1616 September 20th, 2019 CE

0808 (Mid Hour), Quiet 112th, 195 AE

Many miles off the shores of Miami

“We have to get out of here!”

“Increase speed!”

“Evasive maneuvers!”

“Put out the fire!”

“They are firing again!”

“Impossible! How are they reloading that fast?!”

“Brace for impact!”

A variety of shouts could be heard from the Machian sailors on different ships.

A pair of F/A-18 E/F had just conducted a flyby of the ships as a psychological attack to sow fear in the enemy.

The Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers fired again within seconds of firing the first rounds. Explosions rocked the Machian fleet. This time three destroyers, the heavily damaged heavy cruiser which had lost its frontal main gun, another heavy cruiser, and the bridge-damaged light cruiser were hit. Two of the three destroyers suffered the same fate as the first two destroyers. The hits had nearly evaporated them. The third destroyer was hit in the middle and broke in two. It sunk like a closing claw. The damaged heavy cruiser caught fire and the undamaged one exploded because of a hit to the ammunition. Through all of this carnage, the damaged light cruiser that was hit again miraculously stayed afloat. However, the deck was a burning wreck.

On the IS Victorum

“Captain, we can’t let this go on. We have no ability to fight back. Even if we try to escape, we would all be sunk.”

The Captain of the IS Victorum was looking out at the condition of his fleet. Multiple ships were sinking. Some ships were in literal flames. Smoke was rising up around the fleet. There was extensive damage to many ships.

“They are opening fire again!”

Many miles away, the guns on the ships of the enemy fleet all flashed.

“Do they not need to reload?!”

Once again, six ships were hit. The accuracy of the enemy scared the Machians. What kind of gunner was able to perfectly hit their target three times in a row at this distance. It was possible that this was the act of the Magusians using their evil magic. The only thing was, there was no possible magic that can do that. Magic can only conjure things out of thin air and propel it with an invisible force. It can’t improve the accuracy of anything. Unknown to them, this was because of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) that is on every single one of the enemy ships. The AWS uses powerful computer and radar technology to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets with near-perfect accuracy.

The IS Victorum’s back gun was disabled. Four other heavy cruisers suffered extensive damage. A destroyer was hit and was rolling onto its side.

The Captain of the IS Victorum felt completely hopeless. It was impossible to fight back because the enemy was faster, more accurate, and more destructive than them. The only chance they had was with a complete retreat but even when they were retreating, they were being destroyed as if they were training dummies.

“Stop all vessels! Quickly! Raise the flag of surrender!”

On the lead Arleigh Burke

“Ceasefire! Ceasefire!”

A commander was barking into his radio. The Machian ships had raised white flags and started to slow. The Bem ship of the lines followed suit. The commander was relieved because he was afraid that the tradition for surrender was different in this world. Turns out there was something about the white flag that made it suited for being a symbol of surrender. Although the Bem had not been fired upon, they were too slow to escape.

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Naval Battle of Florida

Machian casualties

Sunk/Dead

2 Desmond-class battleships

1 heavy cruiser

6 destroyers

About 5,000 men

Captured

7 heavy cruisers (6 heavily damaged)

2 light cruisers (1 extremely damaged)

14 destroyers

About 7,000 men

Bem casualties

Captured

20 Bem ship of the line

16,000 men

American Casualties

0

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0000 September 21th, 2019 CE

0300 (Early Hour), Quiet 113th, 195 AE

Primopolis, Septentrio Magus Imperium, Domum (Imperatoria) Continent

“Your Majesty!”

“Yes, I’m right next to you, Robertus, you don’t have to scream.”

“Uh, yes, your majesty. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. What is it? Is it about how our secret military buildup on the front is going?”

“About that your majesty, we have received a telegram from Diplomat Jacques. Turns out we don’t need to prepare a preemptive invasion of the Mach.”

“What do you mean?”

“Turns out the Machian weren’t able to defeat the Americans. According to the telegram, Diplomat Jacques returned to Formido after receiving, from the people he had left behind to spy on the occupying Machian forces, that the American navy was able to one-sidedly defeat the Machian fleet.”

Emperor Arstant was surprised.

“Give me that telegram.”

The Emperor was handed it and read through it

This is Diplomat Jacques. I have just returned to the continent of Formido. The American navy was able to one-sidedly defeat the Machian fleet of two Desmond-class battleships, eight heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and twenty destroyers. The Americans gave us video footage of the battle. A Machian fleet of this size would be able to easily threaten our coast. I hate to admit this but this United States of America is more advanced than any country in this world. Maybe the elves are on par with them… if the elves exist. When I first set foot in this country, I immediately noted that it was on par with ours. They had cars, skyscrapers, and their rich wore comfortable clothing. However, as I stayed longer in it, I noticed that they may have been more advanced than us. Their cars felt smoother and more enjoyable to ride in. Their skyscrapers seem to tower above ours. Their buildings are able to effectively keep warmth in when it is cold outside without the use of any heating equipment. Everyone in their country seems to be able to wear good clothing. They even have the ability to produce colored video footage. My list can go on and on. By then I believed that they may have been a bit better than us. I believed that we may have been only a step behind. Now, I believe that they may be hundreds of years ahead of us. I have been trying my best to pretend that I wasn’t surprised by any of their better technology in order for us to gain negotiations that favored us. Now I realized my mistake. The moment we arrived was the moment that they knew we were less advanced. In my opinion, we can’t dare to anger them. They will be a more fearsome enemy than the Mach.