Here he was first seen when I was very young.
The speech on TV left an impression that was more than just a fleeting moment; it remained in my memory.
Recognized as the highest person in the country in my mind.
After a long time had passed, and now within the Spacestro 6th Fleet, he held the highest position.
He who decided the invasion method and lifestyle of Spacestro, capable of moving all armies, the one who made the decision for the current Earth invasion.
The commander of Spacestro 6th Fleet.
“Question.”
His voice was clean, giving no sense of age. Though outwardly a youth, Spacestro does not correlate age with appearance.
Some accept aging as time flows, while others slow their aging to maintain peak physical condition for a long time.
The commander belongs to the latter category, despite his youthful appearance, his age was immeasurably greater than mine.
“There’s a question I have, but let’s finish this first.”
“Understood.”
His sharp eyes, piercing through like they could see right through me, were fixed on me. It was impossible to predict when or what kind of question would come.
“Let’s wrap this up. The reason for the disciplinary action against A from the 3rd Team under the Seoul HQ of the 6th Fleet is due to a report omission. The reason for the omission was to find reliable reporting items, but personal emotions also played a role. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
I nodded in response to the Chief Commander of Infantry. I did not lie.
There were no discrepancies between what was written in the report and my answer.
Answering the question itself wasn’t problematic, but the consequences arising from the confirmed content due to the answer could be an issue.
I don’t want to think negatively, but if things go wrong, my current life might not continue properly.
“Of course, the disciplinary action is discussed when issues arise due to the report omission.”
The Chief Commander of Infantry muttered to himself, then put down the document he was holding and picked up another from the desk.
“Thanks to the report, we were able to secure the location and internal data of the transmission base. Furthermore, through independent investigation, we succeeded in contacting the HunterKiller Team and partially collected information about the hyper-human experiments. This is our final conclusion.”
“Huh?”
I understood the conclusion. Despite the report being omitted, there was a period during which the report was missing, and information was obtained after submitting the report.
When I couldn’t understand the words of the Chief Commander of Infantry at once and tilted my head, he smiled.
“He was in charge of commanding the operation during the raid on the transmission base and successfully executed the operation. Afterward, he confirmed that by designing the training for the Seoul HQ, he greatly helped in analyzing the internal forces.”
It’s true that I analyzed the internal forces of the Seoul HQ through the training I designed. But what I did was only design the training. It wasn’t me who maximized efforts to analyze the forces to such an extent; it was my colleagues.
“Can I ask one thing?”
The Chief Commander of Aviation suddenly raised his hand and asked a question beside him.
“Yes.”
“I reviewed the training content you designed. It was really absurd training. Why did you plan such training?”
Initially, I worked hard because it was assigned to me. However, in the process of designing the training, I observed the current issues of the 3rd Team and started thinking about methods to improve them.
Though my colleagues laughed at the idea of a tough training, the thought came after designing the training, not planning to make them suffer.
“The four teams affiliated with the current Seoul HQ have been active for a long time without personnel changes, resulting in a highly rigid combat style.”
As soon as I started talking about the training, I felt that the commanders were paying close attention.
“The 3rd Team, after the recent terrorist incident, had most of its personnel replaced. When they entered the competition after the replacement, I judged that there was a significant problem with the current 3rd Team’s coordination and found a way to solve it.”
The 1st, 2nd, and 4th Teams, which became rigid, and the 3rd Team, which could not coordinate properly after personnel replacement.
To analyze the forces of the four teams and find ways to move forward, I chose past training.
“In the previous training, many involved pushing teams into extreme environments. Extreme situations create tension and allow the use of all available means at any moment. I believed this was the most effective method for rigid teams and those lacking coordination.”
“Wasn’t it pushed too far? Although the training was supposed to be based on real combat, the purpose of training is to evaluate combat capabilities. It could have become meaningless training leading to the annihilation of the team before even evaluating it.”
The argument made by the Chief Commander of Aviation holds merit. No matter how realistic the training, the purpose is to evaluate combat capabilities. Even if the training is tough, if it cannot evaluate combat capabilities, the current situation cannot be understood.
One cannot simply conclude that “such high-intensity training is not possible.” It merely means that one cannot confirm how far it can go.
Of course, I considered this aspect as well.
“I thought everyone would be able to handle it.”
“What was your basis for thinking so?”
“The three teams excluding the 3rd Team, which had new personnel, have veteran soldiers with extensive experience. Even though the personnel were replaced, the 3rd Team is also composed of experienced individuals. I confirmed that everyone had already experienced the contents included in this training. The only difference was that they had never experienced all these situations at once.”
“It sounds like you knew there was a possibility of failure.”
“Yes. I thought there was a possibility of failure. As I mentioned, I confirmed that everyone had performed the training. Therefore, if it failed, the result would not be ‘we cannot perform such an operation,’ but rather ‘we cannot perform the operation when given the situation of the training once.'”
“So?”
The Chief Commander of Aviation, leaning back in his chair, waited for my response. The Chief Commander of Infantry leaned back with his arms crossed, staring at me intently.
“A team that cannot perform what they have already experienced has no value on the battlefield. If all teams failed the training, a major restructuring would have been necessary.”
Of course, I didn’t think it would fail. As the Chief Commander of Aviation said, it was undoubtedly a tough training. One could tell just by seeing the expressions of my colleagues in the bathroom after the training ended.
Nevertheless, I thought they wouldn’t fail because they had gained extensive experience over a long time. Although Earth’s invasion period had lengthened and become lax, they hadn’t lost their sense of tension.
I understood that the tension hadn’t disappeared. To strengthen the current forces, it was necessary to modify the strategies within rigid teams and enhance individual abilities like Kruger did.
“Cold-hearted.”
“Battles are real. What surprised me was that the 3rd Team, which I thought would lose, managed to seize the high ground.”
“Did you feel anything from seeing that?”
Post-training handling isn’t my responsibility. Reporting the training process and results is the team leaders’ job, and reviewing the training content isn’t my task either. However, I did feel something from seeing the 3rd Team seize the high ground.
“It’s important to emphasize individual combat capabilities. Although each team has different strategies, overall, Spacestro maintains a strategy emphasizing balance. I understand the point of not using battle suits due to high output causing damage. However, insisting on assault suits for overall balance doesn’t make sense.”
Somehow, I found myself voicing my opinion. Since it came to this, I decided to say everything I could without hesitation.
“Improving individual capabilities can avoid the stagnation of strategies.”
“What if the balance collapses?”
“The balance is unlikely to collapse. Soldiers of Spacestro acquire combat skills suited to their characteristics from various places, and the more experience they have, the higher their ability to collaborate with those with different specialties. Even if the balance collapses, what needs to be adjusted is not the performance of the equipment but the personnel themselves.”
“Replace the personnel? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes. I believe the reason for the inability to coordinate is not a lack of ability but a problem with teamwork within the team. There’s no need to keep someone who has no intention of cooperating in the team. If it’s a matter of ability, assigning roles based on individual capabilities is the right choice.”
“I heard that the 3rd Team’s coordination is not smooth. Is this also a problem with teamwork?”
“That was one of the purposes of this training, and we got a negative result.”
Perhaps they didn’t intend to match their cooperation. That’s what I thought.
Kruger helped by providing support to achieve the results. The 3rd Team’s inability to coordinate wasn’t due to personality differences among teammates.
Due to the emphasis on balance, it created an environment where individual capabilities couldn’t be fully utilized, causing the lack of coordination. This was evidenced by the fact that when Kruger implemented strategies to maximize individual capabilities, the highest efficiency was achieved.
“One training session alone cannot determine the outcome, but something was indeed gained from this training.”
The Chief Commander of Aviation, leaning forward to listen, nodded and leaned back in his chair.
“You said that a team that fails a training once doesn’t deserve to be on the field, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Next to the fleet commander, the Marine Corps Commander asked in a low voice.
“The 3rd Team has lost to the HunterKiller Team for the past 10 years. How do you plan to explain this?”
“There’s no excuse for this. It’s true that the 3rd Team has lost to the HunterKiller Team for the past 10 years. However, even though the higher-ups were aware of this, they did not give orders to replace or disband the team.”
One might think they are simply leaving it as it is. However, there are several oddities.
While they may produce results during training, maintaining a team that consistently loses and hasn’t produced any results for ten years is puzzling.
This is beyond my understanding. Even if there’s a reason, as someone who just met the higher-ups today, I have no way of knowing their thoughts.
However, I’ve gathered information from losing over the past ten years.
“Through analyzing the HunterKiller Team’s forces and implementing various tactics, I realized that we haven’t yet reached the limits of their combat capabilities.”
HunterKiller Team. My girlfriends are hyper-humans.
They possess combat capabilities that have no discernible limits, and this is not limited to just the HunterKiller Team.
From observing the Guerrilla Team, I know there’s a significant gap in capabilities. However, there are many teams out there with superior combat capabilities compared to the Guerrilla Team. The fact that their combat capabilities have no limits applies not only to the HunterKiller Team but to all hyper-humans.
“I think their combat capabilities might be related to the lifespan of hyper-humans. Although our team lost, the experiences of losing over the past ten years became a form of information, and it might be related to the independent investigations I conducted on hyper-humans.”
If no further questions are asked, there’s nothing else to say.
Based on my experiences and the information I’ve gathered, I’ve said everything I could.
The courtroom was silent. Everyone maintained silence, some reading documents, while others seemed lost in thought, gazing into the void.
“Pfft.”
A laugh broke the silence. When I turned my head, I met the fleet commander’s eyes, still looking down at me.
“Haha! What a funny friend!”
Only the fleet commander’s laughter and voice echoed in the quiet and vast space.
Maybe it was because only one sound was heard in the quiet and spacious place. His voice seemed louder than it sounded.
“Any questions you’d like to ask? Curious about what kind of questions a soldier like you might have.”
Suddenly asked if I had any questions, I pondered what to ask.
Meeting such high-ranking officials in one place is rare. The probability of experiencing this again is high.
So, what would be the best question to ask in this situation?
What is the most important thing I want to know?
I organized my thoughts in my head. After eliminating unnecessary questions, only one remained.
Without hesitation, I blurted out the question I desperately wanted to ask.
“I want to know why the Spacestro invasion is prolonged.”
The fleet commander’s face, which had been smiling with interest, hardened. It wasn’t just him.
Others also had hardened expressions. However, neither felt intimidated nor tense.
All I did was ask a question when asked if I had any. Whether they would respond was up to them.
“The numerous invasions in the past lasted from a few months to a maximum of five years. However, the Earth invasion has been ongoing for 21 years, which is unprecedented.”
If a strong force invades a weaker force and the battle drags on, it inevitably leads to losses for the stronger side.
Even a low-ranking soldier like me knows this, and it’s unlikely that the people here aren’t aware of it.
Yet, the people who should know better are continuing the prolonged conflict.
“I was going to ask my question after hearing your question, but I think I should ask mine first.”
I couldn’t go against the fleet commander’s statement that he wanted to ask his question first.
“Which side are you on?”
“The side of the girlfriends.”
My answer came without hesitation, and the fleet commander, whose expression had hardened, furrowed his brow.
At the same time, in Seoul.
A young man with gray hair standing on the rooftop railing of Yeouido Times Square looked down at the cityscape.
“Good. Very good.”
The young man muttered to himself with a cynical smile.
“It’s a perfect day for a commotion.”
With a light jump, he fell downward from the rooftop.
