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Post by Sophie on Aug 21, 2022 22:21:08 GMT -5
"I find this arrangement highly objectionable." The Commander spoke calmly, despite the force of her words. "Your added escort would be a burden to my convoy. The Royal Battle Fleet has rigorous timetables, and to make up for the time lost talking to you, I will have to run the rest of my trip at twenty knots. A speed your battleship cannot attain. As well, I do not want your sailors sniffing around my merchants. Their contents are classified."
"More importantly, Kumosenkan has no quarrel with the Union of South Touli." The Lieutenant-Commander added. "Adding your vessels to our escort could signal to them we are their enemies. We do not wish to draw harm to the civilians on board the ships of our convoy, and I fear your task force would be quite the magnet."
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Post by callmedelta on Aug 21, 2022 22:54:22 GMT -5
‘Well, that went great,’ Woodward thought, glumly. Seeing as lies didn’t work, and judging by the Commander’s words doubling down was just going to get them talking in circles, the truth it would have to be. “The Royal Battle Fleet must have truly rigorous timetables to justify a journey through Union territorial waters, where a conflict that could slow you down like this could be a very real possibility. Why, a more spiteful man than myself may try and prolong use these negotiations purely to slow you down. Not to mention the need to pay for the escort needed to deter, not eliminate, such a possibility. But I’ll do is both a courtesy and stop beating around the bush. I don’t quite believe you when you say those goods are heading to Yalhai. The fact that you won’t tell me what’s exactly on those ships, or verify it for myself, is also suspicious, though you could have nothing headed for the UST on there. I still can’t risk you arming the Union, and so I want to follow you to ensure you go as far as Elerian waters.”
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Post by Sophie on Aug 21, 2022 23:25:36 GMT -5
The Commander recoiled with shock and disgust plastered on her face. "I show you the courtesy of stopping and being open to conversation, and you dare accuse me of lying?! When you are the one spreading falsehoods to attempt to intimidate me." She stamped her forepaw forward. "The UST has no submarines." She spelled out. "The equipment onboard my convoy is classified even to me. In no world would you be allowed to see it. Nor will you be allowed to follow us. Should you try, I will have no choice but to do everything in my power to shake you from our tail."
"We have been nothing but kind to you." Lieutenant-Commander Nii continued. "We could have just flown past your ships without stopping. Yet now you deign it wise to threaten delaying tactics to get us into trouble?!"
"My patience has worn thin." The Commander's tone had shifted from cold professionalism, to a venomous hostility. "You have no authority here. Kumosenkan rules the waves. Act wisely."
Both women turned their back on the Battleship captain and began to head towards the side of the hull where they had webbed their dinghy down.
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Post by callmedelta on Aug 22, 2022 21:27:50 GMT -5
"I didn't say you were lying," Captain Woodward said, "I said that I don't believe you, and that is a very different thing. As far as the Union's navy is concerned, it wasn't something Franerre was interested in before the war. For all we know, they could have a fleet of twenty battleships and escorts preparing to sink us over the horizon this very moment. All we have to go on is rumors, and they are just that, I'm afraid. Unless I can see what is in your ships, I have to treat them as if they're carrying weapons bound for the UST - weapons that will kill Franerri soldiers. If this conversation doesn't end with an invitation for me to inspect those cargo ships, which you do have every right to refuse, there was no way I would let your ships leave here without ensuring you went as far as the end of the UST's waters. You can try to delay us all you want, we'll use everything in our power to keep following." The Captain let them go with one final comment. "Sadly, I find wisdom and duty often conflict."
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Post by Sophie on Aug 22, 2022 23:10:41 GMT -5
The two Kumo heaved themselves over the railing and latched their pedipalps to the side of the hull. The Commander angled her body straight upwards so she could glare at Captain Woodward. She spoke loudly, wanting everyone on board his ship to overhear. "Let me be very clear. If you attempt to follow us, I will be forced to assume you intend to harm my convoy. I personally assure you that you will lose. That every single man on your lugubrious warship will die." She craned her neck past the captain to address his crew directly. "Sailors of this vessel! Heed my warning! Disobey all illegal orders to pursue my convoy, or you will be killed. My torpedoes will fly straight and true and devour your fleet whole. My quarrel is with your captain and not with you. I pray that the living stars will guide your captain from such suicidal actions."
Lieutenant-Commander Nii again took out her whistle and blew the same three notes she did earlier. "Be forewarned, Captain Woodward. Should the guns on your battleship so much as twitch in our directions, our hunter-killers will launch a deluge of torpedoes."
Not wanting to waste a minute more nor talk in circles with a man, the two clambered down the hull of the battleship. In a swift motion, the Nii drew her ceremonial sword and severed the webs connecting their dinghy to the battleship. The Executive officer kicked on the dinghy's motor and cranked it to the highest speed to get back to their warship.
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Post by callmedelta on Aug 23, 2022 21:46:41 GMT -5
“I can’t believe you imbeciles let me agree to attempting diplomacy,” Captain Bassot declared upon hearing Woodward’s report, “At the very least, as the commander of the largest vessel here, I should have been the one to meet with Kumosenkan.”
“Fuck off, James,” Woodward retorted, “I’d like to see you try and meet diplomatically with one of those…things without pissing yourself out of fear or actually starting a shooting war the strongest fleet in the world.”
“Why you inso-” Bassot started, marching towards Woodward before being stopped by a hand on his chest from Captain Gerard.
“As much as this situation is undesirable,” Gerard said calmly, “I doubt that the two of us would have done any better than Captain Woodward.” Bassot stared at Gerard, who met him with an equally steely gaze of his own. “I would take much the same bluntly honest route as Woodward did, and you would try to meet Kumosenkan with an equal amount of pride, which would mix like oil and water.”
“Don’t act like you know me,” James spat.
“I do know you. But what either of us would have done differently, or what Captain Woodward may have done better,” Gerard turned his head to look at Woodward for that comment, “is irrelevant. We need to focus on what we can do now.” At the very least, that got Captain Bassot to back off.
“We’ll inform the fuel tankers the next time we refuel,” Woodward said, “But for now, somebody get me a map.” Thankfully, an aide already had one handy, rolling it out on a table in the bridge. “If we are to operate under the assumption that Kumosenkan is selling weapons to the UST, we should be able to see them coming in or out of port, at least. So we need to tighten up our patrols, move them closer to Union ports. As for what to do when we catch them in the act, well, we could at least force Kumosenkan to admit it. Throw it up the chain of command to do with the information what they will.”
Bassot sighed. “I hate the fact that you have a reasonable suggestion.”
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Post by Sophie on Aug 24, 2022 20:08:10 GMT -5
The moment the Commander returned to her ship, she scuttled up the side of the hull. Leaving her second in command to deal with the dinghy. Once she reached the bridge, she began barking at her radio officer. "All civilian units. Form up on RMS Yasuhara. Yasuhara, move ahead flank. Deflect south to break sightlines from the Franerri ships." Immediately upon receipt of the message, the massive container ship at the heart of the convoy revved its engines up to the absolute maximum, past their safety limiters. In a matter of minutes the ships would accelerate to twenty-two knots, and the rest of the civilian ships would accelerate to keep pace. "Hatsuharu," She called out to her sister ship. "Form up on Momori. Line ahead, five-hundred meters. Immediate execute. All weapons on yellow alert."
After finishing dealing out her orders to the rest of the convoy, she flung her own engine order telegraph to ahead two-thirds. "Navigation, bring us to bearing one-eight-zero. Get me the hell away from that eyesore."
"Commander," Lieutenant-Commander Nii asked after finally reaching the bridge. "What of I-19?"
"She'll find her way to us once she realizes we're leaving." The Commander answered. "I'm sure she wants to keep an eye on the Franerris, so if they manage to get a lucky shot on us she can still sling torpdoes into their hulls."
The convoy made immediate steaming to the south to break over the horizon. The two hucks stayed towards the aft end of the convoy, making sure they would be the last thing the Franneri vessels would see.
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Post by callmedelta on Aug 27, 2022 16:30:25 GMT -5
Once the two hucks had left the Franerri vessels' sight, the Franerri patrol met the first resupply convoy available and told them the news, allowing them to bring it back to the leased ports in Zedonia. With the news of Kumosenkan's potential involvement known, orders were made to tighten the patrols around the UST's ports. They hoped to catch Kumosenkan in the act of selling weapons, but orders were to expressly not engage any further Kumo ships.
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Post by Sophie on Aug 27, 2022 17:43:00 GMT -5
Free from the vision of the Franneri vessels and satisfied that they weren't being followed, the convoy slowed to allow the submerged submarine to catch up. After a few hours of traveling at five knots, I-19 breached the surface of the water. "Commander! I-19 is reporting batteries at fifteen percent. Switching engine two to recharge."
"Understood." The Commander responded to her radio officer. "Bring the convoy up to I-19's maximum speed while recharging."
As ordered, the convoy got moving up to twelve knots to allow for I-19 to recharge her batteries. It took her twelve hours running on recharge to get back to full. Once there, the convoy accelerated back up to twenty knots. From there, it would take the convoy another two and a half days to reach their designated port in the UST. Before they reached it, however, the I-19 broke off from the convoy. The I-19 would join the rest of the convoy in dock half a day later to be refueled. Once docked, the Kumo sat back and relaxed as part of the deal is the UST would handle all unloading services.
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Post by callmedelta on Sept 9, 2022 22:53:35 GMT -5
Once the orders for a closer blockade had been relayed, Franerri ships would close to patrolling 40 km out from Union ports. The ports themselves were beyond visual range, but the Franerri ships should be able to catch any ships while being far out enough from port to be able to run from any Union warships that may sally from port.
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