The Lonely Earth - Earth ISOT into Magitek fantasy

Chapter 3: Strakh

Midway Island, 1 hour after translocation

"Command, this is Blue Raptor. Approaching bogeys," Jay Lee's voice crackled over the radio as his F-22 fighter jet closed in on the contact site. Engaged in supercruise mode, the sleek stealth aircraft devoured the distance, bringing Jay within sight of the mysterious fliers ahead. Almost forgetting about the smaller aircraft buzzing around him, he flinched as one of the midnight and olive aircraft buzzed past him.

"What the...Command, any visual on this? The lead bogey appears to be massive, at least eight... nine hundred meters long," Jay reported, banking his jet to get a closer look at the vanguard airship and its escort of smaller ships and fighters, forming a protective formation around Hawaii Flight 843. Whoever these entities were, they were putting on a grand display.

"Negative on visual, Blue Raptor. Satellite uplinks are currently unavailable," came the response from Pearl Harbour's ground control.

"The bogeys are operating an airship fleet. I count eight airships and over fifty fighter craft. They're escorting a Hotel Alpha Lima civilian aircraft towards Honolulu. No signs of damage on the civilian aircraft," Jay relayed the information, quickly glancing at the massive shape of the Righteous Indignation in the distant background.

"Oh, holy hell! Command, brace yourself for this news. They've got an even bigger one... I mean massive!" Jay exclaimed, unable to tear his eyes away as the colossal craft seemed to extend infinitely into the horizon, charting a separate course straight towards California.

"The primary bogey is at least five kilometers long and heading straight for California. Wait... there's a second bogey of the same class, and more ships... it's an entire fleet. They're escorting some gargantuan arcology ship," Jay continued, still trying to comprehend the sheer scale of what he was witnessing.

"Blue Raptor, can you confirm?" Command queried.

"The arcology ship must be at least twenty kilometers long. It's beyond belief!" Jay confirmed, awe-struck by the colossal size of the unknown vessel.

"Negative. Do not engage. Refrain from any communications until we can establish contact with an ambassador," Command ordered, recognizing the sensitivity of the situation.

Jay's attention turned to his wingmate, Celeste Mina, who had rejoined formation with her raptor. "Fight Truck, you seeing all this?" he asked.

Celeste looked back at him through her cockpit, nodding with a wry smile. "Besides the airship caravan? Sorry, it's a little hard to focus on minor details when we've already had a day full of impossible shit," she replied, her amusement evident.

"Think we stand a chance against them?" Jay inquired, half-jokingly.

Celeste chuckled at the thought. "Us against an entire air force? Yeah, sure, those odds are really appealing, Raptor," she replied sarcastically.

"Damn... I just hope we have a way to communicate with them. If that fleet passes overhead, California's gonna lose its mind," Jay said, shaking his head in concern.

"Do you think they can handle it?" Celeste asked, echoing the apprehension in Jay's mind.

"Nope," Jay answered with a hint of uncertainty, realizing that this encounter with an enigmatic and formidable fleet could lead to unprecedented consequences.

White House Situation Room, 1 hour after translocation

President Trump leaned onto the table, frustration mounting as he cursed the lack of satellite video feed.

"Alright, folks, who's the genius handling the diplomacy duties?" he inquired sharply, yearning for a more direct means of communication than mere radio.