It was Day 319, a meandering and dour day thus far. A storm had blown in with strong wind and rain, turning the roads treacherously muddy and making life harder for the already tired logisticians. Through the rain however, unburdened by the mud and mire, Warden ships made their way through the tight channels past the smoke-spewing factories and out to open sea. 

It had been a slow day for these Warden ships too, they had been going from port to port for fuel, ammo and general supplies. ‘So much for the glamorous life of a soldier’ was undoubtedly a collective thought as they listened to the rain patter on the now slippery metal deck, trying not to slip. Despite the logistical boredom the battle group carried on with their tasks before setting out to open waters where a rude awakening was waiting for them. 

The waters around Fisherman's Row were choppy and the waves lapped over their bows and shunted them up and down and side to side. This was a joint operation of two frigates and an accompanying submarine. One frigate was from the [RQF] regiment, the sub from [3rd] and the leading frigate was the infamous HMS Orange from [Telephone] regiment. 

After the rough journey the battle group arrived at their destination, Stema Landing. Soon upon their arrival the word came through from the listening kits ‘Enemy presence detected, one Colonial destroyer spotted’. The mundane atmosphere abruptly came to an end and it was all hands to battle stations. 

Although only one ship had been spotted, and the full size of the Colonial presence was unknown, the battle group were experienced and eagerly set off to hunt down the enemy destroyer. Once they had locked onto its position and heading, they stopped at The Spearhead and lined up waiting in ambush. The crews looked out ahead, ready to attack. After a few tense minutes went by, from the murky fog of war the destroyer emerged; bristling with weaponry and engines on full speed ahead. 

“FIRE!”

Without a moment's hesitation the two frigates opened up with their forward guns. The shockwaves blasting water from their decks. The shells landed true and exploded on the destroyer's bow, starboard and port side. The destroyer, taken completely by surprise, had no time to stop or reverse its engines and careened right into the middle of the battlegroup. 

Caught off guard and stuck between two enemy frigates, the Colonial destroyer scrambled to fire back, but it was too late. The Warden frigates had already opened up with their deck-mounted machine guns, sending bullets clattering across the enemy ship’s deck and suppressing any attempt to retaliate. The hail of suppressing fire gave the frigates time to turn their cannons and fire point blank into the destroyer’s sides, a broadsiding like man o’ wars from centuries past. 

The destroyer stood no chance and quickly met its end, sinking beneath the boiling surf. Miraculously, despite such close quarters fighting, the two Warden frigates survived relatively unscathed and friendly damage was all but minimal. 

Feeling confident that the danger had passed the battle group split up with the frigate from [RQF] heading out to scout around a nearby spit of land. This sense of respite was short-sighted however, as to its horror the lone frigate bumped into yet another Collie destroyer. 

Themselves now taken by surprise and away from the safety of the battle group the [RQF] frigate urgently raised the HMS Orange (telefrig) and [3rd] sub for help. They rushed to its aid, but HMS Orange was facing the opposite direction and, due to the urgency of the situation, decided to approach in reverse. Certainly unorthodox, but not beyond these experienced sailors, the HMS Orange backed in stern first to the pitch battle.

With the tables turned the HMS Orange pushed the advantage and engaged full reverse whilst firing its rear guns. In the chaos of battle however, accidents are common. So as it seemed they would win a second engagement in as many minutes, an explosion suddenly erupted from the HMS Orange’s rear compartment. Water spewed up and crashed down onto the ships deck along with jagged pieces of metal. The crew rushed to the damaged areas to fix it, momentarily distracted from the ship-to-ship engagement. They’d taken a hit below the waterline, a very serious situation. Though from what, they didn’t know, it had come out of nowhere. Eventually they realized their mistake, they had been so focused on assisting the [RQF] frigate that they had completely forgotten about their friendly sub and backed right into the path of one of their torpedoes. Despite this turn of events, luck was in the Wardens favour, as the Colonial destroyer had also been struck and began pulling out. 

With the HMS Orange taking on water and the [RQF] frigate also damaged, they briefly considered making pursuit but eventually decided to call it quits. They had yet again won the day, but had cut it close. They slowly began the process of departing, happy with their operation. Before they could leave however, the Colonial Navy would look to inflict a retaliatory blow. On the horizon was a swarm of green, it was the destroyer’s missing escort and they were set on revenge.

The gunboats attacked in waves, hurling themselves at the frigates with little regard for their own safety like angry hornets defending their queen. The HMS Orange and [RQF] frigate were severely wounded and unable to make an escape. They fired back at the charging ships, knocking out as many as they could. “I stopped counting after 30” said eyewitness Keoken, a trainee captain who was acting as a gunner aboard the HMS Orange. The gunboats could smell blood in the water and kept coming. 

The ocean gods seemed to be on their side that day though, as luckily for them the [3rd] sub was still fully operational and remained undetected. The HMS Orange and [RQF] frigate would have surely perished if it wasn't for them, hiding beneath the waves they picked off the attackers one by one. After a long and tense battle the gunboats finally gave in and, not wanting to tempt fate a third time, the Warden ships set off to limp back home. They had survived some seriously grave odds and dealt the Colonial fleet a heavy blow. The crew, however, would never complain about a boring day again. 

Three days later the HMS Orange was sunk by a Colonial submarine. 

Written by [Press] Jasper Valaro

Edited by [PRESS] Teddi Rococo

Date of Publication: 26/05/25

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