This region, of course, is where the reserve forces from Taskforces Alpha and Bravo are operating. If the Nephilim carriers break through, the reserves and the refugees around Avernus will find themselves sandwiched between the Nephilim coming in from Loki and those pushing in from Ymir. In order to prevent that, the Yorktown will be working with Battlegroup Valkyrie. The carrier forces will be supporting each other and providing tanker support and landing for each others' fighters.

The first mission for the joint effort in Check And Mate was a strike by the Yorktown's craft, accompanied by a pair of observers from the Valeria's Reaper Squadron. The strike was designed to thin out the carriers' escorts and slow the Nephilim down by crippling one of the carriers. This chapter picks up straight afterwards. Please send any and all comments to myself or to Joe at captpowell1 at yahoo.com.