"Are you kidding me? It just... flew straight up..."
On a UNION warship, a soldier who had witnessed the entire ascent of the Nahel Argama murmured in disbelief.
The emerald-green interference corridor had not yet fully dissipated, and the steam generated by the searing heat of the thrusters still lingered over the sea, swirled about by chaotic ocean winds.
This method of ascent—reminiscent of the chemical fuel era of spaceflight—was, for these "New Generation" people, a case study that existed only in history books. There was another reason they never expected the Nahel Argama to be able to leave Earth:
With the stable operation of the orbital elevators over the years, the three major powers had grown accustomed to using them for all cargo and personnel transport between Earth and space.
The orbital elevator had become the underlying logic for reaching the stars; it simply didn't occur to anyone that there was another way.
Though the Tower of Babel to the heavens had been completed, the "gravity" acting upon their souls kept those intending to reach the tower pinned firmly to the path leading to its gates.
"...All units, withdraw. There is no point in lingering here."
Looking at the scene before her, Kati wanted to scream in frustration, but she simply opened and closed her mouth, helplessly accepting the outcome. "Boarding operation canceled. All ships return to port."
The Joint Fleet was left in a state of profound gloom because the "duck" in their hands had quite literally flown away. However, their identity as soldiers of the three major powers forced them to suppress their emotions and follow Kati's commands as supreme officer.
"Next will be the battle in space... I wonder if we have enough of the new machines. The second batch hasn't even rolled off the line yet..."
At the thought of how even the original GN-X units were carved up like vegetables by the Ravens, Kati couldn't help but sigh.
While the newly produced GN-X units matched the technical documents provided by the "Celestial Being traitor"—and were even superior in certain optimized areas—Kati wasn't sure if they could truly match or exceed the performance of the originals when facing Celestial Being and the Ravens. Whether they could produce significant results remained an open question.
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Inside a space station belonging to the Corner family, located near the solar power generation matrix.
The group, having just seized control from VEDA, had changed back into their personal attire and walked into the space station's lounge, a room specifically designed for leisure.
Alejandro had a penchant for resting in places with luxurious decor, expansive space, and massive floor-to-ceiling windows; this station, naturally, was no exception.
Pouring himself a glass of whiskey, Alejandro sat on the sofa and casually pressed a button on a nearby control panel.
Several of the floor-to-ceiling windows suddenly shifted their display to reveal a hangar.
Inside stood a streamlined MA, looking as if it had been forged from pure gold, manifesting before Alejandro's eyes.
Gazing at his masterpiece, Alejandro instinctively relaxed, pulling out his communicator as if deep in thought.
Ribbons walked calmly to his usual spot in front of the bar. He watched Alejandro's movements, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"You've worked hard today. Go to your room and get some rest," Ribbons said to Four-Eyes, who had just entered the lounge, signaling that he had matters to discuss privately with Alejandro.
"Al... Alright."
Four-Eyes nodded and, following Ribbons' lead, left the lounge and entered a private room. Clearly, the death of all his teammates had forced him to become far more cautious.
Observing this, Ribbons frowned slightly. Where was the arrogant and insufferable man described in the dossiers? This person was more like a quail that had been scared out of its wits.
However, this wouldn't interfere with the arrangements Ribbons had made for him. The script had already been written; he had no right to refuse his role.
Once the lounge doors slid shut and everything returned to silence—and after confirming that the room Four-Eyes was in was soundproofed from the lounge—Ribbons spoke.
"That subordinate you recruited to assist in cracking VEDA... his performance is completely inconsistent with the data."
"He's likely lost his nerve after all his teammates were killed. His mental state is just a bit unstable, that's all."
Alejandro didn't take Four-Eyes' condition to heart, dismissing it as a simple case of psychological trauma.
"Oh... but according to the self-diagnostic I ran on VEDA before we left, this doesn't look like a mere case of 'unstable mental state.'"
As Ribbons spoke, he walked over to Alejandro and handed him a tablet.
On the screen were several segments of code that Ribbons had secretly written into VEDA.
"This is..."
Looking at the code before him, Alejandro instinctively frowned. It seemed he hadn't expected the "scared quail" Ribbons described to be quietly preparing such a major stunt.
"A backdoor. The logs show it was planted while we were cracking VEDA. It looks like he's planning to use VEDA for something," Ribbons lied, his expression neutral and his heart rate steady. "No doubt, having been pushed to his absolute limit, he's preparing to go mad."
"A backdoor... going mad..."
Alejandro's face paled. Clearly, his thoughts had been successfully baited by Ribbons' words, veering off in the exact direction the other intended.
"Think about it, Alejandro. What would happen if VEDA were used by a man driven to insanity?" Ribbons struck while the iron was hot. "The world would fall into chaos, and the Corner family's long-cherished ambition would be destroyed."
The destruction of the Corner family's plan was the one thing Alejandro cared about most. He would sacrifice anything for it—including, of course, the life of a subordinate.
"...Ribbons, go and stabilize that fellow first. Don't let him enter a state of total frenzy."
Alejandro made a split-second decision and dialed a communication channel.
The request was accepted quickly, and a very weary voice answered the call.
"Johann Trinity, I am assigning you a new task."
Alejandro watched as Ribbons left the lounge, presumably to talk to Four-Eyes.
"There is only one target. I will send you his data in a moment."
"Your mission this time is to eliminate him."
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Meanwhile, Ribbons entered the room where Four-Eyes was staying.
"...Is something wrong?"
Looking at his "colleague," Four-Eyes appeared noticeably guarded.
"You joined at the wrong time. You are in great danger right now."
Though Ribbons' face remained expressionless, his tone dropped slightly. "You may not realize just how much Alejandro prizes VEDA. He will kill anyone who stands in the way of his plan, including those who have simply lost their value."
"For instance, the head of the orbital elevator operating company—the one who managed the GN-T drives for the Trinity siblings. Once he outlived his usefulness, he was eliminated."
"Furthermore, Alejandro is naturally suspicious. Even before I came in here, he had already decided to get rid of you. Since you joined the team recently but participated in discovering and cracking VEDA, he suspects you've planted a backdoor in the program."
"How could he...?"
Four-Eyes froze upon hearing this.
Because Alejandro's usual behavior matched Ribbons' description—constantly muttering about the "Corner family's ambition"—Ribbons' lies went completely undetected for the moment.
"What... what should I do?"
Four-Eyes began pacing the room in a panic. This sudden turn of events had clearly rattled him. "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead..."
"Oh dear... it seems I've forgotten where I left the encryption key for the orbital cannons."
Ribbons said nothing more, simply placing a USB drive on the bedside table where Four-Eyes could easily reach it. "I hope I can find it again tomorrow."
Such an obvious hint—practically an explicit instruction—was not lost on Four-Eyes. He quickly snatched up the key for the orbital cannons and shoved it into his pocket.
Seeing the look of profound gratitude Four-Eyes gave him, Ribbons returned the gesture with his trademark formulaic smile.
Through a few calculated moves, he had turned two people who originally had no quarrel into bitter enemies. And in Ribbons' script, both of them were destined to die.
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On the other side, inside the cafeteria of the Nahel Argama, which had just burst through the interference corridor.
A group of boys and girls, their magnetic soles firmly activated, stood in a circle staring at Graham. He was currently pinned against a wall, his crutches having been flung away to the other side of the room during the ascent.
The situation was delicate: having just reached the low-gravity environment of space, cups and tablets were floating everywhere.
The crew hadn't dared to activate the artificial gravity yet, fearing that Graham, in his current state, would take further injury if he suddenly plummeted to the floor.
"Ugh... I feel like my body is about to fall apart."
Graham used every ounce of strength to push himself off the wall. Utilizing the low-gravity environment, he "floated" himself back down to the cafeteria floor.
Seeing that Graham had landed safely, the cafeteria's artificial gravity system kicked in. The sudden return of weight almost sent the barely-steady Graham back to the ground.
"By the way... where is Mr. Roz?"
After taking a few shallow breaths to soothe his aching body—which had just endured the immense G-forces of the Nahel Argama's ascent while still recovering from his wounds—Graham looked at the mess of unsecured items scattered across the room and finally voiced his question.
"Big Brother Roz is currently modifying your machine."
A young girl spoke up as she began tidying the mess. "According to him, the Flag's design and armor structure have several issues.
After taking that kick from the Penelope, the frame and outer casing hit their critical limit. If the build quality had been any lower, it would have disintegrated right then and there."
As the ultimate lightweight machine designed to compete with the AEU's Enact and the Hellion, the Flag was never meant for close-quarters combat. Yet, Graham had used his sheer piloting genius to force this "paper-thin" machine into becoming a frontline brawler.
"But the battle will begin soon, won't it? Is there enough time for modifications?"
Though the thought of Roz improving his machine filled him with anticipation, his rational side forced Graham to ask the practical question.
"Don't worry, there's plenty of time."
The girl gave him a thumbs-up. "Big Brother Roz is the greatest mechanic in the world. Period."
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