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[OG] Proluge: Desperate Times [STR]

"The sea is oddly quiet tonight."

These were the thoughts that entered the mind of Rear Admiral Nikolai Kutznetzov as his small fleet of eight ships patrolled the North Atlantic for any sign of activity.

Such quiet nights were uncommon, as long ranged patrols such as this one often found themselves shadowed by Elven picket ships at the very least. Despite the lack of obvious enemy presence, the Admiral couldn't help but be on edge.

Thinking that he just needed to calm his nerves, the Rear Admiral stood up from his chair and walked into the back portion of the CIC, intent on preparing himself a cup of coffee. Unfortunately for him, his seemingly unwarranted paranoia would soon prove itself to be more than just a feeling.

"Sir, we have contact!" one of the officers shouted "Fifty-six contacts total with twelve large and forty-four smaller signatures. Drones confirm, theyre Reverie saucers!"

The Admiral rushed back to his seat, before looking at his view screen, confirming what the officer just shared to him. Practically everyone was in shock at the size of the force that was presented to them.

This wasn't just a patrol fleet, this was designed to bring humanity to heel. And if they informed the mainland, the Admiral knew that they wouldn't be able to escape.

But... if it was going to save his family and friends back home, Nikolai thought it was worth it

"Inform the mainland of our discovery!" the Admiral shouted "I don't care if it reveals our position. Turn on active scan and prepare for weapons launch as well, if we die here then were taking as many of the bastards down with us!"

The entire CIC cheered at the Admiral's orders, and they began to work fanatically to bring the fleet's weapons to bear against the threat.

The fleet that the Admiral was given were some of the last vestiges of sea power from the Old World, with its flagship being the Slava, one of the three survivors of the Soviet Union's Black Sea Fleet. Escorting the lady were three American-built Spruance class destroyers and three Knox class frigates.

These ships once were the symbol of human naval power, their mastery over the seas. And it was obvious that they would end their vigil in glorious battle against the interlopers.

A powerful pulse of radio waves was sent to the mainland by the fleet, before the radars of the Slava and her escorts got out of their passive scanning modes and transitioned into their much more potent active scanning modes. This alerted the massive fleet of airships, who began to prepare to launch weapons of their own.

"Fire!"

Admiral Nikolai's fleet launched their missiles, with a mixture of modified P-500 Granit cruise missiles and RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles streaking towards their target. Despite the fact these weapons were designed for sea targets first and foremost, engineers back on the mainland managed to get the weapons somewhat capable of targeting large air targets.

In response, the Reverie airships launched a barrage of their own. Divine energy streamed down from far away from the larger Reverie ships, with most missing their target. The real threat however came in the form of the missiles the airships launched, a single one fully capable of gutting a destroyer.

"Bruisers away" one of the officers calmly stated, sweat dripping down her face "Saucers have launched Vampires in response. Intercepting now"

The sky was lit ablaze with fire, S-300 and Sea Sparrow missiles intercepting every single target that they could. These systems were formidable, and could defend against large barrages of missiles, but the amount of ordnance the Reverie saucers sent their way was simply overwhelming.