A battlefield where no one obeyed operational orders, ruled by emotion alone.
Grudges and hatred held sway; not a single soul was calm.
My Leonidas Squad was in a bind amidst the chaos. We weren’t isolated, but our allies were in total disarray. The chain of command had collapsed. While acting with flexibility on the ground is a fundamental tenet of military operations... this was far beyond such a simple concept.
Hatred, hatred, hatred.
The rage of those whose parents, siblings, or lovers had been slaughtered was boiling over. Everyone had become courageous to a fault. By all rights, Uta and I should have been just as consumed by rage, but...
The Galactic Empire, which had sought peace with the Zork ever since the Extermination War, remained calm—or perhaps "cold-blooded" was more accurate. Galactic Empire Emperor Veronica had turned a deaf ear to the voices of hatred. She had lulled the mindless Zork into a deep slumber and accepted the intelligent female Zork as citizens.
...Thinking about it now, for the Emperor to pull that off—even if she did take advantage of the confusion—makes her a monster. She discarded all emotion to secure the interests of the state. The fact that Leo, my relative, can handle being her groom is terrifying. I don't know how he does it. If it were me, we’d be having domestic disputes every single day.
The ones who discarded their lives with cold composure were the Repsitore. Usually, they were a carefree bunch, but now they fought with all their might, fearing not death and casting aside personal feelings. Leo, who saw through to their true nature, must be a monster in his own right.
"Uta... I don't think I can ever be like His Majesty Leo."
"What are you saying, Captain? No one expects that from you."
I suppose that was true. I was fine with being ordinary.
Even so, my nose was starting to itch. It felt like a precursor to a cold. My throat was probably inflamed, too, and I just hadn't noticed it yet. I decided I’d have to take some throat medicine later.
I pulled a piece of candy out of the dashboard—a military-issue sweet meant for shaking off drowsiness. As I popped it into my mouth, an intense menthol stimulus spread across my palate. Technically, nanomachines were supposed to forcibly wake a pilot the moment they detected drowsiness, so these were intended for situations where that wasn't necessary. In reality, they were just treats for when a pilot wanted something to chew on.
The cooling sensation kicked in, but the stimulus stung my throat. Ah, yeah, I definitely had a cold. The menthol cleared up my nose, though.
"Uta, let's organize the situation. Give me a status report."
"I tried to scout, but the Persion fleet charged in and ruined everything. We don't have the manpower to rescue the Persion ships that got pulverized. Allied Repsitore forces have arrived on the scene. I asked if we should join the rescue during the confusion, but HQ's chain of command is a mess and they didn't answer. Leo-kun, softie that he is, is probably ordering a rescue, but I bet the high-ranking officers are blocking it. They can't afford to lose their own subordinates, after all. So, we're currently on standby."
"That's the worst."
"We have to prioritize our own citizens, too. It can't be helped."
"If it looks like we can go in safely, I'm ignoring orders and going."
"If it's safe, sure. But looking at things, it’s impossible. If you used your ESP, Captain... oh, wait. Correspondence from HQ: 'Use of ESP is prohibited.'"
"Why!?"
"Your ESP is too powerful. You can't move as a side effect when you use it, remember? HQ can't afford to lose a member of House Kamishiro like you."
Ugh... well, that was true, but...
"The point is, they don't want us using it to save people who charged in on their own. We have to leave this to the Repsitore. Karen-san has command authority over there."
The Repsitore were brave. They discarded their emotions and executed their mission faithfully, engaging the Corpse Eaters. If they looked like they were going to lose, they withdrew the front lines.
But the Persion forces weren't like that. Unable to read the flow of the battlefield, their battleships were being sunk one after another. It was the result of prioritizing their emotions. The Repsitore lent a hand to those they could save... but if it was even slightly difficult, they cut them loose.
The Repsitore were the ones in the right. I ground my teeth together.
"Don't grind your teeth just because you're wearing a mouthpiece. It'll become a habit."
"Uuuuuuuuuugh..."
All I could do was watch. Still, the Ghoul Fleet was moving strangely. One ship was clearly moving differently from the others, almost as if it were running away without participating in the attack...
What was that? It was a movement I'd seen before in a tactics manual.
"Let's see... Corpse Eaters have a more primitive neural network than the Zork, which allows for high-level coordination... So, if one ship isn't coordinating..."
"What's up?"
"Contact HQ! I've found the enemy fleet's network Relay Machine!"
"Permission to attack granted!"
Yes! I pumped my fist.
"Uta! I'm counting on you for the sniping!"
"Did you just say something incredibly uncool?"
"It can't be helped, I'm a terrible shot!"
"Good grief, you really are hopeless without me, Captain-kun."
"Just do it."
"Roger that. You lot, approach in stealth mode. All units, simultaneous fire on the marked Relay Machine. Disengage immediately after attacking."
"Understood, Big Sis!"
The Galactic Empire pilots responded to Uta. Uta... she was acting more like a captain than I was.
"Let's go!"
We activated stealth mode—the new function that matched the hull color to the surroundings. Apparently, it was an application of Zork Technology that made it difficult to show up on radar. That said, it was difficult to handle. If you weren't careful, it could actually make you stand out more.
We lowered our output to keep the hull temperature from rising, approaching as inconspicuously as possible. If we were caught by our thermal signature after going this far, it would be a shame upon our descendants. Though the hull was processed to mask its temperature, it wasn't a guarantee of absolute safety. We also made noise, so we could be caught that way too.
We approached the enemy Relay Machine silently.
"Uta... can you do it?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm no Ren-chan, but... at this distance, even I can... Locked on."
"Fire!"
We rained down fire from our Sniper Rifles—the ones that had been improved from those disposable, defective weapons. With the modifications, they were now good for ten shots. Their penetration power had increased, and according to calculations... they should be able to pierce even a battleship's armor.
The Sniper Rifle rounds hit home, and Corpse Eater cells splattered everywhere.
"Direct hit! We've penetrated! The enemy Relay Machine... vital signs... ceased!"
Fluids sprayed from inside the battleship, and nematode-like, writhing creatures crawled out into the vacuum of space. However, they were unable to withstand the environment and soon stopped moving.
"Big Sis! The other battleships have stopped too!"
"All right! Contact the Persion and Repsitore fleets: 'Relay Machine destroyed. Disengage immediately and watch out for self-destruction attacks!'"
Uta had completely taken over as the captain. Can I go pout now?
While thinking such trivial thoughts, I checked the thermal monitor. Ah, the Ghoul Battleships... their temperatures were skyrocketing.
"Ghoul Battleships, thermal spike! Full retreat!"
We fled as fast as we ever had in our lives. A massive explosion followed immediately after.
"Damage report!?"
"Allied casualties are minor thanks to the warning! However, many ships have been rendered unnavigable!"
"Moving to rescue operations!"
"Roger!"
Phew, we were safe...
"Uta, report to HQ!"
"On it!"
Thus, we succeeded in saving a portion of our allied forces. And at this point, no one had yet realized that the very atmosphere of the battlefield was about to change.