Greater Napoleon - peacemaking mission

[Borys]

 As mentioned in a the Orange Republic part of the newsroom, Greater Napoleon did had a stop in Capetown.

After a while it is obvious that the crew isn't very happy with their ship.
Admiral Geon orders a drill.

The Drill
QUOTE
In the  dangerous autumn waters of Cape Hope Admiral Geon was on the bridge of Greater Napoleon, demanding full speed.
The great ship quivered, dug her stern into the waves and started accelerating ponderously.

In the  boilerrooms the stokers were feeding the  furnaces at a frentic pace, because they know, if they don't give everything they have, the pole is waiting, the next to be flogged.

The machinists pushing the great crankshafts for that extra rpm. kathumpkathumpkathump, Every of the huge cylinders hungry for more pressure, more steam.

The lookouts searching for the object of this exercise, the small old sloop Condor. The lightly overcast sky brings the haze of horizon closer, the great hight of the crows nests aiding the attent eyes only a bit.

In the dark bowels of Greater napoleon, other forces are at work. A man in a compartment opening  a seavalve, a trickle of seawater becoming a flood, and he leaves the compartment, not closing the watertight hatch that leads to the compartment above, a series of bunks.

In the shaft tunnel another man is preparing another surprise. Oil soaked rags and wet timber, even a rubber hose, smoke trickles up, the fire smolders, and he leaves too.Leaving the hatch ajar.

The lookouts see smoke on the horizon, probably Condor. They warn the Bridge.  Admiral Geon smiles.  The real drill is to start any moment. The valveman entering the bridge, saluting and stands in the back. The smokeman doesn't need much more time, and he too salutes and stands back.

The aft lookout sees another plume of smoke, another bearing.

Admiral Geon gives the order to train the 305's to both targets, the 340's stay at 0°.  In the turrets men start to work, load the shell, ram it in, get the charges, ram them. Close the breech, elevate the barrels, wait for the order.

"How did Magenta hit a target at 12000 yards?" Muses Geon. Oh well, that doesn't matter now. See if my crew will deal with the problems that come to them.

In the starboard machineroom a trickle of smoke is seen,  a 3th machinist opens the hatch and a choking cloud assaults him, the  huge noisy machineroom, already filled with steam and oilfumes now fills with smoke, some crewmembers start towars the hatches out.  The first machinist drives a firecrew towards the smoke belching hatch, a hose is rolled out, the seavalve opened, the pump started.  A hiss, smoke already diminishing. KathumpKathumKathump, the  machines still giving all they have.  A damage control crewmember investigates. He finds the sprayed open left overs of oily rags.... What idiot didn't clean his mess? A question for later.

At port, a compartment, normaly filled with supplies is filled with seawater, the waters already raising to the treshold of the hatch, Greater Napoleon is listing slightly, but everybody is at his post, and that means no one sees the water rising, and starts filling the crew compartment.

De damage control crew notices the list on the inclinometers, the officer inquiring.  Admiral Geon smiles, and waits. When the list  becomes greater than 3° he will inform the "right crewmembers". Damage control crews are  searching.

In the mean while, more smokeplumes are spotted. It seems "Les Intrépides" are making sure that they "win" the drill.

Admiral Geon gives the order to fire the 305's. Range is still to great, but to be sure, elevation is 0°  8 barrels boom simultaniously. The Ship shudders, even in the boilerrooms the stokers look up. For an instant, they start shoveling coal faster.  He demands thet the 305's can fire asap.The guncrews reload as fast as possible.  Starboard forward turret is the fastest, in 48 seconds they have reloaded and are ready to fire.
Admiral Geon issues an stimulant.  The first crew to fire 4 salvos with the 305's get 3 bottles of cognac.

This makes that the last echo of the 305's fades after 3 minutes and 9 seconds.


3° list is reported, Damage control crews didn't find anything yet. Geon nods, and the 2 midshipmen ,who entered the brige earlier disappear.

He calls off the drill.  The heliographs signal to the closest sloop, what aborts the torpedo run it was making.

Damage control reports a leak, pumping is commencing, but 50 sailors will suffer from wet bunks and a lot of cleaning.


   
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Desertfox    
Posted: Mar 1 2006, 12:14 AM


Commander Johann Wyss
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OK I really dont get fire and flooding part.
   
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Ithekro    
Posted: Mar 1 2006, 12:22 AM


King of Rohan
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The crew is relatively green. Their ship is a patchwork of two other ships that was put together in haste and without all that much care to the actual needs of the design for such a large vessel. The ship was not "designed" for the amount of firepower she carries, since the ship wasn't really designed at all. However the main problem is that the crew is green and sloppy.

Rohan hopes the ex-Paris will not give its crew such problems when it is completed next year.
   
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Maddox    
Posted: Mar 1 2006, 06:06 AM


Hegemon
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The fire and flooding is to give the crew a real shake.

The ship is brandnew, and even if it is a patchwork, her build is solid. The overweight condition is solved with the pontoons.


The "fireman" and "Valveman" are crewmembers from Condor, NCO's. Loaned to get the officers of GN a real shake up.

Non of the things they did would endanger GN, but are realy inconvenient. Even if the GN crew couldn't handle things like this, Admiral Geon can give the right orders to solve the problems quickly.

The crew of GN is made up of the dregs of the service.

No well thinking officer or sailor is willing to serve on a ship that killed on het maiden voyage.

For example
Admiral Geon is the youngest of the French admirals, and has next to no sea experience, as being one of the desk captains. A good administrator, but the blunder in Indochina and the missing 295mm barrels did deliver him a job on GN as punishment
   
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Phoenix    
Posted: Mar 1 2006, 07:44 AM


Hegemon
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So it was a very realistic drill, shaking up the crew in order to show them how incompetent they actually are and how vulnerable they can be in a wide-open ocean with lots of water around.
Fire may be destructive, but the patient vast load of water called "ocean" is your real enemy.
   
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P3D    
Posted: Mar 6 2006, 10:48 PM


Hegemon
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Saigon, July 20, 1901

On Board of ORNS Cape of Good Hope

Admiral's quarters.
Knock, knock...
'Yes.' barked Admiral Stormfeld.
A Marine sergeant entered, stood in attention and reported.
'Sir, Captain van Nuys is here, Sir.'
'Come in, captain, and have a seat'
The captain - a tall and wiry fellow, different from the short and athletic built admiral - did as requested.
' I suppose you'd made the arrangements that there won't be similar incidents here like with the French seamen back at home.
'Admiral, as you suggested, I'll make a speech to the crew about the expected behaviour in the harbour, stressing that we would not tolerate similar incidents as happened in Cape Town. The other captains will act the same. Moreover, my officers made a detailed shore leave schedule, and made sure that if there's some longstanding animosity between two groups, they would not be on leave at the same time.'
' That would cut the leave from what is usual in overseas deployment, wouldn't it?'
' That's true, but everyone is guaranteed to spend at least a day in the harbour. The crew morale won't be adversely affected.'
' I am glad to hear it. By the way, the Provincial Governor invited the senior officers to a dinner and reception tomorrow. My adjutant will relay the official invitations, but I think it's better to mention it as soon as possible.'
'Thank you, Admiral. I am looking forward to the reception.'