Where to Purchase the Ground Ticket? (2)
In the quiet bridge.
All the crew of the Obelisk were enjoying a party in the hangar bay, drunk on the victory of battle, when Lora remained alone in the bridge with all lights off, staring blankly at the space outside the window. A meteor streaked across the countless stars, burning green with a long tail.
The second miracle.
There was no other way to describe it.
The caterpillar-class warship of the Unknowns, equipped with adaptive camouflage, had melted into the darkness of space, undetectable even by the naked eye, let alone by advanced radar. Moreover, the power disparity was overwhelming: one caterpillar-class warship versus forty-two lava-class warships.
To be honest, she was afraid.
She hadn't thought they could win.
Even with support from five warships, it had been hard to guarantee victory in this battle, and with just two assault destroyers. Even if they barely won, she suspected they might all die before that. But all those doubts vanished with the deafening screams.
"Fire!"
The explosive shout that came from her small body, which barely reached her chest, was hard to believe. At the end pointed by the captain's trembling fingers, the caterpillar-class warship, the Unknowns' command ship, was hiding. The Nautilus Cannon's precision shot had crippled the Unknowns' command ship, which was then destroyed by the concentrated fire of the Corps assault fighters. The lava-class warships, losing their commander and faltering, were sunk without resistance by the Chainstalkers' infiltration.
"Report! Unknowns, all eliminated!"
"From Orion to Obelisk! Enemy annihilation confirmed!"
The result was an overwhelming victory. No casualties, only a few injuries. The bridge was filled with cheers of victory, but Lora's eyes only saw the captain, leaning against the command seat, trembling precariously.
"Captain, I called Dr. Reina. Just wait a little-"
"-Ugh, hu, no need."
The cold rejection that came out was like the captain she had seen on the Valkyrie. Lora felt a piercing pain in her heart and bit her lip.
"I'll wipe the sweat for you. Rest well."
"Get away from me."
When she tried to wipe the sweat with a handkerchief, the captain harshly slapped her hand away. But she didn't give up after one try.
"Needless, hu, no, Lora deputy captain!"
These rejections were like saying 'I don't want to live' or 'kill me'. The captain, who could no longer resist, couldn't push her hand away. Her own hand, carefully wiping the beads of sweat, trembled. Don't tense up. At times like this, you have to be steady. Pull yourself together. You promised Maria.
Soon, Dr. Reina rushed into the bridge and checked the captain's pulse.
"Ugh, to the medical bay, Captain. Reina doctor."
"No. The captain must go to the infirmary."
"You all, my orders, hu."
In a state where she couldn't even speak properly. From the pitch-black eyes, only one red eye shone brightly. Through the black uniform, the chest of the soaked white shirt was visible rising and falling. The captain, pouring all her strength to calm her unsteady breathing, desperately refused our help.
Her throat choked up. Why, why...
Why are you doing this, Captain.
"To the infirmary, rest-"
"-Rejected, hu, do it. Report the battle casualties."
"...Three severely injured, thirty-seven lightly injured."
"Captain's order. Treat those idiots first."
Dr. Reina's persuasion was useless.
"If you understand, inject me with a sedative, Dr. Reina."
"..."
Dr. Reina silently followed the order and injected the sedative into her arm. A few seconds later, the heat gathered in the captain's cheeks subsided. Her breathing became calmer.
"Your role ends here. Leave."
"Captain! I didn't even get proper treatment from Valkyrie-"
"-Stop interfering unnecessarily and don't increase the beds."
With difficulty, she raised her body, leaning on a cane and standing up. Her legs were unsteady, unable to keep balance. Lora couldn't help but shout.
"Where are you going in that state!"
"I'm fine. I, I am fine."
Lie. It's a lie.
No one would believe she was fine.
"All of you, step back."
It was the same pattern again.
She stood her ground.
"I said step back. From now on, I will handle it under military law."
When she didn't step back, the captain walked past her.
The memory of that day resurfaced.
The tightly closed door of the captain's cabin.
The moaning sound leaking from between the doors.
The captain who didn't respond no matter how much she knocked.
The sound of her pounding heart echoed in her ears.
"I don't want to, I don't want to!"
Lora's heart broke.
No, absolutely not.
She wouldn't repeat this anymore.
"-Captain, please, please wait!"
The voice was choked with emotion.
Lora impulsively grabbed her hand.
The chill from the metal ran through her hand.
Her body stiffened at the unpleasant coolness.
"Get away from me! I said!"
The captain harshly pushed her hand away and pulled out the pistol from her waist. Lora stared at the gun pointed at her. The barrel was shaking madly. This gun couldn't kill anyone. She felt it couldn't possibly do that.
"...Please, get away from me."
The precarious voice.
The wound in the fierce eyes.
The anger felt from the tightly clenched jaw.
"You want me to leave you alone."
Everyone froze at that one word.
That voice was too stiff and frail,
As if it wasn't coming from her.
"...Return to the squadron. Change course."
She turned her back and headed to the captain's quarters.
Walking alone down the long, cold corridor of the captain's quarters.
In the end, Lora couldn't stop the captain this time either.
She stopped her reverie and blinked her eyes with a faint mist of tears.
She had promised not to cry, but what is this.
"-What are you doing, so pathetically, Lora."
"...Cloe."
"Here, take this."
At that moment, the door opened and Cloe entered. She handed over the prepared food, but Lora had no appetite. Recalling the captain's dead eyes muttering someone's name, the captain shouting at something with a tearing voice, she was buried in sadness and confused to the point of death.
"I'm fine."
"Fine? What kind of fine. Eat a little."
Lora gave a faint smile and shook her head.
"Sorry. Really, I have no appetite."
"-Lora. It's good to worry, but you have to be steady so that captain can rest well."
Because of her childhood friend forcing the sandwich into her hand, she couldn't refuse. The sandwich that felt warm, perhaps made just now. Somehow, the captain's small hand, which was cold despite the warmth, came to mind.
"...Cloe, the captain is..."
She couldn't ask what the captain was willing to do for this miracle.
"Why the captain?"
"...No."
"..."
A brief silence fell between them.
"...I was mistaken. You were right, Lora."
Cloe broke the silence and looked out the window. Along with her, Lora's gaze, which had been fixed on the meteor's tail until now, turned to Cloe.
"Until now, I thought you were a madman obsessed with the war against the Unknowns, but it was the opposite."
Cloe continued.
"Probably, the complex past intertwined with everything heard and seen from the Valkyrie at that time is mixed in. It's good to help as much as possible. I also promised to do so from now on. But don't be hasty. It would be like digging up the existing wounds."
"...Where should I start unraveling this?"
"Take it slow. First, let's find the clue that led her to this state. It's a bit of a stretch, but... the captain has lived in the dark until now, right? People who have lived long in the dark die suddenly when exposed to too much light. Do you understand?"
"...Thank you, Cloe."
She shrugged once.
"Ah, so did you read the report I gave you?"
Then she remembered she had forgotten.
The report given by Cloe before leaving for the Valkyrie.
Hundreds of bottles of Abutilon discovered in the captain's room.
The addiction treatment request form issued by Dr. Reina.
"Don't worry, it's decided not to mention it. Erika Lieutenant Colonel issued a gag order to the Chainstalkers too."
"...Did Dr. Reina know about this fact?"
"She said she only recently realized the addiction fact. I received the report at the time when you ran away to Valkyrie. Moreover, the Abutilon was thoroughly managed under her supervision, not a single bottle missing."
"Is tracing the acquisition route possible?"
"I did it in advance because I knew it would be like this. But it seems to have been smuggled in a very thorough and cautious manner. Looking at the box's discharge records, there were over 30,000. Even those 30,000 were all fake. They had taken measures to make tracing impossible."
Over 30,000 station discharge records. Even if you only calculate the path for one station's supply to reach, it would be around 3,000, so tracing was nearly impossible.
"Well, since it's so blatantly suspicious, it actually gains credibility."
"Is there anything notable in those fake discharge records?"
"No. Right, let me check my mind."
Cloe shook her head and something came to mind, so she took out a small hologram projector from her pocket.
"There is no clue at all."
"...?"
"It says 'Thank the merciful' or something."
"Merciful? What do you mean merciful?"
"Look at this."
The hologram projector projected an unidentified box.
On the box, handwritten by someone: 'Thank the merciful.'
"...What is this?"
"Well, perhaps the smuggler's name or something."
The smuggler's name?
No, this is a message to the captain herself.
Lora's instinct whispered that.
"Send me all documents related to the cargo's entry and exit routes. Even if fake, it's fine."
"Understood, Lora deputy captain."
The clue to what was breaking the captain.
She would find it and make it receive judgment.
Lora's green eyes sparkled menacingly.