Baili's Expression

Above Mera-IX, a colonial planet in The Crossroads, at high orbit.

The Unified Fleet's flagship—the strategic cruiser Mass Effect—hung silently within the star fortress's berthing field.

Its iron-gray powered armor bathed in starlight, its straight, rigid lines rejecting all unnecessary decoration. The entire ship was covered only in simple white paint at essential points along its hull. Between the symmetrical halves of the hull, a massive accelerator device floated with flickering radiance inside—this war machine was fully prepared, poised to strike.

This was a powerful vessel with astonishing firepower and defensive capabilities. Its design completely followed The Crossroads Unified Fleet's usual philosophy that "force can overcome finesse." Even though its primary duty was to serve as a command node within the fleet, it still bristled with gun batteries and missile silos. And as the latest improved model of the "General" strategic cruiser, the Special Operations Bureau's engineers had added a set of "Collapse Accelerators" to the bow, truly turning this behemoth into a devastating war beast.

Anyone standing aboard this colossal starship, looking at the mass drivers serving as its main guns, the iron-gray armor stretching for kilometers beyond the viewing windows, and the radiance floating within the acceleration tracks, would unquestionably feel its majesty and power. They would naturally be filled with the heroic conviction that nothing in the world could stand in their way, that everything was under their control.

...That was how it should have been.

"What do you mean, you just raided the Hermetic Society's stargate, but they don't know yet?"

"You mean we can directly 'jump' the main fleet behind their star fortress when the time comes?!"

"...The Hermetic Society's 'Living Saints' might all be miniature versions of Dark Angels?! What do you mean by that?!"

"What do you mean, the 'Shadowless Bones' aren't just