Chapter 103

"Over a hundred signals... Has the enemy’s main fleet actually arrived?"

Clusters of ripples, looking like puddles in a rainstorm, shimmered across the Radar Screen. Among them, several exceptionally large pings stood out. Taro realized with a grimace that the enemy was preparing to deploy Battleship-class vessels into the fray.

"This is RS4. We enter Engagement Range in twenty seconds. The situation looks pretty grim. We’re prioritizing rescue ops on the assumption that we’re pulling out."

Phantom’s voice crackled over the comms. Taro replied with a quick "Please do," feeling a surge of irritation toward EAP 2. The allied command hadn’t even managed to scrape together a basic strategy yet.

"Whether we flee or attack, indecisiveness is the ultimate blunder," Koume remarked. The AI was currently magnetically locked to the control panel. Taro gave her a sharp nod and initiated the Command System Control Program via BISHOP.

"Whatever we do, we have to avoid being encircled. They’re likely going to withdraw given the numbers, so let’s merge the fleet and focus on evasion."

[FLEET CONTROL: RANDOM SHIFT]

[HULL CONTROL: SHIELD PRIORITY]

[HULL CONTROL: OVERDRIVE PRIORITY]

Under Taro’s direction, the neatly aligned fleet began to jerk through a series of irregular accelerations and decelerations. The enemy hadn’t opened fire on them yet, but flying in a straight line was just asking to get sniped.

"Whoops, better not forget this one."

[HULL SYSTEM: ANTI-RAY MODE]

Taro wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. He toggled the hull into its ECM-hardened Anti-Ray Mode. It temporarily throttled the ship's overall performance, but if the enemy didn't have any Electronic Warfare Craft, he could just switch it back. He stole a glance at Koume, but it was impossible to read any expression from a featureless metal sphere.

"RS4 has made contact with the enemy group. They’ve begun bombardment," Marl reported.

"Then we’d better get a move on," Taro said. He shoved the bulk of his consciousness into the Turret control system, closing his eyes to focus.

[LOCK-ON SYSTEM: ACTIVATED]

[MULTI-CONTROL CAPTURE MECHANISM: STANDBY]

[TARGET ACQUISITION: 18 TARGETS]

"Railguns, fire! Alright, Cats, I'm counting on you!"

"Cat One, launching!"

"Cat Two, heading out!"

"Cat Three, leave it to me!"

"Cat Four... is it lunchtime yet?"

The Kato Tribe pilots chimed in over the comms. Taro spun up the aircraft control programs for them, his face twitching as a chaotic flood of data surged through his brain.

Did the info-load spike because I switched to Electronic Warfare Specification? This is exhausting...

Taro was now micro-managing a total of twenty-four Ship-borne Craft—split into four squads of six—while simultaneously guiding six railgun warheads. The twelve craft led by Gon and Taiki screamed toward the enemy, while the remaining twelve fanned out to screen the RS1 fleet.

"Confirmed drone launches from RS3 and RS4. RS4 is advancing toward Hostile Group E2. It looks like RS3 has abandoned some of the Work Ships to their fate; they’re changing course to rendezvous with us."

Koume’s status lamps were blinking more frantically than usual. Taro processed the update while maintaining his various control links, burned the positional data into his mind.

"Teiro, Phantom sent over a Threat Assessment report," Marl said.

"Thank God for that guy. He’s a lifesaver."

The data Marl forwarded through BISHOP contained a prioritized kill-list. Taro picked out the top-priority target and instantly cross-referenced the coordinates on his Radar Screen.

"A suspected Electronic Warfare Craft... There you are. Eat this!"

Taro translated the strings of coordinates and raw numbers into a mental image, imagining himself physically charging the enemy ship. He maneuvered the projectiles through a lethal web of Incineration Beams, steering them until the enemy hull filled his mental vision.

"Attack hit. Three effective rounds," Koume reported. "E2-4 is heavily damaged, E2-8 is moderately damaged, and E2-5 took light damage. One target evaded. It appears two of our rounds were vaporized."

Taro clicked his tongue, though he was reasonably satisfied with the result. The beams are picking off the rounds because of the distance... but wait, is it just me, or is the enemy putting out an absurd amount of fire?

"I’d like to say it’s your imagination," Marl replied, "but for ships that size, they’re definitely packing more heat than usual. It’s not like there’s a Debris Belt for cover, either. They might have adapted to our tactics."

"So they aren't just fodder... how annoying. Prepare the next volley!"

If they’re going to be like that, I’ll just have to drown them in lead, Taro thought, immediately reloading the warheads. He watched the Turret temperature gauges slowly crawl down, fidgeting as he waited for them to hit the safety threshold.

Railguns were notoriously hot-headed. Every shot generated a massive thermal spike. Rapid fire would warp the barrels, turning a precision weapon into a very expensive bent pipe. Since the warhead needed constant contact with the rails to accelerate, any warping meant lost speed. Worse, if the rail developed even a tiny bump, the warhead would just shear the rail right off the mounting.

"Cat One and Cat Two are on their Bombing Course... five seconds to release. Four, three, two... impact! E2-5 is moderately damaged. E2-14 took light damage, but it looks like their engine is toast. We lost two Accompanying Craft, but one is limping back to base."

"Nice! Get the hangar ready for recovery and prep the replacements... Wait, what? Marl, Turret 5 is acting up. It won't load."

"Turret 5? Hold on... Ugh, a warhead is jammed in the feed tray. I'll have to clear it manually. Just wait."

"Of all the times to jam... Didn't the Development Department say this only happens once in every fifty-thousand shots?"

"Those figures are for use in a 'constantly stable environment,' Mr. Teiro," Koume interjected. "RS4-8 is moderately damaged, RS4-3 is lightly damaged. It’s what one might call 'catalog specs.'"

"Oh, I see. Note to self: increase the R&D budget so they can get some data from people who actually get shot at."

Taro filed that away for later and turned back to the shifting chaos on the Radar Screen. RS4 was currently mid-charge against E2, and the gap between the two forces was vanishing. Ships on both sides were being shredded. Some vessels were breaking formation to flee, while others simply drifted into the void after failing to keep up with the frantic maneuvers.

"This is RS4," Phantom's voice returned. "We’ve linked up with the remnants of the NY1 fleet. We’re falling back toward your position, but what’s the plan for the next phase?"

"This is RS1. Honestly? No word from the flagship. I'm guessing the brass is currently busy wetting themselves."

"That figures... Well, I’ve seeded the area with every Anti-Drive Particle canister I had. That should buy us a window. Get them to make a decision, fast."

"RS1, Roger. They’ll probably run, but I’ll see what I can do."

Taro sighed and reopened the channel to EAP 2. "Uh, hello? This is—"

"This is EAP 2! Give us a SITREP! What is happening out there!?"

A panicked scream erupted from the comms. Taro winced at the volume, realizing this wasn't the same operator he’d spoken to before.

"What’s happening? Uh, the enemy main force is pulling a gutsy warp-maneuver to get behind us, and we’re currently busting our humps to make sure the fleet doesn't get pincered. You know, the usual?"

"Pincered... Should we run? What do we do!?"

"...Look, you’re asking the wrong guy. Can you put someone in charge on the horn? Someone with actual decision-making power? We’re kind of in the middle of a thing here... Marl, how’s that railgun?"

Taro pulled a face, making no effort to hide his disgust. Marl gave him a thumbs-up, signaling the weapon was back online.

"This is EAP 2! Is this... is this the kind of situation where I’ll be held responsible? Please, tell me—"

"Who cares about that right now?! Whether you get court-martialed or not depends entirely on if we survive the next ten minutes!" Taro roared into the mic.

When no response came, he let out an exhausted groan.

"Look, the 'pro move' would be to counter-encircle their Warp Point, but since there's a Minefield behind them, that’s a no-go. The textbook play is to pull the whole fleet back and meet them head-on, but honestly? Given how things are going, running might actually be your best bet. Just... tell the commander that, okay?"

"This is EAP 2. Understood," the voice replied.

Taro started to exhale in relief, only to freeze at the very next words.

"All units, we are withdrawing! Engage Overdrive immediately! Run for it!"

The voice was shouting to the rest of the EAP 2 bridge crew, but the mic was still hot.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Taro stammered. "You were the commander?! Also, hold on! If you warp out in a disorganized mess, they’ll just pick you off one by one! If they track your exit vectors, you’re dead! You have to withdraw as a cohesive unit!"

Drive Particle activity began spiking all around the EAP 2 flagship. Taro’s warnings fell on deaf ears. There was a world of difference between a "tactical withdrawal" and "running away screaming," and the latter usually ended in a massacre.

"...Yeah, we’re doomed. I want to believe this guy is just a special kind of stupid, but if he isn't..."

Taro looked at the BISHOP display as the Engagement Range warnings began to flash red. He let out a final, hollow sigh.

"We are totally going to lose this war."