Episode 238

It would be a bit much to leave the hate simmering like this, so even though it was scheduled for next week, I’m just going to post it now.

---

The Battleship Plum continued to lead the enemy flagship toward the Facility.

On the Plum’s bridge, Taro was sprawled out on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"……Well, we somehow made it work."

His voice was completely drained of tension. Koume, who was staring at the ceiling in the exact same pose as Taro, gave a slow, rhythmic nod.

"Indeed, Mr. Teiro. When I heard Mr. Alan was running behind schedule, I truly wondered what would become of us."

"Yeah, tell me about it. When I found that out, I just thought, Welp, I’m dead. Nice knowing me."

"However, he fulfilled his role. Miss Marl is also currently seeing her part through to the end. That leaves only one piece left on the board."

Koume extended her index finger and tilted her head with a tiny, prim smile. Taro grunted a "Yup," then swung his legs up with a sudden burst of energy, attempting to pop back onto his feet with a flashy neckspring.

"Shall we go then, Mr. Teiro? Also, out of curiosity, why are you walking like a broken marionette?"

"Ow, ow… I twisted my ankle. I wonder if the company insurance covers this?"

"Denied, Mr. Teiro. Even a fool should know when to give the nonsense a rest."

"Figures… Damn, you’re as foul-mouthed as ever."

The two of them hobbled and marched forward, coming to a halt before the seat where their savior lay in slumber.

"Wonder what she’s dreaming about."

Taro peered into the seat, watching the rhythm of Etta’s soft breathing. Her color looked good; it seemed things would stay on schedule.

[PERSONAL SYSTEM: ALL GREEN. VARIANCE WITHIN 5% OF PROJECTED AVERAGE, MR. TEIRO. AWAKENING IN 5 SECONDS… 4… 3…]

As Koume’s countdown began, Taro waited for the moment. The second the count hit zero, he reached out to give the tip of Etta’s nose a playful poke.

"Good morning, Sleeping Princess. Time for the adults to get up. You’re a fine young lady now, aren't you?"

Taro spoke with a tone of grand expectation. She was the final piece of the operation, an absolutely essential existence.

"Mmm…… Morning, Teiro…… Yeah, I think so too. But you know, sticking your finger in my nostril while you say it really ruins the mood."

Etta’s eyes slowly fluttered open. Her first act upon waking was to deliver a sharp, resounding slap to Taro’s cheek before giving a long, luxurious stretch.

"Ow………… but, heh… hehehe… we did it. It’s done."

Crouching on the floor and clutching his stinging cheek, Taro let out a creepy, triumphant chuckle.

---

"Not a bad ship."

Etta of the Mercenaries muttered as she watched the enemy battleship on her monitor. She was currently soaking in the satisfaction of victory, yet her mood remained clouded. The side effects of her medication were hitting hard, leaving her feeling wretchedly sluggish.

"Is that so, Elder Sister? ……To me, it looks somewhat… distorted," Tetta said hesitantly from her side.

Etta gave a small, condescending laugh and glanced at the girl.

"A ship resembles those who sail it, Tetta. Especially when it comes to those who possess a Gift. That’s why it looks warped."

Etta turned back to study the enemy ship that had put up such a magnificent, albeit futile, performance.

To someone used to the uniform look of Modular Ships, this vessel—likely a One-off or a Full Custom—certainly appeared "distorted." It was covered in equipment whose purpose was impossible to determine from sight alone. To the uninitiated, it was an eerie, unsettling sight.

"Miss Etta. We have confirmed the location of the Facility. Putting it on the main screen now."

The Adjutant’s sudden report made Etta’s eyes snap wide. she bolted upright from her seat.

"……Finally. At last, we meet. You really made me work for this."

Etta let out a sigh of pure relief as the Facility filled the screen. This was it—the source of the Mercenaries' dirty laundry. While there were several similar structures in the area, this was the largest. If there was any evidence linking them to the site, it was almost certainly hidden here.

"The past can be erased. I won’t let anyone investigate further. I’ll jam the area so hard the Optical Information itself vanishes from existence…… and then, finally, everything will be over."

Etta rubbed her trembling hands together to steady them, then used her BISHOP to manual-override the fire control system. Whether this Facility officially belonged to Rising Sun was a legal gray area, and attacking it during a ceasefire was technically a massive "no-no," but it was the sort of problem she could easily bury with enough excuses.

[“……ETTA. MISS ETTA. IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTACK THAT FACILITY, I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO RECONSIDER. THERE ARE CIVILIANS LIVING ABOARD.”]

The voice came through the long-distance comms. As soon as Etta recognized the speaker, her face twisted in disgust.

"Decided to crawl out of the woodwork now, Mr. Sod? I believe I fired you. Did you miss the memo?"

[“YES, I AM WELL AWARE. HOWEVER, I JUDGED THIS TO BE TOO IMPORTANT TO IGNORE. I REPEAT: THERE ARE NUMEROUS CIVILIANS ON THAT STATION. REGARDLESS OF YOUR REASONS, YOU MUST ALLOW THEM TO EVACUATE FIRST.”]

"Don't be stupid. Evacuation? As if I’d allow that. Besides, this is outer space. A few casualties here and there are—"

[“MISS ETTA. THEY ARE IMPERIAL CITIZENS. THE PEOPLE ON THAT STATION ARE REFUGEES LEFT BEHIND BY HISTORY. THEY WERE BORN WITHIN THE EMPIRE. REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY ENDED UP THERE, THEY BELONG TO NO FACTION. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? LEGALLY SPEAKING, THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY THEY ARE STILL CLASSIFIED AS ‘GALACTIC IMPERIAL CITIZENS.’”]

"……That’s…… that’s preposterous."

[“WE DO NOT KNOW THE NATURE OF THAT FACILITY. PERHAPS IT IS A LEGITIMATE TARGET. IN WARTIME, SACRIFICES ARE UNAVOIDABLE. HOWEVER, DURING A CEASEFIRE, YOU HAVE AMPLE TIME TO LET THEM ESCAPE. IF YOU ATTACK NOW, IT WILL BE RECORDED AS NOTHING LESS THAN A MASSACRE.”]

"……Shut up! Shut your mouth! So what?! That fact will vanish along with everything else!"

Enraged, Etta threw her hand up. She slaved All Ship Batteries to the station and initiated a hard lock.

"Tetta! There’s no sign of cloaking or jamming on that thing, right? There are definitely people inside? I won’t have them slipping away!"

"E-Elder Sister Etta… Please, stop this…"

"Just answer the damn question! Are there people in there or not?!"

"Y-Yes. I detect a large number of life-signs moving—"

Before Tetta could finish, Etta unleashed hell. She fired every single gun on the ship. It was a tantrum in ballistic form—everything from the main cannons to the Debris Incineration Beams lashed out at once.

"It’s my win! Ah, it feels wonderful!"

Etta writhed in a cocktail of excitement and sheer pleasure. She had been forced to swallow so much bitterness and humiliation that this moment of destruction brought an almost unbearable euphoria. She felt omnipotent.

"A magnificent firework! I’ll remember this for the rest of my life!"

The beams of light raced toward the Facility, cutting through the void without a hint of interference. Etta wondered if she’d even be able to remain standing once the explosion hit. The sense of accomplishment was going to be beyond anything she could imagine.

"……………………"

But that moment never arrived.

Etta stood there, gaping like a fish, frozen in place. Her mind simply refused to process what her eyes were seeing.

The beams had been on a direct collision course.

But a split second before impact, without so much as a flicker of warning, the entire Facility simply… vanished.

"Wha…… what…… happened?"

Etta asked the empty air, her brain still short-circuiting. No one answered for a long moment, until finally, the Adjutant she loathed so much spoke up.

"We have observed a massive surge of Drive Particles. It appears the station performed an Overdrive."

Etta spun on him, her face a mask of fury.

"Don't talk to me like I’m an idiot! That’s a space station! Performing an Overdrive on a mass that size is physically impossible!"

Etta’s scream echoed through the bridge. Fighting through a fresh migraine brought on by the drugs, she frantically accessed the ship's logs to see what had actually happened.

[“AH-HAH. YOU ACTUALLY PULLED THE TRIGGER, DIDN'T YOU?”]

A third party’s voice cut through the air. Etta snapped her head up to see the enemy ship displayed on the main screen.

"What did you do?! Where did you hide it?! Tell me!"

The enemy President appeared on the screen, looking incredibly smug and entirely too relaxed.

[“WHY WOULD I TELL YOU? I DON'T WANNA.”]

"Y-You little brat!"

[“YOU JUST GOT PLAYED BY THAT BRAT, HAG.”]

"……Tetta! Find it! This has to be the same trick they used to teleport that debris. They must have used a massive array of Drive Shooters…… It’s that woman with the Engineering Gift. She must have built a New Weapon…… It can't have gone far! The Drive Particle density here is too low for a long jump!"

Etta grabbed Tetta by the shoulders, shaking her violently. Tetta cowered, her face pale with terror.

"E-Elder Sister… I don't know. It’s not anywhere nearby…… Once it gets too far, I can’t tell it apart from the asteroids……"

"Useless!" Etta spat, shoving the girl aside. She glared at the man on the screen.

[“HEY NOW, DON'T BULLY THE POOR GIRL. I DON'T KNOW WHO SHE IS, BUT SHE’S RIGHT—IT’S NOT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. IT’S NOWHERE NEAR THIS STAR SYSTEM. ACTUALLY, YOU LOOK WIPED OUT. COULDN’T YOU SEE WHAT WAS INSIDE BISHOP?”]

"……No, that’s impossible. A device like that doesn't even exist in the Central. You’re lying!"

[“WOW, YOU’RE STUBBORN, LADY. THINK. ISN’T THERE A DEVICE THAT CAN DO THAT CLOSE BY? SINCE THEY’RE ALL STATE-OWNED AND BANNED IN IMPERIAL TERRITORY, I GUESS YOU PRIVILEGED BRATS FROM THE CENTRAL NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT USING ONE FOR WAR.”]

Taro fell silent, a shark-like grin on his face. Etta stared at him, her mind racing, until finally, a horrifying realization dawned on her.

"A Star…… gate…………?" she whispered.

At Etta's murmur, the man on the screen's smile widened into a look of pure triumph.

Alright, time for the counterattack.