World War S: An Oral History Of The Siren War

Rally 'Round The Flag! - Part One A

<<Free Kuala Lumpur calling! To all brave heroes listening, the so-called "Sirens" are now advancing to the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. They have murdered countless of our fellow citizens and they will murder more. Defend your home fiercely! Hold the line! Do not let these inhuman monsters march unopposed. To the nations of the world listening, this may be our last call. Stop the committees, meetings and press conferences. We do not need words. Act! We need action. Save our souls. SOS! SOS! SO-*radio static*>>

- Last Radio Broadcast from Kuala Lumpur before Siren jamming.

San Francisco, USA

Nathan Brooks

Ah, the first phase of the war in the Pacific. When we didn't know much about those Sirens. When all we had was mountains of bodies, dirty tactics and our conventional fleets holding the line. Before the Great Stalemate. Indeed, it was the darkest hours. Let me tell ya something, all of us, sailors and crewmen on that day, we knew, no, we thought that it was the battle. For it would be the last pitched battle humanity would fight the Sirens in the seas for the rest of the first phase of the war.

It was a chilly, rainy day on the Bering Sea, but we were sailing at full speed, straight to Attu Island. The ship I was in, the USS Fitzgerald was already in full combat readiness. Crew ready, sensors ready, and weapons ready. Three USN Destroyers of DesRon 14 raced on the rough seas behind us, as really, it was a race against time.

Near Attu, FrigDiv 12 and her four Constellation Class Frigates engaged and held a Siren Vanguard force. Reports said that they fired their missiles like there was no tomorrow while retreating, as the Battle of Attu Island took shape, trying in vain to delay the Siren assault.

Now where would we fit? We would be forming the outermost left flank of the strike group racing to plug the line.

The Bering Sea, it was one of the last supply lines to Japan. Ever since the failed battles in the Pacific, both the USN and the JMSDF were forced into a defensive posture. A quarter of the Pacific Fleet was stuck in repairs, unable to join combat. That was how severe it was.

With that, escorting supply lines on the Pacific became untenable. So for the last few months, the USAF and the USN consolidated on creating a powerful presence in the north, where the Aleutian islands could act as bases to launch air and missile attacks on Siren forces attempting to attack convoys and ships passing through it. From there on, convoys could stick close to the Russian coastline, and receive cover. While the Russians were our mortal rivals back then, the Siren invasion of Saint Petersburg got them to their senses eventually.

So you could imagine how important that lifeline was.

Operation Dash Plug was initiated when a Siren fleet was spotted approaching Attu Island 4 days before. USN ships and aircraft were rapidly relocated to counter the attack, while available submarines began interdicting the Sirens. Almost all of the available force of the Pacific Fleet at the time was there. For one, decisive battle. It was all in, either we lose our supply line with our forces and allies in East Asia, or we stop the most powerful Siren fleet at the time.

And I was the Tactical Action Officer assigned to the CIC that day.

By the time we arrived, each minute a missile or two would streak above us, F-35s and Hornets would pass, and sometimes entire barrages of cruise missiles from other friendly units would be spotted by our radar.

And we were no different, on the move, our VLS would intermittently launch missiles on spotted targets. Originally, we wanted to engage the Sirens at around a hundred or more nautical miles, and we did, in the early phase, just launching missile after missile that was just getting intercepted, as they closed into Attu just as we arrived...and did I tell you about the constant Siren jamming and the disruptions the bad weather gave to our radars and comms? That was just one of the pains we faced.