Rune Troopers: Self-Defense Forces Adventure - Chapter 2: Argentavis (Part 2)

“Radar has a reading! Target bearing 270 degrees! Range less than two miles! Approaching our ship!”

Within the Combat Information Center of the Aegis Class Destroyer “IBUKI,” a telemetry operator reported.

“Why haven’t we detected it so far? …… I see, it was hiding in the shadow of the island.”

The Communications Officer; the man in charge of the ship’s radar and communication systems – muttered.

The Combat Information Center, also known as the “CIC,” was the brain of a combat ship. Located deep within the ship, it was always dimly lit with no windows. 

About the size of a school classroom with different kinds of information, from radar, sonar, and other detection devices to fire control of weapons, were located here and were centrally managed and commanded.

The huge radar screen placed on the wall had only one target. Staring at it, the ship’s captain shouted, 

“Get me its nationality! Perform SIF verification. Is it an airline departing from the Guam Islands?”

After the recent incident, the Fleet had changed its course as it headed to the nearest US Naval Base located on Guam Islands. 

This was an emergency situation, because not only communications with Japan, but all means of communication had been silenced.

Therefore, the Communications Officer thought that if an aircraft were to fly in, it would be from Guam International Airport.

However, this was only a common-sense estimate.

“ATC transponder, no response! It is an aircraft of unknown nationality.”

The radio operator shook his head.

The SIF (Selective Identification Feature) was a device installed on aircraft. Not only military aircraft, but also jumbo class airliners were always equipped with this device, and it had the function of informing the surrounding area of the aircraft’s personal data. 

The fact that there was no response suggested that the aircraft was an older, smaller civilian aircraft without a SIF transmitter/receiver.

“Keep contacting them on the radio. Use the international frequency. Keep going until they pick up.”

It was fortunate that only one aircraft had appeared, as the signal itself was disappearing.

But then a call sounded over the bridge via Sand Power.

Sand Power, an onboard communication device used by Self-Defense Force vessels, was also known as a Battery-Less Telephone. 

It converted the vibration of the voice into an electrical signal, and could be used without a power source as long as the distance was within the ship. It was, so to speak, an advanced string telephone.

“CIC! Have you made contact with the target?”

The ship’s Communications Officer felt uncomfortable with the unusual panic from the Executive Officer on the Bridge.

The Communications Officer was not happy to hear the message from the Bridge.

“This is CIC, we are hailing the aircraft on the international frequency, but their communication equipment may be malfunctioning, and the reply is…”

“Aircraft? What an idiot!”

The transmission from the Bridge was almost a scream.

“It’s a bird!”

“Bird ……? How could the Aegis radar not identify a flock of birds at this distance ……?”

The three-dimensional radar on Aegis Class Destroyers was so powerful that it could simultaneously acquire and track more than two hundred targets. 

It was hard to believe that they could misidentify an object that reacted so strongly at a distance of only a few kilometers.

But the Executive Officer from the Bridge shouted back.

“No! It’s not a flock of birds! It’s a giant bird monster with a wingspan of fifteen meters!”

A bird with a wingspan of fifteen meters?

This sudden transmission startled the Communications Officer, and he involuntarily looked at the radar screen. For a moment, he wondered if those on the Bridge had inhaled some hallucinogenic gas in that foggy sea.

“Ah..that…Captain!”

But when the image from the outboard camera finally appeared on the CIC monitor, everyone there was absolutely stunned.

There was the image of a huge bird and a girl with red hair astride it.

She was wearing some kind of armor and had a sword at her waist.

To the members, she looked like an Ancient Roman soldier or something. Her appearance was an anachronism.

She was staring at them through the monitor.

Wearing headsets and surrounded by state-of-the-art equipment, the CIC personnel had no choice but to meet her gaze in dismay.