Chapter 7: Oceanic battles.
US/Japanese task force, 230 miles northwest Hawaii.
Tomonaga took a long deep breath as he saw the ships of both fleets assemble at the designated rendezvous from where they planned to block Godzilla's advance. As he watched the radar screen, his ship along with the two carriers stood in the center with the other Japanese and American destroyers surrounding the flagships in a circular formation. Farther away on the flanks lay more groups of US surface warships.
The submarines were not with them, instead they were busy pursing Godzilla across the Pacific and though they had already received close calls, the submariners kept their distance from the huge monster while monitoring his position. Tomonaga promised to thank the submariners later for their dreadful work after the end of the battle.
The admiral could not help but wonder at the irony of it all that now the Japanese fleet was near a location that sixty-five years ago was the site of his country's (if not the world) most infamous military operation. He mused at how time can suddenly change things before getting back to work.
In the pilot ready room of the Truman, Stevenson briefed his pilots on battling Godzilla. Though many were veterans, some were novice that though they had experienced combat in Afghanistan and 2003 Iraq war but unfortunately, the opposition was not as advanced as the dreaded air-defense systems of the former Soviet Union.
He ended the briefing by stating to his pilots, "What we will be facing here will make our entire experiences look pale in comparison". The CAG continued by stating that, "So don't take any unnecessary risks for once you're hit, you're dead". His eyes hardened as he looked over his pilots for the last time before yelling, "Dismissed". The pilots immediately rushed out of the briefing room and the CAG was the last one out, his face a mix of grim anger and sadness at what he was about to do as he headed to the flight deck. He briefly wondered how his comrades on the other two carriers in the area were fairing.
Hickam Air Force Base.
Ever since the field commanders on the ground broadcast the information of Godzilla heading straight for Hawaii, the US air force had been busy diverting air units for the defense and soon the runways filled with scores of F-15s, F-16s, and other aircraft along with scores of helicopters.
General Jonathan Reeves, commander of the US Pacific Air Forces, watched the runways as their crews fueled and armed the planes for combat. The air force commander had seen this scene many times before during his service in the air force but never on a scale such as this. He mused to himself, "I wonder how the old generals of World War II dealt with the fact that they were sending men out to die in exceptionally large numbers". Reeves set his thoughts aside when his aide entered the door and replied, "Sir, they're ready for you now"? The general took a deep breath before leaving the room and heading to meet with his pilots.
They were all busy having conversations with each other when the general entered the room and took to the podium. After observing his squadron leaders, Reeves started off by saying, "All of you here have been given the best training that the air force could ever provide and you've all proven yourselves to be in the service". He then paused before getting grimly serious, "Now all of those skills will be needed for the ultimate fight of our lives".
He then paused before continuing, "As you know several days ago that the world has been besieged by monsters and that these are the same ones or they're similar enough to the last century" "In fact one has already been spotted near the North Eastern United States and more importantly, the Japanese monster Godzilla is in the Pacific Ocean near the United States".
That produced small murmurs among the squadron commanders as they considered the after-action reports of the last war and how other units faired against the monster. Among the themes of the conversation of the fear of the damage the monster was capable of causing should he march on any of the grand cities of the world. Reeves allowed them to vent their thoughts for he had been having them himself ever since the news came in of the fleet's first attempt to stop the monster. He had come from the west coast and wondered if he could hold himself together if he had come upon the ruins of cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Honolulu ended up in the shape that modern war did to cities such as Sarajevo, Baghdad, and the numerous cities destroyed during World War II, especially Hiroshima and Nagasaki for they were destroyed by the very weapon that has spawned the new threat today.
When the general felt that his subordinates had vented their worries, he took charge of the argument, "Now that we've got that out of the way, we can talk about how we can hopefully prevent such a crisis from happening". He then turned to a virtual map displaying Hawaii and the Northern Pacific Ocean, "Elements of the 3rd and the 7th fleet along with JMSDF units are now deployed north of Hawaii in an attempt to block Godzilla" "Our job will be to shadow Godzilla and provide aerial support once he engages our forces".
Reeves then switched to statistics on how the air units were to proceed in the case Godzilla continued on his course towards to Hawaii, "Once Godzilla is spotted near either Hawaii or close to the West Coast, we're to launch an all out strike and support the defense". He then turned to his helicopter pilots and said, "To you pilots, you're important if all else fail and Godzilla truly does head to Hawaii you'll support the defense of the islands".
As the general paused, his face started to change to a mixture of sadness and it showed as he resumed his briefing, "I know what you're thinking right now and I don't blame you for feeling angry for what the higher ups are asking of us". Reeves then said, "But we swore an oath to the service and right now it really comes into play for we're facing a threat that could directly harm our homes any time it wished to attack us". He finished by saying, "Keep that in mind as you fight this day". He then left them all and immediately headed back to his office to await the news that he wanted to hear for it would mean that he could contribute something to the defense of humanity while fearing it for it would mean sending men out to die against incredible odds.
Near Kyushu and Okinawa.
While the world turned its attention to Hawaii and the next phase of battle against Godzilla, several fleet actions were also occurred, that though not as threatening in comparison to Godzilla, they assumed just as much importance. After the reports came in from Shanghai and the sighting of the fish-like monster now called Titanosauraus, the remaining Japanese and American fleets deployed in the area along with the Chinese Northern fleet and small elements from Korea and Taiwan as well. They were supported by air cover from Taiwan, China, and US bases in Japan and Korea.
Although the firepower of each task force was indeed impressive, the commanders of all three fleets knew that scale of the defense was against them. For though the battlefield was somewhat small, the two targets were capable of moving at exceptionally fast speeds and it was imperative to confront at least one of them with the largest amount of firepower available.
These thoughts haunted the mind of Captain Ben Callaghan as he scanned the ocean ahead of the USS Letye Gulf with his binoculars. His surface group, consisting of two other Ticonderoga class cruisers and several Arleigh Burke class destroyers, and a mix of Spruance and Perry class frigates sailed at a point three hundred miles west of Okinawa and 100 miles away from a task force sailing near a Chinese task force operating under the same rules of engagement.
Captain Ben Callaghan rubbed his eyes as he tried to adjust them to looking through his binoculars. He had been getting six hours of sleep in the last 36 hours ever the monster attacks began and though he prided himself on staying alert at all times, the fatigue was starting to hit his crew as well as himself exceptionally hard. Ever since leaving port, the task group had been at condition two and the crew had been at action stations constantly, only managing to catch one to two hours of sleep every shift. Many soon wondered when they were going to see some action since they felt left out while their comrades in the other corners of the world were busy fighting for their lives. Unknown to them, they would soon get their wish.
One hundred miles away, the Chinese task force was also conducting a search for the two creatures, especially the one called Manda since that kaiju had devastated one of China's grand cities and many in the Chinese armed forces were itching for payback. It had been a long fruitless such thus far, made more complicated by the order of having to help the other navies in regions search as well.
On the bridge of the Sovremenny class destroyers functioning as flagship of the task force, the Chinese admiral observing the sea in front of his force, when suddenly the sonar started to ping as it picked up an enormous object approaching form the southeast. The Chinese admiral immediately turned to the sonar operators and asked, "Can you give me any information on the target".
One of them turned and replied, "All I can tell you right now that it is a living thing and it's closing in on us". Swearing at the officer's lack of tact, the admiral yelled out, "Keep trying to get a fix on the target". He then turned and yelled out, "Contact the other fleet units and request air support immediately". Meanwhile his XO had already ordered action stations as the lights of the bridge turned red. As soon as everyone was at general quarters, the admiral turned to his XO, "Got in touch with headquarters yet"?
The XO nodded and said, "I've contacted fleet command and that air reinforcements should arrive over us in ten minutes". He paused before continuing, "The fleet reinforcements should meet up with us in thirty minutes".
Cursing his luck and remembering what the Japanese had told him, the admiral replied, "Alright then so lets put some distance between us and the target". The weapons officer immediately yelled out, "Prepare torpedoes for launch and follow it with a salvo of missiles". Meanwhile the admiral replied, "Get us some distance from the target and jump to flank speed immediately".
The ships in the task force immediately accelerated their engines to full power as they tried to gain distance from the approaching target. Meanwhile, the torpedo tubes on the deck turned towards the water and soon scores of Yu-7 torpedoes sped out of their housings.
On the sonar screens, everyone watched as the torpedoes headed towards their target, hoping that at least the damage would slow the target down for the other fleet groups to join up. Otherwise, those that had seen what had happened at Shanghai knew that their chances would be very slim.
Underwater, the fish-like monster, called Titanosaurus floated through the water as it searched for prey. Suddenly, the monster turned its face as it heard the sounds of torpedoes approaching it. Even though it tried to dodge, the torpedoes kept on its trail and eventually overwhelmed it.
The sonar systems on the ships suddenly turned to static as the shockwaves rumbled through the water around the task force. It lasted for a few minutes as the sonar operators tried to get a fix on the target. Meanwhile the admiral turned and asked about the ETA of the reinforcements. When he received the information, his face slumped down even further and he gritted his teeth in anger as he saw the target approaching from a far distance through the window, "Tell them to hurry up as soon as they can". Meanwhile, the helicopters on the ships took off and headed toward the monster's location to add their firepower into the fray.
The monster shook itself as it felt disoriented from the multiple explosions. After taking several more waves of torpedoes, the monster started to ascend to the surface of the ocean and within a few minutes, it soon smashed its way through the surface of the ocean with an ear-splitting scream. All turned in horror as they got a good look at the target they were facing and though it wasn't the one that they were looking for, it was a horrific looking sight. Without a second to lose, the Chinese admiral yelled out, "All batteries commence firing and signal command that we have engaged one of the monsters".
The ships started to launch a savage barrage of missile and torpedoes at the monster trailing behind them while continuing to sail farther away. The helicopters soon joined in as the sailors hoped that the firepower assembled could slow the monster down until help arrived.
Back on the Letye Gulf, Callaghan looked at the radar screen as it displayed the range of the group and the target. Already, the air around the bridge smelled with tension and worry as they sailed to the assistance of the Chinese task force. Callaghan turned to his XO and asked, "Are we going to get some assistance with us soon".
The XO nodded and replied, "Two flights of F-15s are already up and a squadron of P-3 Orion is being readied", "As for the Chinese, we've just got word that they've air units to join up with us as well".
His answer seemed to satisfy Callaghan who immediately yelled, "Can we start to launch missiles yet"? The weapons officer yelled out, "We've just entered into the range of the Tomahawks and the Harpoons". Callaghan hesitated for a moment before yelling out, "Launch missiles and deploy the Seahawks". The ship shook as the cruise missiles left their tubes and headed straight for their target. Soon, the Seahawk helicopters also lifted off from the Ticonderoga, Perry, and Spruance class warships into the air to join in the fight. As he watched Callaghan whispered what every one was thinking and what every US naval force said before it entered a hostile zone, "Where is a carrier when you need one"?
The Chinese task force was desperately trying to hold its ground as the monster dove back into the water and resumed its course. With few options left available to him, the Chinese commander yelled out, "Bring us around and prepare the main guns for firing".
The huge Russian destroyer turned hard to the right as it sought to bring its own weapons to bear on the monster. As soon as the guns acquired their target, they started to fire 130 mm shells into the monster's hide and the guns of the other ships soon joined in pouring fire onto the monster with their 100mm guns.
Titanosaurs roared in anger at the resistance the ships threw up and soon headed towards the ships, its thick, bumpy black-brown skin shrugging off the damage that the weapons of the ships inflicted on it.
The see-saw battle of distance between the monster and the Chinese task force soon started with the ships splitting off to prevent themselves from turning into a huge target. The Chinese fleet also split itself up and attacked from all sides to buy as much time for the others to link up and fortunately it would not be long in coming.
As the Chinese task force commander directed the fire of his ships against the monster, he heard one of the radar officers yell out, "Sir, I've detected cruise missiles heading into the area". All turned to watch as cruise missile fire from far off slammed into the monster, sending it staggering momentarily into the water. It soon rose back up but then more cruise missiles slammed into the monster.
Even as the others watched the unfolding spectacle, the communications net crackled with the sounds of the reinforcements, "This is the USS Letye Gulf to Chinese task force, and do you need assistance"? Swallowing his pride and admitting his thanks, the Chinese commander replied, "Thanks for the assistance Letye Gulf and yes the assistance is requested". The commander turned back to watch the battle as wave after wave of American missile fire continued to slam into the monster. Seeing that they may have a chance to survive, the Chinese admiral yelled out, "Return to the attack". Soon both fleets have surrounded the monster in a circle while dumping every weapon they have on it.
Clearly angered by the fire thrown up by the ships, the monster bellowed another roar before advancing on them while swinging its tail randomly. The tail soon transformed into a huge fan and the monster immediately started to swing it harshly around. Although they didn't realize it yet, the monster had just unleashed one of its most devastating weapons. Soon, small savage whirlpools developed in the ocean as the monster continued to swing its tail out in all directions. Unfortunately, the confidence of the fleets and the fact that the monster did not have any long range weapons prevented them seeing that very danger.
The helicopter pilots had their own problems to worry about since they didn't carry as much firepower as that of the aircraft and also they were flying pretty low over the water, thereby exposing them to stray fire from the ships.
Their troubles soon multiplied when Titanosauraus suddenly ceased movement of its tail and turned its head skyward. Suddenly to the shock of all who saw the event, the monster suddenly leapt out of the water towards the helicopters. Though most managed to scatter, some were too slow and the pilots paid for it with their lives as the monster slammed its body down on the helicopters, causing them to explode in huge fireballs. Stunned by the sight, the other helicopters commenced evasive maneuvers to ensure that they would really live longer against the creature.
With the decrease in aerial firepower, Titanosarus turned back to the ships and continued to swing its tail again at a much faster speed and soon the seas started to turn rough. Maneuverability soon became difficult as waves slammed against the waves with heavy force.
As the Letye Gulf shook with the waves slamming against her, Captain Ben Callaghan realized that they were in trouble. His XO voiced all their thoughts as he yelled out to the engine room, "Try to gain us some distance form the target". The ship and her sisters struggled to sail clear of the artificial whirlpools developed by the monster's tail.
On the Sovremny, the Chinese commander swore at the developing situation and also attempted to undertake similar natures. While his ship was a good distance away, some of the other ships were closer to the battle zone and therefore in closer danger to the monster.
Having enough of the barrage, the fish-like monster marched onto the smaller ships in the fleet, while shells and missiles from the fleet engulfed it in fire. It soon advanced close enough to the ships to attack them directly and due to the chaotic movement of the sea battlefield and it soon does by grabbing one of the Areligh Burke destroyers. All watched in horror as the monster slammed its arms onto the steel hull and within seconds turned the upper superstructure into a savage mess. Already crewmembers were starting to abandon ship as the monster continued to attack the destroyer and it soon sank to the bottom. Having tasted blood, Titanosauras turned to the other ships and proceeded to inflict the same damage onto the other vessels. In twenty minutes, another Areligh Burke destroyer along with a Perry and three Chinese Jiangwei class were sinking to the bottom and the surviving crews struggling to reach their comrades.
The Chinese task force commander swore at the sight and was about to order all ships to regroup when one of the officers yelled out, "Sir, the aerial reinforcements have arrived". Feeling at last a chance of personal survival, the commander yelled, "Tell them to commence attack and cover us".
The fighters, Su-30s immediately broke positions and dove down at the monster with every weapon they had. If the fire from the ships was devastating enough, the combination soon turned the area around the monster into an inferno. Unfortunately, that didn't have much effect on the monster as it continued to advance.
Callaghan snarled and said to himself, "What does it take to bring this thing down"? He swore as he continued to direct his forces, knowing full well that his ships, well any modern ships, with the exception of the JMSDF could not handle such combat as this. His XO replied out loud, "Sooner or later we'll run out of ammunition and I don't want to be here when it happens". Callaghan nodded at the ugly thought and yelled out, "Order all ships to pull back in preparation for withdrawal".
The American ships immediately sped up to flank speed as they reformed around the Letye Gulf. Although the commander had sent the warning to his Chinese counterpart, there was a mix up in communications and due to the nature of the combat, confusion started to reign and the firepower decreased for such a dangerous window that the monster managed to bring its body close again to the ships.
The ships immediately resumed fire but it was too late as the monster literally jumped out of the water and then body slammed itself onto the upper superstructure of one of the Chinese Luda class destroyers. Both the bow and the stern bent upward as the weight of the monster cut the destroyer in half. Roaring in victory, the monster turned to the other warships and started to advance towards them.
As the leader of the American flight group watched the battle below, he shuddered at the sight of the monster somehow gaining the upper hand even though the naval fleets delivered their fire at long range. Checking his weapons, the flight leader yelled out to the aircraft, "Form up and get ready to dump everything you have on that bastard". When the F-15s and Su-27s formed up, the pilot yelled out, "Attack with fangs out". Though the Chinese were somewhat confused, the moment they saw the Americans dove down at full speed, they soon followed in as well.
As Titanosauraus feasted on a new victim, fire from the aircraft soon pelted it again, this allowed its prey to escape. In anger, the monster immediately jumped upward from the ocean at a speed that shocked the pilots and it was only due to their training that they escaped the sudden retaliation. The American flight commander immediately activated his comm. system and yelled out, "Letye Gulf, what are your intentions"?
On the bridge, it took a while for Callaghan to respond but he managed to find the radio and yelled out, "Thank you for the assistance and keep up the covering fire in preparation for a retreat". He then yelled out, "Get me the commander of the Chinese task force"? As soon as he got online, the captain yelled out, "This is the Letye Gulf to Chinese flagship, do you receive"?
The voice on the other end of the line replied in the affirmative and asked, "How are your forces faring"? The captain looked back at the radar screen displaying his force before replying, "We're holding our own but it can't last much longer". He heard the Chinese man swore on the other line before saying, "I'm starting to loose ships left and right"? Though that was partially an overstatement, the American understood and replied, "Perhaps we should get out of here"? There was a pause on the line before the Chinese commander replied, "All right, commence retreat". Everyone on the bridge took a deep breath in gratitude for the sight of people dying in large scores had shredded their courage into pieces.
The ships immediately started to turn around and their helicopters took up positions at the rear guard while they pelted the monster with firepower. By now the aircraft, having run out of ammunition, took up positions over the taskforce as it sailed away from the monster.
Titanosauraus looked on as the fleet retreated from its sight. After exhaling a deep breath in victory, the monster dove back down into waves and resumed its course.
As the Letye Gulf steamed away, Callaghan turned to his XO and replied, "Send to command that we have engaged one of the monsters and have been beaten back, what are your orders"? While the officer walked off, the captain wondered how everything was going in Hawaii and wishing he could be there right now.
Istanbul, Turkey.
The capital of Turkey had seen its fair share of battles throughout the history of warfare though thankfully, it hadn't witness up close and personal the modern wars of today with perhaps the exception of the war of terrorism. During the insurgency war in Iraq, the Turkish government had to deal with problems of its own Kurdish population as well as Al-Qaeda and already bombs had gone off in the capital as well as kidnappings. Despite this and all of the usual things that happen in a city, it managed to escape some of the worst. However, the new war developing on the globe would also soon touch the city and already evacuations were underway.
At the airports and the dockyards, riots already had broken out as terrified civilians struggled to escape the city before it turned into a battlefield. Even the military assisted in the evacuation despite the fact that it diverted desperately needed resources needed to the defense of the city. Fortunately, help from the nations of the European Union arrived as ground forces patrolled the streets and ships from Italy, Spain, France, and Russia were sailing in the Black Sea as they waited to engage the monster now heading straight at them and the city itself. Meanwhile, airbases in the area already had their planes lined up and ready to take off once the target appeared.
On the flagship of the EU task force, the French Aircraft Carrier Charles De Gaulle, the commander of the task force, Admiral Marcel De Alister looked over the situation reports as the fleet readied itself for battle. After a few minutes he looked around at his crew preparing themselves for the fight ahead before issuing his orders, "Set condition one and organize the fleet into battle formation". The flagship immediately transmitted the order to the rest of the fleet and soon the mixed forces of ships positioned themselves into formation with the frigates, destroyers and the submarines at the front and the carrier Charles De Gaulle in the rear of the whole group. Overhead, scores of Rafale, F-35 JSFs, Tornados, and Su-27 Flankers provided the air cover as they waited for the monster to appear.
Underwater, the huge lobster monster Ebirah moved through the water towards the EU blockading fleet at maximum speed. It had already encountered fleet units from the surrounding areas and brushed them aside in search of prey. Now it sensed enormous prey close by and was ready for whatever humanity could throw at it.
The submarines waited apprehensively as their sonar systems tried to acquire the target. Fortunately, they didn't wait long as the sonar picked up the monster and the information relayed to the flagship. Without a second to lose, the French admiral replied, "Commence the attack".
The submarines launched a full wave of torpedoes at the target, and the destroyers, frigates, and ASW aircraft soon joined in with their own. The number of torpedoes ensured that the monster could not avoid them all. Multiple torpedoes slammed into the creature with savage force, sending monster spiraling backward into the ocean floor. It immediately righted itself and as another wave of torpedoes bored straight in, the monster swung up its huge claws as a shield and the torpedoes exploded away from the body of the monster as the claws struck them, in fact sometimes knocking them off course. The monster easily avoided the torpedoes and resumed its original course towards the EU fleet.
The bridges of the ships became tense as they saw the monster dodge the firepower thrown up the submarines and aircraft. The target soon closed in on the submarine barrier and the horrid sounds of men dying started filtering through while the submarine marks on the radar started to disappear. The temperature on the bridge became colder the moment another submarine disappeared and soon five were already sent to the bottom with the rest fighting for their lives. Admiral Alistair immediately yelled out, "Order our submarines to break off and send our destroyers into the fray".
The lobster monster yelled out in glee as it feasted on its victims. As a French Rubis Amethyste class submarine attempted to escape, the monster brought its right claw up and swung it down hard on the sub, the force of the hit, combined with the pressure ripping the titanium steel opened. The sub spiraled downward toward the ocean floor as the monster turned to see the submarines gaining distance and large shapes hovering over the water heading toward the beast. Soon the monster roared in anger and annoyance as depth charges rained down on it. It ascended the water and soon rose to the surface to see a ring of ships surrounding it with their guns pointing at it.
The huge lobster soon began its advance and the ships put up a deadly barrage in the hope of delaying its advance from Istanbul. Gun shells, torpedoes, and missiles exploded all around the creature, pelting it without explosive and turning the water into an inferno. After launching their opening volley, the ships split off into different formations to attack the monster from all sides.
The lobster roared in anger as it found its path block. It moved its huge claws wildly in an attempt to strike at its assailants. Though the firepower blinded the monster and provided a curtain of safety for the warships, they still had to deal with the sudden rough seas and waves generated by Ebriah. The monster used its claws to slam away any torpedoes before they armed themselves.
The bridge crews watched with worry as the monster fought its way through their defenses. Ships immediately started to iniate evasive actions to avoid the wild swings of the claws of the monster. At first, the sight of numerous targets confused the monster and the ships used that to their advantage to attack from all sides. Soon the international fleet created a ring of steel around the monster with warships and subs.
The lobster dove back down into the ocean and started to maneuver towards the submarines. Seeing this, the ships immediately started firing depth charges in order to cover their submarines as they tried to escape but in the monster's agitated state, they turned into the prey.
The monster immediately threw its claws towards the submarines and they barely avoided it with deft maneuvering. Some immediately discharged decoys in order to blind the area around the monster while trying to escape. Unfortunately, the monster easily waded through and threw its claws out again.
This time, the monster was much more successful as it caught one of the Russian Akula class submarines sailing too close to the monster. The monster immediately started to crush the sub and within a few minutes, the titanium hull disintegrated under the monster's assault.
The sight of the Akula being crushed in front of them sent shivers down the spines of the other submarines since they clearly did not want to die in that particular horrible fashion. The sub captains immediately iniated different countermeasures in the hope of fooling the monster but it was useless as the creature suddenly bolted itself towards them at a viciously fast speed.
The submarine crews sweated profusely as they battle the monster and hoped that they wouldn't get caught in the claws of the monster. Unfortunately, the subs fought in close quarters and when they were moving at flank speed, they could not launch torpedoes for it prevented the sonar system from getting an accurate lock, thereby decreasing their firepower and chances for survival. Soon, the monster's claws ripped several more submarines open and sent them to the bottom.
The destroyers and the frigates immediately rushed in to assist the submariners but all that did was turn them into other targets for the monster's claws as they circled the area, firing depth charges and torpedoes towards the monster. Since the monster was underwater, they could not use their main weapons and soon their firepower decreased as they ran out of ammunition.
Seeing all of the targets above it, Ebriah immediately picked one and thrust its claws outward. Any unfortunate warship would first see the huge claw right beneath it on both sides and then the claw would close in around the ship, snapping it in half. The monster sank other ships by literally using one of its claws to smash through the hull from below and dragging it to the bottom with all hands. The sight of such horrors broke the morale of the commanders in the area and they decided to retreat on their volition. All this was to create more confusion, a proven recipe for disaster on the battlefield.
Admiral Alistar winced in horror as the news from the destroyers filtered back. He turned to his air officers and roared at them, "Where is the air support I requested"?
The air commanders looked ashen as they tried to explain the problem, "Sir the monster seems to operate underwater most of the time and most of our aircraft aren't capable of carrying torpedoes". Alistair swore and looked back at the radar screen which showed his losses of three destroyers, five frigates, and six submarines of various types. Knowing what they said was correct; the admiral came to a decision, "All units break off, set course for Istanbul and warn the city of the target's approach".
The naval units tried to extricate themselves but it was difficult and before they managed to escape with the help of desperately needed air support, two more destroyers and another submarine joined their wrecked sisters at the ocean floor. Once they got clear, the ships headed towards the threatened city and its straits in order to get out before the monster arrived. Seeing that there were no more targets, the monster resumed its course towards the city that served as a gateway between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. They barely made it before Ebriah arrived and under the cover of ground forces, they moved through the Bosporus straits. As Alistair looked back at the sight of the monster, he yelled out, "Order all units to assume covering position and ready cruise missiles. He swore to himself that he was not going to abandon the defenders of the city.
Pacific Ocean, 230 miles north of Pearl Harbor.
Tomonaga was in his room catching up on paperwork when the intercom screamed out, "Admiral's presence on the bridge". He immediately put his work away and ran from his quarters to the bridge, reaching it in 10 minutes. Already the room became crowded and the admiral sensed something in the air. Captain Akiyama confirmed the mood when he walked to the admiral, his face grim. The admiral immediately asked, "Has he been spotted"?
Akiyama nodded and briefed him in while pointing at the radar map, "One of the satellites spotted a heat trail and the US military command at Pearl Harbor coordinated their search assets into the area and they soon spotted him heading for the northern tip of Oahu". He then turned towards the admiral and replied to him, "I've already put the fleet on full alert and the American commanders have already put their fleets to action stations".
Tomonaga nodded in thanks and walked to the main seat and activated the main communications system that linked him with the fleets, "All ships, assume blocking positions according to Operation plans two". It meant that the fleet would attempt to make an all out attack; drive Godzilla away and hopefully inflict a crushing defeat on the monster. All knew though that such a plan exposed them to fighting the monster at point blank range and that meant a large number of casualties.
As the fleet sped to the rendezvous point, the crews of the ships readied from when they spotted the monster and launched to an attack. On the flight decks, the crews fueled and armed their aircraft while the pilots waited in their ready rooms for the order to launch and attack. Already, SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and the Los Angeles and Japanese submarines operated forward as part of a picket screen.
Even though everyone had a job to do, their still glued their attention to the radios for the first sign of the discovery of their target and it was not long in waiting as one of the P-3 Orions yelled out over the communications net, "Target spotted bearing course 280 degrees at a speed of 35 knots". It then paused before continuing on, "Target will enter range in ten minutes".
On the bridge of the Stennis, Admiral Campbell and Captain Boxer winced at the report as they knew from experience from the battle up north that this was going to get very ugly. Without a second to lose, the admiral turned and yelled out, "Signal all carriers to launch immediately and put all defenses on alert". Boxer winced but held his peace knowing that they needed as much firepower as they could get their hands on and with all of the firepower already assembled, a carrier's defenses might seem small but it could mean all of the difference". The crew carried out the order as the huge nuclear carrier and the fleet steamed off to meat a prehistoric 20th century nightmare head on.
Godzilla was on the surface of the ocean, searching with his eyes, noise, and ears for any sign of trouble. After the P-3 Orions spotted him, Godzilla rose up to the surface and continued his advance without any resistance. However that was to soon change as the Orions shadowed him and relayed his position to the flagships. Godzilla growled at the planes but resumed his advance.
In the CIC and radar rooms aboard the fleet units, the operators watched intensely as the fleet closed in on the target. Their hands started to sweat as the distance ever constantly decreased and the range of their weapons started to close. It didn't help that the admirals of the fleet were looking over their shoulders.
Admiral Tomonaga watched the radar screen for a few more minutes before turning to Akiyama and as soon as their eyes made contact, the admiral nodded and the captain turned to the weapons officer to signal, "All units commence firing".
The cruisers and destroyers became engulfed in smoke and flame as they launched a mix of Tomahawks, Harpoons, and retrofitted SM-2 missiles towards the monster. The cruise missiles skimmed the water with the other missiles flying right above them. From the vantage point of the pilots in the air, they were impressed at the sight and somewhat grateful that they never had to fly through something like that.
Godzilla continued to wade through the water but then he suddenly ceased his advance and moved into a defensive posture as if he sensed danger heading towards him. His ears and eyes soon verified that thought as the monster turned to see the sight of numerous missiles heading towards him. His back charged up and he fired his radioactive breath down at the water, igniting some of the missiles. Fortunately, the missile barrage filled the sky and soon pelted Godzilla in an inferno of explosions. Though the weapons did not throw the monster back into the water, the explosions stunned him but only for a few moments before he charged his back again and started firing several blasts of his atomic ray at the sky. If his had been more accurate, he would have discovered the scores of aircraft gathering to engage him.
The radioactive saurian stood his ground and after the smoke from the first full volley cleared, the monster roared in a mix of victory and arrogance at his unseen opponents. Swinging his tail up high in the air, the monster roared out in challenge before resuming course.
The pilots winced at the sight and immediately the squadron leaders started screaming in over the command net to be allowed to attack. Tomonaga, looking at the radar screen of the distance of the combined fleet towards Godzilla, replied, "Wait, we're moving into position".
The CAG of the Lincoln, Commander Jay Barnes immediately got on the radio and yelled out, "If we don't attack him now, he's either going to go back underwater or spot us and start taking us out". The voice on the other end of the line replied calmly, "Hold your ground and wait for the signal". Seeing that there was no other choice the commander of the air group sat down in his seat and waited for the order to attack.
Admiral Tomonaga turned to his weapon's officer and asked, "Can our lead ships start shooting yet".
The weapons officer replied back, "Our lead ships will be in range within five minutes while the submarines can fire in two minutes". He paused before continuing, "The missile launchers though have be reloaded and are ready to shoot".
Tomonaga looked back at the screen before he made a decision, "Tell all units weapons free and you are cleared to engage". He then turned to watch as the crew of the Aegis destroyer and the rest of the fleet engage in battle.
Even though they knew the odds were against them, most of the pilots breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that now they could try to contribute to the defense. Led by their air group commanders, the fighters dove down at the monster while firing everything they had against him. Soon more explosions engulfed Godzilla and before he managed to fire rounds of his atomic breath, the enormous group of fighters split off into their sections, thereby preventing too good a target for the monster's breath.
Godzilla thrashed his body around in the water so that he could kill some of the fighters and gain breathing room but fortunately, every time they flew close by to fire their Maverick missiles, the Hornets immediately dove out of the way before returning to the attack with their Vulcan 20 millimeter machine guns.
Under water in the Uzushio, Captain Zurabachi fretted nervously as his sub prepared itself for battle. While knowing the risks, he and everyone else wanted to get into the fight for they all felt that it would be better to stop Godzilla here and now instead of waiting for the kaiju to march on Japan. Fortunately he did not have to wait long as the weapons control station yelled out that all tubes had been loaded. Sighing to himself, the captain yelled out, "Commence the attack".
The sub shook as she fired HU-603b 533 millimeter torpedoes and the other subs soon followed with a volley of HU-603bs and Mark 48s against the monster. As soon as the last torpedo left its tube, the submarines accelerated to flank speed while their crews hurried reloaded more torpedoes to fire at the monster.
Godzilla roared angrily at his attackers and started flailing his body around in order to get rid of his assailants. He started to move forward even though the American and Japanese forces pounded him relentlessly.
As he pulled his F/A-18F Super Hornet up from an attack run, Captain Stevenson cursed at the ineffectiveness of the fire the combined forces were putting up. As soon as he flew up right next to one of the Hornets from the Lincoln, he immediately radioed its, "Hey Jay, it's me".
The voice on the other end yelled out, "Sorry we could get a chance to talk about recent events". Stevenson laughed before turning serious, "Looks like our firepower isn't having an effect at either hurting him or trying to slow him down". Jay nodded and replied, "Damm we better do something quick or else we'll have a catastrophe on our hands", "Any ideas"?
Stevenson only said, "We continue the attack and hope that Godzilla doesn't decide to fry us for pissing him off".
Despite the insanity and the seriousness of the situation, the Lincoln's CAG laughed and replied, "Let's gather our squadrons together perhaps that will attract his attention". The two F/A-18Fs peeled off to join their comrades attacking Godzilla with every weapon at their disposal.
Meanwhile, the airfields of Oahu were a beehive of activity as the pilots rushed to their planes and air controllers directed them to the runway. Reeves watched the sight from his office and knowing what the monster was capable of asked himself quietly, "How many letters will I have to write this time".
Godzilla had finally had enough of the hit and run attacks. Charging his back, he immediately started firing wave after wave of atomic blasts. Though the explosions prevented him from using his main weapon correctly, the fighters and submarines still had to dodge when they saw his back light up. Those that flew close to the random blue-fire shots launched by Godzilla counted their blessings and their thanks that all soldiers do to lady luck during battle.
After flying in for another attack run, Stevenson pulled back up to a safe distance to observe the attack. What he saw started to worry. Though the fighters and submarines were putting up magnificent resistance, they operated on limited ammunition and while the planes could fly to Hawaii to reload, the submarines did not have that opportunity. Putting that thought aside, he radioed to his subordinates, "Regroup and attack from the rear". He turned to see Barnes issuing the same orders to the Lincoln's planes.
Godzilla soon blinked in surprise as the fighters suddenly broke off but before he dove back down, more torpedoes struck at him from all sides. Roaring in anger, Godzilla charged his back for a long time before firing his atomic breath. Keeping the breath up, he circled it around himself. The blast was exceptionally powerful enough to heat the water up and the sound sent chills down the spine of the submariners, who realized that their ships were nuclear powered. Though Godzilla wasn't hungry at the moment, the thought bothered them all.
Godzilla roared out in annoyance and continued his advance but the military forces were just taking a breather as he looked at the sky and spotted even more fighters. He instantly fired his atomic breath at the sky, killing some of the new arrivals and forcing them to break formation. The fighters immediately discharged their bombs on the monster, covering him in even more smoke and flame.
Admiral Tomonaga and Admiral Campbell watched the battle on the radar screen. Both immediately hoped that the subs and the aircraft could hold off long enough for the fleet to arrive.
As Tomonaga observed the proceedings, the weapons officer came up to him and said, "Sir we're in range". Tomonaga nodded and the weapons officer turned out to yell, "All ships commence firing".
The forward guns of the surface ships immediately aimed at the monster and began to fire steel-jacked shells into the monster's skin. Soon they added in torpedo fire, which streaked by the submarines to impact on Godzilla head on.
The monster roared angrily at the increased resistance and immediately charged up his back to use his atomic breath but the fire directed at his head prevented him from getting a clear shot. However, the sight of the blue flame of death did much to worry everyone since they all wondered if it was their day to die. Also everyone knew that the force had a limited amount of ammunition and in modern warfare, armies devour ammunition voraciously.
That fact particularly hit the carrier pilots that had been fighting for the past three hours. Most had already discharged all of their missiles and now resorted to guns despite the fact they had less punch than cruise missiles. Both CAGs knew this and made this fact know to their respective carriers. After long deliberations, Admiral Campbell replied out loud, "Order all carrier aircraft to head for Pearl Harbor and signal the airfields to be ready to receive them".
When both CAGs received the news, they breathed a sight of relief but then Stevenson admitted out loud, "Do you think that they can hold them off"?
Byrnes replied back, "I don't really know all we can do is land, get our planes rearmed and get back into the fight". That made perfect sense and the two CAGs resumed gathering their air groups along with planes from Hawaii that had already used up all their ammunition".
As they watched the planes retreat from the battle zone, the commanders wondered how long they could hold Godzilla since it was becoming clear that the massive firepower assembled wasn't having any effect. In fact Campbell immediately got on the line to the Kirishima and asked, "Admiral, we have a huge problem here".
Tomonaga replied somewhat hastily, "I don't know but we have to think of something very quickly". Another line from one of the submarines opened up and Tomonaga immediately switched and asked angrily, "Can this wait"?
Captain Zurabachi, unfazed by the admiral's anger, replied angrily, "Sir we're running out of torpedoes and we haven't even slowed the monster down". Tomonaga cursed himself for thinking that and he asked, "How many torpedoes do you and the subs have left"? There were a few seconds of silence before the commander of the submarine force replied, "Between all the subs, we each have four to five torpedoes apiece".
Tomonaga cursed and then suddenly an explosion caught his attention as well as that of the bridge crew. They turned to see an Areligh Burke destroyer go up in flames. Then, they saw to their horror that Godzilla charged his back up for another even more devastating blast. The ships immediately started to maneuver but it made no difference as Godzilla first directed the blast towards the water and then dragged it.
The blast first sliced through a Perry class destroyer and then it sliced through two Mursame class Japanese destroyers before finishing with another Areligh Burke class destroyer. When the last of the victims sank, the color drained from their faces and Tomonaga immediately knew that they could not hold Godzilla here any longer. He turned and yelled out, "All sections break off and regroup and signal Hawaii of what has happened".
The fleet immediately reversed course with many ships initiating hard turns while trying to keep Godzilla's head blind. Also, all aircraft in the air dove back down into the attack, emptying all of their ammunition on the monster's skin in order to inflict some form of damage on him and to keep his attention pinned on them and not on the ships.
With the firepower starting to decrease, Godzilla immediately started charging his back for more shots and what resulted was as massacre as the monster started torching his opponents left and right. Within minutes, 20 more aircraft littered the water and those that managed to dodge his shots looked out their cockpits in horror at the devastation starting to emerge.
Bruce Campbell cursed at the sight as he saw the monster murdering his comrades. Though his ship was a huge carrier with negligible weapons for self defense, he wanted to get back in and help. Henry Boxer shared his thoughts and fortunately he could find a more realistic solution to get back into the fight as he radioed Hawaii for updates on the status of the Stennis's air group.
Seeing his foes feeling, Godzilla roared in victory and dived back down into the water. Fearing that the subs had not gotten away yet, Tomonaga yelled out, "All ships launch every torpedo that you have left and then run for it".
The monster headed towards the retreating submarines when his ears picked up the sounds of torpedoes. His face winced in annoyance as the torpedoes slammed into him. Though the munitions only injured and distracted Godzilla for a few seconds, every second meant that the subs had a larger chance of getting away and surviving and all knew it. After seeing the torpedoes halt Godzilla and the distance growing between him and the subs, Zurabachi promised to thank Tomonaga later for trying to hold Godzilla off even if it meant more losses on the surface.
As the fleet sped away to the rendezvous point, everyone wondered out loud about their chances of surviving direct confrontations with a force such as that. Both American and Japanese fleet commanders immediately sent off their reports to their superiors. Although it differed in small places, everyone in Washington or Tokyo who read the message understood the gist of what was to become a very common and depressing report for the duration of this crisis.
"Have engaged Godzilla and have suffered heavy losses" "Please send reinforcements".
Next: The space monsters land.
PS: What cities should they destroy. Oh and sorry about the long naval battles in this one.