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She pictured the boat waiting below her and clenched a fist.
It’s only fitting that I command such a craft.
The PLA Navy had taken Daiyu’s design specs for the AI-drivenZhu Hai Yun, along with its complement of autonomous drones. They had built a militarized version of it and mounted it all atop aYema, a Type 726 air-cushioned landing craft. The boat could sweep across the ocean at eighty knots, nearly three times the speed ofDayangxi. It would put her at the trench in roughly five hours. Once there, she would coordinate with the hunter-killer submarine that was on approach. The sub was under a standing order to onlypatrolthe waters until she arrived.
Her fist tightened.
No one will steal my thunder.
She refused to allow the hunter-killer’s captain to take command of the site where theChangzheng 24had gone down. Instead, she intended to prove the military prowess and worth of her autonomous design systems. The modified LCAC waiting in the well deck carried a battle tank and a fleet of her drones, each one unique and deadly. It also held a deep-sea bathyscaphe, a submersible capable of reaching the bottom of the trench, a craft as dangerous as any of her designs.
She smiled at this thought. She would sideline both the attack submarine and the lumberingDayangxi. She would turn both into mere support vessels to her own ambitions. Instead, she intended to prove to Beijing that it was time to look beyond the old weapons of warfare. She would show them a new path—a better one—into the future.
And I will lead us there.
“Captain Tse, sir,” the radioman alerted her. “I’ve passed on your orders to Snow Leopard Team. But communications are growing patchy as the ash cover thickens. Between the charge in the air and physical compromise of our antennas, it may grow worse.”
As if emphasizing this threat, a bolt of lightning chained across the sky in a blinding display.
She scowled at the low skies. Off the starboard side, fires glowedout in the darkness, marking the volcanic eruptions along the chain of Solomon Islands. She pondered the mystery—and opportunity—they presented.
Seven hours before, she had landed aboard theDayangxiand taken command as the ship transited these waters. While at sea, she had failed to feel any of the reported quakes. She had only witnessed the volcanic eruptions and the blackening of the night sky, which was concerning enough. Afterward, she had taken a brief call from Choi Aigua. He believed the tectonic activity was further proof of his theory—inflaming his hope for what might lay hidden in the waters ahead.
Daiyu stared at her toes, trying to picture a chunk of a foreign planetoid buried in Earth’s upper mantle. According to Choi, it was the source for the spreading chaos and eruptions. She remained unconvinced—though the volcanic eruptions across the region were eroding her doubts.
As with her own ambitions, she knewwhatAigua hoped would be discovered at the trench. He was convinced that the sinking of theChangzheng 24had somehow triggered this cascade of events. If they could learnhowit happened—how it tied to petrified bodies, crystals from a lunar rock sample, and a strange ELF pulse—it might offer a clue to a great weapon, a way to control the very foundations of the planet. If successful, it would return China to its rightful dominance of the world, to create a new shining dynasty that would last until the sun went cold.
Though she didn’t fully accept Aigua’s theory, she dared not dismiss it.
If there is even the slimmest chance of it being true...
Movement on the sonar screen drew her eye. The broken sections of the underwater station had fallen farther apart. The saucer-like fragments also appeared to be slowly rising upward. But what drew her attention was its smallest section. That tiny splinter remained deep and had drifted away.
She squinted at it, both suspicious and curious.
As she stared, the sonar screen pixelated into obscurity. After a fewseconds, it slowly reformed. Only now the image blurred in and out of focus.
“We’re getting stronger interference,” the sonar operator reported. “Maybe due to the electromagnetic effects from the volcanic eruptions we’re passing. The transmission should clear up again after we gain some distance.”
“Do what you can,” she said.
She straightened and stared ahead, already putting the fate of the research station out of her mind. She trusted Snow Leopard Team could handle matters back there. Besides, she had left extra insurance in the waters around the huge rig. Before departing, she had dispatched four UUVs into the sea. The unmanned underwater vehicles operated autonomously. They were capable of recognizing, following, and attacking any anomalous cavitations in the water. If detected, they turned into self-guided torpedoes.
She pictured the tiny fragment of the station drifting off. If it strayed too far, it would be blown up. Knowing this, she dismissed any misgivings and concentrated on what lay ahead. She pictured the giant research yacht—theTitan X.
She smiled at the dark seas.
One more target to destroy, one more step toward glory.
21
January 24, 3:48A.M.NZDT
Pacific Ocean, six hundred miles NE of Auckland
Seated at the rear of theCormorant, Adam leaned forward between Datuk and Monk. Cold sweat pebbled his brow—and not just from the tension. The humidity inside the submersible had increased steadily as they ascended.
“How’s it looking?” he asked.
