Free Web NovelNo, no!
How is this the transformation button!
Pavela began frantically searching for the cancel button.
Then she immediately realized that once a mecha's transformation sequence had started, it was impossible to cancel.
Canceling midway would only cause the structure to jam between two forms, and that would be a true disaster.
What she needed now wasn't a cancellation, but an emergency shutdown.
To shut down the power system after the transformation was complete to avoid further misoperation.
Her hands swept rapidly across the control panel.
The emergency shutdown button.
Every mecha had one, and by convention, it should be placed in a prominent position.
But these symbols—
She didn't recognize a single one.
They were all Imperial military symbols, and some were versions heavily modified by Dr. Lovelace.
Pavela's fingers slid across the panel, pressing a button that looked like a power symbol.
There was no response.
Wrong!
She pressed another one next to it.
The mecha's heat sinks all deployed, and hot air gushed out from the back.
No, no!
Pavela rapidly scanned every area of the panel.
Then she saw a button.
Red, with a protective cover, located in the bottom-left corner of the panel.
In Usar mechas, the emergency shutdown button was yellow.
In Imperial mechas, she remembered it was—
Yes, it was red.
And the design with a protective cover also fit the logic of an "emergency operation."
It had to be the one!
Pavela flipped open the cover and pressed it.
"Transformation sequence complete."
"Takeoff sequence initiating."
Pavela's hand remained frozen on that button.
"..."
The thrusters ignited at full power.
Steam roared within the pipes.
The mecha shot toward the sky at a near-vertical angle.
Pavela was instantly pinned to her seat by the massive acceleration; her chest felt as if it were being crushed by an iron plate, making it difficult to breathe.
"Takeoff sequence initiated."
"Current altitude: 50 meters."
"Current altitude: 120 meters."
"Current altitude: 200 meters."
"Stop—!"
Pavela's voice was drowned out by the wind and the roar of the engines.
"Pavela! Pavela! Can you hear me?!"
Dr. Lovelace's voice came through the cockpit.
"I can hear you!"
"How did you take off?!"
"I pressed the red button with the protective cover in the bottom-left!"
"That's the takeoff confirmation button!"
"Isn't it the emergency operation button?!"
"It is an emergency operation button! For emergency takeoffs!"
"Who would ever need an emergency takeoff!"
"When the ground is surrounded!"
Pavela thought about it and had to admit that the logic was sound.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was how she was supposed to land now!
...
"Current altitude: 380 meters."
"Descent speed: 15 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 25 seconds."
"Pavela!"
Dr. Lovelace's voice changed.
She forcibly suppressed her own anxiety and panic, trying to make her voice sound calm.
"Listen to me, you need to activate the Ejection System immediately."
"What?"
"Eject! Now! Immediately!"
Her voice was resolute.
"Your life is ten thousand times more important than this mecha!"
"Current altitude: 320 meters."
"Descent speed: 17 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 18 seconds."
"Meow—! Meow meow meow—"
Ms. Etina's voice was beside the doctor.
It was a series of rapid, sharp meows, filled with obvious hesitation and anxiety.
"I know!"
Dr. Lovelace responded, "But now is not the time to consider that—"
"Meow meow! Meow—!"
Ms. Etina's voice grew even sharper.
Pavela couldn't understand such complex cat language.
But she could tell what Ms. Etina was saying.
Because Dr. Lovelace's response explained everything.
"I know this mecha used up half of this year's material budget!"
Dr. Lovelace's voice carried a hint of irritation, "I know if it crashes like this, we won't be able to build a second one for the next six months! I also know how big of an explosion it will cause near the landing site if it falls—"
"Meow!"
"But none of that is the most important!"
Dr. Lovelace's voice suddenly became exceptionally firm.
"Pavela, listen to me, eject immediately. The mecha can be rebuilt, materials can be reapplied for, but there is only one of you."
"Meow meow—meow!"
Ms. Etina was still calling out.
"I said no!"
Dr. Lovelace's voice was almost a shout.
"The Spinal Interface can indeed connect to the mecha and amplify her Return Power, but it hasn't been combat-tested at all! It's only theoretically safe; if there's even a 0.1-second delay in the interface under such high-load conditions, her nervous system will be fried!"
"Current altitude: 250 meters."
"Descent speed: 19 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 13 seconds."
"Meow—"
Ms. Etina's voice grew lower.
"I'm not gambling this time,"
Dr. Lovelace said. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Every word sounded as if it were being squeezed through her teeth.
"Pavela, the ejection button is in the top-right corner, yellow, with an upward arrow symbol. Flip open the cover and press it; the seat will eject you from the cockpit."
Pavela's hand reached toward the top-right corner.
She found it.
The yellow button, the protective cover, the upward arrow.
Her finger rested on the cover.
"Current altitude: 180 meters."
"Descent speed: 20 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 9 seconds."
Pavela could already clearly see the Royal Knights Academy's Third Training Ground; it was densely packed with people and mechas, seemingly holding some kind of event.
Pavela did not immediately flip open the cover.
Her back rested against the seat's backrest.
The Spinal Interface was right there.
A familiar cold metallic touch.
As death approached, her thoughts actually became clearer.
What should she do now?
Dr. Lovelace said she should immediately activate the Ejection System.
That way, she would most likely escape unharmed.
The seat would eject her from the cockpit, a parachute would open, and she could land safely.
But what would be the cost?
First, the explosion.
A mecha filled with steam, fuel, and ammunition falling from a high altitude.
What would happen the moment it hit the ground?
Pavela knew all too well.
Boilers bursting, steam erupting, fuel igniting, and ammunition detonating.
The shockwave would tear apart everything within a radius of dozens of meters.
And the mecha's current descent trajectory—
Pavela looked down through the cockpit window.
The Royal Knights Academy's Third Training Ground.
Densely packed people.
Densely packed mechas.
If the mecha smashed down—
Heavy casualties would be the inevitable result.
And it would be the heavy casualties of a group of noble children.
Pavela could imagine the scene.
The fire of the explosion.
Flying debris.
Bodies tossed by the shockwave.
Those students in their well-tailored uniforms.
Those young people still dreaming of the future.
They would turn into charred remains and mangled flesh in an instant.
And then?
Dr. Lovelace would be held accountable.
General Margaret would be implicated.
Eleanor—
What would happen to her?
She was the eldest daughter of the Schwartz Family.
She was an Imperial Army Lieutenant Colonel.
She was a Special Envoy of the General Staff Department.
She had picked Pavela up from the battlefield, given her a home, an identity, and a future.
And Pavela—
Was about to repay her with an explosion.
It would lead to her being questioned in the Imperial Council.
It would lead to her being blamed in noble circles.
It would force her to bear all the consequences.
"Current altitude: 150 meters."
"Descent speed: 21 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 7 seconds."
Pavela's finger did not move.
She was still thinking.
Next, the mecha would be ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) completely scrapped.
Ms. Etina said this mecha had used up a full six months' material budget.
If it crashed, another one couldn't be built for the next half-year.
Half a year.
That meant Dr. Lovelace's Flying Mecha project would be delayed by six months.
It meant those waiting for this technology would have to wait an extra half-year.
It meant—
Pavela thought of the battlefield.
She thought of the pilots who died inside their mechas.
She thought of the countless soldiers who fell on the Eastern Front.
She didn't know their names.
But she knew they were dead.
Dead in the war.
Dead in this damn war that would never end.
If the Flying Mecha could be completed even one day sooner—
If it truly could change the form of warfare—
If it could bring the war to an end one day earlier—
How many fewer people would die?
A hundred?
A thousand?
Ten thousand?
Pavela didn't know.
But she knew that every day of delay meant more people would die.
More Pavels would be thrown into Punishment Camps.
More Levs would fall in the wind and snow.
"Current altitude: 120 meters."
"Descent speed: 22 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 5 seconds."
"Pavela!"
Dr. Lovelace's voice.
"Eject! Now!"
Pavela pulled her finger back from the protective cover.
She didn't want those innocent students to die because of her mistake.
She didn't want those soldiers on the battlefield to wait an extra six months because of her mistake.
She didn't want to cause any more trouble for those who cared about her.
Finally, she didn't want to disappoint Eleanor anymore.
"Current altitude: 90 meters."
"Descent speed: 23 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 3 seconds."
Pavela leaned back forcefully.
Against the seat's backrest.
The Spinal Interface was right there.
The cold metallic touch pressed fully against her back.
"Pavela! What are you doing?!"
Dr. Lovelace's voice was almost a scream.
Pavela didn't answer Dr. Lovelace.
She just suddenly discovered—
She didn't seem that afraid of death anymore?
When had that started?
"Current altitude: 60 meters."
"Descent speed: 24 meters per second."
"Estimated time to impact: 2 seconds."
Pavela took a deep breath.
Golden rings appeared within her pupils.
Since that was the case—
Then she would take a gamble.
She pressed the switch for the Spinal Interface.
The moment the metal probes pierced her spine—
The entire world changed.
