Sara Tan, USS
Saratoga
Southern Oahu Waters, Hawaii
Daytime
Balalaika Sofiya Stearns, USS Cypher
Southern Oahu Waters, Hawaii
1000
"Сукин сын", With the data received I spit out a loud curse before I can stop myself. This is going to be a nightmare and a half forgetting my usual dislike for talking as much as I had been forced to I speak over the radio my Russian accent heavy as I lapse in my control of it, "This is USS Cypher SSGN-744, just received the data and I hope you have a plan to get the civilians out of here safe, I am willing to use everything I have to make sure they do so, will attempt to meet up soon".
@UbeOne
The impression I'm getting is a Russian nuclear-powered guided missile submarine with an American name, due to the accent and language, but what is it about that that makes me feel a bit nervous?
"She's a Russian sub which was sold to the US for Pepsi," a fairy says.
What.
"Yeah, the Russians couldn't pay with money, so they paid with decommissioned subs."
Seriously? Buying softdrinks with military stuff?
"Yeah, look it up later!"
Wow. Just wow.
"I know, right?"
Part of me idly wonders if there is also a
St. Louis-class light cruiser with that name. "Cypher, this is Sara. Fighting retreat seems the way to go," I reply.
We can't hold this area for long, not with the Abyssal swarm running around.
@Zeroth Jupi
USS Enterprise
Yeah, we should get out of here as fast as we can. "Right, I'll follow along right behind you!" I say as I also begging to move east. Meanwhile I start putting the rest of my Hornet squadrons in the air, and give them the order to attack anything not already targeted by my allies.
I continue to move eastward, the same bearing as the retreating cargo ships. I cannot afford to place myself in the line of fire, and I'd rather not get a firsthand experience of shells and missiles in the face.
To hide as much as possible from enemy radar, I mentally turn off my main radars, leaving only the ones for the Phalanxes, just in case. My planes and allies can provide whatever info I need, and if I need to use my Sea Sparrows, I can just turn them on for a moment.
Just as all of you are about to make your attacks, you see from the direction of both Abyssal carrier fleets rise massive swarms of aircraft. It seems the Abyssal are pushing for a brute force wave of aircraft. Even worse, Belmont sits right in their path.
Your fighters are just about to launch missiles at the enemy carriers when they are intercepted by all of the enemy fighters. Outnumbered as they are, there's no way they can break through anything soon. They seem to be winning the dogfight, but not without casualties of their own.
From the Northern Abyssal fleet comes F-4 phantoms, loaded with anti ship and anti air missiles. From the West fly mostly F2H banshees, with some Hellcats and Corsairs mixed. All of these fighters are dueling fighters from Saratoga and Enterprise. They appear to be losing, but their sheer number prevent any disengagements, and are managing to take down some of the hornets. 36 P-2 Neptunes managed to slip through and are now on their way towards the shipgirls, their route likely to pass over Belmont and Tirpitz.
@Everyone
I have never seen so many planes before, and it's frankly terrifying... what is this, Shattered Skies?
Argus One sees... to the west, from the Essexes and the unfamiliar US-classes, are 108 F2H Banshees, which are first-generation jet fighters according to my crew, 216 F6F Hellcats, and 216 F4U Corsairs, while to the north, from the carriers there, are 96 F-4 Phantom IIs... they're like locusts in the sky...
Those Forrestals, why are they like this? Why would my sisters do this? It doesn't make sense!
...Why am I already thinking of them as my sisters? Is that a Sara thing?
My Hornets couldn't launch their Harpoons, not with those bandits distracting them from getting target locks, but they were so close...!
In the west, many white contrails could be seen as metallic birds maneuver to and fro. Leveraging the power of their jet engines, my three squadrons stationed there act like cavalry, using their high speed and kinetic energy to strafe targets as they pass by, going in with guns blazing and missiles screaming. They keep up their speed, allowing them to pick off, and flee from, the slowpokes trying to shoot them. They try to avoid turnfights, for at the moment, they're like Hellcats trying to pick on Zeroes. That may be a bit of an irony, seeing as some of the bandits, looking like dark, demented versions of Pacman in appearance, are somehow identified on radar as Hellcats. How odd.
In the north, my twelve Tomcats try their best to outfight the mutated Phantoms, using their superior mobility to their advantage. Then again, if I remember right, weren't the bulky F-4s designed under the assumption that dogfights were outdated? Well... from what I'm seeing, it's still relevant to this day. I even see a pair of Mavericks repeatedly crossing paths with each other, monstrous avians trailing them, as they set up the opportunity to splash the bandits in crossfires.
E's thirty Hornets and thirty Super Hornets reinforce my squadrons, and even then, there's just so many enemies, that sooner or later... I could only watch in silence as four of my mental camera feeds go out, two of them from F-14s and two of them from F/A-18s. My only consolation is that the pilots are able to eject in time...
I need to launch more planes, but what? A list of my air wing comes to mind, and... I think the Prowlers would be useful at the north. Jamming the enemy radar could help our odds there.
Getting a magazine called "Weasel Prowlers", I load my gun with it, and from there, I launch the squadron of six EA-6Bs into the sky, four on the first pull of the trigger and two on the second one. I direct them towards the north, to perform electronic warfare from standoff range. "Weasel Squadron is away," a fairy says. Sounds fitting for planes well-suited to Wild Weasel or enemy air defense suppression missions.
@CCBubba
I want to take down the sneaky enemy bombers, but I can't pull back my fighters lest they take more losses, while I don't possess any other craft that can intercept them... I could try sending Intruders, but in this case, they're better off dropping Harpoons on ships than chasing Neptunes with Sidewinders.
I speak over the radio to the allied forces. "This is Sara, someone please take out those bombers, over!"
@All Friendlies
"This is the USS Ohio, reporting in. Nice job taking out that first group, but it looks like we have bigger fish to fry. Where can I lend support?"
A new ally! Every single soul counts in here. What ship is that anyway?
A crew member responds, "
Ohio-class SSGN."
So, lots of missiles?
"All the missiles."
So, like Cypher? Looking at my Hawkeye's vision for a moment, I then make my reply. "Ohio, this is Sara. Assistance required in the west. Hostiles could use missiles onto their faces, over."
I think focusing on one fleet at a time would make things easier in the long run, and one of them is a more immediate threat right now.
@Sketchy Lurker
Slowly I surface to not startle, I attempt to make an introduction of myself only to be cut off by a sudden figure grabbing me into a hug. 'Help!'
she spins her parasol launching 4 squadrons of F-35Cs to target the Neptunes that had gotten past and a squadron of Hawkeyes for her own eyes in the sky.
So that's what Cypher looks like, and who's the Neo lookalike? Wait, what?
Ford? As in the US Navy's latest carrier? Wow!
She can even launch planes with her parasol! That's something I've never seen before, and those aircraft, they're F-35s. I finally get to see them for real! The wings kinda look bigger than I thought, though.
From what my Hawkeye sees, the stealth fighters are... heading towards the Neptunes. I find myself a bit relieved by that.
"Gerald Ford, this is Sara, thanks for the assist, over," I say over the radio. Uh, it kinda feels weird using a male name for a girl...
@Zeroth Jupi
Since my Prowlers are already up and about, I decide to launch another squadron. Choosing to bring out my attack craft, I switch magazines to "Hammer Intruders" and catapult the six of them into the air, nudging them to avoid the furballs of dueling planes and instead shoot twelve Harpoons, two from each A-6E Intruder, at four of the western Montanas, allocating three missiles for each battleship at the western fleet.
@CCBubba
Active Planes:
- Maverick Squadron: 10 F-14D Tomcats: Engaging bandits, northern front
- Iceman Squadron: 12 F-14D Tomcats: Engaging bandits, western front
- Fulcrum Squadron: 11 F/A-18C Hornets: Engaging bandits, western front
- Libra Squadron: 11 F/A-18C Hornets: Engaging bandits, western front
- Weasel Squadron: 6 EA-6B Prowlers: Radar jamming, northern front
- Hammer Squadron: 6 A-6E Intruders: Harpoon strike vs western Montanas
- Argus One: 1 E-2C Hawkeye: Be the eyes in the sky
Targets:
- Northern front (Radar jamming)
- 4 western Montanas (3 Harpoons each)
- Northern enemy planes (Maverick Squadron)
- Western enemy planes (Iceman, Fulcrum and Libra Squadrons)
Losses:
- 2 Tomcats (2 Mavericks)
- 2 Hornets (1 Fulcrum, 1 Libra)
Enemies Remaining:
1. Western fleet, battleship gun range:
- 2 flagship carriers (United States)
- 6 regular carriers (Essex)
- 8 battleships (Montana): 6 moderately damaged, 1 heavily damaged
- 9 heavy cruisers (Baltimore): 2 heavily damaged, 8 moderately damaged
- 22 light cruisers (Atlanta): 1 crippled, 1 heavily damaged
- 46 destroyers (20 Fletcher, 26 Clemson): 4 damaged
- 540 fighters (108 Banshees, 216 Hellcats, 216 Corsairs)
2. Northern fleet, missile range:
- 4 elite carriers (Forrestal): 4 lightly damaged
- 8 battleships (Montana)
- 28 guided missile cruisers (Albany)
- 48 guided missile destroyers (Charles F. Adams)
- 96 fighters (Phantom IIs)
