certain of. I've used the detailed hits total.
*And that doesn't mean our forum Susano can by the way. Only my story's Susano'o. ;)
So how does this affect the war between the US and Japan now there's a terrifying phantom ship out there that if any ship from the US happens to be unlucky enough to meet, it'll destroy it...
And what effects could this have on seafarers and their stories in the future. Will people go out in search of it? How about if there's a future war between Japan and another country?
Sargon
High above, the mighty superbattleship Musashi endured pounding such as no other ship had. Streams of bombs and torpedoes rained down on the behemoth which was reckoned even more stoutly built than her sister Yamato, many of the lessons of her construction having been incorporated into Musashi as she was being built.
The first attacks started at 10:27 with a bomb bouncing off the armour of 'A' turret and a torpedo hit amidships. This barely affects the mountainous ship as she continues to speed through the waves at 24 knots, full of fight when the second attack wave arrives at 12:03. This attack bites more into her thick hide though, delivering 2 more bomb hits and 3 more torpedoes. Any other ship would be suffering quite significantly by now, but this merely drops her speed to 22 knots.
After a brief lull, the third attack wave arrives at 13:31 slamming another 6 bombs and 4 torpedoes into the massive bulk of the vessel. yet still she steams on at 20 knots having taken punishment that would have sunk just about any other ship. Parts of her hull plating tear off and descend to the seabed. Susano'o stirs rather more and begins to wonder what is disturbing him as he begins to open his eyes...
The fourth attack at 14:12 is seen off with no results, but the fifth arrives at 14:55 with a hail of hits adding three more torpedo and four more bomb strikes leaving the Musashi reduced to 16 knots, still impressive after all the damage she has suffered. Susano'o looks up and observes the battle going on. Have I been asleep so long that the men of this world have advanced thus far? The thoughts circled and then stretched out across the ether of existence, in search of the other gods, but he could find none, not even any foreign ones. Am I the last?
Even as these musings issued forth, at 15:25, at least 10 more bombs crash down onto Musashi's decks, perhaps as many as 13, as well as more near misses adding to other ones that narrowly missed in the day's previous strikes boiling the sea by her sides, loosening more plates and springing seams. A further 11 torpedoes crash into her already battered sides, one entering the hole left by a previous hit. Musashi is at last fatally hit, but astoundingly still manages to move forward. Her captain, Rear Admiral Tomiguchi, signals Vice Admiral Kurita, in charge of the Centre Force, "Speed 6 knots, capable of operation. Damage great. What shall we do?". Kurita orders the crippled superdreadnought to leave formation and attempt to beach herself on a nearby island. It may just be possible to do so given she still has power.
Inoguchi turns his ship towards the nearest island he can find, mobilises the crews to repair what damage they can and correct the list, and for a while it seems they may indeed make it. As Kurita reverses his course and passes by the wounded giant's position at 16:21, he can see the ship still moving but not long afterwards the power fails, and the one remaining shaft stops turning. For the next few hours the ship drifts, but the island is not close enough and finally at 19:36, after the Emperor's portrait has been secured, the battle ensign lowered and both given to strong swimmers, the massive ship rolls over and sinks, taking Inoguchi and over a thousand of her 2,400 strong crew with her.
Susano'o is still pondering his solitude as he is hit on the head by the superbattleship. The mischievous god had hoped that this nice deep trench would be a good place for a long nap, but now realises that with a 72,000 ton battleship seeking to take up residence with him, he might not have chosen so well. He needs room to stretch out in after all and this pinprick is annoying him. Grumbling, he decides to return the ship to the surface, but his ever malicious mind decides to do something to the grand vessel and its crew as well as any of their enemies who come across them. With a wave of his gnarled arm he touches the ship with his sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, that he retrieved from the bottom of the sea after the Taira clan had so carelessly lost it at the battle of Dan-no-ura. He chuckled as he sent the ship off to a grouping of ships that were an enemy force, and then returned to his nap....
In the darkness of the night, the restored Musashi rises once more to ride upon the waves. Finding herself in different location and with contacts nearby, the crew seek vengeance upon their attackers and any current enemy of the Land of the Rising Sun. Cursed to sail the seas for all eternity as Japan's protector, the ship is a ghost, and any opponent of whatever description will be lost upon encountering her as her phantom shells hit each time without fail and destroy anything they touch no matter from whence it came and how advanced it may be as she roams the seas of the world, leaving only individual survivors struggling in the sea.
As the men of the USS Essex of US fleet to the north known as Task Force 38 look out into the night, something appears in their midst undetected by radar, and horror and unstoppable disaster wracks the fleet to its utter doom...
But that applies not to her enemies. If they cease to be enemies, then no harm is done, only tales of a mysterious vessel with an odd glow about it are carried to the shores of those who encounter her. Tales of a ghostly Flying Dutchman sporting a Japanese Naval Ensign that cannot be destroyed by any means are told by those waterlogged souls who manage to survive their lost ships, and of those ships that are not enemies who reach port to tell of their unnerving encounter....
No other gods or entities are present to undo Susano'o's work as he is the last such left in all of legend, myth, reality and faith. Only he can change things if he so desires*...the world's reactions over the coming years will be interesting to observe....
EDIT: Forgot to put in the bit about nukes. When the first couple are used on Japan, they wake Susano'o up, and in his annoyance he makes it that no more can be used against the country. However, he also gives the die hards in the leadership a kick up the arse for forcing the US to use them because one of them landed near a nice resting post he used in the past and isn't happy it's gone up in smoke. Now you have a more reasonable leadership. The ghost ship can't be everywhere by the way - it was just given a helping hand by Susano'o to be in the right place that time.
I'm more interested in the cultural effects of people being aware that there's something odd out there. After the war, how does it affect mariners when there's something that no matter how many times it is glimpsed, it scares and unsettles people quite a bit. Does it affect trade routes? Do we see less reliance of ships for trade? Will TV crews brave the risk and go in search of it?
Author's note: Why Musashi? Because I've had enough of Yamato getting the limelight. By all accounts, Musashi was the better and stronger ship, and it's about time she was used for a change. Plus not only the name of an ancient province, but of a great swordsman too. ;)
And before anyone complains, I am quite aware of the usual total of hits Musashi took, but according to her TROM at combinedfleet.com where each hit is individually gone into detail, the number of detailed hits when added up comes to more than they say they do on the very same page further down! They do admit however that the true number of hits is difficult to be certain of. I've used the detailed hits total.
*And that doesn't mean our forum Susano can by the way. Only my story's Susano'o. ;)
So how does this affect the war between the US and Japan now there's a terrifying phantom ship out there that if any ship from the US happens to be unlucky enough to meet, it'll destroy it...
And what effects could this have on seafarers and their stories in the future. Will people go out in search of it? How about if there's a future war between Japan and another country?
Sargon