Rina was in front of the command centre which was an underground railway station. It said 'KLCC' on the blue sign on top with a 'rapidKL' sign next to it. It was dirty from dirt that has been blown up by bombing. Opposite the station was a twin sliver skyscraper, with a broken sky bridge, broken windows and blown up floors. The roads were no more than holes and pock marks on the ground. Some charred vehicles littered the streets. A PT-90 and a Leopard II drove by, banging through the charred vehicles like they were no obstacle. Smoke filled the grey sky, looking as though it was going to pour rain today. Rina entered the station. Down below, there were officers walking around with papers, officers meeting up with their seniors and officers manning the electronic devices and computers. At the centre of the entire racket was a table where two commanders were debating on the next plan of attack.
"Commander Patrick, I really do not agree with the strategy you just propose. It looks like you just pulled it out from a Real Time Strategy game," commented Zulkifli.
"But hey, it works. Just because it came out from a Real Time Strategy game doesn't mean it can't work," replied the commander. His back was facing Rina so she couldn't identify this commander. Zulkifli noticed Rina's presence and called her in.
"Ah, Commander Rina. Come. I want you to meet our finest commander on the field, Commander Patrick Lam," said Zulkifli as he introduced the commander.
"Welcome. Come to the table. Tell Zulkifli that my strategy is fool-proof," said Patrick. He wore a plain green shirt with a 4-star badge pinned on the left side of his shirt, quite a tall build and was no older than 20. Rina came forth to the table. She saw a map with some lines that came out from the main peninsular, pointing straight to Australia.
"And what is this strategy that blows tops?" asked Rina.
"He's planning to send the last of our defensive navy to Australia as a diversion to make them pull troops out of Indonesia. But we do not know whether it works or the Nationalists find opportunity to strike the mainland while their Australian Navies rape our only naval defensive measure," explained Zulkifli, sighing after finishing his speech.
"Hey, I didn't get 4 stars for nothing. It will work," said Patrick.
"Well, it could possibly work," said a voice from behind. They all turned and saw this Chinese guy who was about the same age as Patrick. Patrick was happy to see him.
"Wilson, you finally arrived and agreed on this strategy," said Patrick, welcoming him like an old friend. Zulkifli saluted at him.
"Commander Wilson," said Zulkifli. Rina saluted at him too. Wilson saluted back and walked towards the table.
"But we can make it less painful. Do we still have our subs?" asked Wilson. Zulkifli called on the Intel officer and he replied back.
"All of the subs have been placed in the Indian Ocean," said Zulkifli.
"Are you sure?" asked Wilson. Zulkifli asked the Intel officer again.
"Yes," replied Zulkifli.
"How about the RSS Kuan Yew?" asked Wilson. Zulkifli and the Intel officer gave blank looks. Wilson sighed.
"Call the radio at 09456 at 72kHz. Put them through in the conference room," commanded Wilson. Zulkifli instructed the Intel officer to adjust to that frequency and they all entered the conference room. When they entered the conference room, all they see was static on the projector. The Intel officer dialed for a while but the static continued.
"It seems that it doesn't exist," commented Zulkifli.
"Just wait, commander," replied Wilson. Suddenly the static became clearer. A picture started to appear.
"RSS Kuan Yew reporting," said the voice. The static cleared and an admiral appeared.
"RSS Kuan Yew, this is Commander Wilson Cheah of the South East Asian Naval force from KL command. Please state your position," said Wilson.
"Our position is 5° South of Singapore, sir," replied the admiral.
"I never knew such ship existed," commented Zulkifli.
"Of course you don't. It's Singapore's first out of five nuclear subs capable of carrying nuclear warheads," replied Wilson. Zulkifli had his eyes open, surprised. Wilson looked at Zulkifli again.
"Hey, it's not like you have three miniature nuclear-powered aircraft carriers hiding in the Langkawi docks," said Wilson. Zulkifli's face turned sour.
"You will not speak of those crafts," warned Zulkifli.
"Yes, I can. The High Commander persists on their use," said Wilson, showing a golden 'keris' with the royal emblem on it.
"The Agong approves on it?" asked Zulkifli, totally shocked. Then he sighed.
"They are yours to command." Zulkifli asked the Intel officer to dial the frequency.
"If you told me you had aircraft carriers, I wouldn't have to suggest that outrageous strategy," commented Patrick. Zulkifli rubbed his forehead as the Intel officer dialed for the frequency for the aircraft carriers. Three faces appeared on the projector.
"Admiral Muthu of KD Selangor reporting with two of her sister ships, Admiral Derek Chong of KD Pulau Pinang and Admiral Rafi of KD Melaka," said the Indian admiral.
"Admirals, the Agong has spoken. You are now officially operational. You will be under the command of Commander Wilson Cheah," said Zulkifli before handing Wilson a thumb drive.
"This is the only thing that commands them and approves all their launches," said Zulkifli.
"Right men, let's get to business," said Wilson Cheah as the frequency was disengaged.
"Now to draw a new plan," commented Patrick as he started thinking.
Rina sat, holding her legs tightly on the deck of KD Selangor, the newest aircraft carrier of the Coalition's arsenal, which was off the coast of Singapore. The aircraft carrier was fairly big; still smaller than normal aircraft carrier but bigger than a destroyer. Its sister ships, KD Pulau Pinang and KD Melaka, were heading towards Borneo and the Philippines. The deck of the aircraft carrier was empty; just a runway and the 'island', where the brains of the ship are. A light breeze caressed Rina's face and hair. The sun dimmed as it sank into the sea for the night. Arthuria came out from the 'island' and sat next to Rina.
"How're you feeling?" asked Arthuria.
"Relaxed. I always loved to stay by the ocean. The gentle breeze, the clear waters; a seaside hill would be better," replied Rina.
"Me too. My parents always bring me and my sister along to the beach during the summer, at the southern coast of England. We miss those carefree days ever since….."
"Yeah, I understand. I was thinking that after the war, my brother and I will go and live on an island. Not so desolate, but an island where we can enjoy the views of the seas."
"How about Okinawa? I heard it's the place where old people go to live after retirement."
"No, they don't. But still a good choice to go. Maybe I should go ask the twins."
"Which one?"
"Saya and Diva, duh. They've been living there for most of their lives."
"Oh."
"Still a dream, though. When this war is over, I'll find someone to settle with and go to the beaches."
"It's kinda romantic, huh?"
"Yeah, sure does."
"Anyway, dinner time is now in the quarters. Are you coming in?"
"You go ahead. I'll stay a while here a bit longer." Arthuria walked back into the 'island' while Rina continued to look at the setting sun. She smiled a bit before getting up and getting inside the ship.
A transport helicopter was on standby on the deck. Rina and her team ran into the helicopter and a soldier shut the doors. The helicopter lifted itself from the empty deck and started flying to the island of Sumatra. After that, the deck at the back of the ship opened like a door; out came little UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) capable of attacking ground and air-based targets. Five UCAVs escorted the helicopter to the drop site while other UCAVs flew in a formation to a target far away from the drop site.
"Your mission objective is to locate the 6th Australian rangers in the jungles. Once you've made contact, you will assault the main base in Palembang," said the soldier in the helicopter. The team nodded and got ready. But then the helicopter started swerving left and right.
"Nationalist jets. Hold on tight!" said the pilot as he dived down. On the outside, the Nationalist jets were in pursuit of the helicopter, but then were surprised by the UCAVs. They were shot down and the drones flew through the smoke trails they left behind. The other Nationalist jets were surprised at the capability of the UCAVs; thinking they were manned aircraft rather than drones. The dogfight between the might of the Nationalist air force and the Eurasian drones continued as the helicopter slid in and lay low above the jungle canopy. The helicopter then arrived at a small clearing near the Musi River. The river rippled as the downdraft of the helicopter blades kept the helicopter hovering. The girls dropped their equipment at the end of their rope before following soon after. Rina was the last to disembark the hovering chopper; a Nationalist Apache helicopter came past and fired at it. The girls who were at the ground hid behind some trees. The Eurasian helicopter swerved to evade the bullets and Rina was dangling helplessly on the rope; her right hand got trapped on the twined rope that was wrapped around her hand so that she would not slide down too quickly. She was stuck halfway to the ground, which was still at least 15 feet.
"Rina!" exclaimed Saya as Rina tried to free herself as she got thrown around like a ball of yarn being hit by a playing kitten under the chopper. The pilot noticed Rina got stuck on the rope and started to descend. But the Nationalist chopper passing by launched missiles at the helicopter; the helicopter was forced to pull up. Rina pulled out the knife from the pouch on her left leg and started to cut the rope. Diva saw that she was still too high to jump to the ground; she aimed her scope on the windshield of the Apache and fired a shot. The bullet bounced off the windshield like it was metal; the windshield was bulletproof.
"Hit the tail!" yelled Arthuria, pointing at the tail of the passing Apache. Diva quickly aimed the tail and shot a few volleys at it. This created holes at the tail, coupled with stress of flying fast and the tail dislodged from the Apache. The Apache came swirling down into the river, creating a humungous splash. The pilot immediately descended down; allowing Rina to cut herself off and got to the ground safely. Her teammates rushed to her; her hand was bruised and glowed red; blood came out from the cuts caused by the ropes. At least the hand did not snap off. The helicopter quickly left the scene.
"You alright?" asked Arthuria.
"I thought I was going to lose an arm. I can't feel it," said Rina, moving her arm to try to feel it again. Kairi grabbed some gauze from the Medikit and wrapped it around Rina's hand, then pinned it in place.
"That'll do," said Rina while nodding her head to Kairi. Rina grabbed her rifle and hung it around her shoulder; her right hand started to burn. She then asked Kairi to inject some morphine to ease the pain on her arm. They started marching into the jungle.