ILMW looked back on an underutilized concept that was considered obsolete following the development of planetary rapid accuracy lasers and antimissile systems, ballistic missile submarines. These Leviathans were scaled up impressively, from large multi-story submarines to submersible bases. All of this had to be done with increases in depth and speed demanded by the design board. The final design was over half a kilometer long, the mass of a surface naval supercarrier on the surface (up to four submerged), large enough that other subs may use a leviathan as a central base of operations. Adding to its mystique was its development being steeped in secrecy, only leading to a sense of pride when discussed by Tolesians once some things were declassified years later.

It's ordinary barroom trivia to know that the submarines are made of non-ferrous materials to maximize strength and minimize the magnetic signature. The construction process developed, growing large submarine sections from powdered titanium, was so advanced that it was sent into space, serving as a secret of Tolesian pressure hull design, allowing the submarine to easily make it to well over 2000 meters in depth.

Equally advanced are the composites that make up the outer hull and propeller. Both are grown from a single ceramoresin crystal that cuts through the water nearly noiselessly while pushing the submarine to its still classified top speed of over 35 knots. Powering the generators to move it to that speed is twin high-enrichment uranium nuclear reactors. The desire to eliminate noise was so intense that the entire reactor system maintained some of the most potent electromagnetic levitation shocks, technology that went on to be miniaturized and eventually installed in every terrestrial Tolesian military vehicle. The generators themselves furthered the advancement of Tolesian solid-state generator designs by "several decades," according to post-project analysis.

Armament was something that was decided well in advance but took unique modifications. Several Tolesian missile designs were adapted to underwater use with special booster sections, allowing them to swim to a shallower depth where they can ignite their booster sections. Among the most famous armaments the submarine carries are its TWM-5L2 missiles, a siege missile fitted to large spacecraft loaded with 12 hypersonic MIRV glide vehicles. The others are TWM-3M5 "Blinder" nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles, allowing the submarine an exceptional reach into space where it can wreck unsuspecting ships from thousands of meters out of sight.

Communication to the outside is typically handled by radio, with the Tolesians utilizing ultra-low radio wave frequencies to communicate with their submarine fleet. N-Space radios, a transdimensional FTL communication technology, are also onboard to prove low-speed communications with the rest of the Commonwealth. Higher-speed communication is typically handled by buoys with a ship or satellite handling relay duty. However, a planet's ionosphere, if it has one, may also be used in a pinch. Other masts include radar, electromagnetic spectrum ranging and direction finding, and periscopes.

This obviously comes at massive costs. Machinery and technology at this scope and scale generate little in the way of numbers and are time-consuming to produce and assemble. Yet the enemies of the Commonwealth know that when you've destroyed one in port, there are always two more somewhere ready to turn your pyrrhic victory into an eternal insurgency and, when the Commonwealth hopefully returns, defeat.

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Drawn by the ever-wonderful Hard_Lighter. Thanks again man!