"War used to be simple. Kill or be killed. Survive at all costs. Then everything changed. The action got faster, the weapons got more powerful, the stakes got bigger than anything we'd ever seen. On the eve of our greatest battle, a new hero must rise."
-Captain John Price
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Rex...
Rex tremendae majestatis...
Qui salvandos savas gratis...
Salva me...
Fons pietatis...
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Pacific Ocean
300 Kilometers Away From Peony Trench
1115 Hours
Long Caster gasped. "You've reeled it in! Positive hit on the MAD!"
There was a series of cheers from the crew of patrol aircrafts and the pilots from the Nimitz. However, they knew that their job wasn't finished yet.
"We ain't done yet. Give it a finishing blow!" Count interrupted.
Now it's time for the fleet to give their own shot, after silently moving with the Strider Squadron who has been doing most of the work. The squadron hoped that they've done more, but they weren't really been targetted except for the times when Siren ships began emerging.
"Target coordiantes aquired." A crew of the Nimitz spoke.
"Commence preparations to fire the VL-ASROCs!" The captain of the USS Chafee, one of the escort ships of the strike group, spoke after the first one, his voice booming over the radio.
"VL-ASROC ready to launch!" A female crew announced.
"Line of fire is clear, no Siren ships detected." Another man confirmed.
"Ready!" A fourth officer called out.
"Fire all missiles!" The captain of the Nimitz ordered.
"FIRE!" The officers shouted at the same time, as the escort ships fired all the ASROCs simultaneously.
"Missile away!" Long Caster said.
"All anti-submarine missiles launched." The ship captain spoke.
The ASROCs streaked through the air, leaving a trail of white smoke behind. They went upward and arched down, falling rapidly towards the water before the parachute was deployed, slowing their descent to the sea as Cassandra slipped in under the ASROCs, happy to be finally able to gain a higher altitude.
The missiles soon touched the water. Cassandra and her squadmates were waiting anxiously, their eyes locked at the glistening sea.
Multiple explosions erupted seconds later, causing water pillars to form which had been several feet high. The force of the explosion was enough to cause disturbance in the waves, albeit not by much.
"Report the results." The same woman broke the silence.
The water was still for a moment, until something broke into the surface. The Strider Squadron gasped in shock, knowing what it was. The Alicorn.
The submarine bursted from the water like a metal whale, showing its dominance towards others. It's nose rose into the air before the submarine came crashing down, almost majestically, allowing itself to level down and float on the surface.
"Alicorn spotted! It's surfacing!" Húxiān called out in distress.
The escort ships began to bombard the Alicorn with everything they've got, from 76mm rounds to anti-ship missiles. The projectiles slammed on the side of the Alicorn, although their attacks did little to no damage, and it only tickled the beast.
The hunted becomes the hunter.
"Surfacing?!" Jaeger screeched. "We haven't sunk it?!"
"If it did sunk, it wouldnt've surfaced, now would it?!" Cassandra snapped at Jaeger.
The Alicorn's railguns raised and aimed towards the allied fleet. The railguns charged up before it fired, it's shell streaking to the allied ships at high speed, peircing through the unlucky ships who were unlucky to get in its line of fire.
"It's attacking our fleet!" Count said, showing concern for their allies below. "We didn't hit 'em!"
Cassandra went for an Immelmann maneuver and dove directly towards the Alicorn, fillied with a fiery resolve. "You're wrong, Count! We've backed them into a corner!"
"She's right! They're vulnerable now that they've surfaced!" Húxiān added. "After Trigger!"
Although the Nimitz was unharmmed, the others couldn't be said for the escorts. The comms was soon filled with shouts from the crew of the escort ships, all saying that they've got extensive damaged and needed immediate repairs. The pilots could see the ships burning and emitting black smoke into the atmosphere.
"Carrier Strike Group 11! Retreat to Megalith. It's the nearest place you have. We'll take it from here." Cassadra ordered, while still trying to get in range.
"But-" The Captain of the Nimitz tried to argue, but seeing the loss of his escorts, he decided that retreating was the best option. "Very well. Good luck, Strider Squadron. Godspeed."
The Carrier Strike Group 11 turned around and began their slow retreat to the recently captuted Megalith. The planes from the Nimitz flew above the fleet and escorted them, proving air cover for the crippled ships.
Now alone, Strider Squadron must continue the mission alone. They still have a considerable amount of ammunition left, but they still need to break through the Alicorn's tough defenses.
The Alicorn saw the action of the Carrier Strike Group and aimed its railguns again, specifically towards the Nimitz, but the railguns were suddenly shifted to the side when multiple missiles struck it, throwing off its aim towards the water. It was damaged, but they won't take any chances.
Cassandra soon got into range and fired more missiles at the railgun she targetted earlier. In return, the Alicorn aimed its SAMs and CIWS towards her, forcing the pilot to maneuver her plane in a series of high-G turns, until she made it out of the CIWS' line of fire.
A red line suddenly appeared on Cassandra's radar, and Long Caster's voice soon followed. "Trigger, you're being targetted by the railguns! Shake 'em off!"
"Bastard!" Cassandra quickly circled around, scoring one final shot onto a SAM before the railguns fired. She was unharmed, though the force of the shells caused her plane to shake. "Son of a bitch! All of you, be careful. If one of those railguns hits us, we'll be torn into a million pieces!"
"Throttle up!" Count growled.
Húxiān and Jaeger took the opening and dove down, firing their own missiles at the SAMs present on the Alicorn. They successfully took it out, though they barely managed to escape the rain of bullets coming towards them.
The pilots struggled to figure out how to bring the metal monster onto its knees, and seeing that the defenses of the Alicorn is still tough, they need a solid plan to take it out.
"The damn thing is huge." Count spoke. "Any bright ideas, Trigger?"
"I got a few." Cassandra replied, though she seemed doubtful about it as well. "We'll split. Count, you're with me. Húxiān, Jaeger, you guys go at a low altitude and go for an attack run. Me and Count will attack from above. We'll try to confuse its defenses."
"And if that won't work?" Húxiān asked.
"Then one million lives will be gone." Cassandra said sternly, her previous chilish demeanor completely gone, surprising her squadmates. They knew that shit totally went from 0 to 100. "C'mon, let's do it!"
"Roger that." Came in the response from her wingman.
Húxiān and Jaeger dove down and flew meters above the water, aiming their sights towards the ballast tanks. They launched their missiles and flew away, hitting the ballast tanks with great success. The two then broke away and climbed up, barely dodging the shells from the railguns as their planes shaked from the force of the shells.
Up above, Cassandra and Count dove down and fired at the CIWS, taking out five of them. That was enough to thin out their defenses, though they still handn't brought the beast on its knees.
The Alicorn launched drones and began to dive, much to their dismay. The drones weren't that many, though they can still pose a serious threat if not taken down.
"The Alicorn is diving!" Jaeger called out in frustration, watching as the missile he launched hit the water instead of the Alicorn, which dove at the last moment.
"Don't worry. It's ballast should be damaged, so it'll have to surface again soon." David came in, sounding much calmer compared to before. There wasn't any hint of doubt in his voice. "For the meantime, I want you guys to shoot down the drones."
"Copy that, David." Cassandra responded.
"Specter Squadron will continue surveillance! We might be able to locate the sub when its about to surface." Specter 1 said. "That's the least we could do after you guys saved our tails..."
"That's more than enough." Long Caster replied. "All aircraft, prepare to position yourself as it surfaces!"
"Righto." Cassandra acknowledged.
While the Strider Squadron waited for the Alicorn to surface again, the pilots targeted the drones. They seemed to be easier to take out than the drones earlier, and it didn't took long to wipe them out. Cassandra got five, Count got three, while Húxiān and Jaeger got two.
Now that they're out of targets, they anxiously flew above the water while giving occasional glances on their radar. Their main concern is that they've managed to get into the Peony Trench, making it impossible to locate. Even if they did locate it, they didn't have ASROCs to shoot at it since the Carrier Strike Group 11 had retreated due to severe damages the escorts recieved.
"Sub spotted! Sending underwater coordinates!" Specter 1 chimed in.
"The Alicorn has surfaced! Commence assault!" Long Caster ordered.
Without missing a beat, Strider Squadron dove down and attacked the ballast tanks at the same time, launching missiles after missiles. The projectiles hit, but they have to avoid the railguns again.
Cassandra knew that she was the one being targeted, since her F-15 had the Three Strikes mark on each tail. She maneuvered her plane towards the railguns and faced it head on before strafing it with machine gun fire followed by two missiles, taking it out successfully.
"This is Strider 1! I've taken out one of the railguns!" Cassandra said.
Count laughed. "That's one horn snapped off!"
"The Alicorn has launched aircraft!" Long Caster reported.
Jaeger rolled out of the way, dodging a SAM by mere meters before it hit him as it harmlessly exploded in the distance. "That's some serious skill right there! They've got some guts to take off right now!"
"It ain't guts!" Húxiān snarled. "They're just damn crazy!"
Just as the Rafales took off, Cassandra brought her plane in a sharp right turn, bringing her sights just behind the Rafales. Count flew beside her as they launched their missiles at the same time, taking them out before they even had the time to react.
Suddenly, multiple objects began flying out as multiple small green barrier-like objects appeared around the Alicorn.
Jaeger clicked his tongue. "Small UAV's have activated EM barriers!"
"I have visual... They look similar to the Arsenal Bird's defense system!" Húxiān added.
"What do we do, then?!" Count exclaimed. "We don't have Stonehenge to bust through them, you know?!"
Cassandra studied the barriers and noticed some gaps. Although not by much, she can still fit her plane in without any issue, except for that the gaps were in wierd angles. She has to try it, or else the Alicorn will move to another location again.
"Wait, Trigger, what are you doing?" Jaeger said.
"Go big or go home, Jaeger." Cassandra replied.
Cassandra maneuvered her plane to the gaps. Fortunately for her, the gap she was about to go in was leading directly onto the second ballast tank. She locked onto it and fired her missiles before flying away, taking a quick glance behind.
"Trigger's attack hit!" Húxiān called out for her. "Can visually confirm hull damage!"
The drones began to disappear and fly back to the Alicorn. Their radio suddenly crackled, followed by a defeated sigh on the transmission. "We surrender."
Húxiān lets out a surprised gasp. "What?"
"What's going on?!" Jaeger chimed in.
"I know this voice..." Count added.
Cassandra tensed up, knowing who's voice it was. "Torres..."
"This is the submarine aircraft cruiser Alicorn! We surrender! Stop shooting!" Torres replied, emphasizing the last two words, and fear was evident in his voice.
Cassandra, however, was suspicious about Torres' proposal of surrender. Nonetheless, she flew above the Alicorn and kept a close eye on it.
"All aircraft, cease fire." Long Caster ordered.
Nobody tried to continue attacking, but nobody is happy with the order either, Cassandra among them.
"It's a con man talking." Count piped up. "I should know."
"Let's just sink it! We can't trust them blindly like that!" Húxiān yelled.
"Negative!" Long Caster snapped. "We cannot attacked those who have surrendered! That's a breach of international law!"
"I repeat! We surrender!" Torres cried out again.
"Trigger, what do we do?!" Húxiān asked, eagerly waiting for her flight lead to answer.
"Weapon use is prohibited!" Long Caster said sternly.
"They're murderers, Long Caster!" Húxiān protested. "If they play unfair, then why should we?!"
"She's right!" Count joined in. "They're nothing but war criminals! Why hold international law so dearly?!"
"We're no longer soldiers the moment we don't!" Jaeger argued.
Count scoffed. "Then I'll happily quit my career!"
"DO NOT ATTACK!" This time, it was Cassandra who snapped at them.
No one expected her outbust, and they were completely caught off-guard. Cassandra did not mean to snap like that, though her instincts told her that Torres was lying. She frowned and lets out a sigh. "Sorry... I just..."
"No, it's okay. We know how you feel." Jaeger reassured.
"We will surrender." Torres said. "We're currently making preparations to be disarmed."
"Captain Torres, I'm David North, an analyst for the United States Intelligence Agency." David said soothingly, likely hearing the argument between the pilots. "Captain, we've already jammed your terminal guidance system over Washington. Your shot will miss the mark."
"Oh, really?" Torres said. "Well then, let me tell you a story, back when I was a gunnery officer... I had to aim at an enemy ship thirty kilometers away in a middle of a storm. The seas were rough that day, and I still landed one of the two shots."
While Torres was telling his story, Cassaandra suddenly spotted movements on the Alicorn's flight deck. She gripped her flight stick tighter and gritted her teeth, ready to dive in when Torres does something funny.
"Here's a question; was your plan elegant? The answer is, yes." David said, then lets out a chuckle. "That is until Three Strikes ruined it!"
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF BEAUTY?!" Torres roared as the movement on the flight deck had ended, only because the barrel of the railgun on the briefing earlier had showed.
Cassandra wanted to scream, but nothing came out from her mouth. She acted on instinct and dove down, racing against time towards the Alicorn. She has few seconds left before the Alicorn fires. As she began her approach, the Alicorn sent out its barrier drones again in an attempt to stop her.
"They have no intention to surrender! Stop them!" David warned. "Hit the barrel, Trigger! Hurry!"
"Wait, Trigger!" Jaeger shouted, but he was ignored.
"Stop attacking immediately!" Long Caster ordered, but it was useless.
"Target is the U.S. capital of Washington! To take the lives of one million people, five-thousand kilometers away, with my very own hands!" Torres yelled on the open channel, laughing maniacally as he did.
Cassandra ignored all the shouts and chatter over the radio and continued to race towards the barrel, pushing her fighter up to full speed. She aimed her HUD at the barrel and prepared to fire, but several missiles raining down from above suddenly stopped her advance as she moved away from the Alicorn.
The barrel's angle was adjusted ever so slightly due to the force of the missiles' explosion, but the railgun still managed to fire its shell. What's more, the railgun seemed to be undamaged from the attack.
"It... It fired!" Cassandra called out.
"It's okay!" David said. "The shell will miss!"
"What happened?!" Torres shouted in both surprise and frustration.
"That's a blatant violation of orders, you dumbass!" Count laughed at Torres. "More importantly, where the hell did those missiles came from?"
"Sorry I'm late. Had to make a detour." A familiar voice suddenly went in the transmission, surprising everyone. Soon, an F-22 Raptor with the ribbon insignia came into view, causing the Strider Sqadron to cheer.
"(Y/n)'s here!" Húxiān shouted in relief.
Torres growled. "The damn bastard ruined it..."
"Captain?" A crew of the Alicorn spoke.
"Don't you see?! He walked over with his dirty boots! Over the crisp, white sheets of my bed that I had just made!" Torres screamed in rage. "Load the next shell!"
"This is Mobius 1 to Long Caster." (Y/n) radioed, ignoring Torres' ranting. "What did I miss?"
"Everything." Long Caster replied with a hint of amusement. "Now that you're here, we can end this once and for all."
"Roger that." (Y/n) replied. "Strider Squadron, destroy the Alicorn!"
"Wilco." Strider Squadron acknowledged.
"After two years at the bottom of the sea, I will not allow our perseverance to be desecrated!" Torres growled.
"Commander, aim for the base of the rail cannon!" David informed.
"Copy that, David." The Ribbon Fighter said.
The Alicorn sent out its UAVs once again in an attempt to intercept the Grim Reaper. However, he easily maneuvered his plane though them and the SAMs that had been fired at him. The UAVs turned around to get a better aim, but they were immediately shot down by the Strider Squadron who came to his aid.
As soon as (Y/n) lined up his HUD, the missile pods on his plane opened as the missiles streaked onto the air, slamming on the side of the railgun. It didn't do much, though it did further lowered the angle of the barrel.
"FCS error! Can't reach the elevation of the barrel!" A second crewman cried out.
"The Ribbon Fighter in the sky is a sign of an ill omen...!" Torres muttered darkly.
"Captain?!" The same crewman from before asked, his voiced filled with both fear and worry.
"All slow ahead! Flood the aft trim tanks!" Torres ordered.
The crewman seemed to dislike the idea, knowing that it would still be pointless because of the Ribbon Fighter's sudden appearance. "Sir, the boat will sink aft first!"
"And it'll gun the elevation it needs!" Torres yelled, followed by a maniacal laugh.
(Y/n) grunted though the G's as missiles harmlessly streaked past him. He maneuvered his plane into a tight horizontal turn and went towards the Alicorn at full speed, preparing for an attack run.
This time, the Alicorn was ready for him. The onboard CIWS turned to him and fired, not even bothering on stopping, nor even caring if the barrels overheat.
(Y/n) was forced to do evasive maneuvers as the bullets whizzed past his Raptor, but he managed to fire another volley of missiles towards the base of the rail cannon.
"Good shot, Mobius 1!" Long Caster called out. "You're attacks are hitting the base of the rail cannon!"
"Don't hesitate!" Jaeger said. "They've quit being soldiers the moment they faked their surrender!"
"You're out of your mind, Torres!" Cassandra spat out, shooting down the UAV that was in front of her. "What do you think any of this will accomplish?!"
"Don't you see, Three Strikes?! Ten million lives will be saved at a cost of a mere million lives!" Torres replied, as if it was some genius idea.
"You liar!" (Y/n) shot back, firing his missiles at the CIWS. "You just want to kill people!"
Cassandra formed up with the Ribbon Fighter and followed his lead. Together, they took out the remaining CIWS and SAM sites on the deck of the Alicorn.
"You just made a statement right there, didn't you?" Count asked the two.
The Alicorn's aft trim tanks was slowly began to be filled with water as its nose slowly raised up, allowing the railgun to adjust its angle as well. "A powerful boat, a powerful gun, and a powerful ammunition! Add to that lots of people and a precise aim! Then sprinkle death all over it, and the formula is complete! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
"You're nothing more than a mass murderer!" David raised his voice.
"Then indulge me! What makes you and I any different?!" Torres sneered. "You're willing to kill three hundred man on this boat to save a million. HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT?!"
"Commander, Trigger, give him the answer!" David said to them. "Have him take it to the bottom of the ocean!"
"Already on it!" The mentioned pilots responded at the same time.
(Y/n) took out the last CIWS with his rotary cannon and diverted his attention towards the rail cannon once more.
"Don't you see? DON'T YOU SEE?!" Torres demanded. "Landing a clean shot on a difficult target! That is what makes it elegant! THAT is true beauty!"
"Finish him off, Mobius 1!" Long Caster shouted.
The crew of the Alicorn began on finilazing everything. "At plus 4!"
"Everyone, grab something!" An officer aboard the sub ordered.
"60%!" A crew in charge of the railgun spoke.
"Alas, you don't see, Ribbon Fighter! OF COURSE YOU WOULDN'T!" Torres declared, almost seemingly out of his mind.
(Y/n) and Cassandra gave everything they've got, from missiles to machine gun bullets, anything to stop the Alicorn to fire its rail cannon. The Alicorn almost reached the proper elevation. They were almost ready.
(Y/n) screamed as he continuously pressed the trigger, his missiles and bullets all streaking towards the bottom of the rail cannon. The two pilots broke away, hoping that their attacks made any effect.
"Target hit! Target hit!" Long Caster called out.
Everyone cheered out, relieved at the success of the Ribbon Fighter and the Three Strikes. (Y/n) and Cassandra climbed back up, which they were soon joined by Count, Húxiān, and Jaeger. The group hovered aboved the burning Alicorn, watching as it slowly sank down while emitting flames all over.
"Confirming explosions! The rail cannon's been destroyed!" Húxiān grinned under her oxygen mask.
They saw the now malfunctioning rail cannon falling back to the Alicorn, in flames and spreading towards the rest of the ship. Electrical sparks sped up their demise, causing more flames around the submarine's structure. They could feel their pain. They really do. But this is war, and they need to do what they have to.
Torres laughed maniacally, but pained sobs was mixed into it. "Don't you see?! One million! ONE MILLION LIVES! Hehehehe... HAHAHAHAHAHA-"
*boom*
With a large explosion, the Alicorn finally exploded, throwing off flames and thick black smoke into the air. It lurched upwards due to the force of the explosion, slowly bending like it was made out of rubber.
"The Alicorn's hull is severly damaged! No, wait... it's completely split in two!" Jaeger confirmed.
"He really pulled it off..." Húxiān mumbled breathlessly.
"And that's our final answer." (Y/n) declared, as the others lets out a tired but overjoyed laughter.
They watched as the two halves of the Alicorn began to slowly sink into the bottom of the ocean, a remnant of a fearsome leviathan it once been. Moments later, the two halves finally sunk in the water.
A muffled boom erupted seconds after it sank, sending a shockave through the water and causing a massive water pillar go straight up into the air as it rained down onto the allied aircraft who flew underneath it, making the structure of their aircrafts wet. (Y/n) lifted up his visor and relaxed his grip on the flight stick. He leaned onto his seat and watched the water droplets slid over his canopy.
"I see loads of objects in the waves." Jaeger said quietly. "I don't think there are any survivors."
"Copy that." (Y/n) replied. "The sub has been destroyed. Mission accomplished."
"That was... unbelievable. Just... all of it." Húxiān added.
Count chuckled. "Yep. That's right."
"You did a great job today, Trigger." (Y/n) complimented. "You didn't disappoint me, and you proved that you're worthy to be in the squadron. I'm proud of you."
Cassandra blushed from the compliment, especially since it came from the Ribbon Fighter himself. "T-Thank you..."
"There are some who send those around them to their doom. Like Captain Matias Torres, who was a devil incarnate." David chimed in. "But there are others... Others who show the way to everyone else. Those who stand at the forefront to cast a light. Those who follow them can't help but feel that they're in the right hands. That they'll make it. This is an era where there isn't a singular answer like a quiz question. The world awaits a hero to keep the torch afloat, banishing the darkness."
"Quite the poet." Count said.
"That's a story I'm gonna have to tell my son." Jaeger added.
"All aircraft, return to base and get some rest." Long Caster lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh boy, finally time for some munchies. Could you hand me the burger over there? Oh, and the knife and fork too, please."
Count laughed lightly. "Once I get back to base, I'm heading to the mess hall."
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