"Report, General. Miyako Island is straight ahead. We've spotted a large number of vessels wandering these waters. They should be the Japanese side's 'pirate ships'!"
The Japanese called them fishing boats, so East African officials, as their enemies, naturally defined them as pirate ships roaming the waters of the Southern Ryukyu Islands. That made fighting them sound more justified. Neither side's motives were pure, yet both loved playing the whore while erecting a chastity arch.
"Fire warning shots. Begin driving them away," Glais ordered.
The fact that they had not begun fighting outright showed East Africa's respect for Japan's strength. After all, East Africa had come from afar as a guest; it was not yet arrogant enough to swagger through the Far East with impunity.
The gunners in the main battery compartment of the East African ironclad Partridge then began adjusting the guns' elevation and fired three shells in succession toward the sky above the waters around Miyako Island.
"Boom..."
The shells fell into the sea in parabolic arcs. The explosions threw up enormous waves that surged outward in every direction.
The shells from the ironclad Partridge landed less than eight hundred meters from Japan's two "pirate ships." One of the smaller fishing boats was nearly overturned by the oncoming wall of water, its hull tilting close to ninety degrees. Only through the desperate efforts of the six sailors aboard did the fishing boat avoid capsizing.
Holding his binoculars, Glais naturally saw the scene as well. "It seems they aren't ordinary people. They're very likely Imperial Japanese Navy personnel disguised as fishermen!"
"Why do you say that, General?"
Glais explained, "The explosion was so close, yet the men on that small boat remained calm in the face of danger. They worked together seamlessly and handled the situation extremely well. In