A little under three hours after the naval queues started, Hans returned to the waterfront.
Both Shipyards were still working.
The production basins had been empty when he left them. They were not empty anymore.
A keel occupied most of the first drydock, stretching from the inland fabrication halls toward the closed water gate. Structural frames had risen around it while automated cranes moved completed sections into position, locking armor and internal compartments into a hull that already dwarfed most of the civilian vessels abandoned around Saicine.
The second Shipyard was building the same thing.
Hans stopped along the elevated service platform.
The System had not exaggerated when it called the basin adaptive.
Most of the fabrication equipment had moved outward to accommodate the destroyer’s beam. Cranes traveled along rails built around the dock while assembly platforms shifted with the growing hull, giving each section access before moving farther along.
The ship was already recognizable.
Its bow had taken shape first, followed by the long armored hull and the angular superstructure rising near the center. The two large gun mounts stood out immediately, while smaller weapon systems continued appearing around them as the Shipyard finished integrating the upper sections.
Hans watched another section settle into place.
This was considerably different from watching a Vanguard leave a War Factory.
A tank rolled through a door when it was finished.
This thing occupied an entire dock.
Several minutes later, the System appeared.
------
[ Sentinel Destroyer ]
[ Production: 100% ]
[ Final systems integration complete. ]
[ Crew synchronization complete. ]
[ Preparing launch. ]
------
The movement across the Shipyard changed.
The fabrication platforms withdrew from the hull while the cranes returned toward the sides of the basin. Gates along the drydock opened, and seawater began pouring through the lower channels.
Hans stayed where he was.
The water climbed around the destroyer until the hull finally shifted just enough for several thousand tons of warship to stop resting on the supports underneath it.
The System handled the rest.
Buoyancy stabilizers kept the hull level while the basin continued flooding, and the enormous gate facing the harbor slowly separated from the seawall. Water equalized across both sides before the opening widened completely.
The Sentinel moved.
There was no tugboat waiting to pull it free.
Its own propulsion carried it forward at little more than walking speed while the Shipyard controlled the departure. Crewmen were already visible along sections of the deck, and the bridge had been occupied before the vessel even cleared the basin.
The bow crossed the Shipyard gate and entered Saicine Harbor.
"Sentinel One, ready for your instructions, Commander."
"Good to see you, Sentinel One. Who’s speaking?"
"Commanding officer in the bridge. The vessel answers as Sentinel One over the command network. Individual stations identify themselves when required."
"And you address each other the same way?"
"Yes, Commander. Hull designation for normal ship-to-ship traffic."
"Will it change?"
"When the fleet grows in number in the future, Commander."
That was simple enough for Hans to follow. The complicated fleet designations would matter later.
For now, he opened its information.
------
[ Vessel Name: Sentinel One ]
[ Vessel Type: Sentinel Destroyer ]
[ Classification: Combat Ship ]
[ Role: Multi-Role Escort / Surface Combatant / Regional Missile Ship / Coastal Fire Support ]
[ Star Promotion: 0 / 3 ]
[ Power and Propulsion ]
Self-contained shipboard power generation.
[ Maximum Sustained Speed: 32 knots ]
[ Sensor Suite ]
[ Self-Generated Naval Radar ]
[ Maximum Local Air / Surface Detection: 25 kilometers ]
Independent navigation, contact tracking, missile warning and local fire-control support.
[ Passive Sonar ]
[ Maximum Detection Envelope: 12 kilometers ]
Detection quality depends on target signature and underwater conditions.
[ Active Sonar ]
[ Maximum Localization Envelope: 8 kilometers ]
Active transmission improves localization but reveals the vessel to capable listeners.
[ Working Underwater Tracking Depth: approximately 1.5 kilometers ]
[ Encrypted System Datalink ]
[ Thermal / Optical Fire-Control Directors ]
[ Electronic Countermeasures ]
[ Cooperative Target Handoff ]
[ Primary Armament ]
[ Dual 155mm Naval Gun Battery ]
[ Ammunition: 400 Shells ]
[ Effective Fire-Support Range: approximately 30 kilometers ]
[ Maximum Ballistic Envelope: approximately 45 kilometers ]
[ Multirole Vertical Launch System ]
[ VLS Cells: 20 ]
Compatible baseline payloads:
Surface-to-Air / Interceptor Missiles
Anti-Ship Missiles
Land-Attack Missiles
[ Fleet-Defense Missile Envelope: up to 80 kilometers ]
[ Anti-Ship / Land-Attack Missile Envelope: up to 150 kilometers ]
Targets beyond Sentinel One’s self-generated Radar require a valid network track or fixed coordinate solution where applicable.
[ Self-Defense ASW System ]
[ Lightweight Torpedoes: 4 ]
[ Maximum Engagement Envelope: 15 kilometers ]
[ Close-In Weapon System ]
[ Terminal-Defense Envelope: approximately 2.5 kilometers ]
Designed against missiles, drones, small craft and close aerial threats.
[ Remarks ]
General-purpose surface combatant capable of escort, regional missile warfare, coastal bombardment and limited self-defense against submerged threats.
------
Hans stayed on the panel longer than he expected.
The gun battery alone could reach farther than most of the artillery missions he had been directing around Grefort, but the missiles changed the scale considerably more.
A whopping range of one hundred fifty kilometers for the VLS. Although incomparable to the extremely long-range missiles of advanced warships, it was still six times farther than the Hellhammer.
His eyes returned to the Radar entry which could only cover twenty-five.
"So you can fire six times farther than you can see?"
The command channel activated.
"Against a moving target, not independently, Commander."
Hans looked toward the bridge. A calm male voice continued through the channel.
"Beyond our local Radar, we require a current System-network track from another sensor. Fixed positions can be engaged by coordinates when the weapon permits it."
That sounded much more reasonable.
"Sentinel One, remain inside the secured harbor for now. Weapons safe unless the harbor perimeter is threatened."
"Sentinel One copies. Holding inside secured waters."
The channel closed.
Hans returned his attention to the destroyer.
From the dock, the two naval guns looked considerably larger than anything the information panel conveyed. The forward mount dominated the bow while another covered the opposite arc, and the twenty VLS cells sat flush within the ship instead of advertising one hundred fifty kilometers of potential firepower above deck.
Several CIWS mounts covered the closer approaches.
The second Sentinel launched shortly afterward.
Hans did not remain for the next three.
...
The adaptive basin looked entirely different when Hans returned.
Its fabrication equipment had drawn closer around a long, narrow hull, with most of the support cradle sitting deeper than it had for the destroyer.
The Wraith was nearly complete.
Its exterior lacked almost everything that made the Sentinel visually imposing. The dark hull remained smooth from bow to stern, while the sail rose from the upper center with few exposed systems around it.
Nothing about it needed to look threatening from the surface.
The System completed the final integration.
------
[ Wraith Stealth Submarine ]
[ Production: 100% ]
[ Final systems integration complete. ]
[ Crew synchronization complete. ]
[ Preparing launch. ]
------
The basin flooded.
Water climbed around the submarine until the hull lifted from its supports, though considerably less of it remained visible compared with the Sentinel.
Once the gate opened, the Wraith moved into the harbor under its own power.
Hans opened the information panel.
------
[ Vessel Name: Wraith One ]
[ Vessel Type: Wraith Stealth Submarine ]
[ Classification: Combat Ship ]
[ Role: Stealth Attack / Sea Denial / Covert Reconnaissance / High-Value Target Elimination ]
[ Star Promotion: 0 / 3 ]
[ Power and Propulsion ]
Self-contained shipboard power generation.
No fixed System Energy draw after launch.
[ Maximum Submerged Speed: 35 knots ]
Silent-running speed is lower.
[ Sensor Suite ]
[ Passive Sonar ]
[ Maximum Detection Envelope: 30 kilometers ]
Optimized for covert detection and target hunting without broadcasting the submarine’s position.
[ Active Sonar ]
[ Maximum Search / Localization Envelope: 12 kilometers ]
Normally reserved for situations where concealment is no longer the priority.
[ Working Underwater Tracking Depth: approximately 2 kilometers ]
Performance varies with water layers, seabed clutter, target signature and sensor geometry.
[ Periscope / Surface Radar ]
[ Detection Radius: 10 kilometers ]
Available while the mast can be exposed.
Unavailable during deep submerged operation.
[ Acoustic Classification System ]
[ System-Linked Contact Sharing ]
[ Primary Armament ]
[ Heavy Torpedoes: 6 ]
[ Maximum Working Engagement Envelope: 30 kilometers ]
Wire-guided correction and terminal homing available.
[ Defensive Systems ]
[ Acoustic Disruption Charges: 4 ]
Designed for decoying, contact breakaway and defensive maneuvering.
[ Stealth Systems ]
Silent-running mode.
Low acoustic signature.
Rapid depth-change capability.
High submerged maneuverability.
Radar-invisible while submerged.
Capable Sonar, active detection and specialized sensors may still detect the vessel.
[ Remarks ]
Stealth attack submarine optimized to detect, approach and engage targets before revealing its own position.
------
Hans compared the numbers.
The Wraith could hear farther underwater than Sentinel One could reliably see across the surface.
More importantly, its torpedoes reached the same thirty-kilometer distance as its best passive detection envelope under favorable conditions.
The command channel opened.
"Wraith One reporting, Commander. All systems operational."
Hans looked toward the sail.
"You sound eager to disappear."
A short pause came from the other side.
"That is generally preferable for a submarine, Commander. Request permission to submerge inside the secured harbor approach."
"Granted. Passive search only. Stay within the marked sector and don’t chase anything into open water."
"Wraith One copies. Passive search, secured sector."
Another transmission entered the channel.
"Sentinel One to Wraith One. Surface approach clear."
"Wraith One copies Sentinel One. Submerging."
The submarine settled lower. Water passed over the hull until only the sail remained, and that disappeared several seconds later. The surface calmed behind it.
Hans’s tactical map did not.
Wraith One continued moving beneath the harbor. The artillery had forced the marine creatures away from shallow water. Now he finally had something that could follow them down.
But now wasn’t the time. They simply need to hold the harbor clear of fishes for a while.
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