---
The calm shattered at 0600.
"Multiple contacts. Sector Echo-9," came the alert from Fort Sentinel's early warning net. "Ten-plus vessels. No IFF. High thermal signatures. Pirates."
Reeve was already on the move, coffee forgotten on the deck rail outside HQ. "Assets in range?"
"Hammerhead 01 is on convoy patrol. Hammerhead 02 is training south with Brandenburg. Mistral is inbound from Echo-2 resupply. Swift 01 just offloaded at Beta-5."
"Good," Reeve said. "Time to field test the fleet."
---
> MISSION: PIRATE INTERCEPTION – ECHO-9
Enemy Composition:
3x Frigate-Class Retrofits (Heavy Weapons)
4x Skirmisher-Class Boats (Fast, Light Guns)
3x Cargo Vessels (Unknown Contents)
Threat Level: High Rewards: Resource Salvage, Blueprint Chance, Regional Clearance Bonus
[Deploy Task Force]
Hammerhead 01 (Lead)
Brandenburg (Fire Support)
Mistral (Pincer Flank)
NH90 UAV (Target Recon)
Mission Start: 0617
---
Hammerhead 01 arrived first, cutting through waves like a blade. Her AI, TYPHOON-1, engaged Skirmish Protocols immediately.
> Target Locked: Skirmisher Alpha Firing: 76mm Naval Gun Launching: 2x NSM Missiles
Twin streaks of fire crossed the sky, slamming into the lead pirate boat. The vessel disintegrated mid-approach, its forward hull torn apart in a plume of shrapnel and fuel.
"Brandenburg, stagger fire. Prioritize enemy frigates," Reeve ordered.
The frigate loomed onto the scene, deck-mounted 127mm gun booming across the waves. One shot. Two. Three. Explosions tore the mast and comm array from the enemy ship.
Pirates fired back—crude rockets, deck guns, black-powder mortars. Ineffective. Mistral flanked wide and opened up with her new twin 35mm auto-cannons, shredding another Skirmisher-class vessel in a burst of flame.
---
The pirate convoy faltered.
One enemy frigate tried to retreat.
> Targeting: Fleeing Frigate Bravo Action: Missile Strike + Intercept Run
Hammerhead 02 arrived just in time to cut it off. NSMs struck the stern, blowing the propulsion clean off. The ship ground to a halt, smoke billowing from its shattered hull.
---
Within six minutes, the engagement ended.
Nine enemy vessels sunk. One captured.
The prize was one of the cargo ships—limping, leaking oil, but intact enough to be boarded.
Reeve stood on its bridge ten minutes later, helmeted, rifle slung.
Inside the containers: weapons, electronics, sealed data drives, fuel drums, and something else.
> SALVAGE BONUS:
2,100 Steel
1,300 Electronics
850 Timber
50 Gold Bars (Tradable Currency)
> INTEL RECOVERED:
Blueprint Fragment: TYPHOON-Class Missile Destroyer (19%)
Weapon Blueprint: Dual 88mm Auto-Turret (AA/Ground Support)
Weapon Blueprint: Modular Torpedo Rack (Light Submarine Compatible)
R&D Module: Heat Sink Material Sample (Jet Engine Grade)
---
"They were loaded for trade," Keira noted, flipping through logs. "This wasn't a raid fleet. It was a black market hauler."
Reeve smiled grimly. "And we intercepted it at just the right time."
---
> SYSTEM NOTICE: HQ LEVEL 5 REACHED
New Buildings Unlocked:
Airfield (Tier I Jet Runway)
Jet Assembly Plant
Air Control Center
Diesel-Electric Submarine Dockyard
> Blueprint Progress:
SU-30N Jet: 100% Scanned
Jet Engine Fuel Plant: Unlocked
Reeve watched the base UI cascade with new possibilities. Icons now dotted the construction menu: airstrips, hangars, sonar buoys, torpedo drydocks.
"We start the airfield tomorrow. Begin clearing the west plateau. Flatten it. I want jets in the air in three days."
Keira raised a brow. "And the subs?"
"We build them next. Then the destroyers at HQ 10. Cruisers at 20."
He turned toward the sea again, the wind pulling at his coat.
"Let them keep sending fleets. Let them hide in the shadows. We'll hunt them from above. And below."
---
[End of Chapter Eleven]