The current time was two hours before the operation codenamed Daybreak.
"The United Nations fleet has begun entering the bombardment zone."
"Our fleet is also in the designated waters."
"The orbital bombardment force will all arrive in the designated area in one hour."
Inside an operations command room, liaison officers were reporting the status of each force one after another.
Several large screens displayed the movements of the combined fleet.
On the sea, hundreds of warships were cutting through the waves as they advanced toward the operation's target, Sado Island. Some reconnaissance units had already taken off from TSF carriers in advance to provide the fleet's assault with more detailed intelligence.
Apart from the surface fleet, there were also submarine carriers beneath the water, each carrying fully armed TSFs.
Under cover of the surface fleet's bombardment, the submarine carriers would approach the coast in one push, allowing the land-based TSFs to make landfall.
The orbital bombardment force in space was also on the move. Some of them were already nearly above Sado Island.
To avoid being detected and shot down by Heavy Laser-class BETA, they were maintaining a sufficient safe distance from the atmosphere.
Aside from the bombardment force, there was also an airborne force.
"Combat personnel in Area A have completed assembly and will depart in ten minutes!"
"Clear a flight path for the XG-70b Susanoo II!"
The war fortress, more than 119 meters tall, was hovering above the ground by antigravity. It was now crossing the coast and moving out over the sea, slowly approaching Sado Island.
After receiving the order, the TSF carriers ahead began separating to either side.
"Valkyrie Squadron Two, reminder repeated. Please maintain a distance of at least ten meters from the XG-70b Susanoo II to avoid being caught in the Rutherford Field!"
"Understood!"
A total of six TSFs flew alongside the XG-70b Susanoo II, three on each side.
Inside the cockpit of the XG-70b Susanoo II, an extremely spacious cockpit, there were currently three people.
On the two-person pilot seat, sitting in front was a young silver-haired girl holding a rabbit plushie in both arms.
Behind the silver-haired girl sat the true pilot, Jinguuji Marimo.
At noon, she had been sent back to the mainland.
Marimo looked toward the person sitting beside them, who had brought in her own chair: Kouzuki Yuuko. Her brows shifted slightly. She wanted to advise Yuuko again that there was no need for her to personally take this risk.
But after parting her lips, she gave up.
After knowing Yuuko for so long, she understood what kind of personality she had.
Still, she truly had not expected Yuuko to board this machine as well.
One explanation was that by personally boarding the XG-70b Susanoo II, she was proving her confidence in it to certain people.
Hm? A transmission was requesting access.
Connect.
"Deputy Commander Kouzuki, there is truly no need for you to personally take this risk."
On the screen was a middle-aged man in a suit and bowler hat. His identity was Yoroi Sakon, director of the Ministry of Imperial Intelligence's Foreign Affairs Section Two.
"You are saying that a little too late. We have already put to sea. Surely you do not expect us to stop now?"
"We can stop!"
From Yoroi's perspective, Kouzuki Yuuko was important enough to justify a delay. The operation could be postponed.
He had not expected that this woman, aside from her research ability, would possess such terrifying talent in politics as well.
When she had approached him and laid out her plan, he had seen hope for the nation.
The current system of this nation was terribly deformed. He wanted reform, but he needed sufficient power.
And Kouzuki Yuuko's intellect was frightening enough to delight even him.
"Sorry, but stopping is not an option for me. Just wait for the good news. Also, speed up our plan. Do not drag your feet. We need power that belongs to us."
"Very well. I will do it as quickly as possible."
The transmission ended.
Just as Marimo was about to ask something, another transmission came in.
The caller was Tsukuyomi Mana, a member of the Imperial Royal Guard's 19th Independent Guard Unit.
She was also the personal guard of Shogun Yuuhi Koubuin, and she was participating in this operation as well.
Shogun Yuuhi Koubuin appeared to be the true ruler of the Empire, but in reality, she was currently little more than a figurehead.
The main reason was that she was about the same age as Takamura Yui, and she was also a girl. At present, she was not yet mature enough.
"Deputy Commander Kouzuki, where are the members of Valkyrie Squadron One?"
So that was what she was asking.
"They are already nearby."
"Nearby? Are they inside the XG-70b Susanoo II as well?"
Tsukuyomi could not help frowning. Had they all been hidden inside?
If so, that meant the escort force had four fewer TSFs.
"When we reach the battlefield, you will naturally see them."
Kouzuki Yuuko did not intend to explain further, and the other party seemed to realize she had no intention of revealing more. The transmission ended.
"Marimo, say it. What do you want to ask?"
"No, nothing."
"You want to know why I am in contact with someone from the Ministry of Imperial Intelligence's Foreign Affairs division, right? It is nothing. We are simply planning a military coup."
"What?"
Marimo stared blankly.
That was "nothing"?
Was Yuuko joking with her?
"I am not joking. The Empire's upper levels are rotten through. If things continue like this, I will have no way to conduct proper transactions."
"Transactions?"
"Yes. You did not think he was providing those machines without conditions, did you?"
By "he," she meant Mr. Kain, didn't she?
Were the conditions a military coup?
That would mean another bloody slaughter, an act of human beings killing their own.
"The condition is not a military coup. He wants G Elements. He can trade his machines and other technologies for them. But you know what most of the Empire's upper class are like. Any transaction would be dragged out endlessly, with constant bargaining and obstruction. Besides, no one knows how many spies from other countries have infiltrated the upper ranks. And he is the sort of person who cannot be bothered with that kind of wrangling. He detests plots and schemes and prefers clean, straightforward transactions. That means we have to take the initiative and grasp power ourselves."
That answer left Marimo silent.
At that moment, a device rang. Marimo picked it up. It was the communication device used to contact the XV104 units.
According to the display, the four machines had already entered stealth nearby and were following them.
Wait. Four?
Shouldn't there be five?
A transmission came in. It was from Yui.
"Instructor Jinguuji, Instructor Kain does not intend to follow us. He plans to descend with the orbital force."
Halfway through, he had suddenly said that and separated from them.
But if he was suddenly going to space and then making an orbital drop, there was no way he would make it in time, was there?
The launch vehicle for sending the machine up would have needed to be prepared first, then sent to the designated orbit. That process should have started long ago.
And yet Instructor Kain had simply ridden a bat-like aircraft in front of Yui and the others and forcibly flown straight into space.
It had left them staring in shock.
At first, after they had finished soaking in the hot spring and gone down with him to load ammunition onto the battlesuits, they had seen something bat-like emerge from the sea. It was more than thirty meters long, about fifty meters wide, and roughly eight meters tall.
Then they had seen autonomous robots about half a meter tall transport ammunition down, helping them further arm the four XV104 units.
Each of them had also been assigned a drone to accompany them in battle and coordinate with them throughout the operation.
Returning to the main point, because that bat-like thing had surfaced from the sea, they had assumed it was a submarine vessel. Who would have thought it could actually fly?
It had carried his machine and flown directly into space, leaving Yui and the others somewhat dazed.
However, what had shocked them most was still the proof he had given at the hot spring pool. It had been so completely abrupt, exposing an unmistakable and alarming sign of arousal.
He had used that extremely obvious physical response to prove that his preferences were normal.
Having such a blatant reaction in front of them did show that his orientation was normal.
Ah, no. She was clearly reporting his whereabouts. How had she suddenly started thinking about that scene in the hot spring pool?
Damn it. It was all Isumi Michiru's fault. She had caused trouble for no reason and made him prove something that everyone ended up seeing.
Yui had truly not expected that this instructor, who seemed somewhat cold, would actually resort to such a shameless method of proof.
"Huh? An orbital drop?"
Marimo looked toward Kouzuki Yuuko.
"It is fine. That guy will make it."
He was probably using one of the aircraft he had taken from the T'au fleet.
Yuuko had watched his zero-cost shopping spree live, so she could roughly guess that he was using that type of aircraft to carry himself up.
Yet another good thing. Something that made even her greedy.
If she remembered correctly, he had taken three of those aircraft. It would be nice if she could trade for one of them.
But even if such a trade were possible, she would still need enough power to protect it from being seized by others.
How infuriating. Could those damned politicians and the like, those people still busy with infighting even now, just all die already?
All they did was hold everyone back.
For that reason, once the XG-70b Susanoo II successfully displayed its power this time, it would become Yuuko's greatest capital for deterrence.
(End of Chapter)
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