"As of now the T3 Phoenix has completed all its trial-sail items, everything's normal, and all that's needed is to arrange the crew to board." Annie led Zhao Chen and the others down off the shuttle, and they formally boarded this T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
Zhao Chen looked to Charlotte beside him and asked her about the crew arrangements for T3 Phoenix No.1.
"Back when you first set down the T3 Phoenix construction project, I'd already begun the preparatory work on this warship's crew cadre. I've readied 3,000 reserve crew, all of whom have undergone carrier-related advanced training at the T3 Goddess Academy. Within three days I can select from among them the thousand most suitable crew to board, and form effective combat power within five days!" Charlotte said with the utmost assurance.
"Very good." Zhao Chen was well satisfied with Charlotte's efficiency in getting things done. With the T3 Goddess Academy on hand, his Owl Dragon Fleet no longer had to fear a situation of having ships but no people for them.
"This is just a temporary hangar, and it's this large?" Zhao Wan'er, looking at the hangar before her, marveled.
Zhao Chen took in the hangar's design, done chiefly in a red-and-white style — very beautiful, giving one the feeling of standing in some art museum.
Once everyone had walked out of the hangar, an exceedingly spacious corridor came into view. Its width was the equal of a two-way, two-lane road from Zhao Chen's past life.
"So big!" Secretary Bessie covered her mouth and exclaimed in astonishment.
Nor was it any wonder Bessie should be so astonished. By the internal structures of the known T3 warships that they were aware of, none had ever been anywhere near this large! So lavish a rate of space utilization — either the designer had made a warship all flash and no substance, or this warship had already come to stand at the very forefront of technology!
"The whole T3 Phoenix is divided into twenty major zones, three of them being dormitory and crew life-welfare-assurance zones — at the hull's fore end, mid-section, and tail end; because this T3 Phoenix has a full 1,000 crew. There is even a starship canteen in each of the three zones, and there's a recreation-and-leisure area fitted in besides. Because the hull's length is a full 4,800 meters, the ship is fitted with dedicated hover-elevator channels, ensuring that crew at any post can reach any one location in at most three minutes." Annie, just now, was explaining like some sort of instructor; she raised a hand and rapped a few times at the empty air, and from above their heads there descended a fully transparent hovering device, cubic and rather like an elevator, capable of seating at most 10.
"Let's first head to the fighters' hangar." Annie stepped into the hover elevator. Everyone stepped in, and the hover elevator at once rose and entered a dedicated channel. A minute later, the hover elevator came to a stop.
But it didn't enter the corridor channels the crew walked; rather, under Annie's control, it entered a special space — one requiring an exceedingly high level of clearance.
Within this somewhat dim space, one could make out the outlines of one special craft after another, but for want of light there was no seeing them clearly. Annie used her own clearance to switch on the lighting for this area.
In one instant, rows upon rows of neatly, uniformly aligned interstellar fighters presented themselves before everyone. Their crimson-red paint schemes made them for all the world like a flock of flamingos. Set against the interstellar drones they'd seen before aboard the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier, these interstellar fighters gave off a feeling of domineering force in full — for merely in the size of the craft, they were several times, even several dozen times, that of the interstellar drones!
"These are the T3 Phoenix-class interstellar fighters the T3 Phoenix is fitted with. Length 29.5 meters, height 5.22 meters, wingspan 16.02 meters; cruising speed can reach 380 star-knots, and the limit speed in trial-sail testing can reach 520 star-knots. That's only our trial-sail limit speed, though; there's also a super-limit speed beyond that, which would cause the fighter's engine lifespan to shorten, and even bring about uncontrollable, irreversible damage; it's projected to reach around 130% of the limit speed, for an unknown duration. The T3 Phoenix-class interstellar fighter is fitted with one particle-energy cannon, four laser machine-cannons, and 30 airborne small interstellar missiles besides. With this firepower configuration, it can easily wipe out any T1 warship single-handed. It can even tangle with a T2 warship with no problem at all — for the T3 Phoenix-class fighter is moreover fitted with one-directional shield technology, which can effectively ward off an enemy's anti-air fire during a frontal assault."
"Could those over there be…?" Shen Bing had caught sight of the interstellar fighters displayed at the farthest end. These craft were plainly more enormous in volume than the T3 Phoenix-class fighters, the whole craft presenting a more streamlined shape, and with no weapon modules at all on their exteriors.
"Those are the T3 Fire Phoenix-class heavy interstellar stealth bombers," Zhao Chen introduced.
The hover elevator everyone was in soon moved to the area where the 30 T3 Fire Phoenix-class heavy interstellar stealth bombers were berthed — these were for all the world like silent crimson specters.
"The T3 Fire Phoenix is 36.8 meters in length, 71.3 meters in wingspan, and 9.6 meters in height. It's fitted with a stealth-module function; the whole craft can go entirely invisible both to radar and to the eye, revealing itself only when attacking, and within 20 seconds after an attack is finished it can enter the stealth state once more. Its interior carries 50 airborne particle-energy bombs. And don't underestimate these mere 50 energy bombs — each one's destructive power is no less than the damage of a single main-gun shot from a T2 battleship," Annie introduced.
"This place is only the warehouse where the fighters are stored, which counts as one part of what makes up the fighter hangar; above our heads and below our feet, there are flight decks provided specially for the fighters. It's there that the fighter pilots board, and there that dedicated logistics teams will service these fighters. Before combat, these fighters will be moved, one after another, to the position of the flight decks, and then sortie."
Having taken in the sight of these interstellar fighters, Zhao Chen and the others came to a hangar more enormous still. This hangar was unlike the fighter hangar they'd seen before. The craft were far more densely packed, and each was stored in a folding-storage mode — for all the world like bats sunk in the darkness, waiting for the moment of the hunt.
"This is the place where the drones are stored — this is only one of the hangars; at other positions on the carrier starship there are four hangars in all. Stored within them are a total of 3,000 T3 Black Phoenix-class medium interstellar drones and 20 T3 White Phoenix-class electronic-jamming interstellar stealth drones."
Annie went on, "By the T3 Phoenix's specifications, the fighters can all sortie within 10 minutes, and a single craft returning to resupply energy and set off again takes only three minutes. The drones can all be deployed within three minutes, and a single craft returning to resupply energy and set off again takes only 30 seconds."
For a carrier starship, the combat efficiency of the fighters' and drones' sortieing, and of their return-resupply-and-re-sortie, directly affected the carrier's actual combat power.
"Next, let's head to the bridge; Commander, you'll need to make ready to arrange the person for that post of captain." Annie blinked her eyes and looked at Zhao Chen.
In one instant, the whole atmosphere within the elevator turned somewhat off.
Zhao Chen looked at Annie — this girl was absolutely doing it on purpose!