Cyber Warfare and the New World Order

Showdown Looming

Admiral Stonebridge had been elated when their battle group had finally been able to choke off the enemy supply ships from feeding the invasion forces. Their ships were now providing direct support to the ground forces, and with the fleet’s cruise missiles, they had destroyed the enemy airfields and any remaining aircraft they had. The Allies now had complete air superiority. It had been touch-and-go at first; the PLAAF had mounted a concerted attack against his fleet as they approached San Diego. However, although they had sustained damage, they had been able to beat back the attackers while inflicting significant losses.

As Captain Baker approached Admiral Stonebridge to bring him the latest images of the enemy fleet, he saw him signal one of the yeomen for a refill of his coffee. “Admiral, the satellites are showing the enemy fleet has put to sea and is heading towards us. What are your orders?” he asked. Baker was hoping that they would leave the coast and head to meet the enemy head on as soon as possible. He desperately wanted to finish off the enemy fleet and avenge his fallen comrades.

Admiral Stonebridge smiled at Captain Baker, and began to examine the images on his tablet. He zoomed in to see the fleet composition. It appeared the entire Japanese/Chinese fleet had set sail. “So, it looks like they want to have one final battle for supremacy of the Pacific,” the Admiral remarked.

He didn’t respond to the question right away; instead, he gazed out the window of the bridge, contemplating the situation. Off in the distance, he could see the sky filled with smoke from numerous fires; aircraft and Razorbacks darted back and forth, attacking ground targets in the city. LA had been a beautiful city prior to the invasion. They had been in the process of building numerous highspeed rail networks linking San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas together. It was truly disappointing to see the city now being systematically destroyed through the fighting. Thousands of civilians were being killed daily, caught between the two fighting armies with nowhere to go, cut off from food, water and electricity.

Stonebridge broke free of his thoughts and turned back to face Captain Baker, “Order the fleet to prepare to head towards Hawaii; we are going to finish this fight. Get the airwings ready and let’s begin preparations.”

During the past week while the fleet had been on station off the coast, they had received several new squadrons of F38A and F38B drones (now that air superiority had been achieved, they would not be needed in LA). The navy would need the additional aircraft for the upcoming battles. Fortunately, the Air Force, Navy and Marines operated the same type of drones, so transferring them from one service to the other was not as challenging as one might think.

Looking over the maps one more time, Admiral Stonebridge noted there was a lone Seawolf class submarine not far from Hawaii. He sent a quick order to the ship directing them to position themselves between the two fleets and then lie in wait for the enemy fleet to sail directly over them before engaging the enemy carriers. If they could damage the carriers or even sink one, that would definitely improve his own fleet’s odds.

As the two fleets converged on each other, the tension between those who commanded these great naval armadas continued to grow.