You Have to Be Careful, Right? Huh? (1)
The Valkyrie, a super-heavy cruiser.
The forward commander's dedicated medical room.
“…Commander…?”
The sound that woke Karina from her sleep wasn't the familiar academy bugle call, nor the enormous engine roar of the Valkyrie super-heavy cruiser.
“Uh, hmm…?”
Upon opening her eyes to the soft voice calling her name, the aide's figure floated faintly like a crescent moon in the mist. After a few seconds, the blurry vision gradually cleared, revealing the pristine white ceiling of the medical room.
“Commander, I'm sorry. It's an emergency.”
“Is it a Kivell class?”
“Beyond that.”
My head and right arm throbbed painfully.
But if it's beyond Kivell class, it's a Keris class emergency.
I didn't have time to waste on pain.
“Summon the academy personnel on board immediately.”
Commodore of the 03rd Fleet, Karina Cherny.
Anyone who sees her once won't forget her: two steel prosthetic legs, sharp jawline carved like with a carving knife, hawkish blue eyes that pierce everything, strictness that allows no mistakes regarding anything Unknown-related, and meticulousness that gives precise answers even with a slight question about past Unknown combat cases.
The weight of responsibility on her shoulders,
Ironically, woke her up.
“Assembly time within 10 minutes. Please issue the announcement quickly.”
“-Before that, please drink this first.”
She swallowed the medicine handed by the aide. It had a tangy, lemon-like flavor. As her mind cleared, the dulled senses slowly began to recover.
“…How long have I been sleeping?”
She asked the aide while suppressing the pain.
Had she collapsed while trying to persuade Maria?
It was also because she usually didn't get enough sleep.
How long had she been out? 3 hours? 4 hours?
“You've been sleeping for 31 hours straight.”
“31 hours?! Why didn't you wake me up-”
“-I'm sorry. You were sleeping too deeply.”
The aide answered with an awkward smile.
“I've already treated your arm.”
“Arm…?”
The right arm was carefully wrapped in white bandages.
Ah, so the pain in the right arm was because of this.
The bullet from Maria had grazed it.
“Commander, please take better care of your own body.”
“…Thank you.”
Wait a second, then...
“Captain Elia?”
“Captain Elia has returned to the Obelisk.”
“Returned? Captain Elia hasn't recovered yet-”
“-I'm sorry. I couldn't stop her.”
Karina sighed.
Her sister or brother had the same crazy personality.
“Ah, and there's a memo left by Major Maria for the commander.”
She unfolded the note handed by the aide.
~This time, don't make any mistakes. Maria~
A wave of relief washed over her. One success. Fortunately, her insufficient persuasion seemed to have moved her frozen heart.
“From now on, this is the main point. The Observer 901 has been sunk.”
“What?! ”
For a moment, Karina was engulfed in strong confusion, as if the relief she had been feeling was foolish. The Observer 901? All the information about the 901 in her mind started pouring out at once. But no matter how she thought, there were too many strange points.
“That's odd. What were they aiming for when the Mofah was sunk, the 901?”
“Currently unknown. We can figure it out once the escape pod arrives here.”
“Has the command system of the Mofah been lost, leading to loss of control... When exactly did this news come in?”
“About 11 minutes ago. And there's one more thing to report.”
“What is it?”
“That is…”
The aide remembers events from about 30 minutes ago.
“Don’t block my path, Major.”
Elia, the captain, and the academy personnel following behind on the Obelisk.
“…I apologize. I will proceed with the return procedures.”
She had never intended to block Elia in the first place.
A mere Major blocking the path of a Colonel,
That kind of upper hand didn't exist.
“Wise, Major. I don't dislike wise people.”
“It’s an honor to be praised by you, Captain Elia.”
The aide bowed her head respectfully to Elia.
The opponent was the hero who had sunk the Unknown's Mofah in one shot.
She had to show the utmost courtesy.
“I’ll give you one piece of advice. Are you listening?”
“If it's advice from you, I am grateful.”
“Prepare for battle. The battle will start in about 4 hours.”
“…I need an explanation. Can you grant me a bit of time?”
The aide was momentarily stunned by Elia's words but didn't show it. Battle? What kind of midnight snack is this? Moreover, the academy personnel behind her were also shocked.
“Commander Laura.”
“Yes! Captain.”
“Navigation chart.”
Commander Laura took out a small holographic projector from her pocket. After a few blinks of light from the projector, a map appeared in the air.
“…….”
“Ah! Sorry. I'll explain now.”
When Colonel Elia gave Laura a cold look, she immediately began her report.
“The current coordinates are here. Within the coordinate grid of A15313, G32213, the 03rd Fleet under the Valkyrie super-heavy cruiser, consisting of 150 heavy cruisers and 412 cruisers, destroyers, and battlecruisers are densely packed in a 'Crescent' tactical formation. The alert level is Green. No Unknown forces detected within 1 million km radius, and no signs have been found.”
“1 million, 1 million km.”
Captain Elia closed her eyes and thought for a moment.
She kept silent for several minutes.
She opened her mouth.
“Further.”
Upon the command, Laura adjusted the map's scale.
Radius 10 million km.
“Further.”
She adjusted again.
Radius 30 million km.
“Damn it, further. I said expand to the maximum.”
Finally reached 60 million km. The maximum detection range of the Valter Radar, the essence of Dwarf technology installed on the Valkyrie super-heavy cruiser, is 28 million km. Beyond that, detection was impossible without the Observer's power. But she suddenly placed her finger somewhere in the 50 million km area and continued.
“The culprit is here.”
“…?”
…Culprit? What culprit? It was completely incomprehensible. The aide sent a pleading look to the Obelisk personnel behind her for further explanation, but they all shook their heads in confusion.
“Colo, Colonel. With my limited knowledge, it's hard to understand-”
“No, Major. You know. You would know.”
She said firmly.
“Since time is short, I'll tell you clearly and concisely. Use the maximum authority you can exercise as the 'aide' of the Valkyrie super-heavy cruiser to prepare for battle. My advice is unusual.”
With those words, Colonel Elia boarded the transport to the Obelisk. The aide, thinking she was doing the bare minimum, issued emergency summons to the academy personnel on board and ordered several cruisers in the right wing of the crescent formation to conduct reconnaissance.
“Commander? It seems you should check this.”
“What is it?”
“Emergency rescue message.”
Exactly 20 minutes after she left.
An emergency rescue message was captured from 15 million km away.
[Under attack by Unknowns. Observer 901 sunk. In accordance with the captain's emergency return order, lifeboat ejected. Escaping via Chronos space jump. Unknown pursuit. Requesting escort and docking with Valkyrie super-heavy cruiser. 20 survivors, 14 injured: 3 minor, 11 serious.]
The lifeboat of the Observer 901.
It was a sorry sight for a ghost.
Was it Captain Elia's foresight?
“Something like that happened.”
“Yes.”
It was hard to believe. But compared to sinking the Unknown's Mofah in one shot, it was nothing special.
“…Captain Elia wasn't lying in bed the whole time, was she?”
“Within the ship, she has been in the commander's room the whole time.”
“This matter will have to be investigated later. First, report the current situation.”
“Reporting. One, the cruisers Frigg, Hermod, Lif, and Roskva have deployed to their respective points in accordance with the Unknown reconnaissance order. Two, the rescue personnel will be moved to hangars A30, A31 along with relief supplies and medical teams to be distributed immediately upon docking. Three, the emergency deployment standby ships are the top-tier heavy cruisers led by Galahad, Cyclops, and Gigus, fully armed and waiting for the commander's order.”
The aide was competent. She had prepared the maximum possible as a substitute to give Karina more time to rest, and woke her up.
“Alright. Let's go to the meeting room.”
The training cruiser Obelisk.
Hangar 01.
“Juribian, the maintenance of the Nikaiya missile defense system is complete.”
“Thank you, Lloyd. How about the main gun maintenance of the Nautilus Cannon?”
“Heh heh, according to this old man's prediction, it seems it will be done by tomorrow.”
Armament Control Officer Juribian sat down on a makeshift chair provided in the hangar with a thud. She drew a red underline on the handwritten [4. Nikaiya Missile Defense System Maintenance] item in the paper folder she was holding.
“Juribian has a strangely classical taste. A paper folder.”
“I've been using a lot of paper since I was young. This is much more familiar. Ah-”
The clip she was trying to insert into the folder slipped from her hand, but since gravity was adjusted downward, she didn't need to bend to pick it up. She caught the clip falling slowly like a feather in the air and continued talking while fixing her eyes on the document.
“By the way, what about the disposal for unauthorized use of the Nautilus Cannon?”
“That's right. I haven't heard anything from the captain yet…”
“Captain should return without any issues….”
“Armament Control Officer Juribian.”
“-Yes?”
“-Yes?” At the moment she answered, Juribian felt an incredibly strong feeling. Huh? Was that a voice that shouldn't be heard? But the captain was supposed to return in a week...? She hoped the voice she heard was a hallucination and looked up from the document. Silver-white hair, eyes as deep as sucked in, and a smile that seemed to tear.
“-Captain! Attention!”
An instinctive shout. The alarm also rang. It was a piercing scream that made the entire hangar echo. The bustling crowd instantly fell silent, and all crew members stood at attention.
“F, for the captain!”
The voice that tore again, the crew members standing at attention raised their fists to their right chest.
Ding ding- ding ding-
Six bell rings symbolizing the colonel.
[Captain, Victory! Fleet!]
With the echoing ship announcement-
The owner of the Obelisk had returned.