[b]Municipality of Lingayen - 10/11/2022, 18:26 UTC+8[/b]

Caffeine this early in the evening would on any other night have been an abysmal idea. Yet tonight, Rear Admiral Adrián Abasolo maintained a full pot of coffee and a large mug beside him. Jasmine had been sweet enough to craft it. He preferred a completely uninventive drink: hot water and Indonesian grounds.

In the twelve hours between dismissal and reconvening, the admiral's civilian staff had shuffled relevant equipment into Sison Auditorium. After this morning's fiasco, he figured that direct communication with his assets would assuage concerns and strengthen trust. Not everything could be repositioned, though, hence the band of wires taped to and running along the bottom of the wooden floor.

He was alone at his desk, though a station for each remotely-involved officer took its place along the walls. Security was postitioned at each entrance and egress of the room, because a little paranoia never hurt anyone. To his right, five chairs in two rows greeted him. The blackboard beside them faced the main doors of the facility with the following language:

[quote]Irregular Team A:
1st Lt. Noel Alonso
2nd Lt. Indra Larsdottir
Sgt. Nil —
Ms. Callie Lidman
Mr. Nico Makri[/quote]

The chairs and blackboard to his left were the mirror image, with the exception of the blackboard's scribblings:

[quote]Irregular Team B:
Pvt. Kaitlyn Price
Agent Myron Makaraig
Ms. Hannie Cavalet
Mr. Iker Orozco
Ms. Lei Qingshe[/quote]

The assignments were strictly based upon cohesion between special abilities. Still, Abasolo winced one last time that leadership roles so heavily favored the first team. Nonetheless, it wasn't his first discomfort when arranging this mission. The remaining chairs were positioned across from him, with their blackboard simply declaring, "Reserves."  The space between the three sections was a simple square.

Beside him was a speaker, through which Abasolo hoped to broadcast reports from the field and so maintain transparency throughout the chain of command. Soldiers operate best when they understand the current situation. At least, such was his philosophy. He nonetheless maintained headphones, like all his officers. Several paces behind him was a sizable screen which displayed a virtual map of the South China Sea with live updated positions of deployed ASEAN assets.

The Arms Masters shuffled in with varying times and punctualities, yet another discomfort Abasolo bore. Still, he requested 1800 for a reason. The operation was to commence at 1826, which allowed ample delay. Until then, Admiral Abasolo stood up, moved into the empty square, and addressed the crowd at attention. [color=aba000]"I haven't heard any complaints, so I'll receive your attendance as a gesture of undivided support. You've heard general outlines of the mission thus far; I figured I should clarify further. If some of this is old news to you, it's because I want to ensure that everyone is up to speed.

"The QRS[/color] [Abasolo presently didn't bother to expand the acronym] [color=aba000]is located at Mischief Reef, which is currently under siege. We cannot teleport supplies to the region, and so we attempt to run this blockade. To this end, the Australians have leased us two auxiliary oiler replenishment ships, His Majesty's Australian Ships [i]Supply[/i] and [i]Stalwart[/i], under the command of Commodore Heather Munro, to carry what our allies require. We have contributed two frigates and a corvette to escort them. The Indonesians have similarly contributed two frigates and three corvettes.[/color]

He stood at ease; formalities could wait until after the engagement. [color=aba000]"The PLA would very likely notice this and send its full local fleet to intercept this blockade run. In order to divert their attention, or failing that their resources, we have set up a joint Indonesian-Filipino strike fleet comprised of small, nimble boats and submarines to harass the enemy. Both operations will occur simultaneously, so keep focused for the duration of this engagement.

"I've assigned two teams of five. If either prong of the offensive is under duress, I will provide coordinates and a location to Myron and signal "go" to one team, commencing with "A." When selected, you will step forward, and Myron will teleport you to those coordinates. From there you will manage whatever threat presents itself to your current fleet. If possible, you may return to these headquarters to await further orders once the threat is neutralized. In lieu of that, five additional Masters will reoccupy your seats as a new makeshift assembly, which I will employ as the battle progresses.

"To be abundantly clear: protecting the [i]Supply[/i] and [i]Stalwart[/i] is our primary objective. If you must choose between sinking Chinese ships or protecting our fleet, choose the latter. If you must choose which ships to save, prioritize the [i]Supply[/i] and the [i]Stalwart[/i]. The escort will attempt to avoid any confrontation; when operating on the escort, I suggest you do the same."[/color]

With that, he turned to his officers, announcing within earshot of the Arms Masters. [color=aba000]"You all have your orders. To victory or defeat, let's make this a flawless exercise."[/color] He returned to his station and pressed a button. [color=aba000]"Milkfish. Come in, Milkfish. We seem to be having problems with our radio. Is everything good on your end?"[/color]

[b]Reed Tablemount - 10/11/2022, 18:26 UTC+8

THE DIVERSION[/b]

"Milkfish reads you; give us a moment," Commodore Arlene Roxas responded. She collected the Romeo flag and stepped outside the bridge of the [i]BRP Ramon Alcaraz[/i]. She knew the general location of her target, but she still needed to readjust her sight in the rapidly approaching twilight. She waved her flag out towards the distance.

The man on the other end would be Commodore Harta Lucas, her Indonesian counterpart. She'd told him to watch for her signal, and, sure enough, she saw the Charlie flag waving from the rear deck of the [i]KRI Alamang[/i]. She trotted back inside and resumed her response. "Affirmative, Pearl. Everything's good on our end."

[color=aba000]"Excellent. And you, Carabao?"[/color]

"Affirmative on our end," replied a third voice.

[color=aba000]"Very well. Return to your duties."[/color]


[hider=The Operation Commences]
The Admiral had given them his permission and blessing; the operation was a go. A few dozen nautical miles away, an allied fleet of ten large vessels would be starting their engines. She placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "Well, boys, let's make our navy proud tonight. Half ahead." The familiar drone pierced the silence. 

Oddly enough, each of the Indonesian missile boats was roughly a tenth the size of her current flagship, yet her vessel had a faster maximum speed. Even so, the [i]Alamang[/i] zipped forward, its fellow Clurit-classes riding its wake. It made sense on an individual level; the missile boat's difficulty to hit depended on its speed. After a minute, though, the Indonesian boats were getting a little too far out ahead to rely on her support.

Roxas paced for a few seconds. She didn't want to break radio silence so soon in the operation, but she did need to cover for Lucas. "Alright, full ahead." The humming grew louder. Roxas tried to spot Harta's flagship through her binoculars, and even then she had difficulty.

Suddenly, a spotlight shone on it.

She could easily identify it now, but so had the Chinese. She spotted the small flashes of the Chinese… corvette's?… autocannons, followed by flashes of the Indonesians' own. The [i]Alamang[/i] had difficulty spotting its target, but her sister ship [i]Terapang[/i] had none whatsoever. The PLA corvette was the first ship to be hit, but the [i]Alamang[/i], despite its deft zigzagging, was the first vessel to be sunk.

A Chinese autocannon hit where it shouldn't have, and the fuel tanks of the [i]Alamang[/i] went up in a blaze of orange light. Doubtless the PLA knew exactly how many ASEAN brought to the table. Beyond that, the explosion allowed her to see… seven? seven! additional Chinese corvettes at various distances from here to the horizon. Well, it certainly was a distraction. She broke radio silence.
[/hider]

[b]Municipality of Lingayen - 10/11/2022, 18:37 UTC+8[/b]

 "Pearl! Come in, Pearl!"

The admiral nearly leapt at the call. [color=aba000]"Milkfish, is that you?"[/color]

The sound of an explosion, followed by the blap-blapping of large arms fire replied before Milkfish even got the chance. "Affirmative. [i]Alamang[/i] is down, and they just nabbed the [i]Kujang[/i]. Commodore Harta is incapacitated. Repeat, Harta is-"

Well, that could kill morale. He turned off the speaker and equipped his headphones. All his soldiers heard would come from him.

[hider="How many? In what direction? How far away?"]

"I spotted eight of them, roughly nine o'clock to eleven o'clock. They vary by distance; we're about a nautical mile out from the closest one."

One nautical mile? That's within machine gun range; way too close for a patrol ship of that size. Commodore Roxas knew better than that. 
[/hider]
[hider="You're way too close. Pull back; put some distance between you and the enemy."]

"Full astern, right full rudder!" The shriek of a missile. Another explosion. "Pulling back, sir. They've hit another missile boat. They've got their spotlight on the [i]Andres Bonifacio[/i] now."

[/hider]
[hider="Is the captain engaging in evasive maneuvers?"]

"He is, but they were able to track the missile boats. They certainly can with our patrol boats!"

[/hider]
The admiral freed an ear from his headphones and pointed at Irregular Team A. [color=aba000]"10.868383, 116.630628. Deck of the [i]BRP Ramon Alcaraz[/i]. Your target is a PLA corvette about one nautical mile away, at approximately ten o'clock."[/color]

He stood up. His baritone voice was calm and resolute. [color=aba000]"Go."[/color]