The rescued hostages were sent straight to the infirmary.
Turns out it really was an infection.
We were all given full-body decontamination before being injected with medicine.
I was just settling in for a cup of tea when it happened.
I didn't even have time to register a bad feeling before a planet-class Zork suddenly popped into existence.
Actually, 'popped' is an understatement. The Zork possessed a Warp device—technology strictly banned within the Empire.
I knew there was a microscopic chance of this happening.
This was purely a result of our own negligence.
Still, who in their right mind would treat a planet-class entity as a disposable asset? The one appearing now had the same specs as the previous one, but it was a different individual entirely...
It was an entity that had been minced and then reconstructed. There was no way it should have been able to replicate the exact same movements.
And yet, the Zork managed it.
The gap between our values was just too extreme...
The moment the giant Zork appeared, Wifey’s voice echoed throughout the battleship.
"All hands! Battle stations!"
Wifey’s command flipped our switches. Still wearing the jersey I’d just changed into in the infirmary, I sprinted toward the Humanoid Fighter Loading Entrance.
Even if I couldn't use Massacre Night, I could still head out in a Standard Machine!
"Wait, everyone! Wait, gueh!"
Isono, who was still in the middle of pulling up his pants in the infirmary, tripped and slammed his head against the wall. Ten out of ten for the landing.
"We’re going on ahead!"
"You guys are all idiots!"
Leaving Isono behind, we scrambled for the hangar.
"Wifey! What’s the situation?"
When I checked the correspondence course, Wifey rattled off a report.
"A planet-class Zork has arrived! We’re trying to escape... No, that can't be right. The planet-class Zork is... it’s plunging straight into the planet..."
Huh?
You mean a collision between planets?
Maybe if we were already clear, it would be one thing, but...
Considering the impact of that kind of collision... Oh, I’m going to die.
Calculating the force of the Celestial Collision...
Oof! If I’m this close, I’m dead meat!
"Planet-class Zork! Detecting an ultra-high pressure energy reaction!"
"I-Is it self-destructing!? All personnel, brace for impact!"
Damn it!
I didn’t see that coming!
I lost on sheer scale! To think they’d use a planet-class as a sacrificial pawn!
Just thinking about the amount of protein involved in a planet-class, it just wasn't worth the cost!
You absolute bastards!
I threw myself to the floor.
[Jester. Initiating Sage Mode?]
The system voice chimed in.
"If it’ll save us, do whatever you have to do!"
[Sage Mode activated. Jester, linking with Tatiana.]
"Damn it! Evasion won’t make it in time! I won’t let it end like this! I refuse! I'm going to live with Lord Groom!"
"Hey! Big Bro Leo! I’m... I'm glowing! Dwoaaaaaaaaaaah! What the heck is this!"
Tatiana’s correspondence course was cut off by a scream.
[Jester, linking with Alyssa.]
"I don't care what it is, just hurry!"
"Leo! My body... it’s glowing... Wait, my power is being sucked away! Edge, help..."
With a sharp snap, the correspondence course went dead.
"Tatiana and Alyssa have both lost consciousness. Utilizing Jester authority."
It—It’s being sucked out!
What the hell is this!
My energy was being drained into the void.
[Opening the Subspace Gate!]
Suddenly, things got very sci-fi!
Come to think of it, Tatiana did something like this before! This must be the upgraded version!
Then, the moment arrived.
The planet-class Zork exploded.
If we took the brunt of that impact, the entire fleet would be vaporized. That was the scale of the blast.
[Warping!]
It was the one thing humanity still couldn't do!
Sure, we had short-distance jumps using wormhole-like phenomena, but the old-school sci-fi style of entering Subspace had remained out of reach.
Apparently, the previous Warp devices tended to tear you apart if you tried to enter a wormhole. Honestly, I didn't really get it.
Was I supposed to think of the old Warp device as a glitch-exploiting Death-Warp?
While I was distracted by useless thoughts, there was a loud bang.
Space distorted into a psychedelic mess. Prismatic light reflected chaotically. The spatial distortion... the sheer amount of purple was agonizing.
"My eyes! My eyes!"
I clutched my face.
"Bleh-hurgh!"
Nakajima evidently couldn't handle the sensation and puked right where he stood. I could hear the girls screaming, too.
This was definitely not healthy for the human body!
"L-Leo! Are you alive?"
Claire was still conscious.
"Probably!"
"I can't... take any more..."
I caught Claire as she collapsed.
What was this place? This wasn't an environment humans were meant to survive in—perceptually speaking! My head was spinning.
[Exiting Subspace!]
"Hurry the hell up!"
The ship was spat back out into vacuum.
"Full stop! Emergency braking!"
Wifey was still awake through all of this. The battleship wobbled and spun from the inertia. Thomas’s ship and the other vessels belonging to the Lords were in the same boat. They all forced their ships to a halt through sheer willpower.
Wifey’s battleship managed to stabilize.
Ah, thank goodness...
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my vision shook. Well, it had been shaking the whole time, but this time, it was me who hit the deck.
"L-Leo! Are you okay!? Vital signs are in the red! Leo, stay with me!"
"Claire! I brought the syringe!"
I felt the sting of nanomachines being injected. That was the last thing I remembered.
When I finally came to, I was in the infirmary.
"Your heart stopped because you overexerted yourself!"
Kevin was huffing in a fit of rage.
"But you’re safe now. I really thought we were done for this time."
"What about Tatiana and Alyssa?"
"They aren't as bad off as you... I mean, your heart literally stopped! But Veronica-chan is..."
Wait, don't. Stop with the ominous cliffhanger. Also, did I seriously almost die again?
"She collapsed and was admitted. Apparently, she pushed her brain too hard. You know how small she is compared to us..."
"So, she’s okay?"
"Yeah, they say it’s just exhaustion. Also, as far as the academy goes, I think Isono-kun just cut his head. The crew’s injuries seem to be at a level we can laugh about."
"Did they check if everyone is... themselves?"
This was the scariest part. It wouldn’t be funny if I woke up and everyone had been replaced by duplicates.
"No problems there. Everyone is confirmed to be the real deal."
That was a relief.
"Um, there’s an official announcement from Veronica-chan. She says to never use Warp again."
"Yeah! I’m not doing that again unless I want to die!"
And that was how we escaped the disaster.
Never warping again.