Chp. 39: Operation Cannery
December 3, 2049
Ministry of Defense, Farbanti
Svetlana looked at the satellite image of Port Jubilee with an overwhelming sense of sadness. It reminded her of the ruins at the coast of Farbanti's capital. The only solace was that the siege had ended after nearly a month of bloody fighting. Commodore Ilves's words were mostly lost on her as she took in the end result of the battle. She was torn between her love for her own country and a nagging question. Why were the Chakarians resisting so fiercely? Letting their cities be shelled and pummeled into submission? Her gaze pivoted towards her father and her brother for an instant. The former looked somewhat older, with rings around his eyes and a tendency to bristle any time Chandani was brought up. Marko's eyes met hers for a second, but his expression remained unchanged.
"As I said before, Commodore: we can repair the facilities in due time." Nikula spoke. Svetlana sensed an opportunity and jumped on it.
"Would we be able to dedicate some aid to the civilians in the city? It could persuade them to support us."
The rest of the room turned her way, and her expression went from sadness to slight annoyance.
"What have we done to convince the people of Chakari that we intend to help them? What have the Sotoans done?" She pressed.
Ilves looked at Tisma, then Zebic, for an answer.
"The city has not been declared secure. We have simply routed the Osean and Chakarian defenders. It will take days to establish garrisons, clear roads, and collect and process any prisoners." He replied, quietly stalling for time.
"It could be to our benefit, yes. I would be pressed to defer to Minister Tisma or the Commodore regarding the safety of doing such a thing." Zebic added.
"We will discuss this at a later time, everyone. For now our concern remains our strategy. How are the Sotoans performing in their encirclement of Kinglane?" Nikula spoke up, putting some extra authority in his words.
Svetlana bristled but kept her mouth closed. The meeting once again began to lose her attention as she wanted to get to the goal of this war.
"Fresh reinforcements will arrive on the frontlines tomorrow, consisting of two mechanized divisions and an airborne brigade. We intend to use them to rotate some of our units on the frontline to the rear in order to properly refit them." Ilves continued. He grimaced as the map switched to a new region.
"The sealanes remain heavily contested. Enemy aircraft and vessels have focused heavily on our amphibious groups committed to the operation. I am displeased to announce that a landing further down the coast isn't feasible at this time. I've refrained from allowing additional amphibious ships into the area until we have total control of the seas."
"What more can we afford to commit?" Marko asked, jumping in when the Commodore paused.
"Not much, Prince Marko, unless we're prepared to give less attention to other theaters of interest. We can, however, afford to deploy more bombers to the zone of conflict. So far our B-08s have performed admirably. Their weapon and sensor suites have worked as projected. They're also very suitable weapons against the Osean and Lenish carrier groups."
"Wouldn't the Oseans expect that?"
"Yes, but this kind of attack isn't based around the element of surprise as it is the element of superior numbers…"
As the man went on, Svetlana's brother leaned towards Nikula and whispered something about visiting the front again. Nikula nodded while his sister stayed with her own thoughts. His suggestion did give her an idea, however. A fairly obvious one, but one she felt good about nonetheless.
"Excuse me, father, but I need to use the restroom." She whispered politely.
Before he could react, she slipped away into the hallway outside the conference room. There she pulled her phone from the pocket of her suit jacket and hurried a little farther away so she wouldn't interrupt her father.
"Isosisko."
Svetlana looked over to see Marko standing nearby.
"...Yes, Pikkuveli?" She replied nervously.
"Otac sent me after you. He suspected that you might have had something on your mind." He said.
"Ah, I see. I heard you mention that you might visit our soldiers in Chakari. I thought I might go to Port Jubilee and inspect things. For how humanitarian efforts can best be carried out."
"You are very invested in that matter, no?"
"Marko, it is the ultimate goal of this war is it not? We have to show, no, prove what we will bring to Chakari. What the Sotoans will bring."
"Yes, it is. Though we have to win the war to secure peace first."
"Public support is just as important."
"It is, but I would advise you to take your own safety into consideration."
"I am, and the benefits from this are much greater than my personal safety."
"Otac would still have to give you permission."
Svetlana had caught on quickly, but now she knew he was grasping at straws.
"I can assure you and Otac that I can take care of myself, Pikkuveli." She said firmly.
Markos started to say something, but stopped as she continued to glare at him.
"The world is against us, Marko. We need to get it to be for us."
"I know, Isosisko, I know. I simply…I cannot really say what I feel about your stance on it."
"Optimism and hope build great nations. What did we build ours on and why do our citizens support us?"
Marko found it hard to commit to an argument against that. Idealistic as it was, there was some truth to it. The uglier side was naturally unappealing, and he had to respect what their age difference meant.
"I know, Isosisko. Please have patience, and I am certain we will get ample opportunity to help rebuild Chakari." He said.
Marko sighed and wrapped his arms around her. He was jealous of her ability to always keep her chin up…
"I hate the rain. Nothing ever seems to keep it out." Annie grumbled as she sunk further into her flight jacket.
"The smell of it is supposed to relieve stress." Jed offered.
"It's not working for me."
"Might be the tang of hydraulic fluid from behind."
The two had decided to stop by near one of the plane elevators as they gradually drifted towards the ready room. The weather over the past few days had taken a more dreary turn, shrouding everything in a blanket of gray. The destroyer on plane guard duty this time of day faded in and out of sight.
"It feels like we're in some kind of neo-noir production." Annie commented.
"...Ah kinda like it when everything is foggy and a bit rainy. Everything seems to chill out. Sometimes on early summer nights back home, yah crack open the window before going to bed and listen to that steady pattering."
"I did my SERE training in the highlands northwest of Comberth. It rains there eighty percent of the year. They dumped us in the middle of nowhere and let Royal Marine Commandos chase us around. I take personal pride in completing that course as one of the last people to be caught."
She found Jed staring at her and fidgeting a bit. She made a motion for him to say something, which came out like a kid confessing he'd snuck a cookie before dinner.
"Why the hell does everything y'all brag about just make yah hotter?" He asked. She sunk her head towards the collar of her coat to hide her blush.
"Oh stop, someone might hear you." She half-heartedly scolded.
Jed, for no real reason, then turned and cupped his hands around his mouth. He didn't even say anything before Annie slugged him in the ribs. The young man recoiled and bent over a bit, but still smirked at his girlfriend.
"You're a massive dolt, you know that?" Annie replied, swallowing a laugh.
"Ah'm a dolt who's sexy as fuck." He replied.
Their antics were thankfully unnoticed as the enlisted sailors nearby were busy reinserting black boxes into an F-24. Annie grumbled something and walked off towards the nearest set of stairs. Jed pretended that she was agreeing with him as he hurried after her. She waited until they were back in the maze of passageways to ask her next question.
"So why are you so upbeat today? Not that it's a bad thing, but what happened?"
Privately she felt that it was a time to be serious, what with so much hanging in the balance. Chakari wasn't on its last legs, nor were its allies, but the war would take a dramatic shift if Kinglane fell.
"Y'all, obviously." He replied.
"Oh?" She replied without thinking.
He stopped and tugged her under a flight of stairs that'd become a frequent romance spot for the two of them. He lowered his voice and leaned close to her ear.
"Annie, Ah know what we agreed on about going day by day but Ah've been feeling something really welling up inside me. Ah don't wanna put any pressure on y'all, but Ah can't think of being with any other woman. Y'all are so many things Ah want and need. It took some serious outside forces to see that. Do y'all understand what Ah'm getting at?" He explained.
"I think I do. You want to firmly establish that this is a serious relationship." She replied, matching his tone.
"Yes, and Ah wanna make sure that y'all in no way think that Ah'm still clinging to my old ways. My old ways regarding sleeping around."
She sighed happily and pecked him on the cheek.
"I think you've proven that plenty to me, Jed."
"Yes, but Ah have to say it out loud or else it doesn't feel like Ah'm taking it seriously enough. Ah think y'all saved me from a very, very deep chasm."
Annie decided to use this opportunity as well. She took both his hands and held them firmly.
"I understand, and I'm also ready to make this serious."
"Annie, Ah love y'all and Ah wanna do everything in my power to stay with y'all. To make yah happy, and hopefully not be too much of a burden. Ah'm still working on fixing my headspace, despite what Ah just said."
"Keep working on that. You're not a burden."
She hugged him tightly and took in his warmth and the smell of his hair.
"You're not a burden, you're not a worthless womanizer, and you don't have to fall over yourself to please me. I love you for who you are, and you're a handsome and honest boy who needs to realize his self-worth and his worth to his girlfriend."
He nodded slowly and was rewarded with a kiss.
"You're worth a lot to me, Jed. I hope you know that."
"Ah do; Ah try to recognize it."
"I'll do my best."
As warm as they were to the idea of prolonging the romantic moment, the two knew that they were cutting it close. They hurried to the ready room, where they were among the final stragglers before Cyborg made her entrance. The overall was still somewhat dour from the fall of Jubilee. The latest in a series of strategic failures. Annie hadn't even finished greeting Showtime yet, and she decided to drop it as the two of them walked to the front for the briefing.
"We're heading north as part of an effort to curb Erusean and Sotoan seapower indefinitely: Operation Cannery. This morning's strike will be against two refueling platforms off the coast of Pahakhadee. The city's harbor is host to the remaining Erusean amphibs, as well as a place that convoys crossing from north Erusea dock to offload supplies. Aircraft from the Icarus will strike targets in and around the city alongside aircraft from the Andersen and Saint Ark. Lieutenant Chopra will give us some insight on how the Fleet Air Arm does it, but first the nitty-gritty." VF-34's Skipper announced.
The map zoomed into the Upasagar Province and stopped on a piece of sea near the entrance to Pahakhadee Bay. The 3D function kicked in and displayed a structure that looked like some kind of sci-fi fortress. A tall, angular structure that was connected to hexagons, which stood over what looked like submarine pens connected to docks. Admittedly it looked pretty cool, Jed thought.
"These were the first permanent posts the Eruseans built in Sotoa. They're known as Littoral Security Platforms; the Eruseans have them at each major port that their ships come into. They serve as offshore platforms for defending the city and supplying Erusean attack subs. Each has a battery of M09s, as well as four DEW positions and shoulder-launched missiles. Both structures also have a small detachment of offshore patrol craft and helicopters stationed aboard for littoral security. Removing them will help clear the way for other strikes aimed at hitting the harbor proper and any ships there. It will also serve to deprive Erusean subs of a major supply point close to the frontlines."
Annie and her boyfriend exchanged glances for a minute as the imagery again changed to illustrate the planned attack.
"The primary strike force will consist of eight aircraft from VFA-152 and four aircraft from VA-243, split into flights of six for each target. Six F-35s from 714 Naval Air Squadron are being assigned to provide the inner CAP for the strike, while another four F-35s from 704 Naval Air Squadron will help suppress air defenses. Four more AQs from VA-243 will back them up, hitting a M09 Msta site at the northern edge of the bay. Our mission will be to provide the outer defensive zone for the strikes alongside VF-168. The plan is to have aircraft move in at low level to keep the enemy aircraft on CAP as far from the platforms as possible. The ten Hellcats committed to this mission will attack in a high-low manner. Our element, made up of six aircraft, will be the ones responsible for closing in and engaging enemy aircraft. VF-168 will split its attention between us and the inner CAP. Once things kick off, expect the platforms to light up like Christmas trees. Expect the overcast to remain the entire time we're in the area. Meteorology expects this front won't leave the region until the day after tomorrow."
After explaining where they'd meet up with their tankers and what kinds of enemy aircraft to expect, Annie very politely stepped in to help her colleagues understand the ways of the FAA.
"Out of sheer curiosity, who's gotten to fly with the FAA or RAF like this before?" She asked.
A few hands went up, along with a few tentative ones. Annie checked her watch as she looked to the map, now showing the general area of operations.
"I guess it would be best to rephrase this. Who has flown with Lenish aircraft as part of the same package?"
Almost no hands went up, but Annie wasn't surprised. Even during the war, Lenish pilots and their machines were encountered because they'd been sent to relieve the Oseans.
"For those who haven't worked directly with the Fleet Air Arm before, there isn't much to say. The Lightning FA.1 is similar in performance to your Marine Corps' F-35B. Our AWACS system remains helicopter based, so typically we use our sensor suites to create a picture of the situation. I imagine the presence of an AWACS from VAW-75 will just be an extension of that for them. Overall, we rely heavily on the capabilities of the Lightning to penetrate enemy air defenses. Aircraft configured for a more stealth-oriented approach will be the ones to engage air defense radars. When we do engage the enemy air patrols over the city, expect the inner CAP to close ranks unless we request them forward. The priority is going to remain protecting the strike aircraft. Otherwise, approach things much like you're working in conjunction with the strike-fighter squadrons that are assigned to CVW-8."
She looked at Cyborg and nodded.
"That's all, Commander…well, perhaps I should add one more thing. The aircraft flying with us, the ones from 714 NAS, they're the unit I came from before I went on exchange with VF-34. Not that surprising, I'll insist; the FAA's fixed-wing community is very small. Hopefully my Osean compatriots won't embarrass me too much."
The room seemed stunned at her use of humor, but Cyborg didn't let the surprise last too long.
"Okay everyone, we don't have much time before the Air Boss's people should be calling us. Right now the plan is to use the rain and clouds to our advantage against ground defenses after SEAD and EW work 'em over. We can expect the Sotoans, like any sane pilots, to avoid the clouds. Which is why we're not generally considered sane." She concluded.
There was some brief laughter, but otherwise the briefing transitioned to the finer details. Everyone gathered around Conman, who had the role of lead that particular morning. Jed settled atop a chair's armrest next to Annie and Yuki.
"Will Zippy be along for the ride?" He asked under his breath.
"In all likelihood, yes." Annie replied.
"So Ah know she tends to leave y'all a bit exasperated…but she's a good aviator, right?"
Annie's response was immediate, and almost as if she'd been offended.
"She's bloody excellent."