Chapter 2
[Chasing tracks]
USNA West Coast. October 4, local time.
Off the coast of Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, a frigate arranged by the STARS conducted a search for Rocky Dean after his escape from San Francisco.
In the absence of a better lead, they took Tatsuya's words of advice, "I wonder if you are looking under the sea," and "I have a feeling that you'll have luck looking to the north." Vague as they might be, it wouldn't hurt to check, so they sent a vessel northward along the West Coast, keeping their eyes peeled on the undersea probe.
This task wasn't a job for the STARS. It's the FBI who looks for wanted terrorists at the federal level. But after their interference claiming jurisdiction over the pursuit, which ended with them failing under Dean's [Dionysius] magic, and the latter escaping, the FBI burned themselves out of the case. Their embarrassing failure precluded them from raising any objections to the STARS pursuit of Dean at sea.
And even if what happened last time wasn't on consideration, they would have no reason to object, since neither the FBI, State Police, or Coast Guard were privy of the clue pointing at Dean's northward course through the ocean.
"─Detected a submarine wake. There are no reports of active underwater vessels in the area at this time."
The pursuit team shared a look with the report from the sonar operator. The team is being led by Lieutenant Ariana Lee Shaula of the 11th STARS division, with 2nd Lieutenant Sophia Spica of the 4th STARS division acting as her second in command. They had a past encounter, and a score to settle, with Dean and Laura since when the two of them had been pilfering a ruin at the foot of Mt. Shasta.
Which isn't to say they aren't suitable for the task, Shaula's but Shaura's skill in blocking mind-interference magic being an effective countermeasure against Dean's magic, and Spica's training as an intelligence operative were major factors in their selection considering the requirements for the assignment.
"Sergeant Saturn."
"Yes, standby for a moment… Submersible spotted. Length: 50 to 60 meters, Beam: 5 to 10 meters. Size doesn't match a tourist submersible. This is closer to a small submarine.
On consideration of the capabilities of the planetary-class assigned to this mission, emphasis was placed on search-and-rescue over combat effectiveness. As exemplified in the case of Sergeant Major Trevor Saturn Second.
He is a lean man with a thick, unkempt thick beard who never takes off his sunglasses, even indoors. You only get to see him in his STARS uniform when he is on a mission, like now, his usual fatigues are jeans and a T-shirt all year round. This man, who looks more fitting on an IT company than military, is a superpower user of clairvoyance.
Rather differently than the type that places another "eye" at a remote location, his ability aligns more to the "far-sight" kind, allowing him to see beyond distance and obstacles. He can reach his line of sight beyond distances and obstacles.
It has some limitations, however; the angle of vision narrows as the distance increases. And while it's well suited to identifying what's up ahead, it's inherently not suited to looking for things the user is not sure of where they are.
But with the aid of detection equipment and a rough bearing, he could easily find underwater vessels hidden deep in the sea.
"Sergeant, relay to the sonar operator the exact position of the ship."
"Roger." Sergeant Saturn did as he's instructed, showing the operator where he spotted the ship while pointing at the sonar monitor.
The operator used the coordinates to narrow down the active sonar's sighting.
"There is a reading on the sonar. The size and shape are consistent with Sergeant Saturn's report."
With the confirmation from the sonar operator, Shaula then ordered communications, "Communications Officer. Send them an advisory to the surface, please."
They are within the territorial waters of the USNA, and the right of innocent passage does not extend to fully submerged vessels.
The radio operator immediately transmitted an advisory on the acoustic communicator to surface the vessel, instructing the vessel to surface as required by the USNA's maritime statute.
"The vessel does not show signs of surfacing."
"Warn the vessel that if it does not surface, we will engage in hostilities."
The communications officer sent the message as ordered.
Five minutes later, however, no change.
"…Can you confirm the message reached them?" "Yes, ma'am, it certainly has," The communications officer confidently answered Shaula's inquiry.
An acoustic communication is transmitted as a sound wave, so it can be received even by ordinary sonar. Should, supposedly, an underwater vessel experience a failure of their sonar functions, they would be completely blinded, and therefore unable to navigate, in which case they would have no other choice but to surface. If they chose to stay adrift in the water, then there would be no sonar signals, which are produced by vessel propulsion systems. ─As it so happens, the submersible with Dean on board is specifically designed for anti-detection with its non-magnetic hull and a slow-rotating propeller.
"You're really going to push my hand, are you… Prepare to fire a warning shot!"
"Fleming Launcher, anti-submarine bombs loaded and ready."
"All right. Open fi─"
"Fire!," Shaula would say, before she was interrupted by the communications officer, "Friendly Warning!"
."Warning…?" Shaula mutters quizzically. There shouldn't be any vessels exercising or operating in these waters. She confirmed this with the General Staff.
What on earth is there to warn about? And from a friendly, at that.
Handling magicians who are a federal security threat goes beyond the capabilities of public security authorities, falling to the STARS as part of their duties. Unfortunately, the STARS Commander-in-Chief Canopus could not secure an order for Dean's capture from the General Staff, but he did manage an approval to search for "dangerous magicians" in the USNA's waters. There was no reason for friendlies to send them a warning during it.
"Who are the friendlies?" Spica asked the communications officer while Shaula was deep in thought.
"They ID as the [Metcalfe the Third] stationed at Alaska base, ma'am."
Almost as if timed with the communications officer's reply, the silhouette of the warship begins to creep up on the horizon.
In the tradition of the line of famous and highly expensive stealth destroyers, the ship' hull follows a full-form tumblehome configuration, with its profile being composed of a series of straight, flat surfaces. With the lack of a superstructure, prioritizing stealth over form, the vessel ends up looking like a bent pyramid. She was a sister ship of the state-of-the-art "Jeremy Boorda" class of warships.
"The [Metcalfe]? Colonel Miller's ship?"
Colonel Elliot Miller is USNA's nationally recognized Strategic Class Magician, who is currently stationed at the Alaska base. While being technically an Army officer, he leads a mixed unit of magicians and heavily armed infantrymen called the Independent Special Infantry Battalion.
Due to the nature of the Strategic-Class Magic Miller wields, [Leviathan], which weaponizes seawater as at a massive scale, and his role as a countermeasure against a potential aggression with the New Soviet Union across the sea, he is also effectively in command of a maritime force. The Independent Special Infantry Battalion under his command operates the aforementioned stealth aegis ship, [Metcalfe the Third], as well as the assault landing ship [Amaknak]. These were the two ships known to embark Colonel Miller. "Lieutenant Shaula Captain Palmer of the Metcalfe is requesting communications. What should I do?"
"With me? Not this ship captain?"
"Yes, ma'am. He specified he would like to speak with the CO of this operation."
"Alright."
Shaula stepped in front of the communications console, almost at the same time the line on standby was re-established.
"This is Lieutenant Ariana Lee Shaula of the Special Operations Magician Unit STARS," Shaula introduces herself first, while saluting a camera linked to a monitor in the comm equipment.
[This is Captain Robert Palmer of the destroyer Metcalfe the Third, stationed at the Alaska base as part of the Western Pacific Fleet.] In the monitor, the captain of the Metcalfe returned the salute from his chair.
[I won't belabor this meeting─] Captain Palmer took the initiative, cutting right to the chase. [Our vessels from the Alaska base are currently on patrol in the area.] He followed his reply by stating his business. [We ask that you refrain from proceeding any further on these waters.]
Captain Palmer's request was at the same time unexpected and hard to accommodate.
"Apologies captain, but we are in the middle of an operation."
[May I ask what the nature of this operation is? Or is it confidential to even fellow federal officers?]
Shaula hesitated for a few seconds, Captain Palmer's words rubbing her the wrong way. But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was the source of her discomfort, so she didn't have an argument to refuse answering.
"…We are in pursuit of a magician who represents a potential major threat to the State."
[May I also ask the identity of the suspect?]
"Rocky Dean, Captain."
That answer appeared to cause Palmer to think for a moment.
[…The federal wanted suspect from the terrorist incident?]
"Affirmative, sir."
[And is this Rocky Dean fleeing in a submersible in our waters? Do you have his current location?]
"We have, sir."
[Forward me the coordinates.]
"Yes, sir."
While pondering on the strangeness of the situation, Spica who was listening in to the exchange between Shaula and Palmer instructed the sonar operator and the comms officer to transmit the estimated coordinates of submersible with Dean to the Metcalfe.
[…Transmission received,] Palmer signals the receipt of the data.
[Now, we'll take over the inspection of the submarine in question, and we'd like to ask your ship to leave the area.]
"That is… My apologies." Shaula unintentionally raised her voice, but immediately reigned herself in. "May we ask that if you encounter Rocky Dean, to release him into our custody?" Arguing back-and-forth right now would only give Dean more leeway to escape. Shaula prioritized expediency.
[I'm sorry to interrupt,] at that moment another officer appeared on the comm monitor alongside Captain Palmer.
A man of robust military build, crew cut hair dappled with gray, wearing sunglasses while clearly indoors and a face that both Shaula and Spice, watching the monitor at her side, could recognize.
[Greetings, this is Colonel Elliott Miller of the Alaska Base Independent Special Infantry Battalion.]
No USNA magician officer would not know that face. After all, it was none other than Elliott Miller, a Nationally Recognized Strategic-Class Magician, one of the so-called "Apostles."
"This is Lieutenant Ariana Lee Shaula of the STARS." Shaula pays another salute.
[I've heard all about your work, and as a fellow mage officer, I deeply sympathize with all the difficult duties that you had to carry out in service of this nation.]
"…Thank you for your words."
Miller did not mean what he said. He was making a roundabout point about the STARS' unlawful methods of assassination to purge mages who might be harmful to the federal government.
[As such, I'm sorry that a busy unit like yours must be troubled with a single terrorist. If we ascertain that Rocky Dean is onboard the submersible, we'll go ahead and turn him over to the law enforcement authorities.]
"Colonel, if I may, sir!" Spica speaks out as Miller tries to take away their pursuit of Dean. [And who may I be talking to?] His tone betrayed no nuance of disapproval.
But Spica reflexively straightened her back and responded with a voice strained with nervousness, "I'm sorry for interrupting, sir. I'm also a member of the Special Operations Magician Unit STARS, Second Lieutenant Sophia Spica."
[Second Lieutenant Spica, that's it? So, what do you have to say?]
"We have been in pursuit of the aforementioned enemy magician, Rocky Dean, since before the recent terrorist attack in San Francisco. We would very much appreciate it if you would hand him over into our custody!"
[You'll have to negotiate that with the law enforcement authorities, I'm afraid. We have our own business to attend to, and we unfortunately cannot allow your ship to enter our area of operations. Isn't that right, captain?]
At Miller's prompting, Palmer nodded, [Correct.]
"But, sir!"
"Second Lieutenant."
Spica attempted to protest further, but Shaula called her to a halt and gave her a small shake of the head.
"Understood. Can we at least ask that you at least send word to the STARS commander, Canopus, once you've handed Dean over to the authorities."
[That much I can do,] Miller gave a light-hearted agreement to Shaula's last ditched request.
"Then, if you excuse us." Shaula, for the last time, saluted towards the monitor with Miller and Palmer. And Spica silently followed suit.
◇ ◇ ◇
Upon receiving the detailed report from Shaula about the interference off the coast of Alexander archipelago in Alaska, Canopus immediately sent a written condemnation against the destroyer Metcalfe the Third and the Independent Special Infantry Battalion of the Alaska base to the General Staff.
However, as short as an hour later, the General Staff received another letter, this time from the commander of the Alaska base, condemning the STARS in turn for overstepping their jurisdiction.
The General Staff was put in a difficult spot, they would eventually do something, but the two parties statements certainly added a degree of complexity and tension to the situation.
On one side, the STARS, a unit reporting directly under the General Staff Headquarters denouncing the Alaska base for its actions.
While the headquarters did not issue an order for the search and capture of Dean,a draft of the operation was submitted in advance and approved by them. It would be a violation of the military regulations to interfere with an operation that had been officially approved by the General Staff, even if the Alaska base argued ignorance of the approval.
At the same time, there were chief of staff who placed more weight on USNA's "Apostle" ─their Nationally Recognized Strategic-Class Magician─ Elliott Miller, than the STARS. Worsening the STARS position was the known fact by the Chiefs of Staff of Angie Sirius's ─real name, Angelina Kudou Shields─ effective defection to Japan, who was another of their then three "Apostles" as well as the commander-in-chief of the STARS. For this reason, there were still some doubts among some in the General Staff about the reliability of the STARS and its current commander-in-chief, Canopus. Who not only let an "Apostle" escape, but actively assisted their defection.
The numbers not in their favor were by no means small. Certainly not enough ratio to be dismissed as an exception. And while they questioned the value of the STARS, there was a tendency to overestimate the value of the "Apostle" Miller.
This current dispute between the STARS and the Alaska base off the coast of Alexander Archipelago, created a rift between the two factions within the General Staff who either favored the STARS or the Miller's side.
As a result, the General Staff was unable to reach a decisive position regarding the capture of Dean.
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