The flotilla departed separately, maintaining normal fishing patterns. The Lucky Dragon led, her navigation lights reflecting off black water. Behind them, Magong’s lights faded into predawn darkness.
“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 Ever Progress passed two kilometers north, its bulk blocking the latest Chinese surveillance satellite.
“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.
With the first unit deployed, they moved methodically and with purpose to the next position. By 0500, six units were in the water, their icons forming a defensive line across the channel. The Lucky Dragon rendezvoused with the other boats in a fishing ground twelve kilometers northeast of Magong.
“Perfect,” Captain Koh announced, cutting the engines. “Now we fish.”
The crews deployed nets and lines, maintaining their cover. Below, the XLUUVs began their patrol, artificial minds learning the rhythm of these waters.
“Lattice shows all units operational,” Jodi reported via secure comm. “Acoustic returns normal. They’re hunting.”
Commander Tang joined Mick at the rail, watching the dawn brighten the eastern sky. “My grandfather fought the Japanese here in 1895. My father faced the Communists in 1958. Each generation, same islands, different weapons.”
“Different kind of war now,” Mick said.
“Is it?” Tang pulled out a cigarette, hands cupping the lighter flame. “The year has changed, but the stakes remain the same. They want these islands. We want to keep them, and these machines will help us do that.”
Mick thought about that. “Agreed, but I wouldn’t oversimplify the complex nature of autonomous warfare.”
“Of course not. But the purpose remains human.” Tang exhaled smoke into the salt breeze. “We defend our home. Your machines just help us do it better.”
Just then a pod of dolphins broke the surface nearby, their sleek forms arcing through the waves. Below them, twelve artificial predators began learning their hunting grounds, patient as death itself.
“Contact update,” Chief Liang called. “Mainland vessel changing course. Coming to investigate.”
“Let them come,” Captain Koh said. “We’re legal. Fishing permits all in order. They want to count our catch? Fine. They won’t find what swims beneath.”
Mick watched the surveillance vessel’s approach on radar. The game of cat and mouse that had played out in these waters for decades continued. Only now, the mice had grown metal teeth.
“All units deployed,” he reported to Jodi. “The guardians are in place.”
“Roger that. Admiral Han sends his compliments. Phase one complete.”
Mick allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. In six hours, they’d transformed Penghu’s underwater approaches into a lethal maze. Any submarine attempting to transit would face a gauntlet of tireless hunters.
Ensign Huang appeared from below, tablet glowing. “Sir? Unit Seven just reported acoustic contact. Biological — it’s a whale pod transiting south. It’s incredible. The AI correctly identified and ignored them.”
“That’s good. See, this is why we spent weeks training the recognition software.” Mick studied the data briefly. “I like it. This is exactly what we want. The system’s learning. Every contact is making it smarter, more effective. That means it’s becoming more lethal.”
“I agree with the general premise and idea. But this is also what worries me,” the ensign carefully admitted.
“I am glad this worries you, ensign,” Commander Tang interjected. “It means you’re thinking independently, beyond what you have been taught. That’s a good thing but remember — no matter how smart the AI becomes, we’re still the ones holding the leash. Never forget that.”
The mainland surveillance vessel from earlier had closed to five hundred meters. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it abruptly turned away, apparently satisfied with the fishing fleet’s legitimacy. As the sun rose over the Taiwan Strait, painting the water gold and crimson, the fishing boats hauled their nets in, filled with the morning catch.
Lurking below the waves, the real catch had already been made. They’d successfully deployed the twelve Seeker XLUUVs to begin their silent prowl of the depths surrounding the Penghu archipelago. Within a few more days, they’d have successfully transformed the islands into a trap. The next time the PLA Navy wanted to test the waters, they would find them filled with mechanical sharks, hungry and patient.
“I think we’re done for now, Captain. Take us home,” Mick ordered.
“Aye.” Koh revved up the engines. “We did a good morning’s work. I feel my grandfather would be proud. He fought a different war, but it’s the same spirit.”
As the Lucky Dragon turned toward Magong, Mick sent a final message to Jodi: “It’s done. Silent guardians deployed. The sea wall is complete.”
Her response came immediately: “Good copy. Phase two begins tonight. The coastal wolves are ready to prowl.”
Mick smiled as he read her message. He secured his equipment and went below. In twelve hours, Elena Bell, the new TSG contractor, would take the next watch, hiding their Zealot-class surface drones along Taiwan’s western shores. Layer by layer, they were building an autonomous defense that would turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape — a phrase the former IndoPACOM Commander Admiral Sam Paparo had predicted nine years earlier.
But first, breakfast. Even waging digital warfare required human fuel.
The Lucky Dragon chugged toward home, her crew whistling traditional fishing songs, nets heavy with tuna and mackerel. Just another morning in the Penghu Islands, where fishermen had become warriors and the sea itself had grown silicon teeth.
Chapter Thirty:
Coastal Wolves
Elena Bell checked her dive watch — 0500 hours. High tide was in ninety minutes. Through the warehouse’s salt-crusted windows, she counted seventeen fishing boats preparing for the morning catch, their diesel engines warming in the predawn drizzle.
Perfect cover, she thought.
The old salt processing warehouse smelled of rust and brine. Once, Budai had supplied salt to half of Taiwan. Now the abandoned buildings served a different purpose. Elena ran her hand along a Zealot USV’s sleek hull, marveling at the engineering. Eight months ago, she’d been piloting these USVs for the Navy. Now, she was hiding robotic boats in Taiwanese fishing villages and getting paid handsomely by TSG for her efforts.