---
The command deck of Fort Sentinel buzzed with quiet intensity. Lights dimmed to combat mode, casting everyone in blue and amber glows. Admiral Reeve stood over the central display, watching Delta 9 spin slowly in the holographic projection like a spider at the center of its web.
It was time.
"Fleet status?" he asked.
Keira moved to his side, pulling up live feeds.
> Assets Assigned:
Spectre – SSN-001 (Stealth Submarine)
Brandenburg – Frigate-Class Flagship
Mistral – AAW Frigate Escort
Vanguard II – SSN-002 (Hunter-Killer Role)
2x NH-90 Helos (Active Combat Loadout)
3x Ghost Recon Drones (Vanta Controlled)
> Mission Status: Phase I – RECON + ISOLATION
Reeve narrowed his eyes. "Spectre status?"
"Final mine deployment completed. All sensor buoys are online and silent," Keira confirmed.
Vanta's cold voice echoed next.
"Delta 9 relay net is now boxed within a 5-nautical-mile kill zone. No external signals escaping. Passive AI watch node detected on the outer ring—scanning protocols minimal. Probability of automated defense: 47%."
"Any crew?"
"None. Heat signature absent. Confirmed drone operation only."
Reeve exhaled. "Then we strike quiet. No grand battle yet. I want Phase I surgical."
He sent the command.
> Initiate Strike Protocol: Phantom Lance
---
The sea at night was ink-black, disturbed only by the slow churn of the Spectre and Vanguard II cutting through at low speed. Their hulls shimmered in stealth modulations, sonar-absorbent coatings dulling their presence.
Spectre's CIC glowed with red lights as its weapon systems armed.
> Loadout: 4x Smart Torpedoes (Vanta AI Synced), 2x Sonar Disruptors
"Target lock complete," said the XO. "Torpedoes on standby."
"Confirm fire solution with Fort Sentinel," the Spectre captain ordered.
---
From Sentinel, Reeve gave the nod. "Fire."
A silent launch.
Beneath the water, four torpedoes slithered forward, guided not just by programming—but Vanta's anticipatory pathfinding logic.
They struck the underwater power pylons first.
> Direct Hit. Relay Field Down. EMP Surge Triggered.
Then came the second volley: aimed at Delta 9's signal processors.
The island lit up with bursts of white fire. No return fire. No alarms. Only dying lights.
"Target neutralized," Keira confirmed. "Comm silence across the entire node."
---
Reeve stood straight. "Move to Phase II. I want that pylon recovered and stripped for code. Vanta, can you begin data scrubbing?"
"Initiating data siphon. Remaining memory sectors detected. Scrubbing will take 8 hours."
He nodded. "Do it."
Onscreen, the drones closed in on the charred remains of Delta 9.
What they found stunned even Reeve.
> Discovery: Deep Core Vault
Housed within the pylon: a hermetically sealed core. Not fuel. Not weapons. But memory.
---
Recovered AI Chipset: "NEMOS CORE"
Classification: Quantum-Adaptive Combat Logic Node Function: Fleet Command Overlay Origin: Unknown Naval Entity / Possible Earth-Based Prototype
Vanta chimed in.
"Caution. This AI type predates me. Aggression thresholds unknown. Will require isolation to analyze safely."
Reeve made the call.
"Ship it to Research Bay Three. Keira, get the missile workshop sealed. Nothing touches that core until I approve."
Keira was already moving. "Understood."
---
Hours later, Fort Sentinel ran under black-out mode.
A wall-sized display showed the now-dead Delta 9—still smoldering, its signal gone. But the information recovered from it told a deeper story.
Keira brought up a map of the ocean grid.
"Delta 9 wasn't the only node."
A red triangle appeared. Then another. And another.
> Identified Network Spine: Five Relay Hubs Locations:
Delta 9: Destroyed
Echo 7: Active
Foxtrot 1: Active
Gamma 3: Unknown Status
Zeta 6: No Signal
"Five spines, each spaced across a hemisphere," she said.
"They're building a comm web," Reeve muttered.
"And we just cut its throat," Keira added.
---
Before the day was out, Reeve summoned his fleet command team.
"From now on, this isn't just survival. This is war. And we're not fighting pirates or other players."
He tapped the core interface.
"We're fighting ghosts from the past—and whatever AI empire they tried to build in this place."
He stepped back and looked at the live feed from the research lab. The NEMOS core pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat in a machine.
"We hit their next relay in seventy-two hours. Until then…"
He looked out over the sea.
"Build. Train. Hunt. Because Blackcrown will retaliate."
And somewhere beneath the waves, another dead fleet waited for orders.
---
[End of Chapter 30]