Chapter 14: Defense of San Francisco
"San Francisco command this is Azur lane taskforce 1, approaching three hundred nautical miles east of your position. Advise us of your status, over."
[Thank god, we weren't sure if help would arrive in time...status is pretty awful, to be honest. Only a few 127mm cannons and various other peashooters that won't do spit against the kind of tonnage the Sirens are throwing at us. Anything we can do to help? Over.]
Enterprise raised an eyebrow at the informal and young sounding voice, something she sensed Warspite shared through their newfound connection.
The pale-haired woman nonetheless shrugged, knowing that the awful casualty rate of the war meant most senior officers had been replaced with younger and potentially less disciplined ones.
"Nothing yet, we're going to engage the Sirens before they can enter into gun range of the coast. Be ready with the anti-air defenses in case they send a collection of strike craft to assault you while we're dealing with the main fleet, over."
[Understood, we'll keep our eyes on the sky. Good luck and good hunting, taskforce 1. We'll be cheering for you, over.]
Briefly smiling at the friendly and well-wishing words Enterprise closed the radio connection, turning her attention to the horizon where the Sirens were a bare few hundred nautical miles distant, opening up the familiar connection between her three accompanying sisters.
"Thoughts on how to win this engagement?"
[That's quite the armada of vessels we find ourselves against, sisters...]
Vampire's justified worry caused a brief ball of uneasiness to settle in Enterprise's gut before she banished it with a familiar push of her mind, focusing on the tactical display beamed directly into her mind from the Bakunawa's drones far overhead with some difficulty.
Not all of the technologies and techniques Alexander had given them had transferred over perfectly. Or maybe she just needed to practice more.
[Peace, Vampire. We'll find a way to victory yet. Kawakaze, your opinion on things?]
[...Engage at long range. Vampire and I shall screen for submarines and aircraft, as well as any higher tonnage ships. You've fired from far away before, Warspite. Continue to do so. Enterprise shall do as she always does and provide air cover.]
The plan was sound, simple in execution and using strategies they were already familiar while also making use of their newfound technologies.
...The only caveat was that this time they were massively outnumbered. Most battles they had been engaging in over the years were of relative parity, or at least against an enemy force no larger than twice their size.
They were outnumbered by more than three times in this scenario.
"I agree with Kawakaze, any alternative thoughts?"
[None. Let us begin.]
[Agreed. Let thy guns sing loudly, lady Warspite.]
Letting loose a breath of released tension Enterprise checked her vastly improved sensor suite and its mind boggling range, comparing the collected data with the overhead drones as they spied on the enemy fleet before nodding to herself.
"Ten minutes until we're in range of a max distance airstrike. Twenty until optimal engaging distance. Prepare for battle, sisters...this is our chance to show humanity that there's hope, that we no longer have to fear the Siren's overwhelming advantages. Make final preparations and ready yourselves!"
A collection of acknowledgments reached the carrier's ears as she began her final checklist of anything that needed taking care of, prepping her retrofitted and upgraded aircraft for use.
A small smile decorated the pale-haired carrier's lips as she could already envision the recent paint job the new aircraft would sport as they moved to engage their enemies. An Eagle Union flag painted on the underside right alongside a Royal Navy emblem, a small but highly sentimental gesture that nonetheless eased her anxiety a bit, as if the erstwhile and eternally vigilant light cruiser was with her in person. Instead she began going over the aerial maneuvers and theories that Alexander had imparted, wondering if she would be able to properly carry them out despite the practice she had religiously engaged in as they made their way across the ocean.
Their aerodynamic design, maneuvering jet layout and lack of a pilot meant the aircraft could engage in quite literal breakneck maneuvers, never mind the varied and sometimes bewildering weapon loadouts.
She'd never made use of guided missiles on her planes before.
[They're turning to meet us, I do believe our timetable just moved up, sisters.]
Warspite's warning caused the Eagle Union carrier to snap out of her ruminations, the tactical overlay revealing the truth of her words as the Siren fleet altered course, turning away from their initial target and instead swinging their way.
"Prepare for combat, if they're looking for a fight they're going to find it."
Their four ships maneuvered into a new formation, Kawakaze and Vampire taking the lead while Warspite hung back slightly, Enterprise at the rear of the formation and prepping her flight decks for launch as retrofitted fighters and bombers warmed up their engines.
It was a lineup that left the carrier dangerously exposed in a conventional battle...but this was anything but a conventional battle, especially since the opposing fleets were now headed directly towards each other, near perfect intel available to the Azur lane force courtesy of the aerial drones.
"Don't wait for the optimal firing distance, Warspite. Start sniping at them the moment you can and try to bring down their numbers."
[Understood. Bear in mind, without Alexander's presence alongside the Bakunawa's extensive sensor suite my accuracy may not be as impressive as it used to be, at least until I grow more accustomed to live fire exercises.]
Feeling slightly giddy at the prospect of an entirely brand new type of warfare Enterprise made an unexpected quip, stating, "Not feeling up to the challenge without your liege's hand entangled with yours?"
[T-that is not the point of this current exercise! Focus, damn you!]
Shaking her head at the aggravated response Enterprise merely replied, "Naturally. Kawakaze, Vampire, any crisis or unexpected happenings to report?"
[No.]
[All is well, lady Enterprise. We shall do our part.]
"Alright...then prepare for battle."
Conversation ceased, only the howling wind and cresting waves to count the seconds as both fleets closed the distance, the overhead drones showcasing the Siren fleet beginning to release their fighter craft in massive waves of darting shapes that began to sprint towards their position at a blistering pace very familiar to the quartet.
But this time they had a few tricks of their own to play.
"Launch."
With a roar of displaced air interceptor and bomber alike took to the sky, proudly displaying the colors of the Eagle Union and Royal Navy as they shot forth across the larger main deck and side-hatches from the lower ones, the interceptors maneuverable and light enough to take off from the much smaller runways.
While the two carrier's outnumbered her complement of 150 craft by almost an additional hundred Enterprise was hoping the superior tech of her fighters would be enough to carry the day.
"Stay sharp, sisters. Eight minutes before Siren craft reach our position, ensure anti-air batteries are-"
CRACK!
Even from a distance the ear-splitting retort of Warspite's railcannons launching hypervelocity rounds at the far off Sirens caused Enterprise's teeth to chatter, the guns cooling before firing off another salvo less than twenty seconds later at targets almost seventy five nautical miles distant.
"Getting used to these kinds of distances is going to take some serious acclimating...beforehand most of our engagements that didn't involve aircraft were carried out within visual range of the opposing force."
[Missiles incoming, sisters.]
Kawakaze's cool and collected tones snapped Enterprise out of her ruminations, the drone feed showing that the ten cruisers and destroyers had fired off a salvo of almost forty missiles, contrails of propellant flying towards their position as Warspite's first barrage struck home, no direct hits to be found but one of the destroyers listed nonetheless as a near miss caused it to tilt dangerously.
[Sisters, our foes seemed to have timed the missile barrage to impact at roughly the same time as the bombers and interceptors will make contact. Feh, a foul but sound stratagem…]
"Vampire, Kawakaze, do you believe you can knock down the incoming missiles and bombers alongside my interceptors?"
[There seemeth to be only one way to find out, Lady Warspite.]
"Fair enough. Return fire!"
[Acknowledged.]
[Commencing retribution!]
The two destroyers took a few seconds to maneuver their vessels into a broadside formation, metallic flaps revealing missile launch tubes-
-and with a roar of engines two dozen smaller but far faster guided warheads shot into the sky, quickly pulling even and then overtaking Enterprise's cloud of fighters.
"Impact in five...four...three...two...one!"
(Blue Stahli - Rockstar)
Through the artificial eyes of the hovering drones Enterprise saw exactly twenty-four of the Siren missiles go down in flames and sprays of shrapnel, the munitions her destroyer sisters had fired hitting true, the clouds of approaching fighter craft only a scant fifteen seconds from impacting the other as Enterprise took a deep breath, letting the chaotic swirl of so many different aircraft she was controlling suffuse her mind with ease of practice, albeit with almost an additional sixty weapons platforms to control the feat wasn't as easy as it once had been.
"No matter. I shall manage and seize victory, as I always have."
Ten seconds...five...firing range reached.
The initial volley was a confusing thing, interceptors firing off guided missiles while bombers on both sides dipped, rolled or deployed countermeasures that consisted of chaff, flares or other advanced means of misdirection that Enterprise was only barely beginning to understand but had to make use of regardless, lest she be left behind in the dust.
Wincing as ten of her bombers and two interceptors were hit by return fire the pale-haired carrier consoled herself with the knowledge that the opposing Siren planes had no missiles of their own, almost twenty of their number total being hit by the initial barrage and impacting the ocean below.
Then the opposing aircraft were deep among each other and Enterprise lost herself to the battle.
Relinquishing control of the bombers to the simple computers aboard they began performing basic evasive maneuvers as they rocketed towards the Siren fleet, the Eagle Union shipgirl instead focusing on her interceptors as she began to guide them through a blindingly fast melee an ordinary human mind wouldn't have had a hope of managing.
Each of the forty darting aircraft was given the attention of a concerned mother, Enterprise guiding their actions the way an orchestra conductor might direct a symphony as she pulled every trick in the book to beat back the numerical superiority of her foes. A fourth of her planes shot high overhead, engines running hot in order to gain sufficient altitude while the rest engaged the far more bloodthirsty Siren craft directly.
Sporting a grim smile as her brow began to bead with sweat the carrier drew her engaged weapons into a rolling ball of yarn pattern, maximizing momentum and speed as best she could. Even with the significant upgrades the basic laws of physics couldn't be so easily overcome, her planes having to constantly balance evasive maneuvers against stalling out and becoming easy targets to their Siren opponents, a significant danger considering they were outnumbered more than twice over. Just because the Siren aircraft weren't quite as advanced as hers - and wasn't that a statement she never thought she would say - didn't mean their weapons were any less deadly.
High-caliber machine guns, energy weapons...a single second of sustained, clean fire could do away with one of her vessels and she aimed to minimize that danger as much as possible. Each time one of her interceptors threw itself into a roll, climb or dive another was there with its guns guarding its tail, a constant chain of defense that stretched across the entire airspace and began to wear away at the more simple-minded Sirens as they ruthlessly pursued her planes.
...But they could afford to sustain such losses. For every two Sirens shot down one of Enterprise's own was hit, seven interceptors meeting their demise alongside fourteen Sirens as superior numbers began to take their toll, the furball of twisting and maneuvering planes becoming tighter and tighter-
-until the ten fightercraft she had ordered to ascend at the start of the battle came roaring out of the sky, the sun at their backs as their lethal speed and unfettered maneuverability allowed them to shoot down into the melee with impunity, sixteen Siren aircraft meeting swift demises as the ten peeled out of their dives, ascending into the sky once more as Enterprise tightly grinned, the result of her gamble paying off dividends as her dueling fighters had a great deal of the pressure upon them relieved, able to inflict far more impressive kill ratios against the Sirens than they suffered moments prior.
The cinching factor came when roughly half of the Siren fighters staggered and listed for a moment, a critical mistake that allowed Enterprise's own tools of war to score a few quick kills and allow her the chance to look at the overhead view of the battle, pale gray eyes widening at what she saw.
Two of Warspite's volleys had struck true, a heavy cruiser snapped in half and taking on water while the light carrier was erratically veering to-and-fro, half of its command deck obliterated from the face of the earth and no doubt causing a mess of trouble to its remote-controlled planes, the waters churning and sparking as the rest of the Siren fleet approached at a blistering pace, ignoring Warspite's continuous shelling in favor of reaching effective range of their own guns, electric blue shielding covering their metal hulls in a phalanx of energy.
[Missiles incoming! Engaging countermeasures!]
Vampire's words drew a small portion of Enterprise's attention, the remaining sixteen missiles having blown by the aerial dogfight at some point she had missed and now on a collision course with their quartet of vessels.
Or at least they would have collided, had the two destroyers not thrown up a wall of point-defense fire that left the carrier highly impressed.
Laser weaponry formed trails of heat haze and ignited particles in their wake, whatever Siren missile that had the misfortune of being their target heating and detonating in short order or ending up with its guidance system hopelessly fried, tumbling from the sky with no semblance of control to be found.
One-by-one the warheads were removed until only smokey sky remained...alongside approximately 110 Siren bombers.
But even then Enterprise still had a few tricks left to play, to hopefully level the playing field. The ten interceptors she had ascend into the sky once more - instead of reengaging with the dogfight - had instead turned around and used their momentum to rocket back towards the fleet, fast on the tail of the Siren bombers.
Guns blazed and with their countermeasures sufficiently expended the bombing craft were largely helpless before the onslaught, falling by the droves until only ninety remained within effective striking distance.
"Engage evasive maneuvers!"
Despite her vessel's bulk the improved reactors and engines allowed the carrier to move like a nimble destroyer, flight deck dangerously tilting as Enterprise slewed through the water, engaging her anti-aircraft guns as they all scattered in random directions.
Laser fire, surface-to-air missiles and as the bombers drew even closer physical rounds began to shred the wave to pieces, Enterprise and Warspite now sporting sparse but effective guns that fired off tungsten rounds that split into tiny flechettes once they reached optimal distance, eviscerating anything that had the misfortune to be in the projectile's path.
But there was simply too many bombers and too few means of dealing with them, the light carrier's complement of craft now operating independently but no less effectively as the entire wave of thirty remaining bombers dove towards Enterprise, payload's primed and ready.
[Lady Enterprise, watch out-]
Bombs and high-yield missiles streaked towards the pale-haired shipgirl, the woman clenching a trembling hand as she closed her eyes...and engaged each and every shield projector her vessel had available.
Panes of blue energy displaced air with a deafening CRACK as the bombs impacted the hexagonal shields and illuminated the area with a bloody orange light, Enterprise gritting her teeth as she felt her metal avatar creak and strain under the stress of powering the energy-hungry devices...and they broke after weathering almost the entire storm of munitions, a few bombs and other explosives impacting her hull and sending lances of sympathetic pain coursing through her body, Enterprise gritting her teeth and locking a hiss of agony behind pursed lips.
[Lady Enterprise, are you alright?!]
"I'm fine, Vampire. Focus on taking down the Siren's overhead and approaching our position, I shall live."
Sensing her sister's relief through their mental link the shipgirl gazed skyward, the last few bombers being shot down by gun and fighter alike, all that was left was the opposing fleet itself...and her own bombers were in range.
A grim smile decorated the Eagle Union carrier's lips as she personally controlled the bombers, eighty surviving aircraft descending upon the eleven remaining ships, one of the destroyers cracking open as another of Warspite's railcannon shots struck true.
While they were far from defenseless the Siren vessels simply didn't have the lethal weaponry and necessary fighter compliment to combat such a large air force, payload after payload being unloaded as first the carrier began to burn, followed shortly after by one of the battleships and all of the destroyers, eighty bombers returning to Enterprise's ship as the thrill of victory began to course through the small task force of shipgirls.
[Allow me to finish this, sisters.]
Warspite's vicious words coincided with the remaining Siren battleship entering firing range, shots landing dangerously close to Kawakaze and Vampire as the Royal Navy battleship maneuvered herself in front of the smaller hulls, railcannons falling silent as an entirely different set of guns came into play, just as lethal but more...unique than the 'standard' cannons.
A brief mechanical whirr, distant siren going off-
-and dual thunderclaps sounded out as Warspite's plasma railguns fired off superheated balls of annihilating energy, a visible shockwave and heat contrail following in the round's blistering wakes...and even from a great distance Enterprise could see the detonations as the fearsome projectiles struck home.
The battleship never stood a chance, hull slagged and dripping where it wasn't torn to shreds by the overwhelming force directed at it, a gaping and molten hole drilled right through it's center as the ocean angrily churned and boiled from where the plasma rounds had passed.
[...Lady Warspite, I believe thou has become just a tad bit more frightening.]
[To our enemies, certainly.]
The four were silent for a moment, scarcely able to believe what had just occurred as the only sound was the rush of water, passing wind and crackling fires...and Vampire broke first, giggling uncontrollably as Warspite and then Enterprise followed suit, laughter they had no control over breaking free as even Kawakaze couldn't fight back a few quiet chuckles, the sheer exhilaration and disbelief in equal measure coursing through their bodies leaving them giddy and punch drunk.
"We...we did it. We fought the Sirens directly at a significant numbers and tonnage disadvantage...and we won."
[It truly does feel like a dream, does it not? We...we beat them.]
[Sisters, on this day...hath hope tenderly blossomed once more?]
It was Kawakaze, to their surprise, who answered Vampire.
[It...it may just be a fighting chance, sisters.]
Another round of victorious laughter broke out among the four, Enterprise snapping out of her uncontrollable mirth long enough to wipe away the emotionally inundated tears that dripped down her face, the fading pain of her sympathetic injuries tasting like the finest of spirits as she answered a hail from the base they had been protecting.
[Azur Lane taskforce 1 this is San Francisco command, please respond. Sounds like the battle is over, do you require assistance, over.]
Standing tall amidst the smoke and fires from the wreckage of their mortal enemy Enterprise broadly grinned, feeling as if years of accumulated weight and stress had lifted from her shoulders as she commandingly responded, "This is Azur Lane taskforce 1, reporting objective complete with all hostile Sirens destroyed, no friendly casualties."
[...Sorry, did you say 'no' friendly casualties? Over.]
The disbelief was understandable, the pale-haired carrier striding to the edge of her vessel to soak up the sun, closing her eyes in contentment.
"You heard correctly, San Francisco command. For the first time in almost a decade humanity beat back our enemy and didn't suffer a single loss."
She could hear bewildered whispers over the line, confusion slowly giving way to excited muttering.
"Spread the word, command. Today marks the beginning of the turning point."
"Your sacrifices weren't in vain, sisters...today, we've found a fighting chance."