Defender of the Fleet

: Tomcat Combat Cruising

Hello readers! This is the pre-beginnings of Phoenix Sidewinder and Tomcat Island. TCC!

(Note: This chapter will be written in classic story format.)

Somewhere in the Oceannas sea, the USS Charger is hosting it's annual fighter squadron meetup.

"I appreciate your invitation to the annual meeting, Iceman, I know my pilots all ways look forward to fellowship with other fighter pilots." Ray said to Iceman, the CO of VF-1824 the squadron that works off the aircraft carrier. "Yeah, I know it is important for the United Union military as well, they need us to report back our progress throughout the year." responded Iceman. The annual fighter squadron meetup is a checkup for the UUN pilots to recap the year's activity and visit with the other pilots. "How about we head up below deck and see what everyone else is doing?" Ray gestured to the stairs which lead to the hangars. "Alright we need to get this meeting started anyways." Iceman began to walk to the stairs. "Yeah! And hopefully none of my guys are too rowdy..sometimes they can get a little too competitive…." Iceman and Ray both enter the hangars, there are VF-222's F-14s parked at one end of the ship and the VF-1824 F/A-18's parked on the other. The Charger class aircraft carriers are based off the Nimitz class aircraft carriers from the USN so there is plenty of room in the hangars. In between the parked jets are several rows of seats and a large podium in the front. The United Union's emblem is in the middle of the podium.

The logos of the two fighter squadrons are displayed on flags beside the podiums, the pilots from both squadrons are scattered between the seats talking and engaging with one another. "Oh great what did I tell you.." Ray leans over to Iceman, "I told you someone would cause trouble, just who I thought..Wasp." There seemed be a sort of argument between Wasp and another pilot from the other squadron. Wasp was known for always being short tempered and somehow the opposing pilot had really ticked him off. "Really!? Really!? You have got some nerve talking like that!" Wasp exclaimed pointing at the pilot. "Don't point that finger at me! You are just mad that the facts are true!" The pilot remarked; this had really made Wasp mad. "You dare say that again! You are lucky this meeting is for allies, not foes or else you be overboard by now!" Wasp is now red in the face and if had been anymore of a cartoon expression he might have had steam blowing out of his ears! "Whoa, Whoa..what seems to be the problem Wasp. I've never seen you this upset over an argument!" Ray put his hand on Wasp's shoulder, "Oh! Captain..I was..um..well…" Wasp seem surprised that he was acting in such a way. "I tell you why! He thinks the F-14 Tomcat could beat the F/A-18 in a dogfight!" Clown remarked as he was watching the entire fight go down. Ray laughed, "Well look...I have my opinions too Wasp, but we need to behave..the meeting is about to start and you better shut up!" Wasp looked up at Ray, he was embarrassed for getting reprimanded, "Yes sir." he said. Suddenly, Professor Phoenix walked up on the podium stage. "Good morning aviators!" He looked up at the crowd of around 40 or so. A hearty "good morning" rang out from the pilots and RIOs sitting in the seats below. "As you all know you have been gathered here today for the annual meeting. I assumed everyone is in here?" Out of the corner of the room an enlisted man came running from the other side of the hangars, he seemed to be in a hurry. "Excuse me do you need any help?" The professor exclaimed, the man answered "Here sir, from the captain please alert everyone this is very serious!". The professor seemed concerned, the man had whispered something very troubling that made everyone in the audience suspicious. As he cleared his throat the professor walked back to the podium and straitened his tie. "Eh-hem...It has come to my attention that this meeting is now canceled until further notice." There was a murmur in the crowd as wondering and questioning glances were spread through out the audience. Ray stood up immediately, this was an important event and something even more important must be interrupting the meeting. "Excuse me professor, if I may ask...what is going on? I mean, something must be happening!?" The professor looked back at Ray and said, "Ah, Captain Sidewinder….well I might as well announce this to you all...the Nation of Tyrants has somehow came up with the technology to recreate the famous battleship Yamato.." There were several gasps in the crowd and panic in some pilots eyes, the nation of tyrants was a military force that was not to be messed with. The nation had been known to have ruthless tactics when it came to combat, especially with United Union pilots. "Wait a minute...the Yamato is a battleship sunk back in WW2! there is no way our technology can't knock it out of the water!", shouted a pilot from the crowd. Professor Phoenix answered, "According to intelligence, the NTF (Nautical Tyrant Force) has upgraded the technology to suit modern needs, they dubbed it "Super Yamato"…..and not to fear everyone too much…...but I'm afraid the ship is headed straight for us…!" Panic arose throughout the crowd as people began to scramble and run about. If what the professor said was true, then the "Super Yamato" could have military equipment far better that what the United Union Navy has to offer. Ray was concerned, he made sure he kept his pilots together. It was bad to have a fighter pilot who had high nerves, he needed everyone to be as cool as an ice block. Speaking of ice, Iceman approached Ray amid the chaos in the hangars. He rudely said, "Look Sidewinder...I hate to break it to you but this looks like a job for us Hornet pilots...were kinda equipped with anti-shipping roles." He smirked at Ray after finishing his statement, Ray seemed to catch on to what he was saying and replied. "Ohhh, OK I get it...but I think we can handle it..."a good pilot all ways comes prepared" that's an old saying I heard from my friends, we got this mission!" Iceman tried to comeback but the damage had been done, in a world where fictional nations reconstruct super IJN battleships, it seems entirely possible the F-14 Tomcat could be equipped with Harpoon missiles and Type 80's. Iceman was baffled at the site, and aircraft unable to carry such weapons had somehow been modified to fit the missile. "Hey! Red Sharks lets roll out to the deck! We got business to do! Grab your RIO and hop in your Turkeys NOW!" Everyone scrambled to the planes and left the innocent F/A-18 Hornet pilots to watch as the mighty F-14 roll out onto the elevators to do some real carrier combat! It was a foggy day out, not ideal conditions for blowing a modernized version of an already "Super Battleship" out of the ocean. Ray positioned his aircraft on the catapult and awaited further orders. He watched the yellow shirt approach the plane. He bent down on one knee and slung his arm forward, pointing off the deck! Ray pushed his throttle forward and was shot off the catapult and over the deck into the water. He pulled up on his stick and was airborne! Ray circled around the carrier a couple of more times until all pilots and planes were in the air. "Ok everyone lets head out and find that ship!" The tomcat gang headed straight out to head to the location of the enemy fleet. The carrier launched and E-2 hawk eye as a way to help identify hostiles. The E-2 pilot sent out a message on the radio frequency, "Pilots! Warship located miles 55 straight ahead! Beware of incoming AA fire!" The pilots understood the message they were being told and flew with caution from now on. Anti Aircraft fire is no joke to a pilot, many planes were shot out of the sky throughout WW2 and other aerial conflicts and Ray had made sure to help make the pilots understand the dangers of AA. "5 miles!" announced the computer inside of Ray's Tomcat. It was show time, this was the moment to prove to the F/A-18 pilots what VF-222 was made of! Suddenly off the horizon a group of ship emerged through the dark black sea below. "What the?! There's more than one ship I repeat more than one ship!" cried the E-2's crew. "How in the world did your radar no pick these up?" exclaimed Beagle. Ray could tell this was a problem, how could the radar not pick up the rest of the Tyrant's navy ships?! Bullets began flying ff the sides of the Super Yamato..the battle was on! "I'm hit! I'm hit!" cried a young pilot, his Tomcat was struck by a SAM missile. Ray frantically called out to the pilot, "Bail! Bail!", but it was no use. The Tomcat spun out of control into a fiery ball of debris. The pilots were dodging missiles and bullets everywhere, but not all could avoid the hellfire raining down upon them. Pilots unlucky enough to be hit by enemy surplus were killed or had to bail out into the ocean below. Clown was worried, "Ray!" he cried "We can't allow anymore pilots to die! They are dropping left and right!". Ray responded to Clown's frantic remark, "I know! Mission Updated pilots! Target all missile cruisers and try and doge the heavy shells or the Super Yamato!". Full speed ahead the Super Yamato was a beast of engineering, the aquatic beast strolled through the waves with it's gigantic guns. The modified battleship had over 12 guns, 4 barrels on each of the three turrets bring havoc with it's 18 inch shells. Any airplane to come in contact with even one shell, or even the blast of the guns would surely not survive. With more than 200 machine guns on board as well the battleship could create a wall of lead that looks like fireworks with tracer rounds. "Alright everyone get ready to fire your anti ship missiles at the cruisers we need to save the best for last!", cried Ray. The fighters position themselves in a way to fire upon the cruisers, there were 5 cruisers and 15 pilots still in the air. "Fire!" cries the captain of the air craft carrier! The Tomcats launch the missiles directly at the cruisers. Some missiles collided with the SAMS launched off the cruisers, other making direct hits. KABLAM! The cruisers were hit left and right shaking the ships violently, some were already listing on one side and others smoking and on fire. It was made clear that all the cruisers were unable to fight again. "Haha! Gottem! Direct hit everyone!" yelled Ray through his helmet. Crew members from the cruisers were already bailing, "Every man for himself at this point! Just get out of here!" cried a crew member aboard the lead missile cruiser. The cruiser was on fire and half the ship was under water. There was a huge gaping hole with water rushing in by the gallons. Suddenly a very earth shattering explosion occurred on the most heavily damaged cruiser. Bits and pieces of the ship were scattered as oil and gasoline were seen on the surface a fiery explosion had ruined the ship. It was supposed it hit the armory room or maybe some missiles below deck. Wasp was mesmerized, "Holy Crap! That ship just exploded in a matter of seconds!" Next up was the Super Yamato. The prize battleship of the NTF, a force not to be reckoned with unless absolutely necessary. With it's main goal to kill, destroy, kill all pilots feared such a beast. The jets now set up for their second attack run, but this time there was more difficulty. The main guns of the battleship shook the cockpits and ocean below sending high velocity shells directly at the Tomcats. Wasp had somehow gained more speed than the other jets and was heading directly for the main guns. "Wasp! Get out of your attack run! It isn't safe to directly attack from the front!" exclaimed Beagle. However it was no use Wasp had ignored his own safety and fired his second anti-ship missile. The missile made contact with the first main gun disabling one of the four barrels, but Wasp was not so lucky. He and his RIO had been hit by one of the 18 inch shells. It bullet ripped through his airplane killing him instantly in a ball of fire, as his airplane spiraled out of control the fiery mess made a direct hit with the first turret exploding into it and destroying the first turret entirely. The pilots were unable to speak, such a heroic act had been accomplished but at what cost? Wasp had always been heroic and hot headed but no one had ever seen him take on head first! He may have destroyed a gigantic turret of the enemies' but at the cost of his own life! No one could ever imagine doing that themselves, they all just had to salute the fiery wreckage below for their fallen teammates…..

"We can't give up yet! We may have lost valuable team members but we need to push on in times of conflict!" cried Ray, but just as he said that it looked to all the fighters in the air that a magical beast had awoken below. Through the fiery wreckage in the front of the ship it look as though a mouth of a monster was emerging. The hull of the ship had opened up in front of the Super Yamato and everyone in the air was confused and shocked. "Whats going on?!" one pilot exclaimed, "I don't want to end up like Wasp!" cried another. As the mouth of the ship finally opened then everyone could understand what the purpose of the Super Yamato was, a secret aircraft carrier! Four Mig 23's shot out from underneath the deck of the ship, the pilots had observed the Super Yamato having an unusually large hull that seems to be higher than the original but mistaken the carrier dock for extra amour. The Migs shot out of the dock and into the air, and jugging from the under belly of the fighters they too were armed to the teeth. The Yamato mouth closed back up and once again began to fire upon the Red Shark Tomcats. The Mig 23s appeared to be a little smaller than its original counterpart. It was revealed that the Tyrant Development Team had actually created a series of Micro-Fighters that can be able to be stored in "Super Yamato" class battleships below deck. "Ugh! These Migs are like gnats!" yelled a frustrated pilot, "Yeah, like a 1/144 scale model kit!" Ray jokingly replied. Ray positioned his airplane behind one of the micro fighters are fired a AIM-9 . The missile collided with the rear fuselage striking the engine and exploding the doomed MIG. "Nice one Ray, only 3 more to go!" said Casino as he headed for another Mig. While Casino tried to out maneuver the micro jet and get a clear shot the two Mig pilots trying to escape collided! The two jets were crossing one another at the same altitude trying to run away from incoming Tomcat heroes. "HA! Nice one Casino but I doubt that counts as kill on your part…." joked Clown. Casino was annoyed by this he was so close to getting a confirmed killed just before two idiots basically killed themselves! Although he was upset he had to shrug it off, after all there's a battle going on. It appeared as though the Tomcats were gaining control of the battle, the Migs have been shot down, the last one was destroyed by a pair of Aim 9s. The missile cruisers had either been sunk or caught fire and beyond repair. Although a small portion of the pilots from the Red Sharks had been shot down, the final target was the Super Yamato. With two turrets still active it was time to put an end to the Naval Tyrant Forces once and for all. "Everyone its time to go full force! We need to target the Super Yamato!" Ray yelled on the mic. Everyone agreed, it was time to stop a big, steel, modernized super battleship. The planes flew off around 26 miles or so to be put of the range of the Super Yamato's shells that could shoot 25 miles.

"We need to group up and attack where the guns are!", said Ray. Suddenly Beagle got on the frequency, "Hey Marlin 200, remember what happened to the original Yamato? I say we aim for the main magazine!" That seemed like a good idea for the rest of the pilots, but it looked like the main target was to take out the two deadly turrets. "Alright everyone follow my lead its time to fight!", said Ray. The jets sped to the combat zone each pilot arming their anti ship missile for the devastation and destruction of the ship. The ship was menacing and deadly looking. BANG BANG! Shells rip through the skies shaking the jets as they head towards the turrets. The humongous guns slowly turn towards the pilots. "Steady everyone fire when commanded to!" ordered Ray. The Tomcat's streaked through the air heading closer each passing second. "Steady now! Everyone FIRE WHEN READY!" shouted Ray once again. The missiles shot out from the pylons as several anti ship missiles headed directly to the Yamato's guns. Ray closed his eyes and took a deep breath he pressed the trigger as he watched his last missile launch off the pylon. The warhead shot out from under neath his tomcat and exploded on impact directly on the hull of the ship! He yanked up on the stick and closed his eyes and grunted he had pulled some serious G's. Ray quickly turned his head to see the impact of his missile and to his surprise it look as though it had done nothing but a scratch! The second turret was destroyed but look as though the third turret was still operational! The Super Yamato's armor was so powerful the current technology from the United union looked as though it stood no chance. Ray was devastated he had only one more missile to fire at the ship and from his observation his actions had no real affect. Was Wasp dying all for nothing? He tried to sink the ship with his crew but everyone was tired and out of ammo. "Everyone return to base we need to resupply and refuel." Ray said sounding upset. Some of the more energetic pilot were confused by this, Ray was one to always fight. Why were they now just flat out leaving? "I guess what Iceman said was right, Tomcats are not designed for this kind of combat..it's no use just leave the Yamato for an F/A-18 or a ship or something…". As Ray turned his airplane back to the aircraft carrier a bright flash of light appeared in front of him. "AH!" cried Ray he was blinded by this random bright flash. He thought at first he had been hit by a shell that continued to fire at the dodging Tomcats. When he opened his eyes he had seen the greatest sight any pilot had ever seen. The famous Tomcats from the US Navy squadrons are there right in front of him. Tomcats from various squadrons such as the Wolf Pack (VF-1), the Tophatters (VF-14), the Tomcatters, Swordsmen, and Starfighters (VF-31, VF-32, VF-33), the Jolly Rodgers (VF-84 and VF-103), the Grim Reapers (VF-101), the Sundowners (VF-111), The Ghostriders (VF-141), The Pukin' Dogs (VF-143), and the Checkmates (VF-211)! Ray had never seen so many legendary squadrons all in one place. The incredible markings of early Tomcats and the missiles such as the AIM-54 below the bellies! As he watched the Tomcats circle and gather formation themselves. "Hey! You just cant give up like that your a fighter pilot! Even more a Tomcat pilot!" said the Jolly Rodgers pilot, "Yeah!" said the other pilots in unison. "How in the world did you get here!?" Ray asked, The pilot of the VF-111 Sundowners Tomcat laughed "We heard from some professor friend that you might need some help!". Ray remembered the task at hand, "Oh yeah...I doubt we can destroy that ship now….". "Don't talk like that!" said the pilot of the Tomcatter F-14, "I bet if we all work together then we can defeat the ship….we came prepared!". Sure enough all the new visitors had come with weapons to stop any military forces...bombs! Ray was excited again maybe if they all teamed up then the Super Yamato would finally be sunk! "Oh...but there is one more guy we are waiting for…" said the Sundowners pilot. Suddenly another bright flash of light appear out of nowhere! It was another F-14...but not just any F-14 this was the Tomcat flown by Lt. Pete Mitchell and his rear seat Goose! Maverick has arrived to the party! "Am I late?", asked Maverick with a smirk. "No! You are right on time! We need everyone's help though to stop the Yamato!" said Ray. Maverick understood the mission at hand and agreed with Goose.

The final battle was about to begin. Ray gathered up his squadron and grouped up with the new welcomed visitors. "Why don't you take the lead Ray?" said Maverick. Ray was shocked, here he was among all these legendary pilots and he was to lead them to battle!? Ray accepted Maverick's proposal and moved to the front of the large diamond formation. "OK everyone when we reach the Super Yamato drop all your ordinance and give the enemy all you got! I don't want to see anyone flying home with a missile attached!" exclaimed the Jolly Rodgers pilot. It was time to attack, the pilots shoved their throttles forward and headed back to the ship. BANG BANG BANG! The Super Yamato's final turret was giving it all it had! Maverick quickly moved his Tomcat out of the way, "Whoa! Everyone watch out for these shells!". RATATATATATATATTAT! The over 200 machine guns began firing away! "Crap! These stupid bullets hit me! I'm moving to the back, but I'm definitely not out!" shouted a pilot over the radio. The Tomcats were coming in closer and it was time to begin the countdown. "OK everyone on my count we drop and fire everything we have on us!" cried Ray, "ONE!" the Tomcats were coming closer, "TWO!" the Super Yamato was preparing another bombardment of shells, "THREE!….TOMCAT COMBAT POWER!". The pilot fired everything on board their aircraft, missiles, bombs and cannons. Ray fired his last missile at the ship, the blast ripped through the hull of the ship and exploded inside the hull! Bombs and other special items exploded and ripped the poor battleship to shreds. No one on earth had seen such a military air power performance like this battle. With the last Tomcats making their bomb runs, it had appeared the Super Yamato could not take anymore, it was finished. Ray pulled up on the stick and went vertical, he turned his head to see the last seconds of the super battleship. With the flag of the tyrants waving in the fiery disaster, the battleship exploded as thousands of steel plates and shrapnel exploded into the air! The ship had been sunk never to be seen again and it was made clear it was put to rest. As Ray continued up into his vertical he passed the clouds to see the sun above him. At the top of his lungs he shouted "From now on my name is Phoenix Sidewinder! Defender of the Fleet, and King of the Skies!"

FIN

Check out my new story: Tomcat Combat: The Next Generation on my profile it continues the story of Phoenix and maybe some new characters...