"Sodem,range"
"16000,ma'am"
Far away from the contesting zone,seven warships,one battlecruiser,two missile cruisers and four destroyers made their way to join the battle.Moonlight from a clear sky shine on their way,lit up the reddish deck of the Kirov-class warship and the metal colored deck of the Arleigh Burke-class and Slava-class ships escorting her in an alluring bright white color,but that wasn't enough for them to see very far at night.Even with the help of binoculars,at best,they could see a few light came out from the lighthouse at the city side,and the barely visible red light from the giant elevator.
It was the light from the burning city that led them here.
On the deck of the flagship,anti-air guns sleep on their turrets,the heavier guns lowered it cannon to the front of the ship aiming at somewhere unknown far away.The anchor hanged at the forefront of the ship constantly getting splashed with salt water of the ocean.And of course,the radar on the control tower constantly spinning around itself,as it has alway been.
There is almost no light on the ship,and the smell of salt fills everywhere in the hallway.If there is a place where the smell of salt can't reach,the smell of mazut would take that place instead.
"Sodem,a large one is enough"
Deep inside the control center,the room of the commander of this ship is a rare place on the ship still has its light on,and probably the only place that have been kept clean from the smell of salt and mazut fuel,instead,the nice smell of two darjeeling tea cups with sugar filled the room with warm and pleasure.The sound of sugar cube being put into the teacup and the sound of waves on the sea creating a harmony of peace on a warship far from its home.
On the red sofa,a navy lieutenant with the name Sodem is working on it.His place was supposed to be at the control room,but Sodem' commander has generously personally invited him here,so there is no reason for him to work on that cold and salt filled room,rather than sitting here and enjoys the nice room with his commander.
And the one who's sitting right next to him is no one else out of the newly exceptionally promoted Rear Admiral-Ship commander Flandre Blanche of the OFS Black Sparrow,and the supreme commander of the Combat Task Force number 6,also known as the Siren fleet.
"We have ten minutes,huh?Is everything ready yet,Sodem?"
"I don't think you have to worry about that,all things have been checked recently and nothing seemed to have any malfunction.We also have enough ammunition too,that should be enough for a few days to come"
"Good"
"Yeah,but....why are the subs gone?"
"You will know it later"
Flandre picks up a cup of tea from the table.However,her eyes can't concentrate on it,but at the city far away from where she is.The skyline orange light of flame,and from there,black smoke came out,filled up a part of the sky and prevent her from seeing any star in that direction,Oured is burning,she can say for certain,but Flandre doesn't know whether it's her friends or her enemies are burning in that flame.
Boom!*
Another huge explosion blasted out the city from the inside.One second later,a blue figure,probably an ADF-01 escaped from the orange fire.The once beautiful city has truly turned into a warzone
A dozen more helicopters have arrived at the city from the otherside of the bay,heading toward the Space Elevator,but most of them were shot down by the UCAV even before reaching it.Only two or three of them successfully landed on the surrounding area of the ISEV.As the MQ-101 dive down to attack,their charge was stopped by Patriot missiles.
Watching her homeland slowly consume one by one by the flame of war,Blanche can't tell if what she's doing is right or not,whether it would benefit the Federation or push it into another civil war and chaos.And above all,can her crews survive after all of this?Those unanswered questions leave the female rear admiral in all but nervousness.
But there is no way to turn back now.
Flandre put down the warm teacup without drinking it.Instead,she added a few lavender oil drops to the incense lamp before turning it on,filling the room with a light scent of flower and a warm orange light.Then:
"Sodem"
"Yes?"
Seeing the lieutenant answering without even looking at her,the rear admiral feel a little disappointed.Yet,she still asked:
"Do you trust me,Sodem?Trust me that I will get you out of this being alive?"
"Alway,ma'am"
"Look at my eyes when you answer me,Sodem,where is your manner?"
"Sorry,but I am busy,why there is disturbed waves behind us- woah"
Sodem said,but before he could finish,his commander had pulled his head and laid it onto her thighs:
"Look at me when you answer"-Flandre'eyes stared at her lieutenant-"Sodem,do you trust me?"
"Huh!?"
Surprised by the sudden act,Sodem can't say anything.He tried to escape from the commander,but with both hands of his commander grabbing both sides of his head,concentrating alone is difficult enough,not mentioning escaping it.
On the other hand,Flandre doesn't want to hurt him either,she releases her hand out of her lieutenant.Immediately,Sodem tried to run away,but before he could do that,the commander put his head back on her thighs.
"Answer me,Sodem,then you can go wherever you wanted.Do you think that you would survive under my lead.Even if we were fighting the most powerful nation in this world,do you believe that you would survive it?"
"...."
"...."
"Ye...yes"-Sodem nods his head
"Really?As your childhood friend,or as your commander?"
"As my commander"
"Good,then.Call,every men onboard,get those guns,planes and missiles ready.We shall get in and out of this mess,alive"
American ambassador,Oured,Osean Federation
"So,why are you summoning me this late at night,and what is happening out there?"
At the old looking Yuktobanian-now-American embassy,two men are sitting at the opposite of each other.One of them is of course,the United States ambassador in Osean Federation Alexa Howard,he has been known for being the first American diplomat ever to meet the president of Osea.
And the other one,is a Belkan-Osean diplomat,named Adler Gollnitz
"Mr.Howard,you understand what is happening to the Osean Federation,am I right?Then you should also know why I am here tonight"
"Yes,I supposed that there have been a few military actions occurred in Oured tonight.This is a coup d'etat,if I am not wrong.So,let me guess,you call me here because you want the United States of America to stay out of this war.And along with that,the new government of Osean Federation still wanted to remain their relation with the US and allies after all of this"
A silent covered the room for a few seconds,before Adler continues:
"Wow....I must say.....your guess is excellent.Yes,that should be all the things we wanted from this meeting.Mr.Howard,we do not have any intention of harming US and allies citizens,nor being your government' enemy,but to avoid any misunderstanding,we must carve our way first"
"So,you just expect the US to stay out of this completely?"
"Yes"
"Well,I must say you've perfectly chosen the best time possible,the United States are currently having the next presidential election.Clearly,we can't stay out of this completely,but with other jobs to do,I guess we can do nothing but watch another superpower to deal with their own problem"
"That's my thought too.So,what is your answer?"
Howard stands up from his chair and walks toward the windows.The fire of war hasn't yet reached this side of the city,it's still far away,and the deafening noise of gun fires aren't yet to be heard all the way up here.He still have some time left to think,but it's going to run out soon.It's time to choose,either stay here and risk being killed by misfire,or getting out of here by the next five minutes:
"Mr...Adler,right?"-Howard turned his head back at the Osean peer-"I will ask the current president about this,but for now we shall partially evacuated from this city.Tell everyone to leave,except for me,I shall stay here for a little longer to see the history"
**
<<Lavendel 1 calling Charybdis 1,the Siren fleet has entered the combat area>>
<<Charybdis 1 roger that.Let's see if that kid could do the work right>>
After landing on the field outside of Bright Hill,knowing that attacking the inside immediately without securing an escape route is stupid,Murphy ordered his men to establish a solid defense line around the building.
Machine guns were placed down,aiming at the gate of Bright Hill,where many civilians are gathering,in case of the gate being taken down.Mortals readjust its angle to the street,prepare to blow up any armored vehicle dare to come close.
Right above their head,two previous AH-64s and a few more newly arrived UH-60s are still flying with their anti-tank missiles,rocket launchers and snipers looking around their position.If they found any unfriendly tank show up at the end of the road,it would and should be destroyed immediately
Despite all of that,they still have to wait for the tank brigade first.
<<Charybdis 1 calling Sphinx 1,is everything okay in the American embassy?>>
<<Yes,the Americans have been carried out safely by our helicopters.Well,it seemed like that nation is currently preparing for presidential election and they don't have time for us either>>
<<Ah,so that why the Americans can't help us much preventing our economic downfall.Anyway,escort them safely out of the city,I don't want to mess with two superpowers at once.Remember the abandoned military base outside Oured?A C-17 shall arrive and carry them out of Osea>>
<<Roger that>>
Bang!*
An explosive shell detonated on top of Bright Hill,announcing the arrival of the 398th brigadier.As an instance effect,a massive chunk of civilians once gathered in front of the gate of the building complex ran away in fear,giving Murphy and his team a clearer sight at the allies units.
Ten seconds later,an Abrams appeared from the street and rammed at the gate of Bright Hill.
<<Charybdis 1 calling Manticore 1- oh wait,Manticore 2,having fun,heh?>>
The tank commander stepped out of his tank' turret to greet the general.
"Sorry,sir,force of habit.Anyway,our commander leaves us to your command until he comes back,up until then..."
"I got it.So,how many tanks are there in your unit?Forty?I expected at least forty"
"Actually it's twelve,most of us are falling behind.Don't worry tho,we still have a hundred tanks active within Oured,calling for more shall take time,but we still have plenty of time left,it doesn't look like that the National Guard could arrive by the next morning"
"Fine,if that was good enough.Call for two nearest units,tell them to come here ASAP.We shall wait till then.For now,prepare yourself a position in the defense line"
"Roger that,guys,began to move-"
Bam!*
<<Mayday mayday->>
"Wait no!"
An AH-64 took a missile hit and crashed into one of the tanks in the line,causing both to explode by the moment they hit each other.The flame burned the outside of the tank,burning into the inside and ignited the ammo storage.
Brrr*
<<What the->>
Boom!*
The Abrams exploded from the inside of the tank,bringing along its crews to the afterlife.The fire was bright,so bright,that it made the tanks' cameras go white light for a couple seconds before burning out.But just in that few second,a tanker,confused by the light,has accidentally pressed the accelerator and rammed his vehicle into another.
"Oh God!"
The two tanks collided with the power of more than one or two artillery shells.One of them,the one being rammed at the side folded over and smashed its head and the tank commanded again the ground,so quick that no one could do anything but watch.Blood spilled all over the corpse of the fallen tank,no scream could be heard from the inside.One man tried to get the driver out from the front hatch,but when he opened it,the driver' head has been crushed against the wall.
Next to the tank' corpse,the Abrams that rammed into its allies received very heavy damage at the front,but no one died,only the driver lost both of his legs.Sadly,the gun had been destroyed from the collision.
"Whe-what happened,who shot that missile?"
Murphy and his men look around to see the source of the attack.It was from the air,if he wasn't wrong,and the smoke trail is still there.Snipers aimed their guns into the air,not hoping to shoot down anyone,but to looking for the attacker.But in a dark night like this,plus the black fumes came out from the fire around the city,it's quite hard to see who fired the missile.
Suddenly,a series of explosions ruptured the suburb of Oured,the OADF has arrived
"Shit,keep looking,not that,that's our"
<<Sir,I've found it>>
A blue light flickering behind the layer of smoke,almost blended itself with the stars.It looks like a F/A-18 at least,Murphy can't say for certain,given the poor visibility of the warzone.However,whatever that is,it's not their allies,no white stripe mark on its tail,it also probably responsible for the attack on their forces.Without wasting a second,right the moment it dive down to their optimal range,a marine aimed it with a Stinger
Bam!*
The unidentified plane got hit by the missile,burning for a few seconds before exploding into a million pieces.
<<Lavendel!Medusa!Your unit let a plane slip through your defense like that?>>-Murphy calls for his airmen-<<We've just lost a helicopter and three tank,f-ck.Where is the air defense?>>
<<Heck,we're working as fast as possible!And what did you mean when you said "a plane"?God!Not just "a plane",there are three of four unfriendly squadrons out there,and at least twenty warships are following the Siren fleet.This is a command,flee from Bright Hill immediately>>
<<Warning,a falling aircraft is coming to your area,prepare for impact>>
<<What?>>
A F-35C collided with the second floor of Bright Hill,a massive fire broke out from where the plane landed.While they were far away and not receiving any damage,a corner of the building was completely destroyed,along with the people inside.With a hope that they could find something,a few men rushed into the area
"Manticore 2,follow me"
.When Murphy,his team and the leading tank came closer,they realized something on the tails of the plane,this one is not belonging to their force indeed,but what matter is the thing painted on its tails:
<<Erich,there is a naval insignia on the aircraft>>
<<I know,look>>
Erich mailed his radar sight toward Murphy,it was clearer when looking from the sky:8 kilometers away from the Task Force number 6,another massive fleet was chasing them.At the center position,two figure,can't be mistaken as anything else but a supercarrier and a a battleship taken that place:the Gerald Ford-class carrier OFS Ash's Lark and the Iowa-class battleship OFS Mallard
"God,that fleet is..."
If that wasn't bad enough,if Murphy remember it right,this fleet is the Carrier Strike Force number 1,Scylla fleet,and the commander of that fleet is:
"It's....Admiral Franklin..."