Sovereign

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- VFA-23 Radio Chatter, June 2024

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June 18, 2024

Northern Sea

Strike Force 7

22:45 Hours

CVW-3, or Carrier Air Wing 3 was the ONS Rebenslof's attached air wing, and they were one of the best of the best - if not the best.

And Albert knew many of them.

From the aces that became legends in both Navy and Air Force, to the intrepid CAG (Commander, Air Group) of CVW-3, Captain Ray Schlatt, to the many less distinguished but still veteran pilots of the Air Wing - CVW-3 and its crew was his main arm in combat.

Back even during the Great War.

CVW-3 itself was divided into multiple squadrons, but most important was its core:

The Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA - Fixed Wing Fighter Attack Squadron), composed of 14 LF-12 Zappers each, of which the ONS Rebenslof held 3 of them - VFA-13, VFA-18, and VFA-24.

Then there were the Electronic Attack Squadrons (VAQ - Fixed Wing Electronic Attack Squadron) made up of 12 modified LF-12 Zappers specialized for electronic warfare.

And the most important of them all - the AWACS squadron (VAW - Fixed Wing Airborne Early Warning) that served as the eye of Strike Force 7, made up of the remaining 3 W-2 Visions of the ONS Rebenslof.

With these squadrons, CVW-3 held a striking capability enough to decimate another Carrier Strike Force with enough tactical brilliance.

Which was what Commodore Albert Ludendorf, alongside Captain James Vogel, was explaining to the gathered airmen of CVW-3.

"Commodore, if I may, wouldn't that mean that VFA-24 would be outside of Ajax 4's coverage?"

Albert looked at Vogel, who nodded. They had modified Vogel's plan and added a new aspect to it - VFA-24's role as a diversion. A way to fool the Empress.

By flying west and attacking from that direction, Albert hoped that any retaliatory strike that she and her Admirals would order would head west, not southeast, which was where his ships were.

Unfortunately, such a plan would stretch VFA-24 too far from their AWACS' coverage, and thus would be unable to effectively see hostile air formations - and would be vulnerable.

"That's why they would be firing their missiles immediately here in the direction where Ajax 4 last sighted the Larissan fleet before comms were out. VFA-24 could then bolt down south and regroup with us if no hostile aircraft was chasing them."

"And if there were?"

"They would have to turn west, straight to Lorathia. We cannot risk them running south with bandits hot in their tails."

Captain Ray nodded with his arms crossed, as the pilots behind him sat in the chairs of the briefing room with much silence. This task was massive, ambitious, and risky.

And cocky.

And Captain Ray liked that.

The Captain turned around to his men, who all directed their attention to him, away from Albert.

"Well then men! Are you ready for this?"

From the eager smiles and nervous grins, Albert scanned the reactions of their airmen with pride. These were the men who once proved their mettle with him in the Great War.

He trusted them.

"Sir yes sir!"

"We'll fuck 'em up real good!"

"Send that brat back to her shithole!"

"We'd be feasting on dead Larries today!"

Albert chuckled as he walked beside the Captain. With his uniform adjusted, the men silenced themselves. It was time for his address.

Many of these men would not return. Many might perish…

But it has to be done.

"Gentlemen, you are all here today. Today…for another historic day. Another day where your deeds, and perhaps your names, would be written in the history books."

He paused, as he looked around them.

"We've been in this fight, alone, in this darkness, for weeks now. I know many of you have seen this before. I know many of you have merely heard the stories from those who did. I know many of you are confident. I know many of you have doubts."

"...But alas, this is your duty. To fight on, gentlemen."

They were all still silent.

"We don't know what is happening back home. We don't know if we are winning or losing this war. We don't even know if there is still a side we are fighting in. But what we do know is that those Larissans are out to get us - and they attacked first."

Katerina…you will pay.

"So prepare yourself! You and your planes. Your brothers in arms, in the air, would be out there, with confidence and skill, fighting for the Kingdom, for the Queen! I know my sister isn't perfect. I know the Kingdom never cared for us men. I know the Lorathians we are defending would care less for our lives. But we do. We will show them what we men can do and will do for them. And we will show the Empress, and her oppressive tirade - worse than what our Kingdoms did to us, will face our wrath."

The air seemed to rise, as the men almost leaned forward, riled up to fight.

"So what is our motto? The motto of this Carrier?!"

And with a loud shout, the men replied.

"We shall carry on the struggle!"

The lights in the briefing room closed as Albert looked at his watch.

"Gentlemen, Operation Sledgehammer is a go."

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14 LF-12s, all armed with state-of-the-art HASM-15 (Heavy Anti-Ship Missiles) cruise missiles, climbed up in the stormy skies as contact with their AWACS plane was lost.

Unlike VFA-13 and VFA-18, they weren't armed with the even newer ASCM Mark-1 (Advanced Stealth Cruise Missile) as they were a diversionary attack.

Instead, they would have to rely on their conventional, non-stealth missile, which, unlike the ASCMs, didn't have a reduced radar signature.

This meant that should they launch it, there was a higher risk of it being intercepted - and for them too, as unlike the ASCMs, the HASM didn't have an autonomous guidance system.

Which was why they were skipping rapidly toward the northwest before they banked hard toward the east.

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It took many minutes, as their formation seemed to falter over the heavy rain, the turbulence rattling some of their control surfaces. Fortunately, the LF-12 was capable, although not stealth capable like the new LF-20s, they were the backbone of the Orlish Air Force and Navy for a reason.

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<<2-8 through 2-14! What are those things!?>>

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With that, the Squadron Leader barked at the radio.

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Like a volley of fire, the entire formation bellowed out 28 HASM missiles in the direction of the still unspotted Larissan fleet. The Squadron Leader could merely hope - hope that it was in the right direction and that they would at least do some damage.

But for now, they would have to survive.

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The missiles homed in behind the Zappers as they widely maneuvered away from their formations, the extreme speeds developing a dangerous environment for a possible collision.

Yet none of those happened.

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Two detonations occurred midair, as the chaos in the radio grew.

<<2-4 and 2-9 is down!>>

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With hard turns north, they faced a swarm of angry Larissan fighters that zoomed down before them, all as the angry buzz of "lock" filled the heads-up displays of their cockpits.

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…

"W-we have enemy sightings, down south of us, Your Majesty. West of Task Force Piranha."

Katerina faced Rurik, who stood before her in her office with much nervousness. She didn't pity nor care for his fear and discomfort, as he absolutely deserved it - according to her.

Rurik had been a pain for her. An utter disappointment. An Admiral of no caliber. If she was back in port, she would have kicked him off the Navy.

But alas, replacing him with a nobody was out of the question. She didn't know who she could even trust. Thus, Rurik, being her meek brother, was going to stay for now.

But that did not mean that she would listen.

"Have you taken care of them?"

"Yes, a nearby squadron of ours responded and intercepted them. They are fighting back hard though, and multiple cruise missiles are headed to Task Force Piranha."

Her eyes widened. Had she just heard what? They got close enough to fire missiles at her ships? At a Task Force that contained one of her prized carriers?!

"They launched their missiles?"

"Y-yes, I'm afraid so. But our ships are preparing as we speak."

Now, her blood began to boil once more. How much more screwups could Rurik truly do to her? Oh, the absurdity! Why did she end up having to deal with this nonsense?!

"I'll absolutely tear you apart if I lose the GIS Askagrad! How did you let them slip by? I thought they could not attack us because you wiped out their AWACS planes?!"

"We suspect that they made a guess and got lucky."

Excuses, nothing but excuses. There was no way someone could merely blind shot in the vast expanse of the Northern Sea. She wasn't having it.

"Oh, is that so, I see. Now tell me. Are my ships going to get sunk? Yes or no."

"No, I assure you, no. This attack is a minor one. Possibly a diversionary attack. Our point defense systems are on high alert in Task Force Piranha. We spotted them before they could do damage."

"Make sure of that."

Katerina calmed down slightly. So a diversion? Or a full-scale attack? Her eyes bore through Rurik, who seemed to understand the question of hers.

"No, we did not spot him."

"But this is an opportunity…no?"

"Yes? But, I doubt that any competent naval officer would simply-"

"Shut up Rurik! Where did this strike come from?"

"South West. Or west of Task Force Piranha."

"Then send our search planes over there! Now! Why are you wasting time? He must be there!"

"I-I caution such optimism-"

"Stop being a naysayer and do what I want. We cannot be wrong. He must be there. Teach him a lesson not to do such a sloppy attack. Even brilliant geniuses make mistakes."

"I…if that is your will."

"Then go!"