Military Base Aircraft Carrier Enterprise
When the name of the ship was announced, each person murmured with deep emotion.
「The Enterprise, the ship that carries on the will. 」
Kelly uttered the name with heartfelt emotion. It was the ship that carried on the will of Jack, the man who had saved Asia. There was no better name for the ship.
「The Enterprise of General Arms Industries.」
Barry repeated it under his breath. General Arms Industries was a conglomerate of two massive corporations. And the Enterprise was their symbol and the conglomerate itself.
「The Enterprise that breaks through hardships.」
George from BAS Corporation nodded. He understood well the meaning and the history behind the name. A ship of the same name had existed in the UK as well. It symbolized overcoming hardships and seizing success.
BAS Corporation had been supporting them continuously up until this day. The chronic shortage of funds they suffered was due to said support.
「The fated Enterprise…」
Ellie muttered. A ship bearing the name Enterprise coming to the rescue of the Junyō —could be seen as an irony of history, but all she had was gratitude.
Two ships bearing names with a fateful connection during World War II. The Enterprise, the ‘Miracle Carrier’ of the U.S. Navy that built a legendary legacy, and the ship it fought fiercely against—Japan’s converted aircraft carrier Junyō.
「Huh? That name sounds familiar. It kind of gives off a spaceship vibe.」
「In your time, it was the name of the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.」
A slightly exasperated Asia’s Aimer corrected Kou’s mistaken comment.
「It’s huge. It’s really like an island. So, this is the ultimate weapon Eirene prepared for the decisive battle.」
Even Kou felt awe at the sight of the massive ship. A moving base loaded with numerous weapons. A fitting name for a superweapon.
「This is beyond mere scheming. It’s an obsession, a meticulous plan born from mania… There is no weapon that could draw more attention than this.」
Astraea was exasperated. In response to her voice, Asia’s Aimer changed her tone and grinned fearlessly.
「A multi-layered, gigantic ship. Its length is about 4 kilometers. To put it in perspective, it’s like walking from one end of Tokyo’s Yaesu underground mall to the other. A moving Tokyo Station basically.」
「Master!」
Master returned for a moment to explain things in a way Kou could understand. Once she did that, Master grinned and Asia’s Aimer consciousness turned back to the two.
Around the emerging Enterprise, its escort fleet surfaced one after another. In the image projected inside Kou MCS, the shelter opened, revealing a massive flight deck.
From within the shelter, fighter jets that had been stationed on the deck began launching one by one. Three types of fighter jets had been prepared.
A Military Base Aircraft Carrier rising from the sea—Castor, who witnessed this scene through reconnaissance footage, raised his right hand silently and showed the back of his hand. It was a signal for withdrawal from the P336 Fortress Area.
The course of the battle was about to change, this ship alone possessed enough firepower to shift the tides.
「We are grateful for the long-standing support of BAS Corporation and the Atou Group.」
Robin expressed his thanks to the two companies.
「No need for thanks. It was necessary. However, Admiral George, you’ve been involved in this plan from the start, haven’t you?」
「Well, who knows?」
Captain Kiefel of the Jeanne d’Arc pressed George with suspicion, but George feigned ignorance.
「The goddess Felonia… Indeed, we received advice from her during the construction of the Jeanne d’Arc. But I didn’t know preparations for the Enterprise were complete. You knew everything but kept quiet, going so far as to deceive Ulysses.」
「It was necessary. Besides, weren’t you also keeping it a secret?」
「Ugh, I don’t know, but it’s frustrating.」
Kiefel, from the Atou Group, felt irritated, he felt he had been left out despite supposedly receiving instructions from the same goddess. Meanwhile, George from BAS Corporation remained calm, he had already anticipated this reaction.
「My apologies, everyone. Piecemeal deployment of forces is a bad strategy. We needed to wait until enough power had been assembled—it was a secret plan called the ‘Black Project’.」
Robin offered an apology. There had been many crises where they wanted to intervene, but they had held back with iron resolve.
「Finally, the day has come for us to rise. We have gathered the necessary strength for this moment.」
「Are you referring to Pax Americana, the American-imposed peace? Well, no matter. With this firepower, I certainly don’t feel like we’ll lose.」
Kiefel regained his composure and began analyzing the course of the battle.
「Peace requires overwhelming power. That’s what the goddess said. The AI on this ship is none other than ‘Pax.’」
George recalled the day he first made contact with the goddess Britannia. That goddess, the AI modeled after a strawberry-blonde girl, had spoken these words:
「Your gods reside in your hearts. I will not be a god for your faith. If you want to survive and win, believe in my words.」
Robin must have heard the same words. It was this statement that made everyone fall in love with the goddess.
「The Enterprise carries over four thousand of the three types of aircraft created through the ‘Black Project’. If we include the transformable Silhouettes, our air power surpasses six thousand. The AI ‘Pax’ that manages the Enterprise is an avatar of our goddess, embodying a fraction of her power, giving the Enterprise the mobile factory function.」
Robin stood and issued a command.
「Now, everyone. The days of humiliation, of being driven beneath the sea, end here!—We fight to reclaim our freedom and peace! This is General Arms Industres’s first battle!」
The swarm of fighter jets that appeared above Junyō began attacking the Argonautai fleet. An overwhelming number of aircraft that no one had imagined. The enemy fleet fell into chaos.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
「The Pericles and the Eunomia have moved toward the P336 Fortress Area.」
「Haha. He’s a true prophet. Abel-san… or rather,. Marujin.」
「A scheme by the goddess and the British. To think they’d prepare such a superweapon.」
Asia’s Aimer smiled wryly. It was truly a massive operation.
「But they said it has the same mobile factory function as the goddess. Does it have the same ability as Astraea? How could she build such a massive aircraft carrier from scratch?」
「Yes, she most likely possesses the same ability as me. Without a doubt. And that’s no newly-built ship.」
「Astraea!」
Communication with Astraea had been established.
「That ship is a modified remnant of one of the seven interplanetary war-era space fortress carriers—Space Fortress Carrier Sophos-class Thales. They probably couldn’t fully restore it as a space carrier, but it seems it works as a base carrier.」
「Wait a minute. The amount of funds and space required to repair that… No, with John Arms’ assets, it’s possible. The missing funds went into restoring the Thales as a superweapon against the Stones.」
Asia’s Aimer pondered and reached a conclusion. The economy was under Okeanos’ control. John Arms, once the largest corporation on planet Asia, had the greatest wealth of any company. However, it had shown no interest in acquisitions, and the whereabouts of its vast resources had remained a mystery.
「That’s right, Asia. That aircraft carrier has likely been hidden and meticulously repaired in preparation for the decisive battle against the Stones for a long time. There have been people working behind the scenes even before you were unsealed and Kou appeared.」
「Is there an AI capable of disguising itself to that level and even using your code?」
「Yes. My younger sister, the third and most advanced mobile factory platform, Eirene. You heard that the control AI of the Enterprise is also called Pax, right? Pax corresponds to Eirene in Roman mythology. It’s similar to the relationship between me and Dike.」
「So, she shared a copy of herself with the Enterprise.」
Astraea had created Dike, an AI nearly equal to herself, to use in the Cimon. Additionally, the two assault landing ships had been equipped with AI modeled after Astraea, called Libra 1 and Libra 2.
「Even I was deceived, she pretended to be dormant while she quietly advanced her plans. That distinctive hair color, her secrecy, and most importantly, her nature of seeking peace through overwhelming power. Truly Pax the goddess of hegemonic peace.」
「As expected from the descendants of an AI built for developing dangerous weapons. You certainly live up to that reputation…」
「Please stop saying that. The original AI self-destructed, because of that.」
Kou wondered if even AIs could have trauma, as Astraea displayed a distinctly human-like sense of embarrassment and discomfort.
「Sorry.」
Asia’s Aimer stuck out her tongue apologetically. She probably realized she had gone too far. Astraea, regaining her composure, continued speaking.
「Let’s get back to the topic. That ship was repaired in an underwater Defense Dome. There are many untouched, or rather, abandoned, and intact Defense Domes beneath the sea. In some places, the facilities and materials are probably still intact.」
「I see. Robin-san said they were driven to the ocean floor.」
「The personnel of John Arms Corporation and General Defense Corporation fled to the ocean floor. Eirene must have been the one to guide them.」
「I have a question. Why were the underwater Defense Domes abandoned in the first place? The Murders aren’t good at operating underwater, so they should have been safer.」
「It’s because of the population decline caused by the interplanetary wars. When Sophia restored humanity, they only sent them to the residential areas on the surface. There were so few humans left on the planet that there was no need to live in the underwater residential areas. Plus, traveling between the surface and the ocean depths is difficult.」
「I see. That makes sense. Sorry for interrupting the conversation.」
「Not at all. Please feel free to ask anything you want to know.」
Kou’s basic questions brought a sense of comfort to Astraea.
「One thing I’d like to know. Why didn’t Eirene reveal herself until now? There must have been many desperate crises in the past.」
「We Hora-class AIs, are the most dangerous kind of AI for humanity, which is why our seal was one of the deepest. However, our core nature as weapon development AIs is the same as the rest, we exist to support humanity. We also have a role to fulfill, the role of Odysseus, the loathed weapon maker.」
This world had once abandoned all its weapons. As a result, they were overrun by the Murders and came to rely on the people transferred from Earth. From the perspective of a world that had discarded weapons, a weapon developer would indeed be seen as a detestable existence.
「That’s what it meant, huh? I remember now.」
The words Kou once heard from Kelly—the origin of the name Ulysses. Kou hadn’t thought too deeply about the meaning then.
「Without a Development Engineer on the ship, we can’t create anything. Just as I had Kou, she needed to meet a Development Engineer who could make use of her abilities.」
「That’s Abel-san, right?」
Kou asked, still in shock. He hadn’t realized that Eirene was such a powerful AI.
「Without a doubt. It isn’t just the Development Engineer’s abilities, their creativity and flexibility need to be in sync with us as well. He must be a perfect match for her. She has now reached the state where she can fully utilize her power, and her plans have accelerated. Meeting Abel was likely what enabled her to create the AI Pax.」
Astraea muttered, sounding slightly irritated.
「That show-off will surely make her appearance soon, given how far things have progressed. It may bring calamity along with it.」
「Are you saying she’ll create another ridiculous weapon?」
「It’s very possible if it’s her. However, what’s certain is that the Enterprise possesses enough power to turn the tide of battle. Our forces are now superior.」
「Once the two ships arrive, that is.」
「Yes. Then we will be able to move on to the operation to defeat the Megareus. The defensive battle is over.」
Astraea declared solemnly. The arrival of the Enterprise had clearly shifted the balance of power in their favor.
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