The Coastal Fortress Assault - 1
With only about ten days left of our precious summer vacation, Rendell and I attended an operational briefing to infiltrate the Third Coastal Fortress of Karmanu, more than a thousand kilometers from the academy. We had come to the nearest garrison with the others who would carry out the operation alongside us. Originally, it had been near a city close to the coastal fortress, but after the Rubens faction seized the fortress, they had gone into hiding in the mountainous region to continue their activities.
Line had departed for the capital of Karmanu, where the regent resided, yesterday afternoon after meeting with us. We couldn't be sure what Regent Ainel's intentions were, but Line would handle it somehow. For now, we would focus on destroying the Third Coastal Fortress, the core of the Rubens faction, together with Line's people.
"Do you understand the outline of the operation?"
"Yes."
The outline itself wasn't complicated. Infiltrate the fortress, destroy key facilities, and escape safely. Easier said than done, of course. When Aindiums of similar numbers clashed, Line's overwhelming martial prowess suppressed the Rubens side, so maintaining numerical superiority in Aindiums was crucial for them. The Third Coastal Fortress was where those Aindiums and pilots were being airlifted in from somewhere, and as the faction's core facility, it was heavily guarded.
"Of course, we won't be charging in blindly. While Her Highness Line heads toward Jebel, she will pressure nearby military units and neutral nobles. The news will reach them by today, and once her location is pinpointed, the rebels will rush out with their Aindiums in droves."
"Won't that put my sister in danger?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness. You know how strong Her Highness is. Besides, if she wins over the military units, the enemy won't dare to attack."
Regent Ainel had declared she would not interfere in the succession struggle and had forbidden battles near Jebel, the capital of Karmanu. The military had stayed out of the succession conflict per the regent's wishes, but with evidence of backroom dealings between Rubens and the regent now surfacing, they were likely to side with the legitimate Line. That would put both Rubens and Ainel in a tight spot. No matter how many Aindiums they had, in an all-out war, armored units centered on tanks and self-propelled artillery remained the backbone. The difference in numbers was stark, and ordinary Aindiums couldn't withstand proper artillery barrages. Aindiums were inherently difficult to replace pilots for, so if the military came under Line's control and the influx of external Aindiums could be blocked, Line's side could win. Line had decided to borrow our strength to achieve both conditions simultaneously and quickly.
Rendell, a wielder of power that even most ace pilots couldn't match despite still being a student. Ruwina, my blood relative who piloted a masterpiece, specialized in special operations, and would never betray us. The coastal fortress assault operation had no choice but to center on us.
"Then let's hear the details of the operation."
"Yes. The operation begins at dawn tomorrow."
According to Line's agent who had infiltrated inside, most of the fortress personnel moved to assist with unloading whenever an Aindium transport ship arrived. A transport ship was scheduled to arrive around 4 a.m. tomorrow. It usually arrived in the morning, but with Line's movements and the weather looking ominous, they had hurried things along. The agent was disguised as a laborer helping with the unloading, so we couldn't know the exact circumstances, but the timing should be accurate.
"That transport ship will be carrying Aindiums, then."
"Correct. Those disgusting bastards the rebels brought from somewhere."
As expected, Line's people knew that corpses were riding in the enemy Aindiums. Only Rendell, unaware of this, wore a slightly puzzled expression, but he soon focused on the continuing operation briefing.
"The timing and weather are good. It'll be dark and noisy, so it'll be hard to notice."
We planned to move along the coast after sunset and hide in the blind spot of the cliff where the fortress stood. A total of three Aindiums would move with us. The Ellydium cloaks Kirié had made were large enough for Vivald-class units, and with some luck, they could conceal up to three Aind-class units. One would be used by Rendell and me, while the others would be worn by the accompanying Aind-class units as we approached stealthily and waited to strike around the time the transport ship arrived at dawn.
The infiltrated agent was supposed to open the route the Aindiums used in advance, but we had to prepare for things going wrong. Since failure was not an option, we had planned for every possible scenario. Rendell asked questions the moment anything puzzled him.
"It'll be difficult to gauge the scale of security inside."
"That's right."
Thank goodness the Galaxia world had a single language. I had almost ended up translating for Rendell, a foreigner. Though we differed in affiliation and were younger than the other meeting participants, no one dismissed us. It was mostly because of Princess Ruwina's status, but Rendell's display of martial prowess yesterday seemed to have played a part as well. After all, he was the centerpiece of the operation.
The operational briefing ended as evening fell and the surroundings grew dim. Outside, the wind was blowing fiercely, and weather forecasts had been emphasizing a tropical low-pressure system rising from the sea for days. With the sound of wind and raindrops, it would be hard to notice even if Aindiums moved. Ideal conditions for us.
After a modest dinner, I closed my eyes briefly only to wake and find the operation time already approaching. Footsteps sounded outside my private room, followed by a knock.
"Luna. Are you up?"
"Yes."
The others must have felt awkward waking the princess, so Rendell had come himself. I roughly combed my hair into something presentable, donned my pilot suit, and stepped outside.
"It's time for the operation."
"Yes. Thank you for waking me."
"Don't mention it."
We headed straight for the hangar. The corridors of this mountain-hidden secret base were barely wide enough for one person to pass, and I followed behind Rendell.
"Are you worried?"
"Pardon?"
"The fate of the nation is at stake, after all."
"...I suppose not really."
Honestly, I wasn't particularly worried. The protagonist was on our side, I had provided Line with crucial information, and even I—who probably wouldn't have participated in this battle in the original story—was here. If anything, I saw it as a good opportunity. With luck, we might uncover the enemy's true identity.
Rendell glanced back over his shoulder.
"Let's make sure it succeeds."
"Yes."
I didn't know whether Rendell's driving force was retribution against those who had invaded Alitus, a sense of justice, or something to do with me. What I did know was that having Rendell here made me feel reassured.
3:30 a.m. The transport ship cutting through the darkness began to appear in the distance. Hidden beneath the coastal cliff where raindrops fell, we activated our Aindiums one by one and moved slowly. The bluish spiderweb-like Ellydium cloaks faithfully served as jammers, concealing us from radar, while the matte-black painted Aindiums left not a single point of light in the darkness. Even so, we chose the hardest-to-detect routes possible, wary of night-vision goggles, and waited for the right moment.
As the transport ship drew closer, the number of personnel on the fortress walls gradually dwindled until only the minimum remained. Then Line's people began to move.
Peeying—
A stray bullet from somewhere blew the head off a soldier who had been scanning the surroundings with night-vision goggles. Almost simultaneously, three power-armored figures leaped onto the walls and dealt with the remaining sentries. The walls were secured in under a minute. The power-armor unit installed jammers on a nearby radar before immediately moving toward the rendezvous point.
"Understood."
Now it was my turn to move. To infiltrate before the enemy noticed the radar anomaly, we had to move quickly. After discarding the Ellydium cloaks, I had Rendell and the commander each grab an anchor before lifting off.
Vwoom—
After asking the fairies to control the Limpid Fairy's engines so they wouldn't roar too loudly, I moved the levers with practiced ease. Our destination was an emergency exit through which Aindiums could pass—a door usually kept locked and rarely used. The agent had said they would open it, but whether they had succeeded remained to be seen.
As expected, complications had arisen.
"Is the agent safe?"
"Given how quiet it is inside, they probably haven't been discovered—they're just in a situation where they can't extract themselves. Let's pray for their safety."
"How much time will that add?"
"And compared to the scenario where we encounter the enemy right away under Plan A?"
"Then we'll go with that."
I ferried the Aindiums to the location for Plan A in two trips. The power-armor unit that had been waiting after destroying the surveillance cameras took position behind us.
"That's fine. We won't be using explosives to break through."
The emergency exit door was certainly thick. Even Rendell, the strongest among us, would take a long time to break it down with his sword alone. But I had come prepared for this. After switching the sniper rifle's mode, I mounted the Pile Bunker Buster. It was the same device I had used to pin the Earthworm to the ground last time, but this one also functioned as a pile bunker. Unlike before, there was no need to fully deploy the stake. I drove a suitable five-meter stake into the emergency exit door and pulled the trigger on the lever.
Thwoom—!
A propellant burst from the rear of the Pile Bunker Buster, driving the steel stake deep into the thick door several meters thick. With a grinding sound, the stake rotated and pierced straight through the door.
After watching the forum while drilling a few more times, a hole large enough for the power-armor units to pass through had been made. After confirming there were no enemies in the inner corridor, the power-armor unit infiltrated inside and opened the door for us. A fairly long corridor was illuminated by only a few faint lights that seemed ready to go out at any moment.
"It's quiet."
Since no alarm had sounded, they still hadn't noticed. I had braced myself for discovery, but it seemed the coastal fortress didn't have as many personnel as expected.
The matte-black painted White Fang advanced with sword and gun at the ready. I switched the pile bunker back to sniper rifle mode and followed behind with the rest of the unit.