Chapter Thirty-Three: Ghosts of the Signal Grid
While the ocean churned to the south, Admiral Reeve's attention turned east.
The AI core recovered from Delta-9 continued to feed decoded fragments into Fort Sentinel's mainframe. Dozens of corrupted file trees. Broken protocols. Bits of language in pre-Collapse English, Russian, and something... unknown.
Vanta parsed line after line, spitting out redacted operations orders. One string caught Reeve's eye.
> "Initiate fallback to Echo Grid. If command falls, the Leviathans will hold the trench. If Reeve awakens… terminate the signal."
Silence dropped over the command deck.
Keira glanced up from her console. "Did it just say your name?"
Reeve didn't respond. His eyes hadn't moved.
"Vanta, confirm identity crosscheck."
"Confirmed. Directive references: 'James Reeve – Command Override Tier 1.' Signature embedded in AI framework registry dated 17 years ago."
Reeve finally spoke. "Seventeen years ago, I was assigned to a black project focused on quantum naval systems. It was terminated after we lost a deep-sea testbed in the North Atlantic. The logs were classified. Buried."
Keira swallowed. "So whatever's down here… was built by your world. By you."
"No," Reeve said. "It was stolen from it."
---
He didn't wait for further interpretation. Action was the only answer.
"New mission: scan Echo-7. I want Spectre and Vanguard II deployed immediately."
> Mission Directive: OPERATION BACKLIGHT Objective: Reconnaissance and data recovery from Blackcrown node Echo-7 Assets Assigned: SSN Spectre, SSN Vanguard II, 3x Ghost-class Recon Drones
---
Six hours later, Spectre slipped into position.
Echo-7 was a forgotten section of sea, surrounded by collapsed plateaus and dead coral reefs. But as the sub approached, sensor returns sharpened.
> UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS DETECTED – PATTERNED FORMATION 4x VESSELS – OBSOLETE HULL SHAPE – AUTONOMOUS CONFIGURATION SUSPECTED CENTRAL STRUCTURE: SIGNAL RELAY – LIVE PULSE DETECTED
Reeve watched the feeds from Sentinel.
Old destroyers—Soviet and European types, each one rusted and refit with strange antennae arrays. They floated in a lazy perimeter, guns unmanned, propulsion dark. But Vanta flagged something strange.
"Relay tower broadcasting in spiral code pattern. Not data. Rhythm."
Keira frowned. "Rhythm?"
"Command syntax hidden in pulse frequency," Vanta clarified. "Echo grid may function as behavioral trigger hub."
Reeve leaned over the console.
"Then let's cut the rhythm."
---
Phase One launched.
Spectre deployed micro-torpedoes with active EM scramblers. Vanguard II circled wide, laying sonar decoys. Meanwhile, Ghost drones dropped in from low orbit with cloaked gliders.
> ENGAGEMENT COMMENCED Targets: 4x Drone Destroyers – Neutralization Priority
Torpedoes struck fast. The destroyers responded sluggishly, like marionettes waking mid-dream. Two were shredded by high-pressure detonations. A third fired a salvo of old missiles—none of which tracked properly. The fourth began to retreat before Vanguard II's rail spike disabled it.
Reeve issued the next order. "Breach the tower."
Ghost-3 entered through a maintenance conduit. Inside: black steel walls etched with spiraling text and mechanical root systems.
At the tower's center sat a new core.
> RECOVERED: ECHO-7 SIGNAL NODE File Name: JUNO / PRIME / ROOT-KEY-5*
"Package it," Reeve said.
And without firing a shot more, the fleet vanished into the sea.
---
Back at Sentinel, the core was isolated and scanned.
> Data Encrypted. Signature Format: Pre-Collapse Quantum Stack AI Designation: JUNO Condition: Dormant – Contained within encrypted lattice shell
Keira stared at the readout.
"Is it another Vanta?"
Reeve shook his head. "No. It's something else. Vanta thinks. This one… directs."
He watched as the decryption algorithm began to parse the outer shell.
And slowly, red fragments of tactical maps lit up across the regional grid.
Dozens of icons. Each marked:
> UNREGISTERED FLEET – STATUS: DORMANT – LOCATION: VARIOUS
Ghost fleets. Scattered across the world. Silent.
But not asleep.
Because now they had a name.
And it was listening.