5434/AOH: Operation Hercules preamble

AOH: Operation Hercules preamble
Date of Scene:	09 August 2017
Location:	<AOH> Abyssal Pearl Harbor
Synopsis:	A briefing from Admiral Nathan Bridger, OIC of Operation Hercules, in preparation for the upcoming operation to re-take Oahu from the Abyssal Navy.
Cast of Characters:	Midway, Leyanne Mace, Reina Kinney, Kotone Yamakawa, 1129, 385

---

Midway has posed:
    It's been a while.

    The island of Oahu looms dark on the horizon, covered by a thick sheet of dark clouds stretching for miles out over the sea in all directions. Even the water, a vibrant tropical blue, turns to a dingy offputting gray underneath the ominous cloud cover. Clusters of Abyssal destroyers move in patrol patterns, while speckles of orb-like Abyssal aircraft circle through the air. Security is much tighter now than it was even a few short weeks ago.

    Outside the 'claimed' territory, an American Navy warship cruises smoothly, the aircrat carrier USS John C. Stennis acting as a launch platform for a much less cumbersome attack force than the failed Operation Volcano. Her escorts, the smaller guided missile destroyers, cruise at safe distances-- but none of the vessels dare approach Oahu after their losses in the previous operation.

    An elderly man in a blue underway coverall, marked with the stars and stripes of a ranking officer, waits in the main hanger. As he gestures, a junior officer manages the presentation from a laptop. Currently displayed in crisp HD detail is a topographical map of Oahu, zoomed in on the inlet that encompasses Pearl Harbor.

    "Due to the dense cloud cover, satellite surveillance has been less than reliable. However, the actions of several elites have given us a good idea of what to expect. Operation Volcano attempted to take advantage of this information in a lightning strike, and was unprepared for the enemy's capabilities." Bridger nods once, "Which I understand the majority of you are familiar with, or otherwise capable of dealing with on a more even level than our sailors and pilots."

    The image shifts, highlighting several red points in the water, and two large circles flanking the harbor entrance.

    "The mission is to drive the Black Fleet out of Hawaii, starting with their stronghold at Pearl Harbor and pushing them out to sea. In order to do this, however, we need to gain entry to the harbor itself. Our main concerns are the enemy 'ships' and 'aircraft'," he appears to use the terms loosely, "and these two structures, identified as high-caliber shore batteries." Green arrows indicate this projected attack plan, pushing into the harbor, then doubling back out. Inclining his head, Bridger adds, "Intelligence suggests that high ranking enemy vessels may also be present, so they'll likely mobilize when the attack begins. Be prepared. A pitched fight against an entrenched foe is never an easy one."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne Mace nods "I can help thin the air cover, sir. Leeroy's got a brace of paired 50s and a Bofors L70 with a couple cases of 3P. If you can get me good RADAR illumination I can also launch off Exocets from Leeroy's bow for the larger surface targets." She comments. Her right antennae is truncated, with a little bandaged cap over the stump. "But he's an ELco 80, mostly made of wood. If they land a few hits on me, he's matchwood"

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina Kinney listens attentively to what is being said. Once all is said and done, she salutes and says, "I can attack from the air with my fighter craft if you want. If you need something else, though, let me know and I'll gladly do what I can to help out in other ways too." Her tone is firm but respectful and her attentive gaze indicates that she's truly interested in dealing with this whole operation as best as she can.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
It's been a while since Oahu was taken barring two Paladin cases she had interacted with. she'd either been sleeping or running missions to gather supplies for the Hikari fleet. The fact Nagato had trusted her with that meant a hell of a lot to her. She was already geared up in her equipment for this, which was a good thing. It would let her function on the water fat better than she would be able to do otherwise.

She had listen to the briefing now as it was quite important.

She looked over the targets for a moment nodding.

"Understood sir."

Miari (1129) has posed:
"The sooner these dark spirits are banished back whence they came, the sooner trade ships can move in from the Multiverse. I'm MORE than ready to begin!" Miari exclaims, which might be startling - she'd been eerily quiet up until just then.

    Her attire is not too out of place compared to the ship maidens of this world, though her kimono's design and weaving is clearly archaic.

    For some strange reason, she doesn't seem to have any weapons at all. Just the metal fan tucked into a sash.

Midway has posed:
    "Surface anti-air will be helpful," Bridger nods to Leyanne, "Though such a small arsenal won't be much good except as self-defense against the enemy attack wings we witnessed during Volcano. What I suggest you be more concerned about is evading incoming fire. PTs are nimble, but as you point out, won't take much punishment." He gestures, "I suggest you field in the second line, leaving the heavier fighters to the front line and giving you better response to incoming artillery."

    To Reina, the Admiral nods as well, "Fighter cover will be a big help. Though be careful. Those little 'planes' of theirs ripped up our F-18s pretty quickly."
r    "Trade, eh?" Bridger folds his hands behind his back, regarding Miari, "I respect your inclination. The Black Fleet's been rough on trade in this entire region, so clearing them out should help with establishing your diplomacy."

    The presentation shifts to a long-range photograph of a small girl with white hair and glowing violet eyes. Clad in a black, ratty sailor's uniform with a dixie cup hat, her most distinctive feature is the huge metal gauntlets she wears, stained black with age and tarnish. In the still, she's directing lesser Abyssals.

    "We'll run down the expected enemies as well. While the regular Black Fleet 'ships' can be dealt with, these three have shown to be much more dangerous." Lifting a hand, he gestures, "Designation unknown. We've tentatively classified this one as Cruiser Baker. Her armament includes torpedoes and artillery cannons. Her danger is in her speed, her tenacity, and her wit. She behaved hesitantly in earlier encounters, but recently has become much more aggressive. It's Baker who is responsible for sinking the Benfold during Operation Volcano, and critically damaging the missile cruiser Ticonderoga."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
While Yuna's not quite sure how much authority she'll be handling in the battle itself, she and Elner are still in the front row, or as close to it as Yuna can manage. She's in her Hikari uniform, which is a little on the rumpled side by now but basically presentable.

"Admiral Bridger?" Yuna asks. "You said 'start at the base and push them out' .... but if we have to make our way through their defenses to *get* to that base, we'll be going through the teeth of their deployed forces, and probably those guns if they can point them at us, right? Unless we change the equation in our favor somehow ..."

She pauses, looking at the schematics again. "My role in the Hikari Fleet is generally anti-aircraft, but in a case like this ... maybe I should do something different. Would you like a giant robot to drop in and start breaking their base's guns and walls?"

She may be a member of the Hikari Fleet, and flagship of the Special Division Project ... but that's hardly *all* Yuna is, and if it means saving lives, she's prepared to at least offer the other options to pick from.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina nods, still standing attentively. "Understood, sir. I'll be extra careful." She's tempted to brag about how powerful her fighter craft is, but this is neither the time nor place. "I can assure you that I'll be operating with extra caution throughout this whole thing." She doesn't mention that it's because whenever she gets shot down, Laia is quick to give her an earful.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne Mace nods to the Admiral thoughtfully. She herself hasn't got a uniform - difficulties in obtaining one for an 8ft tall person - so she's in her red and black armour, once again. She smirks at Yuna's plan, nodding "I like that. Drop in either just before or just after we launch our attack, boom." She grins. "Extra chaos. They'll be forced to divide their forces, allow us into the harbour to confront you, or allow you to carry on ripping shit up." A pause. "Course, it's not my call to make but I'm always fond of plans that involve 'giant robots' and 'dropping in' when they're on the same side as me."

Miari (1129) has posed:
"If the world is like one living thing and nations the organs, trade is the blood that flows between them. Which makes the Abyssals a tricky disease that must be cleansed." Sayeth Miari in a warm but firm tone. She's not here to play after all.

    "If... and this is a big if... enough of the enemy can be corraled into a tight formation, wiping them out with great efficiency in one blink of time is in reach. But we'll have to see what sort of tactics they bring out."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa looksto Miari for a moment and then back to the Admiral.

"I will be able to make use of air cover I have been working with the fleet or some time."

She has to admit to herself the American military has been doing a good job getting them information, give the situation.

"Are there any intact systems from the military we might be able to make use of in this attack?"

She goes quiet then to watch the enemy profiles as they come up.

Midway has posed:
    "Overall," Admiral Bridger states towards Yuna, rubbing his chin, "The hope is that the shore batteries will be destroyed on the way in. If they're still active for the trip out, they'll present a problem. Your giant robot may be a good choice for the breakthrough operation. I'm not sure of the specifics of what it is capable of, so I'll leave that to your discretion."

    To Reina, he nods, "I have confidence in you and your aircraft."

    When Tiny starts up about Yuna's robot, the Admiral folds his arms with a thoughtful expression, "It could also act as a front line aggressor, drawing fire from the shore batteries and, likely, destroying them more easily than our other forces could. Again, the use of such is at Kagurazaka's discretion."

    On the subject Miari brings up, "We've noticed that Black Fleet assets tend to maneuver in small squadrons of half a dozen or less. Getting them to bunch up for a large scale attack hasn't been condusive in previous operations. If you have other methods at your disposal to encourage that, then by all means try it out."

    To Kotone, he nods, "Our air power is limited. While we'll be striking late in the evening, enemy air power is expected to at least hinder the first leg of the operation. By the time we break through to the harbor I expect it'll be too dark for the enemy aircraft to fly. Your air cover during the first phase will be very appreciated, in addition to miss Kinney's fighter."

    Behind him, the photo shifts to depict a tall woman in a crisp black uniform, wearing a peaked cap. Like the first, her eyes glow violet in color, and her hair is white-- in two short tails. Her armament appears to be a quartet of snake-like tails, each one sporting a gun turret and teeth on the end in place of a snake's regular head.

    "Cruiser Charlie, designation tentative, relies more on heavy artillery than Baker. She does have a torpedo armament but uses them less often. Charlie is often encountered leading squadrons, or in conjunction with Baker, and should be considered highly dangerous. She has always behaved cautiously in previous operations, so our intel is convinced that she may be responsible for advance planning. This one will be the biggest surface threat to your aircraft, miss Kinney, miss Yamakawa."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne Mace stands up and walks towards the area where the refreshments are. A quiet word with an NCO, non-com to non-com, obtains the Admiral's drink preferences, and a hot (or cold) mug of the Admiral's preferred everyday beverage is prepared and quietly placed on the desk next to him. An inquisitive glance to the others enquires as to what they would like, while the mouse brews tea for herself

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"We'll have to see how their fleet is deployed versus what assets we have on the way in, I guess," Yuna muses. "I wonder if we'll be able to mount my rigging out here ..." She trails off, chewing the question over in her head for a moment, then makes a mental note to ask Akashi or somebody. It *should* be possible - she'll just need some help putting everything in place before she hits the water.

Her attention shifts back to the profiles that Bridger is presenting. Right, of course the Water Demons will all be there - for them, this is a matter of protecting their home base, if not their 'home' period.

... which makes Yuna feel a little worse about the idea of tearing it all apart, but - this is still a matter of retaking territory which used to belong to the human population of Hawaii, military or civilian (or more likely a mix of both). At least she can try to make sure her Abyssal opponents 'survive' the battle - whether by escaping as Abyssals, or by sinking and resurfacing as Fleet Daughters. She just has to be careful if she brings El-Line to the fight.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa Says "Understood I'll do what I can to clear the air when I'm deployed."

She contiunes to look at the infor on the enem, she pays special attention to the enemy that's pointed out that is the biggest threat to her air wings. SO she's paying close attention and get the idea about just how dangerous Crusier Charlie will be to her and Kinney.

"Humm I'll have to keep on my toes then Admiral."

Midway has posed:
    "Ah, thank you, miss Mace," Admiral Bridger accepts his drink with a nod. As Yuna talks about her shipgirl equipment, his gaze shifts to Atago in the back, then back to Yuna, "You'd be best off asking the appropriate technicians about that on, miss Kagurazaka. I know that you'll be able to deploy from the Stennis, at the very least, with such equipment mounted."

    With his free hand, he gestures again and the NCO managing the presentation changes the display again. The new figure wears a black officer's uniform and a garrison cap worn at a jaunty angle. Her eyes are hidden behind a slitted visor, like a knight, but the purple glow is unmistakable. In either hand, she carries huge, armored shields covered in guns, with three obvious main battery turrets on either shield.

    "Tentatively classified as Battleship Alpha. The presumed ringleader. This ship bears a strong resemblance to the Ru class we've encountered before, but has proven to be much stronger. We've yet to appreciably damage this one with our own weapons, though I'm told that your forces managed to overpower her with numbers in a previous engagement. Her firepower and armor are top quality, though we've noticed her speed is lacking and she does not deploy often."

    Tucking his free hand behind his back, Bridger adds, "We also suspect there might be a fourth of these 'special' Black Fleet members, who is supplying and controlling the aircraft seen around Oahu, but none of our intelligence has been able to locate and photograph her. What we do have is this--" The picture changes again, showing a long-distance picture of a tarnished, black aircraft carrier floating in the Harbor, "Which appears to be something the Black Fleet brought in to act as a base of operations. It is likely this is where their aircraft are manufactured, as we've observed squadrons taking off and landing on the flight deck. Destroying this hulk will be our primary objective. Current intel indicates it is anchored and immobile inside the harbor."