Fragile (Slow Updates)

Chapter 15: Boiling Point

"Y-Yeah... I think... I'll sit this one out." She stammered, her meek voice almost lost under the roar of helicopters. He gave her a faint smile, the kind that said, smart choice.

The echo of his boots on concrete marked his departure, only to be uninterrupted by a sharp commanding voice cutting through the noise.

"Sous-lieutenant Vogel!" Rear Admiral Williams called, her tone demanding immediate attention.

He stopped in his tracks, tilted his head back with an audible sigh as his joints cracked. His muscles ached under the weight of exhaustion, but her straightened and turned to face her. His dull onyx eyes - shielded by black ballistic glasses - met the piercing emerald gaze of the Rear Admiral.

"Oui, Vice-Amiral," Sous-lieutenant Vogel responded smoothly, his words wrapped in a strange accent - not quite French, but close enough to sound unsettling. The peculiar lilt didn't escape Williams, who raised a brow. The more emphasis he put on the French, the odder it sounded.

"You're an OF-7, non?" He continued. "Then 'Vice-Amiral' suits you. It would be improper to address you as anything less."

Williams rolled her eyes, cutting through his formality with the precision of a scalpel. "Enough with the bullshit, Eric. What's really going on here?"

The use of his first name caught his attention. She had done her homework - of course she had. His arrival back at Azur Lane had been thoroughly documented.

Sous-lieutenant Vogel sighed, drawing deep from his Black Devi before answering. "Alice, it's not good. Things are only going to get worse from here." He exhaled a plume of smoke, frustration seeping through his words. "Till you headless fucks can find your head from your ass Im forced to play baysitter. Right now, this is me - fully involved."

Williams didn't interrupt, her face betraying just the slightest flicker of unease. She knew he was right. The General Assembly and Security Council had been in a frenzy, scrambling to pledge support - more advisors, special forces, medics, engineers, command staff, logistics and air force assets.

The airbase had already been stretched beyond capacity, hastily upgraded and seized for the war effort in the Pacific. It wasn't just strategic aircraft anymore.

USAF F-15Cs, F-15E and the new EX variants lined the tarmac, accompanied by F-16Cs, Canadian CF-18s, German Panavia Tornados, RAF Typhoons and French Mirage 2000s.

Fuel trucks and ground crews swarmed around the Mirages, arming them with GBU-12 Paveway IIs or GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway IIs and heavier GBU-16 Paveway II and GBU-24 Paveway IIIs. The latter two were powerful enough to punch through the thick armour of any battleship fielded by the Sirens or the Red Axis. Tornado GR4s rolled out next, bristling with Brimstone missiles and Storm Shadow cruiser missiles.

Nearby, F-16Cs stood in behind a hulking B-52 Stratofortress, armed to the teeth for a linebacker mission. The Falcons carried a deadly assortment of weapons - AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons, CBU-87 Combined Effects Munitions and a variety of Mark 82, 83 and 84 bombs. They also boasted GBU-10 and GBu-24 Paveway bombs, alongside Mavericks and GBU-54, laser guided JDAM kits.

Even the F-15Es and EXs were armed to the max, fitted in particular with GBU-28 bunker busters and AGM-84K SLAM-ER anti-ship missiles, ready to unleash hell on anything that crossed their path - everything short of nuclear weapons.

Williams stood quietly, her gaze trailing the long line of aircraft preparing for takeoff. The sheer scale of the operation felt overwhelming and the weight of it all pressed against her chest.

"Should I be concerned with how... Overkill this all seems?" She finally asked, her voice heavy with unease.

Sous-lieutenant gave her a nonchalant shrug, inhaling one last drag from his cigarette. "Overkill? I call it a difficulty tweak." He flashed a grin, smoke circling from his lips. "It's the Sirens and Red Axis we're dealing with, after all."