Nod’s forces had been crushed in a stunning defeat followed by an embarrassing rout. Rolling Thunder was dead, and nearly 10,000 loyal members of the Brotherhood were now pinned down in the Badlands while trying desperately to get to the relative safety of the Hayseed Swamps to the west. If they could get there, they could blend in and work around GDI positions, but with the heathens so thoroughly entrenched and the Nod units relying solely on stealth field generators to hide, it was a sadly lopsided fight. The Macintosh Hills were no safer, and now under a heavy air patrol while GDI looked for any survivors from the refinery that had been explosively exorcised out of the mountain.

Along the coast of the Celestial Sea, GDI’s impressive, if as a whole mostly untested, aquatic navy had multiple battle groups holding position in immediate area. Nearly 750 kilometers of coastline had to be protected from the ‘Forbidden’ Jungle all the way up to Baltimare and Horseshoe Bay, with the beaches that lead straight into the swamps taking priority. Nod had troops trapped in that kill-zone beyond the murky, choked terrain, and Sky Sentry satellites had already picked up the tell-tale signs of massive Nod movement along the coast of the Dragon Lands.

The Brotherhood’s meager navy, after nearly a month of preparation, was finally preparing to make a desperate move that could mean the liberation or execution of an entire division of Nod infantry.
__________

Captain Carcharodon was a monster of an earth pony, and probably the most foul-mouthed sailor in the entire GDI navy. A veteran of no less than 30 skirmishes with Brotherhood ‘harassment fleets’ along trade routes up and down every coast that GDI laid claim to, he was about as no-nonsense as an officer could get without becoming a clone of General of the Armed Forces, Ironsides. His fur was a dull brown, with a mane surprisingly grey for a pony of only 42, but his eyes were what really stood out if you ignored his tendency for swearing up and down every beach he’d fought for. Dazzling green gems that shone almost like he had been a Tiberium infestation survivor like the defectors Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

His command was the Bastion-class battleship, GNS Trafalgmare, and she was one beast of a ship. Coming in at 325 meters in length, surpassing most Kodiaks, with armor capping out at 20 inches thick in certain areas, and the latest in GDI Magical Barrier tech, she lived up to her class name with relative ease. Her armament was just as impressive as her size, armor, and shielding capabilities with three turrets of three cannons each, all of them 18-inch railguns, and 150 various missiles ranging from ship-to-ship, ship-to-ground, and even anti-air and anti-missile capabilities. On top of that she was outfitted with the best anti-air projectile weapons the Air Force had to offer, courtesy of Sky Admiral Dash; a point defense grid of 20 rotary cannons firing 30mm shells that could either be armor piercing or flak, depending on the target.

All around, she looked as dangerous as her captain, and there were a good baker’s dozen of them in the GDI fleet all acting as the heavy hitters of 13 of GDI’s 15 naval battle groups. She was the Mammoth of the sea, and any captain privileged enough to command one knew it.

Nod’s captains knew as well, rarely trifling with GDI ships when a Bastion was near.

Usually Captain “Carc” as his crew had come to nickname him would be in high, if vulgar, spirits with enemy action almost a certainty and a real chance to use his ships main guns for once literally over the horizon. Today on the other hoof, put a considerable damper on his spirits courtesy of his passenger.

Fleet Admiral Jet Set, Admiral of the GDI Navy and Carcharodons biggest detractor. Grey fur, a slightly darker grey mane and tail, and light blue eyes hidden behind eye-glasses marked the delicate unicorn’s presence on the bridge of Equestria’s most powerful naval warship. His uniform reminded the bridge crew of Prince Blueblood, being overstuffed with medals, awards, and other citations that everpony knew the pompous bastard didn’t deserve, but refused to speak up about. They had much more important things to worry about than a single unicorn aristocrat’s ego.

Like the fact that orbital imaging had confirmed what the recon sorties from the Breezie-class light carriers had picked up on sensors. 80% of Nod’s navy was converging on Battle Group Whiskey’s position, and they had landing craft in tow.
__________

Rainbow Dash continued to pace the bridge of the Double Rainboom with increasing frustration. She had been told to hold position above cloud cover and wait for shit to hit the fan. Apparently, Ironsides didn’t want to entertain the thought of bringing her Kodiak down right on top of the Brotherhood navy heading towards the beaches of Hayseed Swamp and unleashing magnetically coiled death upon the sailors below.

Something about painting too big of a target on her already brightly colored rump.

“Newest set of sensor data.” one of her Ops officers chimed in, breaking the blue pegasus from her daydream, “Just more confirmation that everyone water-side is going to need help.”

“Reinforcements besides us?” Rainbow Dash asked, her tone betraying her irritation quickly.

“Three more battle groups en route, all with battleships at the head, 72 ships in total. Looks like the Admiral wants to keep up the momentum from Dodge Junction.”

“Good thing we were already here for the party Rose Shard threw for the Brotherhood, this could get pretty messy.” Dash retorted, not bothering to have her officer mention the number of Nod craft aloud. She couldn’t count it quickly but it was easily above a hundred, probably close to 200, even though over half of them were nothing more than lightly armed frigates that she knew couldn’t even penetrate the deck plating of a GDI cruiser.

“Plenty of carriers in the mix on both sides, it would appear we’re here to provide emergency air support with our squadrons, and some pinpoint artillery with the railguns.” her XO added from his station nearby. She was a short, red pegasus by the name of Flare, and her temper lived up to her name when situation demanded.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to put on a good show. I want prechecks done again on every Orca we have, every pilot ready to jump in at a moment’s notice, and extra ammunition pulled out from the magazines. If those numbers are right, ‘Jetty’ is going to need our help.”
_________

“Status update.” a monotone, yet unmistakably feminine voice ordered. The synthetic voice that followed somehow showed more emotion than she did.

“GDA Double Rainboom, is still holding position 6,425 meters above the ocean surface in dense cloud cover.” the EVA announced, “She has yet to detect us or the Barricade. The fleet’s movements have also been tracked since mustering at Griffonstone.”

“Good, I didn’t want them to be unprepared for this attack.” Maud Pie said, “Hold course and have the fleet hit the jammers once the lead capital ship is in range of the main armament of a Bastion-class battleship.”

“Aye ma’am, sending orders to captains.” the AI replied as a familiar face walked onto the bridge.

“Brother-Brigadier General.” Maud said, her voice as emotionless as ever.

“Sister-Battle Commander.” Hyperion answered back, “My carryalls are ready to take the fight to GDI once we break their lines on the water, and the troop transports are well protected behind the line… I admit, I’ve never had a knack for naval tactics but this seems to be coming surprisingly natural for a mare of your upbringing.”

“Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate when a fellow soldier recognizes ability.”

“I’d be a fool not to, especially with your family name. It would appear that the Pie Family is proving quite the match for the Apples.” the earth pony stallion remarked, grinning as he kept an eye on the holographic table in the center of the bridge, showing a three-dimensional overlay of the entire battle area, a stretch of ocean a good 200 square kilometers in size.

“Lead ships to reach engagement range in 20 minutes. Mission Countdown Timer initiated.” the EVA announced, causing a flurry of movement as those milling around on the bridge put on their game faces and rushed to their stations. Within seconds, only Maud and Hyperion were left standing.

“Brigadier, prepare for a combat drop. Once Rainbow Dash takes the bait, we will move into deployment range and I expect you to fulfill your orders to the letter. From now until the engagement is decided, I will be relying on my neural implants to relay orders, do not be alarmed at my silence during the battle. In the Name of Kane.”

“In the Name of Kane.”
_________

“Orders, Admiral?” Captain Carcharodon asked for the third time, glaring at the stammering Admiral in front of him. This was the fifth time that he had hesitated when taking command of a battle group, third time that it had happened to Carcharadon’s, and the seasoned sailor didn’t know how much more of this idiot’s way of conducting business he could take.

In almost every engagement he had pulled a victory out of, Jet Set had criticized him for being too aggressive and putting his ships at undue risk. Upon closer inspection, even Ironsides could easily tell that Jet Set considered any enemy contact at all an unnecessary risk to his precious fleet. Overly cautious and still in a defensive mindset that was bred of the early days of GDI getting its ass kicked on nearly every front.

Ironically, on the water was where GDI was the strongest and had yet to meet a morale-shaking defeat like the Blueblood Massacre or the Fall of the Crystal Kingdom. If anything, GDI could win the war just by blockading every enemy port on the globe, but the pony in charge of those decisions wouldn’t yield to the requests of many captains, headed by Carcharadon, to take the fight to the Brotherhood.

Nothing like a GDI battleship shelling you from the shoreline to put the fear of Celestia in you.

“It’s… it’s obvious.” the grey unicorn murmured slightly before regaining his arrogant tone, “Air cover will bomb the living cerberus out of them before we open up with the main guns. I want every ship to have a targeting solution with the EVAs according to their ship class. Battleships will target carriers before hitting our Brotherhood counterparts.”

“Answering, aye.” the Carc growled, finally glad to have at least some semblance of a game plan. “EVA get me a juicy target with a bloated belly ready to take a broadside straight to the fuckin’ flank!”

“Such profanity! Watch your tongue while I’m on the bridge, Captain!” Set ordered, only to back down immediately as the earth pony he was chastising gave him a glare that could stop an ion cannon strike dead in its tracks. “Or… carry on, Captain.”

“Targets locked for the Trafalgmare… rest of the fleet syncing up.” the mare at the gunnery station relayed, not looking up from her console.

“Confirmed.” EVA added, “Targets locked, optimal firing range in 5 minutes.”

“Trafalgmare will take the first shots, I want staggered fire throughout the whole fuckin’ fleet so no one double-taps one of those tin cans. No need to waste ammunition on a bastard in a dingy carrying less death and destruction than my grandma’s left teat!” Carcharodon barked.

“May Celestia Rest Her Soul.” the entire bridge crew chimed back, getting a look of revulsion from the admiral still on board, and a smile of pride from the floating fortress’ commanding officer before he went back to barking orders.

“All hands brace to fire!”

“Bracing!” another officer cried out, “Coils charged, magic recyclers at the ready!”

“Firing solution confirmed, carrier identified.” EVA stated with its standard monotone.

“Mares, stallions, time to hunt us a few white whales, and I don’t mean the Princess after a bake sale! EVA!?”

“Targets entering range in 5 seconds. Preparing to fire.”

Captain Carcharodon let out a breath, sucked in air slowly over the interval his tactical AI had just stated, and smiled as he nearly blew out Admiral Jet Set’s ear drums.

“TO EVERY BASTARD OF MINE IN THE BATTERIES! OPEN UP!”

No one heard Set’s own exclamation as all 9 main guns, followed by her secondary armament of 5-inch railguns, let off the lead salvo. A third of each battle group fired a split second after, cruisers, destroyers, and frigates all lending their armaments to try and land a crippling opening blow on the Brotherhood fleet massing at their doorstep.

24 ships fired in the first salvo, and only one shell in the entire volley managed to hit a target, an 18-inch shell from the Trafalgmare that managed to impact the carrier she had her sights on. While one shell was more than enough to disable her, Jet Set was dumbfounded, and Carc was livid.

“EVA, explain!”

“Scanning…. Scanning…. Anomaly detected.”

“I said explain you bastard child of a toaster!”

“Previously unencountered jamming frequencies identified. EVA targeting will be ineffective until shut down. Manual targeting required.”

“Manual!?” Set screamed, a little too mare-like for even the females on the bridge crew’s taste.

“You’re damn right it said manual! Ops, message down to the batteries time to put those ‘dumb fucking drills’ they hated so much to good use! No EVAs on this one, today we fight like real mariners! Send the message to the fleet, we’re doing this the hard way!”
___________

“Manual? The hell’d they do to our targeting computers!?” a pegasus shouted over the exertions of the loading mechanism.

“Nod jammers in the area, we have to use the old emergency sights! Jamboree, get the scope hatch open and start picking a target!” a blue unicorn with the name “Baritone” stenciled on his uniform barked back, getting a nod and a sarcastic salute from a yellow unicorn on the other side of the loading bay.

“On it!” the younger unicorn shouted back as he sprinted up to the “Hot Seat”. Usually in combat, gunnery teams of 6 ponies would wait around and wait for a malfunction in the automated systems to happen. Usually things went smoothly and EVA handled firing, loading, and the finer points of aiming while the team simply picked out targets for it. In emergency situations like this, gunnery control was left completely to the team and target acquisition was left to the seasoned hooves of the turret team.

“Second set of orders just came down.” the pegasus, Fritz, announced, “Target priority is carriers and battleships. Cruisers are on the target list only as targets of opportunity.”

“Pick us a fat one, Jamboree!” Baritone ordered as he trotted over to another console and took control of the middle cannon. Two more ponies on either side took up positions and relieved EVA of firing command, making sure the railgun coils were charged and ready by the time Jamboree picked a suitable ship to hit.

“Nod battleship, she hasn’t used her cloaking tech yet, 5 clicks out! Marking the target on your screens!” Jamboree shouted down, hitting a flurry of controls and highlighting the target on the three gunnery consoles below him.

“Confirmed, stand to and prepare to fire!” Baritone replied, “EVA, time on current range.”

“Shells traveling from weapon to target will take 1.66 repeating seconds to reach the target.”

“Minimum time, we fire staggered. Wait for visual confirmation of my shot to hit before firing!” Baritone shouted, getting a chorus of ‘ayes’ back, “Target is locked… firing!”

No one in the turret heard him say anything after announcing his target was locked on. Even with enhanced ear protection that was mandatory for all crewmen in the guns, the sound of even one railgun of that size firing was deafening. The center cannon fired, spitting metal out at a muzzle velocity of 3km per second. Less than two seconds later, a shell passed through the targeted battleship as if it were a hologram.

“Damn, Nod jamming really is buckin’ with the system. Offset three mils right and fire 3!”

“Firing!” the pony at the cannon marked with a massive ‘3’ answered, drowning out all sounds in the turret once more as yet another 18-inch shell hurtled down range.

This one hit her target straight on, a massive plume of fire and smoke erupting from nowhere as the Illusion Generator failed and the battleship ‘shifted’ back into reality. Cannon 1 added a second shell to the mix, hitting the superstructure of the angular vessel and completely obliterating its supports. Moments later, the ship crumpled in on itself and began listing badly to port where the first shell hit.

“Confirmed kill!” Jamboree exclaimed, stating the obvious but just doing his job.

“Good work Turret 2!” came another male voice that everyone recognized as Captain Carcharodon over the PA system.
__________

GDI adapted quickly to the situation, but not every ship trained so extensively in manual targeting as the Trafalgmare and her crew. Because of this, the GDI fleet was averaging only one in every three shots actually hitting their target, sometimes as low as one in five, but they still had two major advantages over their Nod opponents. GDI ships had vastly superior range of effective fire courtesy of railgun technology, and every ship in Equestria’s aerial and aquatic navies had Magical Barriers protecting them.

Nod had maneuverability and the ability to scramble advanced targeting, but GDI ships were built to take a hit and could dish out pain at twice the range Brotherhood ships could with ballistic weapons. Missiles had more than enough range for the Brotherhood and GDI alike, but at a little under three kilometers away, only a tenth of those fired at the GDI fleet managed to get past the point defense grid created by the sheer amount of ships in the battle area.

Once Nod ships closed the gap and passed into 1.5km range, things began to get ugly despite the hefty toll already taken. The Brotherhood had lost 37 of their original 193, with another 25 ships damaged but still capable of fighting and they were more than eager to avenge their fallen brethren.

Illusion Generators strained and failed momentarily as all across the Nod battle line as the fleet let off its first salvo of shells and missiles. Like a deadly ripple starting from the north and working its way south, Nod ships fired in succession but kept moving forward. GDI point defense turrets sprang to life, sending rivers of deadly flak into the air or straight across the water at the incoming fire, hoping to knock out as many missiles as they could before shields began to flare and eight destroyers started taking hits to their armor. The plating held for seven of them, but buckled inward for the eighth. Luckily for the crew, no penetration on the first volley.
_______

“Looks pretty.” Carc thought with a small smirk, glancing over to his shivering commanding officer as he ducked behind the tactical screen. “As if that’d offer any fucking protection if the Celestia damned shields and armor failed.”

“Marestow reporting damage to her armor belt.” EVA announced, “Integrity down to 67%.”

“And our shields?” Carc asked, bracing himself slightly as he felt the ship shudder through firing her main guns again.

“Holding at 89%, Spark Reactors are operating at optimum capacity with all targeting processing shut down.” the AI answered, getting another smile from the captain. A smile that was immediately replaced with a scowl as Jet Set opened his mouth again.

“Form a battle line! All battle groups make a staggered line, spacing one kilometer between each ship! We’ll form a wall and stop them in their tracks!”

“Belay that!” Captain Carc bellowed, “Sir, that’s a suicidal tactic. If we stay put they go between us and by the time we turn around, they will have already emptied every missile they have in their fuckin’ silos straight into our unshielded hulls. Flanking will be our best option to contain them and when they get past us, have enough guns pointing their way already.”

“Nonsense, we can hold here!” Jet Set argued, gesturing grandly to the tactical map, “We knocked and disabled nearly a fourth of their ships in one salvo.”

“And this is why you sit behind a desk and let the real stallions do the fighting, Admiral!” the vulgar captain barked back. “All your knowledge is theoretical, half of it’s built on bullshit pre-tib era tactics. I’ve been out here risking my ass and that of my crew while you enjoy a chair in Canterlot and sneer at me. You do your job, let me do mine!”

“Why I ne-” Jet Set began before yet another glare from Carcharodon shut him up.

“Have the group break north and tell battle group Foxtrot to head south. Tango can hold position and maneuver back towards the shoreline while we try flank these bastards.” Carc finally said, looking back out at the battle area through the front windows.

“Think they’ll see it coming?” his XO asked.

“Of course not! Tango will keep waving their dicks at them to keep them occupied while Foxtrot pulls their collective tails. Then we hit’em in the ass and hope they don’t want to cuddle afterwards!” Carcharodon barked back with a wicked grin, getting another gagging noise from Fleet Admiral Set.
___________

“Double Rainboom still hasn’t engaged, intercepted communications suggest she is aware of the jammers, and will not fire unless absolutely necessary.” Mauds EVA announced.

“And the GDI fleet is pulling a flanking maneuver, as expected.” she droned in reply, “Continue forward, continue dropping beacons along the predetermined path.”

“Complying.” the AI answered, “GDI ships scattering by battle group. Two more GDI battle groups are also en route to the battle area; ETA is 22 hours and 49 minutes. ETA until aircraft attached to them is within effective range, 20 hours and 3 minutes.”

“Then we don’t have much time to evacuate survivors.” Maud muttered, staring at the tactical overlay as if she were peering through it instead of at it.

“Are you alright, Sister?” Hyperion asked, becoming slightly uneasy with her gaze.

“The Fleet will punch through and around the middle battle group, from there, Rainbow Dash will try to get involved and start chasing sensor ghosts we have left in the atmosphere. Air support will be tied up on both sides, the GDI fleet will be forced to withdraw when Barricade starts firing. From there we will have 18 hours to evacuate 9000 soldiers.”

“How can you tell all that from just the tac-map?” Hyperion inquired, an eyebrow quirking up slightly at the sheer confidence behind the statement.

“GDI presents itself as a wall, much like the ones around their Blue Zones. Those walls are made of stone, which again, GDI likens itself too. They forget that like all stones, there are patterns in its makeup that are visible to the right eyes.” Maud stated plainly, taking a small chunk of granite from her uniform’s saddlebags. Even when in the middle of combat, she was still a geologist first, battle commander second.

“All one must do is pick the right spot to make one precision strike...” she added, setting it down on the map and then tapping it at a seemingly unimportant spot, causing fractures to spiderweb out all over the stone, “...and the entire face shatters.”
________

“Battle groups are in position, but we’re starting to take some losses. Damn Nod jammers are keeping us from using our full arsenal.” Carcharodons XO announced, “Foxtrot’s already lost a cruiser and Tango’s carrier had to withdraw under heavy fire. Her flight deck is still in flames.”

“And Sky Admiral Dash?” Admiral Set asked, his tone still betraying his level of panic.

“Moving to engage some sensor ghosts in the atmosphere. Apparently, Nod has something up in the clouds and her birds can’t get a bead on it, so she’s moving in personally with the Rainboom.”

“The hell could possibly be floating around up there…?” Carcharodon inquired, raising an eyebrow and simply getting a shrug from his first officer. “Keep me appraised, I don’t want to be caught without air support if this battle goes south.”
____________

“Another sensor ghost, bigger than the last one. 100 meters out, starboard side.” an officer announced.

“Confirmed. Object is 20% larger than the last scan.” EVA parroted, “Size is now consistent with a Kodiak-class GDI Aerial Carrier. Silhouette does not match.”

“We’re the only Kodiak out here. All the others are on defensive deployments inland…” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Can we get a visual anywhere?”

“Cloud cover’s too thick, ma’am. But all pings at this things comm relay are turning up static.” her XO stated quietly, “We can’t even get a proper visual on targets in the water, Jet Set is still going to be on his own.”

“EVA, are we out of range of those damn jammers yet?” the sky-blue pegasus asked, exasperation obvious in her inflection.

“Affirmative, but there is a second source keeping our weapons from getting target locks. Manual targeting still required.”

“Location of the second source?”

“Initial scans show 100 meters out, starboard side.”
______________

“Battle Commander, 78% of the GDI aircraft have finished their initial attacks on the fleet. 20% of them are on their way back to the Double Rainboom for rearmament and refueling; orders?” Maud’s EVA inquired, getting a raised eyebrow from Hyperion.

“Weapons station, coordinate with Barricade and take Sky Admiral Dash out of the sky on my mark.” Maud replied before looking over to her ground pounder counterpart, “Brother Hyperion, will you be conducting your rescue operation from the bridge or from a carryall?”

“I led the first rescue operation when we were pulling back from the Macintosh Hills, I will lead from the troop bay this time as well. Do try and keep the heretics off me? I’d hate to make you find a replacement garrison commander.”

“Noted.” the grey mare deadpanned before pausing and looking over the tactical map again.

“Barricade stands ready, ma’am. Weapons stations on both ships await your command.” EVA declared. Maud nodded quietly, rubbing her chin for a moment as she kept observing the map.
____________

Kodiaks were designed with ground or naval support in mind, with the majority of their artillery weapons mounted ventrally for optimal firing arcs on ground targets. Along the flight deck, mid-ship, and other dorsal weapon mounts, anti-aircraft and missile defense was key with point defense guns. When originally designed, this was obviously the best choice for operations against an enemy with an ill-equipped air force.

They had never counted on the Brotherhood countering the Kodiak with an airship of their own.

They had never counted on the Brotherhood being able to get artillery-grade missiles within the Point Defense Grid’s 1 kilometer kill-zone.

They had never expected an assault from above.

And Maud had capitalized on that belief beautifully.

Both Discord-class air carriers Everfree and Barricade opened up with a devastating barrage of missiles and laser fire from above the Double Rainboom. Much like the Kodiak, their main laser batteries were focused on her ventral surface. But unlike their GDI predecessors, they were designed with ship-to-ship combat in mind and had plenty of defensive armaments along mid-ships and bracketing her flight deck.

Obelisk-class lasers ate at the Double Rainboom’s shields, straining them to the breaking point in a matter of seconds and in just under a minute, breaking them. The magical shielding peeled away from impact points like a bubble popping in slow motion, and while the laser cycled their heat, missiles by the dozen began impacting the GDI airship’s hull, knocking most of her railguns out of commission in the initial volley. To their credit the gunners in their stations managed to get off three shots, one of which clipped the Barricade and shattered an engine pod in the process. The other two went wide and unbeknownst to the gunners, impacted Ancestor’s Peak a few minutes later, showering the surrounding area for miles in each direction with tiberium shards that ranged from the size of cars to slivers a mere inch long.

Hyperion couldn’t help but smile as he saw what had become of the Double Rainboom. In a matter of minutes, Maud Pie had reduced the flagship of the GDI Air Force, practically a temple of their air superiority, to a burning hulk hurtling like a meteor towards the ocean, most likely with all hooves lost. He kept smiling as his carryall got clear of the Everfree and sped off towards the coast. Normally he would have taken in the sight of such a titanic naval battle happening below, but he held his gaze on a sight he had hoped to take in since his days raiding GDI harvester convoys before the war officially began.

“Pilots!” he barked over the squadron channel, “Let’s go bring our boys home.”