Editing KSGU:Volume 10 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 15===

The explosive bolts set at regular intervals were ignited one after another, severing the joints. Hundreds of explosion rings surrounded the round cylinder exceeding five hundred meters in circumference, slightly shaking the connector linking the “Magallanica” and “Industrial 7”, the docking bays on both sides disengaged and starting to split.

While still under construction, the mass of the “Industrial 7” 20 kilometers in length was incomparable to the colony builder at its tip. Unlike a colony remaining in a fixed orbit, the “Magallanica” appeared to be bouncing off, but it was not the kinetic energy caused by the explosion. The structure resembling a snail exuded its thrusters in all directions, and the “Magallanica” shook its massive body of 6,500 meters, breaking free from “Industrial 7” using its own thrust. The bow slowly turned around, the turbines gathered at the wheels gave a weak glow, the rocks absorbed upon the revolving residential block showing cracks all over.

The massive rocks cut from the mineral-rich asteroids were eroded from within when building the colony, but they retained their appearance when clinging onto the “Magallanica”. At this point, this pile of rocks were showing cracks due to the inner pressure, the rocks of various sizes scattered everywhere, the skin clinging onto the snail shell peeled in blocks. The numerous scatter rocks became a vortex, the torrent of meteorites dispersing near “Industrial 7”, and the “Magallanica” broke free from the colony as it activated its thrusters, the flares as big as a big warship blaring away. The colony builder appeared to be on autopilot as it quivered silently, the rocks crushed by its massive frame and dispersing everywhere.

The rocks remained hundreds of meters in diameter even after being shattered, grazing the hastily retreating “Nahel Argama”. The white object drifting by the vortex of brown might have appeared to be one of the scattered rocks. Sirens blared all over the ship as Otto stared at the torrent through the bridge window. The relative velocity was not fast, but every piece was overly massive, and the“Nahel Argama” shall be shattered to smithereens if a rock heavier than the ship crashed into it.

“Accelerate the turbines! Pull the ship back, hurry!”

Liam gave the first command as she sat on the vice commander seat. Otto sensed an urge to steer aside before awaiting his command, “Don’t move!” so he bellowed.

“It’s safer to follow the “Magallanica”. Maintain relative distance at 0.5, fix position before the docking bay!”

Liam, seated in her chair, turned around in shock, only to repeat the command loudly. If the “Magallanica”  was to steer back at this distance, the “Nahel Argama” would be crushed, but the chances of survival would be higher than getting caught in the meteorite torrent. As he looked up at the “Magallanica” docking bay that blocked the starboard view completely, “What in the world happened…” he muttered. They lost all communications with Conroy and the dispatch forces, and nobody knew the whereabouts of the Red Comet that had invaded. Who started the “Magallanica” , and for what reason? Even disposing of the mineral asteroid used to build the colony—

“The nuclear pulse engine has been ignited. Is it really going to break free from “Industrial 7”…”

Liam said as she stared at the monitor visual feed from the ball shaped camera. The plasma accelerating link was proof of the “Magallanica” thrusters being in operation. If the bow and stern of the residential block had a helium-3 tank, it would mean the “Magallanica” had the ability to navigate to the Jupiter Celestial sphere alone. As he stared at the engine blares of the nuclear pulse push the massive body akin to the size of a small colony. “But, why in the world…” Otto was about to comment, “Over there! Expand that!” Zimmerman suddenly shouted, nearly causing the former’s heart to jolt over.

The ball camera visual zoomed in phases, enlarging the shell of the revolving residential block as the rock plates peeled from it. Beyond the flying dust, there was a silver glow from the cylinder buried amongst the rock, and Otto felt terrified for some reason. It was not just one cylinder, but 500m in length, nearly 100m in diameter, and there were two pairs of nine animal limb-like legs on both top and bottom of the circumference in a radial shape. Were they the refineries used to extract minerals from the rocks and transported to the “Magallanica” factories…?  This logical train of thought was immediately broken by the following phenomenon, leaving Otto and the other gasping.

There were countless shutters opening on the side of the cylinder, revealing two mega particle cannons. Many dark holes could be seen from the neighbor shutters, probably barrels for large missiles. Other shutters opened as well, and the smooth cylindrical surface became a complex protrusion. Anti-air missile launchers, mega particle cannons equipped with I-field generators to spread them──

“This is…”

Zimmerman groaned, and was left speechless. “There too!” Mihiro shouted, and the command module at the tip, the main body of the “Magallanica”, opened its shutters like a long snail body, and CIWS cannons started propping out. The body itself was overly massive, and the CIWS cannons were so small to be seen, but they were not all randomly placed. They were lined along the top and bottom of the cannons surrounding the revolving residential block. Otto immediately understood the position must have been pre planned in its design, and the rocks were just a disguise. He stared at the “Magallanica” with trepidation, and the massive body abandoned its rocky exterior as it slowly emerged from the torrent of rocks. The piles of cylinders shook off the dust as they basked in the moonlight, and the armaments were reflecting light distinctly.

“This isn’t some colony builder. It’s a fortress…a huge battleship.”

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Zimmerman muttered as though groaning, and nobody disagreed. Otto’s mind was stumbling as he bellowed the only question he could think of, “What about the enemy unit that gotin!? Have we not made contact with ECOAS?” The bridge crew reeled as they focused on their controls. The “Magallanica” finally revealed its true appearance as it pulled its distance from “Industrial 7”.

There was no air distortion, so the scenery simply resembled a spaceship about to move. It would be ridiculous to imagine the ship being 6,500 meters in length if not for “Industrial 7” in the background. The “Nahel Argama” stuck close to the revolving residential block, and resembled more like a small shuttle in comparison.

There was one ship exceeding 1km making a two-way trip to Jupiter, but such a ‘ship’ itself was unprecedented. As he remained wary of the incoming rocky rubble, Riddhe stared at the “Magallanica” through the main camera of the “Banshee”. Yes, it was a ship. The rocks that had gathered upon it had vanished, and one could see it was originally designed for navigation.

“So that’s the true appearance of the “Magallanica” …”

It was the space colony builder “Magallanica”──no, the space battleship “Magallanica” was the perfect description as he spotted many cylinders appearing at the base of the rocks. The barrels of cannons and missile launchers seemed to imply sufficient firepower to match a battleship. There was no other reason to think why it was built, and Riddhe stepped on the pedal in a daze. As the “Banshee” began to advance, a bunch of spinning rocks closed in from up close, passing the black machine by while it evaded away. The rocks grazed the Base Jabber approaching from behind, and the flat tank carrying its cargo shook like leaves.

The Base Jabber managed to evade in the nick of time, activating its thrusters as it dodged the cluster or rocks. Alberto sat upon the bumpy seat as he stared at the “Magallanica”. Due to such irregularities during the repairs, the engine was not completely stable. The Lieutenant held onto the sticks firmly, and just maneuvering around was wearing him out. “We’re breaking off!” his voice echoed in Alberto’s ears with a heaviness cutting through the latter’s body.

At this point, Alberto could not say no, and he did not answer as he observed the “Magallanica”. Since the “Box” had such a secret, it was not surprising that the “Magallanica” concealing it had weapons. It probably was an automated defense system at work. The problem however was that it was too obvious. The sight of the “Magallanica” shaking off its minerals had been captured by the approaching “General Revil” and the people watching from Earth. It was unlikely that they would remain inactive when faced with such a drastic change.

“Not good…”

The colony laser shall fire. Alberto, having already forsaken everything and apathetic, felt a shiver through his body as he looked around. Through the meteorites, he searched for the “Banshee”, and shouted into the wireless, “Riddhe, can you hear me?” Even with the Minovsky particles interfering, they could still communicate, but the “Banshee” did not respond immediately. The black machine appeared to be waiting for something. Beyond it, the “Magallanica” shook off the rocks and turned its bow, the revolving residential block lit by the moonlight, giving off a strong glow.