31 Resistance Operation
——Twenty days prior.
"The Second Fleet's objective was the reactor of the colossal species we destroyed."
With certainty, Jin declares this on the bridge of the Lombardia-class battleship.
The captain, expression thoughtful, asks in a measured tone, careful not to provoke.
"What evidence supports that? Certainly, that reactor would be valuable... but not worth provoking inter-fleet war over."
A few aboard the bridge nod in agreement.
Among them, the assault frame unit commanders who landed alongside Jin.
"Rather, it makes more sense that the Second Fleet targeted us right after we exhausted ourselves fighting the colossal species—aiming to fully subjugate the Third Fleet."
"Indeed."
"There's no other plausible objective."
Agreement murmurs rise in response to the squadron commander’s words—aimed at maximizing surprise effect.
Jin waits until the murmurs subside.
“If we assume that, what happens next? The First and Fourth Fleets’ defense forces will eventually notice this situation and crush the Second Fleet.”
“…Then either the two surviving fleets destroy each other in power struggles, or they continue the journey with half their strength.”
“In either case, the Second Fleet is finished.”
Yes. Ultimately, the Second Fleet cannot survive once it has committed such an act.
The remaining option is whether to defeat the联合 fleet of the First and Fourth Fleets.
That is not impossible.
If the Third Fleet’s defense forces can be concealed long enough, the Second Fleet may still pick them off one by one.
Still, it remains a gamble.
Other fleets have also begun to take notice of the colossal species.
The destruction of the Third Fleet was expected. Yet the disappearance of the colossal species is unnatural.
A third party—intervention by the Second Fleet—begins to emerge.
Thus, this situation will not last long.
There is no need for the injured to push themselves.
Waiting here for a time may be inconvenient, but someone will resolve it eventually.
Yet—Jin has his reasons for not doing so.
Should he speak?
Jin hesitates.
Honestly, the hypothesis that flashed through his mind at that moment lacks the certainty it once held.
Logically, it seems possible.
Jin thought he wanted to speak with Sharon.
She would surely know whether his current thoughts were correct.
At the very least, she might confirm whether it was feasible or not.
"Do you know how those called Aces see the future?"
After much deliberation, Jin spoke.
She couldn’t think of any other way to convince the others.
“Um… something like seeing one second ahead?”
The phrase dissolved in the other’s mouth.
Among these people, only Jin could be called a true Ace.
Even so, it wouldn’t come to mind easily.
“This is something I heard from a contact—”
Jin began, then explained the ether communication logic he had learned from Sharon.
High-purity ether could transmit information backward through time.
The Aces were receiving ether communications from the future.
“Ah. I’ve heard that theory somewhere before.”
“Me too. But what’s the point?”
The words seemed entirely unrelated. Everyone raised questions.
“…The footage from the super-sized model Processor Two.”
The numbering reflected the order of discovery, hence the ‘Two’.
But Jin was certain this was the main processor of that entity.
“This initial cocoon-like state. I’ve seen this before.”
“Really?”
“Where? During the Queen’s destruction?”
“No. It was attached to the exterior hull of Ship One.”
Unfortunately, footage from that time is not available here.
Perhaps it was a misidentification.
To suppress that doubt, Jin deliberately projected unwavering confidence.
“Immediately after discovery, the Second Fleet arrived and confiscated it. When I asked about it, they pointed a weapon at me. Eight years ago.”
“…The Second Fleet.”
“If this were the Queen’s processor… what difference does it make?”
The moment had come.
If he couldn’t make them believe the following, he couldn’t move them.
"There is another hypothesis regarding the ether communication to the past. With sufficiently pure, high-output ether, one could reach further back in time."
His gaze pierced Jin.
It was not, by any stretch, a favorable look.
Still, Jin spoke without hesitation.
"And they obtained one of the Queen’s processors. They acquired a high-output ether reactor. That means—"
"—Captain Tozawa. So that’s what you’re getting at, right? The Second Fleet—"
The captain wiped sweat from his brow, choosing his words with even greater care than before.
He struggled to soften the statement, but another man, impatient, cut in sharply.
"You’re trying to say they’re building a time machine, aren’t you?"
"...Yes."
The nod split the air into fragments.
Eyes questioning sanity.
Eyes mixed with disbelief and ridicule.
And then, the incredulous stare—sharp, cutting.
“Are you mad, Ace? Not the time for fairy tales like that.”
“Unfortunately, I am not.”
“Is that so? You seem to have lost your composure since losing your副官 after nearly five years.”
“Too far-fetched. You’re beginning to sound like a conspiracy theorist.”
“Even so, a time machine?”
“But if that were the objective, then reckless actions would make sense. If everything could simply be erased—”
The bridge falls silent.
Only the hum of machinery echoes through the stillness.
“Harold Byron of the Second Fleet claims it’s theoretically possible. He’s presented these ideas in several lectures.”
“…Even here, the Second Fleet?”
“Another thing. That was eight years ago. The incident on Planet Merce, where a Queen was discovered due to an oversight in the survey.”
“That time, too, the Second Fleet overlooked it—then intervened, didn’t they?”
“I did hear, when I first learned of that odd incident—”
The Second Fleet’s inexplicable actions.
Those were the details Jin had gathered with Shirley.
Ironically, the same sense of dread that Mio would later feel in the future.
Jin’s scattered notes began to align into a line.
One piece of information he deliberately withheld.
That one, he could not speak.
That one, he wished with every fiber of his being was merely a mistake.
That his daughter was not human. How much pain Mio would endure if she knew.
“What if… suppose time travel became possible. What would happen to us then?”
“Impossible to say. Pure speculation, but likely we’d alter the past without realizing it—unaware, we’d simply exist within the new flow.”
At least, Jin had never felt the presence of an alternate self, the kind that might have existed had he changed even a single second of the future.
From Jin’s perspective, time had always been a single path.
“The Second Fleet’s intentions with time travel—what they might do with it—I don’t know—but it won’t be good for us.”
He lied.
At least the Second Fleet believed they acted for humanity.
But if Jin’s hypothesis was correct.
If the final element, deliberately concealed, was truly Mio.
Then this plan must not be allowed to proceed.
Yet Jin alone could do nothing.
He had no choice but to involve the people present.
“They can rewrite the past however they please, and we won’t even realize it. That’s the universe we’re facing. No thank you.”
For that reason—deceive them.
For selfish reasons, cast them once more into the battlefield, into the alley of human conflict, the arena of struggle.
“We must expel those occupying the Third Fleet and seize the assets they require. If we do not—there is no guarantee our existence will remain intact by the next moment.”
Deliberately stoking unease.
Whether such a course is even possible remains uncertain.
The possibility exists. Regardless of motive, if we are erased from the past—there would be nothing we could do.
“—Our vessel suffers severe damage. Immediate military action is unlikely. Moreover, a single ship is insufficient.”
The captain’s words.
Jin clenches his fist faintly, sensing the debate shift from whether to act to how.
“Broadcast rendezvous coordinates to the surrounding space. Then deploy landing craft to the fourth planet in this system. Begin resource acquisition and repairs to the ship and its aircraft.”
“Captain. Do you truly believe this plan?”
"Half, perhaps. Even setting aside the current discussion—these people who have committed such cruelty are occupying our homeland unjustly. That alone should be cause for concern."
Saying this, he established this location as the base for gathering the forces.
All of it to expel the Second Fleet occupying the Third Fleet and thwart their designs.