Save the Day Program, once again. (Gundam IBO/Satisfactory SI): Chapter 41

Author Notes: The majority have spoken. As promised, here is the mass release of three chapters. Enjoy!

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Annoyance, a word that can’t even begin to describe how I am feeling right now as I sit on my chair, watching the pretentious brat ramble on and on about her family name and honor, and whatnot.

The only reason I haven’t opened fire on her and her stupid fleet yet is because I want to see if I can get any information out of her rambling.

Something that is proving to be a futile effort based on her actions so far.

“-As such, you will open your ships for inspection-“

‘She is still speaking!? Doesn’t she get tired of hearing her own voice?’

‘It would seem so. Besides, this is your own fault, so deal with it.’

I gave a glare towards my AI, who returned my glare with her own.

Unfortunately, I can’t refute her claim.

It really was my stupidity that led to underestimating Rustal Elion and how quickly he would use me to do his dirty work.

I knew from the beginning that we were in a mutually beneficial relationship as allies, where I would use him for my own ends and he would use me for his own. However, I never knew that I would be the one to be used first in this unspoken agreement.

….Oh well, might as well get this show on the road and end things quickly so that this poor girl doesn't suffer too much.

If you want to blame someone, blame your childhood friend, girl, for what is about to happen.

I stood up from my seat, finally getting the idiotic girl to stop rambling.

“Ms. Issue. Before I agree to anything you say, I wish to clear a few things with you.”

“….What would that be?”

“First, you have placed some serious accusations on me, my company, and Ms. Burnstein. You claim that we are transporting forbidden technology to be sold on Earth? What proof do you have for it? You speak about us attempting to disrupt Earth’s ‘peace’ with our presence, then what is going on in SAU and the Oceanian Federation? You claim that I am trying to usurp Gjallarhorn’s ‘authority’ and ‘honor’ with my presence, in that case, why has Rustal Elion not shown up personally to stop me and instead, a mere defense fleet like yours, which does not even hold the proper authority to enforce space laws, showed up instead to hinder our progress?”

My barrage of questions instantly put the younger girl on the back foot.

Looking at how ADA’s eyes were all glassy, it was clear that she was already doing her part in this impromptu act we started.

Truly, my AI knows me better than anyone and can easily anticipate what I am trying to do.

I suppressed the smile that threatened to appear on my face and kept staring at the girl on the screen sternly.

“W-We-“

“If you have no proof, then this unjust holding of our fleet in position and not allowing us to land on Earth is the same as providing political help to the Economic Blocs, which means that you, as part of Gjallarhorn, have broken the Peacekeeping treaty signed by Gjallarhorn to stay neutral in political interests of Earth, which is far greater crime than any of the baseless claims that you have made against me”

“And then there is the fact that you sent a team of your soldiers to infiltrate my ships without my permission, which can be seen as violating the Interplanetary Merchant laws.”

The screen on her side and my own opened to show the live video feed where the children had apprehended the Gjallarhorn soldiers and tied them up while keeping them at gunpoint, daring them to so much as move.

“You have also threatened my fleet with violence should I refuse to accept your claims, which have no proof. How is it any different from forcefully framing me for your own goals-“

“SHUT UP! I AM CARTA ISSUE AND I DON’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO A CRIMINAL LIKE YOU!”

Hmm, looks like that mask of calmness has finally cracked.

As expected, you are far too young to play the political game with people like me.

The young woman of the Issue family heaved angrily before regaining her calm and gave me a cold stare.

“If you have anything else to say, keep it to yourself, scum. I, Carta Issue, issue this order to the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet. I want the ships belonging to FICSIT Inc. be searched thoroughly while also liberating your comrades.”

‘Alright. That’s it. ADA? You know what to do. Paint her as the monster we need her to be.’

‘Affirmative’

The poor girl did not even know what was going to happen.

But the only one she can blame for this is herself for doing what she just did.

If she had kept a calm head and played the word game with me, backing down when she realized that she could not win against me, she would not face this kind of retaliation from me at this point in time, since the plan for her is still a month or so away from being enacted.

Unfortunately, she has made the worst mistake she could ever make.

She chose the path of violence, and most importantly, she is standing in my way.

Unacceptable.

Once Carta Issue stopped talking, her image did not disappear as she thought. Instead, the orders continued, much to the horror of the girl in question as she realized that something was wrong.

“Once you have retrieved your comrades, I want the FICSIT fleet to be destroyed. Leave no survivors and take no prisoners. FICSIT Inc. cannot be allowed to leave this place alive.”

I put on a fake horrified expression while my crew gave a genuinely disturbed reaction since they were not in on the ploy that ADA and I were playing.

“Y-You Monster! You want to kill us all just because you want to cover up your crimes and political agenda!?”

The Carta Issue on the screen sneered at my words.

“Gjallarhorn does not need to answer to mongrels like you. Anyone who goes against the Issue family will face the same end as you. Open fire!”

The Joint Fleet obeyed the words of their master, not knowing that the real Carta Issue was staring dumbly at the screen where the imposter was issuing orders and speaking words that she would never even dare to imagine.

Unfortunately, before the girl could do anything, ‘her’ orders were carried out in full as barrage after barrage of long-range missiles and kinetics left the barrels of her ships, heading straight for the Skipjacks of FICSIT Inc.

“Stop! STOP! COMMUNICATIONS!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? TELL THEM TO STOP!!”

Her communications officer turned to her in fright as the heir of the Issue family screamed in fear and despair.

“We-We are trying! But something has taken over our channels! They are not responding to any of our override codes!”

The video feed that only I could see on my AR implant reflected this feed, showing me how the helpless girl tried to take command of her forces but failed spectacularly as ADA manipulated her image for our own ends.

Do I pity that girl? Yes. I do. because she is just a naïve fool who was easily manipulated her whole life and played as a sacrificial piece for Rustal’s vision of a better Gjallarhorn and a useful tool for her twisted childhood friend McGillis Fareed, who really did care for her in his own twisted way.

But will I spare her? No. I will not.

Because fools like her are a danger and a wild card that cannot be left alone, no matter what.

Especially since her potential lover is already messing up things on a colossal scale across the system with his idiotic actions.

I turned to ADA, who nodded, showing that she had already cut off the live stream.

Ever since I started my dramatic act against the real Carta Issue and the manipulated image of her, ADA has been live streaming our conversation across the Earth’s news networks, and their equivalent of YouTube, making sure that the majority of people on Earth would now remember Carta Issue, and the Issue family by extension, as cruel monsters that throw their weight around to get their way.

This stream has also tarnished the image of Gjallarhorn, and their leadership in particular, thanks to Carta’s status, which should work nicely in destabilizing the organization’s political influence.

With the last image shown before the stream abruptly cut off being Carta’s fleet open firing on my ‘merchant’ fleet, it's anyone’s guess what the people on Earth will think of her from now on.

However, the satisfaction I felt by destroying the girl’s image, which flooded my mind like dopamine, quickly faded to be replaced by something else.

Guilt.

Given that ADA felt the need to place her hand on my shoulder, she must have felt my emotions and thoughts through our bond.

I gently squeezed her hand while forcefully suppressing my emotions.

What happened at San Fran was a miscalculation on my part.

I originally wanted McGillis to steal the beam weapon technology from my R&D bases so that he could use it in the open with his Gjallarhorn forces, giving me the excuse to do so myself, claiming that Gjallarhorn was the one to break the law first.

Unfortunately, the boy has proven himself to be far more reckless than his psych profile showed.

The fool sold that technology to the hidden forces of Earth and to many other forces across the system, starting a secret Arms race across the various factions.

While we did predict that something like this would happen somewhere down the line and were preparing for it, we did not expect this to happen so soon and in such a violent way, leaving us helpless and with no choice but to watch as the brat set fire to the fuse of a bomb that had stayed buried since the Calamity War.

While there is no doubt that McGillis bears the blame for all the lives lost in San Fransico, it is also undeniable that it was my miscalculation that led to that situation, so I too bear the weight of that incident.

This is why I have taken this course of action.

McGillis Fareed cares deeply for Carta Issue and Gaelio Bauduin in his own twisted way.

So what better way to punish the brat than tearing down the naivety and so-called innocence that he seeks to surround them with?

Taking a deep breath, I turned towards the crew who were giving me nervous stares. Given the thicker shielding on my Skipjacks compared to the enemy, along with my superior point-defense systems, none of the constant barrage that the enemy had been conducting until now has managed to cause us any harm. However, that does not mean that my children are not afraid of getting harmed if we stay on the defensive like this.

“Alright. Since Gjallarhorn wants to kill us, we might as well return the favor.”

I got up from my seat once again, looking at the battlefield.

“All ships, prepare for battle.”