I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 31

Atla Colony Military Sector Gate 10.

Kwaaang!

The entrance leading to the hangar was engulfed in a cacophony of explosions, the outpost and barricades crumbling under an unexpected assault, leaving the defenders in a daze.

“Stop them! Stop them!”

“B-but…!”

The defenders of the hangar were the 504th Brigade, under the command of the 17th Fleet, having been handed the duty from the existing Atla Colony Defense Force.

Though they were responding from behind barricades to the sudden attack, confusion and disbelief filled the faces of the soldiers.

“…W-what is happening?”

“Uwaaah! You madmen!”

Experiencing battle was not an unusual occurrence.

The officers alone were of a generation that had endured the Third Galactic War, and the same could be said for the sergeants and corporals.

Even if it wasn’t the Empire, in this vast galaxy, how many factions sought to make the Synthesized States their enemies?

“Seal the barricades!”

“Ha, but there’s still the 1st platoon over there!”

“Give it up! Don’t you get it? If we can’t close the bulkhead, it’s all over!”

But the situation was different now.

“Is there no order from above? What kind of hellish situation is this!”

“W-we can’t get through! Everything’s down!”

“What the hell…!”

The enemy was neither the Empire’s saboteurs nor the royalists enraptured by the Empire’s feudal system.

What struck from behind was none other than the brown-uniformed defense forces of the planet Lemal.

For the soldiers of the 17th Fleet, it was beyond bewilderment; they were left questioning if this was a dream.

Tatatatatatang!

And there were no small numbers.

Two battalions, faces set in grim determination, were charging in their reinforced exoskeletons and Titan tactical suits.

And most crucially, at their forefront stood the special operations officers clad in black uniforms.

“I’m going to lose my mind!”

It was the moment when the last hope that this was merely a minor disturbance or deviation vanished.

No matter how strained relations had become, the fact that soldiers of the same United Humanity were attacking those who had come to aid them was an unprecedented reality.

“Damn it.”

The captain on duty bit his lip, trying to grasp the situation as calmly as possible, but the outcome was the worst imaginable.

“Too fast. Too damn fast.”

Though the atmosphere inside the colony was tense, it wasn’t a wartime scenario, and the ones on guard were just a handful of special operations officers from a single battalion.

Even that was dispersed, with only two companies present on the scene.

There were a few special operations officers stationed, but they were insufficient to stop the relentless advance of the enemy.

“Support? When the hell is support coming?”

“Th-that’s…”

“Damn it…”

The captain swallowed the curse that rose to his throat and shouted nervously.

“Contact all special operations officers immediately! No, even special operations non-commissioned officers or support squads—get them all on the line! It’s a coup!”

“Y-yes, understood!”

Kugugugung…!

Puh-ruung!

Even in that moment, as the sporadic booms echoed around him, the captain opened the hip flask he had secretly hidden in his coat and wet his lips, whispering a prayer.

…May I, at least, buy some time.

*

When constructing the colony, military sectors were managed with the highest security clearance.

This meant that the security measures were unlike those of ordinary structures.

Fearing the potential for internal terrorism within the colony, four reinforced bulkheads were clad in the strongest metal, carbine alloy, to prevent the hangar, where the ships were gathered, from being seized. Though not particularly effective, AI-equipped machine guns and railguns were also at the ready.

Because of this, even a considerable amount of firepower would struggle to breach a single bulkhead.

The problem was that the enemy was the planetary defense force of Lemal, who had designed and stationed at the Atlas Colony.

“Lu, what’s the current status?”

“All officers from the defense force who disagreed with the directive have been detained, and the special operations officers from the Federation Army listed have been eliminated or lured to the outer sectors far from the hangar,” replied the lieutenant, known as Lu, after glancing at his watch, his voice tinged with relief.

“Additionally, we have successfully seized partial control of the colony sector management system. There should be no issues in neutralizing the AI of the bulkheads.”

A response that was quite satisfactory.

However, there was no room for complacency.

‘This is a cold opportunity gained in a battlefield favorable to us. The moment the command structure of the Federation Army is restored, everything will be over.’

Even if Major General Legchaf had been decapitated, there would surely be someone to manage the situation.

The moment the chaos subsided and order was restored would be the true crisis.

Nodding at Lu’s words, Satra slowly moved forward.

Whirring, clank, clank—.

As if in response to the lieutenant’s words, the machine guns and railguns that had been fiercely trained on them lowered their barrels, as if nothing had happened.

However, the bulkheads were forcibly locked, leaving no choice but to breach them directly.

“We’ll reach the point within ten minutes.”

The sentries guarding the first bulkhead had already been subdued, and all that remained was to break through these walls as quickly as possible.

“Huff—.”

In that instant, her violet pupils gleamed.

The gears within her turned in sync with her tempo, and soon, psionic energy coalesced into a storm at her fingertips.

KWA-BOOM!

Immediately, with a thunderous roar, the first bulkhead crumpled and tore apart, and at that moment, the firepower of the Federation Army waiting in ambush surged toward her in unison.

“UaaaH!”

Alongside the bullets fired from the infantry-grade small railgun, commonly known as the SSR, several androids launched explosive projectiles equipped with enhanced parts directly at her.

Tatadatadang!

Puh-uhng!

With the gunfire, a thunderous boom resounded.

Yet, knowing that conventional firepower held little meaning against a special officer of Triple Gear or higher, the special officers of the federal forces surged forth.

*“We must buy time!”*

Considering the number of reported special officers from the defense forces before the bulkhead closed, it was clear that stalling was the best course, no matter how much advantage they held.

Having concluded such calculations, the special officers of the federal forces simultaneously drew their specialized weapons, each revving their gears to maximum speed, unleashing a torrent toward the bulkhead.

“Cough!”

“Grrk!”

Some could not withstand the sudden output, bleeding or clutching their hearts, but the price was certain.

*Kwa-ddddd-deuk!*

The first flames that leapt forth engulfed her as she pierced through the bulkhead, followed closely by a deluge of lightning raining down from the heavens.

*Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!*

Though it was merely a Double Gear level of ability, the instantaneous firepower was overwhelming.

Concrete shattered, air evaporated in an instant, and the wrecked bulkhead floated freely in the void.

Even a special officer of Triple Gear would find it hard to endure.

“Rahel!”

“Understood! Adolf!”

Then, those clad in pitch-black specialized gear, wielding longswords, leapt forth to strike her, who had yet to fully regain her footing.

*“I’ve got her!”*

They projected their abilities with such intensity that the tips of their longswords trembled.

Thus, there was no doubt.

They had struck her.

But in that very moment.

*“…Huh?”*

Rahel. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

*Kwaak!*

The sensation of flesh and bone that should have been cleaved was absent, replaced by a brutish grip tightening around her nape.

*“…Damn it.”*

And with a whisper from Adolf, sounding almost like a lament not far away, Rahel finally realized.

It seems, indeed, that something has gone awry.

Thud!

In an instant, the violet pupils of Satra gleam.

Like a neon sign tracing a line, something follows her movements, stretching out like a tail.

Thud—.

In the blink of an eye, two special operations officers of the Triple Gear are silenced.

“…M-mad.”

As they confirm the overwhelming force, the special operations sergeants, who had been holding their breath in tense anticipation, collectively lose their will to fight.

Perhaps the ordinary folk would not understand.

Even if they had stopped growing in the Dual Gear and were commissioned as sergeants, they could certainly feel it, being superhumans themselves.

“…Quad Gear.”

What stands before them is a Quad Gear-level special operations officer, treated as a true ‘weapon.’

What followed was as clear as day.

The barriers were crushed in succession, and at last, the defense forces, led by her, reached the final gate, the Fourth Barrier, which led to the hangar.

“…”

The captain, remaining as the duty officer, gathered the remaining troops with a heavy heart and stood before it.

With the AI of the barrier already neutralized, it was pointless to hold out within when it was certain the walls could be breached.

Of course, with the forces already crushed at the preceding barriers, what remained was barely a squad, including those handling administrative tasks.

‘Of all times…’

No, it must be precisely because of this that a coup was staged.

Just a day prior, the instructors from the special operations academy had arrived, and the soldiers, who had toiled to send a support fleet to the outpost on the planet Lemal, were granted a massive leave.

In other words, a time when security was weaker than usual.

Truly, a dead end.

It was then.

Standing at the forefront, with an expressionless gaze fixed on the barricade before the barrier, Satra spoke.

“Step aside.”

Though she did not bother to add what came after, it was not difficult to grasp the implication for anyone not a fool.

‘If you don’t move, you will die.’

The captain bit his lip, and ultimately, the curse he had been holding back escaped his lips.

“…Damn it.”

He cast a glance at the subordinates standing nearby.

All of them swallowed hard, their weapons aimed, yet they knew well that a handful of ordinary men could do nothing against the special operations officers.

The evidence lay in the trembling of their gun barrels.

Yes, even his own.

He did not wish to die.

He could not die here.

“…I will clear the way.”

That thought filled his mind in an instant, and soon he seemed to resolve himself, dropping his pistol to the ground and raising both hands.

“C-Captain!”

“Shut up and listen to me! What can we do among ourselves…!”

To surrender to the coup forces.

The soldiers around him, pale with fear, looked at the captain, but one by one, they began to lower their weapons at his next words.

They all knew deep down.

It was already too late to stop it on their own.

“…”

As the path was cleared, the defense forces, led by Satra, passed by them without a word.

Finally reaching the reinforced wall, Satra let out a short breath and drove her fist into the barrier.

Kugugugugung!

As before, the massive structure crumbled as if its weight meant nothing.

And in that moment, as she stepped beyond the fallen wall, Satra turned to the captain, now pale with dread, and his men.

“Leave the hangar, and surrender once the job is done.”

That was the last piece of advice she could offer, her final mercy.

*

The defense forces reached the hangar and quickly seized the control room.

Under the leadership of Lieutenant Rue, they manipulated the internal data. Soon, the three-dimensional optical equipment on the colony’s outer wall activated, casting a long beam of light to guide the fleet.

“What about the external interception system?”

“Contact with the battalion heading to the main facility has been lost. While it’s difficult to seize control, they are still engaging in a power struggle. For the next five minutes, we won’t be able to project any meaningful firepower.”

“Begin.”

At Satra’s command, Rue immediately pulled out a device and linked it with the control room’s AI, and soon a series of fleets appeared on the holographic radar.

[Identification Failed: Error.]

[Identification Unavailable: Error.]

[Identification Unavailable: Error.]

A fleet of no less than ten ships.

The unending stream of identification errors flickered, yet they paid it no mind.

For once they had come this far, there was no other path to tread.

[Gate Open.]

[Guidance Rail Docking Complete.]

[Bulkhead Shielding Complete.]

The AI in the control room, hacked and swift as a shadow, guided the vessels into the hangar, and soon, with a heavy resonance, a colossal flagship settled into the bay where they stood.

Wiiing—

And as the forces of the defense, led by Satra, reached the hangar, the doors of the docked ship swung open, revealing a procession of soldiers stepping forth behind an elder.

“By the gods, the efficiency is sharper than I expected.”

The old man, clad in a crimson uniform reminiscent of the Second Galactic War, flashed his piercing eyes at Satra and extended a hand.

“Brigadier Kim Cheol of the Red Hand.”

“I am Captain Satra.”

Yet, contrary to his visage, the elder’s physique and grip were honed to a degree that belied his age.

They clasped hands, a prelude to the matters that lay ahead.

…Or so they intended.

[Alert: Unidentified energy detected above the colony.]

The sudden blare of the alarm rang out.

—Kyaaah!

If not for the roar of a beast that echoed through the colony at that very moment.