LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 45: Orbital - 45
A few hours after Aqua's falling asleep.
Premier Alexander Romanov's POV - Kremlin, Moscow
"Our land has been invaded, and you still don't know who did it?!" I screamed, slamming my fists on the table. The officers in the room flinched as I gestured angrily at the images displayed on the screen—images of those flying girls again.
This time, there were even more of them!
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed through the room, shaking the very walls.
"What was that?!" I roared, panic creeping into my voice. "This building is protected by a prototype Iron Curtain! No weapon should be able to penetrate—"
Artemis's POV - In Medium Earth Orbit
"Perfect shot," I muttered, watching the fiery chaos unfold inside Moscow's. The once-pristine Kremlin was now a smoldering ruin. Now, I just needed to see if Yuri was among the survivors trying to flee the destruction.
"Stellar, how are the three Hammerhead squads doing?" I asked, having handed over control of the support rays to her.
"They're doing just fine, Captain," Stellar replied, her voice carrying a hint of a yawn. "But seriously, Captain, you should invest in some orbital secondary weapons. Support rays work, sure, but they're not as satisfying as you might think."
I chuckled dryly. "Maybe after we get resupplied from the surface. Not that it's happening anytime soon."
"Five kilometers search radius complete—no sign of Yuri or any Epsilon captains," Yuki reported as I took control of the sensor suite myself.
Nothing? Not a single trace of them in the capital? Did they already move to hide somewhere else?
"Run a wide-range search over Russia and China," I instructed, my tone clipped. "I'll shift focus to Europe and see if any Epsilon activity is there."
As I zoomed in on Europe, Yuki's voice cut through. "Captain, I've detected something happening in China."
I redirected my focus to China immediately. What was going on there?
"Okay, that's concerning," I murmured, narrowing my eyes as the data began to load on the sensors.
Veteran European commander's POV - Warsaw, Poland
The counterattack plan by European High Command is officially underway.
Russia has diverted more than half of its forces from the front lines back to defend their homeland in the Siberian region. This presents the perfect opportunity to strike.
The American commander, who had turned the tide of battles here not so long ago, has returned to America to deal with the Soviet and Latin forces invading there.
Meanwhile, Siegfried has retreated to his lab to continue his research. Not that it makes much of a difference—he wouldn't be much help in the field anyway, especially with how stable our front has been lately.
"Sir! All forces are ready to march!" the comm officer reported, his voice brimming with anticipation.
"Good. Pack us up and let's move!" I ordered, feeling the subtle rumble of my MCV shifting back into its mobile form. The convoy began rolling eastward. The time to press our advantage had come to recapture back our European land.
Russian Colonels krukov's POV - St Petersburg, Russia
"Orbital strike?! There's no opposing army, no visible forces besieging Moscow—what do you want me to do?!" I shouted into the comms, my voice filled with exasperation and disbelief.
("The Premier is dead, along with other generals stationed in Moscow, sir! You're the highest-ranking officer closest to the capital!") the comm officer reported, their voice urgent and strained. ("The situation in the capital is deteriorating fast!")
I sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the chaos pressing down on me. Turning to my officers in the command room, I issued a direct order.
"Pack the MCV," I commanded. "Moscow has been hit by an orbital strike. The Premier is gone. I'll assume command for now."
One of my officers hesitated, speaking up cautiously. "Should we adjust our—"
"Just keep calling me Colonel for now," I interrupted firmly, dismissing the formality.
The low rumble of the MCV shifting into mobile form signaled the beginning of our retreat southeast, toward Moscow.
"Sir! All officers along the western borders are reporting an assault by the European Alliance!" the comm officer interjected urgently.
"Give me the intel," I snapped, stepping up to the central map screen in the command room.
The glowing display of troop movements revealed the full assault across the board—this was a trial by fire. The European Alliance was capitalizing on our moment of weakness.
Clenching my fists, I muttered to myself, "Fine. If it's a challenge they want, I'll give it my best."
Yuri's POV - leninsk cosmodrome , Kazakhtan
The plan had failed. The gambit was a disaster. The threats we now faced were far too powerful.
I needed to escape, stay hidden, and bide my time before bringing the fight back to them.
As I mulled over my next steps, another mind joined mine. I turned toward the source and saw Proselyte approaching.
'Proselyte, it's good of you to join me,' I projected my thoughts directly to him.
'I can't say the same to your master after my failure in Tibet,' he responded, his tone apologetic.
'The enemy wields power beyond this world,' I replied calmly, 'but this isn't the end. For now, we must make one final strike before going into hiding.'
Proselyte's stance shifted at my words, signaling his understanding. 'The last gambit,' he said, but his tone carried a hint of unease.
'It won't be the last, Proselyte,' I replied with confidence, meeting his gaze. He nodded in acknowledgment.
'All available forces are ready,' he informed me. 'I still have two Soviet MCVs under my command.'
'Good,' I projected. 'The Soviets won't last much longer under these relentless assaults from the East. We must act swiftly, execute this gambit, and then vanish.'
'It shall be done, Master,' Proselyte answered with confident. He turned to leave, likely to oversee the preparations.
As for me, I had other matters to attend to. The deal with the People's Republic of China regarding the discovery and transfer of psychic talents had fallen apart. My psychic spies reported no success in finding suitable individuals.
The attacks across China and Soviet had derailed my plans to consolidate power under the Soviet regime. That system was no longer viable for our needs.
'It's time for a new plan,' I thought to myself as four conscripts approached, saluting sharply before escorting me toward my vehicle. I levitated forward my hovering stand.
Just then my thoughts were suddenly interrupted. My head snapped toward the direction of China.
There, in the distance, I felt it—a strong psychic presence. Someone with immense talent.
Interesting, I mused. Perhaps the game wasn't over just yet.
Rupture's POV - Tibet, China
"We lost them," I said with a sigh. Artemis's sensor suite wasn't picking up any more movement in the region.
"Some kind of subterranean vehicles?" Sakura suggested, her tone uncertain.
"Seems likely. Based on the commander's memories, Scorpion Cell is known for their use of subterranean tech," Lib replied.
"But isn't that supposed to happen, like, five years later in the timeline or something?" Sakura asked, furrowing her brow.
"Probably just prototypes at this stage," I answered. "The timetable's been moved up. A lot of things are changing—time isn't as static as people think."
"So, what now, Captain?" Danielle asked, her rifle resting casually against her shoulder.
"We head further north to deal with more Soviet th—"
Before I could finish, a voice crackled through the comms. It was Artemis.
("Rupture's team, emergency. There's… a strange reading detected near Lanzhou, China, northeast of your location,") Artemis reported.
"How strange?" I asked. What could a space station detect that would qualify as strange?
("Seismic activity. The entire city has gone flat—completely leveled. Then, nothing. No further activity. There's no military presence in the area, nor any labs visible from orbit,") Artemis explained.
"Psychic?" I guessed. Only a powerful psychic could flatten a city and leave no trace of further activity, or some new superweapon.
("Seems likely. Proceed with caution,") Artemis replied.
"New job, then," I announced, turning toward Danielle. "Can you modify your rifle for stun or non-lethal use?"
"My range will be reduced, but fine," Danielle answered as her nanoswarms began enveloping her weapon.
"Wait, but isn't that a laser weapon?" I asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Captain," she confirmed without missing a beat.
"How does its range get reduced, then?" I pressed, trying to wrap my head around it.
"It's called half-life for exotic particles," she began, as if launching into a lecture. "By reducing the power, I lower the velocity of the particles, meaning I can't use the near-light-speed trick to stabilize them. They'll decay faster at lower speeds—"
"Okay, okay, I get it," I interrupted, rubbing my temples. "So, what's your effective range now?"
"Five light seconds," she answered casually.
I blinked at her. Five light seconds? That's more than enough for any fight on this planet.
"That's… not really going to make a difference, is it?" I asked, feeling a headache coming on.
"No, Captain," Danielle replied, a playful smirk on her face.
Oh, you! I thought as I sighed.
"There, there," Sakura interjected with a grin, patting my head. "We can argue more about this after we get there!"
"Not you too!" I snapped, grabbing her hand and pulling it away. "Not here," I said firmly.
She just nodded, still smirking. Ugh, cheeky as always. Without thinking, I pinched her cheek and gave it a little twist.
"Ahhh!" Sakura yelped, pulling away with a laugh.
Shaking my head, I refocused on the mission. "We're heading to Lanzhou, northeast from here. Artemis suspects Libra might be involved," I said, my tone serious again.
"This early?" Sakura asked, her smirk fading into a thoughtful expression.
"I thought the same thing," I replied with a nod. "We'll inform the commander once she's awake."
Summoning my bike, I swung a leg over and started it up. "Get on already!" I ordered, as I twist my handlebar to rev my engine.
Yunru's POV - Wargirl's Resident building, Tokyo, Japan
I opened my eyes, blinking a few times at the unfamiliar ceiling above me. As my thoughts slowly aligned, the memories came flooding back—ah, right, I was kidnapped and brought to Japan. The dim light filtering through the curtains hinted at early morning or just some artificial light as I still not familiar with layout of this building.
Rubbing my hands over my eyes, I sat up in bed. The mattress was surprisingly fluffy—definitely better than the one I'd had during transit. Probably the most comfortable one I'd laid on in year?
Looking down, I realized I still didn't have any new clothes. Sighing, I glanced around the room. It was quite bare—minimal furniture, though there was at least a desk, chair and wardrobe. Standing up, I walked over and opened it.
Empty.
"Seriously? No clothes?" I muttered under my breath, annoyed. As I examined the wardrobe more closely, I noticed a small electronic panel embedded in the door. Out of curiosity, I tapped it.
A sudden wave of light scanned over my body, startling me. Moments later, a miniature 3D hologram of my naked body appeared on the panel.
"What...?" I blinked, trying to comprehend what I was seeing. The scanner must've been a mix of advanced x-rays and sensors. As for the hologram, it seemed to be projected into the air—likely using some form of controlled light.
Tentatively, I reached out to touch the hologram. My hand brushed against something faintly solid before passing through it entirely.
"A physical object?" I murmured. "On… nanoscale level, maybe? my hand pass through like liquid but still solid enough to form shape." My curiosity burned. I really wished I had my wrist-mounted computer with me to analyze this properly.
Shaking my head, I reminded myself to focus. Clothes first. If this wardrobe had a scanner, it probably had something to do with clothing too, right? I tapped on the panel again.
The interface wasn't very user-friendly. It took me five tries to figure out how to navigate. I tried zooming in by spreading my hands around the hologram, and to my surprise, the panel responded, enlarging both the hologram and the options.
(Author's note: Keep in mind this is 1977, before smartphone era and even with all high tech devices you won't expect one that so different from what you usually use and know how to use it immediately)
"Okay, that's neat," I muttered, impressed as my old lab don't have something like that.
As I scanned through the options, I noticed something unexpected—text in Mandarin. Wait, how they don't talk Mandarin right? I thought, leaning in closer. The tabs were labeled: Material, Color, Clothing Template, Equipment, and Avatar Pose.
I clicked on Clothing Template. Only a few basic options were available: a hoodie, shorts, socks, and shoes.
"Better than nothing," I said, selecting all the options. The 3D hologram updated instantly, showing my miniature self wearing the chosen outfit. Spinning the hologram around, I inspected the design. I tapped the glowing Create button.
I stared in awe as the clothes materialized on the rack inside the wardrobe—the hoodie and shorts neatly folded, socks on a lower shelf, and shoes at the bottom.
"Okay, that's really cool," I said aloud, unable to contain my amazement. They had material assembly tech that could fabricate fabric with this level of precision?
Curious, I tapped on the Equipment tab. Only one option appeared: my wrist-mounted computer.
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered. I selected it and tapped Create.
I watched as the computer was assembled in real-time inside the wardrobe. When it was done, I eagerly strapped it onto my wrist. To my relief, all my previous data and functions were intact, including my DDOS tools.
I tried to DDOS the wardrobe's panel. No response.
Of course, their tech is immune, I thought, shaking my head.
(Author's Note: you can't DDOS Quantum computer at least you need another quantum computer for sheer processing power, and as far as I'm aware that hand mount computer can DDOS something above its weight class like tanks or cyborg but still I don't think it can power through quantum computer.)
I unstrapped the computer and set it on the bed. Glancing at a wall clock, I saw it was 4:58 AM. Typical. I'd woken up at almost the same time as back in my old lab life—4:30 AM. Only this time, I'd spent 28 minutes tinkering with a futuristic wardrobe.
At least I had time for a proper bath. Walking over to the side door, I opened it to reveal a full bathroom setup, complete with a bathtub.
"Finally, something nice," I said, stepping inside.
As I prepared for my bath, a thought struck me. Would the cafeteria be open this early? Actually, where even was the cafeteria? Surely someone would guide me eventually. They wouldn't just let me wander around aimlessly, would they?
Am I still a prisoner? I wondered. They gave me back my wrist-mounted computer, which wasn't technically a weapon but could still be dangerous in the right hands. That had to mean something, right?
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I focused on the task at hand. I deserved a proper bath before dealing with whatever came next.
Morales's POV (Latin Confederation's Commando) - just outside of Fog wall, Japan.
"Once I drop in, head back to Russia as fast as you can," I instructed the captain of the Seawolf gunboat, my voice firm.
"Yes, sir!" he replied promptly.
I went through a final mental checklist: full special operations gear—check. Sniper rifle—ready. Swimming gear—secured. Oxygen tanks—full. Flippers—on. Satisfied, I adjusted the rebreather over my face, ensuring it was secure, then leapt into the water without hesitation.
The mission was straightforward: Infiltrate Setana, a small town in Hokkaido, and gather intel for both Latin's and Soviet regime. I was banking on the town being less patrolled than the major cities. The fog was impenetrable to most electronics and machinery, which meant I had to rely solely on my skills and instincts. This mission was strictly infantry work, and even then they can't swim for kilometers so its strictly for commando.
As I hit the water, the Seawolf sped up, disappearing back toward the Russian coastline.
I'm on my own now, I thought grimly as I swam toward the looming fog wall. The mist surrounded me as I approached, thick and unnatural, like something alive.
Once inside, visibility on the surface dropped to a mere five meters. The eerie quiet was unsettling, with only the faint ripples of water breaking the silence. I dove deeper, hoping for clearer surroundings. Instead, the fog persisted even underwater, reducing visibility to less than a meter.
I switched my goggles to thermal mode, only to find the entire view saturated in red.
Useless, I thought, irritated, and toggled back to normal optics. Thermal imaging was ineffective in this environment, and I couldn't risk relying on it.
A heavy sigh formed in my chest, but I stopped myself. Breathing heavily with a rebreather could loosen its fit, and the last thing I needed was to lose my oxygen source.
Focus.
I adjusted my grip on my gear, steeling myself for the unknown. Every instinct told me this fog wasn't natural. Whatever was waiting beyond it, I had to be ready.
Terra's POV - Abyssal Main base, South west of Pearl harbor, underneath Pacific Ocean
I was sipping a warm cup of hot chocolate inside the gazebo, running a DnD campaign as the Dungeon Master with three others seated around me. The dice spread out on the table, the air filled with laughter and anticipation as the party talk about their next move, as I about to set up a combat map for ambush encounter, as all of them fail perception rolls.
Then, my comm lit up. It was Helena.
("Hello, Chief,") she greeted.
"What's the matter?" I asked. If Helena, Aqua-chan's right hand, was contacting me directly, it had to be important, at least since I loss my spot as her trusted Support model and got station here at main base.
("Master is currently asleep,) she began. ("But as far as I'm aware, she wants to build the new chrono matter replicator through out all her base.")
I sighed, glancing at the designer app as I willed it up. This was definitely one of Aqua's 'brilliant but chaotic' ideas. "Alright, how bad are the costs?" I muttered as I skimmed through the blueprints specs.
Less than a million resources. Manageable. We could even afford two of them. I relaxed for a moment—until I read further into the specifications.
Infinite-grown matter replication from energy.
I deadpanned, staring at the data. "Okay, how crazy was she when she designed this?" I asked through the comm that like skipping from being low level sci fi verse to approaching high level sci fi one.
Helena's voice carried a hint of amusement. ("Well… she fell asleep immediately after finishing it, so yes is the answer.")
"Of course," I muttered as I raise my hot chocolate cup to sip on it to calm myself down. Helena wasn't done, though.
("Oh, there's another chrono project, but I'm pretty sure she's not planning to use it for now,") she added.
Curiosity piqued, I opened the file for the second project. Six million resources—for a reactor?! a most basic components for something else.
I sputtered, coughing out a bit of my hot chocolate. My nanoswarm immediately cleaned the spill and wiped my mouth, saving me from further embarrassment.
"Tell me she didn't order me to build this six-million-resource monstrosity," I said, still recovering.
("Ah, no,") Helena reassured me. ("But the matter replicator will help in the long run. Master's already digging beneath the Japan base to set up a few there, so it might be a good idea to have some at the main base. The income stacks over time afterall.")
I nodded, at least it make sense. "Fine. I'll start with two of them here, then expand to ten over time," I said. With 2.4 million resources in storage, each replicator costing around 900,000, we'd still have enough left for other priorities, like producing new Kansen, tank girls, or strike witches.
("Thanks, Chief!") Helena said cheerfully before ending the call.
I turned to my DnD crew. "Alright, new construction jobs. Another one of Aqua's insane mega-projects. It looks small but trust me, it's not," I said to Tama, Tessa, and Pama.
"Chrono series?" Tama guessed as she look through the blueprint as well.
"Yep," I confirmed. "Starting with the matter replicators. Reactors will come later."
Standing up, I dusted myself off, stretching a bit after sitting for so long. "Let's head to the lower levels and get started," I said, motioning toward the elevator as we start walking toward it.
Actually this is probably Aqua's answer to space resource scarcity too. Figures.