Almost as Great Han began rebuilding its aviation industry, the Holy Britannia Imperium made its own choice.
In the highest-security biological containment facility beneath Pendragon, Cornelia had just returned from Area 18.
Gilford and Dalton followed behind her. Schneizel had arrived ahead of them, while Lloyd and Cecile stood with the researchers. When Charles entered last, every sound in the laboratory hall ceased at once.
It was the first time in this world that the corpse of a genuine extraterrestrial life-form had been placed before the emperor of Britannia.
An intact Tank-class lay on the sealed examination table at the center.
A mechanical frame forced its enormous jaws open. The inside of its mouthparts lacked the orderly structures ordinary organisms used for chewing; there was only hard tissue designed to tear, secure, and transport material. The sac on its underside had been cut open and its acid neutralized. Inside remained uniform fibers, steel fragments, bones, ceramic armor, and an identification tag corroded until only half remained.
On the other side lay a cross section of an Assault-class's frontal carapace. The dark shell stood several people tall, with damage from shells and high-frequency weapons clearly visible. A few meters away lay a relatively intact Laser-Class. At roughly three meters, it was much smaller than the Tank-class, yet the high-energy emission organ in its head resembled industrial equipment wrapped in biological tissue. Once cut open, it revealed nothing but regularly arranged crystalline structures, energy-conducting tissue, and dense channels for dissipating heat.
Cornelia studied them for a long time.
"They drag people back to their nests, but not to eat them."
"No," Cecile replied. "Current evidence indicates that individuals do not depend on consuming material on-site to sustain short-term activity. The Tank-class's collection behavior primarily serves Hive production. To them, human bodies, military