When President Nishita made the decisive call to head for the shelter, his loyal security detail was still following close behind. The soldiers had now donned their power armor and were escorting the president's scooter toward the spiral passage to the third level.
The president's powered scooter was advanced, but its design was plain, much like a preschooler's ride-on toy. Surrounded by armored men who stood at least three meters tall, it looked like a children's toy being curiously circled by a group of silverback gorillas.
The people retreating naturally had no idea what was happening. With the raider warship that had just landed, the other raider vessels and those "Alliance" ships had also taken the opportunity to rush in, like a pack of hyenas closing in on a sickly elephant. They did not try to destroy the luxury liner with gunfire. Instead, they all moved in close to board it, like a gang of well-trained pirates.
The Commonwealth escort ships were also afraid of accidentally hitting the Azure Princess, so they had no choice but to stop firing and send assault teams aboard to reinforce the defenders.
So, in just ten minutes, more than a dozen boarding bridges had been thrust into the Azure Princess from all directions by enemy and friendly ships alike. The enormous liner had instantly become a city engulfed in urban warfare.
The armored front doors to the Azure Princess's bridge had been raised halfway, forming a natural barricade. The fighting around them had also reached fever pitch with astonishing speed.
The doors consisted of five layers of armor and two layers of energy shields. Putting aside the materials, they were thick enough for a man in power armor to tap-dance on. They had, of course, been installed after the Navy Day incident in 830.