I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 28

Regardless of the cadets’ reactions, Jin Crow did not step forward any further after that declaration.

“…….”

Outwardly, he could easily be perceived as arrogant or insincere, yet none dared to voice such thoughts in his presence.

It was only natural.

The other instructors, regardless of their opinions, maintained their silence in front of the cadets, who were overwhelmed by the fact that he had slain the infamous Quad Gear, the Class 2 fugitive Liberto, and by his very aura.

‘Reviewing the documents, there are no standout cadets. Thus, there’s no reason to step forward unnecessarily.’

Of course, Jin Crow’s true thoughts were far from that.

Lieutenant General Legchaf, that unnecessarily pompous fool, was not someone he held in high regard.

Any fool could surmise why friction existed between the Federal Army and the Defense Forces.

Yet, there was no alternative.

‘With our response to the erosion still inadequate, what could the Federal Fleet possibly do?’

The creatures were unlike any enemy faced before.

While it wasn’t impossible that Lieutenant General Legchaf had lied, the reason the 17th Fleet was abandoning the planet Lemal was that it was already too late to intervene.

Their reproductive capacity was beyond imagination.

Thus, at least until all circumstances were clarified, maintaining silence was the wisest course of action.

“As you all know, we are the instructors of what is commonly referred to as the ‘Upper Special Operations Academy.’ I believe you all have a rough idea of why we are here….”

Of course, in the meantime, Instructor Hughes was rambling to the cadets, his face a perfect match for his sly demeanor.

“Now, then, any questions?”

“Feel free to ask without hesitation.”

It was just as the bespectacled military policeman, Dido, began to take questions from the cadets on behalf of Instructor Miller from the Western Special Operations Academy and Instructor Judith from the Northern Special Operations Academy.

Tap-tap-.

I turned my head, feeling a finger poke me from behind.

What caught my eye was none other than Obia.

With her characteristic playful expression, she blinked and mouthed something.

-You wanna bail if you’re not interested anyway?

It seemed I had been caught with a nonchalant expression.

‘What to do.’

I wrestled with the thought of whether it was okay to slip away from here, but my deliberation was not long.

If this was a matter agreed upon by the factions from the start, the other instructors who had come this far would surely be aware of it.

Thus, leaving behind the brief but fervent reactions of the cadets, I subtly made my way out with Obia, stepping outside the building.

“Did you know?”

“Pardon? Know what?”

“……”

Every time, I felt it was not easy to converse with her.

I quickly dismissed the thought of asking again and called out to the weary-looking Captain Lee Hana outside the building.

“Captain.”

“……Ah, I want to be discharged. Huh? Ah? Yes!”

“Could you guide me to the accommodations?”

“Ah, understood!”

For some reason, her sulky expression tugged at my heart, but given the nature of the colony that had essentially moved an entire city, getting lost could waste unnecessary time, leaving me with little choice.

“Why are you so scared? We’re not scary people. Smile!”

“Ah, yes… Ha, haha.”

“Wait, you really are smiling?”

Of course, after being caught by Obia, I felt even more pity for her.

‘Good thing the target isn’t me.’

‘That could have been a hassle.’

Inwardly, the thoughts of Jin Crow and the gendarmes watching Obia and Captain Lee Hana were the same.

“I-I’m sorry…”

In the mind of Captain Lee Hana, who was suffering in many ways, only one word lingered.

“Discharge, discharge. Please, discharge…!”

*

“W-Well then. I shall return now. Loyalty.”

“You’ve done well. In many ways.”

After seeing off Captain Lee Hana, who had become a miracle witness to the exhaustion of a person during the twenty-minute walk back to the quarters, Jin Crow closed the door and entered the room, only to be met with another bizarre spectacle that almost made him swallow his curse…

“What is this nonsense?”

…But he couldn’t hold it back.

Indeed, the blinds in the quarters were all drawn down.

And that wasn’t all.

The gendarmes were busily linking their watches to project a beam onto the wall, while Obia, wearing a pair of glasses of unknown origin, cleared her throat.

“Ah, um. Let’s begin.”

She spoke without a care for Jin Crow’s incredulous expression, and one of the gendarmes, now wearing a look of enlightenment, silently turned the screen.

What was projected on the wall were short, intense words.

“Live Report from the Atlas Colony”

“From now on, I will provide a full briefing on the investigation. Instructor, please take your seat.”

It was the voice and demeanor of the adjutant who had reported before the instructors.

At this point, Jin Crow had no choice but to throw up his hands in surrender.

As he sat on the sofa, Obia nodded once in satisfaction and gestured for the gendarme to change the screen.

“Currently, the situation in the Atlas Colony is quite complex. As you have seen before, there is an ongoing power struggle between the defense forces and the Federal Navy’s 17th Fleet, and due to the peculiar nature of the situation, the Ministry of Defense is also struggling to mediate the conflict.”

The Ministry of Defense of the United Human Synthesis, which casts its influence across the galaxy, is dealing with a mere planetary defense force.

At first glance, it seems absurd that they are struggling against a defense force that has effectively lost the planet, but the situation was, quite literally, too peculiar.

“First, the Atlas Colony is, without a doubt, a material asset of the Lemal Planet government. While some federal subsidies were involved, they account for less than 5%, making any substantial influence practically impossible.”

Her tone was unexpectedly serious.

He wanted to tell her to just quit it, but the details she had gathered were quite thorough and meticulous enough to set that thought aside.

“Normally, the entity that would regulate the autonomy of the Atlas Colony would be the legislators of the planetary government, but the problem is that the majority of them were abducted by the Red Hand during the early days of the evacuation.”

However, the intervention of the Red Hand did not last long.

The defense fleet, which later joined forces with the Federal Navy’s 17th Fleet, managed to push them back after maintaining the front line until they escaped into space.

Thud.

At that moment, Obia slowly pushed up her slightly askew glasses and continued speaking.

“The real issue lies right here.”

As the politicians of the planet Lemaal fell into the grasp of the Red Hand, there was no longer a way to manage the nearly one hundred million refugees.

Some members of the lower house managed to survive and reach the Atla Colony, but among them were those who, quite literally, had been rendered unlikable and were certain to lose their seats.

They survived due to their relative unimportance.

—The absence of leadership.

At first glance, it seemed almost a grave incompetence that the 17th Fleet had failed to seize control.

Then, as if waiting for such a question, Obia added,

“Captain Satra. She is currently the backbone of the defense forces.”

Having uttered such a shocking statement, she proceeded to display a video on the screen.

Beep—

A short button sound echoed.

Finally, a video of poor quality, seemingly taken from a distance, finished its brief loading and began to play.

[Core meltdown at Site 7!]

[Commander! The ship can’t hold out any longer!]

The boundary between space and planet.

Amidst the violet void cracks that opened all around, frantic transmissions echoed towards the flagship.

[No, there are too many of them!]

The onslaught of eroding protrusions pouring down like rain and the creatures that blanketed the sky were enough to crush anyone’s fighting spirit.

Even as the ships formed a formation, firing hundreds, thousands of beams per second and bombarding the enemy, their numbers did not dwindle.

[Commander Sahim!]

[We will prepare the rescue ship! Please, at least you…!]

Just as those unable to grasp the broader situation began to ponder the word ‘defeat,’ a calm voice responded to the desperate cries of the captains.

[Take care of my daughter, Satra.]

No sooner had those words been spoken than the flagship swiftly turned its bow towards the void crack.

KWA-BOOM!

Before the captains, filled with shock, worry, and indignation, could even respond to Commander Sahim’s words, the video ended with the sight of the flagship colliding with the crack and exploding.

“…”

Jin Crow, who silently witnessed the final moments of the nameless soldier, slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his lips.

Squeak, drip—.

And then, she softly murmured the circumstances she had come to understand.

“The daughter of Colonel Sahim has plunged into the rift, has she?”

“Yes. And Colonel Sahim is, in fact, a key figure in the defense forces, with his promotion to general all but confirmed!”

Obia added, “There were factions, you know.”

Seemingly satisfied with her announcement’s success, she returned to her original tone, as if nothing had happened.

Then, one of the military police, with a look that said, “Finally, it’s over,” pulled back the blinds he had kept closed. As light flooded the room, Jin Crow ground the half-burned cigarette into the ashtray and turned to her, still harboring questions.

“Even so, a mere captain commands over a hundred thousand in the defense forces? No matter how influential her father is…”

“It doesn’t make sense. Naturally.”

She smiled, handing her glasses to the military police who had been acting as a projector, then sank into the sofa across from Jin Crow.

“Looking through the records, Captain Satra was quite the elite, with rumors swirling even in the neighboring star systems. I hear she entered the special officer academy at the top of her class and graduated the same way. By the time she was commissioned, she had completed her triple gear. Now, four years later, her esteemed father, a respected soldier, sacrificed himself in a glorious charge for the planet… What do you think?”

Then, with a look that clearly conveyed her amusement, she whispered, “At this point, while commanding a hundred thousand might be tough, inheriting Colonel Sahim’s faction doesn’t seem entirely impossible.”

*

Inside the not-so-spacious office.

Creeeak—.

Satra, dragging her weary body inside, pressed only the button of the soft lamp instead of turning on the lights, then sank into a chair.

“…….”

The throbbing headache showed no signs of abating.

As she reached for the medicine tucked away in the drawer, her hand froze at the sound of her watch’s alarm.

With a beep, she opened the messenger.

What met her eyes was a short yet ominous message from an unknown sender.

[Time is running short.

I hope for your wise choice, Captain.]

Staring blankly at the message for a while, Satra finally opened the drawer, took out the headache medicine, and tossed it into her mouth.

Crunch.

The bitter taste of the medicine, chewed without water, jolted her senses awake.

Was it thanks to that, or because of it?

Her focus sharpened slightly, yet her expression showed no signs of brightening.

Eventually, her gaze drifted beyond the message to the crackling old holographic frame on the worn table.

[The Day of Appointment. With Father.]

Behind her, smiling stiffly and awkwardly, the face of her father beams with pride.

“Father, what is right?”

Of course, the expected silence from Colonel Sahim answered her.

“Haah…”

In the office, only her sigh, heavy with anguish, lingered in the air.