02 Notes on Facing the Queen

Typically, the fundamental tactic against an opponent with a high-output Reactor is saturation fire.

Even if individual weapons cannot penetrate the opponent’s coating or field.

Each hit consumes the opponent’s Ether.

Repeating this process allows exceeding the opponent’s Ether refinement rate, thereby breaking through defense.

Thus, Jin’s attempt to resolve the situation alone was, plainly, abnormal.

“Ether convergence… 300%”

Adjust the convergence rate of the Ether rifle manually.

The assault frame alone does not expect to defeat the Queen.

It is merely a distraction to buy time.

Time until the cruiser *Lia* completes Overlight.

Contact with the Queen during Overlight initiation results in the worst possible outcome.

The Queen will follow even to the destination of Overlight.

If that happens, there will be no place to run.

The cruiser’s ether reactor output requires one hour to complete the next Overlight.

"Come now, be a good girl and come here…"

The ether rifle, with its increased convergence rate, delivers a stimulus no stronger than poking with a toothpick.

It won’t cause injury, but it will be enough to draw attention.

‘Hey, hey, Ace-san!’

A voice protests the recklessness.

Taking down the Queen with a single assault frame, or launching a diversion—both are equally reckless.

"Leave the worms to me!"

The Queen slowly approaches Jin’s Raven—relatively speaking, of course.

At the moment of confirmation, the obsidian humanoid spins on its axis.

Thrusters across the frame flare with light.

The craft accelerates sharply, finding a narrow gap within the wormlike swarm and forcing its way through the encirclement.

The trajectory—unthinkable for an assault frame—represents the essence of Jin’s high-speed maneuvering.

No one can follow a movement that ignores inertia.

"Ghost, over here... wait."

It occurs to him—Mio and he have never played hide-and-seek.

Would she join if he asked?

At least not in a few years. He doubts she’d agree then.

"Enemy ether output... approximately 1,000 lammy."

Nearly identical to the previous Black Knight.

But this time the opponent is large.

As before, he can focus ether to penetrate the coating.

That is all.

An attack with such limited range inflicts no meaningful damage.

The sheer size alone makes it formidable.

And the ASID possesses regenerative capabilities.

The assault frame's nanoskin armor was developed using the ASID's regenerative capabilities.

Even a queen would recover completely from any wound that isn't fatal.

Naturally, the overall structure would sustain some degradation, and prolonged engagement would eventually reach a limit—but attempting this solo remains impractical.

What works in Jin's favor is that the opponent has only just awakened and has not yet fully accumulated ether within its frame.

That means, for now, gunfire is not a concern.

It was a relief to focus solely on guarding against attacks from its massive frame.

"Lieutenant Higashi! You've bought enough time. Return immediately!"

"Stop being ridiculous. I haven't even reached half yet."

"If you continue like this, you'll be left behind."

"Don't worry. I won't get in trouble for not returning. I'll make it back in time—exactly on schedule."

He might have to board by emergency entry, but if push comes to shove, Jin has a way to break away from the Queen and land safely.

No—calling it a strategy would be generous.

Simply removing the limiter on the Ether Reactor and channeling all available Ether into thrust.

With three times the usual Ether diverted to propulsion, he can achieve a burst speed that momentarily outpaces the Queen.

Timing is all that matters.

"Countdown, please."

The Rosario-class cruiser is massive.

A liaison vessel would complete an overlight in three minutes, but this is a cruiser—no such luxury.

Fifteen minutes on average.

He’ll need at least ten more minutes.

Tendrils extending from the Queen behind him.

They shoot out at terrifying speed, attempting to ensnare Jin’s Raven.

Withdraw the previous statement.

No gunfire—but long-range attacks are possible.

"Mode Canister"

Still facing forward, he bends his elbow backward. A movement that defies human anatomy, pointing the barrel behind him and firing carelessly.

A barrage of ether projectiles scattered in all directions.

They cannot possibly breach the Queen’s defense—but the sheer force of the frontal assault is enough to slow her momentum.

Further ahead. Standard-type units converge, blocking the path.

"General-type units... absent. Good."

Perhaps due to the recent division of nests.

The General-type ASIDs, normally tasked with guarding the Queen, do not exist here.

For Jin, the time to destroy a Standard-type or a General-type is nearly identical.

But the rate at which they fall differs.

If he does not reduce speed, he will pass the General-type before destroying it.

Jin allows a faint smile to form. The situation is not unfavorable.

He charges straight through the cluster blocking the path, without detouring.

At close range, Jin’s Raven crushes the worm-type unit beneath its frame, using the impact to accelerate.

The Raven leaps across the rock surface like a stone skipping—gaining further speed.

In contrast, Queen slows as her swarm forms a wall, reversing momentum.

‘Ah, looks like we’re okay.’

A voice, slightly relaxed, reaches Jin’s ears.

Given how effortlessly he’s outmaneuvering the enemy single-handedly, such a remark is understandable.

‘Yeah. Leave the front to me. The squadron will handle the ASID approaching from the ‘Rare’ side.’

‘Mostly already heading that way.’

Jin glances at the radar for a moment.

Ah. Indeed. The light points—ASID signatures—are converging behind him, one after another.

‘Then let’s keep it this way. Perfect.’

He deliberately reduces speed slightly, maintaining just enough distance to avoid losing the worm-type unit.

Without closing the gap or falling behind, the ASID units—lacking significant intelligence—continue chasing Jin.

"...They’re different from those others."

He recalls the battle against the humanoid unit from earlier.

This is how ASIDs are meant to fight.

A charge relying on numbers.

Occasional flanking maneuvers occur, but rarely.

They never feint like the humanoid did.

Put positively: they are always at full force.

Put negatively: they think nothing at all.

Precisely because of this, the humanoid’s anomaly stands out.

And so does its purpose.

What was the point of that attack?

If they haven’t come since, then the objective was fulfilled.

But what was it?

That is not Jin’s concern.

Still, it lingers.

The movements of that Black Knight.

It was not merely an animal.

There must be a logic to it.

The reason it targeted Mio.

That is what unsettles him.

Coincidence? Or something else?

"Wait—"

Thoughts cut short.

The number of things one can process while thinking is limited.

The worm-like unit that happened to charge in at the exact moment Jin’s focus wavered was kicked aside by Raven.

A momentary deflection of the ether coating.

Channeling ether at the instant of impact—this is the technique of hand-to-hand combat using an assault frame.

Only Jin and a handful of others in the Third Fleet can master it.

Then again, some say there are so few who even consider engaging in hand-to-hand combat with an assault frame in the first place.

Watching the scattered wreckage vanish behind, its acceleration abruptly ceased.

Another worm-like unit slowed by the collision was overtaken by the Queen, crushed, and joined the debris.

In the corner of Jin’s vision, a digital clock marked the seconds.

3.

2.

1.

An alarm resounds.

"Instructor! Time's up!"

The squad had already secured the cruiser *Rhea*.

Once Jin docks, the system will initiate Overlight and extract them from this orbit.

And now, between Jin’s Raven and the *Rhea*, there was no ASID.

"Code Triple Six. Release all ether reactor limiters!"

The Sergeant’s adjusted Raven endured the command.

The ether reactor’s output surged threefold instantly.

Channel all ether into the frame.

Jin reconfigured the机体 to release the rising internal pressure through a single point.

Align all thrusters in unison.

Close his mouth tightly, as if biting his tongue, and release the pressure.

"Gh—"

Air forced from his lungs under G-load.

Ten kilometers per second.

Nearly the same speed required to break free from the mother planet’s gravity.

Inertial control had reached its limit.

Raven maintains pressure, steering straight toward the cruiser.

One second later, the trajectory shifts visibly.

“!?”

Ace’s ability to glimpse a single moment in the future.

Even that is not infallible.

Especially when the cause leading to the outcome remains unknown, there is no way to respond.

No— even if the cause were known, could a response have been made?

At this speed, any action by Raven would immediately disrupt the center of mass, altering the trajectory.

The outcome was already sealed upon sight.

Something made contact with Raven.

Of considerable size.

Yet not strong enough to withstand Raven’s impact.

And it was invisible.

The reconnaissance unit from earlier.

Recalling that information, Jin acknowledges— the cruiser receding into the edge of his vision.

A swarm of ASIDs pursuing from behind.

If Jin were to turn now, the cruiser would latch onto him.

“Go!”

He could not risk the lives of three hundred crew members and trainees, or the escort squadron, for his own sake.

The cruiser that had vanished through overlight was erased from his mind.

Jin ran his tongue across his lips.

"...Now, what to do."

Alone, abandoned, Jin had to consider how he would survive.