Far from the troubles of the Port of Dawn and the Southern Colony, Austerus. Northbound, in the cold waters of the northern seas was an attack submarine, known to many in the United Navy as... UNS Orion Deep.
Along with the advanced airship, UNS Ceaseless Skies. It was deployed by the fleet admiral for an reconnaissance mission. But unlike the airship, the attack submarine was instead sent to the northern seas, its target was none other than the Colonial Dominion of Terra.
Deep below the raging tides of the northern seas, the UNS Orion Deep treaded the cold waters in silence. It was headed towards the possible coordinates of the Colonial Dominion of Terra. Its mission was reconnaissance and harassment.
The United Navy needed more information about the naval movements of the colonial dominion. They also needed its forces to be preoccupied and tense, practically exhausting them before the battle had even begun.
But for the attack submarine to do so, it must be careful. The Capital Colony of Terra was home of the sea region's Magus Tower. In this island, there would be a large amount of Magi, possibly reaching the hundreds.
If they didn't want to meet magicraft shenanigans, they had to tread the deep waters with caution and stealth in mind.
"This really is a strange world..." Captain Tief muttered to himself after reading through various reports that needed to be brief to him by the intelligence officers. He preferred reading the information as it would stick longer into his brain than someone else yapping about it.
He was currently in the control room of the UNS Orion Deep along with several intelligence officers and control operators handling or managing the operations of the attack submarine. It was mostly dark with only computer screens and blinking lights giving them a tinge of radiance.
'I have to watch out for underwater monsters called the Sea Leviathans. Although the United Navy hadn't met such sea monster in its later operations, it was still a problematic variable when sailing through or under the sea.' He quietly thought about the briefing paper.
'Not only that, once the so-called War Masters of a battleship or escort ship of our adversary becomes determined to die, they can sacrifice themselves to cast a spell that could call our a herd of such sea monsters.' He squinted his eyes and continued.
'Luckily, it was rare for War Masters to throw their lives away, and were swiftly taken care of the United Navy before they could cause problems.' As the commanding officer of an attack submarine, he knew what his enemies were. Sea monsters weren't in the catalog of what he considered as adversaries.
"I guess there is a first for everything." Captain Tief mumbled, determined to take care of everything on the way of his sea vessel. But before he could continue with his thoughts, an control operator calmly reported. "Sir, we have detected an island in our radar."
"It is along the coordinates given by the strategic and command of the United Navy. Our spies have also determined strategic targets throughout the island coast." An intelligence officer explained to the middle-aged man.
"Spies, huh? I do wonder how we got spies into the Colonial Dominion of Terra." Captain Tief was somewhat curious about how their spies managed to penetrate deep into enemy lines. It was intriguing, and a smart move. Information always wins the war.
"That is unfortunately classified, Sir. The intelligence department in the United Navy aren't keen in revealing their secrets. Though, the Fleet Admiral and the Vice Admiral might know of its secretive ways." The intelligence officer gave a wry smile.
Not everything was revealed to every personnel in the United Navy. There were some information only reserved to the higher echelons of the naval organization. This was to protect vital and classified intelligence from falling into enemy hands.
"Understandable, to say the least. There are things we only need to know. We don't have to receive every information that comes or leave the United Navy." Captain Tief wasn't against such an action as it was the obvious option to be chosen.
"Who knows how those so-called Magus could operate their magicraft. Information leak might emerged if we aren't careful about managing intelligence." He continued and decided to turn his attention to the island. "Follow the coordinates given by our spies."
"We will first observe the targeted coordinates, and whether we will start our harassment or not depends on its importance to the colony." Captain Tief gave his orders, which his naval personnel immediately followed.
The UNS Orion Deep then followed the southern coast of the island, Terra. It didn't take long until it reached its destination, the first targeted coordinates sent by their spies. The sonar operators in the control room carefully listened the surrounding waters, noticing the high activity in the targeted coordinates.
"High activity confirmed!" With the confirmation of a sonar operator, the control operators nodded at one another and started slightly emptying the ballast tanks of the UNS Orion Deep. It was only enough for the attack submarine to be mere dozen feet from the sea level.
"Extend the periscope and begin observation." Captain Tief ordered, while the control operators extended the periscope 25 meters high. It didn't take long before an image of the enemy port was relayed to a screen in the control room.
Everyone in the control room observed the lively actions of their enemies. They were loading various supplies from food, water, and ammunitions. There were a dozen battleships in the port, signifying how large it was.
Not only that, it was also extremely defended with fortresses beside it. Naturally, the colony couldn't build a perimeter fortress wall in the surrounding waters of the port as it would be too troublesome for the battleships it planned to hold.
"How do they even move such giant medieval ships?" Captain Tief couldn't help but questioned as those ships simply couldn't be move through the natural winds of the sea. These gigantic wooden battleships were too heavy to be reliant in wind.
"As said before, there are War Masters on board these battleships. They are individuals capable of using a line of magicraft called strategic spells, which requires runes to be embedded into the ship for them to conjure a spell."
"One can expect them to cast a spell that could bring forth wind into their sails. This would give them the ability to sail even if the winds of the sea were weak." The intelligence officer calmly explained to the confused commanding officer.
"So, everything can be explained by magicraft, huh? I guess that makes sense in this scenario." Captain Tief couldn't help but slightly chuckle. Though, it was understandable for warfare to surround in the concept of magicraft.
After all, who wouldn't want to use such an easy and efficient weapon? A Magus on its own would be an individual with an arsenal embedded in their mind. if the United Navy was capable, it would have begun producing Magus after stabilizing itself.
Sadly, everyone from the former world had no chances in wielding magicraft. The humanity of the foreign world had already adapted to mana, evolving to be able to wield it in its entire glory.
However, according to rumors, the R&D Department of the United Navy were planning to bypass the biological obstacle of magicraft. If it was true, then it wouldn't take long before the United Navy could wield magicraft, growing even more stronger.
"At any rate, the intelligence sent by the spies have been confirmed. Give me targets, we will proceed with our harassment operation in five minutes." Hearing his words, the intelligence officers began analyzing the perfect target for the Orion Deep.
They needed to hit the port where it would hurt the most, so they needed to be patient and scrutinizing in the process of searching for it.
It didn't take long before the investigation session of the intelligence officers ended. All of them glanced at Captain Tief, while one of them stepped forward, reporting to the commanding officer. "Sir, we have identified the targets."
"Good, tell me what to destroy." Captain Tief nodded in understanding and asked what the UNS Orion Deep should destroy from the port before it. Hearing the words of the middle-aged man, the intelligence officer continued.
"Identified targets are the central battleship, the ammunition warehouse, and the central building of the port. The first might cause a chain reaction, and the same could be considered for the second target. The final is to cut of some of the heads in the port." The intelligence officer coolly explained.
Their words made sense, and besides, it was a harassment mission. There was no need to destroy everything in one go. Bothering them, angering them, making them fearful at every minute, was enough for the operation.
"Alright, go to your battle stations. Prepare for torpedo and tomahawk release." Captain Tief gazed at his naval personnel and ordered. Alarms resounded throughout the attack submarine as the personnel prepared themselves for battle.
"Designated target, Central Battleship. Weapon Designation: Mark-48 Torpedoes. Ready for Release." A control operator reported to the commanding officer, who immediately gave a follow-up order. "Weapon Release." Hearing him, the operator didn't hesitate and opened fire.
Meanwhile, a torpedo propelled itself from the attack submarine, soaring forward towards its helpless victim. It pierced through the cold waters of the north and its rough tide, slowly but surely reaching its designated target.
At first, it was calm... But a moment later, a brilliant flash gleamed from the central battleship in the middle of the port. The surrounding enemy port personnel were blinded. Unfortunately, however, it was the least of their problems.
*BOOM!!!*