“…Incredible.”
A video feed was being transmitted from the Adriana to the Hourai Island command room.
Right before Elsa’s eyes, the medium-class fragments were vanishing one by one. Each was being teleported to the rear by the transporter cannons of the reconnaissance spaceships.
While she didn’t quite understand the principles behind it, the teleported fragments lost their inherent velocity upon arrival. They effectively came to a standstill relative to the space they appeared in—or more accurately, the designated coordinates.
Since the coordinates were set within the Celane System, the fragments were essentially stationary within their orbit. Observations confirmed they had lost all original momentum, which meant they could be dealt with at a more leisurely pace later.
One by one, the process continued smoothly. Soon, all fifty-six medium-class fragments had been processed.
“We will now proceed to the small-class fragments.”
There were 187 confirmed fragments classified as small-class. Assuming the sequence of tracking, aiming, and teleporting took five minutes per fragment, the ten ships involved would finish the task in roughly an hour and a half.
For that entire time, Elsa stared at the screen without so much as a flinch.
＊ ＊ ＊
Jin’s physical body remained in the Hourai Island command room, but his consciousness resided within the Doppel on the Adriana, Jin D.
“Alright, everything is going fairly well.”
The medium and small-class fragments were being handled without issue. They were being gathered in roughly the same area; Jin hoped to eventually utilize them as resources once they had the time.
Then there were the large-class fragments.
These varied in size, with the largest spanning nearly ten kilometers across and the smallest around one kilometer. They were currently installing large force generators on them—twenty-five units for the largest rocks, with fewer for the others depending on their scale.
“I’m glad we have some breathing room...”
While the installation of the large force generators was proceeding as planned, a problem had arisen regarding their operation. Because the fragments were rotating, they couldn't be pushed in a single direction without the trajectory shifting.
To address this, a single Cosmos golem from the Space Force was being deployed to each fragment. They were tasked with operating the large force generators to maintain attitude control.
It looked like it would take a bit longer than originally anticipated, but they still had time to spare.
“Now that we’ve actually started, how does it look?” Jin D asked Taisei, the brain of the Adriana.
“Yes, My Lord. Since the rotation speed varies for each fragment, I cannot give a single definitive answer, but I estimate that approximately twenty hours should be sufficient to stabilize them.”
In other words, it would take twenty hours to stop the rotation using the large force generators. Taisei judged that once the rotation ceased, the rest of the plan would proceed on schedule.
“...We should still make it in time, then. The real issue is the extra-large-class fragment.”
It was a massive piece of debris, fifteen kilometers at its longest point. Even its narrowest section measured nine kilometers. It was slowly tumbling through space, drifting toward Ars.
“My Lord, stopping its rotation must be our top priority.”
“You’re right. In the end, that might be the fastest way. Slow and steady wins the race, after all.”
Jin told himself there was no use getting impatient now.
“Indeed. Furthermore, once its rotation is neutralized, I believe the Adriana itself can be used to provide additional propulsion.”
“Oh, good point! If we add the Adriana’s thrust to the mix, we can easily make up for any minor delays.”
“Yes.”
This realization put Jin’s mind at ease.
“What is the status of the large-class fragments?”
“Installation is complete on eighteen fragments. The remaining three are drifting a bit further away, so it will likely take another hour to reach them.”
“We can work with that. Good, carry on.”
“Understood.”
Fifty-eight minutes later, large force generators had been successfully installed on every large-class fragment.
“Excellent. Are the Cosmos units on each fragment managing and controlling the generators properly?”
“There are no issues, My Lord. I have a firm grasp on every unit.”
If they could just nudge the fragments off their collision course with Ars, that would be a victory. If they could put them on a trajectory to plunge into the Sun Celane, that would be even better.
“Finally, time to deal with the extra-large-class fragment.”
The Adriana approached the massive rock cautiously.
“First, we will analyze the axis of rotation and select the most effective sites for installation.”
“Right.”
After fifteen minutes of observation, they had a general grasp of the rotation. To generate the counter-thrust necessary to cancel the spin, Jin decided to install twenty of the remaining 105 large force generators. Once the rotation stopped, they would be reconfigured for propulsion.
“I’m really glad I prepared five hundred Cosmos units...”
Jin felt a quiet sense of relief. If he had only brought a hundred or so, the Adriana would have been left short-handed while trying to manage three hundred large force generators.
As the Cosmos units set to work, Jin—operating through Jin D—started to feel the weight of fatigue.
“I’m going to take a short nap. Taisei, Laojun, work together to keep the operation moving.”
“Understood, My Lord.”
“Please, rest well, My Lord.”
With that, Jin prepared to sleep in the Hourai Island command room. The room was climate-controlled, so there was no risk of him catching a cold.
“Jin-nii, I’ve prepared a sofa bed for you.”
“Oh, that’s perfect. Thanks.”
Elsa and Reiko, who had been looking for a way to help, had collaborated to put together a makeshift sofa bed just in time.
It was around midnight when Jin finally stirred.
“Ah, much better.”
After a three-hour nap, Jin woke up feeling refreshed. He noticed Elsa was asleep right beside him, leaning against the sofa.
(Thank you, Elsa.)
Not wanting to wake her, Jin had Reiko use her built-in force generator to gently lift Elsa and settle her onto the sofa bed he had just vacated.
“There we go. Now then...”
Jin returned to the operator’s seat for his Doppel.
“My Lord, everything is proceeding smoothly for the moment,” Taisei reported as Jin D returned to the bridge of the Adriana. “However, while we have begun suppressing the rotation of the extra-large-class fragment using twenty large force generators, it is not yet going as well as expected.”
“I see... So twenty units aren't enough?”
“No. The primary issue is the difficulty in accurately identifying the center of mass.”
“I see...”
When pushing an object in a vacuum, unless the force is applied along a line passing exactly through the center of mass, it creates torque, causing the object to rotate.
“Alright, let’s install ten more units.”
“Understood.”
Since the installation of the generators required Jin’s direct oversight, they had fallen slightly behind on that specific task. Nevertheless, they still had time.
“My Lord, a more immediate concern has arisen: a second wave.”
“A second wave?”
“Yes. We have confirmed a second wave of fragments trailing behind. How shall we handle them?”
“What are their sizes, trajectories, and speeds?”
“They are small-class or smaller, traveling at roughly thirty kilometers per second. Their current trajectories suggest they will pass quite far from Ars.”
“In that case, we’ll just monitor them... No, wait. If the reconnaissance ships have the capacity, let’s deal with them using the transporter cannons just to be safe.”
Jin didn't want to risk any unforeseen complications.
“Understood.”
For now, the focus remained on the large and extra-large-class fragments. Whether everything would go according to Jin’s design was still a matter of time.