February 2, 2021, 11:00, office of the Head of the 36th Air Wing Base, city of Gunsan, North Joella-do Province

  Having completed the air raid mission in Kyushu, Lieutenant Commander Choi Young-ho and Lieutenant Commander Jeon Chang-bin returned safely to their base. They were called into the office of the Commander of the Air Wing, having received a summons from him rather than the battalion commander.

  “Lieutenant Commander Choi!”


  “Sir, Lieutenant Commander Choi Young-ho, sir!”


  “What the hell were you thinking when you recklessly gave the order to use the TCS?”


  The Commander asked with a look of anger on his face. He was perched on the edge of his chair.

  “About that, Sir. Some of our squad members were in an extremely dangerous situation, so I gave them the order to……”


  “Why did you place them in a dangerous situation in the first place? Wouldn’t it have been better if you had just used all the weapons you had at your disposal first?”


  “Sir, we took down a total of 40 fighters. Sixteen in the first battle, and 24 in the second. In a real fight, it’s not even like there’s a guaranteed chance that one missile will take down one fighter, and……”


  “That’s enough! I don’t want to hear you bragging about what you did!”


  Lieutenant Commander Choi felt like this was unfair. The fact that they had successfully completed the critical mission was being ignored. Instead, they were dragged to the Commander’s office to be reprimanded and criticized, before they even had time to take off their uniforms. He kept quiet, not wanting to give any more answers. He simply pursed his lips defiantly. The glowering Commander turned his attention to Lieutenant Commander Jeon Chang-bin, who was sitting next to him.

  “Lieutenant Commander Jeon!”


  “Sir, Lieutenant Commander Jeon Chang-bin, sir!”


  “Why did you strafe Kitakyushu Airport?”


  Just 30 minutes before he had encountered the Black Moon Squadron, Lieutenant Commander Jeon Chang-bin and his Rainbow Squadron had, in fact, dropped two K-PSB Plasma cluster bombs at the Kitakyushu Airport. But they only did this after confirming that the enemy fighters from the 8th Air Wing had departed from that spot.

  But because of this action, the civilian aircraft at the Kitakyushu Airport, as well as its runways and airport buildings, were struck by the blast of the K-PSB Plasma cluster bomb. This was a situation that was met with an uproar.

  “Sir! Since most of the 8th Air Wing’s crafts had already departed from the area, I made the decision that it was a justifiable target for a starting point attack, and dropped the two bombs we had saved.”


  It was a confident answer, but it put the blame squarely on his shoulders.

  “The hell you did. Who gave you the right to decide whether that place was a point of attack? Did you even get confirmation from your superiors?”


  “Sir, in the heat of the combat situation, I thought that the judgment of the commanding officer should come first, sir.”


  “Hah! You two blockheads are full of nonsense! I’m just wasting my breath talking to you idiots. Both of you, take 20 laps around the training ground in combat gear, right now! And listen, if there’s an investigation about what happened during combat, just tell them that I was the one that gave the order. Got that?”


  “Yes, sir! Wait, no, sir. I will tell them the truth, sir.”


  “So you two are just going to act like blockheads all the way to the end, huh? Do you two want to keep this up? Get out of here and go run around the training ground or something.”


  “Yes, I understand, sir. Unity!”


  “You like unity, I see! Get out! I’m sick of the sight of you!”


  Upon leaving the Commander’s office, the two blockhead lieutenant commanders bumped their hips together and broke into grins and laughed.

  “Why are you always acting like such a blockhead?”


  Jeon Chang-bin said jokingly to Lieutenant Commander Choi Young-ho. He looked at his friend in mock pity.

  “Hey, I don’t know about that. But why are you acting like an idiot?”


  “I do it because you’re my friend.”


  “Is that so? Let’s go! To pack our military gear.”


  The two friends whistled happily as they exited the central building. Just outside, they were met with the Rainbow Squadron and the Black Moon Squadron.

  “What are you all doing here? And you haven’t even changed out of your pilot suits?”


  “How are we to just change out of our uniforms and pretend as if nothing happened? Not when they dragged the two of you off!”


  Lieutenant Commander Choi Young-ho’s wingman, Captain Oh Gil-sung said this, scratching his head.

  “Hey! You guys are acting like blockheads too, huh? Ha ha ha! Alright guys, let’s head back and get some rest. All of you must be tired.”


  Lieutenant Commanders Choi Young-ho and Jeon Chang-bin looked at each other and laughed as they talked. It was only now that Lieutenant Commander Choi had a chance to express his gratitude for what went down during the battle. He turned to face First Lieutenant Ha Young-joo, the Black Moon Squadron’s youngest member.

  “Lieutenant Commander Choi, thank you for earlier.”


  “Man, it was nothing…… Hey, Captain Yoon!”


  “Yes sir, Squad Leader?”


  “Take care of your wingman! Got it?”


  “Ah, I’m sorry, sir. It was just that I got distracted by the battle. It won’t happen again.”


  “That’s enough! As punishment for neglecting your wingman, go and pack my military gear.”


  “Sir, what do you need your gear for?”


  “Our Air Wing Commander told us to run laps around the training ground. Ha ha ha.”


  “What?”


  * *

  February 2, 2021, 11:00, the Cabinet’s Emergency Safety Situation Room, Tokyo, Japan

  “As of right now, the Kyushu area headquarters of the Western Air Defense Force, the 5th Air Wing and the 8th Air Wing have all been bombed, and the damage appears to be very bad. On top of that, we lost the Tsuiki Air Field, and all the F-22s and F-15Js that took off from the Kitakyushu Airport.”


  Kurosawa Kiyoshi, the Head of Tactical Intelligence of the Japanese Air Force, gave a report on the current extent of the damage.

  “Even the F-22s? How many did we lose?”


  Prime Minister Abe asked in response, utterly shocked at the news that they had lost the F-22 fighters.

  “A total of 24 F-22 fighters left the 11th Air Wing’s Kanoya Air Field. Only two returned safely.”


  “Two? Did you just say two of them?”


  Prime Minister Abe was stunned. He could not believe that as many as 24 F-22s, an aircraft that was widely regarded as the most powerful fighter plane currently existing, had left for combat and only two of them had made it back intact.

  “I took so much effort and invested so much money to get those F-22s, and you’re saying we lost 22 of them in a single battle?”


  Prime Minister Abe angrily shouted this, having totally forgotten the request from the Chief of Staff for the Air Force, Masaki Hajime, that morning. He was starting to lose his cool again.

  “How is it that we needlessly lost so much? And in our own airspace too!”


  But there was no one in the room who could calmly give an answer to Prime Minister Abe’s question. At that moment, a tense and gloomy atmosphere made its way around the entire Situation Room. Prime Minister Abe looked menacingly around the room, staring down at each of the government officials that were awkwardly standing around him. He finally stopped his gaze on the Chief of Staff of the Airforce, Masaki Hajime.

  “Chief of Staff of the Air Force.”


  “Yes sir, Mr. Prime Minister!”


  “You must take responsibility for what you said earlier this morning, and stage a retaliatory attack. Or just do something, as soon as possible.”


  “Yes, sir. We’re preparing that right now. Once the plans are complete, we will launch a full-scale counterattack.”


  “Good.”


  Prime Minister Abe gave his final word and turned around, exiting the Situation Room. As he stepped out, Minister Shibasaki followed behind him and carefully asked a question.

  “Mr. Prime Minister…… How did your phone call with the American president go yesterday?”


  Prime Minister Abe stopped in his tracks. He whipped his head back and spoke calmly, but with such force that it felt like he was screaming.

  “Don’t even mention that weasel. He’s acting completely different from the time of his state visit.”


  “Yes, but what……”


  “He said that even though we can make the American stationing bases public, the US can’t directly participate in this war. He made a point of saying that they will only be watching and taking a neutral position.”


  “How about making contact with the USSC again, then?”


  At this, Prime Minister Abe snorted before responding.

  “Are you an idiot? Trump got his orders directly from the USSC! Why would we even bother going back to talk to the USSC?”


  “But Mr. Prime Minister. Can’t we use that information to pressure the USSC?”


  “Use it? Are you saying that we should play our cards now?”


  “If not now, when will we use it, Mr. Prime Minister?”


  Minister Shibasaki asked, making a face as if he didn’t understand what was going on. Prime Minister Abe answered with an apathetic expression.

  “I will only use that in a desperately threatening situation. That’s all you need to know. And whatever you do, please don’t follow me. Go back to the Situation Room and grill the Chief of Staff of the Air Force so he comes to his senses.”


  “Ah, I understand, Mr. Prime Minister!”


  Prime Minister Abe entered the temporarily provided Prime Minister’s office without even looking back.

  * *

  February 2, 2021, 11:20, Bunker B2 (the Situation Room in the ROK Army Command and Control Center), Yongsan-gu Borough, Seoul

  “The Kyushu air attack was a success. Except for one thing.”


  The Director of Operations furrowed his brows slightly as he spoke. He was looking at the report that came from the 30th Air Wing.

  “What is it? Is it because we raided the Kitakyushu Airport?”


  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kang I-shik, spoke. He was also studying the report.

  “Yes. It looks like the damage to the other country’s airport is serious, Mr. Chairman.”


  “Let’s just skip over that. Isn’t it obvious that we would start our attack at the airport? It’s where they hide their fighter planes! It was the correct move, even if we hadn’t made any preliminary plans to attack it.”


  “If we make even the slightest mistake, we could face backlash from the other country, Mr. Chairman, sir.”


  “You’ll never win a war if you nitpick over every little thing like that. I’ll probably take care of it on my level if the problem gets worse, so don’t question the 38th Air Wing about this anymore.”


  “Yes, sir, I understand.”


  “And anyway, has there been a response from Japan? They’ve been much quieter about this than I expected.”


  “It seems that they were stunned by the damage from the attack last night. They haven’t taken any significant military actions as of yet.”


  “Well then, where is the Air Wing now? Are they preparing for the next attack?”


  “Yes, sir. They just took off from the 23rd Air Wing, sir.”


  After neutralizing Japan’s air defenses in a major offensive soon after the outbreak of the war, the Joint Chiefs of Staff continued sending out alternating Air Wings to carry out airstrikes. The 38th Air Wing had just completed their mission and had returned safely, and now the 23rd Air Wing, which was located in Kimhae, launched next.

  “Tell them to be careful on this mission. The enemy is hiding their strategic surface-to-air missile units by using the US bases as a shield…… This is going to be difficult.”


  “We’ve just sent the Air Wing the precise reconnaissance about the US bases through the Apollo Satellite.”


  “Good. Just keep watch over the situation, and I’ll go visit the Blue House this afternoon.”


  “Yes, sir.”


  * *

  February 2, 2021, 14:00, the National Crisis Situation Center’s underground bunker, Jongro-gu Borough, Seoul

  Since the war with Japan had broken out just a month after the Sino-Corean War had come to a close, the President had once again moved to the underground bunker. He was starting to get used to the place, and in the space of two months, it felt like he was returning to his hometown.

  The National Crisis Situation Center was built a hundred meters underground. Although the stale air of the underground bunker could be stuffy, the space was relatively well fitted with accommodations. It was connected by the underground loop vacuum train to other central military bunkers like the Yongsan Bunker and the underground base of the 17th Air Wing. It was an efficient and comfortable form of travel.

  After reporting on the big-picture of the war’s current situation, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs looked at the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As the final matter of business, he highlighted one specific problem.

  “At present, the greatest obstacle in the war with Japan are the US stationing bases.”


  This statement was an implicit request to talk with the US through the Foreign Minister.

  “Wasn’t this something we had predicted even before the start of the war?”


  The Head of Security questioned, heavily suggesting that this was an expected situation that they had already planned for. In response, Defense Minister spoke up and continued in place of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

  “Currently, Japan has openly moved its troops to every single location where there is a US stationing base. Of note are the antiaircraft defense artillery units in the bases; they have mostly completed their relocation.”


  “So what you’re saying is that these bases have become impenetrable fortresses that we can’t attack?”


  “Yes, that’s correct, Mr. President. Although we were successful in taking out Japan’s antiaircraft missile artillery units at the beginning of the war, we still have to be careful. If we are going to risk a second large-scale operation, we will have to be willing to bear the losses.”


  The President took a moment to think. He had fallen out with the US regarding the justification for an attack on Japan, but they had promised that they would maintain a neutral position. However, he could not imagine what the US would say if Corea would attack their stationing bases.

  “Minister Kim.”


  “Yes, Mr. President.”


  “Please try talking with the US Ambassador once more.”


  “I understand. Since we’re in a situation of putting our country’s name on the line in fighting a war, we must try everything at our disposal. I’ll do my best.”


  “Alright, then. Please do so.”


  * *

  February 2, 2021, 15:00, in the deep ocean, Latitude 31°49′, Longitude 128°25′, Jeju-do Island, The Southern Sea

  21 miles off the southern edge of Mishima Island, 60 meters under the sea, three huge black shadows were diving slowly into the dreary ocean’s depths. It was pitch black, and visibility was less than an inch in front of you. These were the newest state-of-the-art submarines which belonged to the previous First Carrier Strike Group: the Wakashio-class JS Wakashio (SS-601), JS Natsushio (SS-602), and JS Arashio (SS-603).

  The three recently-commissioned Wakashio-class submarines were shrouded behind a veil of secrecy, and no exact data had been sorted out about them yet. There was only a story when they were first developed that they had a displacement of 6000 tons. However, this was not their exact displacement. There was even a rumor going around that they were nuclear-powered submarines.

  But this could not simply be dismissed as a false rumor. It was certainly feasible to assume that Japan, whose diplomatic powers placed money above all else, had built nuclear submarines with the US’s connivance.

  The combat control room of the JS Wakashio was completely silent as the submarine dived, with only the emergency lighting system growing more intense. In the midst of this desolate atmosphere, the submarine’s captain, First Class Cancer Miyazaki Hayao, gave the order to change course.

  “Shift starboard, an azimuth of 3-5-0! Downward dive angle, 30 degrees, maintain speed up to 120!”


  Typically, the control room and the combat information room of a conventional submarine can be found within the same chamber. But the fact that the control room of the JS Wakashio (SS-601) was separate from the information room meant that its displacement was more than 6000 tons. In fact, it could plausibly be suspected of being a nuclear submarine. In any event, the three Wakashio-class submarines hidden behind a veil moved in a column formation, gradually turning right and diving even deeper into the depths of the ocean.

  Currently, this location was outside of the area of detection of the Poseidon 2.