The Central area, where the key facilities of the ark are located.
Deep within this zone stands a large administrative building. Beneath it, several figures can be seen moving restlessly.
On the left, fully armed soldiers stand ready.
On the opposite side, a group of soldiers led by a red-haired woman waits anxiously.
“Did you confirm?”
“Yes, it’s certain that it’s in this building.”
“Good…”
Freya stretches her body.
“One last check – what’s our mission?”
“To search the building, secure the president, and then rendezvous with the Director.”
“Correct. There may be resistance from the guards, but unless absolutely necessary, we prioritize restraint. We didn’t come here to massacre.”
“Understood.”
As Freya discusses the mission with the soldiers and turns her head, the commander of the opposing group also looks up. Their eyes meet across the distance, and they exchange signals with their hands.
Freya raises her hand, holding up three fingers – her thumb and pinky extended.
She folds them down one by one.
Three, two, one.
As her fist clenches, Freya and her team move into the building.
Moving silently through the quiet lobby toward the inner chambers, their steps are confident and unwavering.
Suddenly, Freya extends her arm to the side, signaling for a stop.
Her subordinate approaches.
“What’s the matter?”
“…I smell blood. Stay vigilant and let’s hurry.”
“Understood.”
The team quicken their pace.
Moments later, the source of the blood scent is revealed in the inner corridor.
“This is…”
Even the seasoned soldiers of the terrestrial reclamation forces grimace at the gruesome sight.
The hallway leading to the president’s office is literally awash in blood.
Human remains, as if torn apart by a giant blade, are scattered everywhere.
Near the cold bodies of the guards and security personnel lie numerous spent shell casings, evidence of their final stand.
“…So this is why it was so quiet here. What do you plan to do?”
Freya pauses briefly, but her decision comes quickly.
“…There’s no turning back anyway. Prepare for combat and head to the objective.”
“Understood.”
The group advances cautiously, reaching the entrance to the office.
Freya takes her position in front of the door, while the soldiers on either side press against the walls. On a signal, they kick the door open.
Freya bursts into the office, but what she finds is far from what they expected.
Speechless, Freya stares.
The soldiers who follow her in are equally at a loss for words.
On the wall, slightly above eye level, hangs a person impaled by a massive sword blade.
A face the ark inhabitants would easily recognize.
The president they were supposed to secure had been brutally murdered and displayed on the wall.
“Commander, what…”
“…First, report this to the Director and conduct a thorough search of the building.”
“Understood.”
…
The next morning.
[Transmission from the Command Bridge, transmission from the Command Bridge. 43rd Division, all personnel are to assemble immediately at the arsenal.]
A voice comes through the speaker in the captain’s quarters.
Rubbing their eyes, the person rises from bed.
“Ungh…”
Stretching out their arms and legs, they take in the bustling sounds from outside.
– Move faster!
– Chief, we’ve received a report from the advance team…
– Necessary supplies…
Noisy voices and the sound of feet hurrying down the corridor.
Thanks to Simonia’s cooperation, the coup seems to be progressing smoothly, but despite that, there are clearly many tasks at hand. The fleet’s interior is incredibly busy.
“Da.”
“Seoli’s awake too?”
“Arf!”
Seoli, moving her short arms and legs, comes to hug.
A beaming smile forms on Seoli’s round face nestled in the embrace.
While pinching her cheeks and playing, Seoli tries to grab their fingers with her short arms.
“Edu? Seoli’s awake too?”
“Nisia, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, thank to Edu, I slept comfortably.”
Drying her face and hair with a towel and approaching the bed, she sits down with them.
“Should we all wash up then?”
“Yeah.”
With Nisia’s help, they wash up together and feel much refreshed.
“It seems like everyone else is really busy.”
“There’s lots to do.”
Unlike in games, real-life situations don’t neatly wrap up once a big event is over.
Rather, handling the aftermath is even more important.
That’s why everyone’s so busy, but…
“I’m bored.”
The Director and Freya excluded them from the coup.
Of course, they must have had their reasons for leaving them behind, but regardless of that, waiting around idly is indeed tedious.
“Hmm. I’m bored, should we go find something to do?”
“The Director and the Chief told us to wait here, is it alright to move around freely?”
A slightly worried tone.
“Probably fine if we check with them first… but what to do-”
While thinking about this, a memory suddenly comes to mind.
“Oh, right! There’s that!”
“Edu? Did you think of something to do?”
“Yeah, remember the shuttle Vanessa gave me as a present last time? How about we take it for a spin?”
Perfect timing.
Even they think it’s an excellent use of idle time, and they can’t help but nod in agreement.
“Nisia, what do you think? Want to come along?”
“Oh… is that alright?”
“No reason why not. Let’s contact both of them and call Vanessa.”
“Yeah.”
…
When they land on the surface in a shuttle, they see Vanessa waiting for them along with their ship – Jason.
The ship, with an oval-shaped hull and unique wing-like structures on either side that resemble those of an angel.
“Edu, Nisia, Seoli’s come along too?”
“Yes, Miss Vanessa.”
“Hello.”
“Da!”
They exchange greetings, then Vanessa turns toward the shuttle pilot carrying them.
“Then Edu will be in my care from now, thank you for your hard work.”
“Ah, yes. Then Chief, we’ll see you next time!”
“Yes, thank you for your efforts.”
“Yes!”
After saluting and returning to the shuttle, it takes off again.
“Then, since talking here is boring, shall we go inside and talk?”
“Yes.”
Carried by Vanessa, they enter Jason’s interior.
The inside of the ship is as spotless as its exterior.
The walls, composed of white, gray, and black panels, look incredibly luxurious at first glance but also give a familiar feeling, like something they’ve seen before.
“Wow, it kind of reminds me of the dorm room?”
“You’re exactly right. I designed it to be similar, keeping in mind that you and your friends would be living here. Does it feel familiar?”
“Yeah, it’s incredibly similar.”
The comfort and sense of security from the familiar atmosphere.
“The best living spaces are the ones that feel familiar. Rest when you should, and work when you must.”
Having said that, Vanessa approaches a nearby door and places her wrist to it.
Bip.
The beep sound signals the door opening to reveal a space that so closely resembles their academy dorm room that they momentarily think they’ve returned there.
“Wow…”
While Nisia exclaims in awe, they comment to Vanessa.
“Without the furniture, it’s exactly the same.”
“Hmm, I put a lot of effort into it. By the way, all the furniture is bolted to the ground so it’s safe even when the ship makes multidimensional maneuvers. Shall we move to the next location?”
“Ah, yes!”
Carried by Vanessa, they move through the angular corridors inside the ship.
“Then, this is…”
A large bathroom with a sauna.
A cafeteria capable of mass cooking through machinery.
A lounge with various arcade machines and a gym.
Briefing room for operations.
A spacious hangar that can accommodate large equipment.
Guiding them personally, she introduces and explains each facility as if giving a house tour.
“And here is the Jason’s command bridge!”
Ziiing…
The doors slide open, revealing them to the inside.
“Wow…!!”
Unlike the somewhat rugged alien command bridges, Jason’s command bridge exudes a much more sophisticated ambiance.
Additionally, it features capsule-like command seats, seemingly designed with extended command operations in mind.
“However, it must require quite a few people to operate, right?”
“In order to maximize efficiency, yes. But a certain degree can be handled by this one too.”
Vanessa smiles and looks up.
“Jason, can you hear me?”
Responding to her call, blue beams spread across the command bridge, and the sound of numerous devices powering on echoes through the room.
[Listening, Master Vanessa.]
“Wow!”
The spontaneous exclamation escapes.
“Vanessa, is there an AI installed in the ship too?”
“Yes, seeing that the Invaders, who are mechanical yet possess biological characteristics, react quickly, we drew inspiration from that aspect.”
Explaining that and looking up again, Vanessa.
“Jason, this one is your new master.”
[Scanning subject, verifying database. Match confirmed, Master Edu Numerisday. Registered as Supreme Commander, complete.]
Speaking to themselves, Jason continues.
[Master Edu Numerisday, welcome aboard. Please give any commands.]
Captain.
The weight of that echo sends their heart pounding.
“V, Vanessa?”
Inhibiting their excitement, they call out her name. Vanessa turns to them with a mischievous smile.
“Jason said it, didn’t he? Try giving any commands.”
“Y, yes!”
After taking a short breath, they issue their first command to Jason.
“Jason, prepare for ship launch!”
[Launching ship, considering the status of the crew, switching to low-speed operation mode.]
The slight vibration accompanying the reply.
The ship lifts off, pushing the brown ground out of view in front of the command bridge and revealing a blue sky.
[Ascending, Master Edu Numerisday. Please set a destination.]
While saying that, Jason projects a hologram screen in front of them.
“Edu is fine, then let’s go here!”
[Confirmed, Master Edu. Switching to low-speed operation mode to head to the set destination.]
The smooth movement.
The white ship quickly separates from the fleet and tears across the sky.
The rapidly changing scenery reflected on the command bridge reveals Jason’s incredible speed even indirectly.
Even with such speed, the vibrations and impacts felt by their bodies are almost none.
“Wow! It really moves so smoothly?”
“Of course, since it’s for Edu, did you think this sister would create something shoddy?”
“Thank you, Vanessa!”
Expressing their gratitude, they tightly hug Vanessa and press their faces together.
“Is he really that happy?”
“Yes!”
“That’s good then, since we have plenty of fuel, let’s go take a drive together.”
…
At the same time. Inside the administrative building of the ark.
Simonia, lifting her sunglasses, licks her lips while gazing at the president impaled on the wall.
“…So you called me because of this?”
“Yeah, what do you think? You’ve got good instincts, don’t you?”
At Freya’s inquiry, Simonia pauses in thought.
“Let me think a moment.”
Simonia takes out various tools and equipment from her bag and begins an investigation.
Carefully examining the area around the president impaled on the wall.
Then, after leaving the room and returning some time later, her face shows an uneasy expression.
“Hmm… something’s odd.”
“What is it?”
“The sequence doesn’t make sense. The bodies of the guards and security personnel we saw on the way here were all facing inward, remember?”
“Hmm…?”
Simonia’s words make Freya thoughtful.
Recalling her memory confirms this point, and Freya nods in agreement.
“You’re right, it was like that.”
“The number of shell casings… the security personnel near the office didn’t even have time to react and were killed instantly, but the further away the bodies were, the more shell casings there were.”
Simonia licks her lips.
“Meaning, the intruder didn’t come from the outside. They came from within.”
She points this out by gesturing at the floor, making Freya nod again.
“Yeah, your point makes sense. But what do you mean by the sequence being odd?”
“See this blood on the blade?”
Simonia points at the blade.
“?? Blood?”
“Yeah, blood. The thing is, the blood on this blade isn’t just from this victim.”
Though calm, the words make Freya realize something, her eyes widening greatly.
“What? Surely…?”
“Yep, exactly that surely.”
Simonia nods.
“The intruder who used this weapon exited the office, slaughtered all the guards and security personnel, then came back to kill the president.”
“…”
Freya’s expression turns grave.
“Why would they do that? After breaking in all the way to the office, it’s strange to delay eliminating their target, right?”
“…Definitely.”
“Well, judging from the circumstances, there are only two possibilities. The intruder had an unavoidable reason…”
Simonia licks her lips, her golden eyes shimmering below her raised sunglasses.
“…Or they had some scheme.”
Looking at the president’s remains, both Simonia and Freya can’t shake off the ominous feeling growing in their hearts.
