Blazing Flames of the Battlefield

"Huh...?"

Adel quietly looked down at the tablet. A faint crack was spreading across the middle of the screen.

"...Young lady, is something wrong?"

From behind, Suhyun carefully approached and asked. Adel tried lightly pushing the screen with her fingertip, then tilted her head.

"Suddenly... the screen cracked."

"That's strange. This is a durability-enhanced model. It shouldn't break easily."

"I know... I just wonder if it's defective."

Suhyun took the tablet and carefully examined it.

"There are no signs of external impact on the device itself. Shall I have it inspected?"

"No, it's fine. Just bring me a new one."

"Yes. I'll prepare it."

Suhyun stopped just as she was about to turn around.

"...More importantly, young lady."

"Huh?"

"...We found the culprit."

Adel's eyes wavered slightly.

"Who is it?"

"The Earth Federation Intelligence Department."

For a moment, the air froze. Adel was silent for a while. She narrowed her eyes, drawing out the silence... then opened her mouth.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. They bribed one of our security program management staff to carry out the deed."

"The Federation, huh... They're moving overtly now."

"It would be best not to return to Earth for the time being. The situation on Earth is also unusual right now."

"Why? Is something happening?"

"There are unusual movements within the military."

"I see...."

Adel silently looked down at the tablet again. On the screen, that faint crack looked like a cross-section of a world whose balance had been shattered.

"Have you confirmed their exact purpose?"

"We are confirming their exact purpose. However, your movements and communication records have been leaked externally. Their movements were quite precise. It's not just a simple information leak; the possibility of kidnapping, with physical contact in mind, cannot be ruled out."

"Haa... how troublesome. How long do I have to be wary of those guys?"

Adel caught her breath for a moment, then turned her chair to look out the window. Beyond the window, the darkness of space was visible.

"What's the possibility of them attacking Calliope first?"

"There is a possibility. Our defense systems are also fully operational."

Adel closed her mouth tightly. Then, she slowly turned around and spoke.

"I think it's about time we prepare. Call her in."

Suhyun raised her head with surprised eyes.

"That's..."

"I have a feeling it's about time we make a proper move."

"Understood."

The moment Suhyun turned and walked away, Adel looked at the tablet's broken screen again.

***

Sheryl Mortimer quietly walked down the hallway, stroking her red hair. Her footsteps, clad in flat military boots, were regular and heavy. Her face was expressionless. However, within it lay a strong sense of annoyance and fatigue.

"Haa... how troublesome."

Her low muttered words flowed and vanished in the hallway. She arrived at her destination without hesitation. As she lightly placed her palm on the door with an access restricted sign, the lock was released.

Srrk-

As the door opened, a woman with neatly swept-back pink hair was waiting inside with a smile.

"You've come, Sheryl?"

"It's been a long time, Adel agassi."

"Fufu, it really has been a long time. I apologize for calling you so suddenly."

"If you know that, you should restrain yourself. I am no longer a mere personal attendant. I am officially a Colonel in the Earth Federation Army."

Sheryl retorted in a playful voice. Adel smiled, and as if that tone was familiar, she quietly nodded her head and said.

"Sheryl, I think the time has finally come."

"...So you intend to make a move after all."

"We have to. The Federation's reach is deepening little by little. If we just keep enduring, nothing will be left."

Sheryl quietly exhaled.

"Are you sure about this? Everything you've built up until now... could all collapse."

"I'll think about that when the time comes."

Adel shrugged her shoulders and gave a relaxed smile.

"Your personality hasn't changed. So, what is it that I need to do?"

"Please take charge of Calliope Station's defense. Someone will probably target this place soon. To be precise, 'me'."

Sheryl's eyes narrowed.

"And?"

Adel's smile deepened a little more.

"And when preparations are complete... I intend to go pick up my boyfriend."

At those words, Sheryl's brow furrowed faintly.

"...Boyfriend?"

"Fufu, you know him too. Jin Seoyun."

"...I see."

Sheryl answered briefly and nodded her head. For a moment, silence flowed, and then she quietly asked back.

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes."

.......

Adel slowly turned her gaze towards the window. Recalling Jin Seoyun, who was still traversing the battlefield somewhere in the dark and vast universe, she quietly murmured.

"I'll be there soon with a gift."

***

"This operation is an infiltration operation."

Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Blake's voice cut across the briefing room.

"Infiltrate Calliope Station disguised as a Licencia Group employee. The sole objective is to secure Adel Licencia. If possible, quietly and secretly. It's a kidnapping operation."

Ohyeon raised his hand.

"What if our identities are exposed...?"

Aaron turned his gaze to him. His gaze was cold, and his voice was firm.

"Then there's no other way. Those who can escape, escape, and abandon the remaining comrades decisively."

The air grew cold for a moment. But he continued speaking without caring.

"This operation is a one-time opportunity. Upon failure, reattempt is impossible. The internal structure is complex, and security is extremely restricted. The disguise information we have is valid for only 48 hours."

The briefing screen changed, and the detailed internal structure of Calliope Station unfolded.

"Inside the station, a secret research lab of the Licencia Group exists. Adel Licencia is currently staying there. Regular patrols, surveillance drones, and internal surveillance agents are deployed everywhere. Once detected, the entrances will be immediately sealed."

He slowly lowered his gaze and spoke.

"Therefore, what's important is speed and information. You will move divided into three teams. Team assignments will be conveyed in individual briefings later."

The air in the briefing room was heavy with tension. Lisa nodded her head with her lips tightly sealed, and Mason, with his gaze fixed on the screen until the end, turned the pages of the data without a word.

Ohyeon was still sitting with his arms crossed, his face stiff. And behind them, several unfamiliar faces of new infiltration personnel, additionally deployed for this operation, stood silently.

All of them were 'designated' individuals. Those who already knew that the probability of dying was high while silently following orders. Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Blake scanned them, then finally lowered his voice.

"And-"

He turned his head and looked at Ohyeon, Lisa, and Mason.

"For now, the infiltration team will move, but you three should be ready for deployment at any time, if-."

Aaron slowly continued speaking.

"If the infiltration team fails the mission, or if Adel Licencia is not secured and their identity is discovered-"

He lowered his voice and said.

"Then, neutralize Calliope Station. Whether it's structures or personnel, it doesn't matter. Leave nothing behind."

A transition from 'escape' to 'destruction'.

Aaron Blake left one last word.

"Each of you, focus on your mission. And prepare. For this operation will change the tide of the war."

***

My closed eyes opened. And as I looked around.

"Fuck..."

A curse word burst out by itself. Panting, I forced the half-destroyed Requiem to move. The craft was barely holding onto its life. Its right arm was completely blown off, and its left leg was half-destroyed. The sensors were also broken and not functioning properly.

My location was the outskirts of the collapsed Nemesis Colony. The surroundings were a chaotic mess. Metal fragments, shattered pieces of the colony, and noticeably floating corpses.

'...Crazy bastards. I didn't know they'd fight a war like this.'

Civilian transport ships, too, were torn to shreds after being hit by debris while fleeing. The people who must have been inside-children, the elderly, ordinary citizens-were floating in space like chunks of meat.

The Nemesis Colony was completely shattered. Its unique elliptical structure had already collapsed and was scattered everywhere, and its interior was still being torn apart by intermittent explosions.

'...Should I call this survival?'

For now, I had to survive. Requiem was a wreck, and its energy was almost at rock bottom. There wasn't much I could do immediately with the remaining auxiliary energy.

"If I die like this, I'd feel so wronged I don't think I'd even be able to sleep."

I decided to revive the emergency communications first. The main system was broken. After a forced reboot, I connected to the auxiliary power and manually adjusted the frequency, barely extracting a signal.

"Armeo, respond. This is Jin Seoyun, respond."

Only static filled the air. Even after waiting for a long time, there wasn't even a single response.

"7th Mobile Squadron, Captain Vasquez. Respond. Anyone, if you hear me, answer."

Still no response. Electromagnetic interference was severe. The wireless channels themselves might be broken due to the aftermath of the explosion. If there are any allies still alive, they would be struggling in silence, just like me.

'...Damn it.'

I had to find another way.

First, I extended the short-range scanner to its maximum. It was unstable with the broken sensors, but fortunately, a faint heat signature was detected. The coordinates were about 3.6km away. Some kind of wreckage... no, a single craft was barely maintaining its form, floating.

'...Who is it?'

I switched Requiem to power-saving mode and carefully activated the damaged propulsion system. Avoiding debris and fragments, I slowly approached the target point.

What was floating there was a craft from the 7th Mobile Squadron. Its armor was melted away and its frame was twisted, with only the cockpit barely maintaining its shape. The craft identification code came into view.

It was Carla's craft.

"Carla, respond."

I continuously repeated the call on the emergency channel. A few seconds later, a faint response was barely heard.

[Jagi...?]

"Fortunately, you're alive. Can you move?"

[My leg... it won't move...]

I attached Requiem to her craft, aligning them, and carefully opened the cockpit.

Carla was leaning to one side of the cockpit. Her face was pale, and a metal fragment was deeply embedded in her right thigh.

"Can you bear it?"

She gritted her teeth and nodded her head. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes were half-frozen.

"Jagi... I really... thought I was going to die..."

"Do you know where Armeo is?"

"...I don't know... All signals are cut off..."

I carefully lifted her body. At that moment, another explosion erupted. A massive pillar of fire, tearing through space, surged forward.

'I need to get out of here quickly.'

There was no time. As soon as I brought her into Requiem's cockpit and secured her to the seat behind the chair, a new object was detected on the scanner. A single ship of enormous size revealed its silhouette among the fragments.

"Is that Armeo...?"

It could be an allied ship, or it could be an enemy ship. But with the current sensor status, no one could be identified.

I hesitated. But the moment the ship's surface was revealed in the explosion's light, a phrase was seen.

'Arsenos.'

It was an enemy. However, it was in a completely half-destroyed state. Incomplete propulsion systems and collapsed structures were chaotically intertwined.

"Carla. Hold on for now."

Breaking through the debris, I started moving again. After crawling like that for tens of minutes, I finally discovered a single structure.

A cracked hull, a collapsed deck. And on top of it, a clearly embedded phrase.

[ARMEAO]

"...We're fucked."

On the seemingly half-cracked hull, Armeo's name was embedded.

The situation was desperate. Fuel was less than 10%. Around me, there were no allies, nor any rescue signals. Dying, isolated amidst the debris, was the reality before my eyes.

But then. From afar, a distress signal was caught. It was a weak, almost breaking signal.

I didn't hesitate and turned Requiem towards it. Upon arriving at the coordinates, a small escape pod was floating.

It was an allied one.

I attempted communication. However, there was no response. Instead, a very faint presence was felt from inside.

***Sheryl Mortimer***