RFS Dominance

## History

### Production

Construction on the Dominance began on August 12th, 1907, and took more than two years to complete. Its' launch was widely celebrated as now, the Runick navy had the most powerful and advanced ship traversing the waves.

### Early uses

Before and during the earliest parts of the war, the Dominance was kept to guard the coasts nearby Artus, as a part of the South Coast Defence Doctrine, preventing an amphibic Northic invasion. As time went on, the Dominance began growing more bold, picking on smaller enemy vessels that got too close. It also aided in the invasion of Trespassers' Isle, destroying any ships attempting to leave the island. These battles were pretty low risk and low reward, and so the Dominance got ever bolder.

The first large naval battle the Dominance was involved in came on November 22nd, 1912, when the Dominance, supported by the one light and two heavy cruisers, the RLC Repoussante and the RHC Guerrier and Intercepteur, fights the two Northic Heavy Cruisers, the NHC Atle and Steinar a few miles off the southern Runick coast. The battle results in a Runick victory, as the Dominance and its' fleet destroy the Atle, allowing only the Steinar to escape, though barely, and with two out of three of its' turrets malfunctioning or destroyed. Northland fears that the Dominance will reach the Slenhi̊yúic Ocean and cut off Northic supply routes connected to Achia, starving them out.

### The Hunt

The NFS Åldenberg, the pride of the Northic Navy, is sent out from the city of Deldon, with the heavy cruiser Nordness. They are given instructions to guard the Ozogian Sea and destroy any Runick vessels passing through. Northland still has a fairly good grip on the Ozogian Sea, which was the only exit route into the open ocean that the Dominance could use.

The Åldenberg is a fairly outdated, yet still capable ship, having been built in 1889 and partially modified every few years. Its' greatest weakness is its' armouring, which at its' strongest measures only 25 centimetres, as it cannot be made heavier because its' old engines can't bear the weight. Its strengths lie in its' firepower, being armed with four twin 13.5 inch turrets, by far the largest arnament at the time of its' production. It has been nicknamed the Pearl of the Naragnin, a beautiful and awe-inspiring sight of Northic engineering and pride.

Next, the NHC Steinar, it never fully reached its' repairs after its' first battle against the Dominance in 1912, and its' three 12 inch dual turrets are prone to malfunction. The NHC Nordness is the newest ship in the Northic navy, having been completed in late October of 1912. It is also armed with three 12 inch dual turrets and this is its' first battle. On the Runick side is the RHC Intercepteur, a fairly new vessel, armed with four 10 inch dual turrets, along with the RLC Repoussante, a quicker and more maneauverable craft armed with three 8 inch dual turrets. And lastly the behemoth that Northland is looking for, the RFS Dominance, a titan of a ship armed with three twin 14.5 inch turrets, two triplet 14.5 inch turrets and possessing armour of 33 centimetres thick at its' belt. If it reaches the Northic supply line, Northland might aswell wave the white flag.

### Battle of Titans

0:58, January 16th, 1913, a lookout aboard the Nordness spots three silhouettes in the distance, which each turn left, showing their starboard side. The Åldenberg takes aim towards the Dominance, as the Nordness and Steinars' cannon can't reach far enough yet. The Northic fleet keeps going straight towards the turned Runick one, which minimizes their chance at getting hit but only allows them to use half of their turrets.

The

After firing, the Northic fleet banks to the right, seven shots hit mere metres away from the stern, where the Åldenberg would've been had they not turned. A shot from the Nordness hits the starboard side of the Dominance, but to no avail. Another volley is fired, and shot from the Intercepteur plunges into the Steinars' upper decks, penetrating into an ammunition locker. Ten seconds of silence after the shell punctured the Northic cruiser, the Steinar erupts in flame, schrapnel hitting and injuring sailors on the Åldenberg and Nordness. The fleet has no time to save those in the water, they cannot stall, and are forced to leave all survivors behind. In only eighteen seconds, the Steinar has been consumed by the icy water.

1:20, the Åldenberg fires again, and one shell hits the Repoussante in the gunnery bridge, lacking orders or instructions, the Repoussantes' turrets stop firing. The Nordness fires shortly late, followed ten seconds later by the Dominance and Intercepteur. The ships have been creeping closer to one another, they have both turned and slowly approach each other whilst slowly heading towards Resters' Isle. A shell from the Åldenberg hits the Repoussante, striking its' rudder and jamming its' steering.

Ten seconds later, as sailors celebrate their hit on the Repoussante, five shells rain down atop the upper decks and bridge of the Åldenberg, massive explosions light up the ship as two out of four of its' ammunition lockers are hit, the explosions set off a chain reaction that causes the vessel to be consumed in a gargantuan storm of fire, sailors atop the Nordness hear the cries of their burning comrades from whats' left of the Åldenberg.

A yellow smoke emanates from the pieces of rubble left in the destruction of the Åldenberg, there is no wreckage, only pieces of metal and corpses. The captain of the Nordness, Sebastian Pettersen, orders the Nordness to retreat to Resters' Isle, the Dominance gives chase. For twenty agonizing minutes, shells from the Dominance miss the Nordness by mere metres. One shell hits the sterns' turret, but by dumb luck, doesn't detonate, though it does render the turret useless. Another shells plunges through the bridge, the navigation officer asks through a voice pipe if everyones' alright, there is no answer. Sebastian and his bridge crew lie dead amidst the rubble.

1:44, the Nordness enters range of the airforce of Resters' isle, and the Dominance cuts off its' interception, disappearing into the fog and making its' way ever closer to the Ozogian Sea. Though the Repoussante, of which the steering had been jammed, is on a collision course with Resters' isle, but luckily, it gets stuck on the shallow seabed, and all aboard are captured. The report of the battle and loss of the Åldenberg and the Steinar is relayed to King Fældor and the Northic Government.

### Vengeance.

January 16th, 1913, Vann. People in the streets read of the battle between the Åldenberg and the Dominance. The Northic government tries to make the Åldenbergs' defeat look like a heroic last stand, but eitherway, the loss of the pearl of the Northic navy weighs heavily on their morale. Efforts to discover the location of the Dominance are tripled and all able-bodied ships in the area are instructed to remain ready for interception. Though weirdly, despite all attempts, the Dominance remains hidden for days. That is until a bold reconnaisance plane spots the vessel near Trespassers' isle. Anti air guns nearly shoot the plane down but, it is able to make an emergency landing on a field on Resters' Isle.

January 27th. The heavy cruiser Nicholas I makesup the new support of the Dominance, a dreadful sight for the Northic admirals. It was already nigh impossible to beat the Dominance with one light and heavy cruiser, and now it is aided by another Battleship and a Heavy Cruiser. The plane reports that the Intercepteur had returned home for some reason. Despite the danger, a squadron of bombers is sent out from Resters' Isle.

The following battle is bloody, anti-air guns shoot down 16 out of the 30 planes, and the rest release their torpedo payloads. Out of the 14 torpedos, five detonate on contact with the water, meaning the fleet has to weave through nine torpedos. As the remaining bombers turn to head for Resters' Isle, they see three explosions as they disappear into the mist, they have no clue what they hit or how badly, and their answers will only come next morning.

When reconnaisance planes scan the reported location of the battle, they spot a trail of oil. It seems that a torpedo hit one of the four ships' oil storages. Now that they have a lead, the NHCs Nøhr and Karsheim, along with the prepare to intercept the Dominance from Resters' Isle, whilst the Battleship Prince Christian is deployed from a port along the Hindrun strait.

Febuary 12th, east of the Runick Sea. The Nøhr and Karsheim prepare to meet up with the Prince Christian, whilst following their enemy by following the trail of oil. Half an hour later, the Prince Christian joins the fleet. A few minutes later, they see four figures in the distance, they aren't moving. The Northic fleet prepares for the battle.

Following the battle of Resters' Isle, which resulted in the destruction of the Åldenberg, the Prince Christian is the most powerful ship in the Northic Navy, it was built in 1905, being more advanced than its' forebearer, but also weaker, possessing three twin 13 inch turrets, instead of four 13.5 twin turrets. Its' armour belt is thicker though, measuring 28 centimetres, so the Christian is far from incapable. Then the Nøhr, a usual heavy cruiser, built in 1909, its' three 9 inch twin turrets can't do much to the Dominances' armour belt, but can strike powerful plunging hits on its' weaker upper decks. The Karsheim is slightly older and weaker than the Nøhr, having two 8 inch triple turrets and an armour belt of 20 centimetres.

On the Runick side, there is the heavy cruiser Nicholas I, a fairly new ship, built in 1911. It possesses two 8.5 inch triple turrets and an armour belt of 22 centimetres. And the Coup Mortel, a very old Brutality-Class Battleship, outdated in every definition of the word, possessing two 8 inch twin turrets and eight 4 inch single turrets, it is still an unconventional beast of a ship.

### The Finale

Shots from the Dominances' twelve 14.5 inch cannons are fired first, followed by the Prince Christians' six 13 inch cannons. A shell from the Prince Christian hits the Nicholas I, plunging into the cruisers' front turret and knocking its' front facing arnament out of the fight. Captain Hallvard Welde of the Prince Christian makes an astounding realization. The bombing raid on the enemy fleet blew a hole in the Dominances' oil storage, and the vessel is now out of fuel. If the Runick fleet wins this battle, a tanker will likely arrive and repair the Dominance, after which their enemy will reach the supply line and decimate it. This battle is their final chance.

A shell from the Nøhr plunges down upon the upper decks of the Dominance, hitting the ships' second turret. The shot is so powerful that it temporarily takes out a neighbouring turret. The Dominance briefly lights up in flame as the fires are hastily extinguished. A shell from the Coup Mortel hits the Karsheim in the armour belt, it doesn't explode but does punch a hole in the armour that causes the Karsheim to begin slowly sinking. A shell from the Dominance also hits the Prince Christian, penetrating the upper decks and landing mere centimetres away from the ammunition locker. The Christian almost followed its' forebearer to the bottom of the sea.

Another volley from the Northic fleet decimates the Coup Mortel, eight shells dismantle the old ship, exploding with such force that all aboard the battleship are incinerated instantly. The Dominance strikes a hit on the Karsheim, disabling its' rear turret too. Another shell from the Dominance hits the Prince Christian on the bow, which splinters into pieces. Captain Mikael Hoffstad of the Karsheim makes a vital decision. He orders all men willing to die to stay on the ship, and for others to transfer to the Prince Christian and Nøhr. He relays his plan to Hallvard who nods in acceptance.

After transfering, the Karsheim begins to speed up, storming towards the Dominance whilst taking hit after hit from the enemy. The vessel splinters away as it races towards the Dominance, meanwhile, Runick sailors get ever more nervous of the approaching ship. All fire is redirected to the Karsheim, until it is too late. The cruiser rams the Dominance at top speed, smashing into the starboard stern. The Karsheim breaks in two as it takes with it a chunk of the Dominances' stern. The Karsheim heroically sinks as Mikael closes his eyes before being pulled into the icy water.

The Dominance begins to rapidly fill up with water. Starting to tilt backwards, the bow of the mighty vessel begins to stick out from the waves as shells rain down upon it. The Dominance fires defiant shot after defiant shot as the ship begins to splinter near the bow. After 40 minutes of constant shelling, the killing blow comes from the Prince Christian, hitting the Dominances' central ammunition locker which causes the vessel to light up like a roman candle, after which the bow breaks and falls off, disappearing beneath the waves.

They haul any survivors they find out of the water, many have burn marks or are missing limbs. Meanwhile, the Nicholas I makes a daring escape, a shell disables its' rear turret, but the Northic fleet will allow it to escape, they've had their victory, for the Dominance now lies on the bottom of the sea. As dawn breaks and the sun rises, the victorious fleet returns to their port in Dafnig, they are celebrated widely as heroic figures, but Captain Hallvard repeatedly states that Mikael and his crew were the true heroes. They take with them only 13 living Runick sailors, out of the 1075 originally aboard the Dominance.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Vincent de Grande is told of the sinking of the Dominance. From now on, he will begrudgingly use his largest battleships defensively rather than offensively. Runick morale takes a dip because of the battle, and it is a decisive turning point in the oceanic theatre of Eneric. The Dominances' skeleton rests vengefully on the bottom of the Ozogian Sea, its' memory left to haunt Northic sailors for decades to come.