The other Shipyard eventually switched to something very different.
Where the Sentinel had been long and armed and the Wraith narrow enough to disappear beneath the water, the Amphibious Assault Transport was built around internal space.
Its bow made that obvious.
A broad loading ramp occupied most of the forward section, while the superstructure remained compact enough to leave the majority of the hull available for troops and vehicles.
Once the basin finished flooding, the AAT moved through the gate and entered the harbor.
------
[ Vessel Name: AAT One ]
[ Vessel Type: Amphibious Assault Transport ]
[ Classification: Naval Transport ]
[ Role: Tactical Amphibious Transport ]
[ Star Promotion: 0 / 3 ]
[ Power and Propulsion ]
Self-contained shipboard power generation.
[ Maximum Open-Water Speed: 24 knots ]
[ Transport Capacity ]
[ Standard Assault Load ]
Up to 30 Infantry + up to 2 standard armored / support vehicles
Compatible examples:
Guardian APC, Vanguard MBT, Field Support Vehicle
[ Note ]
Unused infantry capacity does not create additional vehicle positions. Unused vehicle positions do not increase infantry capacity.
[ Heavy Assault Load ]
Up to 30 Infantry + 1 HMT-90 Hellhammer
The Hellhammer occupies both standard vehicle positions.
[ PCV Deployment Load ]
1 PCV only. PCV carriage disables separate infantry and additional vehicle carriage for that trip.
[ MCV Carriage: NOT SUPPORTED ]
[ Amphibious Deployment System ]
Front-ramp beach deployment.
Operational port not required.
Sealed troop and vehicle deck protects embarked personnel from ordinary external contamination while underway.
[ Navigation and Approach Sensors ]
[ Navigation Radar ]
[ Detection Radius: 10 kilometers ]
[ Shallow-Water Obstacle Sonar ]
[ Local Envelope: approximately 2 kilometers ]
[ Useful Depth: approximately 300 meters ]
Designed for coastline approach, submerged obstacles and immediate underwater warning.
Not intended for anti-submarine search.
[ Defensive Systems ]
[ Remote 12.7mm Machine Guns: 2 ]
[ Effective Defensive Range: approximately 1 kilometer ]
[ Emergency Smoke Screen: 4 Charges ]
[ Basic Electronic Warning System ]
[ Remarks ]
Tactical landing vessel designed to place infantry and armored vehicles directly onto undeveloped or hostile shorelines.
------
Hans stopped at the transport profiles.
"Thirty infantry and two Vanguards?"
"AAT One reporting, Commander. Correct."
The voice came from the transport’s bridge.
"You’re surprisingly strict about packing."
"The ramp appreciates it, Commander."
Hans let out a short laugh.
"Alright, AAT One. I want to see the beach deployment."
"AAT One copies. Awaiting landing point."
Hans marked the cleared coast north of the harbor.
"Let’s try it here."
"Landing point received."
AAT One moved away from the Shipyard and crossed the harbor before turning along the coastline. Hans followed it through the System map as the transport slowed entering the shallows.
The obstacle Sonar filled the local display with depth changes and submerged debris ahead of the hull, and the transport adjusted its approach around them.
The bow reached the beach and kept moving, climbing onto the sand until enough of the hull rested above the water to hold itself stable. Only then did the broad ramp unlock and lower against the beach.
The vehicle deck opened directly onto dry ground, wide enough for thirty soldiers and two Vanguards to leave without a pier, crane or functioning harbor waiting for them.
AAT One remained in position for the inspection before the ramp rose again.
"AAT One to Commander. Beaching trial complete."
Hans watched the transport begin reversing into deeper water.
"Return to the harbor."
"AAT One copies. Returning."
...
By late evening, Saicine Harbor looked considerably different.
Five Sentinel Destroyers occupied the secured water beyond the Shipyards, their silhouettes standing above most of the abandoned civilian vessels still scattered around the port.
The Wraiths were harder to find without the System.
Several remained submerged within assigned patrol areas while the others waited nearer the harbor, represented on Hans’s tactical map more clearly than they were through his own eyes.
Five AATs occupied the inner berths.
The last production notification appeared while Hans was reviewing the fleet.
------
[ Naval Production Order Complete. ]
[ Sentinel Destroyer: 5 / 5 ]
[ Wraith Stealth Submarine: 5 / 5 ]
[ Amphibious Assault Transport: 5 / 5 ]
------
The requirement panel followed.
------
[ Combat Ships: 10 / 10 ]
[ Naval Transports: 5 / 5 ]
------
Hans stopped when the promotion interface opened on its own.
------
[ Rank 4 - Battalion Commander Promotion Requirements ]
[ Infantry Requirement: COMPLETE ]
[ Ground Armor Requirement: COMPLETE ]
[ Combat Aircraft Requirement: COMPLETE ]
[ Air Transport Requirement: COMPLETE ]
[ Combat Ship Requirement: COMPLETE ]
[ Naval Transport Requirement: COMPLETE ]
[ Infrastructure Requirement: COMPLETE ]
------
[ All requirements satisfied. ]
[ Rank Promotion Available: Battalion Commander ]
------
Hans looked across the harbor. Months of preparation, thousands of soldiers, hundreds of armored vehicles, aircraft, bases spread around Grefort, and now fifteen naval vessels sitting inside Saicine Harbor. This was what he had been waiting on for so long.
He closed the panel without confirming it. Rank 3 taught him not to press that button carelessly without preparation.
While the Shipyards worked through their queues, Hans sent Engineers to inspect several cleared locations farther south in Saicine. He chose one well away from the harbor, the northern ridge and every occupied position that mattered.
The building itself was unimportant. What mattered was the reinforced lower level underneath it, enough empty ground around the structure and several streets his soldiers could close without bothering anyone else.
Four squads already held the perimeter. Nobody except Hans needed to enter.
He left the waterfront.
...
Kimmy and Yunera were inside the temporary command building when Hans returned.
Kimmy turned toward him almost as soon as he entered.
"Are you done with your work?"
"With the ships, yes."
"Your army is getting stranger, Hans. You’re almost no different from my brother now."
"Now that you said it, I can’t imagine what will happen if we meet."
Kimmy gave a knowing smile.
"You don’t want to know that. What are you going to do now?"
"Something mysterious, I suppose."
Yunera looked over from the other side of the room.
"Something mysterious? How suspicious. Don’t tell me you’re about to power up like those in the books?"
Hans ignored her. Kimmy stayed facing him.
"Are you leaving?"
"Only to the southern side of the city, but I might be unavailable for a while."
He paused.
"I also prepared a Falcon for you both. You’re going back to Grefort first."
Kimmy’s expression changed slightly.
"Because of what you’re about to do?"
"Yes."
Yunera straightened.
"It’s that serious?"
Hans pulled out a chair.
"The last time I did something similar, let’s just say it didn’t end well for everything around me."
That was enough information. He had no intention of explaining anything beyond that.
His previous promotion had shaken an entire bunker and caused enough commotion outside that people noticed from a distance. Kimmy was considerably stronger now as well, and whatever she could perceive through her ability gave Hans even less reason to keep her nearby while he experimented on himself.
Kimmy remained quiet for a moment.
"You think it might affect us?"
"I’d rather not find out with the two of you standing a few streets away."
Kimmy understood immediately.
"Alright."
Yunera looked at her.
"Just like that?"
"What exactly do you want me to argue about?" Kimmy asked. "Hans already prepared the flight."
"Well..."
"And if he thinks we should be farther away, staying here would only give him something else to worry about."
Kimmy turned back toward him. "You’ll return to Grefort when you’re finished?"
"That’s the plan."
"Then we’ll go ahead."
Kimmy had spent enough time around him and the army to know when there was room for negotiation and when there wasn’t.
Hans stood again.
"The Falcon leaves in twenty minutes. Two squads are going with you."
"I assume you already arranged that too."
"Of course."
Yunera sighed.
"Look at him. He comes in here, throws us onto a helicopter and disappears somewhere mysterious."
"You make it sound bad. He’s just doing it for the two of us."
Kimmy smiled.
"We’ll see you in Grefort, Hans."
"Yeah." He stopped near the doorway. "I’ll catch up."
Hans remained outside, watching the Falcon leave.
Its rotors gathered speed over the cleared landing area before the helicopter lifted above the surrounding buildings and turned south.
Kimmy and Yunera were inside.
Two escort squads went with them, and Flight Operations already had the route back to Grefort.
The aircraft soon moved beyond the nearby rooftops. Only then did he return to his vehicle.
He felt better about the distance.
Whatever happened next, Kimmy and Yunera would be nowhere near it.
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