Toaru Majutsu no Index:MvM2 Depth4
Depth 4: Red or Black[edit]
Part 1[edit]
The sun blazed in the open sky above the blue sea.
Misaka Mikoto, now in her summer uniform, sounded like she could barely believe what she was saying as she looked out across the land visible from Camouflaged Cruiser Izanami’s deck.
“Sky Pirate Island?”
Now this was sounding like another world.
YF-22A, who had taken the large elevator up from the maintenance hangar to the landing runway, shrugged.
“It’s just a place not affiliated with any of the world powers where anyone who can pay the necessary fees can get their aircraft and ships refueled and maintained. It’s just that their clientele includes smugglers and sky pirates.”
YF-22A had guided them here.
This world’s continent was roughly shaped like a Y, so undersea cables allowed for the shortest distance when laying out hotlines between the countries. And with tens of thousands of kilometers, the maintenance was not cheap.
As the carrier and landing ship traveled along one of those undersea cables, they arrived at a small island in the otherwise empty ocean.
On the paper maps, it was a forgotten island without any markers for even a village or port.
Yet it had an awful lot of artificial structures.
It was in fact a relay base for the hotline that secretly linked the world powers. Joint security by a coalition force sounded nice, but it actually meant the place was a mixture of soldiers from all three world powers with none of them clearly in charge.
Which meant none of those countries’ laws really applied.
That created a lot of legal and surveillance loopholes that allowed illicit businesses to thrive. While handing generous quantities of cash to the soldiers under the table, of course.
And so the Izanami and Izanagi were making use of it too.
As far as Mikoto could tell from the deck, each individual shop was small. A lot of them reused military containers or metal tanks. Cylindrical tanks had been been sliced into rectangular walls with burners and then forcibly remade into shops. Many shops like that were crammed into not much space, creating a complex terrain.
It was a chaotic but lively scene. A lot of people were moving about and disarmed armored vehicle and tank girls were raising and lowering cargo containers like loaders or cranes. It was a mystery which military they had originally belonged to or who owned them now, but the (former?) Girlish Weapons had the satisfied looks of someone who had worked up a nice sweat.
“Chow time. Nothing like a good meal to reward yourself for a hard day of work.”
“Damn, they use better fuel here than they did in the military. Makes me want to work even harder.”
They appeared happy.
The Izanami was camouflaged as a cruise ship, but most of the crew still disembarked into the city. This underground city might have been a little much for some light window shopping, but the Tokiwadai girls were all at least Level 3. Even if they did run into some minor trouble, it was the criminals who would end up hurt.
For now, relieving their fatigue mattered most.
They could wait until later to work out all the mistakes highlighted by Shirai’s crash.
“What will you be doing now?” YF-22A asked Mikoto.
The digital counter aboard the landing ship had 18 days remaining.
They could not hide on this Sky Pirate Island forever. While there was a tacit understanding here, word of their presence could get out at any time. It didn’t even have to be done maliciously. A warship that wasn’t a colossal girl was an unusual sight in this world, so it would lead to rumors.
18 days was a long time.
They could rest and resupply here, but then what?
Misaka Mikoto had her answer.
“We bring down the Liheilstaut Empire.”
Part 2[edit]
The Liheilstaut Empire’s imperial residence was only available to someone belonging to a very specific bloodline, no matter how strongly or weakly.
However, bloodline wasn’t everything.
There was one seat there reserved for only someone who had also made a considerable number of military achievements. In this case, skill was prioritized above blood. Because in this country, the emperor and the prime minister were one and the same.
A landline phone sat on the work desk.
The Imperial capital’s international meeting hall and its more than 500 parliamentary seats were just for show.
The Cutalularia Republic to the south.
The United States of Narmeli to the east.
And the Liheilstaut Empire to the west.
All real international politics was handled by the three world powers. And for that, they only needed hotlines directly connecting them to each other.
The world had been operated with these phone calls for some time now.
“What did you say?”
But the foundation of that system had been shaken.
A phone call was not going to fix this one. But they could not directly meet and discuss it either.
An unidentified fleet’s fighters flew the skies.
Who could say what would happen if they carelessly sent out their personal planes.
The unidentified fleet could attack, or their neighbor could attack under the guise of that fleet.
“I said we of the United States of Narmeli and the Cutalularia Republic will be staying out of this particular incident.”
A young woman was speaking.
She was the president of the United States of Narmeli.
She had risen to that position in a country that looked free, but actually provided no way to win an election without decades of groundwork. She would know the unspoken tricks better than anyone.
“Everything has happened in your territory. And you have to keep up appearances. I want to avoid any political foolishness where our attempts to help are taken as an invasion or interference in your internal affairs. The Republic agrees with me there, don’t you?”
“I don’t really care either way,” muttered a gloomy-sounding man.
He sounded careless, but he was in fact the director who effectively ran the Cutalularia Republic, which brought together more than 30 regions and peoples.
This took the wind out of the United States representative’s sails, but she managed to recover quickly enough.
“W-well, I am sure the glorious Liheilstaut Empire will have no trouble solving this problem on its own. Or are you making an official statement that you can’t?”
“Haven’t you considered the possibility of this spreading to you? There is no guarantee they will stay within Imperial territory.”
“If it comes to that, then we will deal with it ourselves. But I am Narmeli’s president, not the Empire’s leader.”
“…”
What did she really think?
Was she going to stay out of this conflict so she could win the unidentified fleet’s trust and establish diplomatic relations with them sooner than anyone else?
Or would she join the Empire in an attack on the unidentified fleet if the situation warranted it?
“I seriously doubt it, but they are not secret forces from either of you, are they?”
“It worries me your intelligence gathering capabilities are so poor.”
“What a pain…” added the Republic’s director.
“If this is all you can manage, then I recommend you consider raising the white flag and coming to the two of us for help.”
“That would be a pain too.”
There was scorn in her voice.
But she hadn’t given a clear yes or no.
There was almost no chance of it being that, so was she only leaving this as an option for camouflage at a later date?
“After all, the Empire always has been slow to react.”
…She knew that and she was choosing the option that benefited the unidentified fleet?
The prime minister shook his head.
“If you aren’t going to help, this discussion is over.”
“Yes. As someone who works for the Narmelian people, I don’t have time to waste on this.”
“…I want to go to Matt’s for a burger,” added the Republic’s director.
“Oh, how I envy you your freedom. Anyway, prime minister, I look forward to hearing good news. Now, if you will excuse me.”
The prime minister set down the receiver.
Then he stared out the window and sighed.
…Who controlled the skies now?
This should have ended when they sent out a B-1B bomber loaded with anti-ship missiles. Their YF-22A shouldn’t have been shot down there.
But that wasn’t how it had happened.
It was all so unexpected.
So irregular.
For better or for worse, these newcomers were altering the order built by the three world powers.
“But do you really understand what that means?”
Part 3[edit]
We’re going to bring down the Liheilstaut Empire.
When Mikoto started with that in the Izanami’s briefing room, no one objected.
Not even Shokuhou Misaki or the dorm manager.
The Empire had pursued and attacked the Tokiwadai group without warning, they had invited the Tokiwadai group to the capital for peace talks only for it to be a trap, and they had left 9 million of their own people to die in Dorgionix to protect themselves.
The people of the Empire were one thing, but it was clear just how rotten the leaders at the top were.
As it was, the Empire would make no one happy.
Leaving it like that felt wrong. It was nothing but a threat, both as an enemy or as an ally.
If the Empire began using their own people as hostages across multiple cities, Mikoto and the others would be worn down.
So they had to act before that happened.
It was past the point of giving up because they couldn’t win a direct confrontation.
It was time to discuss what exactly they could attack with the forces available to them in order to make the giant Empire collapse.
“If that’s what we’re doing, we’ll have to start considering the time costs,” said Shokuhou.
“I know that.”
Mikoto recalled the return device(?) in the landing ship. And its digital counter which accurately and evenly counted down with no way to fast-forward or rewind it.
Once it reached zero, Mikoto and the rest would be brought back to Earth no matter the situation.
If they could accomplish something in this world, then every second counted.
It wasn’t that they “still” had 18 days left.
They “only” had 18 days left.
That wasn’t much time to change a world.
While Mikoto thought, Kobayashi spoke up.
“Everyone. Don’t the Empire’s attacks so far seem awfully sporadic?”
“…I guess.”
They were a large country.
They should have been able to flood an enemy country with 10 thousand or even 100 thousand troops, but for some reason they hadn’t launched any large-scale operations.
There was no fear of collateral damage on the open sea, so they could have sent out a ton of carriers and cruisers and assaulted the Izanami and Izanagi with as much firepower as they could muster.
“From the radio signals I’ve been able to analyze, it sounds like the Empire is in an odd position.”
“How so?” asked Shokuhou.
“Well, Queen, their Imperial Armed Forces protect their country as a whole while their Capital Defense Force protects just Frustburg. Those two military forces appear to have overlapping duties that influence national politics a lot. …It creates something like a dual government. The two sides can’t agree on how to respond to the Izanami and Izanagi, so only one side has been carrying out the attacks.”
So this world was as difficult a place as Earth.
Mikoto sighed softly.
“I can more or less imagine what the Imperial Armed Forces are like, but what about the Capital Defense Force? They sound like they’re only supposed to defend a single city, so are they really so powerful?”
“Based on the old digital articles I’ve been able to collect, they believe that offense is the best defense and have spent the past few years wiping two or three smaller countries off the map and then absorbing them into the Empire. They cross the border without waiting for legislative approval and while ignoring all past diplomatic relations, so they are a cause of concern for the Empire as a whole as well.”
Were they monsters?
It sounded like the Capital Defense Force name was just for show and they were actually a powerful army that could cross national borders and sustain a long-term war. That required more than just the Girlish Weapons of land, sea, and air. The power to sustain a war included fuel, funding, and even propaganda to gather support from international society.
And while the Empire complained about them, they didn’t seem willing to actually stop them.
If the Empire as a whole could gain new territory and vast amounts of reparations by making the “rogue” Capital Defense Force into the villains, they benefited the most by leaving them alone. It was better than getting after them and ending up with a civil war,.
This had been illuminating already.
The busty wicked girl said, “It sounds to me like the fastest way would be to use the Imperial Armed Forces and the Capital Defense Force’s preexisting disagreements to pit them against each other.”
“You monster.”
“Oh, please, Misaka-saaan. I know you’re already doing mental calculations of where you need to fly and what you need to bomb to make it happen.”
…Well, yeah.
They could do some work behind the scenes to trigger a civil war in an enemy nation and drive it to self-destruction.
The Ace and the Queen had immediately chosen that horrific method, but there was one condition they couldn’t forget.
They were enemies with the Liheilstaut Empire, but they had no intention of attacking the ordinary citizens who knew nothing of any of this.
If they were going to attack, it would be against military installations.
“I’m sure the Imperial Armed Forces and the Capital Defense Force are at odds in a number of areas, but where do you think they disagree most strongly?” asked Shokuhou.
“With these. The Frozen Fossils,” replied Kobayashi. Was this something else she had learned by intercepting radio signals? “Girlish Weapons are the foundation of all military forces in this world – army, navy, air force, and marines. And that means their original materials are as well. I believe the Imperial Armed Forces and the Capital Defense Force’s influence on the country’s politics is directly linked to how many fossils they have. Excavation rights in the northern permafrost are especially fraught.”
“Attacking there would be difficult,” said Mikoto.
They were currently to the south of the continent. If they flew straight across the continent to its northwest end, the Imperial Air Force’s radar network would catch them. Mikoto’s squadron had already proven that stealth wasn’t perfect. But if they took a detour around by sea, they would use up their 18 day limit.
“There is a loophole,” added Kobayashi.
“?”
“In addition to excavating them on their own land, it seems the Empire will unofficially purchase Frozen Fossils from other countries.”
What country would sell those fossils when they were the foundation of military might? That seemed off to Mikoto, but maybe those countries lacked the technology to process them or maybe they preferred to trade them for other resources like food or fuel.
Different countries would have different needs.
Back on Earth, uranium and plutonium were sold by the countries that produced it to the countries that used it.
“The fossil black market is most active to the south, in illegal and unmonitored bases like Sky Pirate Island here.”
“So is it the Imperial Armed Forces or the Capital Defense Force doing the buying?”
“Both and in the same places. If we attack one spot, all of the black market sites in the area will put up their guard and began searching for someone to blame.”
If they were that in sync with each other, why couldn’t they just get along?
When someone discovered a crime, did everyone just copy them?
“So we just have to take those fossils by force?”
“Then the Imperial Armed Forces and the Capital Defense Force might start fighting, claiming the other is responsible☆”
Fortunately, the long-sleeved black leotard YF-22A, the school swimsuit catgirl F-14Ds, and the other captured fighters were all Imperial. If they attacked a black market site, both the Imperial Armed Forces and the Capital Defense Force would get the wrong idea. Their IFF signals hadn’t been updated and wouldn’t work, but if it looked like they had intentionally switched off their IFF, it could be seen like their own people were wearing masks and robbing the place.
“But their dual government won’t know where information on the deal leaked from.”
“If they underestimate our intelligence gathering ability, they might even start suspecting the other two world powers. They could think the other faction is being backed by the other world powers in a proxy war.”
“Then they’ll feel justified in defeating their own people who they think are colluding with and fighting for a foreign power. They’ll think justice is on their side. Then will they be pointing at each other and shouting about a nonexistent conspiracy?”
“Yes, that sounds perfect for lighting the fuse of a civil war☆”
The dual government had already been at odds.
Given the chance, they would start fighting.
Tokiwadai had a plan now.
And with that settled…
“Misaka-saaan.”
“What?”
“I have one more question ability.”
Part 4[edit]
In the Izanami’s maintenance hangar, Mikoto clapped her hands to gather the Girlish Weapons’ attention.
“Your squadron leader this time will be YF-22A. The rest of the stealth squadron will be the three F-117As. You will be 200 Squadron. I know this is last second, but you were all given Imperial Air Force flight training. You can work together, I hope?”
“Hm? Why end our number with a 0?”
“Because you’re stealth fighters who should be nonexistent on radar.”
Mikoto answered the (big) leotard girl’s puzzled question.
“Your target is a pair of suspicious ships disguised as civilian tankers that have made an unnatural approach in the middle of the ocean. Don’t get spotted before you make your preemptive strike on the Empire’s Frozen Fossil black market deal.”
“L-l-leave it to…us,” quietly replied a black raincoat and bikini F-117A. She must have been introverted to the core because she couldn’t even look Mikoto in the eye.
“After 200 Squadron’s stealth attack, 202 Squadron of the four F-15Cs will hurry away form this area of sea with your afterburners on full blast. Your purpose is to support the escape of 200 Squadron and to give an obvious radar reading for the Imperials involved in the black market deal. Our goal is to get the Imperial Armed Forces and the Capital Defense Force to clash, so we can’t use stealth fighters from beginning to end and have it all go unnoticed.”
“Ehh? Then what about us?”
“The four F-14Ds of 201 Squadron and the three F/A-18Es of 203 Squadron will remain here on the carrier. We hope to avoid it if at all possible, but if we’re discovered before the preemptive strike, the Empire may launch an attack on the carrier. We need you here as interceptors just in case.”
The school swimsuit catgirl F-14Ds gathered around and began chatting amongst themselves. They were arguing over the EM and IR air-to-air missiles.
This time, Mikoto’s Shinshin two seat custom and Shirai and Hokaze’s F-2As would not be taking part. The point was to trick the Empire, so using the Earth-style fighters would only give away that Tokiwadai was behind it.
(We really do have a lot of captured fighters now.)
Mikoto stared into the middle distance.
They could plan an entire operation around just the Girlish Weapons, so that was at least some kind of progress.
“What kind of enemy forces are we expecting?” asked YF-22A.
“They’re doing a black market deal in secret, so nothing that would gather attention.” Mikoto smiled a little. “Kobayashi-san says they have a YF-23 and an F-35B in the air. And then four F-16Cs on standby.”
“Oh, her.”
“Yes, that black tube top bikini. The YF-23 we fought at the dam must have been hauled out of the reservoir lake and restored. And she still has that black sailor uniform with her. They were probably assigned to this dirty job so their stealth could keep any of it from ending up in the official records.”
The YF-23 had about equal specs to the Shinshin and YF-22A. And there wouldn’t be any irregularities like the storm this time around.
It would be a pure comparison of strength.
“The non-stealth F-16s are probably meant as bait. If you end up chasing them around, the stealth ones can sneak up behind you, so be careful. I recommend avoiding one-on-one dogfights and instead creating many-against-one situations so you can crush them.”
“Wait, are you doubting my ability? I am not about to lose to the fighter I defeated in competition.”
“That kind of arrogance is what scares me…”
It was time to get started.
With help from Kongou and the swim team, Mikoto had the stealth group launched from the electromagnetic catapult before moving on to the four F-15Cs who had extra fuel tanks loaded to extend their flight range. At times like this, the electromagnetic catapult was more convenient because it didn’t need time to be recharged like a steam one would. …And the way they were launching fighters not meant for use on carriers suggested Kongou Mitsuko really had modified the electromagnetic catapult.
With that done, Mikoto and Shirai moved to the CIC.
This time, their battle would be on a table.
Part 5[edit]
7 PM.
Sunset.
“Brat 04. Did this black market group really have to schedule their crime for dinner time?”
“Izanami. Deals like this are always done at busy times. Gathering in the dead of night would stand out more.”
Mikoto smiled bitterly as she answered from the CIC.
The operation had already begun.
200 Squadron, composed entirely of stealth fighters, was precise.
YF-22A and the three F-117As slipped into the 50km range of the radar dot representing the two ships.
They detected no radar waves from the enemy fighters.
Their approach had gone unnoticed.
“That’s stealth for you. They slipped past the perimeter defenses.”
Kobayashi sounded impressed, but this was only the first phase of the operation.
…Was this how these battles felt for Shokuhou?
Mikoto found it unbearable. Flying out there herself was so much better than sending other people to possible death.
“Brat 04 to Izanami. I have visual confirmation of the targets. The two tankers are stopped unnaturally close to each other.”
“That’s them,” said Shokuhou. “Begin your attack, 200 Squadron.”
“Sh-Shadow 01, attack authorization confirmed.”
The rapidly-moving dots of the F-117As overlapped the ships.
On site, the aerial bombs were probably piercing through the tanker’s armor and exploding within.
“Um…Shadow 01 to Izanami. Bombing of Suspicious Ship 1…complete.”
“Okay, Shadow 01,” said Shokuhou. “That’s phase one complete. There’s no need to finish them off. As long as the Imperial Armed Forces and Capital Defense Force suspect each other, we have what we want.”
“The Imperial interceptors will be coming now!” warned Mikoto. “Begin phase two!!”
The nearby fighters of course noticed when the ship they were meant to be guarding took damage and belched flames.
This was war until the stealth fighters made it back alive.
If they were shot down here, the entire operation was a bust.
And when it came to aircraft versus aircraft (even if they looked like girls), Mikoto knew more than Shokuhou.
“Izanami to 202 Squadron. You’re up. Confuse the enemy before they surround 200!!’
“Mama 01. We were just arriving.”
It was four against four.
Several dots clashed on the radar display. After the Tokiwadai F-15Cs and the Imperial F-16Cs passed each other head on, one of the F-16C dots winked out.
“Hi! Mama 02 to Izanami. I shot down one of those suntanned shorts girls.”
“Mama 01 to 02. You shouldn’t attack head on because the wreckage will hit you. It’s indecent.”
One must have launched an air-to-air missile as they passed by. Pretty good when the opening would have only been near instantaneous.
Between the leggings mama F-15Cs and the F-16Cs (who were probably some kind of girl here), the F-15s were stronger. The two had been designed to fight together as a combination of a high quality fighter and a low cost fighter (on Earth anyway), so that was the expected result.
(How could the Empire overturn this power balance?)
Mikoto quickly grasped the situation.
“Izanami to 202 Squadron. Focus on guarding the F-117As.”
“Yes, they are the world’s first stealth fighter, so they’re really only meant for ground attacks.” said Shokuhou.
“Just make sure they aren’t shot down!!”
“Mama 01 to Izanami. Roger thaaat!”
“Mama 04. My, my. But are they okay?”
“…”
Mikoto knew what she meant.
This was another problem.
YF-22A and the equivalent F-35B black sailor uniform.
And the possibly superior YF-23 black tube top bikini.
They could use their advanced stealth to vanish from radar and operate their thrust vectoring nozzles to circle sharply behind their enemy. If you lost sight of them for even a second, they would instantly get on your tail and lock on.
“Brat 04. I have visual on that black tube top bikini… I’ll deal with YF-23. Yes, as the F-22 that won the competition!!”
“Mama team, watch out for the unaccounted-for F-35B! And make sure our stupid stealth fighter doesn’t get too full of herself! If she tries anything suicidal, stop her even if it means ramming her!!”
In truth, it would be a close thing for YF-22A to defeat the YF-23.
It was 50/50.
And If the F-35B managed to sneak up behind her, she didn’t stand a chance.
That curly blonde twintails girl was only a passing acquaintance here, but Mikoto couldn’t force her into a hellish gamble with only a 50% chance of survival. That was like having her play Russian roulette with three rounds in the revolver.
(If she’s going to do this, she needs to work with the four F-15Cs to overwhelm the YF-23 with numbers. No, even that won’t be enough. That’s hardly safe!!)
Sending radar waves from multiple directions at once and compiling the data would reveal a stealth fighter on radar, but…
“We still aren’t seeing her most of the time.” Kobayashi clenched her teeth while staring at the radar display. “She keeps appearing and disappearing from radar, but I think we’re going to lose sight of the YF-23 like this! As soon as there’s an opening, she’ll strike!!”
“IFF!” shouted Mikoto in realization. “The YF-23 must be emitting an EM signal to keep her own side from attacking her. Without that, the F-35B or F-16Cs might accidentally lock onto her.”
“Oh, and if we can detect the IFF signal sent by the stealth fighter…”
“We can see the YF-23’s location!!”
Kobayashi hurriedly ran her finger along the console.
(This won’t last long. They’ll fix it once they notice!!)
“Izanami to all fighters. Begin a saturation attack on the YF-23!! You don’t have to wait until you’re right behind her. Just lock on and fire!!”
YF-22A, four F-15Cs, and three F-117As.
A total of eight fighters surrounded the YF-23 and launched two air-to-air missiles each. Pursued by a double digit amount of missiles, even that powerful fighter was forced frantically roll into a sharp turn.
Ordinarily, a missile fired anywhere except from behind was unlikely to hit.
And that was fine.
Even if it didn’t hit, the missile’s course was blocked off to the target. And when the target couldn’t escape there, it limited their available routes. Once she couldn’t escape in any other direction, they could launch another missile from directly behind the trapped YF-23 and destroy her.
Except…
“Brat 04. Attack failed!! That diamond woman shook free of all 16 missiles!! Right in front of me!!”
(She managed to escape all of that!?)
It was looking less and less like they could set up a one-on-one dogfight. This went beyond pure specs – Mikoto sensed piloting skill here. Attempting a head-on battle would only get them shot down.
Then Kobayashi’s eyes widened.
“The YF-23’s IFF has vanished? She must have caught on!! She’s back to pure stealth! We can’t see her!!”
(We still have options!!)
“Izanami to Brat 04. Work with the F-15Cs to drive the enemy to the northeast. Keep sending radar waves their way. Make sure you get at least two of their F-16Cs!!”
“Hm? But they’re less of a threat since they aren’t stealth-”
“Just do it!!”
The four F-15Cs acted before YF-22A did. The long-sleeve black leotard girl hurriedly followed after them.
They circled around to group the enemy together in a single direction and the inferior F-16s had no choice but to keep their distance. That meant three of the enemy fighters were turning in the same direction.
Even though the Tokiwadai side was guiding them to do so.
And Mikoto’s top priority was still the YF-23.
This was the result.
“Eh?”
First, Kobayashi expressed confusion.
“I’m still not seeing the YF-23 on radar, but its engine heat signal is gone too. And for some reason I’ve lost one of the fleeing F-16Cs too.”
“Brat 04 to Izanami. We were just chasing them away when they collided in midair.”
Mikoto smiled bitterly.
So it had worked.
“The YF-23 had at least switched off her IFF and fully vanished from radar. That meant not even the F-16Cs on her side could see her.”
Pure stealth was only really meant for lone long-range flights sneaking across national borders in order to pinpoint bomb enemy VIPs or facilities. In other words, assassination missions. It was more like a noose around the neck during a chaotic dogfight with plenty of enemies and allies.
Mikoto made a point of marking the coordinate on the map. That fighter would make an excellent addition to their forces if they collected her later.
Mikoto released a gentle sigh.
“Izanami to all fighters. That leaves two F-16Cs which are inferior to our four F-15Cs and one F-35B which is weaker than an F-22. We have the advantage in quantity and quality. Shoot them all down and then return once they aren’t capable of pursuing you. But don’t let your guard down to the very end. The F-117As aren’t suited for dogfighting, so let them get away first.”
“Shadow 03 to Izanami. U-um, Suspicious Ship 2 is still out there.”
“The suspicions we want aren’t going to spread without a witness making it back alive. Besides, we’re not here to kill.”
The Empire’s dual governments already hated each other.
If a black market deal for Frozen Fossils was attacked, they would initially suspect each other, but neither side would know how the information got out. If the Empire sufficiently underestimated Tokiwadai, they would suspect the other two world powers before them. They would suspect those world powers were backing a proxy war.
They would want to defeat the corruption within the Empire, cut all ties with the external force hiding behind that corruption, and bring their country back to normal. That sounded like a decent enough reason to begin a war.
“Anyway, Misaka-san,” said Shokuhou, sounding somehow displeased. “The stage is now set for a civil war within the Empire, but were you planning to support the Imperial Armed Forces or the Capital Defense Force?”
The Imperial Armed Forces or the Capital Defense Force?
Neither side could be called “the good guys”. This discussion was about which of the bad guys they wanted to win.
After some thought, Mikoto spoke up.
“We side with the Capital Defense Force and destroy the Imperial Armed Forces. It’s the only real choice.”
The Capital Defense Force crossed national borders and attacked other countries without permission from anyone, so they were of course dangerous.
But the Imperial Armed Forces had lied to Shokuhou and tried to capture her and they were the ones who had intentionally left the dam to break. Letting them win wouldn’t improve anything. The Imperial people would still be viewed as disposable. If anything, things would escalate without the Capital Defense Force to get in their way.
This was the best way to change things.
The Capital Defense Force was already uncontrollable, so there had to be more openings there to guide them to self-destruction.
(And if I’m right…)
Part 6[edit]
The Empire had long had a dual government, so they had long been mocked for their slow reaction speed.
So they would eliminate that system.
The instant the Capital Defense Force caught a whiff of a civil war brewing, they moved to take the legislature and the imperial residence. It was said they had already been prepared for this and had run countless experiments moving game pieces around on a map.
The Guard Chief who led the Capital Defense Force stormed into the imperial residence with plenty of his men accompanying him. They marched right in through the front door.
A young soldier in the lobby saluted and gave a report.
“The entire building has been secured and the prime minister has been arrested.”
“Don’t kill him yet. He has no power left, but as a hostage, he can act as a breakwater to slow the Armed Forces.”
Also shooting him in the middle of the fighting would mean he had died a victim. That would be a problem. He had to be brought to court-martial and tried as a criminal for the confusion he had long brought the political world and all the ways he had harmed the Imperial people.
“You can lock him in a room if you want, but do not give him an opportunity to kill himself.”
“No chance of that. He is currently confined in the 1st floor guest suite.”
“A conference room would be sufficient!”
They didn’t really care about the imperial residence.
But the hotline between the three world powers was located in the prime minister’s office here.
And more than that…
“Where is the safe?”
“Attempting to force the lock would incinerate the contents with an incendiary round, but we will have it open before long. The launch codes will be ours soon.”
Good enough.
Launching a nuke or ballistic missile required launch codes from two nations, but having them was still better than not.
They were necessary to silence the opposing domestic faction, to encourage their people, and to negotiate with the other nations. By hinting to the other two world powers that whoever sided with them would be allowed to launch their missiles.
“Chief, we are receiving a call over the hotline.”
“Already?”
This was not going to be a slow civil war.
He suspected the Untied States and the Republic as well, but eliminating the traitors and returning their country to normal came first. He would use those other countries to kill the collaborators themselves while he kept a close watch on his own back.
By quickly establishing a coalition force and putting them to work, he could rid his country of the loathsome Imperial Armed Forces. That tiny unidentified fleet with only a carrier and landing ship could be crushed after that was done.
The Guard Chief picked up the receiver.
“Why should we accept your Capital Defense Force as our equals?” said an icy voice.
He couldn’t believe his ears. He couldn’t imagine why they would look down on him like that.
But the United States President was a step ahead of him.
“What are you-”
“You are a Capital Defense Force. No matter how much power you have amassed, you only exist to protect a city. That does not make you a state recognized by international law. Our United States of Narmeli and the Cutalularia Republic are allied with the Liheilstaut Empire.”
“I never said all that…” said another voice.
“Just go with it, Director. If a nefarious armed force has taken control of your country in a coup, we would be willing to express our love for our neighbor by crushing that armed force.”
“Y-you wouldn’t dare, Narmeli!”
“Of course, we would have to insist on charging a paltry fee for our services. The United States and the Republic would likely have to divide up your territory for ourselves.”
“We control our own country. The Capital Defense Force is the Liheilstaut Empire now! We are a world power! If you insist on starting a war, we will fight back. Did you think our army, navy, air force, and marines had fewer Girlish Weapons than yours? Attack us at your peril!!”
“Oh? Have you forgotten a rather important fact here?”
“What a pain…” said the third voice.
“It won’t be much longer now, Director. Well, Chief? Have you forgotten what it means for our two countries to have arrived at the same conclusion?”
He felt a cold sweat on his back.
Nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles could only be used with a majority vote by the three world powers. No single country could choose to launch a nuke.
It required two votes.
This farce of a pact had effectively prevented any nukes or ballistic missiles from being used. But what if that assumption was no more?
What if the United States and the Republic were working together in the name of suppressing the Empire’s civil war?
What if neither of them saw any more value in their relations with the collapsing Empire?
They had two votes.
And the Empire could not play the retaliation card.
“Don’t worry. Unlike you, we have a rational grasp of the situation.”
Much to his own chagrin, the Guard Chief felt relieved by that monster’s words. But then…
“We promise not to use any nuclear warheads. Of course, that still leaves thermobaric, cluster, and plenty more warheads capable of leveling your military strongholds.”
A scream rang out just before a great mass tore through the air raid sirens ringing across the capital and dropped straight toward the imperial residence.
Part 7[edit]
The moment of truth had arrived.
Mikoto was called back to the CIC not long after exiting it.
“What happened!?”
“Ballistic missiles,” answered Kobayashi, looking like she could scarcely believe it. “We detected missile silos activating in the central mountainous region forming a permanent no man’s land between the three world powers. At least 38 ballistic missiles were launched toward Imperial territory. The warheads appear to have mostly been thermobaric, but the details are unknown. It looks like the important bases for the Empire’s army, navy, air force, and marines were all incinerated.”
“…”
(That’s overkill! Even if they didn’t recognize them as the legitimate leaders of the country!!)
At most, Mikoto had expected the other world powers to cut the Empire off from international society so their economy declined too far for them to wage war.
But they had instead made a very physical response.
What had happened to them not being able to use their ballistic missiles?
No. Technically speaking, they needed two votes from the three countries to unlock them.
Which meant…
Shokuhou spoke with an emotionless voice.
“Both the United States of Narmeli and the Cutalularia Republic must have chosen to launch them. Before the Liheilstaut Empire’s civil war could detrimentally affect international politics and the economic markets.”
“That’s a good point. If the Empire decided to take control of some mines outside their borders to prepare for their civil war, it becomes the other countries’ problem too. But still…”
This concluded Tokiwadai’s plan.
At the very least, the Empire was no longer a military threat. They had been demolished before the civil war could even begin.
But…
“What happened to the civilians? What about the ordinary people living in the Empire!?”
“The ballistic missiles were all targeting military bases and they provided powerful but precise destruction,” explained Kobayashi, sounded dazed and weak. As if to say this was a silver lining. “The imperial residence in the capital was attacked too, but that sturdy shelter was fully destroyed without even starting a fire in the city located just beyond the premises.”
Was that enough to feel good about this?
Probably.
It had to be.
Even if the cities had only been left untouched to preserve the benefits of taking that territory, it still meant all those lives had not been taken.
But there was a downside. This had, after all, proven that ballistic missile attacks capable of reaching the other side of the planet were capable of destroying their target with such precision.
18 days remained.
But if those two countries attacked, the Izanami and Izanagi would be sunk no matter where they ran. They could cross the sea to the other side of the planet and still be destroyed.
And that moment could arrive at any time.
