by Jun Eishima
The year 11939, outbreak of the Fourteenth Machine War. It had already been several thousand years since the arrival of the aliens and their invasion of Earh, and the battle was in a state of deadlock.
In order to overthrow the aliens’ weapons, the Machines, and reclaim Earth, humanity manufactured androids to fight on the front lines. But the Machines evolved through constant regeneration, and the androids were struggling to keep up.
It was clear that something needed to change to overcome the deadlock. The androids needed to evolve. And a sense of competition would spur them to evolve.
Taking various factors into account, humanity’s military command began developing a new model. “YoRHa” was a counter-Machine measure in the form of an autonomous soldier. Then …
—December 8 of the year 11941, the Pearl Harbor Descent Attack—
“Forty-five minutes since the initialization of the attack.”
Futaba’s voice came through the transmission. No. 2 exhaled, relieved that everything was going according to training. The transmission reconnecting meant that all the androids had successfully crossed the stratosphere.
Next was a self-diagnostic. Armor fully intact, self-navigation nominal … No. 2 wiggled her arms and legs in the flight suit. Her range of motion had decreased a bit. Her artificial muscles were tight from her nerves.
“The current altitude is 50,000 meters. We have passed the point of maximum heat. Cooling the armor now.”
Triggered by Yotsuba’s voice, she glanced at the Earth’s surface. It was strikingly blue.
“So that’s the ocean …”
“It’s beautiful,” she muttered under her breath. She heard a chuckle through the transmission.
“Of course it is.”
It was No. 16. While primarily a gunner, she had the maneuverability to keep up with models specialized in close combat. As one who specialized solely in close combat, it was hard for No. 2 not to feel a sense of inferiority.
“Hey guys, what do you think Earth is like?”
No. 4’s voice was brimming with excitement. No. 4, like No. 2, was an attack specialist, and had also recorded mediocre results. Perhaps it was because they were similar, but being with No. 4 made No. 2 feel more at home.
But right then, as if cutting through their shenanigans, No. 21’s cool voice echoed through the transmission.
“It should be identical to the simulation.”
No. 2 thought to herself that No. 21’s words were the epitome of rationality and composure. Perhaps her role as a scanner contributed to that.
“That’s wasn’t what I meaaant—”
No. 3 interrupted No. 4 and No. 21’s conversation,
“Everyone, we’re in the middle of the descent attack. Speak only as necessary.”
“Oh-kay …” No. 4 replied, clearly unhappy. “Well, well …” No. 2 heard a laugh.
“Don’t be so hard on her.”
It was the captain, No. 1. As expected, thought No. 2. The captain stayed neutral, but always knew how to keep everyone together.
“This is Command. YoRHa squadron, please copy.”
“This is No. 1. The plan is going smoothly. We will arrive at the destination in forty minutes. No enemies detected … it’s going to be a breeze.”
Just hearing No. 1 say that it was going to be a breeze made it seem like it really was. It was their first descent attack, but it would probably go well. They had No. 1. As long as they followed what they did during the training …
“Don’t let your guard down. You’re approaching enemy aerial territory.”
“You’re always so worried, Ms. Command.”
Only No. 1 would be able to talk so casually with Command. Consistently the best in both academics and battle, she refused to let anyone come close to her power and mobility. She was the ultimate YoRHa model. That was No. 1.
“The new canceler is working as w—”
What had happened? The sounds of an explosion had replaced No. 1’s voice. It was happening nearby. The transmission had suddenly cut off. That’s the only thing that was certain …
“No. 1 is under fire!”
Even though she could hear Yotsuba’s frantic voice and No. 16 incredulously exclaiming “What?!” No. 2 wasn’t able to accept what was happening.
The flight unit that had been in front of her had vanished. Shifting her gaze, she saw a ball of fire dropping toward Earth. No. 1. “No …” a whisper escaped her.
This couldn’t be happening. No. 1 had been shot down.
“What’s happening?!”
No. 21’s voice was muffled by more explosions. Looking over her shoulder, No. 2 saw another flight unit was missing.
“No. 12 is under fire!”
“I can’t!” screamed No. 4.
“To think they would attack during our descent …”
In contrast to the frenzied voices before, No. 21 spoke quietly. How was No. 21 able to stay so collected, even though she was probably devastated as well? And as explosions were going off around them all the while.
“No. 13, No. 14 under fire!”
It was Yotsuba again. And this time they shot down two at once.
“No. 2, calm down!”
She knew. But she couldn’t. There was no way she could stay calm when so many of her comrades had been killed so suddenly. It was impossible.
“No. 22, under fire!”
Again. Again, another one was shot down. She couldn’t think straight. So much so that reports from Command that “Permission granted to engage in battle on orbit path,” and “Attack source detected,” sounded like gibberish to her.
Just then, in all the ruckus, she thought she heard a phrase she understood. Was it her code number?
Did somebody call me? Why? Why me?
“No. 2? Answer me No. 2!”
“Y-yes!”
“Following mission procedures, the role of captain will be transferred to you.”
“M-me?”
“No. 2, please approve the authority transfer.”
She recalled that there was a decision for her to become captain in the unlikely event No. 1 was lost in battle. Their numbers were consecutive, so it was only natural. Still, that was only supposed to happen “in the unlikely event.” The probability of that happening must’ve been something like 0.001 percent …
“No. 2!”
“Yes! Roger that!”
She had to stop overthinking things. First, she had to escape the current situation. To pull through with everybody left. That was the only thing she needed to focus on.
The current situation? Under fire from surface-to-air lasers. What about the cancelers? Not working. And the shields? Not working either. So? They had to rely on the naked eye to evade.
“Everyone, don’t lump together!”
If they were all in a tight formation, they made an easy target. They had to diffuse enemy attacks at least until they landed.
“Spread out individually!”
The flight units instantly dispersed. The units that didn’t make it fell to Earth, shrouded in flames.
“Command! Where’s support?!”
Futaba had said that they had determined the source of the enemy lasers. Command had even relayed an order to blow up the entire island. The only thing left should have been to carry out the order.
“We will reach a fireable position in five seconds.”
No. 2 was frustrated to hear Yotsuba’s voice. Her comrades were getting hit right under her nose.
“Please hurry!”
The ground was still far away. After what seemed like an eternal five seconds, No. 2 heard Command’s order to fire. Another two seconds. A white column of light rose from the point of interest, then the delayed sound of an explosion.
“Enemy fort, sunk.”
But that was not the end. After a brief moment of relief, Yotsuba shouted, “Incoming heat source detected!”
“Twenty-three short-range missiles!”
No. 2 heard the commander order them shot down.
“R-roger that!”
They were near ground. If they could evade this, they could land safely.
“Initiating equipment F15! Everyone, let’s go!”
The flight unit switched to maneuvering mode—from a form meant for mobility to a form meant to overwhelm as many enemies as possible.
“Initiate counterattack!”
They readied their weapons at once. Each flight unit had a specialized weapon suited to their user. No. 2 and No. 4 wielded laser blades; No. 16 was outfitted with a rail gun. Now the issue was how many missiles they could shoot down before they hit.
“Distance 21000.”
First, No. 16’s rail gun engaged the missiles as No. 21 calculated and uploaded the predicted projectile paths.
They had started with a dozen other comrades. Now there were only four units against twenty-three missiles. No. 2 suppressed her feelings of anguish and swung at the missile path. The shock wave released from the blade made contact with the missile. There was no time to confirm its destruction before targeting the next one. She swiftly adjusted her aim and fired off another attack.
“Seven shot down. Sixteen missiles remaining.”
She could hear Futaba’s voice. It sounded indifferent, just like the training.
“Distance 9000.”
There was still time. The laser blades howled and the rail gun roared.
“Three missiles remaining.”
Just a bit more. How much time was left? Was there enough? Just then, No. 2 heard No. 21 yell, “They’re coming!” No. 2 also raised her voice.
“Evade!”
“We won’t make it!” snapped No. 16. At this point, there was nothing else they could do but brace for impact.
“Activate magnetic field–resistant skins!”
Though evading the missiles was now down to luck, the androids had a way to protect themselves against an EMP burst. But this would be the first time the magnetic field–resistant skins were deployed during a sortie. They were untested in battle.
It’s all right, they worked well in training, No. 2 reassured herself. She thought about the smiling people that had risked their lives during the field experiments.
“The missiles have hi—”
Yotsuba’s voice was cut off. There was a blinding flash of light. A powerful magnetic wave swallowed the surroundings immediately after.