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Post by garrisonchisholm on Jan 25, 2022 9:46:07 GMT -6
Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya. I love and would be proud of that connection to the Royal Family as well as teeth-rattling broadsides.
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Post by attemptingsuccess on Jan 25, 2022 12:59:11 GMT -6
Imperatrista Mariya, it would be an interesting ship to serve on
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Post by akosjaccik on Jan 25, 2022 13:17:56 GMT -6
The Fokshani. Vedernikov came off as a good mentor figure and a man with a good temper based on the story so far, I'd expect battlecruisers to conduct themselves more autonomously and perhaps sortied more frequently than the battleships, and I just flat-out like the class. While I personally wouldn't have any particular issues with a semi-dread, parking on one in the Pacific doesn't really scream "opportunity to learn and accomplish stuff" right about now.
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Post by incredibleincompetence on Jan 25, 2022 21:30:05 GMT -6
Pervenets, because it's probably the best looking ship in the fleet.
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Post by zederfflinger on Jan 26, 2022 0:30:15 GMT -6
I'm tempted to go with a safe pick in Retvizan, but I'll go to the opposite side of the spectrum and go with Hotin. In Jackie Fisher we trust! (It's an Incomparable class for crying out loud, of course it won't spontaneously disintegrate!)
P.S. Good idea on the user interaction!
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Post by prophetinreverse on Jan 26, 2022 23:45:32 GMT -6
Borodino - I wish to be the second incarnation of Nelson - which will likely give Koshkin another heart attack, but variety is the spice of life.
Extra credit: have my avatar and ship sink an enemy vessel by ramming.
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Post by thefleetofoceans on Jan 27, 2022 10:16:36 GMT -6
Imperatritsa Mariya - Somebodies gotta serve on the pre-dreadnoughts and they are still battleships.
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Post by incredibleincompetence on Jan 28, 2022 16:02:40 GMT -6
Imperatritsa Mariya - Somebodies gotta serve on the pre-dreadnoughts and they are still battleships. Whatever happened to the good ol Humblehome? I know Koshkin absolutely adores it, Dmitri said it himself! feels kinda wrong to neglect it so much in the entries, honestly. =)
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Post by janxol on Feb 2, 2022 12:37:59 GMT -6
Ultimatum
16:00, November 24th, 1899, St. Petersburg Mikhail followed in silence as the guard led him down the long corridor. After several turns and bends, they came to an intersection, from which a corridor's dead end could be seen, ending in an iron bar door. "Here, captain.", said the guard, pointing towards the bars. "I'll leave you for a few minutes." And with that, he left, leaving Mikhail to slowly approach the bars, peering through them into a prison cell. And in the cell, there was a movement, as a human figure rose from the floor and slowly came towards him, coming into the light cast by one of corridor's olive lamps. A man in late twenties, just slightly younger than Mikhail. Sharp eyes, so closely resembling his own. For the first time in years, Mikhail was standing face to face with his younger brother. The one man who proved a worthy chess opponent in his youth. The one man that couldn't be tricked in a game of poker. The one man so perceptive, it made Mikhail uneasy. "Hello, brother.", said Kondrati. "Long time. What brings you?" "Katya's death.", responded slowly Mikhail. Kondrati took half a step back, something changing in his face. But it wasn't shock or grief, no. It was curiosity, as if he was just presented with a riddle. And Mikhail started to regret coming here. "After our mother died, you sent a letter to inform me of that fact. Similarly, you did so shortly after learning of Katya's death. Why would you come to tell me about it in person?" "If there was ever a person close to your heart, it had been her. I suppose you deserved to hear it in person.", responded Mikhail, choosing to ignore the rhetorical tone of Kondrati's question. "I don't think so. I think you came here for a different reason entirely.", said Kondrati, smirking. "I think what brings you here is the death of Berngards Leshev, our sister's killer." "I am hardly concerned by the death o Katya's killer." "You say that. But your pupils have dilated and your heart rate is rising.", noted Kondrati, coming closer to the bars and a smile appearing on his face. "You are very concerned with his death. Or perhaps rather you're concerned with how he died. Or by whose hand..." He knew. "Yes... That would make sense...", continued Kondrati. "You became afraid, because it awoke a part of you, that you never thought you had. You became afraid of similarities between you and me. So to reinforce your resolve you chose to come here, "confront me", see the contrast between a convict and an officer of the navy. See the bars and the line that separates me - a murderer - from you - merely a killer. Even if you fear how thin that line actually is." "I'd say it's quite thick.", responded Mikhail, doing his best that his anger couldn't be heard in his voice. "Look at you. Serving a life sentence without an ounce of remorse." Kondrati raised his eyebrows, a gesture which was almost identical to that of Mikhail's own. "I feel no remorse for things that landed me here.", he said. "You knew the man I killed. A cunning usurer, thriving on misfortune of others. I saw him for what he was, a parasite to society and predator to the weak. Even if the law doesn't agree with me, I did the right thing. And for what it's worth, I think you too did the right thing about Berngards." If there was ever an insult to injury, there it was. "What happened to you? I remember when we were young, you weren't always like this.", said Mikhail. Kondrati's eyes shifted away from Mikhail, a sudden look of curiosity on his face. Used to peering into other's souls, now he turned to look into his own. After a few seconds, he turned back to Mikhail, furrowing his brows. "I wasn't.", he agreed. "And I think you know exactly what happened. It will happen to you too." "I highly doubt I'll suddenly see it fit to murder people." "And yet you must see. We both have "the gift"... And a price to be paid for it..." For a few seconds there was silence, before Kondrati tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. "One more thing before you leave.", he said. "I have a certain... Reputation. You see, it would be entirely plausible that despite being in prison I could devise a way to have Berngards killed. And killing him is indeed something that would align with my moral compass and I do most certainly have the motive. Should someone approach you, seeking the man who killed him, keep it in mind. After all, there's nothing more they can do to me in here..." He smirked.
To say that relations with France hit an all-time low would be an understatement, but to say they kept getting even worse was absolutely true. This was of some concern to those that didn't want the war, but some relief could be the fact that it was only France that absolutely hated Russia at the moment. Relations with Germany have improved, Great Britiain didn't seem to care and relations with Austria-Hungary were actually quite good. In December of 1918 Russian battlecruiser Fokshani even made a goodwill visit to Autria-Hungary.
Battlecruiser Fokshani
In January of 1919 the Russian navy laid down an experimental class of four destroyers, designated as "destroyer leaders". Revnostni (1919) - destroyer leader Ships in class: 4 Designated as "destroyer leaders", these ships would be significantly larger and heavier armed than previous destroyer classes of the Russian navy - and any other in the world. Displacing 1 500 tons, the ships had an oil-fired machinery producing over 22 000 horsepower for a design speed of 32 knots - in the end that would make them one knot slower than the Bistri-class, which managed to exceed their design speed during trials, reaching 33 knots. Unlike other destroyers, the Revnostni-class even had some armor, with a 2" thick protection of the conning tower. The armament consisted of six 130mm guns in shielded deck mounts, featuring an increased range of elevation of the barrel to increase effective range. Two guns would be located forward on a short raised forecastle, mounted in a superfiring pair. Third gun was placed behind the bridge on an elevated position extending behind the forecastle. Aft of the funnels the ships had a raised platform on which gund four and five were located, with gun four in the forward portion of the platform and gun five in the rear, superfiring over gun six, which was placed on main deck directly aft. The ships with four triple torpedo launchers, with two launchers on each side. The armament was completed by three 12.7mm machine guns and a standard load of depth charges.
15:00, February 8th, 1919, Gulf of Finland, Battlecruiser Hotin "There will be a slight delay, general-admiral. The test will begin in about five to ten minutes.", reported Aleksandra, appearing on the bridge wing. "Thank you, lieutenant.", acknowledged Mikhail, before turning to Dmitri standing beside him. "Have I told you that I really don't feel safe standing on a ship of British origin?" "Yes, you have, actually." "And quite frankly I don't believe the refit this ship received entirely prevents the thing from exploding." "Well, you did limit the battlecruiser budget.", noted Dmitri, raising an eyebrow. "And additionally you decided to spend most of it on construction of a glass cannon.", added Mikhail, thinking about the Navarin. "You were always skeptical of the battlecruiser concept." "Still am. Is this the moment when you say that speed is armor and I respond that armor is armor?" Dmitri sighed. "Have you heard?", he asked, and the tone of his question made it clear that he's changed the subject. "About what?" "Yevtushenkov is dead." Mikhail furrowed his brows, somewhat unsure what to feel. "I have not. How?" "Peacefully in his sleep." "I have a hard time imagining Yevtushenkov doing anything peacefully. He was the kind of man to wake up and choose violence... Regardless, I suppose a state funeral with military honors will still be in order. Somehow I doubt he had a family." "He did, actually. Three children, eight grandchildren." And now Mikhail definitely didn't know how to feel. The new information was completely out of sync with his perception of Yevtushenkov. "Unexpected.", he said only. "He was very careful to keep his private life separate from his military career. In the end, we only knew him from that professional side.", noted Dmitri. "I suppose. I still can't decide if my fondest memory of him is him getting punched by Eugeni or him punching Eugeni.", he let out a sigh. "Andrei and Yevtushenkov gone... We're about to go to war with a nation we formerly considered allies... It's really starting to feel like an era is coming to an end..." And with that he turned his eyes towards the floating target and three experimental bi-planes flying towards it, each carrying a small torpedo beneath the fuselage.
And later the same month France issued an ultimatum. Russia was to abandon Hong-Kong and Shanghai and retreat from mainland China or it would come to war. And everyone knew that the Tsar would never accept these terms, especially not when the confrontation was exactly what he was looking for.
More retrospect nobody asked for, I suppose, not that much going on. Though I guess akosjaccik has an excuse to draw Fokshani for her goodwill visit if he wants to.
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