11:00 Hours
Zero Hour

In the brief period of time between the appearance of the strange colossal anomaly and the appearance of the unknown ship the crews of the Jenkins and the Helena have been running amok getting their ships back into order. As the onboard radio operators try to hail Midway the Helena’s bridge crew couldn’t help but stare in awe of the anomaly, and that’s when one of them finally takes notice of the unknown ship.

“Contact, direct front!” one of Helena’s observers called out.

“What have we got? Friendly?” Helena’s Captain approaches the observer.

“Negative, sir. It’s hard to tell with it in front of the anomaly, but it looks like a Japanese destroyer, sir.”

“Are you sure, Lieutenant? Looks can be deceiving with anomalies involved.” Helena’s Captain asked with uncertainty.

“Yes, sir. That’s definitely a Japanese destroyer, Akizuki class by the looks of it.” The observer confirms as he gazes through his binoculars.

The Captain now appeared puzzled. “I thought Halsey rounded up the remaining six ships of the class when Japan surrendered. Where did this one come from?”

“No idea, sir- Wait, I got activity on the anomaly!” The Observer called out.

Just as Helena’s Captain hopped out onto the bridge wing, he manages to catch a glimpse of what was two bright openings on the anomaly as two more ships emerged from it.

“Two more ships in visual, sir. German Z-52 class.” The Observer announced.

“Germans!? In the Pacific? Something’s not adding up here, are you sure those are German destroyers?” Helena’s captain questions the Lieutenant’s observations.

“I recognize those ships the day we encountered them escorting the ‘Artic Convoys’ when I first deployed to the 2nd Atlantic Battlefleet.” The observer reassured his commanding officer.

“I’ll put your word to it Lieutenant. General Quarters, all hands to battlestations. Someone man a signal lamp, be ready to make contact with those ships in case they’re surrendering.”

“Aye sir!” One of the junior sailors replied.

Back at Midway Headquarters the storm had eased up a little though strong winds could still be felt. But much to the relief of those who were fortunate to seek shelter in the battle hardened headquarters building where strong gusts of wind is of little concern compared to the attempted Japanese invasion back in 42. Admiral Nimitz, Emma, and most of the island’s senior staff had gathered in the war room to discuss the bizarre storm that struck the island.

“Crazy storm we’re having today?” A senior officer spoke to the Air Marshal.

“Yeah, one of our B-17H’s barley made it out of that storm when the crew were conducting a search and rescue exercise.” The Air Marshal replied.

Nimitz’s focus was broken by Emma’s sneezing. “You alright Emma?”

“Yeah, just a little soaked from the rain is all. Nothing my Irish self can’t handle.” Emma replied confidently.

“I appreciate your iron-will, Emma. But it would help if you get yourself dried up and jump into some dry clothes.” Nimitz asked.

“Aye, sir. I’ll be right back.” Emma proceeded out of the war room back to her quarters to get changed.

“Admiral Nimitz!” A telegram operator called out. “Urgent message from the USS Helena.”

“What is the Helena’s situation, son?” Nimitz asked, the other senior officers quietened down to listen in.

The messenger reads out the report. “Sir, Helena accompanied by the destroyer, Jenkins are caught in the eye of the storm. They also found something in the eye, sir. Something out of this world.”

“What is this ‘something’ that they found, Corporal?” The base commander asked with interest.

“It’s hard to explain sir, they’ve describe it as if it’s something completely out of pure fiction.” The messenger continued.

“Well, whatever it is inform the Helena to keep an eye on it.” Nimitz requested.

“Yes sir.” The Corporal left the room when another messenger approached Nimitz.

Nimitz was growing even more worried about what’s going on outside. “What the hell is going on out there?”

Back out in the eye of the storm the Helena and the Jenkins had since repositioned themselves broadside on the three mysterious destroyers, all guns trained on them. Helena’s manned starboard signal lamp flashed erratically in the direction of the idle destroyers in an attempt to establish communications with them.

“Any luck communicating with them?” Helena’s Captain asked his X.O.

“Negative sir, they’re awfully quiet. “ Helena’s second in command shook his head.

“Keep trying, let me know the second they squawk.”

Helena continues her attempt to communicate with the destroyers only to fall on deaf ears as the Axis ships stayed quiet. Then, as if someone turned on the lights, the bridge windows of the destroyers lit up with an ominous green glow creating an already eerie sight combined with their illuminated reptilian like camouflage schemes of different varieties which gave them a more lively appearance. The anomaly lit up again at two separate locations as two larger ships emerged from the portal alongside the destroyers.

“Two light cruisers just appeared, sir. One Nagara class followed by a Konigsberg class.” The lookout reported.

“Where the hell are these ships coming from?” Helena’s commanding officer piped with wonder.

“I wouldn’t be too concerned about where they’re coming from, sir. But they now have the upper hand against us should they decide to make a move on us.” The second in command added.

“Your right.” Helena’s C.O now realised of the tense position the American ships were in. “Warn the Jenkins, we have to start putting some distance between us and them.”

As the Jenkins and the Helena started to pull away a large tear in the portal anomaly opened up as a large steel fortress emerged and took up the centre of the formation. Its large calibre guns tracking the American light cruiser

“There’s a huge ship that just joined the group of unknowns, Littorio class. She’s bringing guns to bear on us!” One of the observers raised the alarm.

“Helm, hard left rudder, all engines ahead full. All unknowns that come out of that thing is declared hostile. All stations, fire at will!”

The Helena surged forward with her front 6” guns blazing away as she pulls into a hard left turn to open up the gap on the now hostile ships. The Jenkins follows the light cruiser as the destroyer starts to lay a smoke screen to cover their escape while also dumping a large spread of torpedoes against the group.

The enemy ships make their reactionary moves as they start their pursuit of the two American ships with all their firepower concentrated on the Helena. The Littorio takes one of the Jenkins’ torpedoes on the starboard bow while the Konigsberg got caught in the spread and is ripped in half by another torpedo.

“We nailed the Konigsberg, she’s going down!” Jenkins’ Captain declared.

The Littorio, now suffering major but containable flooding fired a salvo of 15” guns at the Helena but the light cruiser is presenting such a small profile having completed her hard turn that caused most of the shells to bracket Helena’s hull with one finding its mark on the cruiser’s armoured belt which only scraped of some paint and left a long, scaring dent as the shell ricocheted off the sharply angled hull.

“Shit, that was way too close.” The second in command held his breath.

“We got a minor hull breach in boiler room two, need a damage team down here to help contain the water or our boilers are getting soaked!”

Looking back at the portal the lookout spots five heavy cruisers exiting the anomaly and just catches six large flying reptilian creatures flying out with the new ships. “Captain, I got eyes on five heavy cruisers and six… Uh, six flying reptiles.”

“Could you be more specific, rookie?” Helena’s C.O questioned.

“I think the appropriate term you’re looking for sir is dragons, and they are carrying some nasty looking payloads.” The X.O added.

“Get a wall of AA around us, I don’t want one of those things getting near us!”

Within a moment’s notice of the order every anti-aircraft mount and dual purpose gun trained their barrels on the pack and opened up with a hail of hot iron and deadly flak bursts in close proximity to the dragons. The reptilian creatures were forced to take evasive action having underestimated the effectiveness of the combined anti-air fire. The dragons split into two groups with four committed to attacking the Helena and the last two focused on the Jenkins.

As the creatures got closer to their targets the more accurate the anti-air fire became as one five inch proximity round found its mark underneath one of the dragons and prematurely detonated its payload, enveloping the dragon in a large explosion that also knocked its buddy out of the sky. The crippled dragon dropped his large payload hoping for a lucky hit as he slams into the Pacific ahead of the Jenkins but the dart like bomb fell short of the US destroyer, its five ton warhead explodes on the surface sending a water column high into the air and drenches the manned AA gunners.

The Jenkins pulls another hard manoeuvre under sustained fire to avoid colliding with the downed dragon but the large reptile grabs the destroyer in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. The dragon, now weighing down the Jenkins and almost threatening to capsize the destroyer pulls its head above the forward deck only to see the front 5” gun train onto him. In a last ditch effort to survive the dragon unleashes a torrent of fire onto the gun house in an attempt to cook off any ordinance being loaded. His attempt was interrupted when some of the Jenkins’ deck crew turned their AA mounts on him. The dragon takes a swipe at the gunners only for the ship to shift under his weight as his free claw strikes the superstructure.

The dragon was left in a position where its vulnerable throat was exposed to the 5” gun which pumped three rounds into the dragon’s neck which gave a dying cry as it’s now lifeless body is torn away from the destroyer. With the dead-weight removed the Jenkins regains her lost speed and continues to dodge to continuous fire from the enemy ships.

“Man, I don’t think we’re gonna be forgetting about that anytime soon.” Jenkins’ X.O exclaimed.

“Just like wrestling with the finest catch in the Bering Sea.” His superior replied.

As the Jenkins and the Helena continues to peel away from the enemy fleet another flock of dragons exit the portal to take the place of the fallen, their desire to avenge their fallen brothers drags them into the hail of flak and bullets. Three more dragons would be knocked out of the sky before another dragon would make it through the AA bubble and get on top of the Helena and began its dive on the cruiser at break-neck speed.

“Incoming, incoming!” Helena’s X.O cried out.

Helena’s commanding officer simply stared up in despair of the inevitable fate that was about to befall onto his ship.

The dragon held his payload tightly with his bare claws as he accelerated towards the cruiser, waiting for the right moment to release his dart bomb. The faster he went the quicker his target grew closer and the more accurate his drop will be. Just as the drake drops below two hundred yards above the vessel he releases his payload and pulls out of his dive. The dart bomb strikes home on Helena’s mid-section.

In the time that it took for the fuse to arm the bomb had pierced through every deck and breached the bottom keel when the bomb detonates. The initial explosion lifts the Helena out of the water, breaking her in half in the process. The large air bubble created by the explosion would be sucked back into the ship with catastrophic results as Helena is ripped apart from the inside. Most of her superstructure would be blown off the top of her hull as the powder storage rooms for the secondary guns caves in. It only took one spark to set it all off as a chain reaction of explosions ripped its way to the main magazines. Water-tight and fire-prevention doors are blown off their hinges throughout the doomed vessel as a fireball seeps into an exposed powder storage room of one of the 6” Guns and with a final large explosion marked the end of the light cruiser.

The crew of the Jenkins could only watch in horror as their fellow seamen and their proud ship is obliterated in seconds. The lone destroyer now stands alone against the other-worldly armada. The commanding officer is left with limited options as another volley of shells splash around the destroyer, an 8” shell over-penetrates the rear funnel.

“Sir, we are completely outgunned! We have to get out of here!” The X.O spoke in a panicked tone.

His commanding officer grabs him and stares dead into his eyes “That ship has already long sailed son, we’re out of options. All we can do now is warn Midway and stall the enemy as long as we can.”

“But sir-“

“Don’t give me a bullshit excuse, lieutenant. Now get your ass down to communications and get that message out even if you have to keep transmitting long after we have sunk, and that is a direct order.”

“Y-yes sir.” The X.O stuttered as he slipped out of the bridge and bolted for the coms.

“Captain, both launchers report all tubes are reloaded and requesting firing solutions.” The leading weapons officer announced through a voice-pipe.

“Standby.” The captain replied before grabbing a spare pair of binoculars as he exited the bridge.

Under the constant hail of gunfire and splashing water the captain of the Jenkins takes a step of fate as he brings the binoculars to his eyes. Through the lenses he spots the alien armada parallel to the U.S destroyer, his eyes lay onto the damaged battleship that took one the Jenkins’ torpedoes earlier on. Its bow was low to the water and was showing a shallow list to starboard.

“We got to finish that ship off.” The captain muttered under his breath.

With the captain caught in a tunnel vision he didn’t notice the dragon bearing down on his ship as it dropped its payload close to the ship. The close explosion that followed up nearly threw the destroyer onto its side as the captain fell onto his back. Without a second thought he scrambles back into the bridge stumbling onto the gyro-compass post where the voice-pipes hug the post tightly.

“Weapons officer, this is the captain. Bring both torpedo launchers to bear on our starboard bow. Your target is the Littorio that we nailed earlier.”

“Aye sir, bringing launchers about and we will track the enemy battleship once in visual contact.”

“Helm, Change course. Have us kite the enemy formation. Make sure you take us up along the Littorio on her starboard side, but not too close where our torpedoes won’t arm before they hit her side.” The C.O informs the helmsman.

“Aye sir, bringing us about!” The sailor replied as he throws the rudder hard to starboard.

The Jenkins makes her sharp right turn as another salvo of 15” shells bracket the destroyer from the Littorio as it tries to bring its rear turret to bear which unintentionally put the Italian battleship in the path of a fellow Takao class heavy cruiser as it accidentally fired some 8” rounds into the portside superstructure, knocking out some secondary guns and starting a fire. One of the Littorio’s Secondaries shot back at the heavy cruiser in frustration of its lack of situational awareness. The other four cruisers race to get around the wounded battleship to finish off the battered Jenkins.

The Jenkins however was able to get into an open position to finish off the Littorio. “Sir, this maybe the last chance we got of doing some serious damage.”

“It’s as good as we’ll ever get, it’s been an honor serving with you all. Prepare to fire!” The Captain ordered.

The two torpedo launcher operators maintain a steady trigger discipline as they await the final order. An 8” shell from a Heavy Mogami class cruiser strikes the destroyer’s number two 5” gun barbette and explodes underneath the gun house, blowing the gun off its mount and killing the gun crew as a pillar of flames erupt from the exposed mount.

“Now, flush the tubes!” The C.O barked as the Jenkins’ forward magazines cook off, ripping the destroyer’s bow off from the rest of the ship.

Without a second to spare, the Jenkins lets off a final hurrah as she unleashes her ordinance for the last time. The last of the torpedoes exit the tubes as a volley of shells zeroed in on the Jenkins as they made a beeline for the damaged battleship. The other-worldly Akizuki spots the deadly submerged wall of ordinance and warns her allies to which most were able to steer clear with the exception of the doomed Littorio, the Takao that collided earlier and one of the Nagara’s were caught in the spread. Out of the ten torpedoes launched only six would deal the finishing blow to the Italian battleship and two of the remaining four would critically damage the Nagara, the Takao would get off lucky using the Littorio as a torpedo shield.

With their adversaries defeated the axis ships regroup to secure the portal gate as reinforcements continue to pour through. The passing destroyers would mercilessly mop up the remaining survivors to ensure there are no witnesses and the dragons that participated in battle would return to their base of operations with the exception of two younger drakes who continue to fly east towards the Midway atoll. The last of the ships to pull through are six destroyers, five cruisers, three aircraft carriers, one of which was modified to carry the dragons that participated in battle. And the last ships to exit the portal are two Bismarck class battleships that complete the overall composition of their scouting task force. As the last of the survivors from the Jenkins are killed off the other-worldly fleet groups up and steams towards the American base to the east. Unknown to them was that the Jenkins was able to get its warning message off to Midway Pacific Command and will soon be aware of the incoming threat.

Back at Midway the skies had cleared up significantly as base operations continued without a hitch with some clean-up effort required in some areas. Admiral Nimitz, Lieutenant Emma who had changed into her spare uniform and the general staff had stepped out into the open to assess the weather damage.

“Doesn’t look like the storm caused to any significant damage apart from some blown over trees and a lot of lightweight items scattered all over the place.” Emma spoke observantly.

“The airfield reports minor damage to some of the prefabricated hangars and some aircraft have inflicted weather damage.” The Air Marshal followed up.

“Alright, nothing too significant was lost, let’s get this place cleaned up and back in order.” Nimitz spoke with authority.

“Admiral, Lieutenant!” A distant voice cried out.

The group of officers look back to see one of Emma’s senior staff members run up to them with a look of urgency on his face.

“Is something wrong, Adam?” Emma called out her fellow colleague.

The Communications Officer came to an abrupt stop just in front of the group, he took a moment to catch his breath before passing his message to the Admiral.

“Distress call from M.T.G One, Sir. They’ve been attacked.” The Coms Officer named Adam huffed.

The group of Officers were shocked by the news, Nimitz bore a look of worry but remained stern. “Attacked by who?”

“It’s hard to say, sir. The message was rushed and brief as if they didn’t have a lot of time to get this through.” Adam started. “To break it down for you sir, the Helena and the Jenkins were attacked by a joint Axis strike group comprising of Japanese, Italian and German ships.”

“Germans and Italians, in the Pacific?” The Admiral questioned the officer’s words.

“Yes, sir. That’s how the report came in, they also mention something about a large anomaly appearing in the eye of the storm out in the ocean and not long after they were engaged, they also reported that they were under air attack by large reptilian creatures.”

“Are you sure that is how it came through and it wasn’t broken up by any interference?” Emma questioned her subordinate.

“No Ma’am, that’s how it came through. We tried to hail the Jenkins and the Helena but they’ve dropped off the radar.”

“Off the radar?” Nimitz repeated.

“As in they’re gone sir, the transmission stopped abruptly before we could send a response.”

“What the hell were they attacked by, the Lock-Ness monster?” The Air Marshal joked.

What followed next wasn’t a funny response as two fireballs slam into the beach in front of them as the group was sent scrambling to cover as the two drakes roared overhead to launch their surprise attack on the island base.

“Does that answer your question you feckin’ lemon head.” Emma pointed at the flying reptiles.

“I take back what I said, we gotta knock those things out of the sky!” The Air Marshal yelled back.

“Emma, take your comms officer and get to H.Q as fast as you can. Raise the alarm, mobilise the fleet!”

“Aye, sir.” Emma replied as she and her fellow officer make a mad dash for the H.Q building.

A squad of U.S Marines came across the group of officers as they were making their way to their defence positions. “Sir, we need to get you into some solid cover, let’s go!”

“Alright, move it!” Nimitz barked as the group was escorted to a safe location as the drakes make another pass on the base under escalating gunfire from fixed anti-aircraft gun positions and some of the nearby ships.

As the group made their way to a more solidified position Nimitz turned to his colleagues. “Jackson, how soon can we get our birds in the air?”

“If I have to predict from now, twelve minutes. But if I had access to a wireless radio I can shave a minute and a half off the scramble time.” Air Marshal Jackson replied.

“Get onto it.” Nimitz ordered. “Emmet, what’s the status of the fleet?”

“About a third of our fleet still have their engines hot, but most of them are scattered around the atoll conducting post war drills.” Nimitz’ executive officer spoke over the raging gunfire.

“Catch up to Emma and see if you can get the last known position of the Helena and the Jenkins and have all readied ships sail towards it immediately.”

“Yes, sir!” Emmet rushes off to catch up with Emma.

“David, who do we have close by for support?”

“Last I checked, the Iowa’s battlegroup is conducting anti-air drills about fifty nautical miles to the north-east. The Saratoga should have reached the rendezvous point with the Columbia to refuel the airborne carrier returning from Japan which is taking place two hundred nautical miles just to the north. If we need the additional air support from both vessels, their aircraft can be here in less than two hours.” David replied.

“Good, having Silverbird Squadron nearby will be critical to resolving the situation, and not just them. I want every plane within two hundred miles of the island in the air, now!”

Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDdzXUIiMZw&index=20&list=PLl7zTGocRY2tLI85-KSdx4h_nMMQeKMzh