21st Century Goguryeo

November 26, 2023, 05:58 (Russian time 23:58)

33 kilometers east of Oblast Tegovashi, Ivanovskaya, Russia (54th proximal rocket division).

The 54th Guards Rocket Division, located closest to Moscow, launched two types of ICBM with a loud sound shaking the ground at 33 kilometers east of Teikova. The launch occurred three minutes earlier than planned because several rocket divisions had suffered significant damage as a result of the South Korean military's pre-emptive strike, urging the General Staff to order an emergency launch.

18 RT-2UTTKh Topol-M (NATO name: SS-27 Sickle) and 12 RS-24 Yars (NATO name: SS-27 Mod 2), the latest models in the RT-2 class, departed from their respective mobile vehicle launch tubes and soared high into the sky. Soon after, the missiles disappeared completely, leaving only a trail of white smoke behind them.

A short time after the sound of the launch faded, an unknown light flashed in the sky, followed by a powerful explosion in the 54th Guards Rocket Division.

Even if the operators of the 54th Guards Rocket Division did not check the radar, they would have instinctively known that their launched missiles had been intercepted.

"Eight Topol-M intercepted at an altitude of 58 kilometers! Seven Yars were also intercepted at an altitude of 68 kilometers."

The radar operator screamed while looking at the radar screen mounted on the console.

"What the hell is going on? How could they be intercepted before even breaking through the atmosphere?"

When the reports of the interceptions from various rocket regiments were announced, Division Commander Georgie Galaev mercilessly punched the console box in front of him.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

As a result, he cut his right hand and blood splattered everywhere.

"Div…Division Commander, stay calm."

Deputy General Vladimir Beschastnich held the Division Commander's hand and stopped him.

"Do you think I can stay calm right now?"

Following that, he turned his gaze to the communications operator, who was receiving various reports from all around.

"Ah! Division Commander! According to the reports, our division's launched missiles were all intercepted."

"What? Is that true?"

"Yes, it has just been reported that all missiles fired from each regiment have been intercepted…"

When he saw the Division Commander's glum expression, the telecommunications operator closed his mouth.

"Argh! Screw them…Hey! Call the Central Control Office and check again!"

"Yes, I will."

The operator quickly contacted the Central Control Office, which monitors and oversees the launch status. After that, he was uncertain about whether or not to report what he had heard.

"What is it? Hey, you punk! Don't procrastinate. Hurry up and report it!"

"Well, the central control room also confirmed that all our missiles were intercepted…"

"Oh, my."

Division Commander Galayev, who was enraged, eventually opened the hatch and exited to cool down. While taking a deep breath of the cold morning air outside, he noticed something rapidly falling from the dark sky. He raised his head to look at it.

A white light appeared to fall from the thick darkness, and then a bright light flashed, blinding him.

Pat!

With a huge explosion, a massive mushroom cloud rose from about one kilometer away. The immense heat seemed to thank Georgi Galayev before disintegrating him into white ashes, after which he faded away.

The white light seen by Georgie Galaev before his death was a C-SH Zinog-II missile launched by Zeus Strategic Interceptor Satellite two. Zeus Strategic Interception Satellite two launched a massive retaliatory attack after intercepting all nuclear missiles fired by the 54th Guards Rocket Division.

* * *

November 26, 2023, 06:01 (Russian time 00:01)

Oblast Dombarowski Air Base in Orenburgskaya, Russia (the 13th Order of Merit, Merit and Merit Rocket Division).

A huge RS-20V Boyeboda with a diameter of 3.05 meters and a length of 32.2 meters appeared from the open silo, with a circular roof door over 4 meters in diameter. The RS-20V Boyeboda ICBM, which was released from the silo, was separated from the lower auxiliary tank, and a powerful propellant exploded from the first stage rocket.

The RS-20V Boyeboda ICBM, which emits orange flames, shook the ground with its immense launch sound as it slowly soared into the sky, overcoming gravity.

The massive S-20V Boyeboda ICBM, which was overwhelming simply by its size, vanished into the sky beyond at a slight angle, leaving a trail of white smoke. These launches took place all over Russia. Within minutes, 28 S-20V Boyeboda ICBMs separated from the first-stage rocket and entered the atmosphere using the power of the second-stage propellant.

There was one thing to point out here.

The 13th Red Flag Medal of Merit Rocket Division was one of the divisions that escaped the pre-emptive strike of the Republic of Korea Aerospace Forces. This did not mean, however, that the overseas reconnaissance bureau was unable to investigate in advance to avoid a pre-emptive strike.

No matter how careful they are with security and thorough disguise, silo platform-type missile bases are prone to leaking a lot of information in advance through military espionage. Of course, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Aerospace Force had detailed information about the 13th Red Flag Medal of Merit Rocket Division.

It was based at Dombarowski Air Force Base and had 28 silos, each with a 4th-generation RS-20V Voyevoda (NATO name: SS-18 Satan) ICBM, the world's largest nuclear missile, and a special camouflage shield. They were aware of the precise GPS coordinates of that silo's location.

Despite having such detailed information, the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to exclude them from the pre-emptive strike because a small city called Yaadi was only five kilometers away from Dombarowski Air Force Base. As a result, if the base was attacked, it may sustain significant damage. There was a deep divide among the staff in the Joint Chiefs of Staff over this point.

Some staff members who were opposed to the exclusion of pre-emptive strikes stated that ICBMs should be included in the pre-emptive strike because they pose the greatest threat to South Korea among nuclear forces and that civilian damage was unavoidable in wars between countries. When the pros and cons were presented, many tried to express their disapproval. However, the uproar was quickly silenced when Kim Yong-hyun, the second-ranking deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, voted in favor of the exclusion of it from the first strike on behalf of Chairman of the Joint Staffs Shin Sung-yong, who was visiting the Blue House at the time.

As a result, the 13th Red Flag Medal of Merit Rocket Division launched the world's strongest ICBM in the territory of the Republic of Korea.

At that time, nine Hyunmoo 3E2-C type supersonic cruise missiles, which were launched by the 22nd Missile Artillery Brigade of the Army's First Field Army Headquarters 30 minutes earlier, were flying towards the 13th Red Flag Medal of Merit Rocket Division.

The basalt 3E2-C type supersonic cruise missile had a range of 5,500 kilometers and a speed of Mach three. Furthermore, 20 diffuse plasma bombs were mounted inside the fuselage, avoiding enemy radar networks, minimizing detection and interceptive threats.

The Hyunmu 3E2-C type supersonic cruise missile was set to ignite the entire Dombarowski Air Base as well as the 13th Red Flag Medal of Merit Rocket Division in the next 40 minutes.

* * *

November 26, 2023, 06:25

Northeast sea 42° 25' 18.76" N, 133° 31' 28.04" E (Knyaz Oleg [K-553])

With a few minutes left before the ICBM launch, the Russian Strategic Rocket Command, which suffered an unexpected blow from the South Korean Aerospace Force's three-legged space fighter and a Zeus satellite, immediately ordered the missile to be fired.

In response, a total of 10 rocket divisions that were not hit by the first pre-emptive attack fired several types of ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles).

Countless ICBMs launched into the sky from all across Russia. The number of ICBMs launched, however, fell far short of the initially planned number of missiles by half.

Additionally, the General Staff issued an order to the Far East Fleet Command to fire nuclear missiles at the SSBN nuclear submarine, which is currently submerged deep at the bottom of the Northeast Sea, to increase the number of ICBMs.

Consequentially, the Far East Fleet Command dispatched six SDS-Surrogats, an unmanned drone submarine recently developed and tested with encryption, to deliver commands to SSBN nuclear submarines that are silently submerged at a depth of several hundred meters.

These unmanned drone submarines were developed on the basis that friendly nuclear submarines could secretly use them as enemy traps or deceptive incentives to attract submarines and operate unmanned submarines to reduce training costs.

The SDS-Surrogat weighed 40 tons, traveled at 40 knots, and had a submersible range of up to 965 kilometers. The Far East Fleet Command attempted to send an order to the silently submerged SSBN submarine by sending an encrypted secret message rather than through the submarine's voicemail.

The six SDS-Surrogat, which began submerging deep into the Northeast Sea, followed their individual planned route and began to emit encrypted secret messages.

Ding~ Ding~ Ding~

The crew of the Knyaz Oleg (K-553) were about to perish because they had been silently submerged for two days at a depth of 600 meters before the naval battle in the Northeast Sea. Under the red lighting that resembled a butcher's shop, the crew members whose actions were restricted were reaching the end of their patience.

While eating, they were strictly forbidden from making any noise – even the sound of metal utensils hitting the plate was forbidden. For that reason, they had to use their hands to eat.

"Oh, I'm going to die. It's better to just fight and die. I'll go crazy if I have to do this for one more day!"

Torpedo armament soldier, Andrei Kumanchov, expressed his displeasure to his colleague who was sitting next to him in hushed tones.

"Shh! Hey, don't say that! Do you want to go to the guardhouse later?"

His colleague, Pavel Yashkopra, hurriedly put his index finger on his mouth and said in response.

"Hey, it's better to go to the guardhouse. I'm going crazy here."

"That's true. It's better to just fight. I don't know what we are doing…or just surrender to the base.

Pavel Yashkopra felt as if he was in agony as well. These two were not the only ones feeling this way. The majority of the crew felt the same.

While the crew's complaints grew, unknown noises could be heard through the silence and came through the headsets of some of the crew.

Murod Zuhurov, who had no idea what he had heard because it was a very soft noise, asked Anjur Ismailov who was next to him.

"What is it, Anjur? Do you know what that sound was?"

"Wait, wait a minute."

Anjur Ismailov, who also won first place in the sonar analysis competition, gave a brief answer, then he focused on the headset to see if he could make out where the sound was coming from.

"This…I don't think it's a submarine."

Anjur Ismailov, who analyzed the wavelength and sound of the sonar monitor, spoke quietly with a confident voice.

"Right? I think it's very different from a submarine."

"Oh! I got it."

"Really?"

"This seems like an encrypted secret message."

"An encrypted secret message? For us?"

"Yes, it's the encryption wavelength of our Far East fleet."

"I'll call the sonar operator."

"All right."

After a while, sonar operator, Vitali Denisov, who woke up, entered the sonar room while still rubbing his eyes.

"What is it?"

"Listen, Vitali!"

Anjur Ismailov handed his headset to the sonar operator, Vitali Denisov, who put it on, listened to the sound for about a minute, and signaled to turn the recording on.

Then Anjur Ismailov fiddled with the buttons on the sonic console and started recording the sound he heard.

"Murod!"

"Yes, Vitali?"

"Go to the control room and bring the commander on duty!"

"On duty?"

"It's a serious situation."

"Oh! Yes, okay."