143 Imperial Civil War Chapter 1: Assault
Second episode of the day.
Quick aside.
side: Lusty System
Five Fortress Carriers warped out of hyperspace into the Lusty System—the home system of the Seventh Prince, Lorenzo.
An overwhelming force for a courtesy visit.
Ships launched one after another from the Fortress Carriers. Clearly hostile actions.
With that, the unidentified fleet was classified as enemy.
But the Seventh Prince’s territory had its main forces deployed on a campaign to stop the Naihume invasion.
Fortress Satellites existed for defense, but the disparity in strength was obvious.
Laughter echoed from the Seventh Prince’s territory as it sent out a distress signal—energy began charging in the Fortress Cannons mounted on the Fortress Carriers.
The target was the sole defensive force—the Fortress Satellite. Five Fortress Cannons were already in firing position, aimed at it.
The Fortress Satellite in the Seventh Prince’s territory was also charging energy into its single Fortress Cannon.
But at the very instant the Fortress Cannon was about to fire, the enemy Fortress Ship suffered a system failure and began releasing the stored energy from its Fortress Cannons.
The enemy fleet—two million ships of unknown affiliation—launched their operation toward the bewildered Seventh Prince’s Defense Force.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
ｓｉｄｅ：Akira
I was sitting in the Elysion System Lord’s Office, utterly stunned.
Because information had just come in from the Seventh Prince’s territory.
“Hmm. Did they not anticipate this situation at all?”
I received a distress call from the Seventh Prince’s territory and locked the master key of the fortress ship stationed there.
It was the fortress ship granted to the Fifth Prince, Leonardo.
"So... the one attacking the Seventh Prince’s territory is Leonardo, the Fifth Prince.
Why the hell would he do that?"
This was a contingency plan we devised together with the Emperor’s Proxy—Kyle—when distributing fortress ships across star systems to prevent rebellions.
Even after the Emperor emerged from the medical capsule, this measure was formally ratified and became an official imperial policy.
The fortress ship was manufactured in Akira’s domain, and the Emperor had officially granted Akira the authority to lock the master key.
The Emperor himself and Kyle—the First Prince—also held the same authority.
"So Lorenzo (the Seventh Prince) can’t move because of the Neahyume situation...
That’s what he’s counting on, I guess—but is Leonardo (the Fifth Prince) an idiot?
His own star system’s being threatened by Neahyume, isn’t it?
I couldn’t figure out Leonardo’s real intentions.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
ｓｉｄｅ：Leonardo
Leonardo’s (Fifth Prince’s) fleet had been trapped aboard the fortress ship, except for the two hundred thousand pre-emptive suppression vessels that had launched from it.
“Hey! What the hell’s going on!?”
Leonardo grabbed a nearby staff officer by the collar in the fortress ship’s command center, shouting.
The officer’s face turned pale, flustered.
“Most likely… the fortress ship’s functions have been locked by the Master Key.”
“What!?”
“Guh—!”
Leonardo’s fury made the staff officer shrink even further, his face pale.
Like he was trying to say it wasn’t his fault, the officer kept talking.
“This fortress ship was loaned by Her Majesty. The Master Key’s likely under her direct control.”
“Huh? So what’s your point?”
“In other words, the fortress ship has operational restrictions—designed to shut down under certain conditions.
Maybe so it can’t attack allies, for instance.”
“Damn it… you’re serious about this. Then break the damn doors open and get the ships in storage moving!”
If the fortress ship’s functions were frozen, escaping back would require seizing the Dimensional Jump Gate.
Which meant getting every ship locked in storage off the ground—no excuses.
The aide thought, and issued orders in place of his lord.
"Evacuation prep. Seize the Dimensional Jump Gate—quickly. Force all ships out of their storage bays."
At that moment, the aide took a brutal blow to the head and was sent flying through the air, crashing onto the floor.
Leonardo’s roundhouse kick.
"Idiot! Who said retreat?! It's not over yet. We’re taking the star system hostage!"
"Forgive me!"
The aide apologized, blood streaming from his forehead.
'Hey, you bastards in the Lusty system! If you shoot at us, we’ll bomb your primary planet. Got it? Do it right.'
The Fortress Cannon on the fortress satellite fell silent.
This guy wasn’t sane.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
ｓｉｄｅ：Akira
"Thought I'd see a full-scale invasion relying on a fortress ship, and now I find out Leonardo—the Fifth Prince—is this stupid...?"
I was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Even after losing control of the fortress ship, surrendering the Fortress Cannon—a decisive offensive weapon—and the ability to dimension-hop (warp)—a crucial mobility advantage—Leonardo (Fifth Prince) didn’t retreat. He stayed behind, holding the system’s inhabitants hostage.
"Should’ve pulled back to our home system and gone on the defensive... can’t fathom the thinking of a doom-bringer like this."
Still, I couldn’t recall Lorenzo (Seventh Prince), who was mid-engagement with the Naihyūm, back to the fold.
Best to call in reinforcements from the Imperial regular forces.
The Emperor and Kyle (First Prince) would’ve anticipated this.
I decided to keep in contact with Kyle (First Prince) and monitor the situation from here.
“Oh, so the regular army’s actually gone out after all. That should wrap up this boring civil war, then.”
At that moment, I had no idea I was completely misjudging the man known as Leonardo (Fifth Prince).
Rating, bookmark, thank you. Really motivates me.
Thanks for the feedback. Sorry I couldn’t reply sooner.
Added and revised parts that were lacking in description.