20 The Day of the Assault
"Now, you are about to launch. There is one thing I must inform you of."
Final briefing just before departure.
At that table, Jin spoke.
"Tonight's dinner in the dormitory... barbecue."
A murmur spreads through the room.
Even in the Third Fleet, where cube food dominates, outdoor barbecue remains popular.
Jin believes this one thing cannot be substituted by cube food.
"Moreover, this time it's all-you-can-eat."
The noise grows louder.
As guardians of the fleet, soldiers receive food rations first.
Still, lately it's been only minimal cube food, and the young men in their prime have grown frustrated.
Jin, who claims three meals of cube food a day are fine, is an odd one.
Now, all-you-can-eat barbecue appears.
Morale soars.
Jin had prepared various measures before sending the trainees off.
But more than that, how to prevent morale from dropping further.
The answer lies here.
It’s worth the risk, Jin thinks, seeing them so delighted.
“Nothing should go wrong. All of you come back safe.”
The first part is a wish, almost a prayer.
The second is a prayer.
Not a single one missing. All of them returning here, intact.
Receiving those words, all units launch.
“I’m utterly exhausted… Lieutenant, will I be eligible for that all-you-can-eat too?”
“…Eventually.”
The sergeant’s urgent push, unreasonable as ever.
Jin answers, eyes averted.
He avoids looking at the maintenance technician beside him, fiddling with the voice recorder.
The first two hours passed peacefully.
First real flight.
A minor incident nearly disrupted formation due to tension, but otherwise, patrols continued without issue.
Two more hours like this.
Jin clenches his fist.
His wish is betrayed.
"Spatial vibration detected. Count... one hundred, two hundred... still increasing!"
At the command post attached to the training academy.
The communications officer reads aloud the transferred data and shrieks.
The number is beyond Jin’s expectations.
Even when he stood on the front lines, such a massive ASID assault had never occurred.
Inside the alert perimeter.
Overlight—coarse, imprecise, yet capable of such precise transit.
Beyond all expectations.
Scramble is initiated, but the enemy is one step, two steps ahead.
"Data match... humanoid!"
An order of magnitude greater than previous attacks.
"Surely not that all this time was just reconnaissance and diversion?"
All to mislead the fleet into believing this was merely another night-time assault.
Much about the ASID's ecology remains unknown.
Few considered this humanoid form to possess such behavioral patterns.
No one, least of all, imagined such a strategy.
As a result, the fleet was struck with perfect precision.
Timing could not have been worse.
Jin grumbles, “Not now—of all times, during a trainee’s patrol duty.”
“CP here. Temporary First Patrol Division Odd Squadron Commander. Numbers are too high. Immediate withdrawal.”
“Understood! All units, fall back immediately! Fighting head-on won’t work!”
Jin urges the squad leader, temporarily commanding fourth-years, to retreat.
The enemy likely knows this too.
A hurried voice responds.
“Where’s the escort fleet?”
"Flagship Gay Bolk and all vessels, emergency launch. Commencing defense line construction."
An unexpectedly swift response, given the surprise.
Yet the humanoid assault occurred only hours ago.
Most damage remains unrepaired, and resupply may not yet be complete.
"Training facility storage bays will function as temporary supply stations. Expedite preparations for maintenance crews!"
Few in this training facility have actual combat experience.
Jin is the closest to active duty.
Naturally, he issues orders to those around him.
"Additionally, damaged units may make emergency landings. Prepare fire suppression teams."
"Understood."
Whether this command post will directly transition into a temporary frontline command center depends solely on orders from the convoy command headquarters.
……Enemy cluster. Deploying. Appears intent on encircling the convoy.
The convoy's surrounding space zone displayed on the main monitor.
Red light points spread widely across the display.
Fortunately, they did not form a ring around the temporary first patrol detachment of the fourth-year cadets.
There was ample room to retreat.
If each of those points represented a humanoid ASID, their number approached a thousand.
Nearly equal to the total count of the convoy’s assault frames—Raven and Leopard combined.
The issue lay in the disparity of combat power.
Even the latest model, Raven, was outperformed in raw specifications.
Estimated average combat strength of the humanoid ASIDs. The ratio is said to be 1:3.
Meaning, three times the number would be needed to match them.
It would come down to how well the escort vessels could compensate for the gap.
—! Enemy etheric reaction increasing from rear lines! Incoming artillery!
Prepare for impact!
The warning was issued.
A jolt surged upward from beneath the feet.
The impact struck the convoy directly—understanding was immediate.
"Status of damage?"
"City blocks appear unaffected. Ether field of the main ship has been breached. Re-deploying!"
A humanoid ASID with a large cannon-like device was visible in the external feed.
Jin deduced this was the source of the current barrage.
"An Ether Cannon."
He named the weapon system capable of large-scale artillery fire, present among the convoy.
The fundamental principle was identical to that of the Ether Rifle.
Only the output was incomparable.
Where the rifle launched projectiles, the cannon was like a pillar being driven into the hull.
"We must suppress it first—otherwise the main ship will sink..."
The scale of destructive force was different. Equivalent to the main battlecruiser's primary battery.
The ether coating protecting the convoy had visibly destabilized from that single strike.
Breakthrough was only a matter of time if the attacks continued.
Naturally, the convoy’s escort fleet understood this.
The flagship accelerated toward that direction.
No impact reports from Ship Five.
Mio told herself she was safe.
“Captain Odd! Status of extraction!”
‘——’
No response.
Jin glanced at the communications officer, disbelief flashing through him.
“Response has ceased since the last barrage…”
“What about the trainees?”
“All units accounted for!”
One second passed before the reply came.
A heartbeat so loud it felt painful.
“Trainees! Can you hear me? Fall back immediately!”
No reply.
“Impossible. Wide-area communication jamming!”
Contact with the fourth-years was completely severed.
A unit isolated—commander down, severed from the main body.
The extent of their disarray was beyond measure.
“—Upload the final coordinates of the trainees to the integrated network with the distress call! We have no choice but to rely on the escort fleet!”
He placed his hope in the fleet currently accelerating toward them.
Even if rescue proved impossible, advancing the frontline might allow the isolated trainees to be withdrawn.
All Jin could do now was pray they remained unharmed.
A bitter awareness of dependence on others tightened in his chest.
“Third-years’ unit—!”
His gaze shifted to the other unit engaged in a separate patrol mission.
There was nothing more he could do for the fourth-years.
“Please wait… we are unharmed. We are deployed on the opposite side of the convoy.”
Jin nodded, confirming their safety.
“Stay in position. Transmit the coordinates. Assemble the unit.”
Understood. This is CP. Respond, Temporary Second Patrol Unit.
With the current deployment, the likelihood of third-years being drawn into combat is low.
Staring at the orbital map.
A debris field lies just beside the final verification point.
If the fourth-years can reach it—
…There should be an unmanned relay drone for communications, right?
Affirmative—but one glancing hit and it’s down. It won’t last long under these conditions.
Small in size, the drone lacks an Ether Reactor.
Any grazing strike on an Ether-powered weapon would result in immediate destruction.
Even briefly—just long enough to establish contact with the trainees.
He didn’t know how much weight his words carried.
Still, the trainees might find reassurance in knowing they weren’t entirely isolated.
Understood. Instruct the maintenance crew to prepare the drones.
I rely on you. Communication time is limited. We must devise a retreat strategy for them now.
Even if he cannot stand on the battlefield, Jin will not leave everything to others.
He gave his full effort to what could be done from behind the lines.