A/N
[This story was inspired by the Ambience series by Hieda no Akyuu, amazing stuff, lemme tell ya.]
I've had this idea sitting on my head for a while now. I'll say this immediately considering that this is my first post here. I am not an experienced writer, and I do not have novelist-like writing capabilities. Hopefully my writing style will not be as bad as I project. Hope you guys enjoy my work.
~Idealize A.K.A Gunzou~
2011. Yokosuka Naval Base.
The once bustling district, now almost reduced to smoldering ashes, is under constant shelling from distant enemies, who have attacked without warning or a declaration of war, which seemingly felt similar to the Pearl Harbor attacks around 70 years ago. Japanese soldiers, both veterans and newer ones, fight desperately against foes whom they have never seen before, as the structures surrounding them breaks like glass bottles falling from the roof of a building. Armor divisions, mobilized immediately after the first cannon salvos are set ablaze by the enemy's high explosive shells. Left without naval support due to naval exercises near the West Philippine Sea, they are forced to fight inland, while entrenched in their small bunker-like garrisons around the shoreline with a few artillery pieces and small arms. With their armaments tightly gripped around them, the men prepare to hold their ground against the unknown enemy's fleet.
As the enemy was composed of ships somehow resembling gigantic fish, the shore defenders immediately thought that this was a new, modern ship design, sent forward by a hostile neighboring country. But they soon knew that the firepower, speed, and strength of these ships far exceed those of any existing warship. Equipped with hi-caliber main guns, mounted on their mouths, along with a torpedo complement which could tear apart a Destroyer or Littoral Combat Ship easily within minutes, these ships were seemingly unstoppable. Like juggernauts, they continue to push through towards the harbor, shrugging off the attacks of the garrison.
"WE MUST RETREAT!" one of the soldiers shouts, frightened by the enemy coming nearer.
"We can't lad," a naval officer, clad in his standard white uniform, now tattered by shrapnel while carrying his Sumitomo Type 62 MG responds. "We don't know for sure what their ground forces can do, but with naval power like this, it's safe to assume that they can put us down quickly, too. As the frontline defenders, we need to stay here or risk the entirety of Kanagawa getting blitzed."
The tall, slightly pale man who had responded to the soldier was Captain Henry Miyamoto, a man of both Western and Japanese origins. A naval officer stationed aboard the JS Kirishima, he was called to Yokosuka to be informed of another upcoming military exercise slated for today. However what is happening today is far from any exercise he has done.
"Understood, captain Miyamoto." One of the men, armed with a Howa Type 89 utters. "If need be I am willing to die in this-"
The man known as Captain Miyamoto cuts the soldier off. "I appreciate your bravery lad, but try not to die. You are much more useful when alive, you know." The soldier nods in agreement.
After their exchange of words, Henry looks to his surroundings. He sees men preparing for what could be the decisive assault of the enemy fleet, some of them even praying. With the inevitable engagement in front of them, Henry lets out a sigh, as he tightens his grip on the Type 62, goes prone and prepares himself for whatever may come towards him. However as he prepares to fire, he hears rocket thrusters coming towards his direction, and immediately, he spots two anti-ship missiles flying in from the right, their tracking systems dead set on the enemy warship leading the charge. The two explosions ring out from the seas towards the shore, as black, hazy smoke begins to fill the horizon. More rockets begin to descend, and the situation becomes clear for the captain, letting out a small smirk in the process.
Emerging from the east, the United States Carrier Task Force V, accompanied by US Destroyer Squadron 15, and the JMSDF ships Kongou, Kirishima and Ashigara begins their counterattack against the enemy vanguard force. Armed with a plethora of anti-ship missiles and their modern Phalanx CIWS, their weapons seem to be able to pierce through the thick armor of their enemies. Firing a couple more of their "Harpoon" rockets, they manage to sink a few enemy vessels here and there, which increased the morale for both the ground troops and the naval crew. Unrelenting with their rocket attacks, the enemy ships were given no time to retaliate, and the tide seems to have turned in favor of the defending troops.
The infantry around Yokosuka, now aware that the enemy has scrambled to retreat, are overjoyed by the news of successfully holding their ground against an enemy far superior against them. The US task force stops at Yokosuka for refuel and repair, and the Destroyer squadron's flagship, the Fitzgerald, having suffered little damage, stops at the pier, rather than the repair docks.
An American envoy, from the destroyer U.S.S Fitzgerald, approaches Miyamoto, who has his machinegun on a sling.
"Sir, Captain Araki requests your presence onboard Fitzgerald." The envoy declares along with a salute, who afterwards hands over a letter out of his small satchel. Miyamoto returns the salute, and then proceeds to walk towards the American warship whilst reading the letter.
The letter is attached with a small symbol of an anchor carried by a Bald Eagle, clearly American. Below it the letter reads: "Urgent meeting aboard Fitzgerald, all personnel receiving this letter requested to come immediately. Valuable intelligence has been recovered. Details will be discussed on the command quarter."
Stowing the letter away on his left pocket, Miyamoto proceeds to the docks, where the aforementioned American destroyer, the Fitzgerald awaits. With men carrying jerry cans filled with fuel piling up the main ramp, he decides to take the small stairway intended for disembarking. Across the deck he could see plenty of sailors pacing back and forth, either carrying ammunition or repair materials. Making his way towards the command room, surrounded by thick armor, he finds himself in front of two of the most well-known naval personalities in Yokosuka as he opens the thick metal door.
Mirai Araki, The current head-admiral of Yokosuka Naval Base. Descendant of one of the IJN captains, he is well versed in naval operations. His greyish hair, beard, glasses, and short stature may give him the appearance of an old man past his prime, but he is, in all aspects, the most reliable and well-versed person in regards to modern naval combat in the JMSDF.
Damon Fletcher, The current head of the US Carrier Task Force V. He knows Henry due to the latter's position as the captain of the Kirishima, and because both of them are always present in any naval exercise. He is the captain of the Fitzgerald.
"Good. Now everyone's here. Close the door for us, mate." Fletcher orders with a sense of urgency, and the hatch-like door is closed.
"Alright, now the reason I called everyone here, including Admiral Araki, is because we have recovered critical information on the identities of who we're fighting against. We salvaged one of those fishships, as I like to call them, but it's in bad shape, so we might be missing out on a few things. But what we've found so far is definitely groundbreaking." Fletcher explain whilst he hands a few folders. "Now because of our researchers onboard, we were able to compile results quickly. Admiral Araki will explain the rest of the contents, Admiral, the floor is yours."
"Okay, Fletcher-san." Araki then proceeds near the projector-intended white screen and goes on to explain the findings. "As for who sent these.. ships, we do not know as of now, and it seems they are currently only present in Asia. What we do have discovered is that the enemy fleet's armaments mimic those of warships of the past era, World War Two ships, to be exact."
The screen behind Araki then shows a comparison of a Fubuki-class destroyer, A Fletcher-class, A Zerstorer 1934 and one of the ships that they have encountered.
"These four, Second War-era Destroyers, and an enemy warship, are very similar. Their armaments, from turrets to torpedoes, they are of almost the same potency. Their armor has also almost the same thickness of those of the old destroyers, albeit covered with some sort of organic material, which may have been the reason why your small arms and artillery pieces failed to do considerable damage. Because of this we have decided to classify this type of ship as a Kuchikukan or a Destroyer, and for this class, we have decided to call it the I-class, as it is the first to show up, and as for the name. it is the first syllable in the Iroha classic poem. But I also think it would be safe to assume that there are bigger, better and more powerful ships than these we have encountered. We have yet to see the enemy's cruisers, battleships, and carriers, going by their Second World War.. motif.. Yes, I guess that's the right word, if memory serves well, and so we should not apply the weaknesses of one type of ship to all of the enemy fleet's ships, for all I know our anti-ship rockets may fail to damage the other ship types." Araki then ends his explanation, and nods towards Fletcher.
"If you guys thought that was shocking, wait till you hear my little groundbreaker." Fletcher, replacing Araki in front of the projector, starts his explanation to the people present in the room.
"Now normally, ships like these would need a crew, unless these fishships are unmanned, like drones or some other shit. But when we salvaged that.. I-class, as Araki had stated, we found that it had no crew, no AI, no remote controller, but instead what we found was.. well, more complicated than what we expected, and probably your expectations, as well."
"It had a mind of its own," Fletcher exclaimed, his hand gestures and facial expression getting stronger.
"We found that it had.. a brain, so to speak. It had the capability to control it's own functions, it's own guns, it's propellers, EVERYTHING!" Fletcher now shouts, expressing his emotions. "Science hasn't gone this far yet! Not even those internet advertisements could've thought of this! It's like someone made a downgraded version of a human mind, created simply for warfare! Trackers, fire control, built-in radar, you name it! It's all there! It's like we're all running Windows 8, and they're a Skynet controlled DOS!" Fletcher, knowing he might've shifted the room's mood for worse, inserts a bit of subtle humor.
"Lemme ask you guys something. If you've got something to prove to me that humans can now mass-produce, or even create a war junkie Homo Habilis brain with aimbots and fire control systems everywhere, then I'm an ignorant idiot and you can go Lesnar on me and take me to Suplex City anytime. But if that ain't happening, then where do you guys think this kind of tech came from?" Fletcher, after inserting more of his subtle jokes, asks the rest of the room. "It's either some hidden Illuminati agenda shit or it's-"
"Extraterrestrials." Henry cuts him off. "It's that or you're right about the conspiracy shit."
"That's what me and the research crews were going with, but I was expecting you to answer Divine Retribution or something like that, given your time with the Japanese." Damon responds jokingly
"Hey man, that's racist." Henry also responds with a joke, seemingly to lighten up the room's mood. The rest of the room laughs as well, including the Japanese crew and Araki himself, seemingly unoffended.
"Alright, alright, that's it with the jokes now, Henry." Miyamoto plans to respond with a "you started it!" But he holds his tongue instead. "Now we've told you everything we know so far, but once we're done fully analyzing the I-class fishship you guys here will be the first to know." Damon dismisses the crew, and they start pouring out of the room. Now only Henry, Mirai, and Damon remain.
"Hey guys, uh.. about all this stuff. Call me crazy or anything you want, but I have a plan." Henry announces, knowing that these two people can make his plan a reality.
"Go ahead, this shit we're facing can be called crazy in a way, so I don't think anything can be crazier than this just yet." Damon responds with a chuckle. Muffled voices can then be heard outside of the room, covered by the footsteps that the sailors create by pacing back and forth on the ship.
"Well, I stand corrected, you are one crazy bastard." Damon mutters dumbfounded by the idea
"Indeed, he is Fletcher-san." Araki speaks in agreement. "But I also think it is not too farfetched, we must study the possibilities of success from Miyamoto-san's idea."
Hah. This plan could either be this country's, no, the world's future or just an idiot's rambling. But I have no way of knowing that yet, do I. Henry monologues, as the men then proceed to talk about other things.
