THE ADVENTURES OF HMS 'ONLY PVE'
HMS 'PVE Only', shortly before leaving The Baths' Seaport
PressCorps Reporter observing the battle on the deck.
War 117, DAY 300, THE FINGERS, Headman's Villa --- UCF Destroyer "HMS Only PVE" departed The Baths Seaport, heading the front line. The vessel had been ordered to provide fire support. The voyage got off to a bad start, as the UCF embedded reporter had been left behind on the docks. Thankfully, an old fisherman offered to drive him to the ship. He managed to get on board with some difficulty during the final manoeuvres. Moreover, many bridges were damaged by the armoured bow, inadvertently disrupting logistical efforts. To the relief of its captain, [UCF] Ben The Raptor, she made it to The Clahstra intact. There, it took part in fire support missions, destroying four enemy cannons and multiple enemy defenses.
At this point, the reporter departed the ship to bring his rolls back to PressCorps Headquarters. When they returned aboard a second vessel sent to provide reinforcement, "HMS Only PVE" was under heavy attack from both ground vehicles and artillery fire. Ignoring the bullets zipping around them, gunners opened fire upon these attackers, taking out two half-tracks and one tank. However while maneuvering, the vessel was struck by multiple RPG and tank shells, causing the Destroyer to ran aground on the cliff edge.
The ship was boxed in by artillery fire from almost every gun in the sector. Damages Control Teams began to be overwhelmed, most the competent personnel replaced by untrained crew. The captain gave the order to retreat at full steam, performing evasive manoeuvres to evade the artillery fire. He was still escorted by a lone Gunboat, manned [APE] and [420st] sailors.
Almost miraculously, the ship made it through the hail of shells and managed to reached a Colonial held beach. This is where most of the crew disembarked, either to be treated at the newly build field hospital or reassigned to other vessels. A skeleton crew sailed the damaged, but functional Destroyer back to The Baths, where they were discharged and given extra rations for dinner. That is, if they were still alive.
Sources: [UCF] Ben The Raptor
Writer: [UCF] Spacemancheezits
Editor: [PRESS] Jean Baricave
Date of Publication: 19/10/2024
This article is a Community Submission, posted in the submissions text channel on the PressCorps Discord. Community Submissions feature independent reporting, and may be modified for reasons of clarity and grammar.