Chapter 123

Sorry to have kept you waiting. For now, things have reached a bit of a breathing room.

Initially, the public directed suspicious glares toward the mysterious Fortress that had appeared out of thin air. Since its existence defied all common sense, it birthed a swarm of rumors that raced through the neighboring stations. Some predicted it was an EAP conspiracy; others dared to hope some Mega-Corp had finally reached out a helping hand.

"The broadcast seems legit. Word is our Station Master reached out to the Imperial Government directly."

"What? I thought we and the Empire were at each other's throats?"

"The story is that 50 Materials cut a deal with the feds. They went a little too hard on the ‘destroying plants’ thing, so this is supposed to be a temporary replacement."

"Oh, so they break it and now they want to play hero? Wait, does that mean the real owner of that factory is 50 Materials?"

"Gotta be. You really think those corporate suits would teach the military the Refining Method? Not a chance. Marshal Cornelius probably pulled some strings in the background."

"Makes sense... Hey, more importantly, you hear the latest? Rumor has it the anti-government types are about to make a move. Word on the street is they’re planning indiscriminate terror attacks across every star system."

"What?! Are we safe? I can't be getting caught up in that kind of mess!"

"It’s the work of lunatics. Better keep your eyes peeled."

The merchants traded intel like currency, fueling a fire of rumors blended with equal parts truth and total nonsense. Half of these tales were born of natural paranoia; the other half were deliberate plants.

From the Empire’s perspective, being seen as "intervening" was a PR nightmare. It was a guaranteed headache, and the internal military factions weren't about to play ball. Those in the know wondered why the brass was taking such a convoluted approach, but when the provider of the Refining Method makes a request, you don’t say no.

On the flip side, 50 Materials was desperate to keep the fact that the Imperial Government had the Razor Metal Refining Method under wraps. They knew it would leak eventually, but they needed to control the blast radius. They had to prepare for the inevitable chaos and the economic fallout. If they went public now, the stock market would suffer a record-breaking hemorrhage by breakfast.

Because their interests were temporarily aligned, the Imperial Military Intelligence Department and 50 Materials engaged in a massive, coordinated gaslighting campaign. The Enzio Alliance couldn't afford to have their own lies exposed, so they tried to tighten their grip on the network, but it was like trying to catch smoke with a net. Since the rumors were being funneled through the Resistance, they bypassed Enzio’s controlled routes entirely.

"Guhehe... And that concludes stage two."

Taro sat on the bridge of the Plum II, wearing a vulgar, self-satisfied grin on the seat he’d practically fused with by now. According to the reports from the Resistance, his master plan was proceeding with terrifying smoothness.

"When you make that face, you really do look like the final boss of some evil syndicate," Marl remarked, resting her chin on her hand with a look of pure exasperation.

Taro responded by throwing his arms wide in a grand, theatrical gesture.

"Fufu... Justice? Evil? Such trivialities! I am the Guardian of Virgins and the grand head of the All-Galaxy Virgin Union! Anyone who dares cross Lord Teiro only has themselves to blame. My company even boasts Alan, the Union's number two! Defeat? Impossible!"

"...Yeah, yeah. Good for you. Anyway, are you sure about this 'wait and see' approach? Shouldn't we take the initiative and go on the offensive?"

Is it just me, or has Marl-tan been a bit chilly lately? "Uh, it'll be fine. They’re definitely coming here. I know being on the defensive is a disadvantage, but once 'that' kicks in, the board is going to look a lot different."

Taro checked the BISHOP calendar and clock.

It had been half a month since they’d established their defense line in the Nipori Star System—the neighbor to the Katsushika Star System—to intercept the Enzio fleet. The main Enzio force had stalled after the Factory Fortress popped up, but fresh reports said they were back on the move. Their destination was clearly the Alpha Katsushika trade lines. To everyone watching, it looked like the Enzio Alliance’s last-ditch effort to survive.

"I get that, but what if they call in reinforcements? They’re desperate. Won't they just scrape together every ship they have and swarm us?"

Taro wagged a finger in a "tsk-tsk" motion.

"That, unfortunately for them, is impossible. In fact, some units are actually deserting the Expeditionary Force to head back to their own territory."

Marl’s eyes went wide. "Wait, what?"

"This, right here," Taro said, slapping the report in his hand before sliding the paper-clipped document across to her.

"Paper reports in this day and age...? Whoa. You’ve been doing some seriously dirty work behind the scenes. Are you sure you aren't an evil mastermind?"

"Guhehe! If I win, I’m the hero. That’s how it works."

"I mean, I guess... but you’ve really stopped caring what people think, haven't you? So, how are you actually luring them away with this Diversion?"

"Hm? Oh, that. I just spread a little rumor through the traders visiting the Factory Fortress. I told everyone there’s a massive Resistance cell inside Enzio territory plotting a total government overthrow. I even had them 'accidentally' discover some plausible-looking bases and staged a few minor terrorist incidents. You know, for credibility."

"Wait, Taro! Is Bruno and his group going to be okay doing that?"

"I mean, yeah, they might have a rough time, but they knew the risks when they signed up. So now, the Resistance fleet that 'retreated' from the Expeditionary Force is popping up all over Enzio space like a bunch of ghosts. The Enzio government is freaking out—they have to station fleets everywhere just to keep a lid on things."

"Right... but what if they actually try to wipe them out?"

"Then we use the secret maps to help them vanish into places the government can't follow. But honestly, it’ll be fine. Phantom is leading the ground ops using Alan's network... I don't see those two screwing up. They’re basically uncatchable."

"I see... That is a truly nasty duo. And since Enzio needs enough force to actually suppress them, they have to tie up way more ships than the Resistance actually has, right?"

"EXACTLY!! If they lose a suppression battle, it’s game over for them, so they have to over-commit. We’re pinning down a massive, superior fleet for the long haul without firing a single shot. It’s cheaper than a skirmish and twice as effective. A top-tier Commando is worth an entire fleet, seriously."

Taro checked the clock again, his mood reaching a fever pitch.

"Is it that time already? Etta, thanks for the hard work today. See you tomorrow."

Etta, who had been nodding off, gave a sleepy, "Okaaay." She rubbed her eyes, mumbled a "Goodnight," and trudged off toward her room. It was past 21:00—her shift was officially over.

"I’m a little jealous that her job is basically just staying awake... I wonder if I can get an upgrade for some convenient functions like that."

"Yes, yes, stop dreaming and start the scan. The real show starts now."

The EAP’s biggest nightmare in defending Alpha Katsushika was the Enzio Expeditionary Force’s fleet of Stealth Ships. The absolute worst-case scenario: a stealth fleet slips past the patrols and nukes the Katsushika Stargate. Etta was a god-tier early warning system, but she was useless while she was snoring. Taro had to keep his nerves fried to a crisp.

"Yeah, yeah, I’m on it... You know, Marl? Once this war is over, I am going to sleep until I rot."

"Oh, come on. That’s a total death flag, isn't it? Don’t say stuff like that, it’s bad luck... Though, I agree. I could use a solid year of sleep."

"Right? I’m running on fumes here. Sometimes I actually envy Koume... Speaking of which, Marl-tan, if you’re back here, does that mean things went well on the other side?"

Marl gave him a confident thumbs-up.

"'That' is currently in orbit around Planet Katsushika IV. Koume and I went through absolute hell to get it there, so you’d better not miss... Also—"

Marl looked up at the ceiling, her expression softening into something sad.

"With this latest round of mods, the Plum II has zero room left for upgrades or versatility. Between the strain and the running costs, we’ll probably have to scrap her after the war... We’ve sacrificed everything for this, Taro. Don't fail."

"I see... Got it."

Taro looked up at the ceiling with her, his hand sliding over the familiar fabric of his seat.

To make this operation work, they had forcibly crammed a massive Faster-Than-Light Communication device—the kind usually reserved for a Network Relay Ship—into the Plum II. It was way beyond the ship's electronic capacity. They’d gutted the module system’s versatility and hacked into the basic hull structure just to find the voltage and bandwidth. The ship was now so hyper-specialized that it was useless for daily life and impossible to restore. The core was still intact, but that was about the only part of the original ship that was "safe."

At the very least, I’ll make sure your final performance is a masterpiece.

Taro muttered the thought to himself and dove into the monotonous scan analysis that had become his nightly ritual.

"Nine hours to go... Every time I do this, I feel like I’m losing my mind."

Taro groaned at the tedious work.

However, whether by a stroke of luck or a curse of fate, his shift ended less than thirty minutes later.

[EMERGENCY INCOMING TRANSMISSION: EAP 4 HAS ENGAGED ENEMY UNITS.]