Planet Classification ‘Iron Planet’ Part 2
「A business opportunity?」
「A vast land. A planet filled with ancient ruins. The dangers are great, but so are the rewards. The human population there has been nearly wiped out, and there are no explorers from other planets. In other words, we can monopolize Planet Libya’s trade.」
「Will the profits really be that substantial…?」
「Don’t underestimate Planet Libya. It was once called a resource planet. If we establish a foothold for humanity and if I regain control—even partially—there will be gains to be made.」
Libya took the opportunity to interject. This was not only about preserving her dignity but also about proving her worth to Kou and the others.
「Yes, they used to say: Europa is the technology planet, Libya is the resource planet, and Asia is the environment planet.」
「Now that you mention it, I don’t know much about Planet Europa at all.」
「That planet is… unique. Too similar to Earth, and because of that, it became distorted. You’ll have to deal with it someday.」
「Yeah. But for now, let’s not talk about Europa, Kou.」
「Agreed. That planet is a Pandora’s Box of disasters. We can discuss it another time.」
Kou was speechless.
Even Libya and Astraea were wary of Europa, the technology planet—the planet should have been engaged in battle with the Stones too, yet no details had surfaced about its situation. The fact that they actively avoided discussing it suggested it was best left alone for now.
「If we can get our hands on new materials, they’ll be useful for developing new Silhouettes.」
「In that sense, Planet Libya is a singularity—a truly unique planet. You can expect great things from it.」
「Then Arges should come as well. Astraea, I’m counting on you to bring us there.」
「Leave it to me. I will always be your vessel.」
Astraea smiled brightly—she was happy to be asked.
「What if we establish a joint venture on-site? We could create a local production plant for Ulysses’ Silhouettes to support the locals and explorers.」
「That’s an idea I wholeheartedly support. Asia is the only planet with Transferees. The only Silhouettes we have been able to produce at Planet Libya until now were simple workers at best.」
「I see… so that’s how it was.」
Before the Transferees, even something as basic as a machine gun couldn’t be manufactured in Planet Asia. Kou realized why Libya had been so easily overrun—it was inevitable.
「Libya… you were fighting alone all this time, weren’t you?」
「…Yeah.」
「Yes. Libya had it harder than anyone. Harder than me. At least I could talk to the Transferees from time to time, and Kou helped me. But Libya fought alone, continuously, even risking her own destruction to keep fighting.」
「We can’t say we’ve won yet.」
The planetary management AI had been stripped of its control over the planet. It was an issue that challenged its very reason for existence.
「We will win. That’s why we’re here.」
「That’s right, Libya. Kou, myself, and everyone from Ulysses and Metal Iris—we’re all going to help. We will free your main core.」
「…Thank you. Truly.」
Libya expressed her gratitude, and everyone around her watched over her with warm, reassuring gazes.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
A Ulysses emergency meeting was convened.
The exploration of Planet Libya and the establishment of a company on-site were the main topics.
「Creating a Ulysses joint venture as Planet Asia’s representative is a great idea.」
「Well, Kou was part of our company before. He knows how industrial product distribution works.」
Hyoue chuckled at Yunlan’s comment.
「But the biggest problem is whether our Silhouettes can even stand against those Mythology Weapons or whatever they are.」
Kelly grinned, clearly thrilled by the emergence of a new enemy.
「Giant weapons modeled after mythical beasts? A blend of fantasy and sci-fi, huh?」
Kurt, on the other hand, remained wary of the unknown threat.
「I’ll be going to Planet Libya too. Kou-kun is going to need a Development Engineer to assist him on-site.」
Kinukawa declared firmly.
「That’s too dangerous, Kinukawa.」
「I’m going.」
A former researcher in space engineering on Earth, Kinukawa wouldn’t back down. He repeated his stance as though it were already decided. His determination was unwavering—he was ready to follow Kou even in death if necessary.
The name of his company, Misumaru, was another name for Pleiades, symbolizing his deep-rooted admiration for space.
「We shouldn’t underestimate the combat power that wiped out the Stones. Mythology Weapons aren’t exactly mechanical lifeforms, right, Kou-kun?」
「That’s right. They aren’t living organisms that reproduce biologically. Instead, they repurpose and enhance abandoned or discarded unmanned Silhouettes left on the battlefield. The larger Mythology Weapons are said to have originated from space vessels.」
「We also need to analyze their systems—how their armor and propulsion work. If they’re based on Antique Silhouettes, then their armor is likely layered charge-shift bonded nano-ceramic.」
「Libya’s main core created them, so the current Libya doesn’t have detailed knowledge of them.」
「You and Matty are going, right? Who else?」
「Me!」
「Yeah, yeah, I understand.」
Yunlan chuckled at Kinukawa’s unwavering determination.
「We’re also planning to recruit experienced members from Ulysses and Metal Iris. Can you help with personnel and unit selection?」
「Finally! You’re starting to rely on us, huh? You little chick! There are plenty of companies involved, so we’ll form a task force from five different corporations.」
This was a matter of fairness—forming an expedition unit composed of five major corporations and Ulysses ensured transparency. None of the Development Engineers objected, they didn’t want to create disparity between the companies. Too much disparity could break Ulisses from the inside Especially when a new frontier was at stake.
「We should send at least two ships. This is a space expedition, we should send a bigger fleet even.」
「I’m planning to use the Astraea and the Pericles.」
「If two Hora-class ships suddenly disappear, it’ll attract suspicion.」
The movements of the Hora-class ships were under intense scrutiny from various factions due to the last battle. Stealth would be crucial.
「The problem is deciding what to load onto those two ships. The enemy isn’t conventional fighter aircraft—they have units modeled after flying birds and winged dragons. On the ground, they have units modeled after writhing dinosaurs. It’s like fighting a force made up completely of enhanced Aberration Arms. What will be effective against them…?」
「Conventional fighter jets and tanks probably won’t be useful. We should focus on Silhouettes.」
「Let’s also utilize the captured space carrier. Its carrying capacity surpasses the Astraea’s. That would bring us to three ships.」
Kinukawa proposed. He was currently modifying the Aglaonice, a special space carrier seized in the battle against the Mercenary Association Headquarters.
「Having extra loading capacity is a blessing. We’ll rely on you for that, Kinukawa. Against mechanized draconic beings, we’ll need as much firepower as possible.」
Kelly immediately accepted Kinukawa’s idea.
「Fighting against mechanical dinosaurs… I never imagined such a thing.」
「They’re mechanical mythical creatures. Still, it’s hard to picture how the battle will play out.」
Hyoue and Yunlan contemplated how to engage mechanized dragons in combat.
「I’ll leave those weapon formations to you guys. Our company only specializes in Silhouettes, after all.」
Hyoue declared, bowing out of the discussion early.
「Leave it to me! I’ll make sure to cover for you as well.」
Kinukawa took this opportunity to assert himself as much as possible.
「Besides, I’ve already been designing units to counter the Aberration Arms. I plan to continue my research on-site.」
「The Dragon Slayer, huh? You’re saying that, but in the end you’re going to make another fighter aircraft, right?」
Kelly knew that Kinukawa had been developing anti-Aberration Arms weapons. The skirmish with the Mercenary Association Headquarters had happened during its field testing.
Seeing Kinukawa’s determination to go to Planet Libya at all costs, the others felt a mix of resignation and acceptance.
「With limited hangar space, we’ll have to rule out large tanks and Quattro Silhouettes. If we bring fighters or tanks, they’ll need to be transformable units or dragoons.」
「We have the numbers, but we’ll have to go with a small, elite team. Given the supply limitations on-site, we should carefully compile a balanced list before deciding.」
「Please handle it.」
The excitement about exploring a new planet and encountering Mythology Weapons was evident.
The Development Engineers enthusiastically launched into detailed strategic discussions, planning the equipment and unit compositions for the Libya Expedition.
AN:
About Libya, the Iron Planet:
Though classified as an iron planet, Libya’s surface layer is rocky, much like Mercury. Some exoplanets are believed to be diamond planets, so the universe has a lot of variety!
At a glance, the locals and Mythology Weapons seem to be coexisting, but Libya—the planetary AI—has lost control.
Since the planet was forcefully terraformed to resemble Earth, its orbital period remains stable, but its rotation and climate control have become unstable.
If Libya’s magnetic field weakens, maintaining an atmosphere will become even more difficult.
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