“Combat training, is it?”
After returning to Hourai Island, Jin sat down with Laojun to discuss their next steps.
“If we are conducting a mock battle, simply striking the Vulcan’s Aegis with low-output weaponry should suffice, but...”
“Yeah, but I want to make it as flashy as possible. We need to catch their eye.”
Even if a magi-cannon hit the Aegis, there would be no secondary effects like flashes or explosions. To an onlooker, the exchange would be completely invisible.
“Shall we manufacture flash shells, then?”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”
Flash shells. On modern-day Earth, they were typically associated with blinding opponents or signaling. Although Jin had never seen a real one, he had a clear enough concept of them that production wouldn't be an issue.
“Something that emits light upon impact should work, right?”
“In that case, it would be best for the shell's skinning to shatter upon contact.”
“Ah, I see. Let’s go with that.”
Upon hitting a barrier or an opponent’s armor, the outer shell would break and emit a brilliant flash. If they were designed for magi-cannons, making the outer shell sturdy would minimize the risk of accidental discharge. Even if one did go off prematurely, it would simply glow.
“Let’s make sure they don't produce any heat.”
Jin also decided to limit the light to the visible spectrum, suppressing infrared and ultraviolet rays as much as possible.
“Let’s make some timed versions as well.”
He figured those might be useful for signaling later on. Once the concept was finalized, the rest was easy. Jin mobilized the Smith units and quickly manufactured a sufficient quantity of flash shells.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Now then, shall we begin?”
On January 7th, in the satellite orbit of the planet Hale, a mock battle between the Vulcan and fifty units of the Skylark squad was about to commence.
“How will the winner be decided? And what are the rules?”
“Well, you see...”
Jin proceeded to answer Elsa's questions.
The Vulcan would deploy its solid barrier and fly at a speed of ten kilometers per second. The Skylark squad would then attempt to strike the Vulcan with flash shells. If fifty shells hit the Vulcan's hull—effectively one hit per unit—the Skylark squad would win.
On the other hand, for the Skylark squad, being hit by even a single flash shell would count as being shot down, even if the hit was taken through their barriers.
In terms of maneuverability, the Skylark squad far surpassed the Vulcan. However, the Vulcan held the advantage in firepower, and it could technically withstand up to fifty direct hits.
The explanation concluded with both Jin and Laojun admitting they couldn't predict the outcome.
“Mm, I understand. Thank you.”
With Elsa satisfied, Laojun gave the signal to start the mock battle.
“Beginning now.”
The Vulcan raced through the void, performing erratic evasive maneuvers to the left and right. In response, the Skylark squad moved into an encirclement, attempting to hem the larger ship in.
The first flash shell fired from a Skylark hit the Vulcan’s solid barrier, causing a flower of light to bloom in the pitch-black void of space.
“Beautiful...” Elsa murmured.
Brilliant flashes of light burst in the vacuum of space, looking for all the world like fireworks blooming against the night sky. It was a relief that the spectacle wasn't a real battle and held no destructive power.
The number of flashes increased as time went on. The Skylark squad was successfully cornering the Vulcan.
“Hmm, I’m overwhelmingly lacking in experience when it comes to things like this.”
Jin himself possessed zero experience in space combat; he was a total novice when it came to orbital strategy and tactics. No. 700672 was in the same boat; when asked previously, he had simply replied, “I do not know.”
“Well, it’s not like I actually intend to fight a space war anyway,” Jin muttered as he watched the monitors.
The Vulcan was flying in an irregular zigzag trajectory that would be impossible for any human pilot to maintain. However, the Skylark squad possessed even higher maneuverability and was able to keep up with the erratic flight path.
“Ah, one Skylark unit is out!” Elsa cried.
Indeed, a flash shell had struck the barrier of Skylark 46. Then another unit fell, and then one more.
“The Vulcan is holding its own.”
Due to its construction, the magi-cannon could not be fired in rapid succession; it required an interval of several seconds between shots. The Vulcan had managed to land its hits by seizing those brief openings.
“In that case, the Skylark squad will... Ah, just as I thought.”
Once five units had been eliminated, Sky 11, the squad leader, changed their orders. The remaining forty-five units began to stagger their firing intervals. As a result, the Vulcan was unable to deactivate its solid barrier to return fire, leaving it entirely on the defensive.
“I see.”
But the Vulcan quickly shifted tactics. It deactivated its solid barrier and deployed the Aegis instead.
Since the Aegis was a planar barrier, its sides were theoretically vulnerable. However, the Vulcan moved the Aegis to intercept the incoming fire from the Skylark squad. Because the Aegis had no mass, its movement was instantaneous.
Furthermore, the ship wasn't limited to a single plane. It could deploy the Aegis in six directions—up, down, left, right, front, and back—essentially encasing itself in a cube of protection. However, because the barriers were circular rather than square, gaps remained at the corners. The Vulcan took full advantage of this, firing through the openings at the Skylark squad at will.
“Oh, another one.”
The Skylark squad had now been reduced to twenty-one units. Sniping through the gaps of the high-speed moving Aegis was a feat of extreme difficulty. Meanwhile, the Vulcan was perfectly synchronizing the movement of the Aegis with its magi-cannon fire.
“Is the Vulcan... winning?”
“Seems so.”
Jin and Elsa were utterly absorbed in the progress of the mock battle, the original purpose of the exercise temporarily slipping from their minds.
Laojun, however, had not forgotten. He detected movement from the sphere they were monitoring.
＊ ＊ ＊
“There is a change in the flow of free ether.”
The long-awaited report finally arrived. Ten units of the Raptor squad, which had been stationed away from the simulated battlefield, sent in the data.
“It seems they have shown a reaction after all,” Laojun said, sounding satisfied.
Three small, spherical flying objects—presumably reconnaissance aircraft—had emerged from the spherical satellite.
“Let us hope they understand that this is not an act of hostility.”
Essentially, they wanted the Haleans to perceive the battle as ‘play.’ This was based on Testa’s judgment that the reclusive Haleans would almost certainly despise conflict, but would likely be starved for entertainment and unable to resist investigating something so unusual.
“...Right. Well, everything is going according to plan so far.”
Jin, who had been completely engrossed in the dogfight, hurriedly returned his focus to their primary objective.
“It is time to begin the second stage: appealing to those reconnaissance aircraft that we are harmless.”
“Right. Let’s proceed with caution.”