Bab 28

I make it out of the harbour successfully but it's not long before the second wave of missiles begins heading our way. Seeing this, I ask Liang to find a way to get the few people remaining on my ship off so that I can do my thing and she suggests using my helicopters, which admittedly I had totally forgotten about in the rush.

Choosing her plan, I have my helicopters brought up quickly. Luckily, there are a few pilots left on board and they, following Liang's orders, quickly head in to pilot the helicopters. I watch as they take off one by one. Liang wanted to stay behind but once I explained what I was going to do, she accepted that she'd only get in the way and boarded the last chopper before it left. 

With everyone now finally clear of my deck, I waste no time in getting ready. Quickly speeding up to 40 knots, I'm soon joined by a few destroyers looking to escort me out to battle. It's only mere seconds after the 6th ship arrives, however, that we come under heavy missile fire. Still, with my upgrades and almost inexhaustible supply of munitions that don't require reloading as the other ship's do, I easily shoot them all out of the sky. If the enemy wants to harm any ships close by, they'll have to send planes to drop bombs or fire torpedoes. 

J-31: [Target located.]

Switching views, I am surprised to see the size of the hostile fleet. It's as though they are planning to wipe our entire force off the map. It's staggering and I can only stare in horror at the sheer size of it in comparison to my meagre strike group of 6 destroyers and my carrier.  

American Fleet:

3 Ford-class carriers

4 Nimitz-class carriers

2 America-class amphibious assault ships

7 Ticonderoga-class  cruisers

22 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 

Seems that all we did when we sank their other fleet was enrage them. There's simply no other explanation for the armada heading our way and the only thing between it and the coastline is me and my task force of brave but ultimately pointless escorts. 

Liang: [Do we have details on the enemy's position?]

Me: [I've already found and confirmed their position and the makeup of their surface fleet. Have everyone stay back and within range of our airfields and coastal defences.]

Liang: [We can't allow you to go in on your own!]

Instead of arguing with her, I send her the data my plane captured and she immediately goes silent. It's sometime before I finally get a reply, but this time it's from Xiao. 

Xiao: [We'll be covering you from a distance as you requested but at least take the 6 destroyers currently with you along for protection against submarine and air attacks.] 

Me: [I-]

Liang: [We'll be joining you.]

Me: [What?]

Liang: [Two carriers will be able to accomplish far more than one. Regardless of what you-]

Me: [Okay, okay. Just stay back with the 6 ships escorting me when you get here. Don't try to follow me into close quarter combat.]

She argues, yet again but soon relents as Xiao intervenes. With that out of the way, I wait on them to arrive with my sister carrier, all the while sending out my fighters to prepare for our mass attack. The four J-31s I had sent out which found the hostile fleet had managed to stay hidden and were constantly feeding me updated data but I knew it was only a matter before they found out we knew where they were. 

The Jiangsu arrives sometime later with her crew launching planes quickly so as to not fall behind. Whilst this is happening, we receive reports that a few coastal areas in our country have been attacked by large swarms of enemy aircraft and cruise missiles. This is the chance I've been waiting for. If most of their aircraft are already launched and engaged with our land-based Air Wings then even if they detect our planes approaching, they won't be able to do much to prevent our attack as their aircraft that are returning would have nothing but their guns remaining. 

Me: [We have to attack now!]

Xiao: [Will you be staying back with us?]

Me: [No. That will only limit my capabilities. I'll push on but once I leave, you'll have to focus on protecting yourselves from missiles.]

Xiao: [No worries there. We can-]

Me: [I don't think you understand. Once we hit them, they'll know where our strike group is and will attack with everything they have. You'll be a diversion of sorts as they won't be able to detect me until I am practically on top of their position.]

Xiao: [I see. Well, we'll make as much noise as possible to keep their attention on us. Good luck!]

Not wanting to risk our enemy overhearing even more of our plans, I decide against explaining my plan, instead, relying on him to simply keep his part as a diversion. I launch my helicopters, which had returned, with their arms and send them over to Jiangsu to help protect her from submarine and air targets. I also launch my Y-11 (AWAC) planes, having them quickly join up with our circling attack force. 

With everything now prepared, I inform the fleet that I am leaving out before attempting to change. This time, unlike before, my ship instantly reacts and before long, I am speeding towards my destination. Overhead, all the fighters from both my carrier and Jiangsu thunder overhead as they make a beeline for the American fleet we'll be engaging. If we fail, it could very well be the end of our naval dominance in the region as we know it but if we succeed, we might even win the war. I doubt they'll be willing to risk even more carriers after that and without their ships to protect their naval bases or to support landings and invasions, we'll have no further opposition. Yes, all that we need to do is not allow a single ship to survive the battle. 

Me: [Begin the attack!]