More than thirty minutes later, the TR-735 ship space shuttle launch module.

Bee-style automatic collectors with tiny cell towers were loaded into the inner compartment of the F-4 shuttle, while Christine, who had been unhandcuffed and regained her freedom, seized the last minute to perform a routine pre-departure inspection of all the equipment.

As the best navigator in the fleet, Borg is sitting in the cockpit of the F-4 space shuttle after making detailed calculations of the flight path and route, and entering the data into the space shuttle's driving system. Among the crowd, Angus, who seemed to be in danger and burdened with heavy responsibilities, seemed to be the most leisurely.

"Are you afraid?" Robin asked apologetically as he leaned his back against the wall and watched Angus smoke one cigarette after another.

"I'm afraid, of course I'm afraid. Fuck, flying at high speed in a small line full of meteorites and celestial bodies is simply more exciting than playing free fall. Speaking of this, Angus suddenly snuffed out the cigarette butt, tapped half of his mask hard, and smiled: "However, who called me a mask man, who else can complete this kind of task except me." Hum...... I was meant to be a hero! ～”

"That's right, you're destined to be a hero." Robin patted Angus on the shoulder, looked him in the eye and said, "You must come back safely, if you hang up, all of us in the fleet will be finished, then I will never spare you if I go to hell." ”

"Phew! ~ I won't hang! Angus quenched a sip at Robin, strode to the cockpit of the F-4 space shuttle, and shouted without looking back, "When I come back, I want Cecilia to be the first to hug me!" ～”

"You bastard......"

Robin gestured a middle finger to Angus' back, watched as Angus sat in the cockpit, and quickly left the shuttle launch bay with the others as the countdown to launch sounded.

As the hatch of the launch module closed, Robin held his breath, clenched his fists, and looked through the window of the ship at the opening of the space shuttle launch module under the hull without blinking.

'Poof! ～’

With a slight vibration of the ship's hull, the F-4 space shuttle loaded with the 'Bee' automatic collector ejected from the launch bay like an arrow. Under Robin's gaze, the tail of the F-4 space shuttle erupted an X-shaped blue tail flame, drawing a beautiful arc in the air and disappearing in an instant like a meteor...... Forty-seven minutes later, Robin's nervous eyes were red, staring at the outward channel of the signal graph that Christine had made. As the light points lit up, Robin seemed to be able to imagine the F-4 space shuttle flying in the meteorite swarm, and watched it pass through the dead land again and again, accurately dropping the 'bee' automatic collector loaded with everyone's hopes.

"Come on, you damn bastard! ~When you come back, I will personally give you a warm hug that will suffocate you! ～”

In a hysterical mutter, Robin, who had never smoked, actually reached out and lit a cigarette for himself. After taking a deep breath, the strong stimulation that penetrated deep into his lungs suddenly made him cough, but he felt that this was the only way to relieve the tension that was too much, so that he could continue to wait patiently in this state of seconds.

'Tick! ～’

Suddenly, a crisp electronic sound sounded on Christine's signal map. Immediately, the signal indicator, which was constantly changing between red and green, instantly lit up with a striking green.

After a short period of shock, Christine jumped up like waking up from a big dream, took off the headset, and clenched her fists excitedly and roared: "It's through, the signal is unblocked!" ～”

"Send a communication signal! ~Fast! ~Fast! ～”

Robin jumped up from his chair and stared at the three-dimensional information screen that suddenly lit up in front of the communication seat. Cecilia, who had just received the news, and the captains of the ships also hurriedly gathered around, anxiously waiting for the communication screen to appear.

But perhaps because the signal interference is too serious, there are only countless colors distorted and shaking on the three-dimensional information screen, and the communication picture that everyone is looking forward to has not appeared for a long time.

"Adjust the band! ~" An anxious Christine yelled at his companion who was adjusting the band, while he was engrossed in the infographic, using a dizzying array of manual manipulation to maintain the signal strength.

Finally, after a piercing 'rustle', the three-dimensional message screen finally vaguely showed the communicator of the Marseille Space Fortress.

Without waiting for the sweet-looking correspondent to speak, Cecilia snatched the communicator and said in a hurried tone: "I am Captain Cecilia, the flagship captain of the TR-735 detachment of the 7th Integrated Transport Fleet. ”

"Wait a minute."

Perhaps sensing Cecilia's anxious countenance, the correspondent made an exception and sent a special communication request to the General Staff. Inevitably, the signal was suddenly interrupted, and Robin asked Christine to send the ten-second surveillance footage directly to the Marseille Space Fortress while waiting.

Almost at the same time as the surveillance footage was transmitted, the face of Admiral Adrien, the commander of the garrison of the Marseille Space Fortress, appeared in a blurry three-dimensional information screen.

Admiral Admiral Adrien, a well-known air force general of the Republic, immediately sensed the urgency of the situation when he noticed that the communication signal was seriously disturbed.

"I'm Admiral Adrien, commander of the garrison of the Marseille Space Fortress, captain, please report what you have discovered."

"Report to the general, our fleet intercepted a section of the Kuiper ring fault channel one hour and twenty-one minutes ago, and according to the surveillance footage, a large number of Raymond Federation fleets have passed through the R-N black hole and launched a signal blockade ...... this star field."

As Cecilia reported the details, Admiral Adrien, who was pictured, suddenly frowned, apparently having seen the surveillance footage transmitted to the Marseille Space Fortress.

Then, before Admiral Adrien could hear Cecilia's report, he hurriedly got up and quickly left, surrounded by a group of staff officers, while an operational staff officer wearing a lieutenant colonel's epaulette took the place of Admiral Adrien in the picture and appeared in front of everyone.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Yalves of the Operational Staff, and I'm very sorry that due to the urgency of the situation, the general must immediately convene an operational meeting to study the tactical arrangements. Now, you can report the situation directly to me. ”

"I have recorded the details in the report, and I ask the commander to instruct my fleet on the next steps of action."

Cecilia transmitted an official report to the General Staff of the Marseille Space Fortress through Christine, and Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis, who received the report at the same time, couldn't help but ask with surprise on his face after reviewing it in detail: "You are transmitting the communication signal through the mobile tower?" ”

"Yes, sir."

"Very clever way." Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis complimented, and then asked, "Can you ensure that the signal is always open?" ”

Hearing Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis's question, Robin and Cecilia hurriedly turned their gaze to Christine, who was struggling to keep the communication going.

Under the gaze of everyone, Christine bit her lip and shook her head helplessly: "I can't guarantee that the communication signal may be interrupted at any time." ”

“……”

After a short silence, Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis in the picture frowned and said helplessly: "I believe you also know that the current situation is quite unfavorable to us, so I can't give you clear instructions for action at present, and after General Adrien's combat meeting is over, there may be further battle plans." But...... Don't get your hopes up. ”

"Sir! ~" Cecilia raised her voice sharply.

"I know that it may be cruel for you to say these things now. But ......" Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis paused with a struggling expression and saluted everyone bitterly: "I'm very sorry, we can't do anything about your situation, so ...... Please prepare for the worst......"

“……”

Lieutenant Commander Yalvis's words caused the bridge of the TR-735 to fall into a deathly silence.

Although everyone present had already guessed that this would be the outcome, and they didn't expect the fortress to actually send a fleet to save them, they always kept a glimmer of hope in their hearts, or rather expected that the fortress commander would give them a lie that continued to retain hope.

And now, when the brutal result came out of Lieutenant Colonel Jarves's mouth, the shattering of hope made everyone immediately feel a great loss of being completely abandoned.

"Sir......" Just when the atmosphere was almost overwhelming, Robin suddenly stood in front of the communication, gritted his teeth and said: "Sir, as the commander-in-chief of the TR-735 fleet aviation marines, I apply to the general staff of the fortress for the right of free movement. ”

"The right to freedom of movement?"

Lieutenant Colonel Jarves looked directly at Robin through the blurred video, trying to figure out his inner thoughts through Robin's expression, while Robin looked at Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis with a solemn face, silently waiting for his answer.

"Okay......" Eventually, Lieutenant Colonel Yalvis withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and said in a deep voice: "I pass your application in the name of the General Staff of the Marseille Space Fortress......"

'Z~'

Before Lieutenant Colonel Jarvis could finish speaking, the barely maintained signal strength was abruptly cut off, and the countless points of light on Christine's signal map, which represented the strength of the connection, were once again filled with red signal lights.

Shaking her head helplessly at Robin, who was looking at her, Christine turned off the signal map: "I'm afraid that a mobile signal tower was destroyed by a meteorite, and we can't communicate with the outside world anymore." ”

The situation that Christine said made Robin sigh helplessly.

In fact, it is a miracle to be able to maintain communication until now. Moreover, the Marseille Space Fortress has actually given a clear reply, and it does not make much sense to continue to maintain communication, but will increase the chance of the fleet being exposed. So, after cheering up, Robin decisively gave up his plan to continue connecting to the communication.

Looking back at Cecilia, who was distracted, Robin forced a calm appearance: "Cecilia, we'll leave here as soon as Angus comes back." ”

Hearing Robin's words, Cecilia raised her head and asked confusedly, "Where are we going?" ”

After hesitating for a moment, Robin gritted his teeth and said, "IS9132 Celestial Body......"

……

(To be continued)