Solar Eclipse

Chapter 2: The War Begins

Aquaris Ocean, 10 miles from Shiningshell Bay: Day 2, 0815

            Whitecap looked out over the flight deck.  The view from the bridge was decent, and gave him more than enough visibility to see much of the fleet.  When they arrived, he greeted the usual vessels from the Lincoln’s task force through their private radio, and then hailed Admiral Bowsprit aboard her flagship, the L.R.S (Lunar Republic Ship) Hammerhead.  The submarine/aircraft carrier was gliding below the fleet, surrounded by a protective shield of attack subs.  He received a grim ‘hello’ from Rear Admiral Smoothbore aboard her vessel, the battleship Mareyland, who reported that all of the rest of her fleet, since she was technically in charge of Whitecap’s battle group, was present.  Sailing next to the Neighbraham Lincoln was the cruiser Manehatten, and Whitecap spotted the destroyer Hayward steaming alongside missile-cruiser Fillydelphia.  Those were the only ships from his task force he could see, but the rest of the water in front of Whitecap was still busy with activity.  Low-flying Seahawk helicopters dragging sonar buoys darted in-between ships while new Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships surrounded the three aircraft carriers: the Lincoln, the Eclipse, and the Nimitz.  Destroyers formed an outer layer of protection, reinforced by cruisers directly behind.  The Mareyland spearheaded an impressive line of battleships halving the armada.  F-18 and F-14 fighter jets dashed overhead on Combat Air Patrol or scouting missions.  Marines and SEALs stood watchfully over the decks of their ships, looking out for any threats too small for the big guns each vessel carried.  The one thing every captain looked at though, was their destination.

            Shiningshell Bay was an attacker’s worst nightmare.  Why it was their target, Whitecap had no idea.  Surrounded by hills, it was the perfect place for an entrenched force to dig in.  Nestled between two mountains lay the fleet’s target: Manehatten.  The bay itself was naturally fortified, with hills flanking the water below.  To make matters worse, the opening was so small that the fleet would have to enter practically single-file and would be almost-literally surrounded if they went in.  It would be hard enough to fit the 100-plus ships into such a small space, and it would only be harder to complete the mission with limited casualties.  Whoever came up with this plan is gonna lose their job if it fails.

            Suddenly, a glimmer of light caught Whitecap’s eye.  He jumped, and then looked again.  With a feeling of relief, he realized that the object was just an AWACS observation plane watching the ground for Solar Empire activity.  It was a good thing he did notice it, as the radio transmission immediately after would have startled him even more if he didn’t see the aircraft.

            “AWACS-115 to Hammerhead.  Do you read?  We have multiple bogeys airborne and closing on your position, bearing 079, mark 12.  Copy?”

            “Roger AWACS-115, this is Hammerhead.  You’re on fleet-wide right now.  We’re picking up several bogeys; most of them must be out of range.  How many are there?  Over.”

            “Checking now, computer’s working.  Got it. What the…?  Hammerhead, you’ve got 2,000 bogeys clearing the hills at about 140 mph.”

            That statement sent the entire fleet into overdrive.

            “Red alert!  Go to General Quarters!” Whitecap ordered, years of training and experience kicking in.  “Launch all remaining planes, load for air-to-air.  Get those Phalanxes online, don’t want to be caught defenseless.”  He belted out orders to the bridge crew, who followed them flawlessly.  The other aircraft carriers were doing the same thing, launching any other aircraft.  The Seahawk helicopters returned to their motherships, trading sonar buoys for missiles and ammo for their miniguns.  Battleship gun turrets turned slowly while destroyers and cruisers shifted from one side of the armada to the other to face the oncoming objects.  Aboard the Hammerhead, Admiral Bowsprit ordered the sub surfaced and all aircraft launched, with all missile tubes loaded with Surface-to-Air and cruise missiles.  Phalanx 20mm minigun defense turrets activated on every ship, ready to engage by remote control any nearby targets.  Marines and SEALs went onto high alert, cocking weapons and reinforcing critical areas of vessels.  More patrolled corridors and decks of ships in case of boarding parties.  In a matter of seconds, the New Lunar Republic fleet turned from a battle group on its way to a fight into a formidable floating fortress, each ship contributing in some way to protect the fleet and the three supercarriers.  The targets weren’t even on most of the ships’ radar yet.