Chapter 147

Forward Base, Future.

Protected by a large defensive wall, at the heart of the city stood a uniquely shaped tower.

Looking down over the city from the obelisk, inside the Commander’s office, Ryuje sat quietly tapping her desk.

“Hmm…”

Ryuje gazed nervously at the clock hanging on one side of the room.

Confirming that not much time had passed, her gaze turned back towards the desk, only to soon shift back to the clock again.

Compulsive repetitive behavior.

At that moment, the door burst open, and a woman in red apparel walked into the room.

“There you were.”

“Simonia…? What brings you here?”

Talked with a somewhat terse tone.

Simonia licked her lips and sat down in the chair in front of Ryuje.

“How cold. Aren’t we in this together now?”

“…That’s true, but that doesn’t mean we’re on such familiar terms, does it?”

“Well, that’s not entirely wrong.”

A brief silence.

Simonia broke the silence.

“So, what are you doing all alone?”

“I’m waiting for Edu and Freya. By now, we should have received some communication…”

Ryuje’s voice trailed off.

“I see, so this operation was today, wasn’t it?”

Simonia’s face showed little difference from her usual expression.

In response to her comment, Ryuje asked.

“Aren’t you worried at all?”

“Why should I be worried?”

Simonia counter-asked.

“Everyone is in danger, it’s only natural to feel concerned.”

“Well, I understand what you’re saying, but this was an operation proposed by Edu, right?”

Simonia shrugged her shoulders.

“So, it’ll work out one way or another; that kid has some extraordinary qualities.”

“….”

Ryuje remained silent.

Just as she was about to speak, a round of applause and cheers erupted from outside the obelisk.

“Waaaah!!”

The excited cries of the people.

Their gaze intersected in the air, and without hesitation, both Ryuje and Simonia stood up and rushed to the window.

The first thing that caught their eyes was an artificial shadow being cast over the forward base.

Gazing up into the sky, a faint smile appeared on Simonia’s face.

“See? I told you so.”

“…You’re right.”

Golden-colored ships began descending towards the ground.

At the center of the fleet, which had grown significantly larger than before, there were also the silhouettes of some newly recognizable ships.

This meant victory.

The human fleet, having triumphed in the first counterattack, was returning to the forward base with dignity.

“Phew…”

Perhaps now that the tension had eased, Freya let out a deep sigh and tightly embraced herself.

Watching her, the President approached and placed a hand on both our heads.

“You both worked hard.”

Patting, patting.

“That was more Freya’s hard work than mine.”

A mission involving luring the enemy’s attention with an inferior force while also inducing their negligence.

Certainly, we had information on the enemy and planned accordingly, but that didn’t mean the task Freya carried out was any less daunting.

The anxiety and impatience brought on by inadequacy, the pressure and tension of combat that every person feels.

But she overcame all of it, showcasing her skills and, simply put, utterly outmaneuvered the First Interstellar Fleet in a near-perfect manner.

“No, Edu worked hard too. After all, there were aspects of this operation that couldn’t have been done without you, right?”

Freya spoke while petting my head.

With the relief brought by the long-awaited double petting, my tension melted away.

“Still, it seems everything went well.”

“Yes, any fleet that loses both its flagship and supply ships is practically paper tigers.”

That was the crux of our operation.

Our target wasn’t the enemy fleet or troops, but their command structure and ability to sustain combat.

Inducing discord between the First and Fourth Fleets, using prisoners and cryptids to tie down the Fourth Fleet — all of it was preparatory groundwork for this.

With the First Fleet left alone, Freya’s fleet struck first to draw out the enemy’s main force, while I struck from the rear to draw their attention.

And when the enemy fleet showed a vulnerability by reacting to our side, that was our chance.

A bold operation: sending destroyer frigates armed with nuclear warheads to attack the enemy flagship, the orbital station, and the rest of the fleet with nuclear strikes, then having the Red Dragon eliminate the command bridge within the incapacitated flagship.

That was the framework of this operation.

“Were there no resistances from the enemies? Losing their flagship and supplies doesn’t mean the enemies would surrender so easily.”

“You’re right. Some ships didn’t give up and charged at us.”

“Were you all right?”

“Of course! At a point where the tide had already turned, even resisting ships would cause no significant damage. Edu and I handled them thoroughly. Right, Edu?”

Freya extended her hand into the air while speaking.

I nodded in reply.

“Yes, you’re right.”

“At least nothing major happened, thank goodness.”

“All thanks to Edu’s strategy. We should send reinforcements and technicians later to recover the remaining ships.”

“Hmm.”

The President nodded.

Freya embraced me one last time.

“But, Simonia. Why are you here?”

“I just dropped by for a little business; it’s also something you might need to be informed of.”

Simonia licked her lips.

“Something you need to inform us about?”

“Edu doesn’t need to worry; it’s complicated government and political stuff. Want to hear it anyway?”

That mischievous smile she flashed.

“Uh, ah, no, I’m fine with that.”

Hearing ‘government’ and ‘politics,’ words I should stay far away from, I instinctively recoiled.

“Isn’t that right? You’d find it tiring anyway. Just go ahead and rest. Hey, are you listening?”

Simonia raised her voice towards outside.

The door opened, and a soldier from the First Legion Simonia was leading appeared, sticking his head out cautiously.

“Did you call, Miss Simonia?”

“Yes, please take Edu wherever she’d like to go.”

“…Me? You mean me?”

“Of course, who else would do it? Would you rather I do it?”

The soldier flinched under her sharp gaze.

“Yes, I apologize for my mistake! I’ll escort her immediately!”

The First Legion soldier rushed clumsily into the room and knelt in front of me.

Freya gave one final hug, then lifted me and gently placed me on the soldier’s back.

“Be careful; if Edu gets a single scratch, I won’t forgive you.”

“Understood? Treat her better than your own body, or else there’ll be trouble.”

“…”

Both warnings were filled with genuine concern, but they felt a bit overboard. I spoke up.

“Please, don’t be too harsh. Soldier, could you take me to that white ship outside?”

“Of course! Please excuse me!”

He bowed and left the room.

Waving my hand to them before they left.

“Then, see you later. Everyone worked hard.”

“Yeah, rest well.”

“See you next time.”

“Go on.”

Receiving farewells from the three, Edu departed the room.

When the door closed and their footsteps had sufficiently faded, Freya and Ryuje’s gazes turned towards Simonia as if on cue.

“So, about that matter, is it?”

The question somewhat abstract.

But Simonia understood the meaning behind it and nodded.

“Yes, we finally found some leads on the vanished president.”

“That was fast. What happened?”

“Most likely, he transferred his body into a full-body prosthetic.”

“A full-body prosthetic?”

Freya, surprised.

Though Ryuze didn’t voice her reaction, her wide eyes revealed her astonishment.

“Yes. There’s no definitive proof yet, but the circumstantial evidence strongly suggests it.”

“But didn’t they stop developing it due to too many issues, and even scrapped all the produced ones?”

Full-body prosthetics.

These steel bodies, mimicking human form, were a type of human robot developed to replace severely injured human bodies.

The difference from human robots, like automata or automatons, is that these aimed to house human consciousness rather than AI.

The development went smoothly, using existing technologies, and commercialization seemed imminent. However, the experiment conducted before commercialization revealed alarming results—those using the prosthetics experienced rapid mental deterioration, even leading to insanity in serious cases.

Because of this, the full-body prosthetic technology was effectively abandoned, only finding application in robotic prosthetic limbs.

“Still, as the president, maybe he had some connections?”

Simonia’s explanation.

“Full-body prosthetics…”

Muttering these words with a heavy voice, Ryuze glanced at both with a serious expression.

“Regardless, it’s almost certain the guy is alive. Simonia, continue tracking him. Freya, look into the forward base’s status.”

Both nodded.

Ryuje continued, looking at them.

“I’ll check the Ark with Haphendel. No matter what he’s planning, we cannot let him have his way.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Yes.”

…

Thud.

Gelang slumped into the chair with a loud thud.

“You’ve worked hard, Admiral. I heard you had a conflict with the native organisms…”

“Well, the enemy did cause some trouble. Drawing the fleet out was indeed the right judgment call.”

Replied while releasing a deep sigh.

“How are the captives doing?”

“We’re in the midst of examinations; the results should be out shortly.”

“Hmm.”

Gelang flicked his antennae, perhaps satisfied with the answer.

The prisoners were rescued after a grueling battle; though there was some loss of materials and troops, this result wasn’t bad.

Just as Gelang was feeling satisfied, at that moment, a subordinate officer suddenly rushed in.

“Admiral!!”

A scene bringing a strange sense of déjà vu.

With a good mood though, Gelang quickly held up a hand to stop the commander from reprimanding the junior officer.

“What is it?”

“It’s a disaster! Check this video!!”

A handheld terminal was thrust towards Gelang.

Gelang’s body and antennae twitched.

“What—?!”

His voice filled with shock.

Puzzled by Gelang’s reaction, the commander also leaned in to check the handheld terminal.

Confirming the screen, his eyes widened significantly.

“The Zeros-grade orbital station, it belongs to the First Interstellar Fleet.”

“I know that! The issue is, why is it all smashed up?!”

Gelang’s voice was full of panic, losing the usual calmness.

Indeed, as Gelang had said, the orbital station shown on the screen had lost all functionality, looking like nothing more than a massive scrap of metal.

“…”

Silence from the commander.

However, it didn’t last long, as an answer to Gelang’s question flowed from the terminal.

[ Did you see that? ]

“?!”

Gelang’s body twitched.

This voice slowly opened.

“That girl from last time…?!”

The girl in the screen, Edu, looked at Gelang and smirked.

Her small mouth opened again.

[ There’s so much we need to discuss, isn’t there? I’ll wait for your contact! ]