The Tale of the Three Destroyers

[Goodwood_Alpha]

(With insincere apologies to J. K. Rowling)

Once upon a lonely channel at the edge of the harbor, three destroyers steamed at twilight. Out to the high seas they made their way in line astern, passing the outer markers, bound to meet with their fleet. But the harbor mouth was mined, said the dispatches they had received upon disembarkation, and so they used their on board minesweeping equipment to pick their way through the danger zone, and venture out into the open sea. They then came upon a large yacht, blocking their way forward, and Davy Jones spoke to them.

He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for ships usually met their fate in his minefields. But Davy Jones was also cunning, so he pretended to be impressed with the three destroyers' technology and skill, and said that each had earned a prize for successfully evading him.

And so the first destroyer, being an impetuous and combative vessel, always charging forth to seek out the enemy, asked for a gun that must always beat any other, one that would suit her style of ship-to-ship combat. And so Davy Jones fashioned for her a cannon of five inches diameter, its barrel thirty-eight times that length, which would always be ready to point at the foe no matter the distance or how swiftly she turned on her rudder.

The second destroyer, wishing to humiliate Davy Jones still further, asked for a powerful engine that would propel her quickly about the oceans, so that she might be anywhere she needed to be, to confound her enemies and rescue others from Davy Jones. And so he fashioned for the second destroyer a great powerplant that would do so, propelling her at hitherto unimagined velocity so long as she did not use her rudder overmuch.

The third destroyer, who was the youngest and wisest of the three, asked Davy Jones for the power to hide from him. And so Davy Jones, most reluctantly, took off his own Cloak of Invisibility, and gave it to the youngest destroyer. He then urged his yacht forward, vanishing into the coming night.

The three destroyers continued their journey, chatting to each other about the prizes they had been given, before joining up with the fleet to which they had been assigned. In time, that fleet encountered an enemy force of roughly equal numbers and strength, and assigned to their positions in the vanguard, the three destroyers ventured forth, to do battle in their own way.

The first destroyer, true to her nature as a bold fighter, dashed forth, firing her guns at whatever she could see, landing many blows. But as the battle progressed, she found herself beset by enemies on all sides, who knew her from her gunfire and were able to land solid hits despite all she could to evade them. She attempted to call for help, but because of her rash rush to battle, she was too far apart from the others. And Davy Jones took the first destroyer for his own.

The second destroyer heard the cries of her comrade, and attempted to use her great speed to come to the first destroyer's rescue, but alas she was too late. In her anger and grief, she sought to punish the enemy ships in range, but her turrets could not keep up with her engine, and she was unable to bring effective fire upon the foe. Her torpedoes were also not enough, for much of the power that propelled them through the ocean had gone into her own powerplant, thus rendering them short-ranged. She attempted to use her great speed once more, to get ever closer, but a fast destroyer does not react well when running into shoals. And so Davy Jones took the second destroyer for his own.

The third destroyer, being the wisest of the three, quietly used her gift to flit about the ocean unseen by the enemy, providing cover for her friends through the use of dense smoke, and then spotting and plotting the positions of the foe and sharing this data with them. Only occasionally did she venture close to the enemy, sending her torpedoes into their midst to sow confusion and destruction, or else to take up a key position to force them to react to her movements, robbing them of the initiative.

At last, the great battle ended with the sinking of the final enemy vessel, and the surviving ships of the fleet withdrew to refuel and replenish. For many years thereafter, Davy Jones looked everywhere for the third destroyer, but because she possessed his Cloak of Invisibility, he could never find her. More years passed, and the third destroyer went on to have a flotilla of her own. As she grew old and her armaments became obsolete, eventually she took off the Cloak and gave it to her daughter, and then welcomed Davy Jones and embraced him.

And so, as friends, they departed these seas.

[Snargfargle]

That third DD sure was a Scary Sotter.

BTW: sotter, pl. of sott, from hellsot = A disease that leads to death.

[Goodwood_Alpha]

5 hours ago, Snargfargle said:

That third DD sure was a Scary Sotter.

BTW: sotter, pl. of sott, from hellsot = A disease that leads to death.

I have to admit, she certainly does embody my playstyle best.

[WolfofWarship]

On 16/12/2017 at 8:52 AM, Goodwood_Alpha said:

(With insincere apologies to J. K. Rowling)

Once upon a lonely channel at the edge of the harbor, three destroyers steamed at twilight. Out to the high seas they made their way in line astern, passing the outer markers, bound to meet with their fleet. But the harbor mouth was mined, said the dispatches they had received upon disembarkation, and so they used their on board minesweeping equipment to pick their way through the danger zone, and venture out into the open sea. They then came upon a large yacht, blocking their way forward, and Davy Jones spoke to them.

He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for ships usually met their fate in his minefields. But Davy Jones was also cunning, so he pretended to be impressed with the three destroyers' technology and skill, and said that each had earned a prize for successfully evading him.

And so the first destroyer, being an impetuous and combative vessel, always charging forth to seek out the enemy, asked for a gun that must always beat any other, one that would suit her style of ship-to-ship combat. And so Davy Jones fashioned for her a cannon of five inches diameter, its barrel thirty-eight times that length, which would always be ready to point at the foe no matter the distance or how swiftly she turned on her rudder.

The second destroyer, wishing to humiliate Davy Jones still further, asked for a powerful engine that would propel her quickly about the oceans, so that she might be anywhere she needed to be, to confound her enemies and rescue others from Davy Jones. And so he fashioned for the second destroyer a great powerplant that would do so, propelling her at hitherto unimagined velocity so long as she did not use her rudder overmuch.

The third destroyer, who was the youngest and wisest of the three, asked Davy Jones for the power to hide from him. And so Davy Jones, most reluctantly, took off his own Cloak of Invisibility, and gave it to the youngest destroyer. He then urged his yacht forward, vanishing into the coming night.

The three destroyers continued their journey, chatting to each other about the prizes they had been given, before joining up with the fleet to which they had been assigned. In time, that fleet encountered an enemy force of roughly equal numbers and strength, and assigned to their positions in the vanguard, the three destroyers ventured forth, to do battle in their own way.

The first destroyer, true to her nature as a bold fighter, dashed forth, firing her guns at whatever she could see, landing many blows. But as the battle progressed, she found herself beset by enemies on all sides, who knew her from her gunfire and were able to land solid hits despite all she could to evade them. She attempted to call for help, but because of her rash rush to battle, she was too far apart from the others. And Davy Jones took the first destroyer for his own.

The second destroyer heard the cries of her comrade, and attempted to use her great speed to come to the first destroyer's rescue, but alas she was too late. In her anger and grief, she sought to punish the enemy ships in range, but her turrets could not keep up with her engine, and she was unable to bring effective fire upon the foe. Her torpedoes were also not enough, for much of the power that propelled them through the ocean had gone into her own powerplant, thus rendering them short-ranged. She attempted to use her great speed once more, to get ever closer, but a fast destroyer does not react well when running into shoals. And so Davy Jones took the second destroyer for his own.

The third destroyer, being the wisest of the three, quietly used her gift to flit about the ocean unseen by the enemy, providing cover for her friends through the use of dense smoke, and then spotting and plotting the positions of the foe and sharing this data with them. Only occasionally did she venture close to the enemy, sending her torpedoes into their midst to sow confusion and destruction, or else to take up a key position to force them to react to her movements, robbing them of the initiative.

At last, the great battle ended with the sinking of the final enemy vessel, and the surviving ships of the fleet withdrew to refuel and replenish. For many years thereafter, Davy Jones looked everywhere for the third destroyer, but because she possessed his Cloak of Invisibility, he could never find her. More years passed, and the third destroyer went on to have a flotilla of her own. As she grew old and her armaments became obsolete, eventually she took off the Cloak and gave it to her daughter, and then welcomed Davy Jones and embraced him.

And so, as friends, they departed these seas.

A really unique and well-written take on the story of the three brothers! Love it! Very engaging :) Thanks @Goodwood_Alpha!