---
It started with a ping from the southern recon drone grid.
> NEW CONTACT: PLAYER VESSEL DETECTED – 142km South-Southeast Hull Composition: Mixed Ironwood and Steel
Propulsion: Steam Hybrid (Paddle and Screws)
Radar Signature: Weak, Incomplete
The image clarified.
A warship.
WWII era, maybe older—bristling with twin turrets, depth charge racks, and an exposed bridge. Painted dull gray, it flew a handmade flag stitched with a white wolf on black.
"Player," Keira confirmed, eyes on the feed. "But not like us. That's a Fletcher-class hull… modded with scrap plating."
Reeve didn't blink. "Just as we feared. They're starting from relics."
---
> SYSTEM NOTICE: World Generation Parameters: – Default Tech Start: World War II Vessels
– Cold War Hardware: Rare Spawn (Late Game Access)
– Logistics Craft: Modified Civilian Bulk Freighters / Oilers
Exception: ADMIRAL JAMES REEVE
> STARTING TECHNOLOGY: MODERN ERA AI CONTROL SUITE: TIER III (WARLINK + BATTLELINK)
That was the difference.
Other players earned tech through salvage, barter, and time.
He had it from the start.
Now they were catching up.
---
"Interception?" Keira asked.
Reeve shook his head. "We don't engage. Not unless they fire. Let's see if they notice us."
Instead, he pulled up the drydock schematic.
> PROJECT BULWARK – SPECIAL MODULAR FLAGSHIP
Design Basis: Type 055 Destroyer (Modified)
Status: Assembly at 73%
Estimated Launch: T-minus 6 hours
He reviewed the concept again:
> CLASS: "Bulwark" – Multi-Role Heavy Command Frigate Hull Classification: Experimental Guided-Missile Frigate
Displacement: 14,000 tons
Armament:
112-cell VLS (SAM, ASM, LACM)
1x 130mm Main Gun (Automated Turret)
2x 30mm CIWS (Autonomous)
2x Torpedo Launchers (Quad, Anti-Sub, Variable Depth)
Modular Helo Hangar (Drone + Helo Capacity)
Power Plant: Dual Gas Turbine + Mini-Nuclear Hybrid (Limited Endurance)
AI Command Node: WARLINK/BATTLELINK Integrated
Keira arched a brow when she saw the deck plans. "That's not a destroyer. That's a floating armory with a radar dome."
Reeve just nodded. "We're not at HQ10 yet. So we made our own class."
---
Meanwhile, recon assets scouted the surrounding sectors.
> PIRATE CONTACT – THETA-6 Vessels: 3x Gun Skiffs, 1x Ironclad Retrofit
Armament: Improvised Naval Guns, Rockets, Ramming Spikes
Threat Level: Moderate
"Engage with Lion, Vanguard, and one Helo drone," Reeve ordered.
Within minutes, Vanguard fired first—standard NSM missiles streaking from launch rails. Lion followed up with ECM jamming to block enemy comms. The NH90 drone spotted the ironclad attempting to retreat under steam.
> FIRE MISSION: DIRECT HIT Ironclad disabled. Pirate skiffs scattered.
> LOOT RECOVERED: – 950 Steel – 400 Timber – 1x Naval Mine Blueprint (Obsolete) – Data Packet (Encrypted): Marked 'Red Ring'
---
Fort Sentinel's refinery spun up to full capacity. A new logistics directive was pushed through.
> OPERATION: BASTION HAUL
Atlas-02: Supply Chain Vessel
Escort: FFG Vanguard + NH90 Patrol Drone
Route: Sentinel – Ironjaw – Echo
Omar Baqir, the logistics chief, adjusted the schedules. "With the newer power core design, we can double the load rate and cut fuel loss by 14% on average. We'll just need more repair drones at Ironjaw."
Reeve approved the expansion.
---
By sundown, Bulwark was complete.
She emerged like a leviathan—sleek angles, dark paint, superstructure built for stealth and surveillance. Her sensors rippled out across the sea like a phantom limb. Reeve watched from the command balcony, arms folded.
Keira joined him. "That's not just a ship. That's deterrence."
He nodded.
"We can't build destroyers yet. But nothing says we can't think like one."
> FLAGSHIP REGISTERED: "Bulwark" – Battle Group Alpha Combat Doctrine Enabled: Combined Arms Recon-Centric Warfare
---
At 0100 hours, Spectre-02 picked up another contact. Multiple ships.
> UNKNOWN PLAYER FLEET MOVING THROUGH LAMBDA-3 Composition:
1x Heavy Cruiser Hull (Cold War, Retrofit)
2x Corvette Escorts (Mixed Era)
1x Freighter (Bulk Class)
Flag: Stylized black sun with iron crown motif
Keira frowned. "That's not scrapwork. That's design."
Reeve narrowed his eyes. "No more ghosts. We ID this fleet. Then we decide who makes it to the next sunrise."
---
[End of Chapter Twenty]