Chapter 323: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (41)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 323: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (41)
“Hm…?”
Adele stared down quietly at her tablet. A fine crack was spreading across the center of the screen.
“…My lady, is something wrong?”
Su-hyeon approached cautiously from behind and asked. Adele gently pushed the screen with her fingertip, then tilted her head.
“Suddenly… the screen cracked.”
“That’s odd. This is a reinforced model. It shouldn’t break so easily.”
“I know… Maybe it’s just defective.”
Su-hyeon took the tablet and inspected it carefully.
“There are no signs of external impact on the device itself. Shall I have it inspected?”
“No, it’s fine. Just bring me a new one.”
“Yes. I’ll have one prepared.”
Su-hyeon started to turn away, then stopped.
“…More importantly, my lady.”
“Yes?”
“…We’ve found the culprit.”
Adele’s eyes wavered slightly.
“Who is it?”
“The Earth Federation’s intelligence agency.”
For a moment, the air froze. Adele was silent for a while. She narrowed her eyes, drawing out the silence… then spoke.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. They bribed one of our security program administrators to carry it out.”
“The Federation… So they’re moving openly now.”
“It would be best not to return to Earth for the time being. The situation there is also tense.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“There are unsettling movements within the military.”
“I see…”
Adele said nothing, looking down at the tablet again. The fine crack on the screen looked like a cross-section of a world whose balance had been shattered.
“Have you confirmed their exact objective?”
“We are in the process of confirming their exact objective. However, your movements and communication logs have been leaked. Their actions were quite precise. It wasn't just a simple information leak; it suggests they were planning for physical contact… We can't rule out the possibility of a kidnapping.”
“Hah… What a pain. How long do I have to walk on eggshells around them?”
Adele took a moment to compose herself, then swiveled her chair to face the window. Beyond the glass lay the darkness of space.
“What’s the probability they’ll attack Calliope first?”
“There is a possibility. We are also operating our defense systems at full capacity.”
Adele’s lips tightened. She turned back slowly and said.
“I think it’s about time we started preparing. Summon her.”
Su-hyeon looked up, her eyes wide with surprise.
“But that’s…”
“My gut tells me it’s time to make a real move.”
“Understood.”
As Su-hyeon turned and walked away, Adele’s gaze returned to the tablet’s cracked screen.
*
Sheryl Mortimer walked quietly down the corridor, running a hand through her red hair. Her steps, clad in flat-soled combat boots, were rhythmic and heavy. Her face was expressionless, but it held a deep sense of annoyance and fatigue.
“Haaah… Such a pain.”
The words she muttered under her breath faded into the hallway. She reached her destination without pause. Standing before a door marked with a restricted access sign, she lightly placed her palm against it, and the lock disengaged.
Swoosh—
As the door opened, a woman with neatly styled pink hair was waiting inside with a smile.
“You’ve come, Sheryl?”
“It’s been a while, Lady Adele.”
“Hehe, it really has. I’m sorry for calling you so suddenly.”
“If you’re aware of that, you should show some restraint. I’m not just your personal attendant anymore. I’m a Colonel in the Earth Federation Army.”
Sheryl retorted in a playful voice. Adele simply smiled, as if she were used to that tone, and nodded quietly.
“Sheryl, I believe the time has finally come.”
“…So you’ve finally decided to make your move.”
“I have to. The Federation’s reach is extending deeper and deeper. If all we do is endure, we’ll be left with nothing.”
Sheryl let out a quiet breath.
“Are you sure about this? Everything you’ve built up until now… could all come crashing down.”
“I’ll worry about that when it happens.”
Adele shrugged, a relaxed smile on her face.
“Your personality hasn’t changed a bit. So, what is it you need me to do?”
“I need you to take charge of Calliope Station’s defense. Someone will likely target this place soon. To be precise, they’ll be targeting me.”
Sheryl’s eyes narrowed.
“And?”
Adele’s smile deepened slightly.
“And once the preparations are complete… I’m going to pick up my boyfriend.”
At those words, Sheryl’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
“…Boyfriend?”
“Hehe, you know him too. Jin Seo-yun.”
“…I see.”
Sheryl replied curtly, nodding. A moment of silence passed before she quietly asked again.
“Do you trust him?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Adele slowly turned her gaze to the window. Staring into the vast blackness of space, she thought of Jin Seo-yun, who was still fighting on some battlefield out there, and murmured to herself.
“I’ll be there soon with a gift.”
*
“This is an infiltration mission.”
Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Blake’s voice cut through the briefing room.
“We will infiltrate Calliope Station disguised as Licencia Group employees. The sole objective is to secure Adele Licencia. If possible, do it quietly and covertly. This is a kidnapping operation.”
Oh Hyun raised his hand.
“And if our cover is blown…?”
Aaron turned his gaze to him. His eyes were cold, his voice firm.
“Then there’s nothing to be done. Those who can get out, get out. Abandon any comrades left behind without hesitation.”
The air in the room instantly grew colder. But he continued, unfazed.
“This operation is a one-shot deal. If we fail, there will be no second attempt. The internal structure is complex, and security is extremely tight. The false credentials we have are only valid for 48 hours.”
The briefing screen changed, displaying a detailed layout of Calliope Station’s interior.
“Inside the station is a secret Licencia Group research facility. Adele Licencia is currently staying there. There are regular patrols, surveillance drones, and internal security agents stationed everywhere. The moment we’re discovered, all entrances will be sealed.”
He slowly lowered his gaze and said.
“Therefore, speed and information are crucial. We will move in three teams. Team assignments will be delivered in individual briefings later.”
The air in the briefing room was heavy with tension. Lisa nodded, her lips pressed into a firm line, while Mason kept his eyes glued to the screen, silently flipping through the data.
Oh Hyun sat with his arms crossed, his face grim. And behind them, several new infiltration personnel who had been added to this mission stood silently, their faces unfamiliar.
They were all ‘designated’ personnel—individuals who knew there was a high probability they would die following orders without a word. Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Blake glanced over them before finally lowering his voice.
“And—”
He turned his head to look at Oh Hyun, Lisa, and Mason.
“For now, the infiltration team will move in, but the three of you are to be ready for deployment at any moment. If—”
Aaron continued slowly.
“—the infiltration team fails its mission, or if your cover is blown before Adele Licencia is secured—”
He lowered his voice.
“—then you will neutralize Calliope Station. It doesn't matter if it's the structure or the personnel. Leave nothing behind.”
A shift from ‘escape’ to ‘destruction’.
Aaron Blake left them with one final statement.
“Each of you, focus on your mission. And prepare yourselves. This operation will change the tide of the war.”
*
My closed eyes opened. I looked around.
“Fuck…”
The curse escaped my lips automatically. Gasping for breath, I forced the half-destroyed Requiem to move. The unit was barely holding on by a thread. Its right arm was completely gone, and its left leg was half-shattered. The sensors were damaged and weren’t functioning properly.
My position was on the outskirts of the collapsed Nemesis Colony. The area around me was a complete hellscape. Metal fragments, shattered pieces of the colony, and the conspicuous sight of floating corpses.
…Crazy bastards. I never thought they’d wage war like this.
Civilian transport ships had also been torn to shreds by debris while trying to flee. The people who must have been inside—children, the elderly, ordinary citizens—were floating through space like chunks of meat.
Nemesis Colony was completely obliterated. Its distinctive oval structure had already collapsed and been ripped apart, and its interior was still being rocked by intermittent explosions.
Can you even call this survival…?
First, I had to live. The Requiem was a wreck, and its energy was nearly depleted. There wasn’t much I could do with the remaining auxiliary power.
“If I die like this, I’ll be too pissed off to rest in peace.”
I decided to restore emergency communications first. The main system was down. I forced a reboot, connected to the auxiliary power, and manually tuned the frequency until I finally managed to get a signal.
“Armeo, respond. This is Jin Seo-yun, do you copy?”
Only static. I waited for a long time, but there wasn’t a single response.
“7th Mobile Squadron, Captain Basques. Respond. Anyone, if you can hear me, answer.”
Again, no response. The electromagnetic interference was severe. The wireless channels themselves might have been destroyed in the aftermath of the explosions. If there were any surviving allies, they were probably floundering in the silence, just like me.
…Dammit.
I had to find another way.
I extended the short-range scanner to its maximum. It was unreliable with the damaged sensors, but thankfully, it detected a faint heat signature. The coordinates were about 3.6 kilometers away. Some debris… no, a single unit was floating there, barely maintaining its shape.
…Who is it?
I switched the Requiem to power-saving mode and carefully activated the damaged propulsion system. I slowly approached the target, weaving through the wreckage and debris.
Floating there was a unit from the 7th Mobile Squadron. Its armor was melted, its frame was twisted, and only the cockpit had managed to retain its shape. I saw the unit’s identification code.
It was Carla’s unit.
“Carla, respond.”
I repeated the call over the emergency channel. A few seconds later, a faint response finally came through.
[Honey…?]
“Thank god you’re alive. Can you move?”
[My legs… they won’t move…]
I docked the Requiem against her unit and carefully opened the cockpit.
Carla was leaning against one side of the pilot’s seat. Her face was pale, and a metal fragment was lodged deep in her right thigh.
“Can you bear it?”
She gritted her teeth and nodded. The tears welling in her eyes were half-frozen.
“Honey… I really… thought I was going to die…”
“Do you know where the Armeo is?”
“…I don’t know… All the signals were cut off…”
I carefully lifted her body. At that moment, another explosion erupted. A massive pillar of fire tore through space, rushing toward us.
I need to get out of here, fast.
There was no time. Just as I brought her into the Requiem’s cockpit and secured her to the seat behind the pilot’s chair, the scanner detected a new object. A massive ship revealed its silhouette from between the fragments.
“Is that the Armeo…?”
It could be an allied ship, or it could be an enemy. But in the current state of my sensors, I couldn’t identify it.
I hesitated. But as the ship’s surface was illuminated by the light of an explosion, I saw an emblem.
‘Arsenos.’
It was the enemy. But it was completely wrecked. Its damaged propulsion system and collapsed structures were tangled in a chaotic mess.
“Carla. Just hang on.”
I started moving again, pushing through the debris. After crawling like that for several dozen minutes, I finally found a structure.
A cracked hull, a collapsed deck. And emblazoned clearly upon it, an emblem.
[ARMEAO]
“…We’re fucked.”
On the hull, which looked like it had been split in half, the name Armeo was emblazoned.
The situation was hopeless. I had less than 10% fuel. There were no allies, no rescue signals. The reality before me was that I was isolated, left to die among the debris.
But then, a distress signal came in from a distance. It was weak, on the verge of cutting out.
Without hesitation, I turned the Requiem in that direction. When I reached the coordinates, a small escape pod was floating there.
It was one of ours.
I tried to communicate, but there was no response. Instead, I could feel a very faint presence from within.
Sheryl Mortimer
