"...In addition, with the development of magic controlling nuclear fission and blocking radiation, the people’s rejection of nuclear energy has decreased compared to the last century. For the most part, the decline in nuclear power was due to rising uranium prices and the high cost of the magicians needed to counter accidents. Nuclear weapons were sealed and the withdrawal of plutonium for civilian use was carried out."
"...Even if you do not pay attention to the circumstances in the industrial area, it will be inconvenient for our country if we cannot neutralize Shiba Tatsuya with the help of Project Dione."
This cannot be? , Lina thought.
"In this regard, the general staff thought that it is necessary to arrange a diversion at Shiba Tatsuya’s plant. The view was also expressed that the threat of a presumably intercontinental range of the Strategic Class Magic 'Material Burst' would be eliminated if Shiba Tatsuya could be eliminated at this stage."
Worst case scenario, Lina thought.
She did not know the details, but as far as she had heard, Tatsuya’s project was to build a commercial plant.
And to help their entrepreneurs, they want to destroy his plant.
Although this would be very difficult, but the true goal seems to be the assassination of Shiba Tatsuya. Since when did the Stars become a group of killers like the mafia?
"Major Sirius, Major Canopus, what do you think?"
"Colonel, let me express my opinion!"
Instead of answering Walker's question, Lina asked for permission to answer. It wasn't because she kept calm. Just the opposite. As she had the feeling that her head was about to boil, she tried to restore the lost self-control, deliberately observing military discipline.
"Authorized." Walker made no remark about this and just gave Lina permission.
"I'm against it. Although the magic of converting mass into energy is certainly a threat, but Shiba Tatsuya is a man from a union country and is not hostile to our country. To kill him only because he poses a potential threat are like the methods of the Mafia. I believe that the army should not dirty their hands with murders of this nature."
"I'm against it, Colonel."
"Major Canopus, you too?"
Walker listened to Lina's opinion with a stone face, but when Canopus also objected, Walker's face flashed astonishment.
"Yes. I do not think that even the diversion at the plant itself is a good idea, let alone the pros and cons of murder. Yes, the energy industry can be temporarily hit. However, the supply of cheap hydrogen fuel, extracted from sea water, can improve the lives of the citizens of our country. Actions against Tatsuya should not be murder or interference of his activities. Wouldn't it be better instead to ask him to provide our country with the know-how of a thermonuclear reactor?"
"...Do you think that we should not hinder him, but ask him?"
"Confirmed. Since the military will be used in certain areas for commercial purposes, the energy industry would be affected badly because the army would prevent it. I do not deny the aspects of the interdependence of the army and the economy, but a certain 'brake' is still needed."
"Colonel Walker, may I offer my opinion too?" said Balance, standing on the side of Commander Walker's desk.
"Please." Walker willingly allowed her. At least it looked like that.
"Thanks. I do not know what to say about the principal views of Major Sirius, but I believe that the opinion of Major Canopus is worth considering."
Lina was shocked by these words and though Balance noticed this, she ignored it,.
Turning to Walker, she continued to express her opinion.
"There is one delicate side to the evaluation of Stars by people who are not magicians. If the Stars act in the interests of a specific company, or a particular industry, even if people would only think we are doing so, there is a fear that there will be intense opposition from other industries and consumer organizations."
"But can’t we just sabotage it in strict secrecy?"
"The enemy is also quite capable. It would be unrealistic to conduct a diversion at the plant without leaving any clues."
Walker had to recognize what Balance said. It is almost impossible to carry out a large-scale sabotage on the plant so that it does not attract public attention.
When it is possible to investigate the traces of the caused damage, there is always a limit to what makes it look like an accident. The main prerequisite for preparing a crime against someone else's military force is to ensure that they will not be able to examine the evidence in detail.
You can, of course, escape from the punishment, pretending that you do not know anything, but the spreading of rumors cannot be avoided. In terms of the fact that there will be a minimum amount of clues, killing one person, Tatsuya, was much simpler.
"...So your opinion, as well as the opinion of both Majors, is that there are more shortcomings? ...Got you. I'll ask the General staff to cancel the operation."
The one who felt most relieved from Walker's decision was Lina.
After leaving the office of the Commander, Balance led Lina to another room.
"Major Sirius, how have you been doing lately?"
"Yes, there are no problems."
They sat at the same table from different angles. Standing up to talk would be tedious, so Balance insisted that they sit down.
Before Lina was not a cup of honey milk, but a whole mug of American coffee. After she came back from Japan last year, she probably thought it was a weakness to show others that she was drinking milk, and from then on, outside of her room, pretends to prefer coffee. But recently her stomach, apparently, could not withstand hard brewed coffee, so cream and sugar became irreplaceable.
"Understood."
Before Balance also stood American coffee. Only hers was black. It was originally pretty hard boiled, but if you add cream and sugar to it, the taste would be lost.
"Returning to the recent conversation..."
"Yes."
Lina straightened out, sitting on a chair. Although they were the only two in the room, she didn't know what the conversation was about.
She was also worried about being able to talk about it in a place like this.
"Although Colonel Walker said he would ask to cancel the operation, we don't know what the General Staff's decision would be. Maybe you'll be nominated for the order."
"Then I'll fulfill my responsibilities."
The reaction of Lina was too fast, because it apparently implied the presence of other “views” here.
"Hmm."
Although Balance noticed this, she did not pay attention to it. It could be said that it was a demonstration of her position that it would not be a problem.
"The Defense Ministry also has one more opinion."
"Do you mean that there is another policy towards Tatsuya?"
The Balance’s voice was like a monologue, but Lina was forced to ask, as if she heard.
"The opinion is that it is necessary not to conflict with him, but to use him. This is very close to the earlier voiced opinion of Major Canopus."
"You mean Ben's opinion... What does it take to secure the right to know-how of a thermonuclear reactor?"
"Yes. To use the know-how of a magical thermonuclear reactor for the economy. And for military purposes to be used as a distributed deterrent force."
"Distributed deterrent force...?"
Having seen the puzzled Lina, Balance involuntarily smiled.
"This distribution concerns you too, Major Sirius."
"That? How does it relate to me?"
"Don't you understand?"
With a smile Balance was trying to nuance between "You can't do anything", and not "You're stupid."
"From the 'Scorched Halloween' situation, it seems that they can also use a satellite aiming system. Perhaps its accuracy is even better than ours. If we can capture this know-how too, then with the Major’s Heavy Metal burst and Material Burst of Shiba Tatsuya, we will dominate the military forces of the world. This should lead to the rejection of at least large-scale military action."
"Me and Tatsuya working together...?"
"Initially, our army did not plan to use your Strategic Class Magic just for defense. Like 'Leviathan', that depends highly on the defense/seizure position, the place of use for Heavy Metal Burst cannot be chosen."
To be more precise, Heavy Metal Burst cannot provide sufficient power if a certain amount of heavy metal is not available in the area, and its effect will be severely limited in geographical conditions with very rough, hilly surfaces.
But compared to "Leviathan", which can only show its true value only on terrain with an abundance of water, for example, on the sea, a large lake or a wide river, Heavy Metal Burst has more freedom of use.
Although it is inferior to "Ozone Circle" and "Agni-Downburst" In terms of a lack of influence of geographical conditions, but if you add other conditions, such as power and speed of activation, we can say that Heavy Metal Burst is a suitable replacement for strategic ballistic missiles for the role as a deterrent force.
"What's the surprise? The New Soviet Union and Japan. If this alliance is formed, then Japan is an ally that will be easier to control. So if this happens, don't be too weird."
At first glance it was caution to the fact that the one who was still an enemy, cannot be forced to be an ally. However, Balance said the word
"weird" which could include a secret meaning that Lina may experience certain feelings for Tatsuya.
Apparently, Balance called Lina here, because it seemed necessary to warn her that she did not show such behavior, which would lead to distrust of her, because she had previously personally met with Tatsuya.
"...Okay. Roger that."
"Yes, well, think about it."
It's a good thing we talked about this, Balance thought, seeing the confused face of the unreliable Lina.
After Balance, Lina and Canopus came out of the Commander's office.
After a while Colonel Walker summoned the commanders of the Third and Fourth Corps of Stars, Arcturus and Vega.
"Captain Alexander Arcturus arrived."
"Captain Charlotte Vega has arrived."
"Enter."
Walker invited the two unit commanders to the Office of the base Commander.
Like they said, they were both captains. Their ranks were lower than Lina and Canopus, but in the current form of the organization of Stars it was strange that there were six people of the same rank as Lina, who was considered the Commander-in-Chief. So in a sense it was normal that the commanders of Arcturus and Vega to be lower in rank than the Commander-in-Chief Lina.
However, Vega, who was older than Lina by more than 10 years, was extremely unhappy with the fact that she was below her in rank. That's why Vega and Lina got along badly. More precisely, Vega was unilaterally hostile to Lina, who was younger than her.
Arcturus did not manifest hostility and disobedience to Lina. But they could not be called friends.
First Lieutenant Fomalhaut, executed... Killed by Lina the day before Christmas Eve last year, and was a member of the Third Corps, which is led by Captain Arcturus.
Arcturus understood that Fomalhaut, who had committed mass murders, using his "superpower", pyrokinesis, deserved punishment.
However, it was also true that he did not have the opportunity to defend himself in a military court.
For Arcturus it was unpleasant to think that Lina had no other choice but to shoot Fomalhaut on the spot, though he resisted.
There was no doubt that Walker chose these two, because there was a psychological distance between them and Lina.
"It is absolutely forbidden to tell anyone about the mission you are about to receive. Commander, also do not report this to Major Sirius."
"You got it, sir."
When they simultaneously responded to the order of the Commander, Arcturus with doubt frowned his eyebrows, and the eyes of Vega shone. She was delighted to be able to circumvent Lina. It was possible to call this behavior unworthy of her age, in fact magicians usually are not inclined to be envious on such an occasion.
Walker knew about the personal feelings of Vega, but did not rebuke her, moving on to the story of the mission.
"Create a stir at the construction of the energy plant, designed by the Japanese Strategic Class Magician, Shiba Tatsuya. One of the means of obstruction can be considered the murder of Shiba Tatsuya."
Arcturus opened his eyes wide with unconcealed surprise.
"Is this an order for me and Captain Vega to kill Shiba Tatsuya?"
"The main task is to hinder his project. If this goal can be achieved, then killing will not be necessary."
"Is it possible to resort to murder if obstruction is difficult?” Vega asked immediately. ...With a smile on her face."
"...From the moment of receiving the temporary name 'The Great Bomber', the initial plan concerning this magic of conversion of mass into energy consisted in complete neutralization if it could not be seized. Nothing has changed here. Now the priority is given to neutralization through Project Dione, and if this does not work, we will return to the original plan."
"You got it."
Arcturus was still in a state of reluctance, but he persuaded himself to accept the task.
Vega, on the contrary, was full of enthusiasm.
Through the Women's Information network for soldiers and officers, she found out that Lina seems to be friends with Tatsuya. Although it is still
"potential", but he is still "the greatest threat". Those who are close friends with the "greatest enemy" should not be a soldier of the USNA army.
She, as a sempai, will wake Sirius up, bringing her the head of Shiba Tatsuya.
With such thoughts, Vega was burning with enthusiasm.
The execution of the first Lieutenant Alfred Fomalhaut left a mark in the hearts of every member of the Stars. Especially in the same Third Corps as Fomalhaut and his close friend, the First Lieutenant, Jacob Regulus, who is still searching for the truth about the incident.
At the moment, the official but absolutely secret opinion is that the murders Fomalhaut committed while under the control of a parasite.
Psychological resistance to the supernatural was lost with the practical use of magic, and at the autopsy of Fomalhaut in his brain, they found a body that should not be in a human. Any who calls themselves realists, will find it difficult to deny the existence of parasites.
He was captured by the parasite and created disorder, using his unique ability of pyrokinesis. This was explained by his multiple murders of civilians in that incident.
But it wasn't enough to convince Regulus.
How was Fomalhaut captured by a parasite?
Shortly before the incident, Fomalhaut was sent on a solitary mission.
Until the moment they last saw him, there was no strangeness in him.
So he were undoubtedly captured during that solitary mission.
The question is when, where and who did it.
If it is an accident, it is necessary to find out the conditions of occurrence of parasites and to prevent recurrence of it.
Many scientists are actively working in this direction.
Although this theory was deadlocked because of the inability to test it to confirm it, but most believed that the reason is the Micro Black Hole experiment. Disputes about the mechanism of this process are still going on.
Therefore, Regulus conducted an investigation to prove that the emergence of parasites was not an accident.
Who called the parasite that got to Fomalhaut?
If it was a deliberate incident, it was a brutal terrorist attack that could lead to large-scale losses that terrorized the USNA. Because the magician, who alone carries a fighting power comparable to a battalion, can itself be regarded as an instrument of terrorism.
His friend was used as a terrorist or a saboteur, and as a result he was executed by the hands of his own friends.
Regulus could not close his eyes to the possibility of this. Despite the fact that further investigation after the execution of the offender was not the work of the Stars, Regulus continued to investigate, and spent his free time and days off.
However, one and a half years after the incident, Regulus was more and more inclined to the conclusion that "There were no criminals". It happened by accident.
And now, when he was almost convinced, he was delivered this information.
"What does it mean..."
The fact that Regulus unconsciously muttered this aloud, had a reason.
This anonymous email had passed through the highest level of security, which is used even in the general staff, and has reached his terminal in a state without any censorship.
According to the Charter, Regulus had to isolate the message in the system and notify the security personnel. But he did not, and opened the letter.
The intuition of Regulus whispered to him that he should read it and not give it to others to read.
The letter was not encrypted. It seems to have been protected from peeping by other means than encryption.
And something absolutely amazing was written in it.
"The experiment of the Micro Black Hole is the work of a Japanese agent...!?"
In this letter it says following:
· The Micro Black Hole Experiment was started by a Japanese Private magician organization.
· The aforementioned organization knew that this experiment could cause"something" spiritual to happen.
· The organization was looking for a country to conduct the experiment that could not be implemented in Japan.
· At that time, scientists from the USNA army, who actively sought hints on the magic of converting mass into energy, engaged in similar research.
· The aforementioned organization wished to receive even more experimental data. They asked for another micro black hole experiment that would be monitored by an organization agent.
· Fomalhaut was captured by a parasite because he was suddenly attacked. If a magician has a solid consciousness and a strong goal, the parasite will never be able to possess them.
Regulus didn't believe the contents of this letter. To be honest, it seemed too "suspicious" to him.
In particular, he thought that is too convenient that it is possible to avoid the parasite from taking over by only having a strong consciousness.
But the fact that the experiment was conducted on the advice of a foreign agent, unconsciously touched him to the bottom of the soul.
The details of the experiment seemed unnatural. Not only among scientists, but also among politicians there are many who adhere to the rule of caution. The results were doubtful from the very beginning. Among the scholars, only the minority believed that the magic of mass conversion to energy could be explained by Hawking's radiation.
Regulus also wanted to see if there was any chance that these events were too much for him to understand, like some sort of conspiracy theory.
But if we consider that the Micro Black Hole experiment could be intervened by an external force, it looks like a reasonable explanation for why the experiment was conducted at that time.
Regulus could not decide whether this external force was the Japanese civil organization of magicians, the "Ten Master Clans". Regulus warned himself that he should not be influenced by a message whose sender wished to remain unknown. But now that his investigation was stalled, and if there is an opportunity to learn the truth, he began to think that it would be a good idea to try.
If they try the experiment again, you can check whether the source of parasites is really the Micro Black Hole. Then it will also become clear if what is written in this letter is true. If this is true, there will be a chance to grab the tail of a criminal group.
However, there was a risk that new victims could appear, and be captured by parasites. But if they are the same as they are, magicians of the Star Class, then they may be able to capture the parasites or destroy them.
There was no reason not to try.
This was the conclusion that Regulus came to. At this point, he did not even think that he could capture a parasite.
Regulus approached his immediate commander, Captain Arcturus, with an offer to experiment with the Micro Black Hole, the moment after Arcturus returned from his visit to Colonel Walker.
Regulus told him the contents of the letter truthfully and eloquently proved the necessity of the experiment.
If it were any other day, it would have ended only by the fact that Arcturus would simply rebuke that Regulus was being reckless.
But Arcturus was mentally unstable after receiving Walker's assignment.
He was attracted by the idea of being able to grasp the Japanese agent's tail.
If they receive important material for negotiations with Japan, it may be possible to neutralize the Strategic Class Magic "Material Burst"
without such dirty methods as murder. Such a naïve calculation arose in Arcturus’ mind.
Arcturus turned back in the direction of the base Commander's office and led Regulus there.
And somehow, Regulus was able to persuade Colonel Walker.
Perhaps the Colonel just wanted to sabotage the mission entrusted to him by the chief of staff.
He immediately contacted the General Staff, and in the course of the conversation, they came to the decision that for the repetition of the Micro Black Hole experiment, he will be contacted later.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login