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Post by Evangeline on May 15, 2007 23:18:31 GMT -5
The "bogeys" loitered just outside the fleet's security bubble as the leaders approached. They made no move to get out of the destroyers' path. They were just... there.
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Post by ebonyviper on May 15, 2007 23:28:09 GMT -5
Nerina saw the "bogeys" and shot them a DON'T-COME-ANY-CLOSER-OR-I'LL-SINK-YOU look as she neared their position. Her guns were primed and ready.
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Post by fierano on May 16, 2007 0:25:31 GMT -5
Philippine Spratlys Islands
Mikhail Varyag didn't think he looked like a sore thumb out here. Then again, with this part of the world disputed by so many other countries, not flying any flag was less dangerous than flying any country's flag at all. If anything, he would've looked like a retired carrier taking a leisure cruise were it not for the Su-34 Fullback that was normally on his deck.
Said Fullback was currently out on recon for any "opportunities" that might arise for the ex-Soviet cruisers.
"Spot anything, comrade?" "You don't have to call me 'comrade', we're not enlisted anymore." "Still, it's got a ring to it. You gotta admit..." "Yeah. Anyway, nothing out here but the usual patrols. Filipinos are looking a little jumpy, but then again they've got some Vietnamese in close proximity." "Small fry. Perhaps we should try another corridor?" "I'm getting a couple reports that the Strait of Malacca's getting a bit hot...a couple of our friends are around there, aren't they?" "Excellent...finish your recon and then report back, comrade." A frustrated sigh came in over the radio. "Don't call me comrade..."
Alek sighed as he looked out among the expanse of the blue. His light-blue paintjob helped the Fullback blend in well with the blue sky...but repeated flights were dirtying it up a bit and making him more conspicuous. Living out here was a break from the literally abusive rigors of his old alma mater...but the initial wonder had long since worn off.
Maybe I never should've left. At least there we had our meals.
Before he turned back, he could've sworn he saw some strange glimmers in mid-air, in the direction of the intended Strait. They seemed to converge on a rather large shape...
"I must just be seeing a mirage...there's nothing out here."
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Post by Tracker89 on May 16, 2007 8:00:04 GMT -5
((Fierano, you mind if I make my own two ex-Soviet fighter characters, Tanya and Ivan, members of your carrier's air squadron?))
Fletcher had already ordered his crew to their battle stations and put Janet on standby, wanting to assess the situation before letting the relatively vulnerable helo within range of any weapons the bogeys may possess. Positioned slightly behind the destroyers, he kept one eye on his radar and sonar and the other on the boats straight ahead of the fleet. He prepared his short-range weapons and kept his speed constant, ready to respond to any sign of hostility from the boats, as well as any orders from higher-ranking ships.
Although he remained as cold and uniform as ever on the outside, a slight twitching in his forward gun betrayed his true thoughts. He was nervous, although he had fired long-range sea-to-ground missiles several times before, this is the first time he was facing possible enemies who could actually fire back.
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Post by Evangeline on May 16, 2007 14:10:52 GMT -5
If the "pirate" craft had actually wanted to provoke something, they were on their way to doing it. The big question was, were they armed and with what? It could be anything from simple firearms to missiles if they were sufficiently well-hidden. They held their ground, not answering any requests for ID or to move. They were "playing chicken" with the entire fleet.
"Hold your fire for now." Caleb told his escorts on their encrypted frequency, "If they are just trawlers, we don't want the JAGs crawling down our throats on this."
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Post by ebonyviper on May 16, 2007 14:44:57 GMT -5
Nerina eyed the "trawlers" suspiciously, but held her fire on Caleb's order. She and the fleet were passing through the Straits and it would not do for her to disobey an order.
They're playing with us, she thought, I just know it.
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Post by Tracker89 on May 16, 2007 15:06:29 GMT -5
Fletcher got the twitching under control, hopefully before he was close enough for the trawlers to notice, but inside his anxiety was only growing.
There's no way that those boats could survive a head-on collision with any military vessel. What the hell are they trying to do, get themselves killed?
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Post by ebonyviper on May 16, 2007 15:11:26 GMT -5
Nerina was probably thinking the same thing as Fletcher was in regards to the dangerous game that the trawlers were playing with the fleet. She saw one edge his way toward her position ever so subtly, but keeping his distance so as to not alert the rest of her fleetmembers to what he was doing. But Nerina had just figured it out.
Don't even think about it, pal, she thought.
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Post by Evangeline on May 16, 2007 16:09:41 GMT -5
The flight deck chief waved Tobias out of the line. "OK Mutt, your turn." he used the nickname that Tobias had acquired in the squadron. A nickname, once assigned, was something you never fought, because then your peers would just dream up something ten times worse. His orders were to go and give the "trawlers" a buzz. Unlike his Harrier mother, he couldn't do vertical, but what he'd inherited enabled very short takeoffs and landings without the need for the catapult. Therefore, he was ready on very short notice. The forklifts did a last check on his headguard and visor, as well as his weapon load, and then he was off. From his F-14 father, he had variable geometry wings, and they were at their fullest extension to keep him at a reasonably slow speed. Even then, he was passing between the leaders of the fleet within seconds, staying below their deck lines and almost skimming the edge of the water to take the "trawlers" completely by surprise. He grinned and waggled his wing tips at Nerina as he passed her.
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Post by ebonyviper on May 16, 2007 16:21:35 GMT -5
Still watching the trawlers, Nerina caught a glimpse of Tobias as he passed her. Now the fun begins.
The trawler that was trying to edge closer to the Arleigh Burke destroyer looked up just in time as Tobias passed in front of him. He had a look of surprise in his eyes... and perhaps a little bit of anger. The weapons he had aboard had been well hidden, but soon he was going to bring them to bear...
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Post by Tracker89 on May 16, 2007 16:22:58 GMT -5
Fletcher couldn't help but be impressed by Tobias, who was flying so low that even the cruiser's advanced radar had trouble picking him up. He turned his attention back to the trawlers...if the boats possessed any weapons and were willing to use them against the fleet, then he would find out in a matter of seconds.
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Post by Evangeline on May 16, 2007 17:05:04 GMT -5
Tobias took another pass at the trawlers, turning the provocation game on them. If anything, he was manuveurable, and a bit too nimble to easily draw a bead on no matter how good one's weapons were. One of them sprayed some machine gun fire into the air, impulsively. He had forced them to fire the first shot.
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Post by ebonyviper on May 16, 2007 18:17:13 GMT -5
The trawler had a look of disgust at the one who had fired impulsively when Tobias came by. Idiot. But, their element of surprise was gone and now the lead trawler himself brought out his own weapons. Although Tobias was a tempting target, the fighter jet was way too fast for him to put a bead on, so he just settled on taking aim at Nerina.
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Post by Evangeline on May 16, 2007 18:37:41 GMT -5
The feedback to Caleb gave him all the justification he needed. "Fire at first opportunity, but watch what's behind them and use the minimum that will do the job. There may be other ships about who aren't involved at all."
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Post by fierano on May 16, 2007 23:54:58 GMT -5
((@tracker: No problem. )) Alek winced as Varyag's restraining carrier brakes pulled him to a quick stop on the carrier. He hadn't quite gotten used to being stopped like that, at least compared to the constant pace of a runway. He groaned a bit painfully as he finally came to a complete stop. He felt like such a geezer...despite the fact that he had not only eagerly signed up for the Red Air Force as soon as he'd reached legal age, but the Union became the Confederation and then simply the Federation within a matter of months after his recruitment. He'd expected to be treated like garbage by his peers let alone his drill instructors...but back in the days of the "Empire" at least he felt he could rise above that to the reward and prestige. Now...there wasn't much. The Red Stars that he was emblazoned with had long since been painted over...and the colors never really matched. It was just him, Tanya, Ivan, Mikhail and whomever escaped for bluer skies and seas. A few of Mikhail's closest comrades had managed to find a steady job with the Indian NS, and Alek somehow felt that those were the luckier ones. === Somewhere over the blue, where no land could be seen past the horizon, the glimmering disappeared to reveal a rather large figure. Large, of course, was a severe understatement regarding Gleipnir...but as long as nobody noticed him out here, it was perfectly fine. With a rather cluelessly blissful smile, the flying fortress decided to fly nice and low to cool his underbelly...
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