episode_0040

A total of 46 strategy battles.

It can be said that the Zodiac Union’s will toward the Ether Bus, the heart of the Creation Tree, is strong.

Someone will say this.

-If you tried it 46 times, wouldn’t it just not work?

Called.

The Zodiac Alliance is not stupid.

As the 12 mega-colonies formed an alliance, each colony must have had great tacticians come together to devise a strategy.

All those attacks were destroyed.

We will continue to launch numerous attacks in the future, but I am confident that all of them will not work and will all fail.

Why?

‘Everyone looks curious.’

Everyone seemed to be curious about the reason behind the failure of the 46th attack, to the point where everyone was casting glances at me for a moment.

I guess he thought I knew something-

“By any chance, Cloud, does anyone know anything?”

Actaeon, the representative of the Artemis Colony, was a woman with enough insight to notice that.

“I hope you know. This is only a matter of hypothesis.”

You can write it as a hypothesis and call it the truth.

“The area spread out by the red moon can be said to be a kind of ‘barrier’. And in order to break through that barrier, corresponding energy is needed.”

“…Are you saying that the firepower of the Zodiac Allied Forces is not enough to break through the Red Moon barrier?”

“Yes.”

The truth is a bit different, but how can you say that as it is?

“Despite having overwhelming firepower, are you saying it’s not enough?”

“Yes.”

The firepower will be sufficient.

No matter how infinite the power of the etheric bus, the etheric technology and military power that humanity has researched for about 200 years is enough to surpass, at least in part, the number of creations.

Even if part of it is mobilized, the firepower is meaningless unless it can directly affect the barrier.

“Not enough firepower.”

But how can I tell the story as it is?

Not only the Academy students but also the people of Artemis Colony could not be trusted.

“…Okay. It’s a shame. I thought you knew something.”

“Because I am in the position of an instructor, there is a lot of miscellany. So it seems like students have questions for me.”

Of course, my origins are confidential.

“As an instructor, I regret not being able to answer students’ questions, but that is my answer.”

Since we already know, it will only be a matter of time before it spreads, but at least we can recognize the signal to keep our mouths shut until it spreads clearly.

“…Yes. All right. Well, let me ask you all.”

Now that we know what’s going on with the colony, it’s time to get back to our problem.

“What would you do? To get from here to Starlight Colony, you will have to make at least three dimensional jumps, and the only resources we can provide are supplies to get to the warp gate where jumps are possible.”

“…….”

“From our perspective, it would be welcome if the young population in the colony increased, but we cannot force it. One week.”

Actaeon raised a finger.

“Please think calmly for a week and then come to a conclusion.”

one week.

The length of time we can stay in the colony has been determined.

“After a week, we will supply emergency relief supplies to you in accordance with the treaty, but we will also need to receive a certain amount for anything beyond that.”

“You are accepting it? What…?”

“Money.”

Actaeon made a blatant gesture.

“Whether it is credit, or human resources or technology. AS is also good.”

“Such…!”

“We are not philanthropists, and our food situation is not as good as other colonies over there. This is especially true when it comes to space preservation food.”

“…Aren’t we importing food separately?”

“Yes. The entire colony is self-sufficient with food produced from the agricultural sector. If I buy something I need, I go to a colony bigger than here once every two months and have the goods airlifted in bulk.”

“…….”

“The size of inter-colonial navigation ships is also small compared to your battleships.”

The students are embarrassed, but we are the ones who are disappointed.

“Thank you for accepting me like this.”

In the end, Captain Edmund stood up and settled the situation.

“Students and crew members should return to the flagship and rest in their private rooms. For detailed ‘negotiations’, let’s have Captain Bon…and Instructor ‘Aria’ join us.”

The captain looks at me.

Aria, who was suddenly brought to the negotiating table, calmly stands up and nods, but she looks slightly puzzled as to why she is taking her with her and not me.

‘also.’

Captain Edmund is also aware of this to some extent.

Even though Aria is an S-class pilot, she has little experience with the habits and practical problems of these rural colonies.

This is a place beyond the security power of the Zodiac Alliance.

in other words.

It’s a danger zone.

* * *

After a while.

While the flight attendants returned to their individual rooms to rest.

“Instructions to power on Android. As of the current time, be on level 2 alert until departure.”

I returned to the bridge, sat in the captain’s seat for a moment, and gave orders to the androids using some of the authority I had received from Captain Edmund.

“Hey, instructor…?”

Lavender, the only student who followed me to the bridge, spoke cautiously.

“Isn’t the level 2 alert…actually a alert to prepare for enemy attacks?”

“Shhh.”

I stretched my index finger over Lavender’s mouth, and she stopped talking.

“I’ll say it comfortably since no one is listening, but when traveling in space in the future, I need to pay close attention to the colony’s characteristics and condition.”

“…….”

Lavender took out the pad on her waist and nodded, activating the electronic pen.

Are you ready to take notes?

There is nothing bad.

“Emergency relief can be provided on a humanitarian basis in accordance with the treaty. But beyond that, negotiation is necessary.”

If you want to supply more resources than required by the treaty, it is natural to pay the corresponding price.

“There can be many aspects to this negotiation. There is a way to simply purchase with credits, and there is also a way to barter with the supplies we have. This is usually the case, but we have another option.”

Money purchase.

Barter.

“What do you think it is?”

“…Manpower provided?”

“Okay. We provide human resources such as android dolls, repair drones, and AS pilots. Temporarily.”

One way is to receive food by providing labor where they need it during the week they set a deadline for.

“By the way, we are from Starlight Colony.”

“Yes.”

“The colony is now occupied by the Creation Tree, and in fact, liberation is impossible unless the Creation Tree leaves on a whim.”

“…….”

“There are two possibilities for this instructor. Ah, just ignore this. It’s just paranoia caused by resentment and distrust of humanity.”

It is a bad prejudice that comes from experience.

“One is related to the Creation Tree, and within the past week, the Artemis Colony has reported us to the Zodiac Alliance as ‘Creation Tree-related’.”

“Si, report?”

“It’s a report, but it’s not that surprising. It’s just that in order for the 46th strategy to fail and the 47th strategy to succeed, we can mobilize a variable called ourselves.”

“Uh….”

Lavender tilted her head as if she didn’t understand, and I manipulated the panel to display a picture of Starlight Colony on the front display.

“As you can see, firepower cannot penetrate the red moon barrier. There are two ways to open the barrier. One can be opened by force from the outside, or the other can be opened from the other side.”

“Even if the former is impossible due to lack of firepower, is the latter possible?”

“Is it possible? Let’s mobilize ourselves to check the possibility.”

“…Ah!”

Lavender exclaimed.

I guess I realized it.

“If we get closer, the red moon might recognize us and lift the barrier?”

“Yes.”

I don’t know about other factors, but at least ‘me’ is certain.

‘no. ‘Maybe you don’t really care?’

If you think about it, you probably hate ‘that guy’ more than me, and it’s just like a bad relationship from the past.

Just because I appear, I don’t think they will open the barrier themselves and jump out.

If I did that, if it could save the people of the colony, I would do it…

“So, one way would be for them to report to the Zodiac Union and then dispatch something like a dimensional cruiser from the Zodiac Union to take us away.”

“Then we can safely return to the colony?”

“That’s right. Actually, that’s the most convenient way.”

Although there is a possibility that he may suffer from the Zodiac Alliance and engage in battle with the Red Moon.

“If this battleship cannot be loaded into the cruiser, only people and AS will be able to travel aboard the Zodiac Alliance cruiser.”

“So… Then, how does this happen?”

“Explode it or sell it as scrap.”

“Ugh….”

“At ease. The Zodiac Alliance’s cruiser will be much better equipped than this battleship. Since there’s a billiard room and a bar inside, it’s practically like a space city?”

In some cases, this may mean abandoning the battleship, but it is certain that you can return home comfortably.

“And the other case is troublesome, and this is the reason why this instructor was put on alert.”

“……Hey, can I guess?”

“Okay. What is it?”

“…….”

Lavender aimed the tip of the electronic pen at her neck and drew a horizontal line.

“…….”

I reached over to Lavender and stroked her hair.

“That’s the correct answer. 100 points.”

“Ah….”

Not the excitement of getting the answer right, but the frustration and anxiety of knowing that your guess was correct.

“The other one. There is a possibility that Artemis Colony will capture our warship and kill us.”

Like Space Mia, whose strings fell off.

“It is a fairly common story in human history for people to rob travelers in outlying areas where security is poor.”

If you kill me, that’s enough.