Space Battleship
Immediately after re-entering the planet’s atmosphere, the space battleship fired its three 200 cm large-caliber rail cannons at the Cimon-class from a high altitude. It hit the Cimon’s starboard side and succeeded in partially destroying it.
It then decelerated to 600 km/h and landed on the ground soon afterward.
The massive impact it caused after landing partially brought down the defense line of Fortress Area P336.
It was a tactic that was only allowed in areas that were far away from Fortress Areas.
If it had simply attempted to crash down directly on P336 at re-entry speed, all of Planet Asia’s defenses would have activated and destroyed it before it even hit the ground.
「Dike, can the Cimon still fly?」
『It’s impossible right now. But fortunately, the ship was built with a trimaran design. Damage to the central and portside hulls is minimal.』
「Let’s prep our defenses first. They should be heading our way soon. Tell the ground troops to form a defensive perimeter around the Cimon!」
Tension filled the air within the ship’s combat command center.
The Cimon quickly entered a combat ready state.
The enemy space battleship was a truly huge structure. Its effective range should easily be hundreds of kilometers. The enemy was aware that the battleship was easy to target due to its gigantic size if it flew in the air.
Therefore, they chose to utilize it as the ground base of the Argoforce instead.
「This is the first time I’m seeing a battleship that huge.」
『It is the Battleship Megareus. It is one of the seven Eteocles-class space battleships that Astraea created in the past.』
Dike divulged the enemy ship’s identity.
「 There are actually seven of those things?」
『Astraea had handed each one to different factions in the past. The Stones should possess two ships at most.』
「Since they’ve pulled something that crazy out, that means they’re finally getting serious.」
『Indeed. It possesses more than enough combat power to serve as a fleet’s flagship.』
「It’s a battleship after all. It should be capable of that much, right?」
『It does not exactly correspond to the battleships employed on Earth during the 21st century. Large-caliber naval guns, thick armor plating, and a variety of weapon systems are a must. Escort fleets are not as effective out in space after all.』
「I suppose it also doubles as a carrier. It’s that gigantic after all.」
『A catapult is not needed in space after all. It is not capable of using some of its weapon systems on the surface, but its payload is considerable.』
「You’d probably need Silhouettes to operate that thing. I suppose that’s only natural.」
Barry tried to think calmly, but since the scale of the matter was too huge, so he still couldn’t make full sense of it.
Even the Cimon-class they were using was already too large to be operated solely by humans without the aid of machines like Silhouettes.
『They should have been monitoring our movements from outer space.』
「So they literally looked down on us from on high huh? And outer space at that. They really are unpleasant fellas.」
Barry spat out in distaste before giving out orders.
「Let’s confirm the severity of the damage we received first. Check the enemy formation as well.」
He gave instructions to the crew inside the combat command center.
Everyone promptly executed Barry’s orders and began collecting information and investigating.
「Back in those days, aircraft carriers spelled the end for the era of battleships. But how should we deal with something that’s both a battleship and a carrier?」
Barry glared at the monitor in consternation.
「What should we do about this?」
Aimer agonized over the situation.
Their main forces were all sent to recapture the orbital elevator.
That’s why most of their fighting strength was concentrated around Fortress Area R001.
The enemy would most likely send troops to R001 as well.
No matter which Fortress Area Metal Iris controlled fell, it would still end up as a victory for the Argoforce.
「Aimer, don’t agonize over things on your own.」
「Kou!」
Before she knew it, Kou already appeared by her side.
Aimer was better at seeing the big picture, but Kou didn’t want to burden her too much.
「So that’s a space battleship huh? I see. Back when Asia brought out the Aristides-class, she said they were small-class ships. Now I finally get why.」
「Un. It’s really huge. I can’t imagine how we’ll be able to bring it down.」
After seeing the ship’s truly gigantic silhouette, Kou was convinced. Asia was merely stating the truth back then.
Silhouettes have been the basis of warfare since the Interplanetary War era. The battleship that now appeared before them could be said to be a large-class ship when based on a Silhouette’s scale.
「Jenny, please provide support to the Cimon. I want Astraea to head to the Silhouette Base. Please hurry and have the cavalry unit board.」
「Ok, Big Boss.」
Jenny seemed satisfied with Kou’s orders.
She found it nice to see him start taking charge a bit more.
「Will that be fine?」
Aimer asked Kou.
「There’s no guarantee that they won’t aim for the Silhouette Base. If it comes down to it, we can use the Base to put up a new defense line.」
Kou didn’t want Aimer to worry about these sorts of things on her own all the time.
Of course, he’ll still need to rely on her expertise. However, Kou decided that he’ll make the big decisions himself whenever possible.
「But there’s the space battleship to worry about, right?」
If they flew carelessly, they would just be shot down. Aimer was worried about that sort of situation.
「It should be fine if we headed over there via space too. Astraea, that’s possible, right?」
『Of course. Kou’s proposal makes sense. It would be safer and faster to launch ourselves into space and re-enter the atmosphere rather than heading straight for Fortress Area P336 or the Silhouette Base.』
「There you go. I also want to leave some troops to protect this place and send out an aerial unit to serve as a vanguard, but…… it won’t work unless they all have metallic hydrogen generation-type reactors huh? It’s a long way from here to P336 and the Silhouette Base after all.」
「Kou, I just received a proposal regarding those two things. I’ll put the transmission up on screen.」
Aimer put the transmission up, and the Gracious Queen’s Captain George and Jun’you’s Captain Eri were displayed on screen.
「So you’re the rumored Big Boss eh? It’s a pleasure. I’m Gracious Queen’s George. Can you leave the defense of this place to us? We will definitely defend it with all our strength.」
「Understood. I’ll leave this place to you then.」
When the old gentleman introduced himself, Kou felt the weight of his conviction.
Hence, he quickly accepted George’s offer. They were truly reliable allies.
「It’s nice to meet you as well. I’m Okada Eri. Please just call me Eri. We will be sending out Type-0s and Type-2s on our end. They will be able to make it till Fortress Area P336 without any issues.」
Gogyou was proud of the fact that their aerial machines were able to fly a distance that was difficult for other transport aircraft and fighters to cover.
They were pretty confident regarding their machine’s cruising range.
「Got it. Eri-san, I’ll be counting on you all. Jenny, organize the Tachycineta and Yoania squadrons, join up with the Type-0s and quickly head for the Cimon. Let’s go with the Badb Catha squadron centered on Kurt-san and Hyoue-san for the Type-2 transport crafts.」
「It looks like you’ve got your troop organization skills down pat, Kou-kun.」
「I sure hope so. Please take care of this place, Admiral George.」
「Just leave it to us.」
The aged gentleman nodded generously.
After the transmission got cut off, George muttered to himself while elegantly smoking his pipe.
「BAS has received words of gratitude directly from Asia. The goddess who has protected this planet for countless years huh?」
He lightly chuckled.
He was confident. Since the production line has been taken over by Asia, she will likely begin to manufacture the cutting-edge machines Metal Iris was proud of. He’d simply have the Familiars who’ve piloted the Boons serve as their pilots.
The Gracious Queen’s guns were capable of covering the entire Fortress Area. It’s not like they were going to directly take on that space battleship.
「War requires pride. We will prove that we can protect the goddess. This is going to be our Battle of Britain. And just like that battle, we’ll win this one as well.」
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