---
The storm had passed, but the sea hadn't calmed.
Admiral James Reeve stood alone on the command deck of the Brandenburg, his gaze fixed on the pale blue holographic interface. Waves rolled gently below, but he knew better than to trust the quiet. Silence at sea was never peace—it was either deception or the still breath before chaos.
His fleet now spanned more than a dozen vessels. The nuclear-powered submarine Vanguard prowled deep trenches, a phantom beneath the waves. The mid-range hunter Spectre kept the sea lanes clear. Neptune-class freighters hauled payloads of steel and gold like blood through arteries to the beating heart of Fort Sentinel.
That heart was changing.
Above the HQ dome, automated cranes swung with slow grace, extending new aerial spires. The base was no longer just a command outpost. It had become a forward operating bastion.
Reeve turned away from the sea as a system notification pulsed in his peripheral HUD.
---
> HQ UPGRADE AVAILABLE: LEVEL 8
Cost: 4,500 Gold | 3,000 Steel | 1,500 Electronics | 1,200 Fuel
Time to Completion: 8 Hours
Benefits:
Unlock: Advanced Drydock
Unlock: Submarine Modification Bay
Upgrade: Research Slots +1
Increase Fleet Cap: +3
[CONFIRM UPGRADE]
---
He tapped the command. Construction drones swarmed like metallic ants across Fort Sentinel's central structure. New alloy plating descended from orbital cranes. Sonar masts telescoped higher. Thick fiber-optic coils slithered beneath reinforced roadways.
Keira Holt appeared at his side on the upper platform, her jacket half-zipped and eyes shadowed by lack of sleep.
"You're ramping up," she observed.
"I'm not going to wait for the storm this time," he replied. "I want eyes below, sensors above, and weapons ready before anyone else can breathe."
She followed his gaze as a new support tower unfolded beside the drone bay. "You think they're coming back?"
"They never left."
---
> RESEARCH UNLOCKED: Tactical Reconnaissance Suite
AI Scout Optimization
Passive Sonar Enhancer
Satellite Relay Drone (Tier I)
> NEW BLUEPRINT: SKIPJACK-CLASS NUCLEAR SUBMARINE
Designation: SSN-001 Vanguard II
Specifications:
Max Operating Depth: 400 meters
Speed: 35 knots (submerged)
Armament: 6x Torpedo Tubes, 2x Vertical Missile Pods
Powerplant: Compact Naval Fission Cell (Tier II)
Stealth Rating: High
Sonar: Dual-Array Passive + Active Suite
Construction Cost: 4,000 Steel | 2,200 Electronics | 900 Enriched Fuel Rods
Reeve pulled up the holographic layout of the new sub. Sleeker than its predecessor, it bore the predatory lines of a shark, optimized for silent running and high-speed penetration into enemy territory. Vanguard II would be more than a recon asset—it would be an assassin.
[Construction: Vanguard II - Initiated]
Down in the drydock, gantries groaned as automated assembly arms lowered the keel onto magnetic rails.
---
With the submarine queued, Reeve initiated the next stage of operations.
> OPERATION: ZETA-13 TRENCH SCAN
Objective: Reconnaissance of Sub-oceanic Anomaly Site Location: Southern Echo Spire Trench Cluster
Risk Profile: High – Leviathan-class motion signatures recorded in prior sweeps
Assets Assigned:
1x Kite Electronic Warfare Drone
1x Scout Manta Deep Current Drone
1x Sensor Buoy Relay
Estimated Mission Duration: 3 Hours
Above them, three slender drones slipped into the air, banked wide, and vanished into the horizon.
---
Three hours later, as Reeve reviewed resource logs, a new alert chimed.
> BLACKCROWN UNIT RECOVERY COMPLETE
Recovered Drone Core: CLASS-3 Autonomous Aggressor
Language Overlay: Fragmented English-Russian hybrid Energy Source: Hybrid Nanite Reactor (Organic + Synthetic)
Keira leaned over the analysis screen. "This wasn't built here. It was dropped in—shipped in or ported."
"That means they have a transfer system," Reeve said, narrowing his eyes. "Or a gate."
---
At hour five, the trench drones returned. Their onboard systems immediately uplinked with HQ.
> MISSION ZETA-13 COMPLETE
Analysis Results:
Confirmed trench dock: Modular construction, unknown origin
Echo Signatures Detected: Watchdog Variant-3 (Lurker subtype)
Thermal Scan: Dormant Leviathan Shell (Est. 120m long)
Identified Wreckage: NATO Configuration Ship – USS Nereus
A derelict.
But not one of the usual rusting husks.
This vessel bore modern composite plating, smart cable arrays, and a sealed data core. The drone feeds showed a broken bridge, but intact armament ports. A partially intact rail system curved across the deck, and inside the command center, an AI uplink node pulsed faintly.
Reeve recognized the name.
USS Nereus
A black project. A reconnaissance cruiser rumored to be testing adaptive AI before the collapse.
He exhaled slowly, then issued a directive.
> MISSION OBJECTIVE ADDED: Recover Nereus Command Core
Risk Level: Red – Lurker presence confirmed
Reward: Classified
"Prep the Spectre for deep-dive retrieval," he ordered. "We're going ghost hunting."
Keira gave a sharp nod. "You think it's still live?"
"I don't know," he said. "But if it is—whatever's in that core might just tell us what brought this world down… and who's still watching."
---
[End of Chapter 26]