Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Orbital Supremacy
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In the space age, coups didn't require any complex elements.
Seizing control of orbit. That was the only thing that mattered.
Whether it was impeaching the president from the ground, rallying troops, or any other desperate struggle—it didn't matter. A single orbital strike would render it all meaningless.
That was why the coup forces' primary and secondary targets were the spaceport and the comms tower.
Capturing the spaceport to secure the warships docked on Catear Planet was the top priority.
And seizing the comms tower to prevent calls for reinforcements from the main fleet defending the border was the second.
Of those, the president had dispatched most of his forces to the National Assembly and the comms tower.
Because he had backup from the Deneb Star System fleet battle.
Even though he hadn't won over most of the fleet stationed in the capital system, the president had his aces up his sleeve.
Of the four Treegalaon-Alpha units purchased from the Lushaka Kingdom, three had sortied to the border, leaving just one in the Deneb Star System—and ownership lay with the president's faction.
He believed the military power of the capital system's stationed fleet couldn't pierce the Treegalaon-Alpha's hull.
The president was confident of victory.
Galactic Standard Time, 14:00 sharp. A session convened, including sanctions against Black Mango Corporation for ignoring the National Assembly's demands.
The pro-president faction dragged out the meeting to keep as many assembly members pinned down there as possible.
The guards in front of the assembly building started wondering if the area around here had always been this quiet.
And right around 14:30, as the session was underway, a comms blackout field enveloped the assembly hall exterior, signaling the coup's start.
Soldiers awakened with psychic powers inhaled Ozz and took point.
They advanced without hesitation toward the bewildered guards reacting to the sudden blackout dome over the assembly.
Ozz opened their minds, purple glow leaking from their eyes as they drew forth psionic power.
Krunch—.
The guards snapped into combat stance at the sight of approaching unknown forces, but a powerful telekinetic grip crushed their helmets—and heads—within seconds, ending them instantly.
Woof! Woof woof!
Lushaka Warhounds guarding their handlers lunged at the attackers, but another psychic's power sent them crumpling helplessly.
The assault team cleared the entrance guards without a fuss and moved to enter the assembly hall proper, only to get bogged down by warhounds suddenly charging out.
"—!!"
With one Lushaka Warhound dead, others inside the assembly reacted in unison.
Ferocious barks echoed as warhounds poured out, charging the intruders.
"What the fu—!"
"Fire! Clear 'em quick!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat—.
Government troops following the inexplicably rampaging warhounds spotted the fallen guards, grasped the situation, and joined the fray.
"Intruders! Requesting backup!"
The plan had been to silently neutralize the guards with psychics, trap the assembly members inside, and hold position. But the warhounds foiled it from the start.
Caught in the government's swarming fire net, the coup forces couldn't breach the assembly and clashed on the roadside instead.
One soldier, high on Ozz overdose awakening, boldly charged and pulped a few foes with psychics—only to be shredded into Swiss cheese by a hail of bullets.
Judging interior entry impossible now that deadlock had set in, the assault team made the call.
Plan A: Herd assembly members and guards into the chamber, hold deadlock while controlling the entrance. Leave psychic-heavy troops behind and move to support the spaceport.
Plan B: If unable to lock down the interior, encircle the assembly and focus on maintaining the blackout. Abandon spaceport support.
The assault team hadn't achieved the optimal strategy, but they took satisfaction in surrounding the assembly members and cutting off outside comms.
Now, warship support from orbit had to break this stalemate before ground forces grew suspicious of the missing check-ins and arrived.
Fierce firefights raged in the spaceport hangars.
War whale handlers, assassinated the moment the coup began, lay dead amid roaring gunfire.
In a shootout with cover, stalemates were natural—but not here at the spaceport.
Soldiers desperately tried breaching the fire net with charges. All ended up riddled with holes.
Just one. Get just one inside to activate a warship, and victory was theirs. Rifle fire meant nothing against a single laser barrage.
Normally, activating a warship—an extension of national territory and strategic weapon in itself—required countless procedures and approvals. But no one here had patience for such tedious bureaucracy.
The spaceport was designed as a bunker against alien invasions, but with allies turning to enemies inside, it was a nightmare.
The coup side felt the same. Wake a Treegalaon-Alpha, and they win.
"Hey! You fucking hunk of junk! Wake the hell up already!"
The handlers screamed for it to rise, but the damn thing slept on, comfy as ever. These things never slept normally, and now they picked this moment—the handlers were losing their minds.
In the end, the coup forces decided they'd have to board a handler onto the Treegalaon-Alpha themselves.
The battlefield devolved into soldiers' desperate, futile lunges amid relentless gunfire.
Comms tower seized. Spaceport and assembly: stalemate.
The longer it dragged, the worse for the coup—about even odds, then?
I'd helped them out, and it was still fifty-fifty.
As an insider coup, maybe that was par for the course.
Failing a coup from a position of national leadership, with power and wealth at hand, wasn't easy.
Besides, Taniguchi wasn't an unpopular president. He'd only recently been elected, with no major blunders.
The Ozzgate scandal was fresh, so public opinion had soured but not tanked yet—time hadn't allowed it.
Without my interference, they'd have pulled off the coup smoothly.
Even with this rushed start, dragging it to even odds—shouldn't we call that a win for the president?
Nah, he'd over-relied on psychics too. Humans die to bullets, telekinesis or not.
Current time: 16:00 sharp. Time to wrap this up. Coups should always be quick.
I pulled the Hirak I'd stashed in a National Assembly trash can.
Sprayed it down with prepped deodorant to kill the stench.
Pssht. Pssht.
Made my way down the hall toward the chamber.
Hunched low to dodge stray shots, I spotted the huddled assembly members.
Approached a standout one among the hiding lawmakers.
"Pleased to meet you, Advisor Moretti."
"Hirak? How the hell did you get in here?! Duck!"
Former President Moretti grabbed my (Hirak's) head and shoved it down hard.
Whoa, this lady's got some grip.
Murmurs rippled among the assembly at the sudden Lushaka Kingdom affiliate. Pro-president faces especially went ghost-white.
"You seem to be in quite a bind."
"You think now's the time for chit-chat? Wait—who even are you? How'd you get here?"
"Consider it a personal debt to Lushaka, and we'll reach out on your behalf. Our comms aren't blocked by the dome."
"No, seriously—how'd you even get in? Sorry, I'm just an advisor. No authority to decide."
"If it's Advisor Moretti's personal debt, that's enough."
She'd be next president if the coup flopped anyway.
"I refuse. Planetary defense forces will reinforce soon. They'll handle it."
"For your info, the comms tower's already taken. Spaceport's in combat. Coup confirmed, as you suspected."
"That mad bastard Taniguchi... Fine, limit it to me personally. Don't drag the Federation into this."
"Well, that's..."
Trying to play me?
"We don't care if President Taniguchi goes full dictator. We're just honoring our alliance. Democracy or one debt—pretty cheap price."
After a brief hesitation, Advisor Moretti nodded assent.
"Ah, Admiral Nikolai? Can you hear me?"
Getting the Federation's main fleet back from the border would take time. Teleportation was still sci-fi.
But one border was awfully close to the Deneb capital system.
Jarvis had suggested striking the capital precisely because it was that near.
And borders usually had light garrisons to avoid provoking neighbors.
Thus, Southern Border Commander Admiral Nikolai could return to Deneb in short order.
Psychic squads and you only block radio waves?
"He's heading out immediately."