Summoning America

Chapter 37: Lying in Wait

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Centris Island, Altaras Strait

Mysterious fog surrounded an island in the center of the Altaras Strait, obscuring all vision of the heavy military activity across the island. Assuming that the Americans acquired their information from the skies, the Parpaldians decided to generate a cheap, but effective cover that could hide their plans. Although they were correct that the Americans gathered intelligence from up above, they didn't realize that visual observation is not the only means to collect information.

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Carrier Strike Group 5, Altaras Strait

"Sir, we've got a lot of contacts in the cove, hiding behind the terrain," a radar operator said, pointing at a screen.

Admiral Hawthorne and Captain Vaughn reviewed the data relayed by the UAV flying over the Parpaldian base, analyzing the dots as they appeared along the coastline of the island. Performing a rough mental calculation, they saw almost a hundred contacts lying in wait, hiding within the crescent shaped cove. Tall cliffs protected the ships from cannon fire, but not from aerial weapons.

"That's one helluva death trap," Hawthorne mused.

Vaughn nodded. "Their cannons could do some real work to our armor. If only we had a battleship..."

"Unfortunately, the reactivation of the Iowa won't be complete until December or so. Our only other option is to hit them from above..." he rubbed his chin. "Hmm, we need more intel; we need to know what we're targeting."

"Sir," Vaughn suggested, "We have RHIBs and smaller drones we can send in for target identification."

Hawthorne tilted his head, thinking about the plan before he responded, "Very well. Have our teams conduct reconnaissance from the ocean; the drones should have enough range and life to survey the entire cove."

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Centris Island

A lone figure stood atop a hastily assembled command structure as he studied the assembly of his fleet. Inhaling the salty ocean breeze, he looked over to his side to see a group of mages steadily producing more fog. He sighed and walked over to his manacomm station, the equipment brushing over his short dark beard as he spoke into it. "Admiral Balus, the trap is set. Our ships lie in wait, ready to fire upon any who dares to enter. The barrels of explosives are also ready to ignite."

"Excellent work, Commander Mitan. I doubt they will send their large vessels into the cove, so feel free to ignite the barrels whenever you see a viable target. I shall leave this decision to your discretion."

"Thank you, Admiral," he said with uncertainty. "However, I still feel... bad; guilt, even." He paused for a moment as he built up the courage to continue. "These tactics do not sit well with the nature of the Parpaldian Empire. Respectfully, Admiral, we should be the ones launching an offensive against them, not laying defensive traps."

"I understand your concern, Commander. Believe me, I feel the same way. The objective of war however, is to win. We shall attain victory at any cost, or at the very least, make their victory as bloody and hard-fought as possible. We face not a barbarian nation, but a powerful state similar to the likes of Mu, or even the Holy Mirishial Empire. We must therefore alter our strategies to combat — what I regretfully admit — a force stronger than ours. Adhere to your duties, Commander, and you shall reap the benefits."