Commander Tang approached, his team wheeling the first XLUUV on a concealed trailer. The autonomous submarine was wrapped in tarps, looking like any other piece of maritime equipment.
“First package ready,” Tang reported. “Ensign Huang will monitor from here. Chief Liang’s team has the deployment cradle prepared.”
Mick checked his tablet, confirming Lattice connectivity. Each XLUUV showed green on the network, their AI cores initialized but dormant.
“Remember,” he told Tang, “these aren’t torpedoes. They’re hunters. Once we activate them, they’ll patrol for thirty days before needing recovery. They’ll learn every sound in these waters.”
“Including our own submarines?” he asked.
“Yes. Already programmed with your acoustic signatures. They’ll ignore friendlies unless fired upon,” Mick explained.
Tang nodded slowly. “During the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, I was a junior lieutenant. We listened to their submarines circle our islands, helpless to stop them. Now…”
“Now you hunt back,” Mick replied.
The deployment team worked with practiced efficiency. Within minutes, the first XLUUV was secured in the trawler’s modified hold. Eleven more would follow on five other boats.
Master Chief Liang appeared, smartphone in hand. “Satellite pass in forty minutes. Weather’s holding, light fog rolling in from the southwest. Perfect conditions.”
“I’d call that divine providence,” Captain Koh muttered. “My grandfather said the sea goddess Mazu protects these islands. Maybe she sends fog when we need it.”
“I’ll take help from any source,” Mick replied.
Ensign Huang approached hesitantly. “Mr. Matsin? I’ve been studying the AI protocols. What happens if communications are jammed?”
“Good question, Huang.” Mick pulled up a schematic on his tablet. “Like Jodi and I showed you guys during the training, each unit has three layers of decision-making. Primary is networked through Lattice. Secondary uses the local mesh networking between the units. And tertiary, should the other two systems become jammed or unavailable, is fully autonomous based on the preprogrammed parameters you provide it.”
“So even if we’re cut off…”
“They keep hunting. That’s both the beauty and terror of autonomous systems, Ensign,” Mick answered. “Once awakened, they don’t need us anymore.”
The young officer paled slightly. Commander Tang clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s why we maintain strict deployment protocols, Ensign. These are tools, not masters. We’re still the ones who give the orders.”
“It’s still incredible. Tools that think,” Huang murmured.
“Hey, focus on the mission,” Tang ordered. “We can philosophy later.”
By 0400, the small fleet was ready. Six fishing boats, crews of mixed civilians and naval personnel, each carrying death in their holds. Mick stood beside Captain Koh as the
“Heading?” Koh asked.
“North first. Deploy along the Penghu Channel’s eastern edge.” Mick showed him the route on a waterproof chart. “Twelve positions, spaced for overlapping coverage.”
“I know these waters. Fished them forty years before you were born.” Koh’s hands were steady on the wheel. “That deep trench near Xiyu? Perfect ambush point. Current pushes south. Anything transiting there has to fight it or go around.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’re putting two units there.”
The flotilla departed separately, maintaining normal fishing patterns. The
“Contact,” Chief Liang reported from the radar station below. “Mainland surveillance vessel, thirty kilometers northwest. Maintaining standard patrol pattern.”
“Let them watch,” Koh said. “We’re just fishermen heading for the morning catch.”
Mick activated his tactical display. The six boats appeared as blue dots, their paths converging on predetermined coordinates. Each deployment point had been selected for maximum coverage of submarine transit routes.
At 0420, they reached the first position. The container ship
“Now,” Mick commanded.
The deployment team worked in darkness, guided by red-lens flashlights. The XLUUV slid down specialized rails, entering the water with barely a splash. On Mick’s display, its icon shifted from white to blue as systems activated.
“Unit One deployed,” Ensign Huang reported from his monitoring station. “All systems nominal. AI initializing.”
“Set patrol parameters,” Mick instructed. “Patrol depth forty meters, pattern Alpha-Three. Threat library loaded?”
“Confirmed. Seven hundred twelve acoustic signatures in memory,” Ensign Huang confirmed.
