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Chapter 13 - Sea Assault

"."

Jin could see the large armored ship ahead of him sailing, surrounded by four Tenno-class destroyers and one Tsushima-class cruiser. Beneath the surface of the water was a Soryu-class attack submarine.

"."

Jin lowered his speed and altitude as he came into closer view of the naval ships runway and the crew directing him towards it. After descending further his EX-35's wheels touched the runway with a slight thud and Jin came to a slow and complete stop. The crew immediately went to work directing him to park next to several other jets.

Jin had landed onto the JS Shinano, a newly manufactured Kagami-class aircraft carrier in service with the Japanese Navy since 2130. Created by the shipbuilding division of Shiota Corporation, this vessel was one of Asia's strongest and most powerful. It was nuclear powered and contained all of the necessities an aircraft carrier would need, making it perfect for usage by Norio.

Its namesake coming from the Shinano, an aircraft carrier used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

Jin disengaged the jet and departed from the aircraft leaving it to the hands of the crew for maintenance, taking off his helmet he walked onto the flight deck to see a clear view of the sea around him. At the same time various men and women pilots dressed in flight suits walked among the deck beside the jets, talking and chatting as they were preparing for an upcoming mission.

Joining him by his side was a navy officer dressed in service uniform.

"." he said. Jin turned around towards the familiar voice.

"?!"

Saburo Matsuura, Jin's uncle and an Admiral of the Japanese Navy.

"."

"." he replied looking out at the fleet once again. "You actually command all these ships?"

"?"

"..."

Saburo nodded and bade Jin to follow him. The two walked amongst the deck pass crew and pilots until they made way towards the inside, as Saburo explained.

"."

Jin nodded. "."

"?"

"."

The arrived at the mess hall where sailors and pilots were until one sailor asked for Saburo's attention, he turned back to Jin and said that he had to leave for business regarding the operation.

"." Saburo said saluting Jin.

Jin returned the salute as he left leaving him alone. He walked over to one of the tables and spotted Nio with Alexei, Takeo, and Haru. Eventually the day ended with no threats in sight, allowing the fleet to relax as they continued their patrol in the Pacific.

***

"!"

Jin zipped his flight suit up and after placing on the arm and shin guards, grabbed his helmet and bolted from the armory room. Arriving at the hangar he could see the sailors and crew scrambling to get the Norio and Astrean pilots into the air and preparing the carriers defenses. Sailors rushed to deck guns and crew gave final directions as the jets rolled out onto the runway one by one.

Jin had climbed the ladder and jumped into the seat of the cockpit of his EX-35.

"."

Jin gave a thumbs up before closing the canopy and starting the engines, his jets A.I then spoke.

!

Jin rolled out onto the runway and pressed further on the gas pedal.

"!" he said.

The engines of his jet roared through the air as he sped down the runway and lifted off into the air, climbing higher and higher his helmet's HUD located the rest of his squadron. The fleet was now in the North Pacific surrounded by an endless body of water, not a single piece of land could be seen for miles. Floating before them was the Class A Xeno they were sent to destroy followed by several smaller ones.

Jin however had to climb further into the sky away from the fleet. Ascending through the clouds Demon Squadron caught sight of two X-100 bomber aircraft, on their way to drop their payload onto the Xeno below. The bombers had been surrounded by several medium-sized Xenos from all directions.

"!" Takeo said over radio. "."

Jin sped forward and opened fire on the first Xeno in his sights, the bullets destroying its upper torso with blood and its insides spilling out and falling to the water below. Turning right he began to give chase to another one as it tried to escape his clutches. Nio followed alongside his friend and the two delivered devastating fire onto the creature.

"." Nio said. "!"

Looking at his camera he noticed a Xeno tailing him from behind. Burst of energy grazing the back of his jet as Jin tried to steer clear of the Xenos path. Raising his altitude he sped pass one of the bombers and used his jets aerobatic techniques to loop around the creature.

"." Jin said to himself pressing a button on his dashboard.

A stream of concentrated energy shot from beneath his jet and landed onto the Xenos back causing it to burn and melt away midair, the creatures insides bursting throughout the battlespace. Jin was astounded at the sight of his new weapon working. As Nio flew alongside him he contacted the Shinano below.

"?" Saburo said through comms. "?"

". "

"."

Jin nodded as the transmission ended. At the same time below on the water Saburo ordered the fleet to defend the Shinano, with the destroyers taking a more offensive approach and the Soryu-class submarine rising from the surface to deliver a missile barrage onto the the Xeno.

Applying more throttle he sped pass another jet in time to open fire on one Xeno that had latched itself onto a bomber, once confirming the kill his rear camera showed another on on his tail.

"?" Jin said to himself. "."

"!" Takeo said.

Jin barrel rolled his jet again to dodge another energy burst, the blood rushing throughout his body and causing his heart rate to rise. Luckily thanks to his suit he was able to endure it all without the blood pooling in his abdomen or chest area. Stabilizing his aircraft Jin started to formulate a plan to kill the creature behind him.

"." Jin said. Pulling back the lever beside him he began to ascend vertically into the sky. Climbing higher and higher ever second Jin looked back to see the Xeno still tailing him.

"<3..2...1...Now>!"

He stopped the engines and allowed the Xeno to zip by him. Pulling the trigger on his control sticks he fired another concentrated stream of energy into the sky, the beam hitting the Xeno in its rear and coming out of its mouth. The creature howled in pain before exploding into thousands of pieces and falling back towards the ocean below, Jin turned the engines back online and sped back towards the fleet.

When he arrived he could see though his aircrafts camera system that the Shinano was being attacked by smaller Xenos, its sailors on board the deck firing their weapons and trying to repel the creatures and keep them from boarding. The destroyers too occupied with the larger Xeno still floating on the water to come to the aircraft carriers aid.

"!" Jin said. "!"

Giving himself a boost Jin raced towards the boat and opened fire on the Xenos in his sights. Coming around every few seconds for gun runs and making sure not to fire directly onto the deck for fear of hitting any navy sailors. When the space around the aircraft carrier was clear Jin hovered above the ship in VTOL mode, at the same time another barrage of missiles from a nearby destroyer was sent towards the Xeno.

"?"

"." Saburo replied. "?"

"."

Zooming into the distance with his camera Jin watched as the bomber dropped its payload onto the Xeno, a blinding flash of light followed by a muffled explosion enveloped the battle space. The ocean water rising into the air in a cone-like shape and causing every ship within range to violently shake. Fortunately none of them capsized and were still adrift. When the water had settled Jin could see that the Class A Xeno was dead at last.

"." he said. "."

Jin lowered his aircrafts altitude and softly landed on the Shinanos deck, opening the canopy he grabbed his assault rifle and jumped down onto the ship beside several sailors. Joining him by his side was Nio, also armed with a rifle. The Xenos before them charged their position causing them to dodged their strike, Jin opened fire and killed each alien creature in his weapons sights.

With the help of the sailors beside them the Xenos on the flight deck were all terminated. Sailors dressed in navy blue uniforms, kevlar vests, and rifles converged onto Jins position securing the area.

"!" Jin said.

"!"

"."

As Demon squadron landed onto the ship Jin raced towards the bridge of the aircraft carrier to find his uncle, passing through the narrow hallways he came upon the sights of men and women sailors, injured or dying. The walls shattered and the ceiling dripping with water or debris. The hangar had been torn to shreds, but fortunately much of the aircraft was still in one piece.

"<*Matsuura-teikoku>?! (*Admiral Matsuura)" Jin shouted. "?!"

Ascending a set of stairs he found the door to the bridge, knocking on the steel he made his presence known and allowed the heavy metal to slowly open. Inside was Saburo with the rest of the crew.

"." he said walking in. "...?"

"." Saburo replied. "...?"

"."

Saburo lowered his head. "Rest in peace..." he said as he walked towards the window to observe the outside. The two of them made their way back onto the deck just as medical personnel arrived to tend to the injured sailors, Norio pilots either landed onto the deck or continued to fly about in the sky. Looking for any signs of remaining Xeno lifeforms.

The fleet suffered extensive damage as several destroyers floated about in the water, with their hulls breeched and decks demolished, their crew either dead or floating on life rafts towards the still floating Shinano.

"Damn..." Jin said to himself placing his rifle on his chest and taking off his helmet, the bangs of his black hair covering his left eye as he looked out at the fleet. The smell of seawater replacing the gun smoke in his nose. Saburo patted his shoulder.

"."

Jin nodded. "Yeah. I know."

His uncle may have been right, but nevertheless Jin was distraught at the loss of life before him. "?"

"."

Several Norio pilots arrived onto the scene to asses the damage to the fleet as Jin walked back towards his squadron, to continue his part in aiding the injured.