Shadows Over the Central Sea

Chapter 1: Contact

15/07/1348
00:14 AM

ARS Captain Joseph Vydrak (GD-86)
Icefox Class Destroyer

Somewhere in the Central Sea

The Icefox Class was originally designed in 1325 in the Future Naval Combatants programme with its deployment in the rough conditions of the Central Sea in mind during its development. In the years preceding construction of the ARS Captain Joseph Vydrak (GD-86) fourteen other vessels of the Icefox Class have been constructed. The ARS Captain Joseph Vydrak (GD-86) is one of the newest vessels in the Avvarian Navy. Its construction began in the year 1346 and took one year to finish with minimal issues. As a guided-missile destroyer, her mission is to support fleet operations in the Central Sea theater against pirates and enemy states. She is currently a part of a carrier task force near the eastern shores of the Arag People's Republic conducting freedom of navigation exercises.

The carrier task force was slowly steaming north a hundred kilometers off the Arag People's Republic shoreline in a loose staggered column. The bluewater fleet just a few hours ago got out of an intense storm with waves reaching over thirty meters in height and winds of up to 60 knots. The current five meter waves were nothing compared to the waters in the storm. The night sky was clear with constellations easily visible through the minimal cloud coverage and the moon shone brightly upon the fleet cutting its way through the deep blue waters of the Central Sea.

Even though the Central Sea is called a sea, it is in fact an ocean. The name stuck from the old times when all salty bodies of water were called a sea and any other water reservoir was called a lake. The name stuck to modern times since there never was a need to rename it. Only the most hard headed scientists continue to refer to it as the Central Ocean, but the general populace just doesn't care.

The roar of jet engines cut through the night as a pair of F/A-19c Basalts took off from ARS President Vaclav H. (AC-27) on a routine air patrol mission over the task force. Their planned route will take them over a hundred kilometers in front of the carrier task force and back in less than two hours. On board the leading jet is Major Emanuel "Bullseye" Fartak with his Weapon Systems Officer Lieutenant Arnos "Flak" Ornek. In the trailing jet sits Captain Zrevnel "Captain' Obvious" Tratler and Weapon Systems Officer Lieutenant Ingna "Morning Haze" Traskla.

The F/A-19 Basalt is a fighter attack aerial platform designed by the Ravdaz Aerial Bureau in 1329. It was later modified into three different versions; Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. The Alpha variant was designed for land operations, it doesn't have a hook or launch bar required for carrier operations, it has a cheaper, less reliable engine and isn't capable of going supersonic. The Bravo variant was designed for vertical and/or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) operations. It can operate in varied field conditions and is the prime platform for the Avvarian Marines. The Charlie variant was designed for naval operations from a carrier. It contains a highly reliable AT-2336b engine and contains a highly powerful AESA multiband radar capable of tracking 28 different targets at the same time. It is also the most expensive variant of the F/A-19 platform.

The pair of jets catapulted off the carrier and immediately climbed to eight hundred meters above sea level until they were clear of the first vessel in the fleet, wherein they climbed to two thousand meters above sea level and began heading north along their route. Even though the likelihood of a hostile coastal defense contact was low, neither WSO took their eyes off the radar display and were keeping watch on the electronic emissions in the airspace they were heading to.

Only a few minutes after takeoff the flight approached their first checkpoint on the route, "Papa, Madwolf 1-1, comms check. Do you read me? Over."

"Madwolf 1-1, Papa, I read you loud and clear. Over."

"Papa, Madwolf, checkpoint one reached, no signs of any contact. Over."

"Madwolf, Papa, good copy. Papa out."

With the longer distances on the ocean come difficulties in communication across the vastness. In history, Very High Frequency radio systems were used for communicating at ranges up to 100 kilometers, but with the arrival of low orbit communications satellites the range went from limited to virtually unlimited. This enables aerial operations the way we know them now.

While Madwolf continued to their next checkpoint another platform was preparing to take to the dark skies, an E-15b Limestone. The Limestone is a modified version of the C-15 Titan cargo plane designed in 1319 by Morala Incorporated, a vital part of the Avvarian military industrial complex. The C-15 Titan was even originally able to take off and land on a carrier, so the choice the Avvarian Navy was making when searching for a replacement for the aging E-12 Slate was obvious. The airframe entered service in 1322 under an Alpha version, which was quickly found to not be viable for carrier operations and thus the platform required an upgrade. The upgrade came in the form of the Anter Technologies 1888 Turboprop engine in 1323. Since then, the frame has enough power to effectively operate off of carriers and is among the heaviest carrier capable platforms on the planet.

Working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is one of the most dangerous jobs in the Avvarian Navy. The danger brings protective equipment that is seen only on carriers, among which are the helmets ground crews use. Instead of the helmet having ear holes to accommodate different sizes of ears, the helmet has an in-built ear compartment which protects from hearing loss induced by loud noises which are common on the deck and from bodily injury. The equipment used on the flight deck is not limited to the helmet, but also a plethora of other safety nets, among which is the self-inflating life vest built into a jacket.

Lieutenant Lana Inovva is a proficient catapult operator, which means she is among the ones to send off any outgoing fixed-wing traffic on the carrier. She was currently hand signaling a "lower launchbar" signal to the E-15c Limestone sentry preparing to take off. After the launchbar was lowered to the position for the catapult to hook onto it she helped the pilot navigate to the launching trolley. After the catapult operator gave the all clear signal Lana signaled to the pilot to unfold their wings and then signaled the wipe out signal. "Wiping out" is a process in the take off chain of actions which checks for any foreign objects stuck in the control surfaces and to ensure their full range of movement. After wiping out, Lana gave a prompt salute to the Limestone on the catapult, kneeled, and finally pointed forward along the catapult.

The E-15c lurched forward and began accelerating using the combined power of the steam powered catapult and its own jet-fuel powered engines. Within five seconds, the aircraft left the carrier deck and began climbing up to the skies to conduct its own mission, overwatching the fleet from any threats, giving early warning and helping fighter jets navigate to hostiles. It only took two minutes for the plane to climb to one thousand meters and only three more minutes to climb to three thousand meters above sea level.

The powerful N/ARS-8 unilateral air to air and surface radar manufactured by the RAB is among the most advanced early warning radar systems on Nebe. Its ultra high frequency allows it to penetrate cloud cover and track continuously thanks to the inclusion of a small supercomputer in the Radar Processing Unit (RPU) on board the E-15c.

Only a few minutes after arriving on their designated track a new radar contact appeared on their radar. At two hundred thirty six kilometers bearing two-nine-eight a singular signature was speeding at mach 0.87 toward the carrier task force.

"Papa, this is Farseer 1-1. We've got a boogie at two-three-six klicks bearing two-nine-eight approaching the task force at mach .87. How copy? Over."

"Farseer 1-1, this is Papa. Good copy, any identification on it? Over."

"Papa, Farseer 1-1. Negative, we've got no identification. Over."

"Farseer 1-1, Papa. Copy, keep an eye on them and vector in Madwolf. Out."