Today is the day I launch my first raid. I write in this journal to focus my thoughts,
justify my decisions, and keep a record of my exploits. If I should fail I want my successor
to understand why.
I am writing in a cabin aboard my flagship, it is a cramped affair usually reserved for a
boilerman. I will take the captains cabin only if I succeed, it may not be much bigger but
it is warmer and the view is breathtaking. I could write there without shivering. I have
been training under and learning from the best of my fathers Thanes since I was old enough
to crawl. This ship was a gift from my father after my coming of age trial. I will not fail,
I will claim my cabin and my ship.
He also offered me a crew drawn from some of his finest ship crews, I refused, some things
have to be done yourself if you want true respect. My crew is not green but I recruited them
myself and they were crazy enough to agree to flying with me. I did accept the offer of an
adviser for my first raid, there is no replacement for the knowledge of experience.
The other ships in my flotilla will be crewed and captained by veterans. The Marauders are
also seasoned veterans with multiple raids under their belts. You never take a green fleet
against an enemy stronghold. I will be in command but if I'm honest with myself I would
rather be in a subordinate role to one of the other captains, I'm sure the marauders and
other captains have the same thoughts. However I can never show these doubts to my crew or
the other captains lest they lose faith in me. "You must ooze the confidence of a Clan elder
boy! You are my son you have my name never doubt your abilities!" Inspirational words from
my father last night at the celebration. I just hope I prepared well enough and am humble
enough not to let my familial pride interfere with the relationships between myself and my
other captains.
My scout ships are late in arriving this was supposed to be a dawn launch with 4 planned
raids on Yeshan border towns. Without our scouts we do not leave, so I will continue writing
to avoid agitating my crew. My flotilla will be made up of two long range support vessels,
three longships containing 30 marauders each, two scout ships and my flagship.
My beautiful beatiful flagship, I will attempt to capture the beauty of my Harpy on these
pages. She is open decked with 2 decks below, 4 massive engines and a helm that is a feat of
engineering mastery and beauty. She has a permanent crew of 6 and the ability to transport
10 marauders for raids. She takes the form of a trimaran with all the grace and power of her
sea ship cousin. The lower deck is for cargo and marauder bunking. The middle deck is the
captain and crew quarters with a chartroom and a small lounge it also has access to the helm
through the captains cabin. The weather deck houses all our gun mounts and is avoided when
we are still in the frozen skies of the north, this also has access to the helm. The
Pontoons are actually secondary balloons that provide extra lift, a firing platform, and a
jump off point for marauders. They are even with the lowest deck on the ship and make
loading stores and people much easier. The 4 engines are set 2 in line with the main hull
and 1 on each pontoon to increase maneuverability. The lower inline engine is accessible from
the interior of the ship or from catwalks extending inward from the pontoons. She was built
for speed and lethality, she isn't a normal raiding vessel. The scouts have arrived, time to
get us in the air and on our way.
We have set our course and my first mate has the helm. Our target has changed, this is no
longer a supply raid it is a political kidnapping. The stakes are higher now and I,
unfortunately, am still in command. Failure now would not just mean my death it would bring
shame on my entire family and my father would most likely lose his position in the clan. My
head would be retrieved from the battlefield just to adorn the High Lords battlements to
warn others of failure. We are going deep into Yeshan territory with a small force to
capture the family of one of their politcal leaders. The family is there for a festival that
is happening in two weeks. The problems are simple, avoid patrols, capture fuel, then hit a
big city with minimal troops, capture a noblemans family, and get them back home without
getting caught by an angry army. The casualties will be huge but the Lords think the reward
is worth it. I do not see how I can get my longships or support vessels home, the scouts and
the Harpy can stay ahead of all but the fastest Yeshan scouts and they won't be a match for
our firepower. The longships though, they will be caught and slaughtered as we will all be
if we try to fight the defense forces sure to be around this Yeshan's family. We will be
receiving 2 more scouts and a longship from another raiding party along the way. They are
fresh from a raid of their own and have wounded but have agreed to fight by our side. My
fathers name still carries weight with current Raid captains.
DAY 5
Our flight has been one blunder after another. I lost half a day due to engine failure on a
longship and had to discipline its captain for being negligent, 3 days in a cage on the
weather deck with only water to drink. It was surprisingly hard to discipline this man, he
is more salted than I, it doesn't seem right for a Green officer to pass sentence on a
veteran captain. It is done though and it was the correct decision. He admitted his fault
when asked and said he would harbor no ill will for his punishment, I could not have been so
graceful, he has taught me. Our new ships were given bad orders and arrived with limited
fuel and ammunition. We had to slow to complete transfers of ammunition and fuel. We are now
behind schedule and will have to increase our speed, we will have to capture fuel if we want
to make it home now. Add another task to an already impressive list. The men have
surprisingly high morale and my adviser tells me the captains respect me, all that confident
swagger my father taught me must be paying off.
Day 12
We have arrived at our staging area early, we are 10 kilometers northeast of our target in a
set of canyons. Our movements were masked by a storm most of the trip, we only happened up
one patrol of 2 short range scouts, it boosted our ammunition and fuel capacity somewhat but
short range scouts rarely have an abundance of either. We have completed our assault plan,
it is simple and should prove effective. My ship and the longships will ride the winds
tonight and drift south of the city, the scout ships will begin harassing enemy patrols
tomorrow afternoon to draw them away from the city and stress test their defenses. My long
range support vessels will wait until the fireworks for the festival begin and start a long
range bombardment against defense structures in the city. The confusion of the fireworks
should keep them from tracing the long range fire for a few minutes. Once our scouts have
drawn the defense patrols out to search for them they will go to ground and wait for the
fireworks to start. Once they see the fireworks begin they will run straight for the city
and attempt to track any ships that attempt to rabbit with the noblemans family. Once the
longships see the panic start and the defense forces mobilizing they will approach the city
from the south and drop their marauders inside the walls. The longships will then open fire
on targets of opportunity and cause a general commotion above the city, further confusing
the defense forces. My complement of marauders will be transferred to the longships for this
phase. The marauders will attempt to grab the noblemens family, if they are successful they
will launch a flare at which point I will take my ship into the city and land on their
position.If any of the marauder teams inside the city see the flare they are to go to
specified rooftops and await pickup by the scouts or longships. I will be landing only to
snatch the family then bolting from the action, only fighting if I have to.
The plan is a cowards way out for me, my longships will be hard pressed to survive the early
phase without support from me or the scouts. I know in my heart I should be in the fight but
we are outnumbered and outgunned. Our only chance of success is to trick the enemy, that is
not the way a warrior should fight. My adviser says my angst is showing and effecting
morale, I will correct my bearing, but I can't help feeling that if I'm sending men to die I
should be right next to them willing to die as well.
DAY 13
I have collected letters from all the men for their families and even written one to my
father and brothers, they are in the captains strongbox and the key is around my neck. If an
enemy finds this journal please send the letters home, a last request from a vanquished foe.
We launch the assault in a few hours I have broken out bottles of rum for the crews, only a
few men are abstaining and no one is getting drunk. The officers are keeping a close eye but
the men know being drunk on a raid is a sure death.
The final toast has been made, we leave within the hour. I have donned the armor my brother
crafted for me and loaded my sidearm. Life through victory.
Day 22
I have claimed the captains cabin but hold no illusions of keeping it upon our return home.
We completed the mission but at a price that will not be tolerated. The raid was a disaster
and my pride blinded me. I failed my men, for all my preparation and determination I failed
them. 130 marauders came with us on this raid, 62 are dead and 15 are wounded and likely to
die. I lost 2 longships and a scout, the Harpy is barely limping home. 3 of my crew were
killed the others wounded even I was shot multiple times but my armor saved my life. The
helm frame is shredded and to pilot the ship I must bundle up against the cold.
The raid started off better than we had dared dream, the long range fire hit a fuel depot
next to 3 of the defense forces airships instantly disabling those ships, the fools didn't
even realize enemy fire had caused the explosion, they thought it was stray fireworks and
the defense force attempted to salvage the burning ships. the long range ships got in 2 more
minutes of bombardment before the enemy forces began to mobilize. I signaled the longships
in as the first enemy airships launched northward. The longships met no resistance until
they opened fire on defensive emplacements and docked airships attempting to scramble for
launch. The noblemans family was easy to find, they were ringed by a personal guard and
being loaded onto an airship when my marauders caught up to them. I saw the flare as did the
scouts and we crashed in on the city, the scouts to relieve the longships and me to pick up
the family. In the 2 minutes it took me to reach the flares launch point the marauders had
already taken control of the airship and slaughtered the entire Personal gaurd. The marauders
sent up a second flare to signal in the other ships for pick up so I sent my first mate to
their ship to pilot it home. He was dropped by rifle fire before he got half way to the
commandeered ship, a patrol of Yeshan's had come through an alleyway and blundered into the
middle of about 40 marauders, they got of a few shots before they were cut down. I left the
helm to tend to my first mate as the marauders started to secure the landing area. That's
when everything went wrong. I looked to the sky just in time to see a longship burning it's
way toward the ground, Captain Melbourne's crew aboard the "Rocinante" was stoic, they shot
their guns until they impacted the ground a few blocks away. I later learned The subsequent
explosion shocked me back to reality. That small delay allowed the enemy to regain some
composure, the fighting around us seemed to double in a second, the gunfire was constant and
I was in the open instead of at my helm. My first mate was alive but in a foul mood he
addressed me as "moronic highborn shit for brains" and told me to get my dumb ass back to my
helm, then smiled flipped a salute and ran for the commandeered vessel.
The firefight continued as I lifted my airship off the ground, our marauders have earned
their reputation. The Yeshan dead were visible in piles while the marauders were in constant
motion resembling black demons in their armor and leaving soulless bodies in their wake. I
ordered the commandeered vessel to run straight north and link up with our long range ships.
I had a ship to avenge and the Harpy wanted blood. I let pride rule my thinking instead of
intellect. I ordered the longships down to the marauders while my scouts and the Harpy
fought the defense force airships. I am proud to say the Harpy tasted blood and downed 3
enemy ships. I was hit multiple times but my brothers armor and the design of the Helm
turned the bullets well enough to let me survive. I lost a scout because I lost track of the
evacuation of the Marauders, the longships were already 2 kilometers north and running hard
before I realized the Harpy and the scouts were the only ships left fighting above the city,
I ordered us out too late. Captain Victoria's "Wild Weasel" was overtaken and destroyed
before it could escape. We also lost Captain Paris' "Defiant" early in the assault,
apparently he got too close to a fuel depot he was targeting and the drafts caused him to
slam into nearby buildings. The marauders say his ships arsenal cooked off also, it was the
only way to explain the massive explosions that followed its crash.
My pride caused delays in the orders, my pride forced men to fight longer than they had to,
my pride caused the deaths on this raid. If I had not been out for revenge, or had stayed at
my helm our marauders would have been picked up sooner and there would have been less death.
The damage inflicted by our raid was so great that the defense force did not follow us at
first, the did not know we had taken the family. When they figured it out they sent scouts
after us and they harassed us for 5 days inflicting minimal damage and doing nothing but
keeping us awake. They have broken off pursuit now that we are finally in Anglean territory.
I expect to be in a tribunal within the week and lose my ship soon after. I guess some men
are not meant to be raid Captains, we are far too prideful to complete missions with the
precision required. I expect I will be spared from execution because I completed my mission
but I expect to lose what is left of my ship and my crew for losing so many lives.
