Armageddon???? - Part Eighty One Up

[Mr Bean]

Serious now? Is it now time for a second thread? Part 75, nearly 80 pages? Almost 2000 posts now? I think so, at least at the 2000'th post I'm going to lock it my bloody self.

This is the second thread old chap. The first one was locked after 50 parts, 3,700 posts (or thereabouts) and approximately 440,000 views. We look set for a million views on this story...........

AHA! You called him "old chap!" You say you're American now, but you're still British!

I believe it was his reponse to me using the slang "bloody" which entered my vernacular after a stint serving with Brits back during my Navy days, there's only so long you can sit next to someone(Almost but not quite check to jowl) in a cramped room in a SCIF basement for so long before you start using their slang. And they yours.

That was also the tour I was introduced to the poorly named Sandra Ball, which had taken an RDC two seconds to look at and start calling her "Sandy Balls".

Ah political correctness I hardly knew ye.

[Shroom Man 777]

Mang... I wonder if we'll ever see the Russians go all out with their White Swans.

[Edward Yee]

For a brief second Archibald toyed with the idea that the man might be the bottom in a BDSM relationship but his sordid appearance didn’t fit that either.

RED: Because when your dom(me) wants fertilizer, it's time to call it. [/joke of quality subjective to the reader]

I will note though, Ed -- the gal from Bangkok is a succubus, so will the gorgons take that example as comparable?

[Stuart Mackey]

, 1 x C-type Destroyer,

You could make her run, from what I have seen, but her hull was neglected for so long that the best that could be hoped for is secondary duties in the UK. Modern gear would be very hard to fit, her 1970 set up, with Seacat was probably about the best you could get out of that type of hull anyway.

Caroline is just insane. As a general rule after 80 - 85 years of immersion in salt water the hull will be completely useless and corroded through to the point there's more paint on it than steel. Belfast is a good target because she's both younger and has been preserved in the pool of London, i.e., freshwater.

Regarding Caroline: That's not correct. About four years ago I was in correspondence with the XO of Caroline who informed me about the state of the ship at that time and one thing that struck me was that the ships hull was in good order as was the remaining machinery. He also informed me that the RN does keep a good eye on the ship and its condition and takes corrective action when nesesary.
For the purposes of this scenario, its still not a good idea to bring her back, simply because the work involved in making her viable, is enough time too build a modern frigate, which could do any thing Caroline could do and a lot more.

I suspect it will take several years to restore her, though, both due to the quantity of work involved and the current status of British shipbuilding. By that point about all that will be left is the hull and some elements of the superstructure. In the USN, the project would be ignored since a new ship could be built for the same cost and time, but in the RN there are simply severe limitations on the number of new ships they can build, which would make a total reconstruction seem viable. I doubt she'll keep her 6in guns, though.

The issue is with Belfast is machinery, there is plenty of space and weight for light AA as a WW2 cruiser and existing command space may be enough for what the British may need. As to the main armament, its a question of what will the turret take, would 155 be viable? With only the Invincible class for carriers might they need Belfast's guns for shore support? which brings up the question of why do they need to send the RN to hell when they are doing so well on land and they have such limited capacity anyway? Might they not need the RN in home waters if Heaven try doing something in the UK?
I suspect that a more long term view is better, you have all these new existences that seem to have water, would it not be better to gear up industry for future conflicts and get what you really want rather than try and get a floating museum going when hell looks to be finished as conventional fighting front?

[EdBecerra]

I will note though, Ed -- the gal from Bangkok is a succubus, so will the gorgons take that example as comparable?

I know, Ed. (And how weird is this, Ed talking to Ed... )

What I meant was, the Bangkok gal was a succubus, and if they gossip like the hookers I knew in Germany, the word about what's happened to her is likely spreading to every succubi in Hell.

Then, the news of what's about to happen to the gorgon on Earth will spread. Will the combination of both rumors be enough to get the succubi thinking about leaving the sinking ship that is Satan's Hell?

Additionally, Uriel seems powerful, but the Percy that was whacked by our favorite busty tank commander and her crew showed that Percys can be killed. Can Uriel? A human might not be able to get close enough to him to snuff him, but a machine might.

Yahweh would be pretty pissed...

Just a thought in the night...

Ed.

[EdBecerra]

Come to think about it, Uriel might find the Airborne Laser Project an unpleasant surprise...



Ed.

[Edward Yee]

I will note though, Ed -- the gal from Bangkok is a succubus, so will the gorgons take that example as comparable?

I know, Ed. (And how weird is this, Ed talking to Ed... )

Oh this is awesome. Ed, Edd, and we need someone to be Eddie.

What I meant was, the Bangkok gal was a succubus, and if they gossip like the hookers I knew in Germany, the word about what's happened to her is likely spreading to every succubi in Hell.

Then, the news of what's about to happen to the gorgon on Earth will spread. Will the combination of both rumors be enough to get the succubi thinking about leaving the sinking ship that is Satan's Hell?

As for Luga, the thing is that her telepathic "reports" to Deumos seem to have been under DIMON supervision, which she presumably remains under (especially since her "sympathy" power was counteracted). Unless the gorgons are gossips themselves, I don't know if succubi have any way to know what's actually going on at the Earth side of things that isn't either secondhand or from the Hell side.

Additionally, Uriel seems powerful, but the Percy that was whacked by our favorite busty tank commander and her crew showed that Percys can be killed. Can Uriel? A human might not be able to get close enough to him to snuff him, but a machine might.

If Appoloin is the 'average' Percy, then sure they can be killed -- although their best defense might be a good offense, which we haven't seen as he was apparently taken by surprise, while Uriel... I'm still not sure what exactly he is, so I don't even know what ABL would do to him.

[EdBecerra]

As for Luga, the thing is that her telepathic "reports" to Deumos seem to have been under DIMON supervision, which she presumably remains under (especially since her "sympathy" power was counteracted). Unless the gorgons are gossips themselves, I don't know if succubi have any way to know what's actually going on at the Earth side of things that isn't either secondhand or from the Hell side.

Well, if memory serves... meh. I've got firefox, that's what tabs are FOR. (I'm a forgetful idiot since the stroke, forgive me.)

Ah. Found it.

He will sit and watch Hell and Human fight until one is gone, then he will attack the survivor. That is what humans think, it is what I and my Succubae think, and we can be very sure it is what Yahweh thinks.

That's what Deumos said to Dagon.

"...it is what I and my Succubae think..."

While I could be misinterpreting the meaning, it sounds like Deumos has been discussing the intelligence reports of Luga with at least some of her Succubae. And if the baldricks gossip like we did in the military, well... you know the line. The only thing that travels faster than the speed of light is gossip.

We'll see, I suppose.

Ed.

[Kie99]

Couple of nitpicks - people in the UK wouldn't refer to Mobile Phones as "Cell phones" and there's an erroneous apostrophe in "thanks" after the shop owner volunteers his van.

[Edward Yee]

Sorry to hear about the stroke. I'm forgetful as well. But awesome take on the "why" of the gossiping. ;D (Assuming that Deumos isn't lying to Dagon, of course.)

I agree with Kie99 re: cell phones, a friend of sorts in Northamptonshire calls them mobiles.

[JN1]

Sorry about the bit about Ocean, incidentally

Don't worry about it, there are so many designations for amphibious ships with through decks it can be confusing some times.

I suppose Antrim can be retained by the Chileans, whose navy is excellent, possibly with restoration work done natively or in British yards, but I doubt they'll give up active-service T23s, unfortunately, unless it's for some fairly substantial concessions. In seemed a reasonable possibility, anyway.

The Chileans probably have more recent experience with the sort of steam turbine plant that a County has, the last steam turbine ship the RN used was HMS Fearless; makes me wonder if it would be worth it looking at her too.
Annoyingly the last T23 to be sold to Chile left our waters in '07, so no possibility of even hanging on to them.

That makes things a little bit brighter, surely. And mass production of that class would not hurt.

I agree, and it's possible that they could be built in smaller civilian yards leaving BVT to concentrate on T45 and derivative production. I rather suspect that the decision to cancel the last two T45s won't happen in this universe.

I agree with Kie99 re: cell phones, a friend of sorts in Northamptonshire calls them mobiles.

As a Brit I can confirm that, we call them mobiles, or mobile phones.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I agree, and it's possible that they could be built in smaller civilian yards leaving BVT to concentrate on T45 and derivative production. I rather suspect that the decision to cancel the last two T45s won't happen in this universe.

I love British understatement. There's probably been an additional twenty ships ordered in addition to the six now in the pipeline, though it's an open guess as to how many would be finished. I'd also suspect that an order for 40 T-23s would have been placed, and 60 of the Brunei F-2000 improved River class Corvettes. A 120 ship building programme which will never come remotely close to being finished, but if the war ends before the programme is done, the rest can always be cancelled. Construction on the CVFs would be sped up, such as is possible, probably with the intention to finish them to operate F/A-18s and their derivatves with catapults from the start. As American carrier building capacity is limited, I'm sure the Americans would, in fact, sell you some F/A-18s by that point when production has ramped up to staggering figures.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

How would you go about rearming Bristol, incidentally? I was thinking maybe if the Limbo well and the old Sea Dart positions could be used for two more 4.5in guns, of the latest type as in the Daring class. That should still allow for superstructure to built up to place in 2 x 32-round VLS for Sea Wolf, with the guidance channel radar positions occupied, and then 14 or so single 30mm autocannons could round out the armament. If adding guns proves to hard, see if the USN has any old ABLs for tomahawk lying around--you might be able to cram four onto the Bristol.

[Pelranius]

I wonder if it would be a good idea to mount batteries or anti aircraft artillery and howitzers (as well as a few multiple rocket launchers) on a freighter?

It wouldn't need to be as fancy as an actual warship, but it would be easy enough for nations like China and South Korea to throw together while still also building their own warship lines. Would also require less training, you'd pretty much just have to find people to man the weapons, as the actual crewing for a freighter nowadays is minimal. They would make good patrol vessels while the other ships actively seek out the enemy.

[Michael Garrity]

Greetings all:

I see that several museum ships (USS Barry et al) have been broken up for parts to use in other restoration projects. With this in mind, what is the status of USS Cassin Young (DD-793), currently berthed as a museum ship near the Charletown Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mike Garrity

[pdf27]

the last steam turbine ship the RN used was HMS Fearless; makes me wonder if it would be worth it looking at her too.

Probably a tad late....

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Greetings all:

I see that several museum ships (USS Barry et al) have been broken up for parts to use in other restoration projects. With this in mind, what is the status of USS Cassin Young (DD-793), currently berthed as a museum ship near the Charletown Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mike Garrity

Barry is still intact, she's just going to be gutted for parts for the Turner Joy if she can't be restored herself. The hull will still exist regardless. The Cassin Young may be restored if the engines are intact, otherwise it might be gutted for parts that could be used on a similar destroyer that does have intact engines.

[Darth Wong]

Clearly, the human navies need Stromberg's invincible submarine-swallowing oil tanker, with the ability to shut down electrical systems from a distance at will.

[Psychic_Sandwich]

Awesome chapter. I do have a nitpick, though:

“We think we’ve got a line on the gorgon that did for Sheffield. Have you got a van or car I can borrow? And a cell-phone?”

We don't call the cell-phones over here, we call them mobiles. A rather irrelevant point, I know, but if I don't point it out, it's going to niggle at me all day.

[EdBecerra]

Sorry to hear about the stroke. I'm forgetful as well. But awesome take on the "why" of the gossiping. ;D (Assuming that Deumos isn't lying to Dagon, of course.)

No big thing, Ed... I woke up one morning, and couldn't move anything on my left side. (Incidentally, my late sweetheart was pissed at me for that - not that I had a stroke, that I refused to go to the hospital for treatment until AFTER she went into a screaming fit of concern over my health. Ironically enough, she passed on a few years later from cancer. While here I am, still alive. I hate cancer. )

I recovered, mostly. Still a few cognitive holes in my mind, though - names being the most annoying. If I don't write them down, I can't remember them. Frustrating.

As for the succubae, well, this IS a semi-military culture we're dealing with, feudal in nature. It stands to reason that the gossip in this society would be similar in nature and in function to the gossip in a modern military.

IF Deumos isn't lying, or having a slip of the tongue, her statement does imply that the intel she's getting from Luga is spreading, albeit slowly, among the succubae. That doesn't mean it'll be handed over to the gorgons, I admit. But *should* the gorgons discover what the succubae know, the temptation to defect will be great.

Particularly if it's made clear that target number two will be Yahweh. I'm reasonably certain that there are many baldricks who wouldn't mind treating with us if it meant they could get a little payback with Yahweh. Memnon made that clear during his little (failed) face-off with Appoloin. One gets the feeling (whether the author intended it or not) that if Memnon had been given the upper hand, he would have gutted Appoloin like a trout.

And now that humans are treating him like a valued employee and not a serf (at best) or a slave (at worst), I think he'd leap at the chance to put some hurt onto a few Heavenly servants.

But that's just my take on things.

Ed.

[DarthShady]

What interests me is what the hell is Heaven waiting for? They don't seem to be making a move on hell or Earth.

Are they waiting for us to strike at them first? Because that seems stupid.

[Setzer]

Clearly, the human navies need Stromberg's invincible submarine-swallowing oil tanker, with the ability to shut down electrical systems from a distance at will.

But would he work for us? I mean, James Bond is already fighting for the humans, frmo what the demons can tell.

[JN1]

the last steam turbine ship the RN used was HMS Fearless; makes me wonder if it would be worth it looking at her too.

Probably a tad late....

Just slightly.
Not even worth bothering thinking about HMS Intrepid then, as she was in poorer condition.

How would you go about rearming Bristol, incidentally? I was thinking maybe if the Limbo well and the old Sea Dart positions could be used for two more 4.5in guns, of the latest type as in the Daring class.

Not sure the ship could take the weight of an extra Mark 8 mount to be honest. I think her value would be in acting as an additional flag ship. Adding VLS Sea Wolf would probably be a lot of hassle and take the same amount of time it would take to build one of the new Future Surface Combatant designs instead (http://navy-matters.beedall.com/fsc.htm). If the RN is to reactivate Bristol they'd probably want to do it as quickly as possible.

[Kie99]

What interests me is what the hell is Heaven waiting for? They don't seem to be making a move on hell or Earth.

Fortification? Beef up their defences at their Hellmouths to the extent that we can't get through.

[Glennfiddich12]

What interests me is what the hell is Heaven waiting for? They don't seem to be making a move on hell or Earth.

Fortification? Beef up their defences at their Hellmouths to the extent that we can't get through.

While common sense might tell you that was the case, I don't think so. The little we've seen of heaven's strategic thinking indicates an utter contempt for humanity and its abilities. Heaven is most likely letting humanity knock Satan and his minions out of the fight, thereby saving them the effort. Yahweh thinks he'll steam roll us just as Satan's crew thought. At least, that's based on what the story has shown so far.