by Yoo Seong
Then they started to see the glow of a cannon. Hawk’s voice could be heard on the screen about the sound of it charging.
–Foolish bastards! Ark, you’re the same as well. How long are you going to chat? You already know the answer. What have we been doing for the last 20 days? Looking for a clue about antimatter. And now it is right in front of us. Then there is only one answer. Like Ark said, there is no reason for us not to fight. We have to get our hands on it. What other reason is necessary for a warrior? Harley, fire!
Hawk turned and shouted. The Death Knight rushed forward while firing.
Pepeng! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
A deep blue flash flew over hundreds of kilometres and directly hit. But the main gun was unable to penetrate the shield. The flash scattered all over the place and disappeared before it could strike the body. However the situation had suddenly changed with this blow.
While Ark was sputtering over the Death Knight’s attack, the Rama and Aschulat fleets had also changed to battle mode. They accepted the Death Knight’s attacks as the opinion of the galactic federation.
–Ark’s words are accepted!
–The Rama and Aschulat fleets have switched to battle mode!
-The 3 fleets will do a pincer movement!
–Let’s go! Full acceleration! Attack the carrier!
The team members gained the courage to chase after Hawk. The fleets of the Galactic Federation, Rama and Aschulat advanced from three different directions.
Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
There were continuous flashes and resounding roars! The spaceship that approached the fastest was Hawk’s Death Knight. Ark could feel the Death Knight’s overwhelming presence but its rush.
‘Damn, he is smug but he has a reason for it.’
Ark was grumpy but he couldn’t complain.
Once he attacked ahead of everyone else, the remaining spaceships had no choice but to follow. Ark knew the Rama and Aschulat leaders were also aware of this. But even if they knew it, making the first move wasn’t that easy.
‘I hate to admit it.’
His move showed confidence in his judgement and determination. He saw it on Muratio Star but Hawk’s decisiveness was his largest strength. Hawk was different from other users and that was how he could become one of the Seven Swords.
Hawk’s presence had clearly been sharpened in the minds of the 3 investigation teams. On the other hand Ark…..
–Hey! Ark, what are you doing?
–We’re you lying when you said we should be fighting instead of running away.
–That lousy bastard was secretly planning this.
The eyes of the team members steamed with anger. While the 3 fleets had advanced with their offensive after Hawk, Ark was still in a similar location.
But Ark couldn’t help it. The Silver Star couldn’t increase its speed due to the central control system error. However he couldn’t say ‘my spaceship has broken down!’ to the members.
Ark had no choice but to silently bear the blame as the captain of the Silver Star. Fortunately that time didn’t last that long.
“Hyung-nim, the error correction is over!”
-The central control system error correction has been completed!
* Ether engine booster operation program check-OK!
* Engine balance systems that prepare for impact- OK!
The message popped up on the monitor along with Tori’s voice.
Ark jumped up and shouted.
“System operation! Full acceleration!”
Kuwaaaaaaaah!
Exhaust flames finally roared out. The Silver Star shot forward like a jet boat. Meanwhile Ark confirmed the spaceship arrangements of the members and gave orders.
“Now the real battle will begin!’ Tori, adjust the direction towards Irina. Proceed into battle with Irina. Milan, charge the battery for the main gun. Hegel, grasp the location of the enemy’s guns and register the data in the Silver Star’s evasion system. Kalliben and Leon, go to the gun turrets for close combat shooting…..”
Ark was giving orders when he suddenly closed his mouth. Rapid frowned and asked him.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“Ah, no, that….I suddenly lost my breath…..”
Ark grabbed his neck and stuttered with a pale face. Rapid who was monitoring in front of Ark turned his head.
“Out of breath? What are you doing that would cause you to lose your breath? There is no problem with the air supply system.”
“No, that is….this….”
Ark couldn’t grasp what was going on. All of a sudden, it felt like an invisible hand was grasping his neck while giving orders. No, it wasn’t a feeling. Obviously something was choking him.
He clearly felt hands around his neck. But he couldn’t see anything. It was useless trying to pull it off because the hands were like steel.
“This is….”
Ark flopped down onto the ground.
Then the scene around him disappeared like the power had been switched off.
————————————————————————–
“Ha, this really….”
Gwon Hwa-rang lowered his cell phone and clicked his tongue. Park So-mi who was knitting tilted her neck to one side and asked.
“Why? Who was on the phone?”
“That guy Myung-ryong.”
“Myung-ryong ssi? Didn’t you say it had been a while since he contacted you?”
“I did. I heard that he had received orders from higher up for a secret mission when I asked the juniors in his department. He just called all of a sudden asking me for the password to Hyun-woo’s house.”
“Password for Hyun-woo’s house? Why?”
“I don’t know. He said he wanted to do a surprise…..”
“Surprise? That is a word used for a surprise birthday party or something. But isn’t Hyun-woo’s birthday still far away? Perhaps it is Myung-ryong ssi’s birthday?”
“No, his birthday has already passed.”
“Then I guess they are celebrating someone else’s birthday.”
“Sheesh, I feel slightly hurt for some reason. Shouldn’t he ask about his Hyung-nim first? It has been such a long time since he called yet he hung up after asking for Hyun-woo’s password? He is a young guy so shouldn’t he be polite to someone older than him? I’ll let Myung-ryong know the age difference between us.”
Gwon Hwa-rang snapped out childishly.
“Why do you seem sulky?”
“I’m not sulking. I just think it is rude.”
“Don’t say that. I don’t meet him often but I know that Myung-ryong ssi is something that Hyun-woo really regards as a hyung-nim. It is fortunately that he can take time out of his busy police work to go visit Hyun-woo. I haven’t had a chance to say it but I’m really thankful that person is at Hyun-woo’s side.”
Park So-mi said with a smile. While she was thanking Lee Myung-ryong…..
“Huhuhu! Surprise!”
A person with a bloodthirsty smile was standing in front of her son.
Space 2
Sudden Attack (Part: 2)
“….Heok!”
Ark’s eyes flashed.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
At the same time, a continuous roar rattled his ears. Red lights were flashing around him.
“The right side armour has been shot! Fire has occurred around the power control system due to the impact!”
“Damn! Kurakan, Ellain, engine room!”
“F-fire extinguisher?”
“There are no spares in the bridge! Take the fire extinguisher from the infirmary!”
“Rapid, the passage has caught on fire!”
“Then please go to the right gun turrets and support Cupa and Hedro. A lot of the armour is damaged and air is leaking. If we don’t stop it quickly then the right gun turrets won’t be able to rotate anymore. In such a situation, it is the end if our turrets do
n’t work. Take any necessary repair materials from the warehouse!”
“But we don’t have the skill to repair it.”
“It can’t be helped. Right now Tori and Hegel is needed in the cockpit. Milan and Park are at the left gun turrets. If you can’t repair it then just give first aid!”
Rapid was crying out in a loud voice near him. Kaya and Sadain were cursing while running away from the bridge and Berad and Melina were using emergency fire extinguishers on a corner of the bridge. Ark watched the scene with dumbfounded eyes before grabbing Rapid’s arm and saying.
“Rapid, what is the uproar?”
“Ark!”
Rapid flinched and turned his head. He frowned as he looked at Ark’s face and exclaimed.
“Stupid bastard! What have you been doing in the meantime?”
“Me? I-I…..”
Ark stuttered.
As soon as the fleets from the 3 powers advanced, Ark had tried to fight when he felt short of breath and the scene disappeared around him. He didn’t know then but the reason Ark disappeared from Galaxian wasn’t due to a problem. Ark couldn’t imagine that it was because of a person.
Ark became short of breath because ‘he’ had dragged Ark out of the capsule by the neck. And it took him 10 minutes to connect again. Ark had experienced many things in those 10 minutes.
Really a lot of experiences…..
And things weren’t put in order yet. Ark desperately convinced ‘him’ before he was allowed to come back to Galaxian. He didn’t know what was going on! He still didn’t know why ‘he’ pulled Ark out of the capsule with a bloodthirsty expression. If he made a mistake then he would unconditionally have to pay it back 2 or 3 times. No, Ark begged that he would pay it pay 10 times before ‘he’ would agree. And he quickly logged into this mess.
Ark organized his thoughts and simply replied.
“There were circumstances! Rather…..”
Wiiiing-! Pepepepeng!
At that moment the Silver Star started shaking. Ark turned and a passing scene caught his eye. There was a flying spherical object with four light wings attached.
“…..What, this is?”
“That is a small fighter aircraft.”
Rapid growled as he looked out the flashing window.
“The battle with the 3 fleets was proceeding profitably. After you disappeared, the 3 fleets did a one sided bombardment. However we started to become overwhelmed form the offensive of the small fighters.”
Once again, spaceships for long distance travel weren’t the only ones available in Galaxian. Smalls ships designed for battle that could only fit one person also existed. However, the duration of their flights was short and the weapon capacity was limited so they couldn’t act independently.
In most cases, the small fighters were mounted on spaceships and used for mobile manoeuvres. The small fighter that Ark witness was called the Hornet.
And the situation changed 180 degrees with the Hornet’s appearance.
“This is my first time seeing a Hornet. It has weak defense so the guns should shoot it down straight away. But the acceleration and turning power is faster than general spaceships. It is also small so it is difficult to catch. At least 100 of them poured out…..”
It was natural that the advance of the 3 fleets would be stopped. The Hornets aggressively rushed towards the 3 fleets and the situation turned out like this. Of course, the combat power of the Hornets couldn’t compare to that of the 3 fleets.
One shot would only do 1~2% damage at most. But all clothes would get wet in the rain. The damage piled up and couldn’t be ignored. Thus the Hornets were able to overwhelm the brute force of the 3 fleets!
Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The 3 fleets started to receive deadly damage. Ark could check the result with his eyes.
The Hornets flew around the 3 fleets attacking, causing flames to rise and the wreckage of spaceships to float through space.
“I took over the role of Captain while you were knocked out and 4 spaceships from the investigation team has sunk. There are at least 10 spaceships on the Rama and Aschulat side. And the Silver Star is in this state.”
Rapid didn’t have to say it. The information windows that surfaced on the monitors were all tinged in red. Many features had stopped working, the shield had disappeared and 40% of the ship’s armour destroyed. But looking at the battle outside, it was fortunate that the ship hadn’t sunk yet.
“You held up well.”
“It is thanks to the help of your crew.”
Rapid replied in a testy voice. Rapid tone might be sarcastic but Ark was forced to acknowledge him.
“A Hornet is approaching from the 3 o’clock direction! Shoot! The right deck is destroyed so it is dangerous!”
“Don’t make me laugh! Damn, why am I in a place like this? Ohhhhhhh!”
Tori shrieked and tugged the joystick at Hegel’s words. The Silver Star rose vertically and spun 360 degrees as the Hornet passed below them. Hegel then hit a button on the dashboard and shouted into the microphone.
“Hornet below you at X-36, Y-10! Control the right side gun turrets!”
-Confirmed!
Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
The right side gun turrets of the Silver Star fired simultaneously with Kalliben’s answer. Then the Hornet passing below the Silver Star was engulfed in flames. Hegel’s prediction ability combined with Kalliben’s shooting skills had sunk the Hornet.
It wasn’t just them. Slayer, Melina, Kaya and Sadain were carrying fire extinguishers while the others were involved in repairs or shooting. And the one leading them on Ark’s behalf was Rapid. If it wasn’t for them then the Silver Star would be like the wreckage floating outside the window.
“But……”
Rapid paused while speaking. Hegel who was looking at the monitor then shouted.
“Rapid-nim, Ensign Irina is being attacked from behind by Hornets!”
“What? Irina-nim?”
Ark and Rapid shouted at the same time. Ark looked startled at Rapid’s reaction. Irina was his girlfriend so naturally Ark was concerned. But Rapid’s reaction made no sense to Ark.
However Rapid had his own reasons.
“The Silver Star has been able to hold out so far thanks to Irina. That women, is skill at handling a spaceship is different from the other members. Her spaceship alone shot down 7 Hornets. In addition, she would protect the Silver Star despite receiving damage. I didn’t understand the reason but now I can guess from your reaction.”
“Y-you can guess?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m no interested. Anyway, I can’t pretend not to see after receiving her help. Tori, turn towards Irina’s ship!”
“I am the captain!”
“So? You don’t want to help?”
“Who doesn’t want to help? Tori, listen to Rapid and turn in that direction!”
The Silver Star circled while Hegel who had been manipulating the keyboard shouted.
“Target confirmation! 2 Hornets are approaching Irina from the 6 and 7 o’clock direction at 0.1 space speed. Trajectory speed and Hornet speed has been calculated and strike location has been inputted!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Shells were fired from the Silver Star’s left and right turrets at the same time! The shells rushed towards the 2 Hornets on either side of Irina’s ship. They zigzagged to avoid the shells and flew towards the Silver Star.
In the ensuing bombardment, Kalliben and Leon shot down 1 Hornet. And the remaining one exploded between the Silver Star and Irina’s bombardment. However the enemy’s offensive continued without a break.
“2 Hornets are approaching from the 4 o’clock direction!”
“Damn! Turn!”
“It is shooting! 2 shots are coming from the Hornet!”
“Avoid it! Descend before it can penetrate!”
Pepepepeng! Pepepepeng!
Sparks flew on the Silver Star
’s armour. The Hornet’s shots had hit. However it was possible to avoid the concentrated shooting from the 2 Hornets. And the return fire shot down 1 Hornet. The target moved to the remaining Hornet.
Wiiiing!
Another Hornet soared from behind the wreckage of a spaceship floating nearby.
“A Hornet has emerged from the rear! It is rushing at full speed towards the Silver Star!”
“W-what? Then the Hornet before was just bait? Dammit! Tori, full speed ahead!”
“No! The Silver Star’s engine hasn’t been fully repaired so our acceleration booster isn’t working properly. It is too late to avoid the Hornet!”
“Dammit! Everybody prepare for impact!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
There was a roaring sound and the Silver Star vibrated violently. The Hornet hiding behind the wreckage crashed into the rear of the Silver Star and self-destructed. At the same time, a hopeless message floated on the monitor in front of the captain’s seat.
-The Silver Star’s engine has collided with the enemy and has been destroyed!
Engine destruction! That message was no different to a death penalty! No, it actually was a death penalty. Smoke poured out of the Silver Star and it stopped moving. Irina rushed towards the Silver Star and Irina’s voice could be heard on the screen.
–Ark-nim, danger!
“Hyung-nim, a light ray from the carrier is going to hit us directly!”
Hegel screamed at the same time. When Ark turned around, the sight of a ray from the carrier heading straight towards the Silver Star caught his eye. But right now the Silver Star couldn’t move!
“Son of a bitch!”
Ark cursed.
A flash that covered thousands of kilometres enveloped the Silver Star.
————————————————————————–
“N-no!
Irina shouted with a panicked expression. The scene of the smoking Silver Star being wrapped in light was unfolding in front of her. And…..
“….The Silver Star has been destroyed, the signal is lost.”
Hajin sighed and shook his head. Irina flopped on the captain’s seat like a broken doll. She had spent four days in the vicinity of the black hole in a deadlock with the Rama and Aschulat fleets.
