That first night of 'patrolling'? Interminably boring.
One of the ships they decided to create was called a Ranger. It was a unique type of ship - it wasn't particularly strong by itself (at least against ships), but it had an incredibly advanced sensor suite and stealth capabilities. The reason for its design was because the thing, much like a few of her other ships, could accurately hit a moving target from thousands of miles away.
Granted, the moving targets were usually ships, and unless they were agile fighters, also normally couldn't dodge the shots reliably. At much shorter ranges if they shot the thing would practically instantly arrive at its target.
Thus, the sensor suite that could pick out the individual hairs on a squirrel's ass from the atmosphere.
It didn't use anything related to audio, both because it operated in the vacuum of space but because it also tended to be farther than sound could travel from its intended target.
For their intents and purposes, they used it to perform overwatch on the entirety of Brockton Bay while remaining hidden. Their modular Frigate nicknamed 'Riot Control', did get some additional audio analyzers that would help find out if something like a gunshot occurred, and triangulate its origin location in tandem with the Ranger.
While plenty of 'bad' things were going on, they weren't necessarily things Taylor could stop right away. Stopping an individual drug deal? Effectively useless in the grand scheme of things. But if they knew where the dealer got his drugs from? That would enable them to make an impact.
So certain things were left alone, but the one mugging the Ranger was able to sight in progress? Well, they had a lot of fun with the poor soul, and probably terrified the pedestrian in equal measure. Logic 'texted' the victims phone number from a non-existent line (it literally showed up as a blank number) apologizing for the scare and they were safe now.
Honestly, it was like one of those horror movies where some out of sight creature latches onto their target's leg from behind and drags them off-camera. Which, to be fair, is almost exactly what happened.
The mugger got tractor beamed in the leg and dragged out of the alley the mugging was occurring in by an invisible aggressor.
They then proceeded to drag him to the nearest police station and strung him up in front of it until someone came out to figure out what was going on. From there, Logic uploaded a high-fidelity video of the crime in progress to the police intranet and communicated the reason for the arrest.
Once everything was verified and the mugger was taken away, they resumed watching the city. Except, they didn't have a chance to do anything else because nothing was happening. Whether it was a slow night in Brockton Bay or crime just wasn't that obvious, Taylor couldn't tell.
After several hours stretching into the early morning, Taylor gave up and went to sleep, leaving Logic with specific instructions to not break status-quo. She'd rather not find out he decided to simply 'eliminate' any gang member he saw to prevent further danger. He was still learning the whole 'shades of grey' thing humans had going on. Some folks didn't want to join a gang but had to protect themselves or family.
"Goodnight Logic, keep the streets safe for me!"
"Of course, Primary Operator."
Tachyonic Growth
The following morning, Taylor awoke with an extra-large helping of crusty gunk to the eye. By the time she made it to the bathroom and washed it all away, she was presented with the large bags, indicating the less-than-stellar sleep she received the prior night.
She heaved a sigh; Nothing to be done about it. Although she was now determined to come up with a better way to help Brockton Bay because last night was... less than effective.
Also, she didn't even have a hero name! Not that it was all that important technically since she herself wasn't doing any heroic acts. Regardless, someday she would have to talk to someone and give them a name to work with. Logic didn't need a 'cape' name as it were, since anything he did was technically hero work. Although he could make a secret identity he used to hack things? That way nothing would get tied back to the 'heroic' Logic.
Eh, maybe. The young Tinker somehow doubted Logic had an acting bone in his body, so that would probably backfire on them spectacularly the moment he had to talk to someone in his 'false' identity. Better to just let him do his thing.
But for her name... Well, she was basically the queen bee of a rather large hornets' nest. So, something pertaining to being a ruler? She didn't want people to think she was being presumptuous either though. Since it was a literal fleet of ships she was going to have, she could go really basic and call herself commander.
Taylor wasn't sure if the title changed between factions like the Air Force vs. the Navy, and if it would impact her title. Maybe... Something to do with having a massive number of 'minions' working in tandem? Something like Horde... or Legion.
Well, it sounded kind of like a villain's name but Legion was pretty awesome.
Her idle musings were cut short by Danny calling her down for breakfast.
They ate in peace and made idle small talk - him being none the wiser to her swiftly growing power. And wasn't that something insane to think about - ever since the Simurgh had flown into place and taught the world the meaning of despair all over again, they'd never once thought about getting into space again. And here she was, some weeks into her power, and she'd already escaped Earth's gravity, and could do it again if she needed to.
Hell, she could leave the Earth itself and never come back. That was a sobering thought, if ever there was one.
Breakfast finished soon after, and the dishes were cleaned. Danny left to go grocery shopping, and Taylor remained behind.
Before she went upstairs to discuss plans with Logic, she paused to look out the front window and admire the veiled sunlight streaming through a break in the grey line of clouds. It reminded her of why she fought to make this world safer rather than just leaving it - everything would be dull grey halls and long periods of time spent flying around if she left. Never again would she get this exact sight of morning dew reflecting in the gleaming light, and no matter how crummy her street was, it wouldn't be the same without civilization surrounding her.
Yes, she could leave, but was she willing to leave this world behind just to escape from problems the entire rest of humanity was facing when she had the power to help? No, Taylor didn't think she could do such a thing.
Her admiration of the run-down view before her was interrupted as the wail of an air-raid siren began to belt out its warning in 3 short blasts.
Taylor's heart pounded in her chest as adrenaline thundered through her body, bringing her to high alert. She became intensely aware of the pleather couch under her fingertips, the cold brush of air that tickled the nape of her neck, and a million other tiny, insignificant sensations as her world slowed to a crawl.
The sirens did not repeat.
Her furiously beating heart slowed a fraction - she wasn't in immediate danger.
The Endbringer sirens rang every time an attack started, but they only continued to go off after their first warning blast if your city was being attacked. The tri-note blast indicated some other poor city was about to be devastated.
Although... Didn't she have the power to help now? Was that not the entire purpose of becoming a hero? Or at least planning on it? To help people and save them from the many threats of this world?
She was even more uniquely suited to help out - all of her forces were both disposable and long ranged, and she certainly didn't need to worry about 'hurting' an Endbringer.
Taylor flew up the stairs, taking three at a time, clipping the corner in the hallway, causing her to stumble into her room.
"LOGIC! We've got work to do!"
"Primary Operator, I am thrilled that we are finally taking action. I have taken the liberty of assuming the reason for your call to arms and determined the destination of the attack. The Simurgh is on a plotted path to Canberra, Australia. Should you desire, our flagship could get there in just a few minutes."
If she could kiss Logic, she would be almost willing to at this moment. "Ok, great. Let's get it there. We need long range fighters, anything that can strike outside of her zone of influence - but let's not stop there. You get the fleet moving, let's plan in the meantime."
She took a deep breath - now was the time for focus.
"Not only can we help attack the Simurgh, we can rescue people without being affected by her scream. The Tackle Drone Frigate can rescue hundreds of people and help interrupt anything she tries to build."
"Indeed. I am beginning construction of a second Tackle Drone Frigate at once, as well as some long-range options. We will be prepared, Primary Operator."
"Ok... Ok. We can do this. Our Riot Control can also help protect people and deflect debris. We'll also need to communicate with the other's, so they know not to attack our fleet."
"Patching us in... Connecting in 3 seconds."
"3."
"2."
"1."
"Greetings Dragon, I am Logic. I apologize for the intrusion, but you are the one who handles communication in between all of the other heroes, correct?"
Oh shit. Logic just hacked into DRAGON'S com system? A pleasant, if slightly irritated and confused woman's voice rang through on the other end.
"... I won't question how you got into this line, but I assume you are contacting me in regard to the upcoming Simurgh attack?"
Logic responded for me. "Indeed, we are not on-site physically, but our fleet is about to arrive, and we wanted to forewarn you, and everybody else."
The response was delayed, though Taylor was still flabbergasted because they were talking to Dragon!
"A... Fleet?"
"Yes, we have a fleet of hundreds of ships capable of firing at the Simurgh from a safe distance, as well as search and rescue ships equipped with force fields and tractor beams. We would like to assist in both Assault and Support capacities."
There was another pause. Dragon was likely communicating with someone else about the whole situation.
"We would be more than happy to accept your help on the search and rescue front, but with as many ships as you claim to have it will be harder to coordinate with all of the other capes present. We don't know what the attacks are like, or what the effects will be, so it is much harder to integrate attack ships into our program."
Well, that puts them in a pickle. Even if it makes sense, Taylor can't help but be irritated by the development. "Logic, tell them to let us strike from the beginning, before anyone else engages. Once we determine how effective our attacks are, we can give them time to clear out before bombing runs begin."
Deep down, Taylor knew this was a chance she likely wouldn't get again - to show in front of all the hero's present, that they were here to make a difference, and that they COULD make a difference. Not just to prove themselves, but to make a real, tangible change in the world, for the better.
"Primary Operator, I have done significant amounts of research into the Endbringer's durability and the powers wielded against them thus far. If we utilize tachyon radiation to bathe the entire area there is a very real possibility we could kill the Simurgh today. Do you remember the cruiser we discussed? If we build that, I think there is an above 75% chance we can achieve that."
Listening to that gave Taylor hope. Maybe - just maybe, they could achieve a massive victory here.
Especially if they decided to build the cruiser... Cruisers were, to put it in a word, insane.
If one thinks about the normal sci-fi terminology a cruiser is a medium sized vessel, usually with a wide variety of roles it was capable of fulfilling due to its middling size. The cruiser's WE could build however, were something far scarier.
Amongst the blueprints there was a clear hierarchy relating to power and ship size - first was the strikecraft, or fighters. They were as one would expect, small and nimble craft. Next came the frigates; Many times over in size compared to strikecraft, they were always much lower in number, but capable of much greater effects, regardless of if those were defensive or offensive.
Then there were flagships - most often they were simply used to carry the smaller ships around, boasting massive engines to get them from place to place faster than most strikecraft or frigates could on their own. But that was hardly the only form they were limited to - no, there were several plans for much scarier flagships, though much more expensive to build as well, including Golems, Arks, and Spire ships. Taylor could tell, based on the design's rather unique construction, it did not originate from the same place any of the others did. The Arks and Golems were similarly different, but not by as many degrees of separation as the Spire ships were.
She didn't know what it exactly meant, either the information was coming from multiple places, or it was a collection of information that was managed to be cobbled together by... Somebody? The AI? It did seem central to the entire thing, but it was difficult to tell, since she was just given access to a wealth of blueprints without direction or guidance.
The flagships were always massive in size, as evidenced by the fact that the cloaked transport version they used was nearly the size of a football field, and it was on the smaller end.
There were ships above even that size marker, capable of things Taylor didn't even dare dream of. She took one look at the label 'Planet-Cracker' and immediately moved on.
In the middle, lying between flagships and frigates, lay cruisers. Cruisers were singular ships, normally only being assigned one per an entire fleet. Each one was uniquely suited to a particular task and worked especially well behind enemy lines. Their weapons were strong enough to easily contend with flagships in the right circumstances and based on her perusal could usually construct structures designed to hinder or outright hammer the enemy into the dust.
The particular one they had focused on was called the Voidpiercer, capital V.
The reason they were so scary was due to their size - if one was to examine her entire fleet, they might notice one ship that was slightly larger than the frigates surrounding it, but would be hard pressed to tell the difference right away. When the Voidpiercer began unleashing its unholy payload upon its unsuspecting victims, they would change their mind very quickly.
Due to the... exotic nature of its weaponry, it excelled at damaging enemies who had more mass. There were other strikecraft that were swiftly being put into production called Polarizers, which was specifically designed to deal with heavily armored targets. By themselves they didn't deal much damage - soft targets would equate to merely being shot by a normal gun. Hard targets, the heavier the better, would get hit with the equivalent of a tiny, bullet sized bunker buster (in terms of damage dealt, not an actual bunker buster sized explosion).
They also began pumping out fusion bombers and a couple assault frigates. Both dealt with piercing weaponry focused on plasma, though normally they pierced through shields, not armor. There were also these rather strange little ships called Gunbots... For some reason they had cloaking technology and were clearly not designed to have a person pilot them.
If two wings were strapped to a mini gun sized spinning turret, one would get a Gunbot. The ammo they used was not meant to deal high amounts of damage to normal targets, though in great enough numbers it wouldn't matter. What they did excellently against, however, was again, armor. Specifically, they compromised armor to make it easier for the other ships to deal greater amounts of damage.
They fired sliver-thin rounds that had a rather insane potential to pierce. Typically, they were so small the 'injuries' against a ship would be minimal at best, even if one Gunbot went full bore for several minutes. But they were never meant to attack alone - no, a veritable swarm of the things was currently being produced.
What they were made for was to get in close without being seen, attack as quickly as possible, getting off as many shots as they could, then likely dying.
The thousands and thousands of piercing holes would compromise the armor of the enemy, allowing it to be more easily melted, shattered, or pummeled into dust. Whatever armaments the accompanying fleet had.
These were all ships, amongst several others, that both her and Logic had agreed would work best against an Endbringer. V-Wings? Wouldn't even scratch it. Even most of the frigates would barely be able to touch the defenses of the Simurgh, but these ships? This is what they were born to do.
Would her ships do what the blueprints clearly hinted they could do? Could she truly have such an insanely powerful ability? The AI alone screamed 'Yes!' rather loudly into her ear, Taylor didn't see why the trend would stop anytime soon.
Their biggest issue right now was simple production - they didn't have enough metal to spam out these ships like they were an endless font, so they'd have to be tactical with their use. Also, to prevent them from being tampered with or otherwise sabotaged, recovered, or experimented on, certain... countermeasures were adopted. This wasn't the kind of tech Taylor felt comfortable getting spliced apart and taken advantage of.
Dragon's voice came back through her earpiece, crackling to life. "Before we can agree to anything, we need to see this fleet you're talking about - we can't just agree to a plan without proof you can back up your claim."
Logic quickly responded. "Of course, the unloading will commence immediately. Please tell people to not panic."
The command was given, and Taylor approved it. Their cloaked flagship, having already made it to Canberra, was hovering approximately a mile away from the primary Protectorate FOB (Forward Operating Base).
Ships were still being manufactured and transported to the flagship, but all the ones currently residing inside its hull were warped outside, immediately forming a massive cluster of gleaming black metal floating in the sky, not even budging in the wind thanks to the anti-gravity engines.
"Is this proof enough? Believe me, you will not regret allowing us the first strike. There are no pilots inside these ships, they cannot be suborned by any means. If she attempts to break them apart, they have self-destruct features to prevent important parts from being stolen. We are confident we can greatly help you.
Logic was actually pretty good at this whole convincing people thing. Dragon's response was delayed again, as presumably she spoke to her superiors or other coordinators.
"We will allow you the first strike. I have been instructed to inform you to patch into the radio channel listed under Gamma Gamma Beta Romeo for continued communications - this is the same channel announcements and armband instructions are sent through. You can also voice attack plans onto that channel, and I will communicate them out as needed, and advise you to continue or not. Your assistance is appreciated."
Logic didn't break his monotone, but Taylor swore there was a smile in his voice. "We are happy to help. Logic out."
