2101 UNPC Universal Calendar.
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88 Miles off the coast of Hawaii.
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"INCOMING, INCOMING" blared over the PA speakers inside of the ship.
A9 and C7 rolled out of their bunk, and landed on their feet as B1 squeezed past them, B4 on his heels.
"The fuck is happening?" Anton yelled at the back of their heads as they quickly walked down the bulkhead.
"No idea, on our way to find out" Kugler replied, looking over his shoulder at the two as they donned their armor.
"We'll be on the bridge." Kugler said as the deep rumble of a CIWS 20mm cannon vibrated the hull of the ship, alarms still blaring.
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"Care to explain what just took a stab at us?" director Kiesel asked, leaning on a table at the center of the bridge, a blue display across the tabletop, with a hologram of the Schattenwulf itself at the center of the display, the sensor array detecting nothing across the ocean around them.
"It may be related to the submarine I, Charlie Seven, and Alpha Nine made contact with recently" Kugler said, the dark skin of his face appearing unsure in the artificial light.
The video started playing on the screen of the tabletop, wiping the blue sensor array off, and showing the helmet feed of Kugler.
Basked in the greenish glow of Kugler's night vision, a submarine was silhouetted against the deep sea.
Kugler's face seemed to harden.
"Don't look at it, close your eyes, it will bring bad luck"
"Jesus"
"What is that?"
"A ghost ship, though I've never seen one take the form of a submarine"
"Dammit kug, working with you is bad luck all on its own"
The video turned off a second after Anton's curse, and the submarine disappeared.
"That's what shot at us?" Kiesel asked.
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"I think so" Kugler said. "but I've never seen a ghost ship be aggressive, just unlucky." He added.
Kiesel stared at Kugler with doubt, and C7 piped up.
"Could not be a ghost ship? It could've just been some stealth tech" Kate said, making Kugler shrug.
"The wolf pinged it at close range, we were what? Four hundred meters exactly below the wolf?" Anton asked. "What kind of technology can stay hidden from a ping at that close of range unless it's an anomaly?"
"What's the speed and size of the projectile?" B1 asked no one in particular.
"Five hundred and twenty three miles per hour, thirteen point five inch diameter, Fifteen foot length, three foot wingspan." A female voice from behind them added helpfully.
"Harpoon." Anton and Terror said at the same time, then looked at each other, then away at the same time.
"What?" Kiesel asked, squinting and looking at the two.
Anton made a motion for Terror to take it away with his right hand.
"It's a UGM 84 Harpoon, it's an anti ship missile used from ninteen seventy-seven till twenty thirty one" Terror said. "American, and old."
"INCOMING, INCOMING, INCOMING" another alarm blared.
A female crewmember turned away from a single laptop, the glint of augmented reality glasses catching everyone's eye as she turned. "Same missile as before" She stated. Kiesel nodded, and she turned back to her computer.
Everyone around the table looked down at the sensor array. A small fleck of red on the light blue backdrop appeared, at what was indicated as 44 miles, and Kiesel double tapped it.
"I want a kinetic salvo right where that was" Kiesel said to someone behind him. A moment later the sonar smear of the missile launch appeared. Unbelievably the vessel appeared to be sitting still.
His order didn't need confirmation. The wolf growled, and the cannons fired.
"I hope that wasn't a mistake" Kugler said.
"Me too" Kiesel chuckled wanly. "If it isn't an anomaly, they're about to have a bad, bad day."
The second and a half it took for the salvo to arc across the sea felt like hours. It turned the sea around the ghost sub into a mixed up mass of bubbles and air gaps.
The kinetic projectiles of the Schattenwulf's High Velocity Railgun cannons had an unintended anti submarine warfare effect. The rounds strike the water with such speed, and the projectiles are so hot, that it effectively boils the water it comes into contact with.
This makes the water less dense, as it's permeated by water vapor and air as the ocean is "divoted" then collapses on itself.
Through testing, submarines fall extremely quickly to a depth of ~100m, and then rise again when the effect disperses.
As one could guess, this is extremely detrimental to the submarine itself, as well as occupants within.
"Nothing on sensors, sir." A crew member said, turning away from their display.
"Could you send an aircraft, any one, just to see if they can verify contact with the naked eye?" Kiesel asked.
"What's the launch depth of a submarine that can accept those missiles?" Kiesel asked.
"Ten to Fifteen meters." Terror said, "Should be within silhouette depth considering the water conditions."
"Sending one out now, sir." A crew member verified.
"How far are we from where these three saw it?" Kiesel asked.
"Seventy four miles" A soft female voice replied.
"Where was it when the first missile was fired?" Kiesel asked.
"We're still working to determine the range of the fired missile, but it came from bearing two seven six" Another said, this time the voice of a male.
Kiesel nodded. "That's about ninety degrees over where the other missile came from." Kiesel said. "Can they move that fast?" He asked.
"Sometimes, anomalies are like that" Kugler said, purposely vague in his wording.
"INCOMING INCOMING INCOMING."
Okay, it's harassment at this point.