291

Episode 291 – Moving (4)

–

There are some things that do not change even though we have entered an era where humans can run freely among the stars.

An era in which genes can be manipulated as desired, planetary environments can be changed, and huge metal structures can be moved from star system to star system.

Now humans can recreate God's miracles on their hands.

However, if there is something that cannot be changed or changed, it is 'the limitations of the human being.'

death apocalypse. Problems that deal with God's miracles but can never be solved because he is not God. Fear of him is embodied in many forms.

A myth about the existence of infinite evil lurking in the depths of the universe.

A story about landing on an uninhabited planet and setting off again, but the number of people on the ship increased.

Rumor has it that everything was fine until departure, but after arriving, there was no one on the ship.

Ironically, even after the space age, ghost stories still remained. It has merely changed into a form that reminds us of human limitations and stimulates primal fears.

Yamada, the rescue fleet team leader at the Megacorp space fortress located in the OS-255 system, also often heard ghost stories in the past.

Since he was once a flight attendant, there was no ghost story he couldn't hear. That's usually the only thing sailors sailing the vast sea of stars can talk about while drinking.

But I have never heard a story as scary as this moment today.

"I can't hear from Gigacracker?"

Yamada received a call from his subordinate just as he was about to fall asleep, and felt the expression that it sent shivers down his spine.

"yes. Even though the regular contact time has come, there has been no contact."

"I guess it's not a complete loss, right?"

"That's not it. "Gigacracker's energy response still exists."

The rescue fleet is equipped with equipment to track Gigacracker's unique energy traces. Unless the ship itself is completely destroyed or traces of it have long passed, it can be tracked.

"…That's a good thing. "Wake everyone up and prepare to sail immediately."

"I understand!"

After ending communication with his subordinates, he sent an emergency message to the entire fleet.

"Notify all rescue fleets. Signal loss from Gigacracker No. 14! "Signal loss from Gigacracker 14!"

5 minutes after communication went off.

A rescue fleet gathered in space outside the fortress.

If there was a problem with a regular ship, we wouldn't have gathered together this quickly. This was possible because an unprecedented situation occurred where contact with Giga Cracker was lost.

"What is the gigacracker energy response? Is it still the same?"

"yes. "I'm still staying in the same place."

"…It might be the work of Star Union operatives."

Of course, it is a bigger problem for Giga Cracker to be hijacked by another force than for it to be destroyed. The danger to Megacorp's planets is a secondary problem, and the biggest threat is reverse engineering.

Only St. K knows the production method and core technology of Giga Cracker. If it were leaked, St. K would suffer a huge blow.

It was obvious where Noble Capital, which suffered huge losses, would vent its anger. Those who belong to the rescue fleet will be punished so much that they will feel that even being an employee is a luxury.

"The entire fleet is ready for faster-than-light travel."

The entire fleet gathered at Yamada's command glowed blue. The light that illuminated the black universe, like a star shining, disappeared in an instant.

A few minutes later, they appeared in a completely different star system far away. Thanks to the super-light speed engine, the distance that would otherwise take several months to travel at the speed of light was shortened to a few minutes.

"Arrived at target point."

"No ships lost."

"No damage."

"good. "Show Giga Cracker status as a hologram."

While reports from the entire fleet were being exchanged, a hologram conveying the situation within the star system was displayed in the center of the situation room.

Soon, the image of Gigacracker recorded by the ship's external camera was reflected in the hologram. The appearance of a giga cracker in the form of a 2km diameter sphere and figures analyzing its current condition appeared next to it.

"The location hasn't changed… huh?"

The sailor stopped talking while reporting.

But Yamada didn't blame him.

This is because the numbers that appeared on the hologram were extremely strange.

'The energy level being emitted is rapidly increasing, right?'

Just like when activating the ion cannon. Yamada's complexion became pale when he realized that fact.

"Avoid raw fish! Take evasive maneuver immediately!"

"Yes yep!"

Other ships also seemed to have noticed something was wrong and began to rapidly leave camp. Meanwhile, the values displayed on the hologram reached their limit and glowed red.

And when those numbers stopped rising, the dry sound of the ship AI echoed in the situation room.

｢Check high-energy reaction from the front.｣

"Everybody grab something!"

The moment the two voices crossed, a tremendous shock shook the ship.

–

There are almost no players who dislike super weapons in space survival.

Of course it has to be that way.

This is an opportunity to use weapons that we often see in space-based media, such as wiping out a large fleet in one blow or purifying a planet by burning it.

Aside from the fantasy of science fiction, the performance of the super weapon is not bad when viewed from within the game. First of all, because its power is unparalleled, it can easily neutralize the opponent's defense measures.

The only thing that can stop a super weapon is a power equivalent to it. In battles between ranker clan forces, the presence or absence of super weapons has a significant impact.

In fact, I have often had trouble fighting enemies with super weapons. Even if you try to hide on the planet, it will be over if you shoot them with a super weapon from over there.

However, despite these advantages, it is rare for players to retain super weapons for a long time.

The reason is related to those advantages.

Because it gives an overwhelming advantage in battle, if anyone tries to obtain the super weapon, obstacles come in from around them. Even if they are allies, let alone enemies, they do not know when that weapon will be aimed at them, so they carry out sabotage in secret.

And super weapons are very visible. Even though it has tremendous power, it does not have the same defensive power. If you roll just a little bit wrong, you could easily get hit by enemy fire and lose it.

Additionally, the expensive production and maintenance costs are a bonus.

For practical reasons, not many people own super weapons for a long time, but they are still envied by many. That's a super weapon.

That weapon of ruinous charm is now moving in my hands.

The gigantic ion cannon is Gigacracker's core weapon. A weapon powerful enough to split small stars, such as asteroids or dwarf planets, into pieces is activated.

A blue-green beam is fired from a naval gun with an aperture of several hundred meters. It was similar to the particle beam fired by the Crystal Wing, but its scope and destructive power were so overwhelming that it was beyond comparison. In the first place, it makes no sense to compare the power to destroy a star with that of a living thing.

Beautiful death cuts through the darkness that fills the universe and flies toward its goal.

The target at the end is not a star, but a ship. These are rescue fleets that appeared for rescue.

The enemies who have just arrived in this star system are confused. Their reaction was that they had no idea that Giga Cracker would be targeting them. They try to change to a spread formation belatedly, but the beam fired by the ion cannon is already right in front of them.

The moment the beam and fleet collided, an intense light flashed.

There were no spectacular fireworks displays that are usually seen in fleet battles. It was similar to a wave washing over a sand castle. Hundreds of ships, including battleships, destroyers, and patrol ships, were hit by the beam and disappeared without a trace.

'I was that role in the game.'

Even if it becomes an adult, its means of defending against superweapons are extremely limited. Even if it is a unique characteristic. Would it be possible to fight back if we gathered a lot of the characteristics of the most powerful people in Apex?

'If you think about it, it was like that when fighting the imperial carrier.'

Even when blocking the imperial carrier's cosmic bolt, he was only able to win after mobilizing everything, including the whip of God, the king of adult monsters, and the psychic breath fired from three heads.

In fact, there weren't many cases like that in games. This is because most of the cases were finished before the superweapon was activated. What if I fail? It becomes like those ships.

'Is it over?'

Gigacracker's hull, which had spread out like a lotus flower in full bloom, was folding again. It usually has a spherical shape, but when the ion cannon is fired, the outer wall around the weapon and the hull unfold into a flower bud shape.

'That's why my nickname was Tangerine.'

Ion Cannon enters a dormant state and Giga Cracker returns to its original state.

I was watching the scene from beginning to end with a 'dark curtain' spread in outer space.

'Is it my turn now?'

The only ones that survived were fast-moving patrol ships and a few battleships that made evasive maneuvers with quick judgment.

It will be difficult if they return safely.

I flew towards them with the veil activated. The surviving ships immediately dispersed as I approached.

Thanks to the veil of darkness, my body is wrapped in a substance that messes with the enemy's detection system. From the eyes of my enemies, I will now be seen as a large mass of energy.

Perhaps because of the new attacks from the ion cannon, the enemies seemed to be completely unconscious.

I dug in among them and swung my right tail towards the nearby patrol ship. The corvette, which was now smaller than me, was hit by a clawed tail and split in two.

While the tail was swinging, other body parts were not idle either. Instead of a dark curtain, 'Gremlin Moss', strengthened with the 'Great Infectious Agent' characteristic, was emitted in the form of smog from the pipe attached to the body.

A cloud of gremlin moss, disabling the machine, attached itself to the remnants of the rescue fleet. The ships that came into contact with the smoke had their lights blinking a few times and then stopped.

The two heads on either side took care of the neutralized prey. The right head blew a large hole in the ship with its strengthened acid breath, while the left head simply bit the ship and threw it towards another ship.

The combat arms took the form of sharp scythes or had large claws on their hands and struck ships that came close. Thanks to the effect of the 'variable biological weapon' characteristic, the arms changed their shape from time to time, toying with the enemies.

As the number of patrol ships rapidly decreased, the enemy seemed to recognize what was attacking them. The surviving battleships fell back, activated their main guns and began pouring fire on me.

The plasma energy fired by the battleships' main guns struck my body, but there was no significant impact. It wasn't that there was no pain at all, but compared to before, it was safe to say that there was virtually no damage.

'Let's have a naval gun battle?'

It seemed like they wanted that, so I decided to do whatever they wanted.

The two heads that were fighting on their own stopped moving and followed my will and headed forward.

The enormous energy pumped by the dragon's heart surged upward like a fountain throughout my body. The psychic power that would have been concentrated in one head before was now flowing in three directions. The monster's tentacles, which had absorbed all of that intense energy, shook all at once.

And when the gathered energy reached the appropriate level, my tentacles burst into flames.

The dragon's breath, long after overpowering the original, assaults the ships. Even if my strength is still not up to a super weapon, whether they can withstand their psychic breath is another matter. Battleships with thick exterior walls melted into armor, and smaller corvettes left no trace at all.

After the judgment of fire was over, there were no more moving beings.

Only the ship graveyards commonly seen in space remain.

'Should I wrap this up and go back?'

I spewed out purple flames one last time. The psychic breath burned even the ships that had become scrap metal.

After erasing all traces of the rescue fleet coming here, I turned my head.

The kids are waiting for me in my new home.