Author Notes:
First of all, happy Labour Day! I hope you all can kick back, relax, and enjoy this new OBOM release!
Now, once again, you shall have the dear Patrons and fellas over on my Discord server to thank for the latest releases. They really are an inspiration and a half, hahaha.
That said, stay tune for the Monthly Recruitment Drive that is soon to start! Grab that 25% discount when its hot so that you can enjoy the benefits of reading the Early Access Chapters for all three of my stories! OBOM, in particular, is racking up an impressive chapter count!
Peace, and happy holiday to all of you!
https://www.patreon.com/Heartbreak117
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Actual Monthly Income Goal 725/1000 USD (The bare minimum number I can think of to sustain our safe haven and get my Mom's health in order is 1000 USD a month)
For my fics:
https://discord.gg/cVZxJ29ruh
https://www.webnovel.com/book/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich_23809095505377305
https://www.webnovel.com/book/in-the-grimdark-sector-with-a-system_31596105108346205
https://www.webnovel.com/book/my-soul.-occupied-body---please-the-other-me...!_35377211308783905
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2271569/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich/
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
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From a technical standpoint, the Mark VI Patrol Boat, in its base form, is already a good, nifty little ship thanks to its configurable mission parameters. You can even install on top of it a small VLS and micro torpedo launcher, making it a worthy adversary to any ship that is caught with its pants down. Of course, that is a capability only available to the base version of the Mark VI. With how I tune my Mark VI, a true high-end weapon is a no-go.
So, time to scale down the tech again.
"I think this will form a habit..." Aurea chimes in softly, noticing a pattern in what I do with the GAD Module.
Like many gamers, I tend to max out all the stats before pulling back the sliders so that they all combine to form a realistic number. Much like the Mark VI, which is one of the most modern patrol boats, but I have cooked it to what it is now.
"That it will, Aurea. That it will, as long as we have more opportunity and free time to play around the GAD Module." I reply, smiling at the prospect. "I have no doubt that both of those will come in abundance in the future. It's a good thing that the Module has a Save feature, so that I can retain whatever designs we can think of in the future for later review. We may not build all of them, but it's nice to have something to mess around with and visualise our ideas."
After hearing Aurea's small hum of agreement, I command the GAD Module to give me a panoramic view of the Mark VI and pull up its weapon sheet. Other than the tacked-on rail for launching mines and depth charges, my Mark VI has an additional six Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns, blessed by John Moses Browning himself. Of the six, one is mounted on an MK50 Gun Weapon System, which is a fancy way of saying a remote-controlled turret, atop the pilot house. To top it all off, the front of the boat houses a Typhoon Weapon System, which is a fully stabilized 25 mm Bushmaster gun with all the bells and whistles you would expect from a USN ship.
Most of these will have to go through.
With a mental flick of my hand, I remove nearly all of the manually operated M2 machine guns, leaving just one remaining. That last M2 is then moved to its new spot on the rear deck. This, alongside the remote-controlled M2 on the pilot house, will be the last line of kinetic defense or a less deadly weapon option of the Mark VI. This does help lower the construction time and simplify the logistical profile of the boat by a good margin. Of course, I do make sure to allocate enough ammo and spare parts for these guns.
Now, I can't exactly expect to use these remote-controlled guns as is. Like, the GAD Module is flashing the two non-manually operated guns red, which means a no-build due to hardware and software incompatibility. Because I ripped away nearly all of the Mark VI's original electronics, the MK 50 GWS and the Typhoon are inoperable. So, I rework them from top to bottom.
First, I rip out the Typhoon Weapon System entirely. Where Aurea and I are going, a 25 mm gun may be a little undergun. Why?
That part about Here be Dragons may not necessarily be an oversell.
Besides, the Typhoon System by itself is already an expensive buy. So, in lieu of the 25 mm gun turret, I drop down a Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millennium Gun, or at least a butchered version of it. The Millennium at its core is a CIWS, a danger-close missile-defense system that can fire a special round, AHEAD, that disperses 152 tungsten projectiles in a deadly cone. Yet, what I put down is nothing that sophisticated.
Other than sharing the 35 mm gun, mechanical systems like the feed system and gun housing, my version has little else in common with the original. Instead of firing 252 shells of AHEAD, my Millennium will fire 300 shells of SAPHEI-T, which stands for semi-armor-piercing high-explosive incendiary with tracer. Needless to say, it's an inspired design choice, great for multirole duty. To paraphrase what Aurea said:
You can't have too much firepower... Just to be safe?
Honestly, my dear Other Me made perfect sense.
I would have crammed more shells for the 35 mm gun in the linkless feed mechanism if not for my worrying about the potential heavy fore-end weight offset, which will cause the Mark VI to sink headfirst before anything.
Moving on!
Other than the change in primary weapon, I decide to tinker with the other stuff as well. The Millennium will feature a three-axis stabilizer, gotta make those 300 shots count, and the gun will have either semi or 200 rounds per minute fully automatic fire. The MK50 GWS, with its M2 machine gun, however, will have a two-axis stabilizer instead of three and will fire as fast as it mechanically can. Since I make an effort to, once again, ensure everything is serviceable by one person, these turrets aren't slim and modern-looking. They're a bit bulky, translating ample space for access and to house bigger and more long-lasting parts. The turrets aren't all that different from what the Cold War-era Soviet warships used. Less digital, more analogue.
Of course, I still retain the actual ability to remotely control them all, even manage to ensure optical fidelity is up to snuff. Laser range finding is a must-have as well.
However, there won't be fancy night vision and thermal imaging on the two weapon stations. Removing them allows me to save nearly a month in build time, which is a good bargain to have. And since the electronics are less complex, modifying them to be rugged and easily serviced is much cheaper. If I want to aim in the dark, then good old searchlight will have to do, at least for now.
By this point, you really should have gotten used to me making sure everything remains simple, durable, and serviceable whenever I can. Call it an occupational hazard.
As for the sole traditional Browning machine gun in the stern of the Mark VI. There's not much I can do to it, other than give it a gun shield. Coincidentally, the .50 caliber guns will run with API-T, armor-piercing incendiary with tracer. The sea will go red with tracers, boys and girls. And frankly, I will need tracers to aim, compensating for the possible false readings that 1960s sensors may feed the computers. Again, I can upgrade, but the increase in build time will make any additional benefit not worth it. Especially so if Aurea and I suddenly find ourselves in need of an escape vehicle.
Now that the weapon loadout is sorted, I go on to make sure that I have six reloads for each M2 machine gun and three reloads for the 35 mm gun. The ammo alone comes with a hefty price tag in time, but in case the System doesn't give me enough munitions each week to cover whatever losses I may incur, I at least have a sizeable enough bank to fall back to. With all that said and done, I recheck the stats for the Mark VI, only to realize that the vessel has lost its speed again because I mounted the Millennium.
So, once again, I have to backtrack and rework the propulsion and powerplant. Ultimately, I have to settle for a 41.5 knots top speed, which is still the fastest ship Aurea has ever come to know in passing. That's a comfortable reassurance, if you ask me. It means we can really run, and our small ship will be near impossible to track in this oceanic world. Defensively, unless a literal dragon appears, my Mark VI can dish out a lot of hurt with its 35 mm gun.
"Huhm... Aurea, do you think I am missing anything? Do you have any suggestions?" I ask Aurea after giving the Mark VI's 3D model a spin in the GAD Module.
"O-Oh! I do, in fact...! Uhm..." Aurea replies with a start. "In many coastal areas, Knights and sea-faring vessels tend to have a special coating applied on their hull and armor. This coating... Ehm, I think it's made from grinding the shell of Ivory Clams and mixing with paint? W-Well, when this coating is applied to the exterior, it will prevent rust, corrosion, and parasitic lifeforms from tainting a vessel."
"Oh, really?" I hum, before passing the GAD Module's control to Aurea. "Well, help me do your magic, Aurea."
"Ok... It should be like this... Right?" Aurea mutters, and before I know it, the Mark VI changes from a metal-gray color to a literal ivory white boat.
"Huh, it really is made from Ivory Clams." My face shows an expression of mild surprise, seeing how the oh-so-familiar USN-gray is overshadowed by a pearly color. "But if that coating means less of a chore to clean the vessel, then I'll take your entire stock."
"Uh... I am told that craftsmen or alchemists can make colors other than white. The Module should be able to do that as well... Shall I change the color, Umbra?"
"Huhm... Do you like white, Other Me?" I ask back.
"Eh? Uhm, yes?" Comes Aurea's confused reply.
"Then let's keep it white." I smile kindly, patting her head mentally. "Since this is our first vessel, let's make it something to remember. And maybe give it a name as well before we hit the construction button."
"A name... Since it's Ivory White... How about White Pearl?" Aurea offers tentatively.
"White Pearl, huh, very fitting. Captain Sparrow would look upon our ship with envy, considering how he's bound to his rigged sailing ship that doesn't even have an air conditioner. Alright, Aurea, will you do the honor of christening our ship with her name?"
"O-Ok!" A couple of beats after Aurea's excited reply, the words White Pearl in fine cursives are inscribed on the sides of our Mark VI.
Once we have confirmed the name, I say right before hitting the mental button to start construction.
"Now, let's see the damage..."
[Order confirmed. Construction of 1x Mark VI Patrol Boat (Simplified) starting...]
[No resources detected... Proceeding with a free construction plan.]
[Time till completion of 1x Mark VI Patrol Boat (Simplified): 6 months.]
"... Half a year, huh?" I smile wryly. "Not good. Not terrible."
"T-This means that your decision to make a home here... I-It's sound, Umbra!" Aurea comforts me kindly.
"Yeah. Other than building up and surviving here, that six-month period can be used for exploration. The White Pearl can cruise in brown water, so we can scout for suitable rivers in advance for our mobile home to sail up and down. In other words, we have much to do in the meantime." Having said that, I look toward the pitter-patter of rain outside.
"Say, Aurea." I call out to her. "Do you want to hear me tell some stories? Just something to pass the time with, you know?"
"S-Stories? S-Sure! I love to hear new things, Umbra!" I can feel my Other Me nodding rapidly.
"Ok, then!" I smile, closing my eyes to recount that one tale of a certain pirate. "You must have heard me mutter something about a Captain Sparrow and his black boat. Now, allow me to regale you with the full tales of that mythical Pirate Captain with a penchant for luck and misfortune alike!"
In case you haven't realized it yet, I am talking about Captain Sparrow, a Caribbean Pirate!