03 Operation to Recover the Main Ship 3
"Is the communication line established?"
"Not yet! The distribution of decoy drones is below expectations. It won't work unless they spread further toward the fleet..."
The operation was identical in method to one Jin had conducted before, to aid trainees.
Drones released as decoys to support the assault frame unit's insertion.
They were not merely decoys—these drones also functioned as communication relays.
Scattered in large numbers, they drifted steadily toward the fleet without decelerating in the vacuum of space.
The only unexpected factor was the Second Fleet's superior performance.
At the onset of combat, radar-dependent exchanges were nearly impossible to hit unless fortune favored the shooter.
A slight deviation in barrel angle resulted in significant drift over tens of kilometers—inevitable.
The hit rate should have been low. Yet the Second Fleet maintained a rate above standard.
The result was a reduction in drone numbers beyond initial estimates.
Once the enemy realized they were decoys, they would no longer expend effort destroying them.
Conversely, if the enemy detected communication attempts via drones, they would be shot down systematically.
Thus, the remaining drones were treated as having completed their purpose—now drifting without orbital correction.
The plan to compensate for wasted motion through sheer quantity had already collapsed.
For the commanding officer, the captain, this was a point of strategic consideration.
Wait passively until communication established itself naturally.
Or risk detection and activate the drones deliberately.
The situation deteriorated by the minute.
The original number and quality were already inferior.
Once it became clear the enemy fleet outnumbered them seven to one, the only option had been to attempt a pincer maneuver.
……Change drone trajectories! Secure communications swiftly and coordinate with the remaining vessels of the Third Fleet!
At the command, the drones surged into motion.
No longer serving as decoys, they now activated as relay units.
To any observer, the purpose was clear—establishing communication.
Speed now dictated the outcome.
Could the Second Fleet destroy the drones before losing contact?
Could the Third Fleet’s distress signal reach reinforcements?
Signal received from Ship One!
Activate Defense Command Headquarters!
Understood… No good! Communications are blocked!
The link to Ship One was established.
Beyond that point, it failed.
The Second Fleet understood.
Coordinating with the remaining vessels would make even their own situation untenable.
Therefore, communication with that location was sealed off first. Likely physically.
The residual fleet believes the report from the Second Fleet—that the extermination fleet was annihilated.
If that premise collapses, movement is inevitable.
Which is why only external communication was severed.
As long as internal communication remains intact, the command center will not detect anything abnormal.
Saying the Second Fleet handles all external matters leaves the weaker Third Fleet with no choice.
"Call in other military facilities! Anywhere! Relay our condition!"
Jin saw the movements of those drones as well.
Recharged one reactor—did not remove the limiter.
Only one enemy unit was destroyed in the opening phase, after exhausting a single reactor.
Continuing at that pace would see us destroyed first.
That leaves Jin with only one option: buy time.
Surviving with that awareness is not easy. Yet there is nothing left to do but proceed, if final victory is to be seized.
The communication line is established.
Now it is time to protect it.
A rogue unit among the griffons attempts to target the drone—Jin intercepts, disrupting the attack.
Jin’s movements make it harder for the enemy to aim at the drone, but not impossible.
Sporadic strikes bring the drone down.
"Each unit! Target the ones aiming at the drone! They’re vulnerable when focused—easy to take out!"
The moment of final pursuit is the most exposed.
It applies to friend and foe alike.
Casualties on the Third Fleet side are nearing a point that can no longer be ignored.
A griffon slices in from ahead.
Jin does not meet the blade’s path head-on. He deflects it.
The griffon possesses high thrust, but when its momentum is diverted, a gap appears.
The forward-leaning unit takes a piercing shot from behind, another aircraft down.
In response, the Third Fleet’s Raven loses one more unit.
A brief hesitation. Then Jin sends a transmission toward Ship 1.
Not a military channel. His personal mobile phone.
Whether it would connect was a gamble.
That gamble—came out in his favor.
‘Hello?’
‘Give me your strength.’
He conveys the current situation, close at hand.
◆ ◆ ◆
Staring at the phone call, abruptly cut off mid-sentence, conveying a remarkably simple status update.
Jake lets out a wry smile. Good thing his wife is on leave, he thinks.
She would’ve absolutely forbidden something so dangerous.
‘Jake-san. What’s wrong?’
Since the incident with that ASID, the training school had been suspended. And yet, thinking of Mio—vanished without a trace—Shu couldn’t stay still.
Perhaps she’d be here, he thought. That’s why he came to Jake’s shop.
Today is Mio’s birthday.
Perhaps she might be here.
That was the thought that crossed his mind.
May, too, has left her son Kō with his family and come here.
“First, good news. I’ve made contact with Jin.”
“Oh? Instructor, you’re safe… and what about ours?”
“…Sorry, I couldn’t confirm that. But it seems something quite serious is happening above our heads.”
Jake delivered the essentials concisely.
The betrayal of the Second Fleet.
Requesting coordination with the Third Fleet’s command to finalize the remaining fleets and initiate the deployment of the residual forces.
Even Jin, despite his usual precision, omitted any mention of time leaps in this urgent situation—there was no time to explain.
To bring it up would only distract attention, and worst of all, the explanation might be interrupted mid-sentence, severing communication entirely.
I’ll go to the military headquarters now and relay the information.
Wouldn’t a single phone call be enough?
Look for yourself. We’re completely out of range.
Jake’s phone showed no signal.
May stared at her own phone after seeing the display on his left palm.
…This is real. So all communication within the ship has been blocked?
Could that be it? Jake, did you receive a call from Mr. Higashi earlier?
Shou tilted his head and asked that.
No other explanation came to mind.
Probably. They detected the connection and severed it. Then they cut off all internal ship communications to prevent any contact.
If that’s the case, someone inside the ship should have noticed by now.
Yet not a single alarm sounds.
That lack of alert only emphasizes the abnormality.
Then I’ll go.
The hyperloop is also inactive.
Seems intent on severing communications and logistics alike.
All that remains of Jake is his own feet.
Seeing this, May stops him.
"…Jake-san, stay. Let’s go to the training academy."
"Even you, sister. What for…?"
"Right. The academy has a dedicated line to headquarters. They likely haven’t reached that far yet."
"Besides, there’s a training Leopard available. We can’t predict what’ll happen. Just in case."
May says "just in case," yet her tone suggests she anticipates trouble.
"Think they’d go that far?"
"From the Second Fleet’s standpoint, information封锁 is a matter of survival. They’d do anything."
"I’m going too! I can pilot a Leopard just as well!"
"What are you saying, rookie?"
You know I’m the strongest among this year’s recruits, sister. And I heard you sisters had real combat experience around this age too.
...You're just following along.
May thought that no matter how strongly she refused here, she would not be listened to, so she allowed only accompaniment.
They broke into a run toward the training academy—.
May fell behind quickly, and in the end, the guard ended up carrying her while running.
"Is your stamina really that weak?!"
You've grown quite sturdy... Incidentally, Mio and I weigh about the same, so if I can carry her, Mio can be carried too.
We don't need that information right now! But thanks!
Not the sort of information one would expect to hear in such an emergency, but potentially useful to know.
Shu shouts a salute as he continues running.
May burst into the training academy, drenched in sweat, gathering the few remaining instructors and repeating the explanation she had just received from Jake.
Doubt was widespread, but in the end, it was the oldest—now the eldest—Instructor, Jin’s mentor, who convinced the others.
“If this is false, I take full responsibility. If it is true, the Third Fleet stands on the brink of being conquered by the Second Fleet. Move.”