---
Fort Sentinel had changed.
Gone were the early days of makeshift bunkers and perimeter sensor nets. Now, the command compound hummed with layered systems—a mesh of AI-managed operations, thickened concrete walls, elevated control towers, reinforced hangars, and soon... a runway.
Airpower.
It had always been the missing piece.
And now, Reeve finally had the tools to claim it.
---
> HQ STATUS: LEVEL 5
New Build Unlocked:
Tier I Runway (Fixed-Wing Jet Operations)
Jet Assembly Plant
Air Operations Command Tower
Jet Fuel Distillation Plant
Radar Tracking Array Mk I
Project Blackwing Phase II: COMMENCED
---
The western plateau was selected as the airfield site. Elevated, flat, wind-stable, and close enough to the HQ grid for optimal power routing.
Dozens of automated construction drones, reinforced crawler rigs, and micro-paver robots moved in tandem. They stripped the plateau down to basalt bedrock, laser-leveled the surface, and began laying the armored mesh latticework that would form the foundation of Fort Sentinel's first airstrip.
> RUNWAY PHASE I (800m) Status: Under Construction Materials Required: 3,000 Concrete, 2,000 Steel, 600 Electronics, 400 Fuel ETA: 10 Hours
Keira stood beside Reeve at the temporary site command trailer, flight goggles pushed to her brow.
"They'll have it poured by nightfall," she said. "Runway grade is NATO-compatible. Aircraft up to 35-ton class can land or launch."
Reeve tapped the tablet linked to the operations core. "And the Jet Assembly Plant?"
"Four hours behind the runway. Once it's operational, we can begin final construction on the SU-30N."
---
In the fabrication hall, hundreds of modular components waited in cryo-stasis crates: titanium-carbon alloy fuselage parts, vectored thrust nozzles, cockpit avionics arrays, and navalized composite wings with internal hardpoints.
Every part had been scanned, mapped, tested.
The blueprint recovered from the derelict carrier RNS Vortex was complete.
> SU-30N – Naval Multirole Variant Airframe: Twin-engine, canard-delta layout Thrust: 27,000 lbf x2 (Afterburning Turbofans) Range: 3,000 km combat radius Weapons:
6x Hardpoints (2x AA, 2x ASW, 2x Strike)
1x 30mm Internal Cannon
Optional: ECM Pod, Drop Tank, Anti-Ship Missiles (Kh-35 or NSM Compatibility) Avionics: AESA Radar + Terrain-Hugging Navigation Launch Compatibility: Carrier Catapult or Reinforced Runway
> Manufacturing Status: 62% Constructed ETA to Assembly Completion: 14 Hours
---
As night fell, floodlights illuminated the half-finished runway.
The radar tower hummed online. Fort Sentinel's airspace now had real-time tracking out to 140km. A secondary long-range passive listening array began cycling.
At 0400, the main runway completed.
> RUNWAY COMPLETE: TIER I Jet Class Supported: Light → Medium Multirole Sortie Frequency Limit: 2/hr (Expand with Logistics Fuel Node)
Simultaneously, the Jet Assembly Plant roared to life. Robotic cranes lifted the SU-30N's fuselage into position. Maintenance drones swarmed the undercarriage, sealing panel gaps, syncing avionics, and bolting down flight systems.
---
Reeve didn't sleep.
By 0930, the operations tower came online.
> AIR CONTROL CENTER STATUS: OPERATIONAL Linked Systems:
Radar Array Mk I
Flight Path Prediction AI
Jet Sortie Scheduler
Emergency Recovery Gear (Hook Net, Arrestor Cable)
> Jet Fuel Plant Status: 87% Online Projected Output: 1,000L/hr (Jet-A1 Grade Equivalent)
Keira joined him at the top floor of the air control tower. Below them, the black steel shape of the SU-30N gleamed on the tarmac, its canopy closed, fuel crew backing away.
"She's fueled. Weapon test pods loaded. Flight AI configured," Keira said.
Reeve nodded. "Any turbulence vectors in the area?"
"Nothing outside optimal. You ready to see her fly?"
He gave a slow breath. "All systems green. Begin launch protocol."
---
> FLIGHT LAUNCH: SU-30N-01 "Spectre"
Pilot: AI Flight Core "RAVEN-1" Sortie: Test Flight – Local Recon / Air Control Calibration Weapons: Inert AA Loadout + ECM Test Pod
> Clearance Granted Wind: 5 knots, WNW Runway: Clear
---
The twin afterburners flared. The jet surged forward.
Its engines roared to life like rolling thunder, flame rippling in crisp blue behind the exhaust cones. It accelerated smoothly down the stretch of steel-reinforced runway and, with an elegant lift, launched skyward into the morning clouds.
Reeve exhaled slowly.
The base's speakers carried Raven-1's synthetic voice:
"Control, this is Spectre-01. Airframe stable. Altitude 3,000 meters. Running full envelope test."
---
For the next two hours, the SU-30N looped wide arcs around Fort Sentinel's AO, testing systems. Its AESA radar swept 360° fields. Infrared sensors tracked sea-level thermal signatures. The terrain-hugging autopilot dipped and rose with millimeter precision.
> TEST RESULTS:
AESA Radar: Functional (72km effective detection)
ECM Pod: Online
Engine Performance: 103% Predicted
Structural Stability: Nominal
Bonus Scan:
Unknown Signal Detected – Sector Lambda-3
Signal Type: Encrypted Broadcast (Unregistered)
Possible Contact: Non-Player Entity
Reeve marked the signal for drone recon.
But for now, he had a jet in the air.
And soon, a fleet.
---
> PROJECT BLACKWING – PHASE II COMPLETE
Status:
SU-30N Active
Runway Operational
Fuel Plant Online
Air Ops Center Staffed
> NEXT GOALS:
Second SU-30N Construction (Pair Sortie Support)
Unlock Guided Missile Loadout Tree
Airfield Extension (Support Heavy Jet Bombers)
Build AWACS Drone (Long-Range Reconnaissance)
Begin Construction of Type-212A Submarine Dock
Keira turned to him.
"Told you we'd fly before day ten."
Reeve nodded, watching the black silhouette arc over the sea.
"We flew. Now we hunt."
---
[End of Chapter Twelve]