Arsenal Carrier 【Eustitia】

 

「It seems the Defense Corps thinks we’re operating a land-based carrier. They won’t believe us when we tell them it’s a hangar carrier.」

「Told you it was a stretch…」

Astraea’s avatar hovered beside Aimer.

「Prototype Mobile Arsenal Platform, Central Separation Unit, First Ship: 【Eustitia】. Its function is essentially that of an independent manufacturing and transport vessel.」

‘Arsenal Carrier’ — a term broadly encompassing mobile arsenal platforms — designated this type of transport vessel.

「I didn’t expect we would get something like this from the project to retrofit the Izumo-class (tentative). The Eustitia’s performance is much better than expected. Cargo reduction was kept to a minimum thanks to the surplus functionality of the Hora-class’s carrier and factory systems.」

During the meeting with Prometheus, when high-speed quantum communication was employed, the super AIs arrived at another conclusion for the Izumo Project: The reinforcement of three Mobile Arsenal Platforms.

Astraea was proud of being Kou’s flagship, so she sought to get the ability Kou needed most on the battlefield—to carry out frontline engineering.

「Having you directly controlling it sure makes things convenient.」

「While the central unit is separated from the ship, there is no change to my core functions. It’s easy to simultaneously manage the Eustitia and the main ship.」

「In the end, you didn’t add an external turret, huh?」

「I had planned to. But it was Arima’s consideration. Drawing from our records during the Asia War, he proposed a design prioritizing crew protection.」

「So much for the embodiment of destruction, huh…」

「Destruction and creation are but two sides of the same coin. That one destroyed much and birthed countless monstrosities. There are likely more tales of his acts of creation than any of the gods. In Greek mythology, Prometheus created all living beings.」

「Arima designed this to protect us.」

「Armor thickness that ignores the vessel’s size. This vessel has armor equivalent to the Megareus.」

Eustitia — a compact ship constructed by salvaging and reconstructing the command bridge blown off from the Megareus.

It was Arima who suggested repurposing the bridge, noticing its viability after the ‘Hanged Man’ destroyed it. The Megareus bridge, with its internal rotating structure, could be easily leveled. And since it didn’t have an active A-Carbuncle, its armor could be worked on.

Especially notable were the gun shields of the auxiliary laser cannons on the bridge — made of rare superhard materials. These were dismantled and reinstalled around the newly established combat operations center.

As a result of the massive refit, Astraea’s main hull saw a 20% reduction in cargo capacity during carrier operations. To compensate, three large hangar carriers were offloaded and their space repurposed into maintenance bays.

「Astraea drafted the design, and the super AIs added refinements. To turn her core into a standalone arsenal ship encased in Megareus armor—」

Astraea gave a faint smile.

Prometheus and Typhon wanted to help Kou, too, so they had wondered: What is it that Kou truly desires? The conclusion that those two reached: to strengthen Astraea and protect Aimer. Kou’s priority was their safety.

Based on Arima’s proposal, the Hora-class vessels synchronized their designs and redirected their full capacities into creating external turrets. Prometheus, fixated on Megareus’s armor, collaborated with Arima to suggest embedding Astraea’s core into a mini arsenal ship—a drastic overhaul.

All the Hora-class approved, initiating the first major refit since the Interplanetary War Era.

Even Kou was overwhelmed by the modular separation concept. Prometheus and Arima must have felt quite proud.

Pressed for time due to Prometheus’s limited time, the super AIs offered Kou only what was essential, and he finished the design.

「Arima really liked the Hanged Man. To think someone could make even the Avatar of Destruction laugh… Eirene and Abel-san might’ve been the first.」

Strangely, Aimer sensed that the Eustitia still retained some lingering presence of its time as a bridge.

「Likely so. Thanks to Eirene’s efforts, the work progressed smoothly.」

The outfitting began after the Trireme Expeditionary Fleet returned. On Planet Asia, Eirene and Abel spearheaded the refit effort. The massive tail wheel was a remnant of that.

Astraea, the first of the three, repurposed the Megareus’ armor. The remaining two were still under construction, using salvaged materials from war-wrecked vessels of the Dignity War. The rest would be supplemented from the underground factories in the Silhouette Base.

Given the severity of previous missions, Eunomia’s retrofit was already underway.

「We also got a bit of firepower. Suits this kind of mission well.」

「A bit…?」

Aimer frowned deeply.

Currently, multiple Ant worker-types were flanking them from both sides. Eustitia’s laser gatlings on the starboard side swept away the right-wing hostiles.

These weapons, crafted using materials sourced from Planet Libya, each packed 1 MJ per shot. By spinning multi-barrels to allow for heat dissipation, the system expanded its engagement range. Against battery-powered Ant worker-types, it was overkill.

And when focused, the laser’s power could increase—ideal for anti-air.

The port side was held by the Lanius and Epos squads, both veterans of the Asia War.

「This will be the first time we try your new main gun… Is Enyo a good target?」

「Actually quite ideal. NJo one should be recording this battle, after all. And please avoid pressing the P button.」

「That’s the emergency weapon, right…? Do we really need it?」

「We do not.」

Astraea replied instantly.

In Aimer’s hand was a tiny, 20th-century-looking red button marked with a bold black ‘P’, more reminiscent of a self-destruct switch than anything else. It even came with a spare clear plastic safety case. Stacks of unused buttons lay at her feet.

「It’s okay. It’s huge, sure, and kind of tempting to press, but—Ponko, you’re up.」

With a gentle tap, Aimer pressed the PC button. The P button required breaking its protective cover to activate.

「Acknowledged.」

Ponko sat at the gunnery seat.

The cannon locked onto the Enyo clinging to the Defensive Dome. A stray shot could easily strike the shelter.

「No hostiles nearby. No observation drones detected either.」

The operator—a sheep-eared Therianthrope—reported.

「Small-caliber positron cannon, readying to fire. Output at 20%.」

A folded barrel emerged from Eustitia’s aft deck.

A three-stage unfolding cannon, longer than the entire ship itself.

「Fire!」

At Aimer’s command, Ponko and the Familias adjusted their aim.

「Target acquired. Firing now.」

In an instant, a colorless laser created a vacuum path, guiding a stream of positrons — antimatter — along its trajectory.

It struck Enyo’s leg.

The impact produced a massive explosion. Shards of armor struck the shelter and scattered even further.

「Eh?」

The Defense Force members froze.

What had just happened—?

Follow-up shots rained down upon the Enyo. The lasers punched holes everywhere.

「First live firing, but this is too much for a compact ship…」

「Compared to Arthur’s Marmiadoise, the power is quite modest.」

「I don’t think it’s fair to compare to an Another Level Silhouette…」

Arthur’s positron cannon, Marmiadoise, was powerful enough to pierce a space battleship head-on.

「It is indeed a great firepower for a ship powered by an A-Carbuncle. To reach Arthur’s firepower, we would need a Kugelblitz Engine…」

This compact vessel was fitted with two A Carbuncle reactors and a novel reactor system proposed by Arima and Polymetis — one that could be realized using existing tech.

「And that was just 20% output…」

Even Aimer doubted it was only 20%. Originally meant to be Astraea’s main gun, it was designed to channel the full energy of the A-Carbuncle reactors into the positron cannon.

In other words, the Hora-class now carried two A Carbuncle reactors per ship.

「When 1 gram of antimatter collides with 1 gram of matter, the energy released is about 180 terajoules — roughly 43 kilotons of TNT. Twice the yield of the earliest atomic bombs. Even small-caliber, the destructive power is more than sufficient.」

「And yet this is the smallest form we can actually operate, huh.」

The positron cannon technology unlocked the Third Asia core was liberated couldn’t be miniaturized under current tech. It was one of the reasons Kou held back from releasing it.

Without optical components extracted from Planet Libya’s Mythology Weapons, this level of firepower would’ve been impossible.

「It’s still not as powerful as the Onikiri. Its greatest advantage lies in being able to adjust output and use it repeatedly.」

「That laser cannon was all-in on destructive force. This one exists thanks to all the knowledge gathered on Planet Libya!」

「That many super AIs and their terminals gathering again — that won’t happen. The idea of using Megareus’ ruined bridge wasn’t a perspective I had.」

「The name we are using as a cover-up is a derivative of Megareus, too.」

「Nisos is the scientific name for goshawk — and also the name of King Nisos of Megara in Greek myth. His second daughter, Iphinoe, is said to have married General Megareus.」

That name had been proposed by Taa-kun, the hawk-type Familia always at Hyoue’s side.

「He was the king who couldn’t die so long as a single purple hair on his head remained, right? Then his daughter Scylla, tricked by Eros, fell in love with Minos of Crete and tore it out, dooming him. Some say he took his own life, others say he died in war just as foretold…」

「And Minos spurned her, saying he couldn’t love a woman who killed her own father. Her fate varies in different tales, but none are pleasant. In some, Nisos turns into a hawk and takes revenge; in others, Minos has her bound hand and foot and drowned at sea.」

「Feels like Scylla got what was coming, but honestly, the gods are to blame for setting her up like that.」

「Minos was the son of Zeus and Europa. The gods likely wanted him to win at all costs. He was said to have ruled wisely, and after death, became one of the judges of the underworld.」

「Wait, didn’t he demand human sacrifices from Athens? Guess it was ‘wise rule’ from Crete’s point of view.」

「History belongs to the victors.」

To Aimer, who had seen the outcomes of wars between nations, the word ‘wise rule’ left a bitter taste. And with Astraea’s words, her resolve hardened once more: they could not afford to lose.