Out Of Many, Always Be One: Voyage Of The United States

4. Hit Hard! Hit Fast! Hit Often!

Waters outside Hawaii

The middle of July beckoned and with that, Exercise RIMPAC was coming to a close for another two years. During the course of the exercise, all involved were impressed by the firepower and speed of United States despite the massive size of her hull. The event was quite uneventful from the other side as no reports of either Russian or Chinese vessels have been sighted in the area for the exercise's duration but on that July morning, that was about to change. A group of the destroyers Sampson, John Paul Jones and Atago along with the frigates Toowoomba and Yi Yang were in the northern-most area of the RIMPAC exercise field.

JPJ: (Checking her radar screen and just then, an unidentified target appear) What the fuck? Sampson, you seeing this on your radar scope?

Sampson: (over radio) Sure can, John Paul Jones. What is that?

JPJ: Not sure. Atago, you seeing this as we have the same systems?

Atago: (over radio) Hai. Not aware of anyone out here but us.

Sampson: (over radio) Must be someone we left behind? One of the Dragon Empery girls?

Toowoomba: (over radio) Yi Yang's with us. She's right here off your bloody port, Atago.

JPJ: Don't need to use that language, Toowoomba.

Toowoomba: (over radio) Well, excuse me for the way I speak. You want a burger to go with your ego?

JPJ: I'll give you "burger" in a minute, Aussie. Right here, right...

Yi Yang: (over radio) Knock it off, you two! This could be serious! Can we talk about something else?

Sampson: (over radio) Good point, Yi Yang. Hey Atago, how's Yura going despite being handicapped? She still active in the maritime scene?

Atago: (over radio) Even with polio and stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of her KAN-SEN life, she's doing pretty well.

JPJ: Oh, wow. That's great news! At least she's not letting her disability stop her from doing what she loves. What she doing next?

Atago: (over radio) From what I've been told, she's going to Australia to assist in restoring that old ferry one of Toowoomba's country's state governments got into hot water for.

Toowoomba: (over radio) Oh, yeah. The whole Lady Herron fiasco from about two years ago. New South Wales Government still paying back for damages after that little stunt. Shows the Australian public aren't as stupid as they look. Also, she better watch out for Scarborough as she has the hots for Lady Herron.

Sampson: (over radio) I wish our people were like that. They let United States rot in Philadelphia until Eagle Union stepped in.

JPJ: I swear those in Washington DC are...

Yi Yang: (over radio) Hold on a moment. I'm now picking up what yous reported despite my relic of a radar and from what it shows, this doesn't look like a NATO or even American.

Sampson: (over radio) I think you have a point. I've been checking my radar return sheets while those two were arguing and this one don't match that of familiar types.

Atago: (over radio) Could it be the People's Republic Army Navy?

Toowoomba: (over radio) You mean the Chinese are here? Well, shit.

Yi Yang: (over radio) Oh God, why? Can't they ever leave us alone?

JPJ: Are you certain the vessel is Chinese? They haven't bothered us since their spy ship was sunk a few months ago. Given United States' impressive display of her capabilities during the course of this RIMPAC, we can only assume she's the one who sunk her.