It didn't take long before the first Poseidon-class battleship was completed. And when it was, I persuaded the navy to allow me to ride in the bridge. I didn't command the fleet, of course, but I wanted to witness the fight between the navies firsthand.
However, we didn't just stop at one battleship. We waited until the shipyard (and my company) finished constructing another three Poseidon-class ships before we had all of them sail out. The whole process took a couple of months, and now we had four Poseidon-class battleships leading the vanguard of the fleet.
The first one, which I had named Triton, was the flagship of the new armada. Admiral Howard Hai was aboard, commanding the naval fleet from the bridge. He glanced at me nervously, not sure if the battleship would fail. It was a new ship, after all, and a lot of things could happened. Usually it would take some time for the soldiers and navy crews to familiarize themselves with their new ship, to learn whether she would be reliable or not.
The uncertainties when you were sailing in a ship for the first time, with no idea whether her systems would fail or not, was nerve-wracking. Normally, it wouldn't be so bad because these ships would be launched during training missions. But when you were sailing aboard them to an actual battle, then it changed everything.
What if the weapons systems failed? What if the reactor went offline in the middle of a battle? What if the propulsion system stopped halfway? All these fears struck anxieties into any sailor's hearts. Even so, we didn't have a choice. We could only hope that the navy of Country A would pull back without firing a single shot.
Surely they wouldn't be so reckless, would they?
"We are moving out, Admiral Hai," Captain Stephen Chow said from his seat. Howard Hai, reclining in the command seat, nodded.
"The Triton is at your disposable, Captain. Take her out. And have her three sister ships follow her, delta formation."
"Delta formation, aye, sir."
Stephen Chow then turned to relay the command to his communications officer, who transmitted the order. Behind us, the other three Poseidon-class ships followed. We adopted a diamond formation, with the Triton forming the sharp edge of the vanguard.
All around us, escort ships followed. Frigates, corvettes and destroyers. They were accompanied by the Bulwark-class shield boats, which cast a shimmering dome of protective energy over the armada.
"Enemy fleet in sight," the intelligence officer reported. Chow nodded before glancing at the admiral and waiting for orders.
"Not yet, Stephen," Hai said. "We wait and see. We are not going to be the ones who fired the first shot and become responsible for starting a war."
"Yes, sir."
I wondered about that. Those were the orders from the higher-ups, but reality wasn't always so kind. I also hoped we could resolve this without firing a single shot, but after so many months floating off out shore, I had a feeling that the sailors from the foreign navy were on edge.
"Contact them," Howard ordered after a few moments of silence. The two fleets were drifting on the sea, facing each other without doing anything yet. The tension was becoming impalpable. Neither fleet was willing to back down.
"Aye, sir. You heard him, Rodney."
Rodney Lian, the communications officer, nodded. He then patched in a communication signal to contact the enemy fleet. After speaking into a receiver for a few moments, he glanced up from his console.
"Sir, the enemy admiral wishes to speak to you."
"Patch him too," Hai ordered before Chow could say anything. "I'll speak to him directly."
"Aye, sir. Patching him through."
A holographic image of the enemy admiral manifested in the center of the bridge. A middle-aged man in his late fifties, dressed in a smart and crisp naval uniform and spotting several medals. He had a neatly shaved stubble and a severe demeanor.
"You called, Admiral Hai?"
"That's right, Admiral Allen."
Admiral Howard Hai nodded, staring at the holographic image without flinching. They were posturing now. This exchange would decide whether this conflict would end with needless bloodshed or in a fragile peace. There was no going back. We all knew that the implications of naval action off the shore of another nation's territory. This was not likely to end with the other fleet simply departing.
"We have informed you before, and I will remind you again. These waters are the territory of our nation, Hua Xia. I request that you take your fleet and leave. Otherwise you are violating international law by trespassing into our territory."
"I apologize for that." Allen had the appearance of a man who didn't want to fight but was forced into a corner by his superiors. "But I have my orders."
He sighed. "Between the two of us, I don't want to be here either. None of my men want to be here. We have been floating off here for several months now, doing absolutely nothing but stare at your shore. I would rather have shore leave and take a vacation in your country than hang around in our ships. Don't get me wrong, I love my ship, but…I'm getting sick of this."
"I sympathize." Howard Hai nodded. He also knew the burden of military command, and how the military was always subordinate to the government. Admiral Alfred Allen no doubt had his orders, and he couldn't go against them. "But I also have my orders."
"Don't we all?" Allen gave a wry smile. He then turned to address someone off screen. "Cassie, contact the Pentagon and update them of our situation. Tell them that I strongly advise that I pull the fleet out."
We waited for a few tense moments. It was ironic. Usually the soldiers were the ones most reluctant to fight, whereas the politicians were the idiots most enthusiastic in throwing the lives of their citizens away in a war. It was easy to declare war and order soldiers about while you were safely watching the whole thing from a distance. Whereas the soldiers themselves were the ones who had to bear the brunt of casualties and stare death in the face up close.
After a few moments, Allen's face darkened as he listened to his communications officer relay a message from the Pentagon. He sighed and shook his head.
"No go. The higher-ups want us to stay where we are. We're supposed to pressure you into sharing your shield technology."
"And they think we will share it if they threaten us?"
"They are idiots," Allen said bluntly. Then he shrugged. "All politicians are devious snakes. We ought to know."
"What if we don't share the technology?" Hai growled. Allen shook his head.
"I don't know." He then snorted. "And I don't think those damned politicians know what to do either. They send my fleet all the way here to put on a show of intimidation, have us standby here for months doing nothing because they are afraid of starting a war, but they hope that you'll cave in eventually. Which is unlikely, because while we are drifting around in limbo, you guys would be busily churning out new weapons and technology. Like those new battleships you just added to your fleet. Yet they can't easily recall us because they've already burned so much money keeping us stationed here for months and they don't want us to return home without anything to show for."
"To be fair, I would probably make the same decision if I were them," Hai muttered. "Not that it's the right decision, but I'm sure the voters and sponsors they have to answer to will demand for explanations after spending so much taxpayer money for nothing."
"That's their problem," Allen grumbled. "That has nothing to do with me and my boys. I'm not going to carelessly risk my men's lives in fighting a war for no good reason."
"Agreed. I would rather both parties stand down. But if you have a hostile enemy fleet floating off your shore, you wouldn't take that lying down either, would you?"
Allen spread his hands. "You are right. We will mobilize the navy and blockade them. In fact, I would be doing the same exact thing as you are right now, issuing a warning and requesting that you leave."
He then made a disgusted expression. "I could order the fleet to leave right now, but the higher-ups will then have me relieved of my command and order a new admiral to take over, and then we'll be back to square one."
"Yeah." Hai clearly preferred to deal with someone as reasonable as Allen, and not a more rigid and ambitious admiral who would suck up to the politicians to further his career.
"In the end, it all comes down to the shield generator technology, doesn't it?" I asked, finally speaking up. Everyone on the bridge turned to stare at me, even Admiral Alfred Allen.
"You…?" Allen was clearly surprised to see a civilian on the bridge. I did a short bow.
"I'm Trevor Shen. I'm the one who invented the shield generator." I folded my arms. "I'm actually a subcontractor for the military…my company is privatized and my technology is patented. So if your government wants the technology, they are to withdraw all troops here and then contact me directly. If they offer the right price, I can consider selling it to them. But not if they continue to bully Hua Xia like this."
"I'll notify them immediately." I could see the gears turning in Allen's mind, his expression that of tremendous relief. This was an opportunity for him to break this deadlock and withdraw his fleet. He had found an excuse to avoid fighting altogether, having been presented with a bloodless resolution to this conflict.
"Thank you." I tried not to smirk. Capitalism. In the end, the world ran on money. Turn this into a business deal, weigh the pros and cons or profits and losses, and the other party would buy it.
Allen barked something to someone off-screen. He waited for a response, folding his arms. As did the people on the bridge, crossing their fingers and praying that this would be it, that this would signal the end of the months-long standoff that had plagued the coast for a while now.
The answer came in the form of a shot. One of the destroyers – not Admiral Allen's flagship – fired all of its cannons at the Triton, ballistic missiles and massive shells arcing toward us. Before anyone could react, the projectiles detonated against the shields of the Triton, causing it to rock unsteadily.
"What the…?!" I cursed. Meanwhile, Admiral Hai was already shouting orders as red lights flashed across the bridge.
"All hands to combat stations! Level one combat!"
The war had unexpectedly begun.