⌊A/N: I do not own the image from above. I just found this at the internet and edited it. All credits go to its respective owner. Also, I decided to split this into different parts although it is just ARP's episode 1 opening. Anyways, enjoy the chapter :)⌋
⌊This chapter has been edited⌋
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⌊24/03/2039; 10:16 AM⌋
Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean
"Anything appearing in radar?" a US navy admiral asked his one of his radar crew.
"Nothing sir."
"Good. I don't know when those bastards will arrive."
It has already been a year into the war against the Fleet of Fog. No-one knows who thought of their well-known name or how they got to this world. However, their attacks against humanity are relentless and indiscriminate. People around the world still remember one of their first encounters with the enemy when a Fog destroyer sunk a cruise liner that was carrying 574 passengers and more than 700 crew. Only 4 survived the attack and were rescued shortly after. The rest were either vaporized by the enemy destroyer's weaponry or were unable to escape the sinking ship. Soon after, they began attacking European ports and coastal cities. Many nations, including the United States, Russia, and China, joined forces in order to destroy this threat to humanity.
Yet despite the best efforts of mankind to resist the enemy, they were always pushed back. European nations who have been blockaded by the Fleet of Fog urge other members of the UN to destroy the Fog warships. Protests erupt worldwide as prices for basic commodities skyrocket. Businesses had to close down, civilian-based factories had to temporarily halt or permanently close production due to shortages in raw materials, forcing many factory workers to become jobless. As casualties mount, nations became more desperate. By the 4th month of the war, the entire naval territory of Europe, including the British isles, are now under the control of the Fleet of Fog. Fortunately, remnants of European navies have already fled to the North American continent in order to plan a counter-attack. Talks about initiating a tactical nuclear strike against the Fleet of Fog are being held under the table.
Eventually, they settled on a plan that would gamble humanity's access to the great seas. Named "Operation Comeback" , its plan was to create a multinational fleet in order to combat against the ever-growing threat that the Fleet of Fog imposes. The nations involved in the making of this multinational fleet are the United States of America and its NATO allies (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Italy), Japan, South Korea, India, Russia, and China.
The fleet itself is composed of:
14 frigates (Brandenburg, Sachsen, Admiral Grigorivich-class, Halifax-class),
124 destroyers (Arleigh Burke-class, Type 52D, Kongo [Destroyer]-class, Daring-class, Sovremny-class, KDX-class series, Horizon-class, Orizzonte-class, Udaloy-class),
9 cruisers (Ticonderoga-class, Slava-class), 22 carriers (Ford-Class, Queen Elizabeth, Type 001, Admiral Kuznetsov, Izumo-class, Cavour, Vikramaditya),
And 114 submarines (Virginia-class, Ohio-class, Kilo-class, Yasen-class).
There is no standardized design though as it is just a mishmash of different designs that was used for different naval doctrines in mind. Dubbed the "UN Coalition Fleet", it is the largest fleet the world has seen to date since World War 2. It is currently in a triangle and diamond-shaped hybrid formation. 60% of the destroyers and all of the frigates are placed further to the front than the main fleet is. They are designated as the "UN Bulwark Fleet" and are currently in a triangle formation.
Meanwhile, all of the cruisers, battlecruisers, and carriers are on the back, as well as any destroyers that have not been placed in the front. It is also in a diamond formation. The submarines are all positioned underneath the entirety of the main fleet. Sadly, there are no more frigates that have been put into the multinational fleet as most European based frigates are destroyed while others still have to defend their costal territories.
If the plan fails, then a coordinated, tactical nuclear strike will commence and attempt to completely destroy the Fleet of Fog.
One of the assigned carriers in this fleet is the USS America the Unyielding, an American-built Ford class carrier capable of carrying more than 75 aircraft. It is also where an admiral of the US Navy, Steve Harlington, is currently commanding the entirety of the fleet. He has a lightly tanned skin, dark grey hair, red pupils & white irises, and a slightly muscular build. He is currently wearing a dark blue uniform with medals, dark blue US admiral's cap, dark blue pants, and black shoes with white socks. He initially came from a poor household. His family cared little for him during his childhood years, even on his birthdays. Eventually, when he dropped out of highschool, he was forced by his parents to join the navy, to which he complied unwillingly.
He had to spend months training in hell before being assigned to an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. Steve participated in 4 naval battles during the war, including this one. Due to his experience in fighting the Fog, he was promoted to rear admiral and was assigned to the USS America the Unyielding as the multinational fleet's commander.
He is currently thinking about different strategies to use against the Fog. Judging from the reports, the Fleet of Fog is sending out only a handful of warships against them. The fleet they're gonna have to face is only 6 squadrons of light cruisers, a couple of heavy cruisers and a battleship. Of course, that would be overkill if those are normal warships. But these warships are anything but normal. Even a single fog destroyer could destroy an entire carrier strike group, without even a dent in its armor. If they were going to face a fleet with heavy cruisers, much more a battleship, then even with the full might that humanity will use, they would still be defeated. Which is why it is crucial that humanity wins this battle or else they would lose access to the seas.
"I hope that our newly built x-48Ds and those prototype would work" the admiral thought to himself.
The prototype that he is referring to are the 5 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that have been fitted with an 8" prototype railgun that uses special 'Vibranium' rounds, a type of round that has the ability to pierce through a Fog Warship's 'Klein field' (as it was called by the scientists who studied the Fleet of Fog) and release a specific frequency which destroys the nanomaterials that make up the enemy warship. It was developed with the help of scientists around the world, including NASA's current administrator, Dr. Julian. It is capable of accelerating the rounds to somewhere between Mach 2.9 - Mach 3.2, with an effective range of 200 km. The power needed to supply this railgun is provided by the ship's miniaturized fusion reactor. The ship is also equipped with its own version of a 'Klein field', though it is not as effective as the real thing though.
As for the x-48Ds, they were an upgrade to the older model and were implemented into service in August of 2038, 2 months into the war. The USS America the Unyielding is currently the only one assigned with 35 of these drones. These x-48s however are equipped with 4 of a new type of missile that acts much like a 'Vibranium' round used by the prototype Arleigh Burkes, though these are more powerful.
"Any word from our reconnaissance aircraft?" Steve asks his communications officer.
"Nothing s- Wait..."
"Anything wrong sailor?"
"Sir, I'm getting a report from one of our hawkeyes."
"Is the report bad?" The admiral's heart begins to beat faster in anticipation as he waits for the answer.
There was a moment of silence before the communications officer spoke.
"'Fleet Command, this is Eagle-3. Enemy fleet has been spotted 300 km north-northwest of your position. They would reach your location in under 50 minutes. Fleet comprises of 10 light cruisers, and 3 heavy cruisers. All of them resemble warships from WW2.' That's all the report says."
'Bingo' Steve thought to himself.
"All hands to battlestations. Tell 'em to get back to the carrier. Broadcast our findings to the others. Relay orders to the entire fleet that I want every single one of our fleet's aircraft to get in the air right now. All our x-48s are going to attack the enemy, so I want fighter escorts for those drones."
Soon, alarms rang out throughout every single ship in the fleet. Everyone is now preparing for the upcoming battle against the Fleet of Fog.
"General quarters! General quarters! All hands man your battlestations! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! Enemy fleet has been spotted 700 clicks north-northwest of our fleet. All squadrons are to load up and head into the air. Assigned squadrons are to intercept the fleet. The rest will stay here and patrol the skies. Good luck out there, and Godspeed."
One-by-one, every single aircraft, including the x-48s, are taking off from the USS America the Unyielding's deck. They were soon followed by other aircraft coming from the other carriers until the number of aircraft that was in the air was over 650. Half of the aircraft soon left the fleet in order to intercept the enemy. The other half just simply patrolled the airspace around the fleet.
⌊24/03/2039; 10:34 AM⌋
High above the skies of the Atlantic Ocean
A large number of fighter jets and unmanned x-48 aircraft speed towards the enemy. Many of these pilots, including Pvt. Gordon, are all nervous knowing that they will have to face an enemy that could shoot down jets like flies. Gordon has green eyes and dark brown hair. He is considered to be a flying ace during his time in the academy. Though even after he graduated and entered the Navy as a pilot, he did not have any prior combat experience. This could very well be his first time being deployed into a battle. His mind begins to think about how he regrets wishing for him to be deployed into combat. He thinks that after many wishes, fate extremely mad at him. So it gave him what he wanted, but the experience would be literal hell.
Soon, a person started talking through the radio.
"All right everyone. Listen up. I don't know if some of you could understand me but we got intel from that a fleet of Fog warships is heading for our fleet. Orders are to escort the drones that would attack them. Understand?"
The majority answered "yes." while some chose to remain quiet.
"Good. Now, I want you to know that there is a high chance of you dying in this battle today. A high chance to never see your friends, family, or pets ever again. Which is why I want all of you to stay alive out there so th-"
Radio cuts off as explosions rang out, indicating downed aircraft. Soon, another person spoke in the radio shouting...
"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!!"
Many aircraft immediately went into different directions. Those who did not react fast enough were shot down from the sky, reduced into a burning wreck. Pvt. Gordon immediately felt fear as adrenaline rushed throughout his body in order to survive. The first stage of the battle has begun.