The development room on Asteroid Neya.
Nias was writing code, nine screens floating around her. She was coding on all of them simultaneously.
Some of them were rewriting existing programs, but it was still an extraordinary sight.
The Atalante was engaged in combat, and Nias was rewriting its code during the battle.
"This is no good. This part is fine after adjusting it. This one is—"
She was rewriting the code while observing the Atalante’s movements and data.
Percy, witnessing this extraordinary feat, was awestruck.
“Real geniuses are different. I never imagined you could write code from scratch in this situation.”
Her tone was laced with a hint of jealousy, but Nias didn’t seem to mind.
This was everyday life for her.
“I didn’t write it from scratch. I used existing materials.”
“Existing materials? It’s impossible. The Atalante was built by the Third, and its design philosophy is completely different from the Seventh.”
“I’m not adjusting the machine, I’m adjusting the system to match the pilot.”
“That’s even more unbelievable!”
Nias was completing the system before Percy could process the impossibility of it.
"It’s possible. The simulator that the girl used to practice with was one of ours. To think that she would train on a simulator like that, of all things.”
“A Seventh special machine? No way.”
Nias popped a lollipop in her mouth, giving her tired brain a sugar rush, and stretched. She was smiling, a mix of satisfaction and amusement for the fascinating pilot.
"I wonder where it leaked out from? I never expected that a child would be practicing with a simulator for the Avid. She’s an interesting girl, in a good way.”
Nias accessed her terminal.
“Lieutenant, listen closely.”
...
“Lieutenant, listen closely. I've finished the system for now.”
Inside the Atalante’s cockpit, Emma was frantically maneuvering the control stick.
The Gold Raccoon was approaching, and the Atalante had no offensive capabilities.
“But I have no weapons. My laser blades aren’t effective against the enemy.”
Emma realized that destroying the Gold Raccoon, with its special armor, seemed impossible at this point.
But Nias sighed softly, sounding genuinely disappointed.
“I have something. I hate it, and I hate the fact that a machine made by the Third is about to be destroyed. But there is a way.”
The Gold Raccoon swung its axe, narrowly missing the Atalante. Emma asked,
“Please tell me!”
“It’s been customized, but the base is still a Raccoon. Its indirect mechanisms are the same as other machines. It’s very sturdy, but the current Atalante can destroy it. Just put your heart into it.”
To put her heart into it—to use an overload.
“But…”
She remembered the previous test, where she’d failed, and hesitated.
Nias saw her hesitation.
“Don’t worry. The frame and system of that machine are based on a certain machine."
"What machine?"
"The Avid."
The Atalante’s frame was made of rare metals used in the Avid, and the system had been modified for Emma.
“The Avid?"
“It may look different, but that machine is the Avid’s sibling—or maybe sister? Just trust me. It’s nearly impossible for someone like you to destroy it."
Her words were dismissive, but her assurance, that the machine wouldn’t break no matter how much abuse it took, was clear.
Emma made up her mind.
“I trust you.”
“You don’t need to.”
Nias seemed to be smiling despite her dismissive tone on the monitor.
"Atalante, give me your strength.”
Emma pulled the lever in the cockpit to initiate overload mode.
There was no hesitation in her actions.
The Atalante shook as it entered overload mode, but unlike before, it held its ground.
The rare metal frame was holding back the runaway engine.
Electrical discharge emanated from its joints, but it was much less than before. The energy was being transferred to the machine more efficiently.
The twin boosters emitted a yellow light, and Emma felt more gravity within the cockpit.
“We can do this!”
The Atalante, glowing yellow, flew towards the Gold Raccoon.
...
"What is this?!”
Inside the Gold Raccoon’s cockpit, Sirena was astonished.
She couldn’t believe that the Atalante was gradually improving, and thanks to its special armor, she’d been able to fight unilaterally.
But then the Atalante glowed, and its speed increased.
“It’s faster than the data showed. Or maybe, she’s mastering it?”
Sirena had been told about the overload state in the data she received from the client.
But this was much more challenging than anticipated.
She thought that even if it got slightly faster, it would be manageable.
But...
“My sensors can’t keep up!”
The Gold Raccoon’s fire control system couldn’t track the Atalante.
She couldn’t hit it from long range. But closing the distance would be even worse.
She swung her axe, but the Atalante dodged easily.
“She’s a monster behind the wheel, even if she’s an ordinary human.”
She thought back to Emma’s appearance, unable to believe that a girl who still looked so youthful could pilot such a monstrous mobile knight.
The Atalante was a threat, and its pilot was a threat as well.
“I have to crush her here. It will only get more troublesome if I don’t.”
Sirena, out of rifle ammunition, tossed it aside and switched to a submachine gun.
She fired a volley to distract the Atalante, then swung her axe. The Atalante quickly dodged.
“As I expected, she lacks combat experience.”
Both the machine and the pilot were impressive, but Sirena’s combat skills were superior. She was currently winning.
The Gold Raccoon swung its axe with its left arm, and the Atalante charged into it.
“That little…”
"I’ve got it!”
Their connection was established when they came into contact, and Emma’s voice came through.
The Atalante accelerated, and Sirena felt the weight of gravity in her cockpit.
“This…!”
She stretched out her left arm to destroy the Atalante, but her arm was seized.
Immediately, the Atalante ripped off the Gold Raccoon’s left arm.
“Its power is monstrous too.”
Sirena broke into a cold sweat, but her subordinates arrived.
"Commander, retreat!"
The Atalante, under fire from dozens of mobile knights, backed away and fled.
“I spent too much time. I’m going to join the main force.”
(That wasn’t like me. I got carried away.)
She decided to retreat and join the main force, but her subordinates gave her an unexpected response.
“The main force has been destroyed.”
“What?!”
The Dahlia Mercenary Group’s fleet numbered over a thousand ships.
They weren’t all elite soldiers, so only about two hundred could be relied upon.
But she couldn’t believe that a thousand-ship fleet had been destroyed.
“Who destroyed the main force?”
“The Banfield family. They launched an attack on our main force. Only about fifty ships remain.”
"They found the main force, which was hiding."
Fifty ships. Many were damaged, leaving few intact.
Sirena gritted her teeth.
(It seems there are more troublesome people than just Chensie. I was told that none of the famous knights were coming, but I underestimated them.)
Sirena regretted her miscalculation, but as the commander, she gave the order.
"Retreat."
She ordered the Gold Raccoon to retreat. But the Atalante, which had been pursuing them, stopped.
As she watched the Atalante stop chasing her, Sirena felt a mix of relief and irritation.
“I’ll get you eventually. Until then, enjoy your pathetic knightly play.”
She spat those words out as she fled, a sense of anger swelling within her.
...
Emma, watching the enemy retreat, was scolding her superior in the cockpit.
"Why aren’t we pursuing them? She… that woman… she…”
Her superior was Klaus.
He had discovered the enemy’s main force, which he had then destroyed.
“We’re low on supplies from the emergency deployment. If we pursue, we’ll suffer casualties too.”
“But…”
“We will return to Neya immediately. You should join the allied ship.”
Emma hung her head.
The Atalante’s overload state was deactivated, and it stopped moving.
In her right hand, she was holding the Gold Raccoon’s left arm.
“It’s my fault.”
She blamed herself for losing her friend, the captain, because she wasn’t strong enough.
As she confessed her guilt, Klaus reprimanded her in a harsh tone.
"You’re… you’re mistaken. Do you really think you’re responsible for the captain’s death, just because you’re a knight?”
"But! If I was stronger, I could have saved the captain! And I’m sure the others..."
“We’re not talking about what could have happened. I ordered the recovery of the Atalante. I chose the recovery team, and I sent them to retrieve you. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”
Emma hung her head and couldn’t respond.
Finally, Klaus muttered,
“You did well.”
...
Klaus, after ending his communication with Emma, spoke to the officer on the bridge.
The officer was the ship’s captain.
“She’s young. She’s distraught after losing a comrade. It’s commendable that she didn’t pursue the enemy alone."
Klaus rubbed his eyes, grieving for his fallen subordinate.
“I’ve lost a valuable member of my team. It’s my fault, not hers.”
The captain nodded several times as he listened to Klaus.
“Of course. You’re the Knight Commander and responsible for this fleet.”
It sounded cold, but the captain continued.
“But thanks to your decision, the Seventh’s casualties were minimized. You destroyed the enemy fleet, which was hiding, with minimal casualties. It’s greedy to ask for more than that.”
He was trying to imply that Klaus had achieved more than he had lost.
Klaus had deployed ground troops and knights to the asteroid, and then, leading his fleet, he had destroyed the hidden mercenary force.
Klaus looked up.
"I just did what I could. Besides, Knight Commander is a position that’s beyond my capabilities."
“Are you being modest?”
“I’m being sincere.”
The captain shrugged and asked about Emma, the pilot.
"So, Knight Commander, what punishment will you give that knight who disobeyed you?”
It was only natural to punish a subordinate who had disobeyed their superior.
Klaus pondered.
(She would be more miserable if she had nothing at all.)
She had lost a friend and was lamenting her lack of ability.
Klaus decided.
"I'll have her do special training during this mission."
"Are you going to tire her out so she won’t think about disobeying? That’s pretty lenient."
"What do you mean?"
Klaus feigned ignorance and projected images of the casualties on the surrounding screens.
They had suffered minimal losses, but there were still casualties.
Among them was the name of the captain who had been loyal to him.
...
A few days later, the Banfield family’s fleet was out on the water to mourn the fallen, even though debris from the battle hadn't been fully cleared yet.
The knights, dressed in ceremonial uniforms, saluted their fallen comrades.
Emma, aboard one of the allied ships, stood in line with knights from other units.
“Did you hear? The attackers were from a mercenary organization’s leadership.”
"Was it Valkyrie? If you’re talking about the mercenary guild’s leadership, they command thousands of ships.”
"They're crazy to challenge the Empire like that."
As the captured enemy soldiers were interrogated, their affiliations and other information gradually came to light.
Emma quietly listened. She was waiting for the knights to mention the name of the mercenary group.
"The group we fought this time was the Dahlia Mercenary Group."
“What were they going to do, invading the Seventh to that extent?”
“I heard they wanted to destroy one of our new machines."
The story had been classified as a secret, so the information about Dahlia invading the Seventh to destroy the Atalante had not been released.
But word travels fast. The rumor had spread among the allies.
"Apparently, their commander was there."
"Is the commander famous?"
“She’s known throughout the galaxy. I think her name is… Sirena or something. She’s a real wild card on other battlefields.”
"Is it a fake name?"
"But, why would a mercenary group pick a fight with us?"
“We don’t hire mercenaries, so they see us as the enemy.”
The Banfield family wasn’t familiar with mercenary matters.
That was because they had never hired mercenaries and had always relied on their own military strength to solve their problems.
Emma muttered quietly,
“Sirena of the Dahlia Mercenary Group.”
(One day, I’ll…)