Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Recruitment Frenzy
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After a brief welcome ceremony, Amorf and I headed to city hall.
The streets were overflowing with people.
It seemed the entire city knew I was coming today—every time our car passed, they stood and waved.
I gazed out the window at the scene. "Come to think of it, I don't see the mayor anywhere." The mayor I'd met last time came to mind.
He was the type who loved inserting himself into anything that drew public attention.
The kind of guy who couldn't stand staying out of the spotlight.
Given his personality, he should've been out here greeting us today, but there wasn't a sign of him.
"The mayor was dismissed."
"Dismissed?"
"Yes. As far as I recall, it was for abuse of power and various other reasons. After he was let go, I heard he got in touch with some council members—seemed like he was wary of you, Captain."
The top commissioner of Quvillion Planet was fond of me.
The commander of the planetary defense forces stationed here felt the same, so the highest powers were all on my side.
On top of that, with the planet in shambles from the Alien invasion, I'd built factories that created jobs, so they were desperate to accommodate us.
'Guess he heard about some friction we had.'
They might've tipped him off on purpose.
After that incident, the mayor had kept his head down to avoid getting on my bad side, but he was expendable anyway.
"Who's the mayor now?"
"The position's still vacant. They said they'd take our recommendation."
"......Hmm, no one comes to mind right off the bat. Let me know if you find someone suitable."
"I'll look into it." We wrapped it up neatly.
I hadn't come to Quvillion Planet for something trivial like picking a mayor.
'......One month. It's short.'
I'd already used up 5 days of my vacation.
25 days left.
But cramming in 7 months of backlog made the time feel way too tight.
"Are there enough applicants?"
"Enough? The competition's fierce."
Amorf bared his teeth in a grin.
The top priority on Quvillion was selecting crew members.
With the independent unit expanding and needing a lot more personnel, I'd figured it'd take some time.
"......Even for combat crew?"
"That's the hottest one."
"You didn't show them the casualty stats, did you? What gives them the guts?"
Amorf's words were hard to believe.
Over the past 7 months of operations, we'd had over 100 deaths.
Adding in replacements for injuries and such brought it to 400 total— a 25% turnover rate.
That was from over 700 hive nest assaults, so the survival rate was impressively high, but combat roles still had a much higher death rate than other branches.
"Haha, everyone wants to join the Golden Fleet."
"......Ugh. Cut the jokes."
"It's already officially registered as the unit name. Not a joke."
"Damn Darmosa......"
I clutched my head.
I should've slapped any old name on it before Darmosa could meddle.
Too late for regrets now.
Amorf dropped his smile and got serious.
"Anyway, that's one factor. The real key is that you've earned their trust, Captain."
I nodded.
One thing I'd focused on was aftercare and compensation.
If someone had to leave the ship, they'd suffered severe physical damage.
Amputations, nerve damage— injuries needing long rehab even after treatment to get back to normal.
For those crew, I covered room, board, and medical costs until they recovered fully, plus extra cash compensation.
No wonder the saying going around was "as long as you don't die, you're golden."
For the deceased, I gave huge payouts to their families or pre-registered contacts, and set up a dedicated team to manage the windfalls and avoid problems.
It was a lifetime's savings for a civilian, but since our scale was still small, the cost wasn't prohibitive compared to the benefits.
'I'll have to keep it up.'
Hive nest assaults weren't about sheer numbers anyway.
It was about concentrating firepower with limited personnel.
In that sense, talented Metal Gear pilots were one of my most vital assets.
"They're gathered over there."
The plaza in front of city hall was packed.
At least 5,000 people.
They were grouped by application category, and just by looking, over 2,000 seemed to be gunning for combat crew.
"We only need 500. Way too many."
"It's a chance to weed out the weak. Put the promising ones in reserves and train 'em up." Amorf's eyes gleamed.
Back when he was a mercenary leader, his vibe was pure warrior, but now he was a commander who put his troops first.
'Not that he's gone soft.'
Martial artists shift their aura and personality based on their training.
It's no joke.
It's the most effective way to embody their style.
Usually, if the style's influence faded, so did their skill level.
But Amorf was different.
'Might've picked it up from Roze.'
Roze was the most energetic person in the independent unit.
Off-duty? No such thing—she was always hanging with the combat crew.
More like sparring and teaching them moves, but the crew, obsessed with martial arts, jumped at the chance.
Their skills had improved over time as a result.
Amorf was one of the most enthusiastic, naturally.
Fewer casualties as assaults piled up? This was part of it. '......Wonder what everyone's up to?'
As the car pulled up, I thought of the superhumans on separate vacations.
Always together, so being apart already felt like forever.
*
At the same time, in orbit above Yumaha Planet.
"Incoming attack! Brace yourselves!!"
Boom!!
"Urgh......!"
The relentless shocks drew groans from everyone aboard.
The defenseless transport ship was soon engulfed in flames.
"Do something!"
"There's nothing we can do!"
The captain was sweating bullets.
The ship had already lost propulsion, and trying to fire up the AD Drive now would be suicide.
"......No choice! We'll drop into the atmosphere!"
"Attacks are coming from down there!"
"We'll all die like this anyway. If we aim for a crash landing......!"
Thud!!
The hull shook again.
Things were visibly deteriorating.
Dragging it out would only make it worse.
"Do it."
"......Pardon?"
Merdi spoke up then.
Her forehead was slick with sweat.
"I said do it."
"Y-Yes! Superhuman!"
The captain rushed to the controls.
Roze fidgeted beside Merdi.
"You okay, Merdi?"
"Don't talk."
Merdi's eyes twitched.
Her palm pressed against the hull wall.
She was fine-tuning her powers to intercept external attacks as best she could.
The transport enduring the barrage? All thanks to her.
"Y-Yeah......"
Roze clammed up.
She knew how insane what Merdi was pulling off was.
Firing powers across space without clear sightlines?
Tough enough on its own, but she was blocking anti-air fire from the planet below.
"Here we go!"
The captain shouted.
The ship banked sharply, plunging straight into the atmosphere.
Friction made it shudder violently, ramping up the strain.
Blech!
Blood trickled from Merdi's mouth.
Overuse shock.
"Merdi!" Now it was really bad.
Pushing further risked her life—or her powers.
But Merdi's eyes still burned.
"......Don't freak out."
"You'll die!"
"I won't."
"I'll catch you and jump instead."
No clue why they were hitting us so hard—some grudge?—but in the upper atmosphere with air and gravity, she'd have more options than in space.
"......No. They're after me. We'd get focused fire."
Merdi shook her head.
She knew this mess was her fault and was shouldering it all.
More blood poured from her mouth.
No convincing her.
Roze's face hardened with resolve.
"Stubborn ass!"
"......Huh?"
"I'm doing what I want too."
"N-No, let......!"
Roze grabbed the emergency kit and forcibly hugged Merdi.
Merdi struggled, but their strength gap was vast.
Stunned by Roze's move, Merdi could only squeeze her eyes shut.
It was the only way for both her and the crew to survive.
Roze wrenched open the jammed hatch.
"Going!"
Lips pressed tight, Roze leaped into the hail of fire.
Their forms shrank to a dot and vanished.
*
"......Radio silence?"
I got word on Roze and Merdi on day 8 of my vacation.
I'd just finished discussing standard-caliber energy amplifiers for battleship secondary batteries with Fontana and was heading to Monarch.
-Yes. Rescue signal confirmed 3 days ago. Saya sent the details.
Superhuman movements were tracked closely.
Even on leave, they reported destinations and purposes regularly.
Since they were under me, reports came to me first.
"Command knows?"
-They should. The signal from Yumaha's Drive Gate auto-relayed.
I knew their destination was Yumaha Planet.
Merdi's homeworld—she'd visited during academy breaks before.
Something went down back then too, but she never told us. Guess it blew up.
'Hope they're safe.'
Those two could survive anything, but the signal suggested dire straits.
If it were Aliens, it'd make sense.
Yumaha was once on the 4th defense line, but now excluded from the new one centered on Triple Link territory.
Meaning no Union defense fleet.
'Amazing they're holding out at all......'
Yumaha was wide open to Alien attacks.
Remote location off the main invasion path kept it on life support, but anyone who could evacuate had.
But humans attacking? Not Aliens?
'No, she said she was cleaning up bugs last time. Maybe grudge-holders stuck around.'
Why Merdi went to Yumaha? No idea.
I'd assumed a final hometown visit.
I'd sketched her backstory but skimped on planetary politics.
Couldn't guess her feelings about home easily.
No clue if this was in the original story. "......Heading to Yumaha first. Keep me updated. I'll swing by New Eden—request Union cooperation for battleship support."
-Got it.
Shortest path from Terra to Yumaha: 3 days.
'Plus 6 days missing......'
The transit felt agonizingly long.