Rose Oblust-Odell's Story

Rose felt her heart leap up into her chest as she heard the commands being given above the deck, followed by the shuffling of feet across the worn wood. She looked around, squinting in the darkness from her hiding place among the many barrels of gunpowder. There were men just a few feet away, coming and going as they prepared for the battle. She never should have come. Ohh, her brother would be furious with her if he knew that she was on the ship.

She ducked her head down a bit as one of the men came near and grabbed a barrel, hoisting it up onto his shoulder. Rose heard a soft chattering near her head, felt a tickle on her cheek. She turned her head slowly, and came face-to-face with a large rat, its beady eyes staring her down. She let out a shriek and leapt out from between the barrels, gathering her skirts as she looked around for more of the filthy creatures.

But then she realized her mistake. The men below the deck with her had stopped their work and had all turned to look at her. "A stowaway!" one of them cried out. "Bloody women! Let's throw her overboard!" another said. "It's bad luck to have a woman aboard!" said yet another.

Rose gasped as she felt hard hands wrap around her arms and she was practically carried up the ladder and out into the predawn darkness. She looked up at the sky in wonder. There were so many stars out there, more so even than what she could see from her home. The hands tightened painfully around her arms as she stumbled a bit, and she turned to the men with a glare. "Unhand me! You don't even know who I am!"

She spotted her brother at the railing on the upper deck, and let out a groan. Nevel was going to kill her. She just knew it. But she adored her brother, had always loved to follow him around. How could she have stayed at home, safe and sound before the fire, while he sailed out to battle? She couldn't, and hadn't. It had been no easy task, sneaking aboard his vessel, but she'd managed to stay hidden until that dirty rat had gotten too close.

Nevel was still facing the bow of the cruiser when he suddenly caught a glimpse of some form of commotion on the lower deck of the Kaiser Max, that's when his eyes caught sight of a woman being dragged from the lowest level of the ship-The hold.

Hunching over the rail with bulging eyes which struggled to discern the identity of the stowaway.

"No! In Heaven's name. It cannot be." The Captain thought.

"Lieutenant commander!!" Came the raucous outburst of the angered sea captain.

A certain amount of glee could be seen beaming from the faces of the crew members who held the young lady, somehow not realizing that a great portion of the anger so loudly professed would be allotted to their own actions.

The lieutenant had called for another officer to assist with the sensitive situation, the two men immediately releasing the woman as they spotted the frayed, thick piece of rope clutched within the lieutenants right hand.

"Alright you beetle-browed bastardly gullions. Let free the fair lady!"

Then with a few strong thrusts of the thick rope onto the bare forearm flesh of the two seamen all order was quickly reestablished. "Back to your lugging, we need black powder right quick." The two men retreated back to the innards of the vessel as the lieutenant escorted the lady to the captain.

Rose winced as she watched the punishment that was given to the men who had held her. She watched them go, frowning to know that she had caused the lashes. Finally, she turned back to the lieutenant who was waiting for her to continue moving. Brushing off her skirts, Rose straightened her back and held her head high as she made her way up to where her brother stood. She would have to make him understand that she could handle herself in this situation. A lady she may be, but at heart, she was a young boy who wanted to be free to run up to the mast and climb away until she was high above them all.

Rose folded her hands in front of her and gave her brother a small curtsy as she stepped up in front of him. "Brother," she said meekly. She tried to show that she knew she was wrong, but inside she was bursting with excitement. Her eyes flitted around, taking in the actions going on behind Nevel. She took note of the other ships around them, including the other fleet. Her heart leaped up into her throat, and she quickly brought her attention back to Nevel, waiting for him to speak.

"Foolish girl, do you realize the dangers that you shall face."

Nevel's eyes squinted with confusion as to what had stolen his sister's attention away from the verbal lashes which he felt she deserved. He greatly loved his sister and he felt obligated to defend her, but this added additional burdens upon his weary shoulders for he was now responsible for both his sibling and his men.

Nevel turned his body completely around to face the open seas and the gathering of enemy vessels. Now facing away from his sister and her from him Nevel began to speak in a tone of authority, not as her brother, but as her captain.

"Since you are already here, and there is no possibility of retreat, I suggest you don the proper attire.......seamen Odell."

Rose watched Nevel as he turned away from her. There was the slightest slump in his shoulders, visible only to her because she knew him so well. She frowned once more. 'Foolish indeed. I have only added to his troubles...' She thought.

When her brother spoke up once more, telling her to change her clothing and referring to her as seaman, Rose couldn't keep from grinning. Instead of sending her back below deck to stay out of the way, Nevel was putting her to work. This was why she loved her brother so. He didn't treat her like a dainty woman who might break at any moment.

Rose snapped to attention as she had seen his men do before. "Aye, sir!" Beaming, she turned and ran off in search of someone who could lend her clothes.

Rose reappeared on the deck after just a few minutes later, dressed in borrowed breeches and a tunic. Both were clearly large on her, but she'd roped it all together somehow to maintain some decency. Her long blonde hair was twisted up high on her head so it would be out of the way.

Strutting past the other deck hands, Rose ignored their stares. She came to attention in front of her brother once more. "Your orders, sir?" she asked, excitement obvious in her voice.

Nevel's sister had returned before him having donned the proper attire, just as he asked. "Lieutenant Commander Schlitz!" Nevel called for his second.

"This is is our new recruit, seaman Odell. I expect nothing less then perfection from her in her duties. I shall hear of it otherwise. Is that clear Commander Schlitz?"

The tall lanky officer switched his glance from full attention upon his captain to the crew mate to his left. "Yes Sir! Captain Sir."

With clicked heels and a salute of compliance the tall lieutenant Commander dismissed himself from the captain to turn toward seaman Odell. "Attention!"

Rose blinked at the swift change of commands. Being a woman, she'd obviously never had any kind of military training. And she certainly had no clue what kinds of things needed to be done on a ship, but she would put her all into her work and make her brother proud.

She eyed the Lieutenant Commander with big blue eyes, snapping to attention once more when he called her to it. Despite the fact that she wanted to run to the rail and watch everything that was going on, Rose remained still, awaiting her orders.

"Lieutenant commander! Where are we deficient, place her there." The captain spoke as he walked to the stern; he would often separate himself from the crew before every battle in order to gather his thoughts and do a final mapping out of his strategies.

Nevel was quite aware that Captain Tegetthoff and the flagship Erzherzog Max was heading up this campaign and that no matter the outcome all honors would be go to him, at the same Nevel also recognized the important of his, and his crew's participation in this most important battle.

The Kaiser Max was but one of seven vessels that would lead the run for the Italian flagship, the Persano.

To engage with artillery and firearms, or to purposefully ram their opponents were the only options available to them. Captain Oblust didn't favor the second option, particularly now that he has someone other then his crew to be concerned about.

By this time the Austrian forces were beginning to align themselves into the arrow formation which they would maintain until they successfully breached their enemies line. The Italians had already formed in a slightly curved battle line some 20 miles off of Porto Comisa, these six ships formed the main line of defense for the Island of Vis.

The command ship was positioned behind the Ironclad Faa di Bruno which lay at the upper most point of the Italian defensive line. The Italian commander of the flagship Persano was insistent that his ship should take on the Erzherzog Max, but in doing so they had left a considerable gap between the first line of six vessels and the top most portion of their battle line. This second battle line consisted of three vessels the Acono, Castel, and the ironclad Vecca.

Back aboard the Kaiser Max the 1st lieutenant was assigning the Captain's sister with a crew position, Captain Oblust had already suggested a possible assignment. Taking this into consideration Lieutenant would place Rose as a member of the Armorer's crew.

"Crewman Odell! Our armorer's mate has come down with gaol-fever and is now incapacitated. Your new position, indeed your first position, will be to replace him as a member of the Armour's crew. You task will be to hand out firearms to the men should we be forced to board an enemies vessel, or they ours"

The lieutenant stepped aside. "Now, to your duties!"

Nevel stepped back up to the rail. "And Rose." The hint of a smile came upon his face.

"Please try and stay out of trouble."

Rose was almost trembling with anticipation as she waited for the two men to figure out where to put her. She knew Nevel would never place her somewhere where she'd be in direct danger; but one couldn't exactly escape danger entirely on a ship in the middle of a battle. She listened as the Lieutenant Commander gave her her orders. When he called her to her duties, she snapped off a salute, wondering if that's what seamen did at all… She called out, "Aye, sir!" and was about to turn away when her brother called out her name. She looked over to him, a grin coming to her lips at his words. "Of course brother." Then, quickly, she added, "Sir!"

Rose took off in search of the armory. She had not a clue where it was, but she was clever enough to be able to find it quickly. Within minutes, she had found her new post and reported to the armorer. The man was astonished to have a woman reporting for duty and was about to march off in search of the Lieutenant, which Rose warned him that the Captain was her brother. This shut the man up quickly, and he set to work showing her around the armory so she would know what to do if the time came.

Once she knew her way around the armory well enough, Rose sat down to inspect the firearms as the man had showed her. Her heart was beating furiously, for she knew the battle would be starting soon. And if men started coming to her for these weapons… the situation would be very dire indeed. She might even need to take up a firearm as well. She knew she should feel terrible for placing the added stress on her brother's shoulders, but she couldn't help but be thankful that she could be at his side in a moment if he needed her. Rose had always dreamed of such an adventure with Nevel.

Rose had completed her duties and the armory was ready. She climbed up on top of a barrel and peered out the small port hole. Everything seemed silent and still. "The calm before the storm…" she whispered to herself.

"What's that?" the armorer called over to her.

She turned to face the man for a moment, then looked back out the port hole once more. "It's an odd formation they're in, isn't it?" she asked. "Nothing at all like ours… Why do you think that is?"

Rose looked over at the armorer again, watching as he poured gun powder into a horn. "Different fleets fight in different ways, lady," he told her.

She tried to peer across the water, to see the men inside the ship, making their preparations just as those on hers were. Finally, she sighed and turned away, sitting down on top of the barrel. "I suppose that makes sense." She hopped down off the barrel and walked over to help the man, even though she hadn't been asked. That old armorer wouldn't be telling her brother that she had shirked her duties. She wished she could have been up on the deck, though. Perhaps at Nevel's side. She wanted to watch it all; take in everything. "And it's Seaman Odell now, sir." She said the words with a bit of a grin. She put a foot up on one of the barrels nearby as she worked.

Rose had never worn men's clothes before. Of course, a lady never did such a thing. But now that she was in the borrowed breeches and tunic, she was as comfortable as ever. She already felt at home on her brother's ship. Though, she knew that once this battle was over, it was likely there'd be trouble. She felt another stab of guilt; she hadn't considered the kind of trouble she would cause Nevel if his superiors found out she'd stowed away. Her grin faded a little and she let out another sigh.

Suddenly, there was the strangest sound from outside, as if the ocean itself had exploded somewhere nearby and more than one ship had been smashed to pieces. Rose leaped from her seat next to the old armorer, ignoring his protests when he spilled some of the powder in a fright. "Did you hear that? What was that?" she asked, running toward the port hold she'd been peering out earlier. She climbed up onto the barrel once more and shoved her face into the little window, trying to see what was going on. "Do you think it has started? That was an odd sound, wasn't it? I didn't even hear a cannon. Did you hear one? Do you think it was one of our own?" She spoke so fast that the man didn't have a moment to answer her many questions.

Rose turned away from the port hole for a moment when the sounds of shouts and footsteps began to ring out into the quiet morning. Men had begun running here and there, moving to their posts and shouting orders. Rose ran to the doorway of the armory and poked her head out, only to get screamed at by a few men that were running by. She jumped back inside the little room and began to pace back and forth in front of the door. It was driving her crazy, being below deck, not being able to see what was happening. That was part of the whole reason she had sneaked aboard. It wasn't much of an adventure when you were stuck in a little room that smelled of iron, leather, and sweat. Rose was desperate to know what was going on.

And then, it began. She heard the cannons erupting as the Italians began to shoot at the Austrian fleet. Rose sprinted over to the port hole once more and peered out, taking in any sights that she could see. She imagined Nevel above the deck, shouting out orders to his men. Surely her brother would be jumping into action now. She thought about running up there just for a quick peek, but she knew that she needed to stay down below- out of the way. Nevel had enough on his mind without her tripping up his men.

Rose stared down at the water, feeling the sway of the ship in the waves that moved below them. She wondered if there had been any survivors from whatever ship or ships had just been destroyed. Would they be able to swim to the nearby ships in their fleet? Or would they be left to drown in the churning waters among the splinters of their ship? Her eyes scanned the dark blue depths, wondering what was below. "Do you think there are sharks out there?" she asked the armorer.

"Of course, Seaman Odell. They'll be in a frenzy today, all the blood that will be spilt into these waters…"

She glanced back at the man with wide eyes. "And how does one survive in the water with the sharks, sir?"

"One does not survive in the water with sharks, lady. Just pray that our ship remains safely intact and we don't find ourselves floating about in the water with the sharks. That is why a lady like yourself should not be aboard."

Rose frowned at the man, staying silent as she turned back to look out the port hole. Nevel would keep them safe. He was a good officer, a good brother, and she had complete faith in him. And… if things went wrong for some reason… He would save his men. He was the strongest man she had ever known and had always trusted him with her life.

Rose heard the sound of orders being barked out above her, and the footsteps of the men scrambling to obey. She peered excitedly out the port hole, ready to watch the action, when she realized that they had begun to move through the waves. The Italian fleet was growing ever nearer. She waited, holding her breath, for their ship to be fired upon. Rose truly had no idea what was going. That this plan had not been divulged to the crew, she had no idea.

As the first blasts from the Vacca rang through the air, Rose jumped. She ducked down away from the port hole for a moment, but then curiosity got the best of her and she popped back up to look out once more. Even though Rose was older now, had married and already become a widow, she was still very much the rambunctious young woman that she had been growing up. Too many of the women her age were stuffy old hags already, sitting in their homes surrounded by other ladies, sharing gossip while they embroidered their husbands' shirts. Rose had never been able to stand that life. And now, that her possible death loomed before her, she was still very much as excited as ever. For what greater adventure could there be than death?

"Lady, I might suggest you move away from there now. You never know when a shot might be headed right at you, and I know the Captain would not take kindly to his lady sister dying on his own ship."

Rose snorted a little but did as the man asked. She hopped down off of the barrel and walked over to the doorway of the armory, poking her head out to see what she could. The men were no longer running frantically about. All seemed to be at their stations, holding their breaths just as she had been, as they waited for their orders to fire upon the other ship.

Rose looked up as dozens of men came filing into the room, demanding firearms. She did as she had been taught, quickly passing out the firearms and the equipment that went with them. She couldn't help but feel slightly alarmed. Hadn't Nevel said they would need the firearms if they were going to board another ship or others were about to board theirs? What was it he was planning to do, exactly? She didn't exactly fear for her own safety, but she was worried about her brother.

After the last man had been given his firearm, Rose ran back to the porthole, peering out just as she heard the loud command to fire. She saw some of the men aboard the Vacca fall when they had been hit, a soft gasp escaping her lips. There was barely a lull in the action before those aboard the Vacca began to fire back. Rose bit down hard on her lip, praying that her brother stayed safe wherever he was up there.

"And so another battle has begun," the armorer said quietly.

Rose jumped down from the barrel and began to pace back and forth in the little room. How long would she be stuck down here, wondering how the battle was going? Most likely until the thing was over. She was going to go crazy! And so she paced, three steps forward, spin, and three steps back.

Rose couldn't help it, she had to go back to the window. She returned just in time to watch as the cannonball hit the Vacca. Her eyes widened as she watched the damage unfold. Men screamed as they were hit by the deadly shrapnel. Then suddenly, the ship was sinking. It all happened much faster than Rose could ever have imagined. She slid back off of the barrel and walked over to plop down next to the armorer. "She's sunk!" she told him.

"A noble victory for your Captain brother!" the man cheered. "I wonder who will be next?"

Rose nodded slowly then shrugged at his next question. The old man prodded her in the ribs. "You ought go see that the men have enough supplies," he said. He dumped a box of bullets and several more powder horns into her hands then shooed her off out the door. Rose dutifully stood and made her way up to the deck. She moved along the men slowly, asking if anyone needed supplies. While she walked, her eyes searched among the men for her brother, a soft sigh of relief escaping her lips when she found him unharmed.

Janinee first thought when she woke up that morning was "I might die today" then she though, she did cheat death once, why not try and do it again. She had come to trust her crew mates, and they did "little brother" her a bit, even if they at times weren't that nice to her, and had they known that fourteen year old Jamie really was nineteen year old Janinee, they probably would be as trustworthy. She got out of her hammock and threw on her large vest. She had made a thick leather belt that she had tied over her chest to make it more flat, and never took of her shirt or pants when she slept. Knowing that they were going to battle that day, she threw on large coat she'd had to cut off in most directions to make it fit. It made a faint clattering sounds, waking one of the men up. He looked at her "coins!" he declared. Jaininee shook her head "knives" she explained, displaying the impressive "armory" she had created inside the coat. All the knives was stolen, she had everything from hunting knives to butter knives, elleven in total. She moved them over to the west and leather ties around her ankles "gonna stab yerself at yer clothes" the man muttered, getting back to sleep.

Janie head upstairs to the top deck, awaiting orders for the day. Posing as a fourteen year old was one of the smarter things she could have done. I addition to not having to make her voice sound manly, she was often put to climb the masts and sails to repair knots, and she just loved it, getting up there. When she was done with the check up rounds, she found herself the right sailer to rapport to before helping out with the preparations. She was always triple checking her work, not because she was afraid of the pain of punishment, she had been beaten a number of times before, but because it could mean having her shirt removed if they decided to go for her back.

She was distracted in her work as a woman was dragged from underneath the boat. She went over to look at the comotion, her heart sank, thinking about what they were gonna do to the poor lady. As it turned out, hire her. She had a strong feeling she wouldn't be treated with the same luxury if ever exposed, but she had no intentions of that ever happening either.

Janie had been back at her chores for a while when a sudden noise spooked her, the whole crew rushed over to see what was going on and she quickly climbed the mast a few steps to get a better look. The sight that met her was puzzling, illogical, and there was offered no explanation before the command "to arms" was shouted. She ran over to the armory, getting there pretty early with her head start jumping from the mast, but was pushed out of the way by two bigger men before getting her weapons "welcome aboard miss" she grinned in her darkest voice as she stumbled when pushed, before running over to a pole, taking cover behind it and readying herself to fire.

The last thing she would be able to clearly remember, was the captain screaming "FIRE". Everything after that was a blur of smoke, splinters, people smashing into eachother, the loud sounds of canons and guns, and absolute chaos. When the smoke cleared and her ears stopped ringing, the Vacca had sank. She put her hands up in the air with a big grin, a little uncertain why she was so happy about contributing to killing people. She then noticed blood on shirt, but quickly reasoned that it wasn't her, and realised there were injuries on their side as well. She looked bewildered around, wondering weather she should start binding wounds or stay called to arms.

The Kaiser Max was rounding a starboard turn several hundred feet beyond the Italian battle line where the destroyed Vacca had once stood. The maneuver had been successful the ship had broken off from the arrow formation to take out the Vacca and clear a path for their strike on the flagship Persano. The formation headed by Albini had done their part in the conspiracy against its countries navy and so they were not obligated to take part in any further acts of treason, what they did next was not something that had been contracted.

Albini had commanded his fleet of seven semi-armored vessels to attack and destroy the Varese and would ultimately succeed in that endeavor, after that they would make their way to Porto Comisa, ending their limited involvement in the battle. The vessels Castel, Ancona, Di Bruno and the Palestro had engaged the Austrian fleet, which resulted in the loss of Kommodor von Petz, who was decapitated by artillery, suffering heavy shelling the Austrians lost the entire right arm of their secondary V formation.

In all the Austrians would lose six vessels, the remaining Italian ships were heavily armored and did much damaged against the larger Austrian fleet. The Austrians still outnumbered the Italians with more then 10 vessels, to the five ships still remaining in the Italian fleet, the flagship Persano still remaining elusive.

The heavily armored vessels Kaiser Max and Persano are poised for a head to head showdown.

Rose had spent the entirety of the battle thus far running back and forth from the armory to the deck among the men, handing out supplies and making sure everyone had whatever they needed. She had had very little time to watch any of the action, busy running as she was. As simple as handing out supplies seemed, it was some of the hardest work Rose had ever done in her life. But she felt great doing it. It was nice to actually have a purpose for once. People needed her and she was only happy to oblige them.

There was tension in the air as the Kaiser Max came upon the Persano. Rose held her breath for a moment, watching as they neared the other ship.

"Move, seaman!" one of the men shouted as he pushed past her.

Rose jumped out of the way and quickly hurried back down to the armory where she wouldn't get herself into trouble, just as she had promised Nevel. As she headed back below the deck, she passed a boy who looked much too young to be in such a battle. She offered the boy a small smile, wondering how he'd gotten such a job, then waved and hurried on back to her own station.

The well planned battle had deteriorated by early mid-day, the remaining ships were now scattered around the watery battlefield, the Italian flagship Persano and the smaller vessels of the Palestro and Di Bruno had managed to sail around to the west and to some extent, bypass the advancement of Captain Tegetthoff's fleet.

The failure of the Italians to form a proper battle line had forced both Fleets to make certain alterations to their pre-planned attacks. Now both fleets were attempting to swing back around for another shot at destroying their opponent.

The Persano had broke to the west, with plans to turn to the South and then finally north, where they would be in perfect alignment to strike at the remaining Austrian ships. While the Austrians attempted to swing their ships around from the east, then to the south, by doing so they hope to cut the Italians off before they can cast their sails north.

Captain Oblust and the Kaiser Max could find themselves caught in a difficult position between both fleet's.

A half mile off the shores of the island of Vis; between Port Comisa and Porto S. Giorgio, a massive swelling of the sea was beginning to develop, the turbulence stretched out several hundred feet in a straight line to the South.

Rose began yet another ascent toward the ship's deck for about the hundredth time that day. She was more careful as she made her way around the deck making sure she stayed out of anyone's way. The woman took note of what was going on around their vessel, for she had been reporting back to the armorer just how the battle had been going. It was during this trip above the deck that she turned and her eyes fell upon the odd swelling of the sea near coast of the island.

She ran over to the railing and leaned up against the rough wood, peering out. "What is that?" she asked no one in particular. But she turned, looking for anyone around her to see if she was the only one that had seen it. A few of the other men though, had begun to notice and were letting out some cries of alarm.

Rose's gaze slid over to her brother, wondering if he had noticed as well. But his eyes were elsewhere, likely watching as his vessel moved into place for the next attack. She was torn, not wanting to cause a scene if the odd swell turned out to be nothing. What did she know? Rose had never been out to sea before.

The cries of the other men though began to get louder, and she knew that her brother's attention would be redirected soon.