024 Rookie Training 10 Final Exercise 3

Sorry for the wait. Here’s the revised version.

Apologies to those who read the previous draft—sorry for the extra work.

I like to think it’s at least a little better now.

When Commander Shiina declared the defense exercise a failure, Ooi—yeah, no more honorifics now—began the ugly blame game.

“Akira! Why didn’t you intercept enemy Battleship Four!”

“Huh? You told me not to interfere with command, then ordered me to intercept Battleship Three!”

‘That’s true. Akira followed Ooi’s orders. The failure resulted from the order—Ooi should be held accountable.’

“Gah… So you’re saying Akira could’ve done a better job than you?”

Commander Shiina steps in with a solution to Ooi’s absurd logic.

‘Then let’s run the exercise again under Akira’s command.

Same conditions—defense combat.

But the enemy fleet’s numbers, capabilities, and tactical objectives won’t necessarily be the same.

Think of it as a different day’s attack.

Alright, exercise begins. Ooi, you follow Akira’s orders—no exceptions!

Repeating the exercise.

The enemy fleet advances: three ships, charging straight ahead.

Since it’s an exercise, here’s the diagram.

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Our defensive positions look like this.

Ooi’s ship, Tanpopo’s ship, and Kiry’s ship—aligned in three horizontal rows.

Akira’s ship, Forest’s ship, and Ayame’s ship were positioned in three horizontal rows to the lower left.

First, long-range fire from beyond enemy range.

"Tanpopo, target enemy flagship one. Kiry, target enemy flagship two. Railgun strike—damage their barriers.

Three, two, one—fire!"

Long-range Railgun fire accumulated damage on enemy flagships one and two, disrupting their formation.

"Tanpopo, cease fire. Fall back to the asteroid field behind.

Ayame and Forest—charge enemy flagships one and two. Finish them with beams!"

Forest’s ship and Ayame’s ship surged forward.

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Akira▲□□□□□□

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"Oi, missile launch prep. Ten rounds on enemy three. Three, two, one—fire it all in!"

Missiles from the Ooi ship swarmed the enemy third flagship, diving in from the blind spot of the counter-laser fire.

At almost the same time, Forest's ship and Ayame's ship charged the enemy one and two—supporting beams from the lasers already locked on.

Beams from Forest's and Ayame's ships destroyed the enemy one and two.

The enemy third flagship sank under a saturation missile barrage.

At the same moment, the enemy second fleet surged forward.

The enemy second fleet focused their beams directly on Ayame's ship.

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"Ayame, evade while pinning down the enemy second fleet right here."

"Forest, I'll intercept the second fleet. Maximum combat speed!"

"Tanpopo, Carrie—use the firing correction device to detect gravity waves! Find the moving target!"

Akira and the Forest Fleet launched out toward the enemy Second Fleet, appearing in the unguarded defense zone to the right.

Ayame’s ship barely dodged the enemy Second Fleet’s beam attacks, but still took heavy damage.

If we don’t hurry, Ayame’s ship is in real danger.

“Got it! Enemy Fleet #7, nine o’clock from Akira!” Tanpopo.

“Enemy Fleet #8, three o’clock from Akira! He’s breaking through!” Carrie.

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Got it. Enemy ships breaking through the shielding field was expected—what wasn’t was them coming in from behind the enemy fleet’s rear guard.

Fleet #7 was on the expected path. But Fleet #8, leading the charge, was a complete unknown.

And now the enemy’s second fleet is targeting Ayame’s ship, forcing our forward three to push too far ahead.

If I fall back now, Ayame’s ship is toast.

But if the enemy breaks through our final defensive line, it’s a tactical failure.

Once their ships get station data and send high-speed comms—game over. Their plan’s already won.

Even if we lose every ship, it’s still a loss.

“Oi, intercept enemy vessel seven—launch missiles. Keep detonating them just ahead of predicted position. Tanpopo, prepare fire. Open up the second their shield drops!

Enemy eight is yours, Kiry. Sorry about that.”

I took over the rescue of Ayame’s ship.

The Forest vessel sliced in front of Ayame’s, unleashing a deluge of beams at enemy four.

Classy, huh.

I fired my railgun at enemy six.

Oi’s missiles exploded right in front of enemy seven. A transparent ship pierced through the fireball.

Tanpopo predicted enemy position through gravitational wave distortions and fired the railgun.

Enemy seven’s shield went down.

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As soon as the enemy seven appeared, Tanpopo's railgun opened fire!

The enemy seven fired a beam attack at the Ooi ship on the way past.

The enemy seven couldn’t withstand the railgun barrage and was destroyed.

The beam clash between the Forest ship and the enemy four ended with the Forest ship victorious—enemy four was crippled.

Enemy six also faced off against Akira’s ship in a beam duel and was destroyed.

At that moment, Ayame’s ship accelerated, ramming straight into enemy five.

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Ayame's ship mounted an Anti-Ship Blade on its right arm. The blade’s edge shimmered with beam-light.

Moving at full speed, it swept past the enemy’s fifth battleship—splitting the hull cleanly in two.

At that moment, the Kiry ship unleashed a barrage of Railguns, destroying the enemy’s eighth battleship.

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"Tanpopo, Kiry's using the fire control system to detect gravity waves. Search for surviving ships!

I, Forest, and Ayame will shift to rearward retreat, then assume forward watch."

"「Huh! (……!)」"

At that moment, Tanpopo's scream pierced the air.

"Enemy ship, almost directly beneath Akira!"

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Two stealth ships drawing us in—real attack comes straight through the center.

They exploited the weakness of our targeting systems: narrow detection range.

And sneaking in beneath me... like that?

Can’t target with any weapon. My ship’s in the way—can’t even shoot from allies.

No time to hesitate. I rammed our ship into the enemy vessel.

Pulled away. Target disabled. Finished them off with missiles.

Held alert for a while. No response from the enemy ship.

“Alright, defensive combat concluded,” I declared the end.

‘Everyone, good work. That wraps up the final drill.’

We exited the simulated CIC and took our seats in the classroom.

Commander Shiina gave us her lecture.

“Of course, the response to this drill differs between before and after learning about stealth ships.

You’re acting with foreknowledge of the answer, after all.

Akira—using the targeting correction device to pierce the shielding field? Masterful command.

But rescuing Ayame? That’s where opinions diverge on your qualifications as commander.”

If success is the priority, then that place is a loss we have to accept.

A commander will inevitably face moments like this from now on.

Saving a comrade might mean sacrificing others.

That’s what makes a commander—keeping a cool head in those moments.

But personally, I don’t mind Akira’s choice.

“Carrie, you’ve got good hands. Akira’s life was basically saved by your skill.

I think everyone followed your lead and the fleet functioned as a unit.

There are things no single ship could do alone—but together, as a fleet, they’re possible.

Functioning as a fleet will be a crucial goal for all of us moving forward.

With that in mind, I’ll end this beginner’s briefing. You’ve all earned it.”

““““““Thank you so much!””””””

Our beginner’s training ended meaningfully.

(Just as long as I don’t get on Ooi’s bad side…)

Next time: diving into the idol arc.

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