Project PHAETON 15 (Patreon)

Commissioned by RoyalTwinFangs

Project PHAETON

Chapter 15

-VB-

Noctis’s second victory over the Zeonites was transmitted back to Ceres, and from Ceres, the news spread to the rest of the Phaeton League. 

The people sniffed and went on with their lives, and this was because, in their minds, this was always going to happen.

They lived under the shadow of the Innovative Titan, Zeyus Caelum. If there was anyone in this goddamn universe who could make the other nations see their inferiority, then it was him. His son going out there and kicking Zeonite ass? It was only expected. 

As Astraea saw it, however, it also poisoned the minds of the League’s citizens with unearned arrogance. 

While it was good that they found pride in their fellow citizen’s accomplishments, they took it a step further and allowed it to hold them back from acting. 

Now that it was clear that the Zeonites will attack even humanitarian convoys, the rest of the League should be gearing up for war with the Principality of Zeon. Or, at the very least, modernizing their militia and merchant fleets so that they will not be caught unaware. 

But instead of acting to make themselves better and more secure, they were … delaying. Suddenly, they looked at their books instead of the war ahead of them. They began to argue about whether or not the war footing was “sustainable” and “viable.”

Idiots. 

Idiots, the lot of them.

Instead of using the opportunity to get better, they were using it to get lazy over money that could always be earned again. 

She took in a deep breath after the latest call that she had to end because it was obvious to both of them that the other party was not going to budge. 

Or as he said it, “House Caelum honestly doesn’t need the rest of the League’s help, doesn’t it? Especially since you hoard those clones.”

And that’s what half of the problems came down to.

While clones were acknowledged as their own being and more than a few of the larger members made frequent use of them, the rest of the League were very wary about the clones, wondering if their identity would be smothered by a “wave of clone immigrants.” 

As if they mattered in the first place. 

She was not of the same opinion about the smaller members of the League as her father and brother. Independence was good and all, but only if they could manage it. People who raved about independence but couldn’t maintain that for themselves, constantly needing help from others - like her family - like beggars, didn’t deserve that freedom. 

And now that there was a call for war, they were delaying and dragging their feet. 

Disgusting. 

Untrustworthy. 

Weak.

… But this was precisely why she was the diplomat of the family and not anyone else. Mother didn’t care much about politics and simply acted as the vice administrator of Ceres. Father was too engrossed in his technology and future. Noctis was the military minded leader, one who could be a good administrator but remained firmly within the military sphere. 

And so she had taken up the mantle of diplomacy for her family because no one else could. 

But she was reminded time and time again that she too once imagined herself as a crusader like her brother. 

Because the whispers and complaints of the weaker members of the Phaeton League weren’t without substance.

House Caelum does not need help.

If push came to shove, Astraea knew that her family didn’t need help. There were secrets hidden deep inside Ceres that she hoped would see the light of Sol. But beyond those secrets were the already established infrastructure. 

Though it wasn’t widely known, enough people in the upper hierarchy of the League knew that House Caelum possessed cloning facilities capable of pumping out close to ten thousand clones a month. They didn’t right now, idling at around five hundred a month for a sustainable growth in population and genetic diversity. 

But if House Caelum acted by itself, then the fragile balance that Father worked so hard to maintain in the League would break, and he had no desire to become a king to fix it all. Even if there were no problems, people will find problems.

She knew that it would happen.

She worked in the diplomatic corps. Dealing with people wanting to find problems was a third of her job. The actual negotiation wasn’t even a tenth.

She let out a sigh.

She still needed to get in contact with … a dozen more League members. 

Ugh.

Whatever.

Just get to it. 

Just as she was about to call someone else, she got a message. 

It came from Noctis… and a video.

She frowned and played it. 

Her eyes slowly widened at what she was seeing. 

Horrified. 

She ran over to her bathroom and threw up.

-VB-

It’s been days since he won his second victory against Zeon… 

But Noctis did not understand what was happening. 

Because there was a giant colony currently on a crash course with Earth.

His ship’s comp.nav quickly recognized the colony as Island Iffish, the very place that the Massacre of Iffish took place. 

But why was it here so far away from its Lagrange point? 

… it didn’t take him long to connect the dots. Then he began to wonder if humanity truly could not sink any further. They were willing to sink into the depths of horrors for… what? For “independence”? 

‘I thought killing the people of Iffish was a terror tactic,’ Noctis thought bitterly. 

He had nothing on him that could stop that colony from falling into orbit. 

“General, we have contact with the Earth Federation Fleet. They are emerging from the lit side of the planet,” a sensor officer reported. 

Quickly, the screen was pulled up to the main hologram, and Noctis saw the fleet in question. 

He frowned. 

“I want all the information about that fleet on my screen!” he shouted.

It didn’t take long for the disciplined and dedicated officers on the bridge to compile a report. 

7x Magellan-class

37x Salamis-class

2x Trafalgar-class

He stared at the screen in confusion. 

“Is that the first fleet?” he asked. 

“No, general. That is the entire fleet we can see.”

Noctis stood at his command console with wide eyes. 

“That matches what we have on the First Fleet. Where are their other fleets when there is an existential crisis hanging over their heads?” he demanded. 

The crew searched… and searched… and searched…

“That’s the only fleet we can detect, general.”

“Any missile launches from the surface?”

“Negative.”

“Any mines…?!”

“Negative.”

Noctis felt his stomach drop.

A single fleet that probably had only quadrupled the firepower of his own squadron. That’s all the Earth Federation sent to stop this travesty from happening…?!

“Get me in contact with Earth Federation Force command!” he shouted. “And someone put me in line with their First Fleet!” 

It didn’t take long for him to get in touch with the EFF.

“General Caelum -,” the person who appeared on hologram was none other than the foreign minister. 

“You have an entire colony on crash course with Earth and you only have the First Fleet in orbit! Where are your missiles?!” 

His sudden outburst caught the minister off guard.

“I assure you, I have been told that the navy has this handled.”

“Handled?! That thing should have been blown close to Luna’s orbit! Even if you destroy it now with your fleet, the debris will rain down and cause catastrophic damage to the planet! Where the hell is the rest of your navy?!” 

And instead of further assurances or deployments…

The fucking foreign minister frowned and chided him.

“This is in no way how a mere general should be talking to a minister of the federation,” the old man frowned. 

Noctis stared at the hologram of the foreign minister.

He… what? 

What?

“You have an existential crisis falling on your head and you want to waste time and word on … politeness?” 

“I have already told you that our forces have it han-.”

Noctis whirled on the comms officer. “Hang up on this blasted old man!” he demanded with a roar. 

The comms officer, despite jolting, quickly obeyed. 

Not too long after, he got in contact with General Revil of the First Fleet. 

“General Caelum,” the much older and grey-haired general greeted Noctis with the grimace of a man who knew his mission was futile. 

“General Revil. My squadron stands ready to provide assistance,” he replied. “W}e must destroy that colony right now.”

The general looked surprised. “Thank you. Then please, start firing away with everything you have.”

Not too long after, his squadron detected the First Fleet launching everything they had at the fast approaching colony.

“Open fire with everything!” he shouted. 

---

Beam cannons and particle cannons lashed out against the colony.

Bombs of all sorts were thrown in its way. 

But it was not to be. 

Colonies were built to withstand unsuspected asteroid impacts. The sheer bulk of their outer hull alone - 4 miles across and 22 miles in length - was enough to withstand the particle canons under most conditions. The beam cannons fared better but better was not good.

The Saloren’s Tachyon Lance proved to be nearly useless. Its exotic particle lance could pierce through the colony’s outer hull better than anything else currently used by both Caelum forces and the EFF, but, once again, better was not good. 

For five hours, the two fleets poured their all against the colony. 

Weapon components overheated to the point that the built-in coolers could not compensate. Captains, commanders, and generals ordered the atmosphere to be cycled along with the coolers so that the weapons wouldn’t explode under the stress. 

Even as the crews slowly turned their own ships into 50 degrees Celsius tombs, the fleets kept firing. 

And firing.

And firing.

But … It didn't help.

All of the solar wings of the colony had been cut off but the main hull of the colony remained basically untouched.

But by the fifth hour, the fate of Earth was clear to all.

---

Noctis watched as the colony entered the atmosphere and began to burn. More than the combined firepower of their two fleets, the atmosphere alone caused more damage. The superheated hull began to break apart, helped by the many many holes that they had put into it. 

He watched with desperate hope as the colony broke apart into three… and no more. 

He continued to watch while some of his crew turned away.

And then…

Light.

“Confirmed landing, Ireland.”

Light.

“Confirmed landing, off the coast of Japan.”

Better. Please please please…!

Then -.

Light.

The sensor officer looked horrified.

“C-Confirmed landing. Vietnam..”

And the calls kept being made. 

Ireland. Japan. Vietnam. South Africa. Panama. Australia. Borneo. Russia. The list kept growing as the bigger impacts gave away to smaller impacts. The colony had broken up into too many pieces to keep track of. 

And from where he stood on the bridge of the Saloren, he watched as the second largest impact, the one that landed just off the coast of Japan, created tsunamis that began to sweep toward Japan and the Philippines.

For a long while, Noctis didn’t say anything.

But he felt it bubbling up. Slowly. Consistently. 

Rage. 

It bubbled. Faster and faster and faster -.

His neck felt like he was going to choke if he didn’t let it out. 

His discipline failed. 

Noctis let out a roar. 

Of anger. 

Of hate. 

Zeon had been nothing more than flag waving idiots up to this point. 

Now… Now, they were savages too dangerous to let live.

After he calmed down, he sent a single message to his father. 

Father responded in minutes. 

Zeon Delenda est.

And Noctis couldn’t help but find his father’s response very satisfying to read. 

-VB-

A/N: Earth has it worse in this timeline.