The bronze ram of the royal flagship Imperial Pride was twelve feet long, shaped like the horned skull of a sea dragon, and weighed eighteen tons.
From the watching balcony of Coastal Battery One, Giles Croft stood with his pocket watch open in the palm of his hand. He watched the four-decked giant beast charge the harbor entrance at twelve knots.
Behind the flagship, seven heavy iron-clad battleships followed in a tight wedge, their black sails bellied out under a stiff northerly breeze.
Beside him, Captain Kenneth Drake rested both hands on his iron-shod pacing rod.
His jaw was set. His tactical eye took in the approaching bronze prows with skilled gravity.
“Their draft is twenty-four feet, my lord,” Kenneth said.
“They’re aiming for the gap between the tetrapod moles.
If that dragon prow hits the timber staging of Berth One at full driving force, the oak framing will splinter all the way to the railway siding.”
