Chapter 96: The Trap is Set
"One cruiser and three destroyers. Thank you, Commander Porta."
As the Sixth Fleet prepared for its upcoming deployment, Lilian was in the captain’s quarters of the Ellis, communicating with Porta, the commander of the Fourth Fleet, with whom she had developed a good rapport.
"They’re all outdated, slated for decommissioning. Consider them scrap. They won’t be much in terms of firepower, but they’ll do fine as unmanned vessels. Use them as mass weapons if you need to."
"Even if they’re outdated, securing three ships must have been quite the effort. Are the other fleet commanders giving you a hard time? I could have my father speak to them."
"Don’t bother. I’m not some overprotected child. Besides, I don’t get along with those guys anyway. Whatever they say, I don’t care. More importantly, are you sure you’ll be alright?"
On the screen, Porta was munching on an apple pie.
He was likely due for a lecture on cutting back on sugar, but he didn’t seem to care, indulging in sweets as usual. It was strange, considering how hardworking he was.
Even for a fleet commander, securing three decommissioned ships was no small feat. It spoke to his influence.
Aside from his sweet tooth and portly figure, he was the type of leader who was well-liked by his crew.
"It’s good that the Sixth Fleet is deploying as a mixed fleet. You’ve got familiar faces, and the new battleship has been deployed. But most of your crew are green, and with the princesses on board, if anything goes wrong, it won’t just be your head on the line."
"It can’t be helped. We’re in a much better position than when we started. We’ve finally grown into a proper fleet."
As Lilian said, the current Sixth Fleet, combined with the Moonlight Fleet, consisted of three battleships, three cruisers, and numerous destroyers. Adding the unmanned, outdated cruisers and destroyers, the fleet’s numbers were now comparable to a major fleet.
"It’s strange to say this about myself, but I’m surprised I’ve ended up commanding such a large fleet."
"It’s unprecedented. Officially, there’s no record of a nineteen-year-old girl commanding a fleet. This isn’t some anime."
"It’s true. But now that I’m in this position, I intend to fulfill my duties to the best of my ability. Besides, I have plenty of combat experience."
"I’m sure you do. The Tiberius incident, the pirate troubles—you’ve been through a lot. But I’ll say it again: most of your crew are rookies. Push them too hard, and they’ll die. Let’s hope nothing happens. Anyway, I’ve got to go train these new potatoes."
"Potatoes" was a slang term some soldiers used to refer to new recruits. No one was quite sure where it came from, but it had stuck.
As the call with Porta ended, the classic chime of the intercom rang out.
"Come in."
At Lilian’s invitation, Devonia entered.
"Excuse me, Captain."
Devonia saluted crisply.
"You mentioned an urgent task...?"
Devonia had been summoned because Lilian had a request for her.
"Relax, no need to be so formal. Would you like some tea?"
"Ah, yes... thank you."
At Lilian’s prompting, Devonia took a seat at the table.
It felt like it had been a while since they’d had a moment like this. Back in the Seneca days, they’d been running around together, but as the unit grew into a fleet, Lilian had become more distant.
Still, since Devonia worked on the first bridge, they remained close.
"It’s been a while since we’ve done this, just the two of us."
"Yeah. We’ve both been so busy."
Devonia was no longer just a communications officer. She had subordinates to train, more communications to manage, and important matters to oversee. She often had to interact with higher-ups.
It wasn’t just Devonia. Miley, as the navigation officer, had to coordinate routes with other ships. Cowen had to manage the increased number of main gun turrets, and Sao was responsible for maintaining the lost ship.
And then there was Stella, who might have had it the hardest. Her strange talent had been evident from the start. Before anyone realized it, she was at the center of things, relied upon by many, including Lilian.
Yet, outside of work, she was still the same scatterbrained girl who seemed like she’d trip over nothing if left unattended.
Now, she was in charge of an unmanned fleet, and the stress must have been immense.
The Moonlight Fleet members were no different. Vertol, the other commander, was as efficient as ever. Ares and Delan had finally received their new battleships and were ready to show their true capabilities.
Everyone had found their place.
"It’s been a whirlwind of a year. Even now, it’s still hectic."
From the drifting incident to now, there had been moments of rest, but it felt like one crisis after another. There had been life-threatening situations and embarrassing moments.
But those memories were etched as good ones because they were still alive. It was hard to believe how much had happened in just a year.
"To think we’re now part of a major fleet... I couldn’t have imagined this a year ago. I thought I’d just be assigned to some random unit, marry some guy, and retire."
"Oh? If that’s what you want, I can arrange it."
"No, thanks. I like the atmosphere here. Besides, I’ve gotten used to this place. I couldn’t handle anywhere else now."
The two of them sipped their tea, enjoying the calm moment.
They were supposed to be discussing work, but it had turned into a relaxation session.
The laid-back atmosphere was comforting.
"Pardon the interruption."
The tranquility was broken as the table’s projector activated, displaying a hologram of Nietzsche’s stylized, cartoonish face.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Yes, very much so."
The icon on the screen shifted slightly, as if looking at Devonia.
Devonia sighed softly in response, but Nietzsche simply replied, "I see," in his usual monotone.
Expecting emotional understanding from a robot was probably asking too much.
"However, we are currently on duty. I understand that humans require private time, but only within the limits of the situation."
"Alright, alright. I’ll get to work."
It felt strange to get genuinely angry at a robot, but Nietzsche sometimes didn’t act like one at all.
He was cheeky, and it seemed like he’d had at least one argument with every member of the first bridge crew.
Was this how all robots from the past were? Or was Nietzsche just special?
When asked, Nietzsche would simply say, "I am a basic model," so Devonia decided to assume all past robots were like this.
Devonia cleared her throat and turned back to Lilian.
"So, what’s the mission, Captain?"
"You really don’t have to be so formal."
Lilian gave a slight, wry smile.
Nietzsche seemed to be fitting in just fine.
"Well, I do have a request for you, and I trust you with this. Nietzsche, explain."
At Lilian’s command, the screen displaying Nietzsche switched to text, outlining what appeared to be a mission brief.
Simultaneously, images of radio frequencies and channel data codes were displayed.
"This is something I came up with based on my interpretation and speculation, taking Nietzsche’s existence into account. You’ll understand what this is, right?"
"It’s the communication networks used by the Empire and civilians. Some of these look unfamiliar... private lines? I’ve heard that main fleets have their own communication networks."
"Exactly. This one belongs to the Fourth Fleet. They shared it with me. Others wouldn’t have."
"Of course. These are classified lines. So, what’s this about?"
Devonia understood that communication-related tasks would fall to her.
But analyzing data codes was outside her expertise. Searching for similar patterns to identify communication lines wasn’t easy. She’d need backup from the second bridge’s computing room.
"I want you to track the communication codes used by the old Union forces."
"Is this... related to the spy?"
Nietzsche answered Devonia’s question.
"Correct. Based on the information we have, it’s clear that the enemy is using technology from the era when I was created. The migrant fleet that escaped to the Horsehead Nebula—they must have records of the route from Earth to there. That’s why they’ve come here. Considering the events on Planet Schwacken and the Tiberius incident, it’s clear they’ve sent spies and have a way to communicate."
The fact that the Tiberius had warped straight to the Horsehead Nebula, and the enemy had followed. The erased data.
What was more terrifying was that someone had to have input the route into the Tiberius and maintained constant communication.
But during the drifting incident, there had been no sign of such communication.
Or perhaps they just hadn’t noticed. There hadn’t been time.
Now, with the spy’s presence and the knowledge of the past humans, they could piece together the information.
"Where we’re heading, there’s likely a relay satellite for communication. Without it, the events of the Tiberius incident couldn’t have happened."
No one alive today would know about communication codes from thousands of years ago.
Randomly searching for lines might yield a hit, but the odds were astronomically low.
Civilization had been interrupted, after all.
But Nietzsche had been found. And so had the lost ship.
"And just the other day, I intercepted a communication code. From Earth to the Horsehead Nebula. Someone is communicating. Unfortunately, I can’t identify the individual. I lack that functionality. Therefore, surveillance is necessary. But we’ll turn this to our advantage. It seems the spy is getting desperate. Catching them will be easy, but let’s set a trap and wait."
For a moment, Nietzsche’s tone sounded almost human.
"We’ll lure the enemy in and destroy them."