Decided to try an actual story omake looking at the southeast US in the BelaBat world. Hope you enjoy.
Second Chances, Pt.1
Hearts and Minds
Mike Kirby was trying to relax with a couple of his teammates. Fishing in the Georgia surf was fun and helped him to get his mind off the world he had left a couple weeks ago. Even with the world in danger from sea demons there are still people who try to force others to obey them and kill anyone who disagrees. Sometimes the victims push back, and that's where he came in. De Oppresso Liber.
The fish had been biting pretty good, but then suddenly stopped. He and his friends started packing up. They had caught a pretty good haul and dinner would be awesome. But he had an itch at the back of his neck. The same feeling he had gotten before in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places. He turned back to look at the sea when out of the shallow water four dark forms burst onto the shore surrounding the three soldiers.
"Food!!", cried out one of them, "Two for us and one for the princess!" The largest of the creatures struck the one who had spoken, "Fool! If we bring back a single offering, the princess will dine on us instead! We will share one and bring the other two back to the princess."
Mike looked at his friends. He had a .45 in his bag, but it was too far from him and from them. Especially with the abyssals holding submachine guns on them. He recognized them from briefings as PT boats based on the German models. Fast, aggressive, not too smart. The one in the lead pointed to him and said, "We will eat this, and take the others back." It stepped towards him.
"Hold on, now," said Mike, "What's going to happen after you eat me? A fourth of a person will probably just make you hungrier. You'll end up eating the others and then get eaten yourself." The creature looked at him. But it had stopped moving. "You say your princess would eat you if you don't bring back a meal?"
"Of course. Isn't that the price of failure everywhere?"
Mike's friends looked at him and grinned. They had caught on. "What do you say guys? You ever hear of a general making a meal of his troops?" "Hell no. That's some BS." He looked at the Abyssal.
"Sounds like a bad position you're in. But let's set it aside for the moment. Let's deal with your hunger first. Now, what do you eat?"
The first demon to have spoken screamed out, "Humans!!" "Yes, but what do you eat beside humans?" "MORE HUMANS!!" The leader struck the creature in the head. "What else would we eat?" Mike tossed the leader a Redfish. "Try that."
The leader took a big bite, then another, and another. His teammates tossed fish to the others. Two grabbed the fish and eagerly devoured them. The third stared hatefully at them. "Then I will eat the…." He was cut off by a burst of fire of the leader's MP40. Wave action carried the creature's body off the beach and the leader said, "Give us more fish, and we will talk."
Staff Sergeant Mike Kirby, US Army Special Forces, smiled and nodded, having seen far worse negotiations.
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One month later…
US Navy frigate Essex was in trouble. She and Essa had broken protocol and headed offshore without air or surface support. It was hard to control her warrior heart in a world that had so completely passed by her and her compadre. Essa was over seventy years newer but was still wooden hulled and armed with muzzle loading cannon. King's Bays destroyer flotilla had headed south to hunt down an Abyssal wolf pack that was preying on coastal shipping. Air units had been directed north. Essex and Essa had taken it on themselves to stand out to sea to patrol the immediate area. The ambush made her feel like a complete amateur, mixed with shades of her defeat at Valparaiso.
The U-boats had surfaced at about 2500 yards, taking potshots at them, tearing up their rigging and sails, but not using their torpedoes or coming in close to finish them by firing into their hulls. Of course, they were well out of range of Essex's 32-pound carronades. They were in range of Essa's 11-inch and 9-inch Dahlgren's, but at that distance a surfaced U-boat was a hard target.
The U-Boats began to close after a fifth one joined them. Essex turned bow on to put her long twelves on target and to reduce the target for the torpedoes. Then something happened.
The fifth U-boat began to morph into an abyssal girl, as did two of the others. Unusual behavior, based on their previous experience. Essex and Essa held their fire, as closer range was the only advantage they had.
This U-boat was different. The other two were masked, wearing Kreigsmarine uniforms. This one had short black hair. A tan uniform and red armband more in line with the Nazi Party uniforms from the history books she had read. The Abyssal was taller than her and on a medal hanging at her breast was inscribed U-530. The deference of the other abyssals was all Essex needed. This was the U-Boat Princess.
The demon smiled coldly as she grabbed Essex by the throat and lifted her up. The redheaded frigate in an antique uniform was shot to pieces by shells that had struck her deck rather than her rigging. Essa wasn't as bad off but at this range, they had one good volley left if they got the right opening. Master Chief Essa waited on her commander. Even in their battered condition she would still trust her.
"I will give you one chance for a quick death, Essex. Strike your colors and bow before me. I make this offer once." Essex regretted that she would not see her precious Honda Point gang again, or her Commodore and his family.
I'm sorry I failed you, Commodore. The only promise I can keep is that I will never again strike my colors. Her colors were already tied and nailed to the stump of her shattered mizzen.
"Go to Hell, Highness. No American sailor kneels to royalty."
"Then I will burn you slowly, timber by timber!"
Essa spoke up, "Excuse me Fraulien Fruitloops, would you mind not burning me, just find some other slow death for me?" Even in the demon's grip, Essex twisted her head to look at her.
"What? They burned me in the Great Lakes to scrap me. I get bored doing the same thing twice," said the blonde clipper-hulled sloop of war as she nonchalantly smoothed her tattered blue uniform jacket and short skirt.
The U-boat princess was shaking with rage, "You dare mock….." She was cut off by blaring music coming from the west.
Both Essex and the princess turned their heads. Essex saw three German torpedo boats that looked vaguely abyssal and a dark green Combatant Craft Assault craft.
"Traitors!!" cried out the princess. "I will..urk.." She turned back to the frigate she was still holding and looked down in surprise at the saber impaled through her chest. She raised her head to look at Essex as her grip loosened. "Sic semper tyrannis" said Essex, as she pivoted pulling the saber back, spinning and bringing the blade down on the U-boat princess' neck. The look of surprise never left her face as the severed head and then the body hit the water. The right opening was here.
Torpedoes from the formerly Abyssal E-boats slammed into two of the u-boats destroying them. One of the abyssal U-boat girls spun her deck gun to the frigate that had just killed her princess when Essa turned broadside to her and fired. An 11-inch shell tore through the U-boat's hull, exploding. The girl sank into the water, unable to right herself or stop the flooding. Two 9-inch shells finished her off.
The last U-boat opened up on Essex with her deck gun. An 88mm slammed through the frigate's thick planking and framing and blew a hole open right at the waterline. Essex roared, and fired the twenty cannon on her starboard side. The U-boat's deck gun, anti-aircraft gun, periscope, open hatches and gun crew fairies were blasted away by the hail of steel and her port diving plane was jammed by a cannonball.
The U-boat turned to maneuver away from the American ships and got into position for a surface torpedo attack. She unleashed her torpedoes at the wounded frigate as torpedoes from the E-boats blew her apart. Essa tried to fire at the torpedoes, but they were too fast. She screamed out, "Essex!!" as the torpedoes reached her and just barely passed under her shallow draft hull.
Essa steamed over to the older ship and tried to hold her up. The CCA and E-boats pulled alongside. "Can you radio for assistance?" "Copy that, Chief, we already called it in. Helo should be on the way." Essa eyed the E-boats suspiciously. They had a strong abyssal feel to them but were flying flags of the Imperial German Navy. She looked at the soldier in the Assault craft. "Who are you, anyway?" Mike Kirby grinned at her. "Sorry, Chief. That's classified. Radar has an inbound helo, so you'll be picked up soon. We can't be here when they get here. Good luck."
"Well, thank you, soldier. Take care out there. You and your…friends here."
A little while later, a Chinook hovered over the sea with it's ramp down as Essa helped Essex onto the heavy lift helicopter "Were those Abyssals, Master Chief?" one of the crew asked.
Essa looked off to the west, "As far as I am concerned, they were guardian angels."
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Two weeks later
Essa sat outside a coffee shop in town, watching people passing on the street. Suddenly she saw a familiar looking young man walking three large Corgis. She stood up and called out,
"Hey!" Essa shouted into her quiet bedroom, accidentally kicking S.P. Lee off the end of her bed. Essa looked around still blinking the remnants of the dream away as the little Clemson stood up.
"What happened, I didn't mean to wake you up!"
Essa hugged the girl to her as two of the others started to stir. "Oh, you didn't. I just had a weird dream."
"Really? Were there puppies in it?" "Actually, there were. Here, let me tell you about it."