The attack was over. The Aztecs had won, this time. Not a single carrier was lost, though two in the group were heavily damaged, and the ARS Tetz'etheula was being forced to head home for repairs, which was a risky proposition indeed, considering the current state of many of the Aztec port cities. Raus had landed on the ARS Malda'tenz, which was in relatively good shape. Most of her crew had survived, and they had only lost 5 pilots in the air battles. The Carrier had ended up with a few of its stationary fighters on deck destroyed, and two SAM emplacements destroyed, leaving large black scorches upon the Carrier's deck. Sailors were working tirelessly to clean up the messes left over from Korean and Chinese ordnance, and were carefully disposing of some un-detonated explosives. They were likely duds, but one could never be sure.
The sailors had to work through constant stress day after now, a situation few of the younger generation had ever faced. Many of the older officers were taking it upon themselves to regale the "greens" with tales of the war with Britain. This helped the war effort on a few fronts; it allowed the older officers to somewhat prepare the younger sailors were the traumas that were inevitably coming their way, relived the stress of all parties involved (the younger pilots taking heart that their commanders had faced battle and lived, the older officers taking pride in helping out the future of the Aztec Navy), and were a large morale booster, instilling pride in their history and heritage, and a sense of superiority and hope that some had been missing since hearing the radio reports of their homeland under siege.

Raus was making his own rounds with the various officers, greatly enjoying hearing tales brought to life that he had only heard in Secondary School history classes or the Naval academy on the Yucatan. He had also been assigned a new F-5AT, and had been going out on flights whenever possible. The young man was rather ashamed that he had been shot down, but at the same time, he was happy to have survived his brush with death, when so many on the other ships had been less fortunate.

Two days after the engagement at sea, the Malda'tenz and her remaining active sister ship, the ARS Techulka, were ordered to head to Pearl Harbor, home to the main Pacific fleet of the United States' Navy. This meant a bit of backtracking, but they were told that their rendezvous with the US Navy would bring them American reinforcements. The Aztec captains were happy for whatever assistance they could get, especially as negotiations with most of the European nations were still at a standstill. Many of Europe's States seemed to be in incredible fear of the East-Asian forces, but some in the American government suspected that they were perhaps not willing to jeopardize any of their foreign investments in the aggressor nations. The most help in that part of the world could be gained from the Soviet Union, and on that front, talks appeared to maybe be moving forward, though their were rumors that a few of the hardliners in the Soviet Politburo were adamantly refusing to help out any of the "Decadent Capitalist Pigs" of the West.
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"It's a sad day when Aztecha's greatest hope for aid comes from the Soviet Union," Tacha Mezatlan shook his head slowly. His young-looking features belied the fact that the Captain of the Malda'tenz had enlisted at the end of World War III, the years where optimism among the Allies was at a high point. Hitler had been defeated, Israel and the UN had been created, the death-camps were dismantled, and people now knew perfectly well the horrors war could create, especially the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tacha had been hoping for a full ride to a university in southern Aztecha, paid for by the country's Soldiers-To-Students programs. The war against Britain changed all that, and he'd ended up a career sailor. It was no mistake that he had been chosen to head one of the three Carriers, he was well-respected inside the Aztec military and government, and had a reputation for both kindness and care for his wards, and cold ruthlessness and effectiveness against his enemies. He cracked a small smile.

"Tell me, friends…when did we get this desperate?" One of the high-ranking officers sitting in his cabin spoke up.

"Ever since our cities were set aflame and our people killed. Would you rather we refute the Soviets? At least they're willing to listen to our envoys! The selfish pricks in Western Europe could care less!" The man who spoke up was one Jarik Slx'ulta, a man already known for his outspokenness and rampant disrespect for authority. Mezatlan was rather clueless as to how someone like Slx'ulta could rise to the prominence he had achieved, but his intelligence in tactical matters was renowned.

"Hmph. Maybe they'd give a damn if they weren't still suffering from radiation floating over there from Britain." Captain Mezatlan was also well-known as an activist for nuclear disarmament. Jarik waved him off.

"This is a pointless argument in the first place, Captain. What's a bunch of sailors supposed to do about diplomacy? We're only around for when our government manages to fuck up." He paused for a second, "Or when the Chinks get a bit too big for their britches."

"The Mongols are leading this little venture of theirs, and must I remind you that I'm none too fond of racism on this boat?" Jarik rolled his eyes at Mezatlan.

"Sorry, Captain, I suppose I'm just not as capable at brownnosing as you. I'll admit I lack the necessary vocabulary."

"Please, stop acting so juvenile." Mezatlan made a pointed glare at the younger man. "I want your communications from the Americans. What do they have waiting for us?" The tension instantly evaporated out of the air, and the atmosphere became strictly businesslike. The other officers in the cabin, who had been listening in to Mezatlan and Jarik with mild amusement, stepped forward so that they could hear the brief in its entirety.

"Well, CINCPAC(Command In Chief Pacific) got the report from them, we just got a fax."

"I don't think it matters how we got it, I think we just want the contents." The momentary break in the serious atmosphere repaired itself quickly, and Jarik continued.

"Yes, of course. Well, the US has decided they want to join us on our sojourn to the Orient, the more the merrier, right?"

"I doubt those are the official words of the fax, but carry on." Jarik made an annoyed noise in his throat, and continued.

"The United States is joining us with four Carrier groups of their own, each with a contingent of 3 frigates and 3 AEGIS apiece. Four American Nuclear subs will also join up with us there. Our combined forces will then head to the South China Sea, where we will launch air strikes against targets in all of the offending nations. We presume that the American subs will be there to take care of any Oriental subs in the operations area. CINCPAC left a note on the bottom saying we'll receive further instructions soon, depending on what they are able to scrounge up at home."

"What does he mean by that?" Mezatlan asked. Jarik shrugged.

"Hell if I know, beyond that we'll probably get another fax pretty soon." As if on cue, the door to the cabin swung open and a young sailor of about 20 came in with a sheet of paper.

"This just in, Sir" He saluted Captain Mezatlan.

"Thank you, sailor." Mezatlan gave the kid a sloppy salute, not even bothering to look at him as he turned back to the group. "Well, good news from home."

"We beat the bastards already?" asked Jarik.

"Eh, not quite that good. CINCPAC does say, however, that we're getting a few more ships of our own. The Tetz'etheula can't make it to Pearl Harbor on time, but another Carrier group is coming to take her place in our company, along with 7 subs and 4 AEGIS. Looks like we won't have to rely on America for everything." There was a positive murmur to this. "They should be arriving in Pearl Harbor a day after we make it, so we'll have to layover in Hawaii. Don't be too disappointed." Mezatlan offered up a wan half-smile. "Well, that wraps her up, boys. Get some sleep, we're off to Hawaii."

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A/N: Well, how do you like that? I finally updated this fic. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh yeah, and I don't own Civilization.