The Red Sun Rises: Voyages

by The Atlantean


The Dominion

Five days later, the submarine Omaha sortied out to sea, looking for the new arrivals. They had reportedly gone through the rift, and the only thing left to do was to find them. With three fast attacks, four surface combatants, a refueling tanker, and a cargo ship loaded with supplies, their safe coming to Reagan was critical.

It didn't take long. The new ships were five knots from Stormwater Cove, already sailing towards the island. After being introduced to Robinson, the captains returned to their ships and prepared for a longer voyage than they thought it would be. They then told their crews and conducted several emergency drills.

One of the submarines, USS Annapolis, had the most experienced captain this side of the Atlantic coast. The Reagan Task Force felt honored to have him in their ranks. Having turned down flag rank in favor of ending his career at sea, Captain Reynolds was about as experienced in submarine warfare as Robinson was in carrier tactics, if not more.

With all the support coming in, Robinson almost forgot about his new fighter wing. It flew through a rift and to the carrier, landing quickly and bringing fresh pilots. The Navy version of the new F-35B Lightning II made up more than half, and it was the most advanced air superiority fighter in both Equestria and Earth. Most of the rest of the approximately eighty-five jets were the standard F/A-18 Super Hornet, which Robinson was glad to see. Lucky for him, one F-22 Raptor squadron had been modified for Navy use, its Air Force pilots replaced with Navy ones. Also, a Marine Expeditionary Force, known as MEF 4, came through to provide the fleet with more capable land-assault forces. And each of the amphibs carried their own small wings, as they were literally the size of another country’s own aircraft carrier. Compared to Reagan, they were mini-carriers. This brought Robinson’s total fighter count to one hundred two.


After a week of repairing the supercarrier and battleship, the Reagan Task Force set sail to the north, heading for Dominion territory. General Quarters was set on all ships as a precaution, but Robinson wasn’t sure it’d be enough. His five fast attack submarines lacked functioning torpedoes and the Aegis Warfare System was still down for the four surface combatants from the Atlantic Fleet. The admiral made sure that the new ships received Lake Erie’s developmental build to fix the second issue. As for the first, there wasn’t much they could do at the moment.

The trip was uneventful. No Russians nor Chinese threatened the Americans if they were even in the area. It was probably because of Stormwater Cove.

As the fleet approached the mouth of the Northern Run, they were stopped by a small group of wooden frigates. The square-rigged wind-powered ships were large enough to have iron-reinforced hulls, but they were tiny compared to their opponent.

As the two groups neared, a Unicorn used a communications spell to see the top of the flat-topped Reagan without getting in harm’s way. Celestia saw it, though, and pulled the Unicorn through the spell and onto the Flight Deck. She then teleported down to him and transformed into her alicorn form.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“I am Captain Joker Face, miss.” Still bewildered by the sudden teleportation, he finally looked up. “Princess Celestia? What is the ruler of Equestria doing way out here?”

“I require the Dominion of Apollo’s assistance. It is the most advanced both technologically and magically, isn’t it?”

“Not to disagree, Princess, but it appears that you have a more technologically advanced society.”

“This fleet? No, Captain, this fleet belongs to the United States of America, on planet Earth. We just happen to have a mutual interest.”

“Well, Princess, you’ve come to the right place, then. I will see if my commander will allow your friends into Dominion sea.” He teleported back to his own ship, fairly shaken and prepared to be hit by many reprimands.

Once aboard his ship, DAS Eagle, he went to his commander’s quarters and knocked. “Sir, I bring news about the group of ships before us.”

“Good, good. Come in, Captain.”

Joker Face entered the room. His legs were shaking with fear, but when he saw the commander’s face, he relaxed. Admiral Jackpot was in a good mood today. “Sir, they are Americans. Or rather, they claim to be. The fleet is allied with Princess Celestia of Equestria, and every one of their ships is far ahead of our technology. They need only one ships to destroy our entire navy.”

Admiral Jackpot sat back in his chair and nodded. This news wasn’t too bad. “What do they require of the Dominion?”

“Princess Celestia has not disclosed that information. However, she has made it clear that this is in fact a serious problem she believes only we can solve.”

This was definitely an opportunity to show the world that the Dominion of Apollo had not been fazed by the failures of war against Atlantis. To resurrect the respect they deserved. “Ask Princess Celestia if she would kindly join me on the forward deck. Negotiations must begin.”

Captain Joker Face teleported back to the carrier, where Celestia waited for his return. He asked her to go to Eagle, but she kindly refused, saying that she felt safer aboard the carrier. If the Dominion wanted to speak, their representative would have to come on her terms.


Admiral Jackpot was initially pissed about it. But he decided it would be for the best. He had Joker Face teleport the two of them to Reagan’s Flight Deck. acknowledging the princess, he saw that two humans had come out of the large tower on the carrier’s starboard side and were heading over to the group.

The two sat down in some chairs Celestia magically brought over. She introduced the middle-aged man as Admiral James Robinson of the U.S. Navy, and the blonde woman beside him as Commander Amber Hamilton, the Air Boss and CAG aboard Reagan. Agreeing to act civil towards each other, they all began negotiations.

“Princess Celestia, what concerns you so much that you come all this way for help?” asked Jackpot. It had to start somehow.

“This concerns not just me, but the whole world. The Americans are not of this world, and neither are their enemies, the Russians and Chinese. They are here because a rift has opened between the two worlds.”

“And do you know how this rift may have opened?”

“No, but I suspect it was already there for thousands of years, and jump-started by my sister’s death and the destruction of the Tree of Harmony.”

“I am sorry to hear of Princess Luna’s death. She was a good leader. And the Tree… that’s horrible. We must leave immediately to Amyfalone to continue discussions. That is, if your fleet can keep up. Every ship in the Domination Navy is capable of sixteen knots.” Jackpot smiled.

His smile faded with Robinson’s reply. “At ahead flank, this ship alone can speed at more than twice that. The other ships can do twenty knots if needed.”

“Then you will have to slow. No ship, friend or foe, can traverse Dominion waters without an escort.”