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He activated it with a command from his cortical implant. The only sign it had responded was a slight uptick in the heat sensor in his palm. As he waited for the module’s AI to address its Chinese counterpart, another inquiry rose from the radio, this time more commanding.
He stared down at his hand.
“C’mon already.”
The warmth under his palm grew to a hot ember. He suddenly regretted the sensitivity of his prosthesis, especially as the ember became the searing burn of an open flame.
The screens in front of him fritzed and swam with pixelation.
Over the radio, the timbre of the caller changed from inquiry to threat.
Monk tried pressing his hand harder on the reader.
Like that’s going to help.
But it did—or maybe it was just good timing.
The palm reader flashed twice, then turned an emerald green as the system was successfully unlocked. Monk gasped his relief and grabbed the mouse next to a built-in keyboard. He wasn’t sure what to do. All the screens, even the keyboard, were inhanzicharacters.
As he swiped the mouse, the cursor swept across the central screen. He tapped at the various threats swimming and flying aroundTitan X. But it was like trying to swat wasps. Still, it failed to do anything.
Frustrated, he shoved the mouse. The cursor swept out to sea, reaching theDayangxi. The outline of the helicopter dock changed from indigo to yellow. The color blinked as if impatient with him.
To the side, theTitan X’s silhouette dimmed to a darker green.
Monk remembered what he was staring at.
A targeting array.
He kept the cursor on theDayangxi. A popup menu appeared, again in an indecipherable script—but it was color coded. He scrolled down the list, highlighting each. As he did, the hue of the helicopter dock changed to match each selection. One made theDayangxiblink a bright emerald. It was the same color that theTitan Xhad been.
Green must mean guardian mode.
“That won’t do.”
Monk scrolled to the next line item on the popup’s list. The helicopter dock changed again—to a fiery crimson.
He smiled.
That has to be attack mode.
He clicked on his selection. Another box appeared, clearly asking for confirmation. He picked the green icon, which surely meant one thing.
“Yes, indeed,” he said as he tapped his choice.
On the screen, theDayangxiglowed a solid crimson. TheTitan Xdarkened to an indigo blue. The swarm of wasps abandoned the yacht and sped toward the helicopter dock. Below the water, UUVs and AUVs lumbered in the same direction, while a dozen smaller shapes speared through the water, jetting at maximum speed.
Monk stepped away from the console and peered out the window.
TheDayangxiremained quiet, unsuspecting the danger coming its way. At the last moment, a siren rose from over there, echoing across the water. But it was too late. From the waves, long shapes burst out of the water. Wings snapped wide, and flames flashed from tails. The torpedoes had become airborne missiles.
Monk gaped at the sight. He had heard the Chinese had been developing torpedo-shaped drones capable of such a feat. They were dubbedflying dragons. The monsters slammed into the hull of theDayangxi, striking nearly in unison, all along its flank. Fires exploded with thunderous detonations.
Overhead, airborne drones swept down and fired missiles with deadly precision at the deck. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft exploded, flying high, dumping into the water. Smaller drones sped lower through the smoke, chattering gunfire at fleeing personnel.
More flying dragons swept around and attacked the ship’s far side.
TheDayangxistarted to fight back. Railguns strafed the skies with bright lines of tracer fire. Some ripped through targets as the battle picked up steam.
