"The city is being destroyed!" Roared out one enraged pirate.
"Aye pipe it down." Captain Sally said calmly.
The other pirates in the control room turned cat eyes to her in incomprehension as to her lack of concern as to the state of their coveted city that they had waited so long in order to recover from the waves that had sheltered it.
"What! You doubt my leadership? Was not I the one who came up with the idea of the scroll and thus the means by which we preserved ourselves? Did I not submerge the city so that it would still be here for us? Cities can be rebuilt and our numbers can be increased, but what is happening right now is priceless! Do you not see it? You accursed idiots look! The forces of this sunken world are impaling themselves on our energy bolts. In a few more minutes time we will rule here uncontested!"
"What of the Sea People? They have strong faith in the Creator and they've stood in our way before!"
"Hah! What Sea People! Do you see them out there dying? They've sent others to die in their place. We'll deal with them when the time comes, but for now my brethren let's finish what's left of these pathetic humans who dare to oppose our will!"
The scene beyond the burning remnants of the city was a grim one. Both navies were almost gone and those not sunk were largely devoid of the availability to fire upon the city anymore.
The remaining battleship in the sea of conflict had managed to find a blind spot where the remaining towers could not get a clear shot at it. It had halted all forward progress as it pounded away unmercifully at the city.
Captain Sally gritted her teeth savagely as she felt the city shake beneath her at the impact of the sixteen inch shells. The truth was that the damage to the city was astronomical considering the antiquated technology that they had been attacked with, but the enemy fleets had pressed the attack courageously and the continued shelling was beginning to pay off.
Several systems were malfunctioning. Normally she could have rotated the city to take out the battleship located in its safe haven out of range of the remaining towers, but side propulsion was off-line.
She'd have to initiate forward primary propulsion, which meant disengaging the mooring anchors that held the city in place. She hadn't wanted to do that because it meant the city would be free to drift upon the open water, but the battleship had to be taken out!
She engaged forward propulsion and warning indicators lit up everywhere. Pirates throughout the room lifted their heads in consternation as the screens came alive with red data lines.