“The deployment of spy bots to the Northern Islands is complete. We were able to easily construct and operate them since it’s within direct power supply range.”
“Good. I never really understood why we invaded the Northern Islands in the first place, but we need to start dealing with them in earnest. One way or another, it’s the closest to ＜The Tree＞. A direct threat.”
The Northern Islands had been mostly left alone to avoid unnecessary provocation, but now they were finally going to be dealt with as ＜The Tree＞. As a first step, Submersible (Orca) were attached to returning convoys to infiltrate the area, and insect-type spy bots were scattered under the cover of night.
“The winged-insect type can now operate without resupply thanks to microwave power.
The miniaturization achieved by eliminating the battery is significant.
They will infiltrate everywhere and construct a mesh network.
Considering their original purpose, microwave-powered spy bots were originally unnecessary.”
“Yeah, I guess. I couldn’t imagine scattering microwaves all over the place when you need to infiltrate undetected.”
During the ＜World of Space＞ era, microwave power couldn’t be realized in the first place because the hypothetical enemy was in the same technology band.
In that respect, this world has no developed radio wave technology at all, so at least for now, it can be used without any restrictions. There’s no need to worry about being noticed, no matter how wildly electromagnetic waves are scattered.
However, the bots are a decent size, over 3 cm. If they fly around without restriction, they will be noticed, and may even become targets for extermination.
Therefore, they mainly move at night and hide in the shadows during the day.
Still, there is no problem with collecting sound waves. The field of view is narrow due to the sensitivity of the installed sensor, but by bundling the visual sensor information of multiple bots, images with a decent resolution can be obtained.
Some may be found and destroyed, but the main components are cellulose, resin, liquid power transmission mechanisms, and micro silver threads, so even if they are crushed, they look no different from ordinary insects.
At the same time, palm-sized spider-type bots are being infiltrated to recover the wreckage.
The spider-type bots have enhanced output communication functions and are basically intended to be operated while waiting in the shadows.
In addition, they serve as hubs for the mesh network, bundling information and sharing it with ＜The Tree＞ in near real-time.
“I will report again when a certain amount of information has been gathered. It doesn’t seem like long-distance communication technology has been developed at this point, so there’s no need to rush. It seems they are using birds to communicate with the mainland.”
“…Birds?”
“Yes, Ma’am.
Historically, there was something called a carrier pigeon that used the homing instinct of pigeons.
It is presumed to be a similar mechanism.
We have confirmed that they are releasing birds with the same letter tied to their legs, in several batches.
However, since all the birds were of different species, it is unclear whether they are using their homing instinct or whether there is a way to fly them to their destination.”
“Hmm…”
Well, when you think about it, it’s 1,000 km in a straight line from the Northern Islands to the Repuytari Kingdom. Of course, there are no islands in between, so there is no place to rest unless they are seabirds.
There are species that can fly for 24 hours, but it is hard to believe that all the birds, which are clearly different in appearance, have such flight capabilities.
“We’ll investigate this later.
At the speed of a bird, it will take at least three days for a letter to arrive, no matter how fast it is.
If it makes a detour, it may take more than a week, so that’s the limit of information transmission speed.
With that much time, we can build an intelligence network throughout the Northern Islands.”
“Okay, okay. Well then… next is the new Destroyer class. Is the testing going well?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
＜Ringo＞ nodded at Commander (Eve)’s words and displayed the Destroyer tree on the screen.
“The development status is here. The class will be different from the Alpha-Class.
The base material has been changed to high-tensile steel. The armor on each part is made of carbon nanotube resin composite material and has a laminated structure.
The hull is shaped to prioritize acceleration performance based on wave-making resistance and other resistance values.”
“Hmm, hmm, hmm… I see. Acceleration performance, huh.”
“Yes, Ma’am. During combat maneuvers, destroyers need maneuverability such as acceleration, deceleration, and turning. Top speed and fuel efficiency are secondary.”
“Okay, okay. Well, isn’t that good? Next is the propulsion system.”
Next to the Destroyer tree, a tree of propulsion devices was also lined up. Since the lines were connected to each other, it was possible to understand which technology was used for each ship type.
“The basic technology is Water Jet. The propulsion method is a screw pump, huh. Is this the one that was tested on the Alpha-Class?”
“Yes, Ma’am.
We prototyped and installed several propulsion devices.
We have adopted the one with the best results.
We also conducted tests on electromagnetic propulsion, which generates propulsive force by generating a magnetic field in the water, but at this point, pressurization by a screw pump seems to be more efficient.
Electromagnetic propulsion requires a superconducting coil, but unless it is a room-temperature superconducting material, a separate cooling mechanism is required, which affects the loading capacity.
We are researching room-temperature superconducting materials separately, so if that can be put to practical use, we will consider replacing the propulsion system.”
“Oh… Water Jet… I see, the bottom of the ship is full of slits. What kind of structure is it?”
“Intake ports and injection nozzles are arranged.
To put it simply, it is more efficient to inject a large amount of water at a low speed than to inject a small amount of water at a high speed.
In order to efficiently exert sufficient acceleration force, we have adopted a method of injecting a large amount of water from multiple injection ports.”
“I see… I see… I was surprised because I’ve never seen a shape like that before. It’s fine as long as it’s fast. So there’s no problem with improving acceleration and top speed with this. What about the armament?”
“The main gun is a Multi-barrel Railgun.
Short-barreled, Multi-barrel Railgun for small targets and anti-air targets.
Vertical launch system and anti-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, and anti-submarine missiles.
Torpedo launcher and short torpedoes, long torpedoes.
It has reconnaissance drones and anti-personnel drones as onboard aircraft, and can be deployed immediately with an Electromagnetic Catapult.”
“It has everything. Is it focused on versatility?”
“Yes, Ma’am.
We have prepared ammunition to deal with all kinds of situations.
In addition, the living quarters are minimal and are basically used as cargo compartments, so the ability to sustain combat is also high.”
The new Destroyer is considerably larger than the Alpha-Class.
The increased loading capacity was used for a large amount of Cannon Shell, missiles, Torpedo, and Drones. ＜Ringo＞’s view is that one ship can do the work of five to six Alpha-Class ships.
“And this is the nuclear Fusion Reactor-equipped Cruiser that will be the current flagship.
The ship’s width has been increased to secure space for the nuclear Fusion Reactor, and the top speed is lower than the standard type.
The main gun is a Multi-Stage Electromagnetic Cannon (Coilgun).
The secondary guns are Multi-barrel Railguns.
It is also equipped with short-barreled, Multi-barrel Railguns.
A larger vertical launch system is installed.
In addition to various missiles, long-range missiles can also be launched.
Torpedo launcher, Electromagnetic Catapult for launching Drones.
Furthermore, it can carry one SR-1 (Albatross) class flying boat and is equipped with a simple maintenance dock.”
“Completely equipped for expeditions, huh.”
“Yes, Ma’am.
We anticipate that there will be many more dispatches outside the range of microwave relay Drones in the future, so we have experimentally installed various functions.
If it’s the Repuytari Kingdom, which is our current target, we can provide direct support from ＜The Tree＞ even if some kind of problem occurs.
We think it’s a good opportunity.”
Commander (Eve) approves ＜Ringo＞’s proposal.
As a result, ＜The Tree＞’s shipbuilding dock entered a mass production system for the new Destroyer.