Chapter 186: The Parachute is Too Strong
The reserve pilots of the 2nd Mobile Fleet were not very welcoming of Yujin’s transfer.
It was understandable.
They were facing a possible war, and they did not trust a candidate who had not even graduated from the pilot school.
The high-ranking officers tried to be friendly with him, thinking of their future after retirement, but the reserve pilots had a different perspective.
—We are going to fight on the front lines. How can we rely on someone who got his license from homeschooling?
—The system that allows homeschooling to get a license is wrong in the first place. Who made this?
—His name is Bae Seong-min, a member of the Council. He made this before he joined the Planning and Budget Committee. He also wrote a recommendation letter for him to join the 2nd Mobile Fleet.
—A typical parachute. Where is the fairness?
What angered the reserve pilots was that they could not see any trace of fairness that President Yu Ji-ha had promised.
He had vowed to change the Unified Space Force, which used to be a machine army, and said this:
“The Unified Space Force is an organization for the war against the Plague. Therefore, skill is the most important factor. There are other criteria, but skill is the priority.”
The other criteria probably meant some basic social skills, teamwork, and camaraderie.
In fact, until recently, the reward system of the Unified Space Force was based strictly on skill, such as salary increase and promotion.
No matter how old or experienced they were, if they could not command properly in a mock battle, they could not reach a high rank.
That was even more strictly applied to the reserve pilots.
Their role was to penetrate through the barrage of the Plague army and deliver the reaction bombs.
If the mobile fleet and other combat ships were tanks, they were dealers.
They had such a huge responsibility that they were evaluated solely by their skill.
Skill meant simulation or mock body control, but according to artificial intelligence, it was almost similar to real body control, so it was not a big problem.
The Unified Space Force was a new organization, so there were many vacant positions in high ranks, and everyone was struggling for a fast promotion.
In such an atmosphere, Yujin’s appearance with a parachute was a destruction of fairness itself.
The fact that he was the president’s son did not matter at all.
A sentence that someone posted on the Unified Space Force network expressed everyone’s feelings.
—Being the president’s son does not make laser guns miss him, right?
The point was skill.
Many people doubted what he could do with a license from homeschooling.
They did not trust a civilian qualification.
Of course, there were also people who expressed their favor for him because he was the president’s son.
They were former military officers from old countries who knew well about politics and factions, and there were some among the pilots as well.
They argued that they should consider their future after the war as well.
—History shows that disarmament will follow after the war. We will not be treated well either, so we have to find a way to survive.
—If he is the president’s son, he will not stay as a pilot forever. He might enter politics later. We might get some help from him then.
It was not entirely wrong.
But Sonia Lieutenant hated those who thought and acted politically when the war against the Plague was not over yet.
The problem was that there were too many of them.
“Everyone acts like they have won the war already. The Plague has not even invaded yet.”
“They did invade once, remember? A year ago? The 1st Mobile Fleet responded to them.”
“I mean full-scale war. The one with nests and queens.”
“Well, yeah. The president always emphasized full-scale war…”
The person who spoke from across the screen was Dyke Rogers Captain, who formed Alpha Squad with Sonia Lieutenant.
Since the 2nd Mobile Fleet had just been organized, Alpha Squad was not complete either, and they did not have any proper missions yet.
In the meantime, Yujin came to join them temporarily, and Rogers Captain, who had gone to Earth for another business, seemed curious about him.
“So how is he? He is only 22 years old, a complete rookie. Is he any good?”
“I don’t know. He passed physical examination and basic tests, I guess.”
“Then there should be no problem. If he passes the final test, we can work together.”
“You trust someone who got his license from homeschooling?”
“Why are you like this? Isn’t skill all that matters? Or are you like this because he is the president’s son?”
“…That has nothing to do with it.”
“It has everything to do with it. You carry around a wallet with President Yu Ji-ha’s face on it.”
“I was going to throw it away.”
“Sure, you were.”
Sonia felt a surge of emotion at his sarcastic tone and retorted.
“You know, Captain. To get a license, you have to implant a seed, which means you have to be an adult.”
“So you don’t trust him because he only implanted a seed two years ago?”
“If you exclude the adaptation period, the actual training period is even less, right?”
“Maybe he is a genius.”
Sonia was about to argue, but he spoke in a soothing manner.
“Look, I get that you are annoyed, but you don’t have to be prejudiced against him. He is the president’s son and he has a recommendation letter from an active member of the Council. Do you really think he has no skill?”
If he had no skill, it would be a slap in the face for Bae Seong-min and the president.
“…”
“Anyway, he got his license, so he must have met the minimum standard. Maybe he got good genes from his father and did not need any surgery.”
“…That’s why I hate him.”
“Put your personal feelings aside for a moment, okay? We are going to be a team soon.”
“If he passes the final test, that is.”
“Okay. They said the assault armor arrived, right? We will be busy soon. See you later.”
The communication ended, and Sonia sighed lightly and looked at Yu Ji-ha’s face in her wallet.
“He looks nothing like him.”
He did not resemble him at all.
She wondered if the rumor that he was not his real son was true.
According to some sources, the reason why Yujin wanted to be a pilot was because of that.
A son who did not receive love from his father.
But…
“…”
She closed her wallet silently.
At least Yujin was recognized as a son by everyone.
Unlike her, who was not a daughter.
She was just one of the children who received Yu Ji-ha’s genetic seed.
Technically, that was correct, but she wanted to be treated as a daughter.
She had worked hard for that until now.
‘I am different from you.’
She was different from the crown prince who had been playing around until he turned 20.
She checked the time and got up.
Today was Yujin’s final test.
She wished he would fail and get kicked out of the fleet, but at the same time, she wanted him to pass with dignity.
He had inherited the president’s genes, so he must have some skill.
She headed to the hangar with these thoughts.
***
Usually, when people say pilots, they mean those who have been assigned assault armors and officially engaged in missions.
In that sense, the pilots of the 2nd Mobile Fleet were prefixed with reserve.
The assault armor packages had arrived, but they were not officially deployed yet.
The mechanics and workers in the hangar of the Los Angeles ship were working day and night to prepare them for initial operation.
Sonia helped them out and noticed that the honeybird wing packs were not installed.
They were essential for assault armors.
“Why are these not installed?”
Walter, a mechanic, wiped his thick sweat.
“We got an order from the headquarters. They said not to install them yet.”
“Do they not trust our skills?”
“I don’t know, but these things have tremendous thrust. A normal person would faint as soon as they activate them.”
“But we passed the tests.”
“That’s true, but they say it’s different in real combat. Look at what happened in the 1st Mobile Fleet.”
The 1st Mobile Fleet was the first to receive assault armors and enter actual operations.
In the process, the pilots who confidently controlled them all fainted.
It was because they could not handle the ether field properly and faced excessive G-force.
It was proven that simulation and reality were different.
To be precise, the data of simulation and skill were almost identical, but the body was deceived and caused trouble.
There were some other problems as well, and they still could not attach the wing packs.
Sonia lost her appetite and looked at the wing packs.
“They are not fully functional without these.”
“Six wings that enable ultra-high mobility, sigh… These are what make them real assault armors. By the way, Lieutenant.”
“Yes?”
“How was he?”
“Who?”
“Don’t play dumb. You know who I’m talking about. The one you were waiting for him to come to the fleet.”
“When did I wait for him?”
“Ha ha, you quickly took a seat in front of him at breakfast…”
“I just wanted to see if he looked like him.”
“So how was he? He is quite big for a 22-year-old.”
“His physical strength was fine. I don’t know about his skill yet.”
“Oh, really. His father was also tall. If he inherited his genes, his skill must be amazing too. But I’m more curious about his talent as a psychic.”
“I didn’t feel anything special.”
“Was his reaction a bit lacking?”
They chewed on Yujin as a topic of conversation.
Pilots usually needed to be friendly with mechanics, but Sonia was especially close with Walter.
Maybe it was because he accepted her personality well.
Walter left for a meeting and Sonia looked at the assault armor locked in a cage.
She had waited so long for this day.
She had spent seven years to get here.
She was finally becoming an official pilot.
Unlike him, who did it in two years…
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Sonia hurried to the simulation training room.
She did not care about the candidates’ training normally, but today was different.
It was Yujin’s test day.
When she arrived at the scene, there were many people gathered and Yujin was sitting on a seat.
“What was his record for reflector bits?”
“The highest record was 12? It came from the 1st Mobile Fleet.”
“The number is important, but so are endurance and fine control.”
“Of course, distance too.”
Reflector bits were one of the main weapons stored in assault armors.
They had no offensive power by themselves, but they reflected laser guns from allied ships such as battleships or combat cruisers.
The enemy Plague army was so numerous that the support lasers were also massive, so they needed proper control to reflect them.
The engagement distance was so long that a slight angle difference could make them miss completely.
That’s why pilots needed reflector bits’ number, endurance, fine angle adjustment, and sufficient distance.
It was hard enough to avoid enemy fire while doing such control.
Fortunately, recent pilots had shown remarkable results by receiving genetic seeds from excellent psychics.
Someone muttered jokingly at Sonia.
“How do you feel? He might break your record of 11 bits.”
“I don’t care. And don’t call me by my name so casually.”
“Sorry. It was Aberina, right?”
He backed off and everyone turned their heads.
They were curious how far he could go with his parachute.
He had gotten his license, so he must have some skill, but that did not guarantee his performance in mock body simulation.
He seemed to be sitting on a gravity seat for the first time, but he did it surprisingly easily.
Everyone murmured at that.
“Was there a gravity seat released to the public?”
“No way… That’s so expensive that no academy could afford it.”
“The feeling is completely different from a normal seat. He looks quite familiar with it.”
“He is the crown prince, he must have a lot of money.”
Sonia’s remark convinced everyone.
Soon, the test began and everyone’s attention was focused.
“Mock body activation. Candidates, please awaken your implanted ether circuits.”
With a low sound of movement, the mock body floated in the ether field.
It was a simulation, but it was almost close to reality.
Yujin controlled the ether field as instructed by the artificial intelligence with his eyes closed.
“He is pretty good. It must be his first time with a mock body.”
“But he didn’t rise very high.”
“It’s a simulation. He doesn’t need to do that.”
“Yeah.”
There were various opinions, and Sonia’s eyebrows narrowed.
Sometimes, candidates would show off by increasing the output of the ether field and rising high, but it was a meaningless act.
What pilots had to do was control, not output.
In that sense, Yujin’s control had a rather special aspect.
The mock body moved very naturally, controlling the ether field with ease.
What would be the synchronization rate for that?
He didn’t know for sure without a test, but it seemed to be quite high.
‘But not as high as mine.’
The voice of the artificial intelligence echoed in the training room.
“The ether field activation test is passed. The reflector bit test will begin soon.”
The people bowed their heads and watched intently.
An assault armor pilot needed many skills, but especially the reflector bit.
It was probably because the bit deployment was visually spectacular.
Even the Unified Space Force introduced the pilots as something like psychokineticists.
They were psychics after all, so they had some degree of psychic abilities.
Anyway, the pilots ranked themselves by how they controlled the reflector bit.
Except for the first fleet, most of them were not assigned to actual combat, so they had no other way to judge.
“Deploy the reflector bit.”
Following the artificial intelligence’s instruction, the reflector bit stored in the mock body floated up.
The people outside were shocked by the bit moving in a disorderly manner.
“Isn’t it supposed to move one by one?”
“Moving 15 at the same time is impossible…”
The reflector bit that rose from the mock body moved freely in the ether field and changed its angle according to the artificial intelligence’s instruction.
The distance and angle between the bits changed in an instant and were very precise.
More importantly, there was no deviation in the bits.
It was inevitable to make mistakes when moving the bit with brain waves under extreme tension.
“…”
Sonya bit her lip slightly as she watched the 15 bits move.
Someone looked at her and turned his head away with a cough when he saw her fierce expression.
“It’s perfect. Literally perfect.”
“The real genius is different.”
“He’s 22 years old, right? Does he have a girlfriend?”
“I saw him coming with an android yesterday.”
“The candidate is too arrogant. He hasn’t even passed yet and he’s carrying an android around?”
“An android is not a girlfriend.”
“Well, he’s more than enough to pass. He must have been confident.”
“Yeah…”
“Isn’t he going to be promoted to lieutenant as soon as he passes?”
“Hey, there’s a minimum service period.”
The test continued while people were talking like that.
Yujin also succeeded in controlling the ether booster perfectly.
“The test is passed. Good job.”
The candidate’s test only determined whether he passed or not, not his score.
Yujin followed the guidance of the controller and disappeared somewhere, and people scattered.
“It was a golden parachute, but it had gold leaf on it…”
“He’ll go straight to the captain’s room and have a ceremony, right?”
“His appearance and skill are unrivaled. I’m jealous…”
“I should go to his room later. Do you know? Maybe he’ll marry the crown prince.”
“Who cares about marriage these days.”
Sonya moved her feet while listening to the nonsense.
She was not comfortable with the fact that a candidate who would be in the same squad had passed.
***
“Congratulations on your promotion to lieutenant!”
“I went from colonel to lieutenant, I don’t know if that’s something to congratulate.”
Yujin pushed away Lucia who hugged him and sat on a chair.
The output of his psych field was definitely normal.
He used to strain his brain and barely reach 120 with his old body, but this time he used only 5% and felt very light.
He thought he could easily do 200 in real combat.
“I’m back to normal now. The next thing is pilot training…”
“You looked disappointed. Were you expecting more?”
“A little. I need to rearrange the school training schedule. And invest more budget to increase the mithril ratio.”
A pilot’s responsiveness was innate, but there were ways to increase it artificially.
It was either implanting a psychic seed or inserting an artificial ether circuit.
The seed implantation was already carried out through a large-scale project and there was no more efficiency to be gained with the current genetic engineering.
Everyone should have enough potential with Yujin’s seed being used.
But the pilots couldn’t bring it out properly.
Increasing the amount of mithril used for implantation was also an option, but they needed real combat experience.
Yujin also grew through hundreds of real battles.
His almost nonexistent bullet marks were concentrated in the early days, and he never had one after gaining experience.
“Waiting for Plague to come is not an option…”
Lucia crossed her legs on the bed.
“It’s been quiet lately. It’s too peaceful that everyone is drinking kimchi soup first.”
Kimchi soup was an apt expression.
After Mega City was closed, billions of people couldn’t get in and were exposed to Plague’s attacks.
The United Human Federation stepped in, but it was hard to cover the whole earth.
So the hatred of the outsiders for the United Human Federation was beyond imagination.
But their power was nothing compared to their hatred.
They were barely able to rob with rifles at best, but some lawmakers were in contact with them.
They were trying to smuggle cultural assets and precious metals that remained in the ruined society into Mega City.
Yujin didn’t care about that.
The outsiders couldn’t get into Mega City anyway.
But it bothered him that the lawmakers were trying to build their own power by contacting the outside.
They were thinking about the post-war situation.
―The Unified Space Force will fight the war anyway, and our role is to integrate after the war.
―President Yujin is good, but he can’t see far. Are we going to live in isolation after the war? We need to prepare for integration.
They wanted to go back to the previous national system.
That was something for the remaining people to decide, but he couldn’t leave it to those who were drinking kimchi soup.
To nip this problem in the bud, he had to completely block the access.
But Yujin left them and their problems alone.
Instead, his dummy was busy building a palace and attracting public attention.
Thanks to that, some editorials came out on Mega News and other media, wondering why the president was doing this.
Yujin was interested in Knox’s warp gate.
“How far has it progressed?”
“The space plant is on its way there. We’re going to sneak out some materials soon.”
There were so many materials consumed in Mega City that it didn’t matter if they took some out.
They would notice if they looked closely, but Lucia was controlling that microscope too.
But leaving for the prophet’s home had to be after defeating Plague.
And Plague hadn’t shown up for a year.
Was this the calm before the storm?
Yujin was worried about that, but not too anxious.
The United Human Federation was building up its power almost equal to the previous United Human Federation.
That was probably because they didn’t suffer much damage.
They scraped up resources from Earth, Moon, Mars, Venus and asteroids to build fleets and assault armors, and that accounted for 75% of the total economy.
That meant that the Budget Planning Committee could only allocate 25% of the budget.
This caused some controversy among the lawmakers, but Yujin had no intention of lowering it.
The preparation for the war with Plague was almost over.
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