2nd Lieutenant Lakewell (Paul Lakewell) (Callsign DUI) (Human)
6/13/2031,
(International Waters)
(Northwest of Guam)
“?Prometheus they say, brought gods fire down to man?
“?and we have caught it, tamed it, trained it since our history began?”
“?Now we are going back to heaven just to look him in the eye?”
“?And there's thunder across the land, and a fire in the sky?”
The Roar of the F-18 thrusters stole the ambiance from the ocean as they flew past. The aircraft flew high in the sky, giving a commanding view of the ocean floor below. It was quite a relaxing sight…if it wasn't for why they were out here.
“We got about 3 more hours till nightfall, should we turn back, it would be a pain in the ass to do a night landing.” his wingman LACK said.
“Let's stay out here for 1 more hour,” Lakewell said over comms. The pair of F-18s turned to do another patrol pattern, There had to be hundreds of aircraft that had been sent all across the North Pacific. looking for any sign of where the USS WASP went. So far, not even a little piece of wreckage has shown itself to sense its disappearance. It was disheartening, to say the least. So far the public hasn't been told yet, but this seems to be getting out of control, with all the Chinese fishing boats flooding the Pacific. People's Armed Forces Maritime Militia or the PAFMM to be short. It's their fishing vessels that are pushing into the Pacific like a fleet, Which only means China wants to know what is going on.
“How does a ship of nearly 4,000 just disappear like that?” his backseat driver, ahem, his Weapon System Officer Petterson said, his eyes also skimming their surroundings. They both had an unwritten rule to just call each other by their surnames instead of their callsigns when it is just them. His callsign DUI goes without explaining and Petterson callsign SNAKE is a story for another time. There was also LACK which for every aviator in this squadron, stands for lack of a brain cell. It's a good example of how you never get a cool callsign like in the movies. Your fate is decided by your peers, And that never ends well for you.
“Who knows, the Chinese wouldn't dare do something like this.”
“I wouldn't put it past them. They always test the waters; it's their thing.” Lakewell looked at the setting sun, the ocean's surface creating a beautiful reflection against its surface. Reminding him of a border between two worlds. In some ways, it was precisely that. Lakewell once again checked his display. Altitude: 1,200m Fuel: 43% remaining. Nothing new, but still habits always get the better of him.
“Wait, Wait… I got something.” Lack said over comms, making both Lakewell and Petterson perk up. Only for it to turn to annoyance as he gave a dismissive sound. “Never mind, it's just a fishing boat.”
“Can you stop that?”
“My bad, I'm getting ahead of myself.”
“Yeah, stop that, I'm tired of getting my hopes up with your dumbass.” Lakewell, said over the radio with a huff. Maybe they should head out now. it's been over a week, if nothing had been found the first few days then it would be impossible to find anything now, with the shifting of tides and all that.
“Wait, hold on, something is up.”
“Oh not you too.”
“My Radar is going crazy. There's too much noise ahead of us.”
“What! Are we being hit with Electronic Warfare?”
“Usually With Electronic Warfare, the radar goes crazy in one direction, but it's like a bubble ahead of us. Freaking out like a computer having an aneurysm.”
“Oddly descriptive, LACK you got that.”
“Yeah, we are having the same issue as well.” The two F-18s kept course heading towards the strange interference.
“Alright everyone eyes up, we don't know what we have just come across. I'm going to radio the boat.” Lakewell switched frequency if they could get in contact with USS John C. Stennis. He could report this, as per protocol. Maybe that E-3 sentry AWACS near Guam might be seeing this too.
“This is-.” before he could even get a quarter into what he was going to say…everything went dark.
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Captain Levinson (Richard Levinson)
6/13/2031,
(Medical Bay)
(USS WASP)
“WHY is it always you!!!.” Levinson yelled as his aid shut the watertight door behind him. Parker almost jumped up as the doctor finished checking him out. Everyone in the room moved to a position of attention.
“At ease.” he says, making every Marine and Sailor in the medical bay go back to what they are doing. Grabbing a stool he sat down beside Parker who still looked tired even after sleeping a whole day. Just goes to show how sleep-deprived everyone is.
“Evening Sir.” Parker said, sitting up and straight.
“I want you to tell me everything that happened.” He would rather hear this from the man himself than some statement on a paper.
“Before I start, may I ask, how did you find me?”
“Blu-force tracker Staff Sergeant.”
“Don't you need a satellite for that sir?”
“Yes but we could still use it to play hotter or colder, A drone was the one that found you. All that was needed then was a rescue party.” he said, thankfully blu-force trackers had become handheld these days. So now squads can be seen on map instead of just the whole Company. Parker seems to have pondered that before he started his recount of what happened to him during his very brief moment in captivity.
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“Magic…Fucking Magic?” Levinson exhaled quietly. His hand rubbed his temple as he contemplated another issue on top of the pile of problems. “Are you sure this is right?”
“I'm positive sir, there weren't any magic circles in modern fiction but glowing words like runes.” Parker said matter of factly. The way he described it all.
“How do you feel about the fact they tortured you?” Parker seems taken aback by his words, did he not consider what he told was not an interrogation laced with torture? Or maybe Parker thought he did not care. Depending on how the Staff Sergeant feels, it will be how he addresses this down the line, He can at least give him that for all that's happened.
“Well sir, I don't feel much about them. I kind of understand how they feel, imagine your home gets invaded by some random person and takes your front door. and now a new person just shows up and takes one of your windows, I would show hostility as well…I understand them...and because of that, I can't help but not hate them for it.”
“Parker…I did not expect that from you. Very well I won't put pressure on that subject in our talks but it will still be mentioned.”
“This princess, how would you describe her?” Levinson asked.
“She has the spirit and leadership qualities but I get the feeling she is quite naive, the kind that gets all their knowledge from books and not experience.”
“Is that so…This may go better than we thought.”
“What do you mean sir.”
“Well this princess can't just leave us to wonder on her close, diplomatic talks will be soon, I know it and if she is inexperienced we could pressure her into a more…desirable agreement between our two factions.”
“If you don't mind me asking sir? What exactly is the plan here? I know I'm not the only one asking sir.” Well he knew many sailors and marines are getting discontent with the silence of upper command, and because of this, he couldn't blame Parker for taking the opportunity. The truth is the plan is constantly changing, the only thing not changing right now is the need for resources and that's what every plan revolves around right now.
“Understand this Staff Sergeant, we need a place to stay, this ship can't function without a port, without resources we are done for. So I say we make an agreement, we need rights to their Port and resources they may have, I just hope they have something equivalent to diesel on that account. But what worries me most is what they may ask us in return.” Levinson stated, sitting up from the stool, the synthetic lighting above making it impossible to judge what time it is right now sense he walked in. Now that he was finally able to get in contact with someone who wasn't some backwoods village official, they may be able to make some ground. Losing their holdings in Chesk was a setback but thankfully if she cools her head, they might make a somewhat decent ally out of this.
“I got a ship to run, thank you for the Info Staff Sergeant, this will be useful, at least what use we can get out of this clusterfuck.” he stated as he pulled the blinds behind him, leaving Parker to himself as he waited to be cleared by the doctor. Unexpectedly, 1st Lieutenant Norm Kazinski of Parkers Company waited outside by the door.
“Am I good to debrief him now.” his drinking buddy Norm said, making him like the man more, very few ever are this carefree with their leadership. It was fresh to be spoken to in such a way especially since he won't probably be talking to anyone higher than him anytime soon. Not mentioning Colonel Morgan, but we are considered Equivalent in rank.
“He's all yours, though he is still being screened by the Doctors, apparently magic exists and he got into contact with it.” Levinson said.
“You're kidding me.”
“I wish. And why are you checking in on him yourself? " Levinson said.
“I'm missing 2 out of the 3 platoons for my company with leadership as well, A squad of mine is now missing, leaving just leaves 1 squad left…if this keeps up, soon the Marine Force Recon Regiment…no Remnets on this ship will be extinct.”
“...Im sorry, I forgot how little there is on my ship.”
“Ain't your fault there's too many marines on this ship to count, we were just hitching a ride to Taiwan, never had something become Past tense like this before.” grim yet relaxed tone in his voice as he said those words.
“It's never hard to die.” Levinson commented.
“Where are some Marine Raiders or Marsoc when you need them.” Norm said as he began to unlatch the water seal door. “Still though, we are the most well-trained unit on the ship, don't be afraid to use us as you see fit.” With that final statement, he gave off a quick sloppy salute as they parted ways, showing both his respect for his authority and his carefree attitude.
Is the future of every man or woman under USS WASP as bleak as he thinks it is, only time will tell.
