DEATH BATTLE: Leviathan vs. Pandora

Tex and Buck were flying recon when they spotted the Leviathan in the distance. They return to the Pandora and Nathan Zachary gathers the whole group (Betty, Big John, and Jack) together for a briefing. Based on the recon, they know that the mysterious Leviathan is only a little smaller than the Pandora, has no visible guns or fighters on board, and is British- and they know nothing else. And since there's no guarantee of useful loot, there's really no incentive to try and capture it. But the boss Zachary wants to be sure it's not too great a threat to the Fortune Hunters' local escapades, so they'll all go out fully armed to get a closer look and determine if it's a threat. "We launch in five!"-"we took down limey's before, we'll do it again!"

Meanwhile, suspended on the underside of a tethered hydrogen-breather Huxley, Deryn/Dylan Sharp looked through her spyglass and saw the dark sihouette of the Pandora amongst the clouds. As far as she knew, they were looking for Clanker zeppelin forces to intercept, and this ship might be based from a local airfield able to launch airplanes, and troop/glider-carrier airships. She sent a messenger lizard to the captain with the report of the sighting, and the captain set a course for the mysterious ship's (Pandora's) last known bearing.

What she didn't see was that they were being shadowed from behind by Zachary and his wingman, approaching slowly from behind, cautiously coming for a closer look and ready to call the rest of the flight at the first sign of trouble. After coming into view, Zachary notes the rather odd design of the airship. Noting how slowly the ship moved- Zachary could've jumped off and landed safely, no problem- they pass the tail and flyby the ship's flanks, close enough to notice "that's like nothing I've ever seen, the skin seems... animal-like, hair and all". "CAPTAIN, LOOK UP!" Zachary looks up to see what looked like the most raggedy balloon he'd ever seen, tethered to the ship's top surface, and the startled face of a young crew member looking back wide-eyed! "They've seen us, keep your cool and be ready for anything" he reaches for his radio mike. "Attention British ship, this is Nathan Zachary of the Fortune Hunters, stand down your arms and prepare to surrender, do not resist and we will not harm y-", then movement from the humped bow caught his eye. "Do you see this cap'? Somethings moving- and taking off!".

"Off your bums you lazy beasties! Get the flechette bats airborne!" Deryn was back on the Leviathan's back and the rest of the middies, as well as some sniffer-dog/handlers were rushing forward to scare the bats into getting airborne. They were startled by the weirdest looking aeroplanes they had ever seen- why hadn't they seen or heard them coming!? After a few milliseconds of shoving her heart back down her throat, Deryn noticed the insignia on the planes. Not of any Clanker nation or arm they've ever known or studied, but a skull and crossbones. The Leviathan nosed up slightly, the bats were all airborne. The strafing hawks with their corrosive wire-trails would be next. "ALL HANDS, ACTION STATIONS"

"Captain, break right!" A hard turn later, and Nathan missed what appeared to be a flock of bats coming off the zeppelin's surface. "Thanks Jack, did you see anything on that ship?" "Nothing but that balloon and those bats. Surprised me for a sec, but I don't think they got anything else, hey wait-" Both had to split to avoid a flock of birds trailing wire that came up from below. This was getting even more weird every second- what would so many animals be doing around an airship? Nathan and Jack did a 180 to form again going back to the bogey airship, only to be confronted by the bats from earlier flocking into a giant swarming ball- coming right at them! "Somebody give us some cover" "Roger chief, avert your eyes, I got a flash rocket!" "Gun it straight up" Nathan and Jack punched the throttles and pulled near vertical, while Tex loosed a rocket. It detonated in a blinding white glare among the swarm, scattering it. Getting above the swarm, Nathan heard thuds impacting the floor beneath him. "You alright cap?" "I'm fine, although something hit me". As they leveled off, Tex zoomed under them, straight to the airship, loosing another rocket onto the ship- a sonic rocket that blasted a shrill ringing that would knock any crew off balance. "I got another look at the ship chief- you sure it's an airship? That thing looks like a whale with a harness! I barely see two engines on it." "Be careful Tex, that swarms seems rather coordinated for something that doesn't belong by an airship!"

It all happened so fast. The hawks nearly caught the bogeys in their wires, but the planes pulled away and around faster than Deryn had ever seen planes do. Then she only had enough time to see them pull STRAIGHT UP before getting blinded by a bright light in the middle of the bat swarm. They were about to signal to bats to throw their flechettes when it happened and it threw them into disarray. It got worse, another of the weird planes zoomed into view and launched something that detonated and was causing her ears to ring, and her balance to fail. If she was closer to the flanks, she might've gone over the side, those bum-rags! Fighting for balance, she noted that they hadn't fired any guns at them yet, but looking at the last plane that blurred past, she could see they carried HUGE GUNS! Bigger than any seen on any warplane! They could probably turn her ship into a fireball on a whim...why hadn't they fired yet?

"Whoa there, look out!" Tex banked to avoid another flock of birds that nearly collided with her. By now, Jack and Nathan had discovered that the bottom of their planes were pierced with at least a dozen little flechettes each. "Tex, form back up, get out of range and let's assess what we've seen so far". Tex came up on Nathans wing, and he noticed something was wrong. "Tex, check your wing!" "what? Hey! Where'd my wingtip go?". Tex then noticed what looked like a thin wire- that was burning through her wing, and coming dangerously close to the fuel tank! Whoever they were, they hadn't fired a single shot, and already, they threatened to blow up Tex! Thankfully, the wire stopped burning the metal, leaving only a gash on the leading edge. "Cap, if I didn't know any better, I'd say those bats and birds could kill us" "Chief, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that poor excuse for a zeppelin shouldn't be this dangerous!". Nathan couldn't agree more how weird this was, like it was out of some comic book or fiction novel. Buck got his attention "if it's that dangerous, maybe we should leave it alone" "Maybe, but they surprised us. If they could do it again, they could really hurt us. Here's the plan, we cripple that ship or force them back so they can't threaten us. Jack, you and I will go for their engines, full throttle! Tex and Buck, you keep those swarms off of us for as long as possible. Betty, Big John, you read?" "We're right here sir!" "Stay above and keep an eye for any more of them". Nathan and his flight were ready to dive and start the attack when the Pandora came out of the clouds. "Sir, do you need any assistance from us?" "Sparks, glad you could make it kid! Listen, be ready on the guns in case there's any more surprises. Okay you mugs, let's fly!"

Deryn was on her way down the harness to get more flechette- laden fruit for the bats when the planes attacked again, diving almost from straight above. Two flights of strafing hawks rose to meet them. Whoever, they were, they were ready because their guns boomed to life, cutting down the hawks in a cloud of feathers, bullets coming down all the way to the Leviathan itself, and impacting all over the beastie's back. A fair number of bullets also impacted the engine cars, with a harsh staccato of pings, and thunks. Then the whole ship swerved to starboard, forcing Deryn to hold on, in an apparent effort to avoid the onslaught. Looking back up, she heard the rattling of their own airguns firing back at the planes, and was thankful that there were no flames to ignite the leaking hydrogen yet. The airplanes zoomed past- unbelievably fast- towards an airship that was coming out of the cloud bank. It must've been a Clanker zeppelin, she thought, yet they were somehow larger, and also sported the skull and crossbones, as well as a weird insignia on their nose. Out of the corner of her eye, the bat swarm was finally organized again and headed straight for the bogey airship. Now they could strike back! Deryn again started making her way down to the gondolas.

"Oh, now they decide to use real bullets?!" "Quite griping Buck. Chief? You get any hits?" "A few, but that thing is like one giant animal. It ducked our attack. And their engines still work, so we got to go again". They started to turn back for another pass when the radio blared "Sir! We're under attack! It's that swarm you called out!" "What's wrong Sparks!" "They're doing something and darts are falling all over the place. They're attacking the gasbags and there are casualties among the gun and engineering crews!" "HOLD ON SPARKS! Everyone, get back to the Pandora and defend her! Sparks! Get everyone off the turrets, engines, and into the gun stations! There's only one quick way to stop all this!" Nathan Zachary and the flight throttled up to reach the Pandora and break up the swarm that engulfed her. Those goddamn bats were somehow launching flechettes by the bellyfull to hole the gasbag and hit anyone exposed in the open. "Everyone that's got sonics, cover your ears and fire! When they're away, switch to flak rockets and puncture them!" The first salvo came from Betty, Big John, and Buck, their rockets arcing and detonating among the swarm, thankfully scattering it like before. Then everyone loosed their flak rockets where they had a clear shot, blowing even more bats and birds into bits. "Boss, if they keep this up, then soon we'll have all our hydrogen ignite by a mere spark, we've got to end this now!" "I know that Jack. Sparks, you read?" "I read you. We're still in one piece." "Quickly, load all your guns and fire in the direction of that airship" "Can we even hit it?" "Not important, we gotta stop the attacks long enough to get into cloud cover, then we'll go from there" "Understood sir, this is the Pandora, all hands, man your battlestations, prepare broadsides!"

"Sir, we see the ship, but our bats have taken a beating!" "Gather them back up and prepare another attack, those planes are extremely dangerous, and that ship is probably their carrier" "We've got to keep their planes busy, or they'll surely turn us to a fireball with another attack!" The officers voices were booming over the message tube system as the crew were desperately fitting birds for battle and manning the stations for directing the beasties to attack. Deryn shuffled past fellow middies and officers scampering back and forth on the gondola trying to keep everything together. This enemy was devastating, far more dangerous than any Clanker enemy they've ever fought before. As Deryn was passing another crewmate, she happened to look out a window and saw the enemy, cruising parallel to their path. And what she saw was astounding! What looked like ports were opening on her flanks, and what poked out- GIANT CANNON- puffed huge clouds of gunsmoke! Then the Leviathan was rocked by a sharp, deep, BOOOOOWWWWM, that rattled everything into further chaos. Shortly after, the shrill sounds of artillery shells passed them by, just barely visible glowing dots speeding past into the clouds. "Break off engagement! Helmsman, evasive maneuvers! Take us into the clouds! Recall all flechette bats and strafing hawks!" What? They were giving up?! But they attacked us! They dared to attack the Royal Air Service! Deryn regained her balance and glared back at the enemy airship, only to be swayed by the turning Leviathan, entering the clouds, and losing sight of it in the mist.

"Sir, they've broken off! We're heading into the clouds too. We'll get to safety and then you can dock" "Take care kid, we'll warn you if they come back out". As his flight formed back up, Nathan Zachary could finally collect his thoughts. This wasn't the most intense fight he'd been in, but not only was it the strangest, it was the quickest that crew had ever been placed in mortal danger, against an unfamiliar adversary. But they wouldn't know for sure until they docked back at the Pandora and looked at the damage. It wasn't long before they were able to return safely. Since the broadside, no other swarms of bats or birds had been sighted, so the flight docked, but still wary of any surprises.

After losing their enemy in the clouds, Deryn and crew were assessing damages when the captain reported over the messaging system. They had lost a few handlers, a couple of middies (close acquaintances of Deryn's) and a large number of flechette bats and strafing hawks did not return. The Leviathan itself sustained many bullet hole sized leaks on its body, and one of the engines was having problems from sustained hits as well, forcing them to make way slowly. In past engagements, Deryn could usually comfort herself on how much damage they themselves caused on the enemy- but this time, she wasn't sure they even damaged them at all. They seemed just as powerful and as able as they were first sighted to when they were lost in the clouds. And they attacked with technology and weapons that were more powerful than she could even conceive being placed on an airship. If they proved to be such a threat, could the Admiralty order them to seek them out and destroy them? Could they even do it? It only then occurred to Deryn how quickly they caused all this damage, that if they still went at it, they might not have lasted long. She only hoped if it came to it, they could pull off another safe landing like they did long ago over Switzerland.

Nathan Zachary gathered his Fortune Hunters together for a debrief, including Sparks who had the report of damages sustained in the brief battle. It was then that he noticed that Sparks was not nearly as shaken as expected. Though he seldom thought about it, he was reminded now how much this kid really was growing up. There were numerous wounded among the Pandora's crew,along with some damage to the planes, the gasbag fabric skin sustained many holes over it's flanks, although efforts to patch them were well underway. The engines were undamaged in their nacelles, although flechettes covered the exteriors, and all weapons were still operable. Still, no one could think of how they were going to defend themselves from such a swarming attack again. For now, it was decided to find a friendly port and care for the crew as much as possible, while putting out as many recon flights as possible to make sure they weren't surprised again. Thankfully, the strange airship seemed rather slow, so they could probably outpace her enough to get to safety, but to return to the area would be risky. It seemed for a while, the Fortune Hunters would have to put their plans for plunder and adventure on hold for a little while. Good thing they knew a nice place to check out while they waited...