Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume11 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 6===

The astronauts had other things to worry about.

Marcus and the others were busy clenching their teeth as hundreds or even thousands of shards as sharp as a razor or box cutter rained down from outside the space station.

“Robin!”

“I’m fine. There’s no hole in the ass of my jacket. More importantly, what was that? A killer satellite!?”

Satellite-destroying satellites were exactly what they sounded like.

A satellite was launched for the sole purpose of destroying an enemy nation’s satellites. Some would use powerful lasers or electromagnetic signals to damage their sensors, some would fire rockets or missiles, and some would be loaded with explosives for a suicide collision. It was known as the saddest and most fruitless field of space development.

This time, it was a collision model. It took the same orbit as its target, used boosters or an ion engine to slowly approach, and then detonated itself.

Explosions had no sound in outer space. Without any air resistance, the shrapnel did not slow down. Plus, the slightest cut or hole could cause fatal damage to equipment or human life. It was a deadly sandstorm that approached in absolute silence. Perhaps only those up in space could truly understand how frightening that was.

“They’re scattering a ton of debris out here. That’s against the treaties.”

“The solar panels on Module C and Module D were taken out. They even blew a hole in one lab module.”

“But given the situation, I doubt this was an indiscriminate attack. They had to have been after the anti-debris cannon. Dammit. It hurt aiming that safety device toward the earth.”

Explosion after explosion tore apart the framework of the Fish Tank. The main shaft was still unharmed, so the entire station would not fall apart and their living space was safe. However, the damage to the parts exposed on the exterior was bad. The railgun and a few solar panels had been damaged and bent.

They could no longer provide support to those on the surface.

However, they doubted the enemy would withdraw. They had spare parts inside the station, so destroying the station and slaughtering its crew would be the quickest method of crushing any possibility of repairing and reusing the railgun.

“Here they come,” muttered Marcus.

People in unfamiliar space suits were visible here and there. They had likely clung to the side of the satellite partway through its flight. They held rifles. The fingers of the space suit would not have fit, so the trigger guards had been cut away.

The astronauts had no way of knowing, but they were from Azureyfear’s faction that was controlling the Destruction Fes with a worldwide data network using a large number of stealth submarines and satellites. Their reach extended to the deep sea, the surface, and even space.

“Wait, wait, wait!” shouted Robin. “We’re civilians! We don’t have guns!!”

“We don’t have to do this their way. Robin, Anderson, you have your work lights, right? Twist the focus to concentrate the light on a single point. On my signal, let’s all target their faces one by one.”

“Our lights? Are we supposed to fight the bad guys with our light swords?”

“This is a lesson I’ve learned in my long time as an astronaut.” Marcus quietly sighed. “When taking a commemorative photo in zero gravity, you mustn’t use the flash. If you blind yourself, you lose your sense of balance and your body seems to move on instinct when you stiffen up because you end up spinning around until you don’t know which way is up. …Let’s take them out in the same way.”

In outer space, there was no need to force the enemy to the ground or knock them out. Once the enemy lost their balance, they could be thrown out into the emptiness of space. Even if they had attitude control boosters, the fear and panic of an out-of-control spin was not something they could break free of on their own. Without anything around to support them, they would helplessly continue their flight until their oxygen tank was empty.

“Their rifles are the same. If they pull the trigger in zero gravity, the recoil will flip them around. That would change if they pressed their backs against the station’s wall before firing, but we won’t let them do that. This is a civilian station, so if they want to fight a war, we’ll have them do so elsewhere.”