She paused for a moment as if waiting for confirmation to continue--which she was, actually.
"Today at nine-thirty A.M. in Corpsett Harbor, an Imperial Drissan Capital ship [HES Eternal CDA-22] of South Issani Task Force--a large part of the Issani Island Defense Fleet--was badly damaged by an accidental explosion onboard in the weapons bay of the ship. The crew of the ship has reported that they heard a massive ear-splitting explosion coming from below deck and that the ship rocked widely to one side before crashing back on the water. Water is reported to have began flooding the damaged compartments within seconds and the ship began to list heavily to port. The damage control crew was able to stop most of the flooding before another reported ordinance explosion tore an even larger whole in the side of the ship. Water began to spill over the deck as the ship the began rolled and capsized, trapping--these are initial estimates--at least 300 people aboard. Rescue operations are already underway, though the media has been banned from the sight of the accident until morning by the Imperial Naval Command."
She turned slightly to her left and the camera followed.
"Now, we have with us tonight Vice Admiral in command of the South Issani ships, Gregory Rozend, who will to the best of his knowledge explain this mornings events,"
The camera panned to the left and settled on Vice Admiral Rozend, Kaia leaned forward in her chair and into the picture. The position was uncomfortable, but the producers had ordered her to get into the shot.
"Admiral Rozend, now, it worries me--and the rest of the country, as well--that a capital ship of the Imperial Navy would be nearly sunk by mishandled weapons onboard. I think that-"
"With all do respect, Miss Ravcëna," his voice carried an air of superiority and a German levelheadedness, "Because you are not a member of the Drissan navy nor are you an expert in Naval command or the complexity of operations onboard a Kaasnova Class capital ship, your thoughts are immaterial. You brought me here on this program--when I should be dealing with the dead men we are pulling from the depths of His Excellency's ship--to explain what happened. I have received the initial findings reports from early dives to the wreck sight and I will reveal to you what is appropriate."
He looked somewhere off the screen and an orderly rushed forward with a glass of water. He took a large gulp and set it gently, with meticulous care, on the news anchor's desk.
"What happened this morning is an embarrassment to the navy, and a horrible tragedy in which hundreds paid for with their lives. Today is proof of the poor performance of our navy, our obsolete practices and our weapons systems. In regards to the navy, those weapon systems are usually either ineffective against a modern enemy any stronger than what would ammount to a damn bananna republic, or they are hopelessly and ridiculously volitile--a modern naval commander would turn pale at merely the sight of our refueling stations, yet alone the conditions of the ordinance storage at the bottoms our ships. A modern naval commander using up-to-date tactics and operations laugh at the sight of our deisal ships. While the rest of the world commands fleets of air craft carriers and cruisers, our capital ships are battleships that are so delicate an ancient that taking them our of port for standard exercises puts so much strain on the ship that the damage control units of our navy should demand a pay raise for all the work they do. HES Eternal had reported flooding in her lower decks weeks prior to this accident, she had reported the need for new munitions months prior to the accident, and I had requested more funds for more adequate training. All of which were dismissed and now... now this happens..." he stopped and glared off to the side away from the camera. The whole situation disgusted him and his stomach twisted at the thought of all those young men dying hopelessly at the bottom of the bay because his government was all but useless.
She looked at him for a moment, unsure of what to say, "Uh," she mumbled, she looked at her notes and to the teleprompter. The news gave way to a quick commerical from their sponsors--Issani Vacation Discounts, how ironic and horribly inappropriate--before returning.
"I understand what you're saying,"
"No, you don't," the Admiral's muttering was barely audible and the captioning crew neglected to include his snide remarks.
"But that doesn't tell me or the viewers what happened. Many people woke up this morning to the sight of a burning sinking wreckage. What, Admiral, happened to that ship?"
The Admiral was clearly becoming aggravated, "What happened was an accidental detonation of a poorly maintained, outdated high-explosive shell. Because everything and everyone in the munitions bay was quite literally incinerated by the blast, we'll never know. But as far as we can guess, a munitions officer did something wrong. Or, this is also highly likely, a shell simply exploded. That, if anything, makes this whole damn thing more embarrassing to the Imperial Naval Command. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to deal with than answer your questions." he stood up and walk off screen. The camera zoomed out and panned to the left to watch him slam through the studio doors.
"But Admiral," she called after him. She was utterly flustered, "We're done," she muttered, "Aungeletten." she continued. Most people wouldn't have heard her, but the captions crew managed to include her last curse before the bulletin cut a final commerical and returned to the regularly scheduled news program. She hadn't gotten the scoop the wanted... the gritty details and the gory photos. If it bleeds he leads, she knew that and the producers knew that. But all she received from the irritated Vice Admiral was a bleeding heart and a bad attitude. Fuck. She slipped her feet back into their dark prison know as heels, stood up and went to discuss something with one of her producers. She was sure it would involve something much more interesting than a fuck up by the Imperial Navy--it would probably have something to do with her tongue... She giggled. Or his.
"Haha," she laughed softly and weaved her away around the massive army of technisions and badly paid orderlies and towards the back of the studio room.
-----
At Corpsett Bay, the sight of the HES Eternal.
"Because the bay is so shallow and she landed--almost--keel to the ground, several teams of engineers are going to try to seel the whole. That will at least make raising her a little eaier. The damage is, however, quite extensive and we don't know exactly how much we'll be able to salvage," Captain Richard Azënar said, "though, if the truth be said freely, I'd rather she-"
"Hold you tongue, Captain," the Admiral cut him off and shot a firey glance his way. Yes, he knew exactly what the Captain wanted. He would rather falsify a report and leave that piece of shit the Naval Command had the audacity to call a capital ship at the bottom the bay.
"Yes, Admiral, I apologize if I offended you in any way... I understand you served on the HES Eternal,"
"Aye, I did," the Captain tried to say something else, but was cut off, "I hated her then too, Captain, because, frankly, she wasn't worth the paper she was designed on when I first was stationed onboard. I hate that ship and I am moving to have her decommissioned.
"What?" the Captain looked amazed, "But she sank. Three-hundred men are dead and many more injured, she should be scrapped a new ship built. I thought the Naval Command was considering buidling a new design--a CNA..,"
"The designs were rejected on the basis of our inability to build and maintain a nuclear fleet." the Admiral said quickly as he began walking along the docks, watching as ships manuvered into place for the ressurection of a ship better off being left dead at the bottom of the bay.
