//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: CTF Haymaker // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// CONFIDENTIAL FLASH FM PACOM TO MKIARG USS MAKIN ISLAND USS SOMERSET USS COMSTOCK 11MEU PHIBRON 5 SUBJ: HADR OPN IVO TAUROS PROCEED AT BEST SPEED THROUGH PACIFIC RIFT. ALT-EARTH NATION OF TAUROS REQUESTING HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE/DISASTER RELIEF FROM RECENT EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI. SITUATION: INITIAL REPORTING OF LARGE-SCALE DISASTER IN TAUROS. UNKNOWN GROUND SITUATION. STAND BY TO RECEIVE UPDATES. JAPAN HAS PLEDGED DDH IZUMO. AUSTRALIA PREPARING AIRLIFT. EQUESTRIA SENDING ARMY. MISSION: STAND OFF TAUROS COAST AND ASSESS SITUATION. CONDITIONS PERMITTING, LAND ASHORE AND CONDUCT HA/DR OPERATIONS. ENSURE SAFETY OF TAUROS CITIZENS. COORDINATE WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO ENSURE HANDOVER OF OPERATIONS WHEN ABLE. EXECUTION: COMMANDER'S INTENT: CONDUCT OPERATIONS WITH MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS, MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY. COORDINATE WITH PARTNER NATIONS. DEMONSTRATE GOODWILL OF THE UNITED STATES. END STATE: TAUROS ABLE TO ADEQUATELY CONDUCT OWN OPERATIONS IN SUPPORT OF CITIZENS. SITUATION STABLE. COMMAND RELATIONSHIPS: 11MEU IS THE SUPPORTED COMMAND. MKIARG, MARFORPAC, PACFLT, AND PACOM ARE THE SUPPORTING COMMANDERS. RELEASED BY ADMIRAL L. H. SIRRAH, PACOM CONFIDENTIAL Colonel Roger Candless, United States Marine Corps, glanced at the printed message on the table. Across from him was Captain Catherine Lombard, United States Navy. "What do you think?" Candless asked. Lombard sat back and crossed her legs, hand going to her chin. "It sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I read the weather report a few minutes ago and Minos was basically wiped off the map. I doubt we'll be able to find a decent pier or even a harbor to pull in." "Well, as long as the LCACs work." Candless would have shrugged, but was too deep in thought. The mission ahead was not something he wasn't trained for. It was just something he'd never done before, and tens of thousands of people were depending on him. USS Makin Island, Lombard's ship, was currently headed west for the rift. They would cross and be only one more day's sail from Tauros. Then, Candless' Marines would deploy. "I'll get started on a volunteer signup, if you need some extra hands," Lombard offered. Candless nodded. "Maybe. I'd like to get started on recon as soon as we can, and then I'll make a decision." Lombard bid him goodbye and Candless left her stateroom. He oriented himself in the ship's narrow passageways and headed for EXPLOT to get more information. The Expeditionary Plot kept watch on indications and warnings that could affect the Amphibious Ready Group. The ARG, Makin Island and two other ships, had plenty of its own sensors, but also pulled in data from everywhere around the US military. Reports were still trickling in about Tauros. One of the sailors grabbed some raw satellite imagery to show to Candless. It didn't have landmarks and important references without being perused by an expert analyst, but Candless could see the place was obviously wrecked. The waterfront of Minos was basically flattened, and debris appeared to be everywhere. Of course, the satellite pictures wouldn't be as good as those from an aircraft, and Candless intended to get helicopters up as soon as the ARG was within range. "Does anyone speak Minotaur?" he asked. He didn't expect an answer, and didn't get one. Later that day, Candless was reading any available news. The shipboard TV showing the American Forces Network was currently playing CNN. Alt-Earth was always an interesting enough topic for talking heads and they were covering the disaster round the clock. There was an interview with some pony, apparently a geologist. He explained that according to their geodetic sensors, Tauros had been hit with the double whammy of an earthquake that triggered a tsunami. Candless wondered if "double whammy" was a scientific term. He looked at the map on TV. It wasn't great, only showing a few landmarks. Surely somewhere on this ship there was a better one. Candless checked his email and was mildly surprised to see himself CC'd on a message chain involving people all the way up to the Admiral in charge of US Pacific Command. A couple of Japanese names stood out. He saw another message from Captain Lombard. It was addressed to another Japanese address, this one ending in .msdf From the context of the email, he gathered that she was reaching out to her counterpart, the Captain of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ship JS Izumo. It was vaguely shaped like Makin Island with a large flight deck, but lacked the size and the well deck. As Candless sorted messages a new email popped in. It was addressed to him, and CC'd both Lombard and the Japanese Captain. As he read it, it became clear that Candless had found his own counterpart. It was signed by Colonel Takahiro Morita, Japan Ground Self Defense Force. Candless replied with a greeting and described a few basic capabilities of his Marine Expeditionary Unit: two thousand personnel, construction equipment, ground and air transport, desalinization, medical. It wasn't the first time he had ever worked with the Japanese. This operation wouldn't be the first time he'd ever worked with Australians, either. Morita replied that the JGSDF was bringing 300 troops and 42 vehicles, capable of much the same mission though on a smaller scale. Izumo had ten helicopters, some of which could lift the trucks. Ideally, Izumo would be able to offload equipment at a pier. Lombard sent another email, passing along the contact information of an Australian Air Force Colonel, Paul Hogan, who was heading up the airlift. In a private email, Candless sent back, Is he really named Paul Hogan? Yep, Lombard answered. Wonder if he'll call your Ka-Bar "a knife?" Grinning, Candless sent Hogan a message, CC'ing the others. It looked like the gang was coming together. Some of his earlier apprehension over heading up the operation was fading. The next day, the framework of the coalition had started to form. Colonel Morita spoke decent English and he had a conversation over video teleconference with Candless and Hogan. The Australians were coming with six C-130 transport aircraft. They would be packed with supplies and personnel, and could subsequently function as transport inside Tauros. They still hadn't heard from the Equestrian commander personally, but had heard they would be bringing one hundred pegasus guards, with a ground force to follow within a week. Candless had to remind himself that Alt-Earth was still adapting to the differing technology level and that mass transport was not yet common. The United States had scrambled up two Minotaur translators and would be flying them in soon. The Equestrians had two translators. Australia provided one. Japan provided three, but one of them didn't also speak English. It was still a comparatively small group to be handling the welfare of a whole country, even a small one. Communication, even among allies like Australia, Japan, and the United States, would be difficult. Whole flurries of emails back and forth were already flying. Still, one of the hardest problems to solve was naming the coalition. A humanitarian operation wasn't supposed to sound aggressive. Exactly what non-aggressive term to use was up to debate. The Equestrians stumbled the email chain late. Some Private who accidentally hit reply all said, "I thought it was called Operation Haymaker???" Whoever that was probably got a tongue-lashing from their commander, but the name stuck. Combined Task Force Haymaker was established with Candless as the lead. He attended the area brief ahead of the landing. Someone had come up with a logo, a pair of crossed pitchforks. It made a decent, easy to draw symbol. Candless could see it probably stenciled on vehicles and equipment soon. The brief covered the area of Tauros, some of the terrain features, some of the demographics and population statistics. Tauros lay between two mountain ranges that separated it from Equestria and the Dragon Confederation. Mines in the northeastern mountains were especially rich in gems. The wide valley in the center of the country gave way to grasslands. It all ran down to a relatively flat coastline. The harbor at Minos, if it was in decent shape, might be able to support some large ships. There wasn't a single airport in the whole country. Once again, slow technology transfer, but also, minotaurs generally didn't trust aviation. Minotaurs were perceived by most as outgoing and strongheaded. Their government had asked for help. Analysts weren't sure if the people felt the same. Either way, they definitely needed it. Deaths could number in the thousands after the earthquake and tsunami. Those living further from the coast had fared better, of course, but even with the average minotaur's physical strength they needed help cleaning up. Not to mention restoring utilities and distributing food. Most of the food would be provided by the Equestrians, who ate a lot of the same things. "Haymaker" indeed. The Australians could probably lift in a lot, as well. The brief touched on a few other issues. Criminal elements could seize the opportunity to loot or worse. Tauros wasn't on good terms with its neighbor, the Dragon Confederation. Internal elements of the minotaur political apparatus might cause problems. Candless had a few other questions left to answer before landing. Once there, they would have to make contact with the Equestrians. A site for airplanes to land would need to be selected, and prepared if necessary. The port had to be inspected. And above all, people had to be helped. They were almost within range of Tauros, and it was time to go to work.