Rising Tide: A LitRPG Novel (Age of Steam Book 1) by Mitchell T. Jacobs

Author:Mitchell T. Jacobs [Jacobs, Mitchell T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Xiphos Press
Published: 2016-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

“Know anything about these guys?” Shane asked Ryan as he stood at the wheel directing the ship.

“They're out for blood.”

“Well, beyond that. Is there a particular way they like to attack, what their ship capabilities are, that kind of thing.”

“I don't have a lot, no. They have one heavy steam cannon mounted on the bow. It fires slow, but if it hits it's powerful. I tried to dodge it as best I could.”

“Yeah, I don't plan on taking a hit,” Shane said. He throttled down the engine a few steps. “Let's let them catch up. And not show them our full speed.”

He wanted as much information as possible before they committed themselves to the fight. If he could he'd get them to fire on them a few times while dodging the shells. It was a risk, but naval gunnery was notoriously difficult with the instruments players had available to them. A hit on a fast-moving ship was unlikely, and they could gauge how fast the enemy weapon fired.

Once they knew that it was all about maneuvering and possibly drawing the enemy into the right spot for a torpedo attack. Shane would flee if they had to, but he wanted to sink the enemy ship.

“We just passed the exclusion zone,” Kelvin spoke up.

Shane opened one of the speaking tubes. “Brandon, we just passed the exclusion line. Are they speeding up?”

“Hold on a second. Yeah, looks like it.”

“OK, stand by.” He opened the speaking tube to the engine room. “Bailey, how are we for power?”

“Holding steady. We've got plenty if we need it.”

“OK. I've got the engines on reduced power, so we should be fine.”

“Got it.”

Brandon's voice came echoing down the return tube. “Shane they're firing.”

He saw a geyser of water shoot up a second later ahead and to starboard, though the shot had missed wildly.

“Shot landed. Count,” he ordered Kelvin.

“Counting.”

Shane spun the wheel to the right, pointing the ship toward the shell splash to throw off the enemy's aim. They'd be adjusting their shot, but to do that they'd be traversing their cannon to a new direction. Aiming toward the first spot would hopefully catch them off-guard.

He maintained the heading for a few seconds, then swung the wheel back to port. Shane focused on the sea in front of him, repeating the knowledge he had learned over and over in his head. Keep moving, change direction frequently, and above all else, don't become predictable or lose his bearings. The enemy gunners had to estimate their shots, and being predictable only made their jobs easier.

He heard a faint thump.

“They're firing again,” Brandon reported through the speaking tube.

Shane watched another geyser of water shoot up, this time to port. He steered toward the splash.

“Time?”

“That was about a minute?” Kelvin said.

That surprised him. “A minute? What the heck are they doing?”

“I had a hard time telling at first, but I think the gun was pretty big,” Ryan said.

Shane nodded. That probably explained it. A larger caliber gun needed more steam to shoot its projectiles, and that meant siphoning more off from the boiler.

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