NationStates Jolt Archive

Admiralität Haus, Kriegsministerium, Erebus, Tartarus

Two older men sat in a relatively drab room dominated by a large conference table, a dark teak wood surrounded by comfortable looking chairs. Against one wall a younger man in the dress uniform of a full commander and wearing the aiguillette of a staff officer was just sitting down, having obviously just delivered cups of coffee to the two men wearing stars. The two men sat silently, the ceiling mounted slide projector shining blankly against an erected screen against one wall. Other walls are dominated by murals of fighting ships, both relatively modern and far older, including one fantastic scene of two lines of battle engaging broadside to broadside, the scuppers running red with blood, casting an even deeper tinge than the perfectly captured setting sun upon the water.

A thick carpet muffled the noise as a young lieutenant swung open the heavy door to admit a number of people. Immediately recognizing them, the three officers of Her Imperial Majesty’s Navy rose, Duke Abyss dropping into a bow, with his juniors, commoners, despite their relatively senior status, going down on a knee for the Empress. Stepping through the door, Gehenna barely noticed the man who had opened it as her eyes fell upon the two men near the table. Her eyes flicked between the two, as slight smile appeared on her lips. She moved to her seat, standing beside it as she took in the formal greeting. Slightly behind her entered an elderly gentleman, not as fit as he had been in his younger days of serving in the navy, but not too portly either. He stood back, letting his empress move to her seat, as he moved over to the far side of the table next to his companions. Lord Hawkridge stood beside his chair waiting for her to move along the proceedings. He was followed into the room by Gehenna’s two security personnel, who stood near the wall, beside the door, keeping their charge in plain view. As soon as they had entered, the lieutenant pulled the door closed behind them, sealing the room into privacy.

“Gentlemen, please be seated.” She took her seat, not waiting for them to come out of their bows before she settled herself. Her eyes rested briefly on Lord Hawkridge, as he also took his seat.

“Welcome to Admiralität Haus, Your Majesty.” His Grace Duke of the Abyss Admiral Edward Greenham, Third Sea Lord and head of the Bureau of Ships and Designs greeted his Sovereign. “Thank you for meeting with us so we can present our proposals concerning the future of your Navy.”

“It is a pleasure to be here, Admiral Greenham.” Gehenna smiled as she fixed her gaze on Edward. “And I am very interested to see exactly what you have for me. I believe it has been a while in the designing, so I am expecting great things from you.” She flicked her attention between the two once more. “Shall we begin?”

Greenham nodded. “Of course, Ma’am.” He motioned to the commander at the back of the room, and the lights dimmed slightly, and the projector whirred to life displaying a complex set of wireframes, obviously blueprints. Greenham stood and moved to the front of the room. “This the Emperor Erebus-class nuclear powered battleship. At one hundred and three thousand tons, she is the second largest class of warship every designed by the Imperial Navy. Three months before his unfortunate passing, the Emperor Your Father requested that BSD design a new battleship to take the place of the older model ships built in his youth and designed before he was born.”

The slide changed again, displaying a full colour artist’s rendering of the ship firing its four main turrets. “We were given eighteen months to complete the design, but as you may recall, three months before that deadline, we requested an extension to take advantage of the new trade opportunities your Majesty’s more open foreign policy allowed us.”

Once more the slide changed, displaying a complex molecule that someone extremely knowledgeable in the field of chemistry would recognize as an explosive. “We managed to gain access to a number of minor technologies that when combined with the new design allowed us to increase its combat effectiveness by approximately three hundred percent over what your Father had requested.”

Lord Hawkridge turned his head, and watched the slideshow, smiling as he heard details of the length of time the navy had possessed its ships. Being as old as the Emperor, he had been a young man in the navy when they had first been launched. A smile of remembrance spread over his lips as he continued to listen in silence.

“No one can doubt that we need to upgrade the fleet.” Gehenna shook her head slowly as she watched the slides flick between one and then the next. “From these initial pictures, I can see that the time extension was well worth it.” She looked over at Lord Hawkridge, seeing his smile before turning fixing her gaze on Greenham. “I can see it is a heavily armed vessel, but exactly what weaponry will it be carrying, and what is its target range?” She fixed her eyes back to the slide.

Greenham nodded slightly, absorbing the question, and the bright commander in the back of the room switched to a different slide, though perhaps not in the order they were originally scheduled to present. This one was a series of coloured circles around a small icon representing the ship itself, and was labelled at the top of ‘Offensive Weaponry Ranges’. “The primary armament of the Erebus-class is its twelve main guns, grouped into four turrets of three guns apiece, two located aft of the superstructure and two fore of it. The green circle seen here shows the three hundred and fifty kilometre range of the guns firing in their primary fire mode, which is an electromagnetic assist, a capability we managed to get a few years ahead of our own research by from the NDA.”

Producing a laser pointer, the Duke highlighted the next ring, this one in blue, and smaller than the green one, well inside it. “This is the standard fire mode range of forty-five kilometres, without the electromagnetic assist.” He moved the pointer. “This is the range of the secondary weapons, which consist of vertically launched missiles which can hit targets at the edge of their five hundred and fifty kilometre range in just under thirty minutes. There are also some longer ranged missiles that can hit targets at six hundred and fifty kilometres. Further it carries torpedoes with a range of one hundred kilometres as well as two depth charge launchers.”

The slide changed once more to a similar diagram, this one labelled ‘Defensive Weaponry Ranges’, but Greenham paused to see if Gehenna had any more questions.

She nodded her head, her eyes wide with interest. “And we are talking nuclear as well as non-nuclear weapons?” As she spoke, she did not turn from watching the slide. Although she was no military genius in her own right, which was the reason these three men were sitting around the table with her, she had a desire to be kept as well versed in these matters as possible.

Greenham swallowed slightly. “The ship could be equipped with nuclear shells for the main guns, nuclear tipped cruise missiles, nuclear tipped torpedoes and nuclear depth charges, but it will not carry such things normally.” He looked thoughtful. “I suppose it could even carry aerial bombs for use of VTOL aircraft, but that would be highly irregular.” He paused again, sensing another question.

Gehenna nodded her head thoughtfully as she took the information in. “Interesting.” She turned her face towards Greenham. “And its defensive capabilities?” She flicked her gaze over to Lord Hawkridge, who was focusing on the display before him, lost in thought, before returning her attention to the Admiral.

The laser pointer came up once more, highlighting the furthest ring out from the ship. “This is the range of new Mark Seven Aym Surface to Air missiles at eight hundred kilometres as the edge of the defensive perimeter. The new class will mount sixteen vertical launchers capable of firing a total of thirty-two missiles a minute. Further, there are two nine-cell Amaymon SAM launchers for closer targets.”

He pointed to two interior circles, relatively tiny against the massive range of the outer defensive weapons. “These are the missile defence weapons, and are capable of engaging aircraft should they venture too close to the ship.”

The slide changed back to a picture of the superstructure. “Additionally, the counter measures and targeting suite is the most impressive we have yet emplaced on a vessel, and the armour, the heaviest and most advanced.”

Falling silent for a moment, as she once again ingested the information given to her, Gehenna gazed at the slide, using it to give Admiral Greenham’s words more depth. She smiled, as the figures became more visual in her head. Feeling more at ease with the weaponry, she let herself move onto other aspects, as questions filled her mind.

“This is a large vessel, Admiral.” Her tone informed them without words that she was impressed thus far. “It makes me wonder about its manoeuvrability. If I send it to war, can I be certain that it will arrive in time?”

Nodding thoughtfully, the Admiral cast his gaze towards the BuShips commander in the back of the room, and paused as once again the younger man found the appropriate slide. It came up, displaying a side view wireframe of the vessel, with emplacements along the keel clearly representing engines and their attached machinery. The laser pointer highlighted one of the four largest blocks, then flicked to the other three.

“Each of these is a nuclear reactor. Unlike the slightly larger Empire of Tartarus aircraft carriers, which have only two reactors, this class has four. Two power the engines, and give it a top speed greater than all heavy capital ships currently in commission. The other two reactors are to power the electromagnetic assist for the main guns, and can be rerouted to power the engines if needed.”

“That is most reassuring.” Gehenna smiled, once more showing her Admirals her pleasure in the ship being presented. “And how does this new battleship compare logistically and personnel wise with our current battleships?” She noticed that Lord Hawkridge had now turned from the slideshow, and was focusing more on her and the Admiral, his interest already peaked by the information received so far.

Edward smiled. “These new ships will be less intensive in terms of personnel usage, requiring only ninety five percent of the personnel of the Crown Prince-class and less than ninety percent of the crew of the even older Prince Carl-class, that were old when I joined the Navy.”

He grinned. “The berthing spaces on those things are so tiny. In terms of deployment length, though, these new ships seriously outstrip the older ones. The reactors, like the ones in the Empire of Tartarus carriers, only need to be changed out every fifteen years. They require no fuel, and can be deployed for nearly nine months on internal consumables.”

He paused slightly. “That’s all I have to say about the ship itself, so unless you have more questions, Your Majesty, I’ll turn the remainder of the briefing over to Admiral Collingwood.” He raised a single eyebrow questioningly.

Gehenna gave the question some thought and then smiled. “I have no questions, Admiral Greenham. I am happy for Admiral Collingwood to continue.” She looked briefly over to Lord Hawkridge. “Do you have anything you wish to discuss before we move on, Leon?”

The older man shook his head. “I am happy for us to continue, your Majesty.”

She nodded her head. “Then we shall move on. Thank you, Admiral.” She turned away from Edward and looked at the Vice Admiral. “You may continue, Admiral Collingwood.”

Switching places with Collingwood, Greenham took his own seat and directed his gaze attentively to the screen. Collingwood himself produced a blue laser pointer as his first slide appeared, displaying a spreadsheet showing the distribution of the Imperial Navy’s capital ships among its eight main surface formations.

“As you can see here,” he pointed to two columns, “we still have nine ships in each of our two oldest classes of warship, the Prince Carl battleships and the Empress Kristaucia battlecarriers. Over the next ten years, we plan to completely eliminate these classes and replace them, the Prince Carl’s with the new battleships, and the Kristaucia’s with the new Empire of Tartarus fleet carriers.”

The slide switched to an aerial shot of a dockyard, displaying two massive half finished warships. “By that time, including these carriers already under construction, we’ll have doubled our current strength in the Earl of Englemere missile cruisers, have sixteen of the new carriers and twelve of the new battleships in the ocean, assuming you approve their construction.”

Another slide displayed, with names of vessels too small to read on it, but with dates clearly labelled across the top of the chart. It started five years earlier and stretched ten years into the future. “As this chart shows, every single vessel in Your Majesty’s navy will be completely updated to a modern standard by that time, excluding the battleships and battlecarriers we will still be planning on retiring.”

Turning her attention from the slide, Gehenna focused her gaze on the speaker. “Ten years will see the entire fleet updated? That’s very impressive.” She turned back towards the screen. “And this new battleship, the first will be completed with a full compliment within what time frame?”

Collingwood lowered his pointer. “The first ship of the class will commission nineteen months after you give us authorization, and be combat ready in twenty seven. We expect construction and working up time to drop to just under twenty-three months as construction of the class in its entirety continues, Ma’am.”

“And potentially we are looking to produce how many of this class of battleship?” Gehenna turned away from the slide, once more giving her complete attention to the Admiral. “And what is the estimated timescale for the completion?”

“The total numbers are not refined, but we think twenty years from the commission of the first ship to the last, assuming we produce a full twenty ships. We would only need fourteen to maintain parity of numbers with the current fleet, though.” Collingwood smiled. “The rest of the current battleships will be replaced by the smaller missile cruisers.”

Gehenna nodded. “That sounds very reasonable to me.” She leant forward in her chair, interlacing her fingers together. “I will agree for production to go ahead, of course, I would like to read over the finer details and would like a report forwarded to my office in due course.” She flicked her gaze between the two men. “And I would like to receive regular updates on the progress of my fleet improvements.” She turned to Lord Hawkridge. “Do you have any concerns with the commissioning of this vessel?”

Leon once again shook his head, a smile on his lips. “I believe this battleship will be a great asset to the fleet. I have looked over the stats, and I can find nothing that would require me to advise you otherwise.”

Gehenna gave the older man a friendly smile and a nod, before once more turning to her two naval officers. “Do you have anything else you wish to add?”

Collingwood barely managed to conceal his offensive at being requested to keep his Empress updated on the progress the fleet, while the Duke’s face, trained by his long years, was an absolute mask and said exactly what he wanted it to, and both men nodded at her instructions. Greenham spoke once more, his tone slightly stiffer than normal. “No, that’s all we had, Your Majesty.”

Gehenna looked between the two men, a slight frown marring her features that resembled little more than a questioning thought. “Just one little thing, gentlemen. The name of the ship?” She saw from the corner of her eye, Lord Hawkridge shift in his seat, his attention grabbed. “The Emperor Erebus? Could we not perhaps find a more fitting title?”

Collingwood blinked, and opened his mouth before snapping it shut, realizing, firstly, that it was not his question to answer, and secondly, that he had no answer. Fortunately, Edward did have an answer. “More fitting name for the class, Your Majesty? The Emperor Your Father commissioned the design. We thought this would be an excellent way to remember his contribution to the ship and the navy as a whole.”

“Emperor Erebus has the capital named after him, what more could he ask for?” She looked between the two, smiling as sweetly as she could despite the topic of conversation. “I assumed that there might have been a naval hero who deserved to be immortalised in the name of the ship.” She raised her eyebrow questioningly. “After all, Emperor Erebus was not sailor.”

Greenham swallowed slightly. Coming from someone else, it might have been a question. Coming from the Empress, it was possibly a question with deadly implications, though he was not sure why, exactly. “The Emperor Your Father, while not a sailor, did make a fairly large contribution to modernization of the Imperial Navy, of which this battleship design would be the capstone.”

He took a breath carefully. “Unfortunately, he died before his dream of a modernized navy could be realized, Your Majesty. But if you wish the navy to change the name and deny the Emperor Your Father this legacy among its ranks, we will of course comply with your instructions.” The last is said rather more coolly than was perhaps wise, but he was a Duke of Tartarus.

“I understand exactly what the Emperor did for the navy, I have read through all of the documentation pertaining to my navy. I just feel that there is potentially a more worthwhile candidate for consideration.” Gehenna could feel herself getting riled at the thought of having to commission a ship named after someone she despised so much. “I believe…”

Coming from one side, she heard a slight cough, her attention caught. She looked over at Lord Hawkridge, who held his hand slightly in front of his mouth. His eyes spoke enough to her that she fell silent to allow him to speak, the motion of her hand giving him permission. “Your Majesty, as much as the navy would be willing to honour all of its glorious dead, trying to choose the most worthwhile candidate, it would take months to replace, postponing development of this vessel.” As he spoke, he silently willed her to calm down, his eyes conveying as much. “And it would be an honour for all those privileged to sail on her to remember your father’s contribution to the fleet.”

Gehenna looked at him, her eyes glued to his face. She could feel herself calming down, and realised that she was overreacting to the situation, especially in front of two men who held her father in high esteem. “You are right, Leon.” She gave him a little smile before she turned back to her two Admirals. “On reflection, gentlemen, we shall continue with the name put forward.”

The two senior officers nodded intelligently, politely ignoring whatever problem there seemed to exist. “As Your Majesty commands,” Greenham said softly and very formally, his tone though easing back towards it earlier warmth towards the young woman. “The full report on the Emperor Erebus-class will be on your desk in the morning.”

“Thank you, Admiral Greenham.” Gehenna gave the man her most pleasant smile, feeling herself back under control. She sat back in her chair, letting her mind clear. “I shall look forward to reading your report. But for all intents and purposes, I see no reason for my signature not to be on the proposal by the end of the tomorrow.” She looked over at Leon. “I would be grateful if your recommendation was also submitted for my perusal. I want to get the construction of these ships begun as soon as possible.”

“I shall have my report on your desk by tomorrow morning, Ma’am.” Lord Hawkridge made a note on the document he had in front of him.

“If there is nothing more to add, gentlemen, I will call the meeting to an end.” She looked between each of them in turn waiting to see whether there was anything more that needed to be discussed.

The two admirals shook their heads. “No, Ma’am, I do not believe there was anything else,” Admiral Greenham replied. “George?”

Collingwood shook his head again. “No, sir.” He addressed himself directly to the Third Sea Lord.

The Duke of the Abyss smiled then at his Empress. “Well, that is all we have, Your Majesty.” He allowed himself a small grin. “I’m sure you have yet another boring meeting to attend now that we are done eating up a valuable portion of your time.”

Laughing lightly as she rose from her seat, Gehenna once more looked at each of the gentlemen in turn, giving each of them a smile. “Then I will bid you farewell, gentlemen.” Waiting little more than for them to acknowledge her words, she turned and headed for the door, her two security personnel moving as she approached, one of whom already having pulled the door open for her to exit.

As she disappeared through, Lord Hawkridge turned to the others in the room, a smile brightening his face. “A job well done, gentlemen. Her Majesty seemed most impressed with your plans. Are you still free for lunch tomorrow, Edward?”

The Duke nodded. “I am. I’ll have my office call yours if anything comes up, of course.”


[ooc: Thanks to Ainulindalion for help and advice.]