Chapter 38 - Surface Breach
Above the abyss, the storm raged with apocalyptic violence.
The sky over the North Atlantic was a churning vortex of black clouds and purple lightning. The *Crest of Eden*, Eleanor's colossal multi-billion-dollar command vessel, cut through the waves like a fortress of dark glass and carbon fiber.
On the bridge of the *Crest of Eden*, Eleanor stood before a wall of satellite monitors, her face illuminated by the flashing red status bars.
"Ma'am! Acoustic sensors report heavy structural destabilization at the *Titan Leviathan*!" her operations director yelled over the howling wind outside. "The kinetic penetrators are failing to launch! Someone is manually rerouting the reactor cooling grid!"
Eleanor’s hand crushed the champagne flute she had been holding, shattered crystal biting into her palm, dripping crimson down her pristine white coat. "Michael..." she hissed, her voice trembling with murderous rage. "He’s killing the station."
"Ma'am, radar contact!" the tactical officer shrieked. "Surface vessel closing fast at thirty-two knots! It’s a Navy destroyer—the *USS Thomas Vance*!"
Through the rain-streaked bridge windows, the gray silhouette of the American warship broke through the massive swells like an avenging beast of iron. Its forward five-inch deck gun flared with a blinding flash of yellow flame.
*BOOM!*
A high-explosive round struck the forward communications array of the *Crest of Eden*, vaporizing the primary satellite uplinks in an inferno of twisted steel and burning wiring.
*"Attention rogue vessel Crest of Eden!"* Admiral Vance’s voice thundered across the international maritime hailing frequency, broadcast through the storm. *"This is the United States Navy! Cut your engines, disable your satellite arrays, and prepare to be boarded! You are under arrest for high treason and acts of war against the United States!"*
Eleanor grabbed the emergency comm mic, her eyes wide with madness. "Fire the manual uplink! Send the emergency detonation command directly to the kinetic cores! If the station won't launch the penetrators, detonate the entire trench platform from the surface! Melt the seabed!"
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"Ma'am, if we detonate the station’s reactors five miles down, the resulting seabed collapse will create a displacement wave that will capsize us within ninety seconds!"
"Do it!" she screamed, drawing a pearl-handled pistol and shooting the officer through the temple. She turned to the terrified bridge crew, the smoking gun leveled at them. "DO IT NOW!"
