The Brothers' War, Part Three
They came unlooked-for by night; a half-dozen swift ships, made up of light wood and driven by the wind blowing at their black sails. If not for the mortars loaded on each vessel's deck, they would have seemed like relics of older and simpler times; no threat to the fleet of crude boats anchored on Lahad Datu's docks.
Sultan Al-Hakam Kiram, who accompanied the flagship of this small fleet, chuckled to himself before raising his Kalis, the half-wavy, half-straight blade glinting in the pale moonlight. It was the signal for each boat to start the assault.
The loud booms of artillery ended the silence of the night, as the heaviest ships of his brother's pirate fleet were struck first, exploding in bright red flames, causing panic as the wind blew and began to blow and fan the sparks around, setting most of the surrounding boats on fire. Loud splashes of water marked where the Sulu strike force had missed their shots, an oversight.
His joy was soon ended by the sound of artillery coming from the city itself, as well as the enemy's own small boats, some of them converted foriegn fishing vessels with machine guns and Moro Lantakas (native cannon usually made up of Bronze). The Sultan flashed his Kalis twice, a signal for his ships to begin a fighting retreat, sailing back to Sulu while firing parting shots from their mortars, a recent import from Socialist France. Another boom of mortar fire, and a large fishing boat blew apart, a testament to the efficiency of these new artillery pieces.
Then came a loud splash as a cannonball exploded in the waters close to his boat, soaking him in saltwater. His raiders fired back, using not just their mortars, but the bootleg Mosin-Nagants they had brought with them to battle. Sultan Al-Hakam Kiram felt a hand on his shoulder, gently pressing; it was time to get down to the deck and relative safety.
His ships, manned by experienced mariners, laid down overlapping fields of fire without hitting each other, causing more casualties to the pirate fleet as the docks of Lahad Datu were lit with a red-orange glow; the fire was spreading to the rest of the city. But although the wind favored them, the whirr of an outboard motor brought a cold spike of fear into the Sultan's heart; he had underestimated the hardware that his brother's pirates had mustered...or had been given; the majority of the newer vessels weren't just foriegn fishing boats, they were newly-made!
"They're catching up!" one of his sailors cried out as he sighted the motorized fishing boat, equipped with machine guns, raking his ship with fire as his men tried to aim their Mosin-Nagants, but were torn apart by a rapid spray of bullets; the causalties would have been higher with better aim.
"Surrender now!" an unnaturally loud voice sounded from the fishing boat; one of those new 'Megaphone' devices? "Surrender or you will be killed!"
The Sultan was prepared to signal his defiance; he still had mortars, but the repurposed fishing boat was struck from behind and shaken by what he presumed were one of his other boats, who had sensed an opportunity to fire a mortar. The fact that this fishing boat withstood that was a grim signal, but he didn't have time to think more about it as the wind began picking up once more, carrying away the boat. The artilleryman manning the Sultan's vessel's artillery, mounted on the bow, was still alive, and, facing another burst of machine gun fire, made another parting shot.
This time, the enemy fishing boat didn't stand a chance. But the destroyed ship was no signal of victory; another blast from his right showed one of the Sulu strike force's ships being blasted to bits, the cries and groans of wounded and drowning men filling his ears with cold guilt.
More shots were being fired; but they were now meant to cover the strike force's escape. Thanks to the winds favoring them, most of them - or at the very worst, half - would escape. The Sultan had already analyzed the situation and why he had lost; he had underestimated the enemy, the enemy's hardware, and the capabilities of himself and his men. A bitter pill to swallow; the fact that the old style of raiding was no longer viable, not without new inventions like radios, both ship-portable and stationary. That and outboard motors, like the ones on the boat that nearly caught him.
Speaking of those boats, the Lady President would love to know that a third party was donating foriegn equipment to the usurper in Sabah/North Borneo; the Rajah of Sarawak would find this knowledge of benefit as well. That ought to lessen the political fallout from his vigilante action, maybe even get the Federal Government supporting him and Sabiha...
((Note; this is inconsistent in tone with the latest posts because it was written a month ago then stored as a backlog in another site.))
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