Chapter 545: Season 2 Book 22 Battle of Life or Death – 2-3 The 2nd Round
January 23rd, 2024, 08:00
At sea (the Combat Intelligence Center of the Columbia [SSBN-901]), 99 kilometers from the east end of Katsura, Chiba prefecture, Japan
The report of the first impact on the combined fleet came in from the combat information officer. At this, Captain Emerson Hyndman made a contented face and gave an order. “Deputy Captain! We’re swimming to the maximum depths, and switching to silent submersion mode.”
He wanted to confirm the results of the impact on the combined fleet, but had judged that, for safety reasons, it was time to retreat.
“Swimming back to the maximum depth, submarine switching to silent submersion mode.” The Deputy Captain repeated the order and relayed it to the pilot. The Enrique (SSBN-902) and the William Penn (SSBN-903), along with the Columbia (SSBN-901), immediately submerged.
Just then, the sonar officer’s urgent voice rang out through the Combat Intelligence Center, even though they were in silent submersion mode. “Two to-torpedoes are coming toward us! Distance 12,000! Azimuth 0-9-8! It’s v-very fast.”
“are you saying they attacked us while defending? When will it arrive?”
“38 seconds left.”
“Do you mean there are only 38 seconds left until it arrives even though the distance is 12,000?” The Deputy Captain asked again, noticing that the time to respond was so short.
“The speed of the torpedo is almost 600 knots.”
“600 knots?”
The faces of the people in the Combat Intelligence Center hardened simultaneously at the sonar officer’s unbelievable report. A speed of 600 knots was even faster than a cruise missile, and it was a speed that was close to the speed of Mach 1. A speed like that underwater was something you could only see
in science-fiction movies.
“Immediately! Expel all the possible nixies and swim at maximum speed. And insert the information of the stern’s first and second launch tubes, loaded torpedoes, and the information detected from sonar.” Captain Emerson Hyndman stayed calm in the Combat Intelligence Center and gave the best
possible order.
Kooooooooong!
‘The five S-SSFM-500B Tridents were flying at an extraordinary speed, creating a hypercavity nearby. It was quickly heading closer to each of their targeted submarines.
“ah! The first nixie’s jamming failed! The second nixie has failed as well. Distance 2800!”
Only reports that were too awful to believe rang throughout the Combat Intelligence Center.
“Fire from the first and second launch tubes as soon as they open!” As soon as Captain Emerson Hyndman gave the order, the stern’s muzzle doors that were on standby opened and fired two Heavy Weight Torpedoes.
Krururuurung! Krururuurung!
The two Heavy Weight Torpedoes, fired from pressured air, swam toward the S-SSFM-500B Tridents that were approaching at frightening speeds according to their designated targets.
“First torpedo! Five seconds until impact! Four, three, two, and one! Interception has succeeded!” The sonar officer happily shouted with his hands up in the air. But soon he had to adjust his crooked headphones and concentrate to confirm the results of the second interception.
“Three seconds until the second torpedo impacts! Two! One! Interception has failed!”
Just then, there was a shock, along with a huge explosion sound, that shook the entire body of the Columbia (SSBN-901). It was such a great shock that it threw the crew members that were standing in the room onto the floor.
“”Wh-what was that?”
“ah! It seems that the Enrique and the William Penn have been shot down,” reported the sonar officer in despair. But the report didn’t reach Captain Emerson Hyndman’s ears. It was because they could be in the same situation at any moment.
“Steer the submarine downward as much as it can go!” Captain Emerson Hyndman shouted, expecting a miracle in a short amount of time. Suddenly, the Columbia (SSBN-901) turned wide to the left, plummeting toward the bottom of the sea.
Kiiiiiiiing!
Asound rang through the entire submarine that sent chills down everyone’s back.
“How long until the enemy torpedo gets here?”
“Three seconds.”
“D-damn!”
‘There was no hope. There was no time to dodge.
“Two seconds until impact! One second! Impacting.”
“Prepare for the impact!”
Screams rang out from everywhere. But the Columbia (SSBN-901) swam on without any problem, even after those seconds had passed.
“Wh-What’s going on?” When nothing happened, even after a few seconds had passed, Captain Emerson Hyndman, who had grabbed a firm structure and shut his eyes, opened his eyes and looked around.
“We’re saved. The enemy torpedo has passed us by.”
It was a miracle. All of the Columbia’s (SSBN-901) crew threw their hands up and shouted in happiness.
Captain Emerson Hyndman was dumbfounded at the unbelievable reality, but soon found his composure and gave orders. “Quiet! We’re going into silent submersion mode right now. Pilot! Get down to the maximum depth and standby there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ca-captain, how did this happen?” The Deputy Captain approached the Captain awkwardly and asked.
“How should I know? The important thing is that we’re saved!”
‘The second S-SSEM-500B Trident, which had been approaching at a terrifying speed of 660 knots, had suddenly turned to the left and missed the Columbia (SSBN-901), which had been swimming almost perpendicular to the sea bed.
‘The S-SSEM-500B Trident, unable to turn directions easily because it was moving at such a high speed, had missed its target because the targeted submarine had suddenly moved. It crashed on the sea bed, causing an enormous explosion.
Boooom! Kururururumuuung!
‘The pressure from the explosion wrapped around the Columbia (SSBN-901) once again.
Kruk! Kruk! Kiiiiiiing!
A strange sound rang out as if the outer wall of the submarine might split. But the color was coming back to the faces of the crew of the Columbia (SSBN-901). They had just come back from the entrance of hell, so it was understandable.
Soon, the Columbia (SSBN-901) went down to a depth of 2,000 meters and went into silent submersion mode. They planned to move after things had calmed down in the region, whether that took a day or even two days.
But what they had planned didn’t happen. In the nearby seas underwater, the Jang Bogo (SS-061) of the 9th Submarine Force Command, was waiting.
keK
January 23rd, 2024, 08:20
The underground bunker of the Blue House’s National Emergency Situation Center, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Namju
From very early in the morning, President Choo Un-hee, with Minister Kang Yi-sik, had been watching the evacuation of Tokyo as well as the bombing operation currently underway in Japan. They had been getting real-time reports about the naval warfare against the Pacific Fleet, as well.
A little while ago, the report about the results of the first naval battle came in from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The damage done to the combined fleet by the anti-warship missiles was one destroyer and three frigates, and they could no longer be included as part of the force. Six were dead, 15 were injured,
and 41 were lightly wounded. The report also stated that the Pacific Fleet had lost 15 warships, including the Zumwalt-class destroyers, to the combined fleet’s attacks, and that both sides were currently in the process of retreating from battle.
Besides this, 43 CA-11P Phoenix fighter jets, nine CF-21P Zhujak fighter jets, as well as eight Black Zhujak fighter jets were shot down in dogfights with the enemy, and among the fighter jets of the Pacific Fleet, 165 F-35B and C Lightning II fighter jets have been shot down. If they were to focus only on
the ratio of the fighter jets that were shot down, it would be a resounding victory on the side of the Republic of Korea, but if they were to consider the dogfights that had happened, the Republic of Korea had suffered a great loss.
Because of this, the Joint Chiefs of Staff also added that they would deploy two more fighter jet wings so that they could dominate the enemy in future dogfights.
“As we thought, the U.S. isn’t an easy opponent,” said Secretary of National Security Kang Hyun-soo with a bitter expression. He thought that the damage was even greater than expected.
“Tt seems that the U.S. has prepared many things in the last three years without us knowing,” added Minister Kang Yi-sik, also looking at the report as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Even if we worried here, it wouldn’t be of any help. We need to trust our men and wait. Instead, let’s keep monitoring the retreat status of our marines that were garrisoned in Japan. Ah, and isn’t Ambassador Oh Dong-jin currently in the middle of negotiating with the U.S. State Department?”
Ambassador Oh Dong-jin was an ambassador for the Korean embassy in the U.S. He was in the middle of his visit to the State Department in an attempt to resolve the naval warfare with the Pacific Fleet peacefully.
“Yes, Mdm. President! He’s currently discussing it with Assistant Secretary Julian Green at the State Department building,” replied Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-hee.
“Not Secretary Maine Johnson?” asked President Choo Un-hee, surprised.
“Tt seems like they’ve been trying to minimize contact with him because of the incident back in Latvia.”
“Trying to hide the stench, I see. Well, I hope that the discussion ends in favor of what we want.”
President Choo Un-hee especially hated Secretary of State Maine Johnson out of all of the American politicians. It was because he was a scoundrel who traveled around the world and used all sorts of backhanded tactics to drive wedges between countries.
A large scale bombing operation was underway to return Japan back to the state it was in three years ago, when it was defeated in war. Along with this, the 1st troop (Haeryong), and the 6th Marine Division (Chunryong), all men garrisoned in Honshu, excepting Hokkaido, were to retreat toward Maizuru
and Joetsu to be sent back to Korea on the multipurpose amphibious assault ships and transport ships of the 53rd Flotilla, under the escort of the ist fleet. The 5th Marine Division, which was garrisoned in Shikoku, was to be sent back to Korea on transport planes.
With this, the Republic of Korea would be pulling all military forces out of Japan. In the situation of being in a full-out war with Russia, there was no need to continue to have military friction with Japan, regardless of what the U.S. intended, But of course, this was all considering that the prerequisite for
these decisions was that the industrial regions of Japan would be completely destroyed.
Because of this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been attempting to end things peacefully with the U.S. government through Ambassador Oh Dong-jin.
But, because of the real-time reports that they received from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Choo Un-hee’s heart had changed.
Four destroyers and two frigates of the combined fleet had been destroyed, in addition to the previous ships, because of the American nuclear submarines’ torpedo attack. Casualties were being rounded up, but the content of the report estimated around 200 casualties.
As soon as she was told of the report, President Choo Un-hee’s face burned red. It was apparent how angry she was just from the color of her face.
The large screen that had been showing the jets bombing Japan changed to the video of the combined fleet, taken by a reconnaissance satellite, along with the report.
While 30 warships sailed toward the seas of Japan, several destroyers and frigates sank into the cold sea, covered by red flames. The surroundings were filled with helicopters that were deployed from multipurpose amphibious assault ships to rescue the crews of the sinking ships that had jumped into the
sea.
Among the ships that were attacked, the Jeongjo (DDG-1007) caught everyone’s eyes. It had lost its entire stern, including the helicopter storage, and was in such a state that it wouldn’t have been surprising if it sank at any moment, but it only leaned to the left slightly. However, it had lost the ability to
move and was depending on the sea current to move along.
President Choo Un-hee turned her head when the screen showed a sight that she hadn’t even wanted to imagine.
She then looked at Minister Kang Kyung-hee and spoke in a cold voice, “Tell Ambassador Oh to stop his discussion with the U.S. government.”
“Mdm. President? What do you mean?” asked Minister Kang, surprised.
“The peaceful solution that we had planned with the U.S. is completely canceled from this point on. So tell Ambassador Oh to stop his discussion and return to the embassy.”
“Are you sure, Mdm. President?”
“Yes, there is no change in my decision.”
President Choo Un-hee was firm. At this, the ministers and secretaries, including Minister Kang Kyung-hee, were no longer opposed.
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