8:00pm
Caspian Sea
Reitzmic vessels patrolling the large lake wait vigilantly for any refugee, distress call, or enemy vessel that may appear. The news of the cruise missile strikes already reached the other ships in the fleet, and a counter-attack from the Svarnans was a huge possibility despite the pressure from the Government.
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Just then, HMS Agile was on its way to rendezvous with HMS Cambridge when the radar picked up a signal just 50nmi away. The vessel was not identified by the AID (Alliance Identification) System and therefore is not an ECON vessel, and therefore may be an enemy ship or a Telum vessel. Further readings and calculations were made, and the conclusion was that the ship is a lone Svarnan Navy Frigate.
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Anticipating a possible encounter with the foreign vessel, the ship rang General Quarters. Soon, they would learn that this was the best decision they ever made. On the other side of the battlefield was a Svarnan Navy Frigate, the exact same ship that helped seize MV Lucious and MV Hwarang. Cruising at 20kn, the ship already had HMS Agile in its sights. It kept closing in before firing two Anti-ship Cruise Missiles at the lone Corvette. The two missiles speed to their target, but are immediately detected by the missile warning system aboard the stealthy ship. Countermeasures were launched, and 2 Maverick SAMs try to intercept the oncoming danger. The intercept was only partially successful, only one of the missiles were shot down while the other continued on its way to the target. The threat was serious, the only hope was on the onboard CIWS to shoot the last one down. At transonic speeds, the other missile approached closer and closer and was met with gunfire from the Goliath CIWS. At 1.5nmi, an explosion was heard from the distance. The missile did not make it, it was shot down by the ship's defence systems.
After the threat was cleared, the crew remained on alert in case more were on their way. The ship's commander was not happy with what happened, he ordered to contact the headquarters at Manchester to inform them of the situation. Aside from that, he also sought permission to engage the ship in retaliation. The war had actually begun.
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HMS Agile deviated from its rendezvous course after it informed the other ships in the fleet on its new mission, DNS Wuppertal (F155) of the Duchian Navy (operating under Operation Tiger) also approached in to join in engaging the lone SNS Agra to retaliate after it also got attacked just minutes after the attack on the Royal Navy. Quickly, the VLS cells were prepared from both ships. The Reitzmics were preparing to launch 2 CM-12 Expander Cruise Missiles while the Duchians were also arming 2 Exocet missiles, both of which had the range and speed to likely hit the already aged target.
Once the missiles were prepared, both went on a coordinated salvo with the Reitzmics launching in alternating order with the Duchians. At 8:45pm, everything was set. HMS Agile was around 40nmi from the target while DNS Wuppertal was around 60nmi, and both were around 80nmi apart. From the bridge, Comm. Frank Ulysses ordered to begin firing and notified his Duchian counterpart that the salvo is about to begin. The weapons officers initiate the launches with the first missile being released, the Duchians then followed suit in the same manner agreed.
The 4 missiles closed in, and due to the distance and speed difference it seemed like all would hit at once. Inside SNS Aga, the incoming threats were detected, and all crew remained alert in their battle stations. The opposing ship fired a salvo of 4 Aspide SAMs in a bid to intercept the threats, before then firing another salvo of 4 to ensure a successful intercept. Only 1 of the Exocets were intercepted, while both Expanders remained on their course at supersonic speeds. Like a karma, the only hope for the Svarnans were their countermeasures and CIWS. Once in range, the onboard systems began to engage and rain bullets on the coming missiles. But it was too late, the Exocet of the Duchians hit their marks just below the bridge. The CIWS was partially successful by taking down one of the Expanders, but the other hit its mark right in the middle near the smokestack. It wasn't enough, although the damage was massive to disrupt operations. However, the final fate was decided. The order had already been dropped by the Prime Minister himself.
SB: "Sink it."
That was the order from the already furious Simon Bridges. And in in compliance with the order, another salvo was ordered for both ships under the same sequence. However this time, SNS Agra already ran out of SAMs. The crew inside fought on fiercely, firing their last two Cruise Missiles in a bid to hit DNS Wuppertal whom which responded with evasive maneuvers and launch of countermeasures to avoid the threats. However, both were easily taken down by the more advanced Duchian ships. In a last-ditch effort, the ship cruised in an attempt to at least score hits on any of the two vessels with its main gun. But it was too late, the salvo was coming, and the countermeasures were not enough to save the day. Again, one of the Exocets hit their marks this time at the center of the hull while one of the Expanders hit the hangar at the back of the ship, piercing through armour and killing the crew desperately preparing the on-board helicopter for a flight, the other missed. It was too much, the men were ordered to abandon the slowly tilting and sinking ship. A distress signal was sent out to all other ships for rescue, the first battle had come in favour of the Reitzmics and Duchians.
GCHQ "The Doughnut"
At the headquarters, the Prime Minister rapidly sped into the war room after being notified of the attack on HMS Agile. With anger, he did not hesitate to approve a counter-attack and asking to sink the ship and rescue the survivors. News of the Duchians losing aircraft in Svarna after an unsuccessful attempt to achieve Air Superiority also came, the situation was very complex. It seemed like the Svarnans really wanted war, but the lives of the Duchian pilots was also important and so the decision had to be made carefully. Then, he spoke.
SB: "Rescue the sailors and send a communique to President Neha, I want to meet with him. We're offering a trade of prisoners of war and of critical equipment."
In his mind, the angered Prime Minister thought that maybe a Diplomatic approach could still be done to give an end to the war. War wasn't something good for him, especially as the Conservatives ramp up efforts for the next election which might be catastrophic for his party. Reappropriating budget to a foreign invasion was simply not appealing to the masses.
SB: "I don't want news of the sinking to come out just yet, we have to wait for their response to our meeting offer. Other than that, I also would like to meet the revolutionary factions in Svarna. If it is possible, bring them in the United Duchies so they could organize a unified front and establish a government to replace the current regime once we liberate Goa. And finally, I want an announcement from the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs thanking and accepting the generous offer of humanitarian assistance from various nations in recognition of our limited capability. That's all for now."
As soon as everything was cleared, Simon left the room and went back to continue work in the Black House. A lot of people, had some explanations to make. The first days of the war had finally actually begun, and the first battle was in the Reitzmics' favour.