Mobius Squadron: Operation Katina

Chapter 28: Sealion

Mobius 1

The alarms blaring across Megalith had given a pretty good indication to everyone of what was happening. So when the pilots of Mobius Squadron assembled in the briefing room, they were already set in their full flight gear so they could launch as soon as the briefing was over. "Alright, we've found the Sealion. It's steaming to a position of North Point to bombard the place with Orion shells. By the message we received, it will be in position in just a couple of hours. Now, we have one delaying factor. The ERN Dysnomia is in position and will engage the Sealion to prevent the bombardment. Working with the Dysnomia, we're going to sink that battleship. Now, we expect Warlock Squadron to be present, so keep that in mind. So get in the air, now". Mobius' words had conveyed the sense of urgency he had hoped for. Everyone was running.

Warlock 1

There just had to be something that went wrong. Warlock cursed the weather, as crews worked overtime to clear the runway. There had been a heavy snowstorm throughout the entirety of the day. Not to worry though, the delay would only be about 30 minutes from their rendezvous. A small part of him said that 30 minutes was all it took, but he quashed that thought. ISAF had no idea of their plan. They would strike the blow that could end the war.

Mobius 1

If any of the ground crew had been displeased about the alarms waking them, they showed none of it. Once the information had been relayed, all of them moved like their lives depended on it. A lot of them had been the same ground crew from North Point and were aware that the faster they got the F-22s in the air, the more chance there was for their families to be safe. 7 and 8 were taking off and 5 and 6 were waiting to line up. 3 and 4 were taxiing, 2 was in his cockpit powering up and Mobius was running over to his Raptor. "XSDBs and QAAMs!" Rebecca shouted over the noise of the engines. Mobius gave a thumbs up as he scaled the ladder two rungs at a time and sat himself down in the cockpit. His hands were a blur as switches were thrown up and the canopy lowered. 5-8 were airborne now and 3 and 4 took off into the night sky. Mobius and 2 lined up, watching the collision lights recede in the distance. The overhead light went from red to green, and Mobius sped off to join the others. Nobody in Megalith would be getting any sleep tonight. The tension was too much for their tiredness to take hold.

Captain Matias Torres

The Dysnomia had made its best speed towards the intercept point. Now, it lay in wait with all hands manning their battle stations. "How long till air support arrives?" Torres asked. "5 minutes" the Executive Officer responded. Torres nodded. He had some reservations of working with the man who had sunk his entire fleet. But circumstances had forced his hand. "Sealion on radar. Distance 100 km" the radar technician announced. Torres nodded again. Then he gave his orders. "Engage when in range. All batteries. We don't stop until that ship is at the bottom of the sea!". The bridge crew reflected the captain's confidence as they went about their tasks. When the battleship crossed the 50 km line, the first volley was fired. The TASMs launched from the VLS banks on both the fore and aft and raced towards the Free Erusean vessel. The CIWS on the Sealion activated, and multiple of the TASMs were shot out of the air as they approached. Four got through and impacted, leaving a large cloud of black smoke that dissipated soon after impact. "The thing's got some tough armour" the missile operator announced after observing the lack of damage. "Reload the VLS, prepare main guns for fire!" Torres shouted. Crew started carrying the AGM-84s and new TASMs into position to load into the VLS tubes, as the main gun turrets rotated. "Main guns, commence fire!". The cannon fired several times, sending APHE shells flying towards the Sealion. Several splashed around, no impacts on the first salvo. But that was the point of adjustment.

The Sealion

"Target is at the port stern quarter!" one of the crew shouted after the shells splashed harmlessly around them. "Turrets C and D turning!" another announced. "Pitch angle 15 degrees!" came from the gunnery officer. The three barrels in each of the two turrets angled up to the specified amount. "Shells in barrel, breech closed!". "Ready to fire!". Commodore Raphael then gave the order. "Fire!". There was a ripping of the shells through air as the cannons fired. "Open up the A-Arcs!" the commodore then ordered. The Sealion started turning so that all of its guns could fire on the target vessel.