After giving the instructions for the production of the large-scale force generators, Jin turned his attention to the next phase of preparations.
"All right, next is the transporter cannon."
Objects moved via teleportation or spatial transfer had a unique characteristic: they came to a stand still relative to the exit coordinates. Jin intended to exploit this to neutralize the debris.
The primary issue at the moment was the velocity—specifically, the arrival time of the fragments at Ars. If he could bring them to a halt, he could deal with them at a much more deliberate pace.
Unfortunately, the difficulty increased exponentially with the target's mass, meaning he couldn't process every fragment using this method.
The transporter cannons were slated for two different roles: some were to be mounted on ten ten-meter reconnaissance spacecraft, while a larger array would be installed on the Adriana.
The reconnaissance ships would be piloted by Astro units 1 through 100. These forty-centimeter-tall golems would be tasked with handling the small-class fragments. Even though they were classified as "small," they were essentially boulders weighing between several and several dozen tons. Teleporting such masses would consume a staggering amount of mana.
Though they were called "cannons," they didn't fire physical shells. Instead, they projected concentrated magical energy at the target, though they still required a muzzle-like structure to function. Jin planned to mount two thirty-centimeter-class muzzles on each reconnaissance ship, while the Adriana would be outfitted with twenty one-meter-class muzzles.
Because the Smiths were fully committed to crafting the large-scale force generators, this task fell to other personnel. Fortunately, the crew members—the Astro and Cosmos units—were capable of using Craft Magic as well. While not as proficient as the Smiths, they worked efficiently enough to complete the outfitting by midnight.
"Good. We’ll depart tomorrow morning as scheduled."
Jin wanted to intercept the fragments in deep space, as far from Ars as possible. To achieve that, they needed to launch without delay.
"Understood," Laojun replied. "I will perform the final checks myself. Once those are complete, I intend to load as many necessary materials as the ship can carry."
"I’m counting on you, Laojun."
"Father, please get some rest," Elsa added.
"Yeah, I think I will."
Satisfied with the progress, Jin headed back to the house to rest his weary body. When he opened the sliding door to the bedroom, the lights were still on. Elsa was awake, sitting atop her futon.
"Good work today, Jin-nii."
"Elsa? You’re still up?"
"Mhm. I was worried you’d push yourself too hard. I couldn’t help you with the work this time, so this was all I could do."
Jin smiled and gently patted her head. "It’s okay. The preparations are done. Laojun is handling the final checks now. All that’s left is to sleep until morning."
"I see. That’s a relief." Elsa let out a small, quiet sigh and looked up at him. "Then please, go to sleep."
"Yeah, let’s do that."
Jin changed into his sleepwear and lay down. The weight of his exhaustion hit him all at once. By the time Elsa turned off the light and checked on him, he was already breathing rhythmically in a deep sleep.
"Good night, Jin-nii," she whispered softly before lying down and closing her eyes.
October 6th, 6:00 AM.
Jin stood in the laboratory command room, finalizing the plan with Laojun.
"Laojun, status report."
"My Lord, preparations for launch are complete. We will use the transporter to send the fleet beyond the satellite orbit. From there, they will navigate under their own power."
"Good. That works." There was no reason to waste energy launching from the planet's surface.
The ten reconnaissance ships were already secured within the Adriana’s hangar. The storehouses were also packed to capacity with auxiliary mana bombes.
"Crew ready. Systems nominal," reported Taisei, the magi-brain overseeing the Adriana.
"All right. Start!"
"Initiating sequence. Ten... nine... eight..." Laojun’s voice counted down. "Seven... six... five... four..."
Tension tightened Jin's features. Once the countdown hit zero, there would be very little left for him to do from the ground.
"Three... two... 1... zero!"
The Adriana’s massive hull vanished from the magi-screen.
"Phew." Jin let out a long breath as the reality of the operation set in.
"Good job, Jin-nii," Elsa said, stepping up beside him.
"Yeah. It’s finally started. But the real work is yet to come." Jin looked toward the ceiling, imagining the pitch-black void of space above. "At about the three-fifths mark—relative to the linear distance between Ars and the fragments’ current position—they’ll flip the ship. They have to do that to synchronize their velocity with the debris field."
To handle the fragments effectively, the ships had to run parallel to them at the same speed. Otherwise, they would simply zip past one another in a fraction of a second. Speeds reaching hundreds of kilometers per second were nothing to scoff at.
"If we could synchronize earlier and further away, it would reduce the risk to Ars even more, but..."
The Adriana was currently pushing its engines to the limit, traveling at 350 kilometers per second. Any faster would be dangerously unstable. The fragments near Ars were estimated to be traveling at 250 kilometers per second, having been accelerated by the pull of the Sun Celane. By the time the Adriana reached the intercept point, the fragments would likely be moving at just under 200 kilometers per second.
"I expect we’ll catch up to the fragments and match their speed the day after tomorrow."
"And until then...?"
"There isn't much more I can do." Jin took a deep breath and leaned back into the command chair. "Once we reach them, I’ll be directing the operation through the Doppels I have stationed on board."
Elsa nodded, then looked at him with concern. "Then please, rest for a while."
"Eh?"
"Jin-nii, you’re overworking yourself. You need to take care of your body."
Looking at her earnest, slightly pained expression, Jin found it impossible to simply brush her off. He nodded silently.
"I know you’re the only one who can do this," she continued. "That’s why you have to stay healthy."
He could feel the depth of her worry in her voice. Jin reached out and gently took her hand. "Thank you, Elsa. I will."
He stood up, still holding her hand.
"First, let's get some breakfast."
"Mhm. Perido 3 should have it ready by now."
"I wonder what's on the menu today."
"You'll have to wait and see."
"Haha, I suppose I will."
Hand in hand, Jin and Elsa walked toward the dining hall. The warmth of her palm against his was a comfort beyond words. Elsa made a silent wish: no matter what the coming days held, she hoped they could at least cherish these quiet, ordinary moments together.