01 Awakening

It awakens from a state of drowsiness.

Having been in hibernation for a long journey, it stirred its consciousness upon detecting the scent of high-quality prey.

How much time has passed, exactly.

One certainty remains: it is hungry now.

The offspring following it are also, collectively, hungry.

These two points are critical. A means to resolve this exists directly before it.

Thus it halts its slumber.

It shatters the shell it has crafted, aiming to consume the supreme prey.

Humans refer to this form as Queen-type.

◆ ◆ ◆

The nth collection mission.

The trainees have grown accustomed to the routine; attaching propulsion units now proceeds smoothly.

The asteroid relocation for this mission concludes the collection phase.

Currently, the mothership is sequentially extracting necessary materials from the transported asteroids, fabricating repair components for the colony vessels.

Once these are complete, the next phase will be repairing the fleet itself.

First, once material recovery from the asteroids is complete, the fleet will depart this region of space.

It is a journey through the gaps between star systems.

Not forgotten.

Knew such things existed, as a possibility.

But had never actually observed one.

A swarm of ASIDs.

Travelers moving through the gaps between star systems.

"What's this? Is this the rumored ace's daughter?"

"Ooh, cute kid. Doesn't look a bit like him though."

"Ooh, ooh. Got plenty of muscle."

Mio's call came in while they were chatting in the cruiser *Lia*'s standby room.

At first, he considered stepping away, but was overruled by the amused squad leaders and forced to stay connected.

"Father's been taking good care of me."

"Hahahaha! Such a well-mannered child!"

"Kind of serious. Might be a bad influence. Should I cut the connection?"

"Hey... you can't just cut Dad off like that."

A whistle of approval sounded from behind.

"When are you coming back, Dad?"

"Hard to say... no, probably a little longer."

"Really? You've been working nonstop lately."

Mio pouted, her expression clearly不满.

This was the first time she'd voiced such dissatisfaction. Jin felt a pang of guilt.

She must be under considerable stress.

"Seriously, is Mio or work more important?!"

"Of course Mio."

The whistling from behind grew louder.

It was truly a poor influence on Mio. Jin decided to leave the scene and return to his quarters—

"Dad, shiny!"

The alarm blared.

"This... this is..."

"Etheric response increasing."

"ASID?!"

The faces that moments ago had been mocking stiffened. They lunged toward the monitor in the corner of the command room.

"Direct hit?!"

The coordinates, impossible to believe, made Jin momentarily doubt the instruments' integrity.

Seeing the sudden switch to external feed, Jin fell silent.

The asteroid, supposedly drifting from the asteroid belt.

It was fractured.

Like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis.

Revealing its form, leaking etheric light through the cracks.

"Jin, sorry. Cutting it loose!"

『Ah, oto—』

A word half-formed, but now irrelevant.

The situation was approaching maximum catastrophe.

"Interstellar transit configuration. Heard rumors, but..."

"Not this level of mimicry. Damn it. The convoy’s proximity triggered the civilians. They woke up."

ASID had a social structure with a queen type at its apex.

Thus, a single group required no more than one queen.

Yet queens still produced new queens.

When such a situation arises, they are dispatched to a different star system, ensuring no overlap in habitable zones.

At that moment, the queen enters a state of dormancy, waiting quietly as a planet draws near.

This is precisely that scenario.

The queen was concealed among the asteroid belt.

Jin and the others mistook it for a resource-rich asteroid and went to the trouble of transporting it with the fleet.

Then, responding to the inhabitants of that world, the queen ASID awakened.

To consume the ecosystem—entirely, down to the Third Fleet.

"Assault Frame Unit. Emergency launch. Prevent the queen from attaching to the hull. This vessel will execute emergency overload."

In reality—this posed no significant threat to the fleet.

The queen had yet to consume a single planet. Barely more than a novice.

The size of the swarm was at the minimum class.

The Third Fleet, as it stands now—humanoid and deteriorating—could be eliminated without issue by even a single unit.

But this cruiser, *Rea*, is different.

To the fleet, it is merely a minor threat—but too formidable for a single vessel to confront.

They must retreat and regroup immediately—yet their position is unfavorable.

Too close to an asteroid’s orbit, only a few hundred meters away.

The queen, awakened and starving, will treat the *Rea*’s ether reactor as breakfast.

“Damn it. Hey, Instructor—help me out! We can’t handle this alone.”

“I’m on it!”

Under these circumstances, sending a trainee is not an option.

A solo operation—though, well within experience.

“We need to buy as much overlight time as possible.”

“Damn it. Facing the queen head-on—this is the first time.”

Even as he spoke lightly, the squad leader’s body trembled slightly.

Every other team member showed the same sign.

To them, Jin said, having faced the Queen before.

“It’s fine. I’m used to the Queen.”

“Y-yeah… impressive.”

A glance, tinged with hesitation, met him.

Not quite what Jin had expected… but the trembling had ceased.

“Count on me, Ace.”

“…Yeah.”

Yet inside, Jin murmured.

Defeating the Queen had only happened in the past two years—resulting from sacrificing everything after losing his command.

He ran a finger along the twisted ring slung from his neck.

Can I still fight like this?

A faint unease lingers.

Above all, this situation.

No matter how he tries, he cannot help but recall that day.

Buying time to escape from the sudden appearance of the ASID with an overlight maneuver.

Ah. Pretending strength, yet the one trembling most might be himself.

Jin acknowledges this, forcing a strained smile.

Thirteen Ravens drifting away from the cruiser.

And the swarm of ASID spilling out from the fractured asteroid.

"Main cannon firing. Evacuate from the firing line—Lieutenant Higashi! Evacuate! Evacuate!"

"Stay clear on my end! Don’t worry—just keep firing!"

Jin doesn’t have time for such leisurely talk. He surges forward.

As if proof of his words, he dodges the Ether Cannon—the cruiser’s main gun—with a movement as though eyes are fixed in the rear.

A gap torn through the swarm by the flow of ether.

He slips his unit into the opening.

First, the vanguard must be thinned out—or nothing will proceed.

As long as the entire swarm is attached to 'Raven,' the Overlight preparation time extends.

The ether rifle held in both hands. Below the muzzle, an ether dagger is mounted, configured as a bayonet.

A space entirely surrounded by enemies.

Complete encirclement—every shot finds its mark.

Is this a reckless act of self-sacrifice?

No.

This level of threat falls within acceptable risk parameters.

Most are familiar worm-type units.

Their bodies writhing, advancing toward Jin’s Raven.

"First one. Welcome."

They greet him as if inviting him in.

Even with eyes closed, a frontal target is easily hit.

The cycle from aiming to firing is unnaturally short.

Jin’s vision captures the scene one second ahead.

Since the target is already marked for destruction, there is no need to watch until the end.

A slight shift of the barrel—aiming at the next ASID.

All the while, advancing without pause, he slices through the thinner part of the enemy encirclement, circling behind their formation.

As if tearing them apart with protruding fangs.

Jin bites into the beast as a single herd, shredding it to pieces.

By this point, the others understand his intent.

"All units, fire in unison at point Alpha!"

The rupture Jin forcibly created within the formation.

The squadron, completely left behind, widens the tear.

Twelve Ether Rifles fire in unison, the barrage obliterating a sector.

"Unbelievable... is the ace insane? Didn't expect him to charge straight in like that!"

"Sorry about that. Next time, I'll give a warning before charging."

Jin continues dropping enemies one after another.

His speed surpasses that of the entire twelve-ship squadron.

Aiming steadily, Jin slices open an enemy who approached too recklessly, the ether dagger extending from beneath the barrel.

A sharp, incredulous glance pierces him—Jin has begun to synchronize aim and attack into a single motion.

"Here it comes!"

Jin's voice cuts through the momentary slack.

From the rear, a form of exceptional size pushes through the formation.

Queen Type.

It, shaped like a colossal queen ant, spreads its wings toward the cruiser *Lia*.