by Kocho
Kamarov and everyone on his submarine were sweating. They knew of the danger that lay ahead of them but they didn’t care. They wanted revenge and they knew that they are close to getting it. From the sonar images Kamarov gambled that the ship won’t have any defense on its downside. And from the looks of the situation it seemed that he was right.
“We are on position Captain.”
The word came from his XO. Kamarov looked at him and took the phone from his hands.
“Inform the Abraham Lincoln that we are commencing the attack.
Then he spoke on the phone.”
“Fire all tubes continuously. Fire everything on that bastard.”
In the next second eight torpedoes were launched from the tubes. And after them eight more followed just 30 seconds later.
Mran was silently waiting and watching the countdown. He had said all his prayers and was prepared to die. Only two more arns were separating him from the afterlife.
Everyone who knew him could notice his nervousness. The radar showed that the fleet on the surface was deploying in battle formation. It was obvious that they knew where his ship was. He smiled inwardly at their deployment. He knew that when the autodestruct triggers the explosion of his ship will cripple half the ships of that fleet.
He was having this happy thought when the shout came from the legionary manning the radar console.
“We are detecting enemy missiles in the water.”
“Where are they? Fire everything on them.”
“We can’t sir. They are coming from below and our weapons there are not operative. We…”
The legionary never managed to finish the sentence. As he tried to speak the last words the first eight torpedoes struck the ship. Just forty seconds later eight more struck again. The explosions broke through the damaged and stressed hull and two of torpedoes exploded inside the ship. The explosion damaged the gravity stabilizers that were holding the ship in place and took out the computer core that was controlling the auto destruct. The cruiser started to rise towards the surface and the fleet that was awaiting him there.
“Stop the rising of the ship!!!”
Mran’s voice was filed with anger. Every chance that he had to save the secrecy of the mission was now lost.
“We can’t sir. The gravity stabilizers are damaged and also the computer core. There is no chance of self destruct or stopping the rise of the ship.”
“Do we have communications?”
“Yes sir.”
“Inform Ristarion that we have a battle ahead of us. Tell him that we can’t activate the self destruct and that we must destroy this fleet quickly. Prepare all the Seraphines for launch and acquire targets and start destroying them as soon as we are above water. Tell him to open fire after we draw them in.”
And locate that underwater ship that damaged us. I want it destroyed. It seems that the gods want us to see how this humans fight. Let’s strike fear in to their hearts.
Ristarion looked at the screen that was showing him the unfolding situation on the sea. He could clearly see that the humans had the tactical advantage and even with its tick hull the Caronia was in a difficult situation considering the damage it had taken. He rubbed his head with his hand and looked at his first officer.
“Tell the corvettes to spread out. And prepare the Seraphines for launch.”
His ship had six of the small space fighters, and the corvettes held eight more. The cruiser held another thirty and he already knew that they would launch as soon as it hits the surface. He knew that no matter what happens the surprise that his clan was counting on was lost. When the fleet arrives it will have a battle on its hands.
“Damn you Mran. May the gods curse you, you moron. ”
Johnson looked at the sea when the large alien ship reached the surface. The report that came from the last remaining submarine told them that the ship was rising.
“Tell everyone to open fire as soon as the bastards hit the surface. Don’t give them breathing space.”
“Sir I think you should take a look at these readings.”
Kirkpatrick looked at radar and noticed what the technician was showing him.
Three shadows were showing for just a second and disappearing.
“Send one air wing to investigate.”
As the huge ship hit the surface all the ships from the battle group opened up. Hundreds shells and missiles hit the alien ship. Explosions rocked its surface but the damage was minimal. Even without its shields its armor was created for taking and deflecting fire from large kinetic rounds and plasma and laser weapons. But the stressed hull was heavily damaged from the torpedoes and the shockwave from the explosions under water. On its way to the surface it was hit by the other torpedoes that the Yuri Dolgorukiy launched and from torpedoes and mines that were launched from the ships on the surface. But even with all the damage it took it was still capable of taking on its enemies. As the ship hit the surface hundreds of lasers and rail guns mounted on its hull opened up. In the same time thirty small space fighters launched from its launch bay. They immediately started firing on the human ships and soon fourteen other fighters that were launched from the rest of the fleet joined them.
The first brutal hits from the enemy and the first casualties were the frigate Georgia and the destroyer Potemkin. Both ships took the brunt of the first salvo of the enemy and they were literally shattered from the kinetic release.
“God help us. That ship can’t be from this world.”
“Contact all navies countries in the region tell them that we need immediate navy and air support. Tell them… tell them that we are being attacked by an unidentified ship from alien origin with advanced technology.”
As soon as the admiral’s words were spoken they were relayed to every navy and air force base in the region. In under a minute hundreds of plains and dozens of ships turned towards them.
“Sir we have air wings coming from Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Israel. There are several ships from Greece, Turkey and Israel that will be here in less than 15 minutes. The battleships will arrive in seven minutes.”
“What kind of ships?”
“It seems like ten destroyers and eight frigates.”
“We will need their firepower, especially the battleships. Tell the Prince Royal and Queen Elisabeth that they have permeation to engage the enemy and inform the Kinkaid, the Kid and their escorts that they should prepare the rail guns. They may be our only chance of destroying that ship.”
The two British heavy destroyers slowly stepped in front of the other ships and opened up with their heavy armament. Huge explosions rocked the surface of the alien cruiser. At the same time several huge explosions rocked its underside as the last launched torpedoes from the submarine found its target.
“Tell the ships to concentrate the fire on one the launch bays on the enemy ship, and contact the incoming fighters and ships and apprise them of the situation.”
As the next volley of the ships opened up a huge explosion rocked the alien ship and a huge hole opened up on the place where the launch bays were located. And as the fire increased the damage was more severe.
Ristarion looked at the battle that was slowly turning against the cruiser. Four of the human ships were nothing more than burning hulks and several more were damaged, but the rest were pouring continuous fire in to the wounded cruiser. At the same time the human fighters were fighting an air battle with the seraphines. And here the human anti air defense proved impressive. In the first pass over the ships half of the fighters were destroyed by the ships defense systems. And the rest were having a hard time fighting the human flying machines.
“It’s time we get involved. Target the two ships that are at the front and open fire. And clear the sky for the seraphines.”
On that order the three ships uncloaked and opened fire with their main batteries. The frigate had two plasma batteries and four Kinetic batteries, and the corvettes had only kinetic batteries. All the ships were older models a
nd in this situation Ristarion wished he had under his command some of the newer ships. With them he was sure that he could win easily.
The fire of the three ships hit both heavy cruisers amidships and broke through their armor. Huge explosions rocked both vessels and pieces of metal flew to all sides. Both ships were totally destroyed and lost with all hands. In the same time twenty F-18 were destroyed by the lasers that all three ships fired at them as they tried to destroy them.
As the new threat materialized several ships opened up on the three smaller ships. But their shields protected them from the incoming fire.
“Sir the Kinkaid reports that they can’t penetrate the enemy’s defenses with conventional weapons. The same report comes from the air wings. The ships have some kind of shield technology that prevents the shells and rockets from hitting the hull. They request permeation to fire the rail guns.”
Johnson looked at the blazing fires that were burning outside. The Carrier also took several hits as well as all other ships.
“Tell them that they have my permeation. And tell the other ships to group around them and protect them.”
“Yes sir.”
“Sir the USS Missouri and the HMS Vanguard and their escorts are within range. They are commencing the attack.”
Admiral Johnson smiled for the first time since the battle started.
“Good. Let’s see what the enemy is really made of.”
Both the USS Missouri and the HMS Vanguard were on their shakedown cruises after they were reactivated several months earlier.
The USS Missouri after its upgrade from twenty two years before had nine sixteen inch guns and twelve five inch guns. With that kind of firepower long thought not needed it was the most powerful ship on the face of the planet.
The HMS Vanguard was reactivated as an answer to the reactivation of the USS Missouri and it had impressive power as well as the US battleship. Four point two fifteen inch guns and 12 point two five inch guns littered its decks.
And all this massive firepower was directed towards the enemy cruiser that lay in front of them.
The most powerful ships in the world opened up with all their might.
Mran looked at the battle display. The human ships were destroying his ship. The damages in the launch bay were enormous and the hits on the hull disabled nearly all the rail guns. He looked around him and despaired. The ship rocked as it took several more hits.
“Give me damage reports.” As one legionary turned to answer him the shells from the Missouri and Vanguard hit the fractured hull of the Caronia. The shells from both battleships were very different from the other shells fired from the rest of the ships. The main guns of the Missouri fired 400 mm armor piercing shells that moved with a speed of 800m/s. The main guns of the Vanguard fired armor piercing shells that moved with a speed of 780m/s. And all this shells hit the hull of the Dacarian heavy cruiser Caronia just above the bridge.
The mighty shells penetrated four decks deep using their high speed at over 800 m/s and exploded just above the bridge. The damage they inflicted was tremendous. The explosions threw Mran of his seat and he hit the firing console that lay three meters in front of him. He didn’t even have time to utter a scream as dozens of shrapnel’s tore through his body. All dacarian legionaries on the bridge and four other decks died instantly and even more died as the next shells arrived. In just under a minute the mighty ship fell dead and ceased firing at the human fleet. In just under a minute massive holes opened up on its hull as more and more of the fire directed at it found its mark.
Sensing that the large ship on the surface is finished the battleships concentrated their fire on the three flying ships above the fleet. The first ship to experience their wrath was the Zargonia, the smaller corvette. Its weaker shields held for several shots but after less than a minute they broke and in the next volley the corvette shattered under the massive barrage as dozens of missiles and shells hit it at the same time.
“We have to move higher or they will blast us. Open fire on those two ships, they are the most dangerous. Those guns are impressive.”
“Yes my lord.”
The two remaining ships rose in higher orbit and immediately opened fire on the two battleships.
But the armor on both ships that they were targeting was far stronger and made to resist even the weapons that were directed at them. Huge fires erupted on both ships as the shots found their mark but in reality the damage was minimal. The armor melted but held and the ships returned fire. At the same time both the Kinkaid and the Kid opened up with the two rail guns that were still in the testing phase.
In one minute total of twenty rounds were fired at both ships. The rail guns fired forty pound projectiles at a speed of 2503m/s. It took them just seconds to reach both surprised ships. The smaller corvette literally shattered under the barrage. The frigate managed to hold but it lost its shields and had no defense against the next incoming projectiles that both battleships fired at it. In total, sixteen shells managed to hit the frigate. And right after them the next rounds fired from both cruisers arrived. Massive explosions rocked the ship as the shots impacted on the hull. In just seconds the engines took the brunt of the attack and the frigate lurched and started losing altitude.
“Get us out of here. They have rail guns.”
The crew managed to steer the ship raising it high in to the atmosphere but not before one of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets opened up with its guns and launched its last AMRAAM missiles at it. The resulting explosion took out the last remaining power of the ship and destroyed the engines.
The result of that was the uncontrollable tumble of the ship. The explosions that rocked the frigate and the resulting stress from the tumble killed most of the crew.
The ships pilots managed to steer it away from the navy battle and direct it towards the mainland.
Admiral Johnson looked at last enemy ship as it started falling towards the mainland after the AMMRAMs hit it. He then lowered his gaze and looked at the rest of the battle fleet that surrounded the carrier. His eyes face showed no emotion but deep he was broken as he saw the broken hulls of over twenty ships around him. Thousands of lives were lost.
He turned towards Kirkpatrick. The young officer looked shaken but he was holding bravely.
“Tell the First strike squadron to follow the wreck and inform the US marines based in Bondsteel base in Kosovo to prepare for an immediate mission. And call colonel Stevens on the bridge. This battle isn’t over yet.”
Kirkpatrick just nodded and started issuing the orders.
The admiral turned his gaze at large alien ship that was surrounded by a dozen ships. The two battleships and their escorts were trailing the large ship with its powerful guns prepared to open fire at the first sign of any danger.
Both ships were scared. They took several powerful hits from the enemy ships as the enemy noticed that they are the mightiest ships. Two of the main guns on the Missouri were nothing but molten iron now and the battleship had a huge hole on its front side. Fire teams were putting down the fires on the deck. The Vanguard didn’t lose any of its guns but it had several holes along its length were the enemy fire hit. But both ships were operational. He couldn’t say that for eleven other ships. Seven ships were already sunken and hundreds of bodies were drifting in the sea. Rescue boats were searching for survivors among the bodies. Four ships were nothing more than broken and burning hulls and they were lost with all hands. The Georgia, Potemkin, Prince Royal, Athena, Napoleon, Dauntless and Victorious were now on the bottom of the sea, casualties of the conflict. The Queen Elizabeth, Sevastopol, Ataturk, J.F.K and Retender were burning wrecks, and ten more ships showed extensive damage. Even the Lincoln took several hits and suffered minor damage. The Kid and the Kinkaid showed signs of ruptured hulls and from fifty plains only seventeen were still flying. Four of them were now headed inland after the last burning wreck that was falling somewhere on the Balkans.
He wiped the sweat that was running on his forehead and
looked at the watch. Eleven minutes passed from the moment when the first shots in this battle were fired. Eleven minutes of hell. He knew that this will bring massive changes in the politic of the world. He looked again at the four ships that turned the tide of the battle. The Kid, the Kinkaid with their rail guns and the two battleships.
Those ships were the future.
“Sir Colonel Stevens reporting as ordered.”
The admiral turned and looked at the man that stepped on the bridge and saluted him.
Stevens was a mountain of a man. Two meters tall, broad shoulders; he was two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle and bone. A huge scar was clearly visible on his left cheek.
And the admiral knew that under the uniform several more scars were hidden.
Short black hear was hidden and the hat he was wearing. The gray eyes looked at the admiral with a cold look that was thirsty for revenge.
He was the commanding officer of the navy seals contingent that was stationed on the carrier and his face now showed anger. The admiral knew the reason. It was not the loss of the ships that made the man standing before him angry. It was the loss of the Jimmy Carter and the two seal teams it carried onboard. He knew that the seals were a tightly bonded unit. And he was sure that the colonel knew every one of the dead Seals personally as well as almost the entire crew of the lost submarine.
“I’m sorry for the death of your men sir.”
“I’m sorry for the loss of your men as well colonel. But the day is not over yet. You will get a chance to revenge them.”
The colonel looked at him.
“Sir…?”
“The hull of that ship may hold some of the enemy alive colonel. Whoever they are they attacked us without any provocation and from what we have seen they don’t have good intentions. I want you to go in there and capture that ship. If you can capture some of the bastards do so. We must learn who they are and where they came from. We must learn why they are here.”
Stevens looked at him and saluted.
“Yes sir. I was expecting that order sir. My men are ready.”
