A ZAFT warship was sailing away from Earth.
"You're telling me it sniped a target nearly a thousand kilometers away from the surface?"
Rau Le Creuset's voice was terrifyingly low.
The power of a high-energy beam differed enormously between the vacuum of space and the atmosphere. Within the atmosphere, air resistance and gravity substantially reduced its effectiveness.
Yet that mobile suit had still achieved a range of nearly a thousand kilometers.
If that range were converted to the vacuum of space, the resulting distance would be almost unimaginable.
Combined with its utterly unfair accuracy, this was turning into a serious headache.
Of course, its penetrating power was not the greatest concern. Judging from what they had witnessed, sufficiently thick warship armor could prevent the beam from immediately piercing the hull.
A Lightwave Barrier would certainly be able to stop it.
The real problem was its ability to intercept missiles. That interception system rendered missile attacks almost completely useless.
It meant their only remaining option was to exchange beam fire with the enemy.
In the current war, most large-scale destruction was still carried out by warheads delivered through missiles.
If missiles were neutralized, a fleet's offensive strength would plummet by more than half.
And it might not be limited to missiles. Le Creuset suspected that the lasers could intercept conventional artillery shells as well.
"Where did that princess find someone like him?"
His voice remained calm, but Le Creuset was practically grinding his teeth.
Again and again, that man had ruined his plans. Every failure pushed his dream of driving the world toward destruction farther out of reach.
Le Creuset had the distinct feeling that he had only one opportunity left.
He would need to prepare very carefully for that final chance.
...
Most of the Earth Alliance surface fleet near Orb's territorial waters had either surrendered or abandoned all resistance.
Some vessels had even turned their weapons on their former allies.
Most of the fleet had initially been ordered to launch missiles and intercept Junius Seven.
No one had expected the missiles' commands to be altered after launch, causing them to concentrate their fire on that unusual warship instead.
"Damn it! Damn it! This wasn't supposed to happen!"
The commander aboard one of the escort ships shouted furiously as he pounded the armrest of the captain's chair.
"Captain!"
A shrill, terrified cry snapped him back to his senses.
He looked toward one of the screens and saw a missile rapidly approaching.
"What are you waiting for? Intercept it!"
The interception systems had already activated before he even gave the command, but every attempt missed.
In the end, the anti-ship missile flew directly above the escort ship and stopped in midair.
Crackle!
A thunderous electrical discharge poured down from the device, engulfing the escort ship like a lightning strike and destroying every electronic system aboard.
The crew members screamed as they collapsed unconscious one after another.
Nor was this the only ship struck by such an attack. Nearly every vessel attempting to flee suffered the same fate.
"This is so boring."
Takao sounded thoroughly unimpressed.
The warships of this world were not much different from the human surface vessels in her own. Their overall level of technology was roughly comparable.
Admittedly, this world possessed a few more advanced weapons. The machines known as MAs could fire lasers, but they were incapable of penetrating her Klein Field.
What about the warships in the sky?
More accurately, what about the ones in outer space?
Those should be considerably more powerful.
Humanity in this world had already constructed space colonies and established fleets in orbit.
Takao wanted to fly as well, but unfortunately, she lacked a flight module. None of the data she possessed included a propulsion system capable of carrying her into space.
Could she adapt this world's flight systems instead?
If she reproduced one with nanomaterials and installed it on her hull, might it work?
That was impossible for the moment. She had already used all the nanomaterials Kongou had given her.
Even her own ammunition stores were completely empty. She had gone so far as to dismantle part of her hull and convert the material into Corrosive Torpedoes.
Of course, what Takao truly wanted to become was the spacecraft he had piloted in that "little movie."
It appeared to be roughly the same size as her heavy cruiser hull, yet that ship could travel between the stars and perform spatial jumps.
Its most outrageous feature was its special weapon, which could turn an entire star system into a "photograph."
Takao could not help envying that ship.
Why couldn't she be his vessel instead?
She would carry him through the sea of stars, crossing one star system after another, passing through nebulae and star clusters...
"Hehehe..."
A lovestruck giggle escaped her as she indulged in her fantasy.
She immediately sensed someone looking at her.
Takao stiffened and swiftly forced her expression back into a dignified, serious mask.
She made sure not to meet his eyes.
As long as she avoided eye contact, he would not be able to invade her Union Core and discover what she had just been imagining.
"Takao, did Kongou ever tell you how Mental Models came into existence? Or anything about the AC?"
Ignoring her latest episode, he suddenly asked the question with complete seriousness.
"Huh?"
Takao froze, then parted her lips in confusion.
"She never told me how Mental Models came into being. Who's AC?"
"The Admiralty Code."
"The Admiralty Code?!"
Takao's expression changed instantly.
That was the commander of the Fleet of Fog. It could even be described as their creator.
The human before her proceeded to explain the origin of Mental Models, what the Admiralty Code truly was, and what purpose it served.
By the time he finished, Takao looked lost and uncertain.
She finally understood why Kongou had been acting so strangely, and why Kongou had insisted that only Takao's Union Core could return.
"Would you like to stay in this world? You wouldn't have to follow the Admiralty Code's orders anymore."
"Huh?"
Takao blinked repeatedly, wondering if she had misheard him.
"Alternatively, there's another world that might suit you. Its inhabitants are beings similar to you."
"Beings similar to me? Are they Mental Models too?"
After murmuring the question, Takao fell silent.
She was not shocked to learn that similar beings existed. Nor was she shocked by the existence of other worlds.
What caught her attention was his choice of words.
"This world."
"Another world."
With that new information, Takao reached a startling conclusion.
The world she currently occupied was not his world.
The other world he had mentioned could not be his home either. If it were, he could have simply said "my world" or invited her to stay with him.
He had not invited her into his own world.
That was the truth that genuinely unsettled her.
"D-Do you hate me?"
The words slipped out after her long silence, leaving her completely flustered.
That was not what she had meant to say.
She had no idea why those words had escaped her lips, but now she was almost overwhelmed by anxiety.
"The tsundere archetype obviously isn't very popular anymore, and I find that sort of personality a little annoying myself."
Takao felt something go wrong inside her Union Core.
It was as though her processing load had instantly reached maximum capacity and she was moments away from crashing.
"But you're not just a tsundere. You also have masochistic tendencies and the personality of a lovestruck pervert. The contrast makes you charming."
"Huh?"
Her nearly frozen Union Core resumed functioning after hearing those words.
What were masochistic tendencies?
What was a lovestruck pervert?
What did he mean by contrast?
She did not understand any of it, but apparently those qualities meant he would not find her annoying.
"To put it simply, the way you are now is adorable."
"A-A-A-Adorable?"
That was a word she understood.
Did that mean he liked her?
Her Union Core was heating up. It could no longer cool itself, and the intense heat seemed ready to escape as smoke.
"Adorable... Adorable... He loves... Mmm..."
The blue-haired girl overloaded and crashed on the spot, fainting where she stood.
The way she collapsed looked less like a simple system failure and more like she had been overwhelmed by an indecently intense rush of pleasure.
Kain stared at her in mild disbelief.
It seemed her personality was exactly the same as Takao's in the original story, perhaps even more exaggerated.
Someone with a personality like this was far too easy to handle.
Had he just used a honey trap to win her over?
He felt a little guilty about that.
(End of Chapter)
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