Chapter 1294: Operational Cost

Well.

Theo’s embarrassingly valid explanation certainly gave everyone something to think about.

Off to the side, Luca was staring at his guildmate with barely concealed eagerness and pride for pointing out something he would’ve otherwise completely missed.

And just how spot-on that observation had been!

Unlike someone like Luca Kyros, who’d willingly shoved his hands into Nanite Ore and repeatedly attempted things most sane mechanics wouldn’t even consider, or Jackson "Vibes" Taylor, whose relationship with normal survival instincts remained questionable at best, Theo understood the hesitation of ordinary cadets considerably better.

He’d become far more trusting and admittedly more spontaneous after everything he’d experienced with DG, but that didn’t mean he’d forgotten what it felt like to look at something unfamiliar and immediately wonder whether attempting it was worth the risk.

And Theo could already see that uncertainty spreading through Battalion 10.

Some of their members were nervous about the sheer scale of CREX.

Others were clearly intimidated by the reputations of the people currently leading them.

If they heard the entire briefing first and discovered exactly how difficult certain responsibilities might become, there was a very real chance they’d retreat toward whatever sounded safest.

That was precisely what Theo wanted to avoid.

He couldn’t exactly explain the rest of his reasoning aloud, but he hoped everyone would take advantage of the opportunity in front of them.

Because if there was ever a good time to attempt something unfamiliar, make mistakes, and actually learn from them, wouldn’t it be now?

Especially when someone like Luca was there to give them as much room as possible to experiment without immediately letting everything fall apart?

Moreover, Theo also knew his own limitations.

As a Pharmacy cadet, he could contribute plenty within his specialization, but intricate battles weren’t exactly where he’d be most useful. So he sincerely hoped everyone else would take on their share of the responsibility rather than unconsciously leaving Luca and Jax to do most of the heavy lifting.

Those two probably wouldn’t even realize they were doing it!

But that didn’t make it fair.

And if Battalion 10 simply coasted through CREX because two unusually capable people handled every difficult problem for them, then what exactly would everyone else learn?

Thankfully, the others seemed to understand what Theo was getting at.

Though what finally eased the nervous atmosphere was Luca himself.

"Don’t worry too much about the tentative roles," he reassured them. "If you discover later that you’re actually better at something else, then we’ll figure out how to move things around."

Several cadets looked toward him.

"And if you find a better way to do something, tell us. We can see if everyone else can adapt it too."

Luca smiled.

"Also, if something doesn’t make sense, please ask. Someone here might know another way to do it."

"..."

For several Battalion 10 cadets, that sounded suspiciously like something straight out of a fantasy.

Even their instructors weren’t usually that generous when teaching them or giving them any sort of leeway. Or maybe that was just the special way of doing things in the Mecha Combat Division.

Still, they tried to keep their guard up, at least a little.

Because either their Battalion Commander was genuinely just a little too nice, or he was deliberately using that approach to get the most out of everyone.

__

But of course, for people who’d only just discovered the reality of their situation, who wouldn’t want to maximize what already looked like painfully meager resources?

"Four days..."

Luca muttered the number under his breath as he replayed part of the report explaining how contact with Caldris Minor-7 had supposedly been lost.

According to the additional information, the mining outpost had been attacked by what was believed to be a pirate group shortly before several confidential materials were scheduled for shipment.

Worse, the final information transfer containing the last known coordinates of those materials, along with the most recent points of contact with the hostiles, had never reached its intended destination.

That data was currently stuck at one of the allied control outposts closest to Caldris Minor-7.

Which meant their first objective was fairly obvious.

Reach the outpost.

Complete the information transfer.

Then hopefully use whatever they learned to avoid running around like headless chickens across a desert-like mining planet where the local version of rain was apparently a lovely soup of elements that weren’t particularly friendly toward most metals.

Understandably, Luca looked concerned.

And several people nearby immediately noticed when their commander muttered something that sounded suspiciously like four days.

Four days for what?!

Finn, who’d already worked hard enough during the pre-flight preparations to feel like he might die, knew it definitely wasn’t their estimated travel time. Their current course placed the allied outpost roughly a day and a half away.

So what exactly had Luca looking like that?

To everyone’s surprise, the golden-eyed cadet continued thinking aloud.

"Four days if we only use the manual mechas and keep hot-weapon usage to a minimum..."

"?"

"About two if we also deploy the drones and regularly use the Recon Rovers and tanks."

"..."

The invigilators watching the meeting live couldn’t help but twitch.

Because while most of the cadets clearly had no idea what Luca was talking about yet, they did.

They’d only been aboard for a few hours!

Sure, everyone involved in planning CREX already knew Luca Kyros was a genius. You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that by now.

But they hadn’t expected him to calculate something so close to the true operational cost of the equipment provided aboard the battleship this quickly!

Because yes, the Academy had been generous with the tools.

The energy supply?

Not nearly as much.

That particular limitation reflected the scarcity they would encounter during actual operations.

The cadets weren’t supposed to simply deploy every piece of equipment available to them whenever they wanted. They needed to decide what was worth using and when, balancing mobility and combat effectiveness against their remaining reserves.

Otherwise, they’d spend half the exercise hunting for energy supplies instead of accomplishing their main objectives.

Jax looked around at the equally confused faces before finally asking what everyone else was clearly wondering.

"Hey, Luca, any chance you can explain the numbers?"

"Huh?"

He blinked in mild confusion.

Then Luca finally noticed how many people were staring at him and belatedly remembered that, unfortunately, he was the commander everyone expected to explain these things.

"Oh! Sorry about that!"

He hurriedly brought up the relevant figures.

"I was just trying to make sense of our total available energy."

Several cadets leaned closer.

"Assuming the allied outpost in the briefing is still where it’s supposed to be and we don’t need to expend additional energy searching for another one, this is roughly how long our reserves should last depending on the equipment combination we use."

A surprisingly idiot proof chart appeared in front of them.

"..."

Several pairs of eyes immediately widened.

Different deployment combinations were listed alongside estimated energy consumption and operational duration.

Manual mechas.

Recon Rovers.

Drones.

Tanks.

Hot weapons.

And then they reached the note at the bottom.

These estimates assumed that the battleship itself remained docked and wasn’t drawing from the same reserves for active combat operations.

"?!"

The room went suspiciously quiet.

Then someone finally blurted out, "Seriously?! Isn’t the exercise supposed to last for about nine days?"

"That’s not even half!" another cadet exclaimed nervously. "And four days only works if the infantry is mostly moving on foot!"

"Are they sending us out there to die?!"

That finally broke whatever composure remained.

Worried murmurs spread throughout the room as the cadets stared at Luca’s calculations with growing dread.

Someone might’ve argued that their new commander was simply trying to scare them.

Unfortunately, the increasingly uncomfortable expressions on the supposedly neutral proctors suggested otherwise.

And really, if they had to trust someone’s judgment on energy consumption, who better than the youngest licensed mechanic in the Empire who also happened to be a combat mecha pilot?

Luca looked around.

Oh no.

Why did everyone suddenly look so worried?!

Realizing he’d probably made the situation sound far more hopeless than he’d intended, the little money-grubber immediately tried to reassure them.

"It’s okay!"

"..."

Several people turned toward him with desperate hope.

Luca understood why this could be a little difficult, but he didn’t think it was quite as bad as it seemed, considering that the unusual numbers were largely the result of modifications made to reduce the weapon’s lethality.

Sure, their current reserves wouldn’t last the entire exercise if they used the provided equipment normally. But the Vice Principal had already mentioned opportunities to obtain additional supplies.

And more importantly, the Academy had given them plenty of time!

That was actually rather considerate.

"We should be able to do something about the energy problem before we arrive."

"!"

Several cadets visibly perked up.

Even the invigilators became more attentive.

Did Luca Kyros already have some kind of strategy?

Was there something in the briefing they’d overlooked?

Had he identified a more efficient deployment pattern?

Everyone waited with growing anticipation.

Then Luca smiled.

"We can just modify the equipment a little."

"..."

The room went silent as Luca continued thinking.

Considering the rules, they could basically do whatever they wanted with the equipment they’d been given at this point, right?

So if the existing systems consumed too much energy, couldn’t they simply spend part of the journey tinkering with them until they consumed less?

Luca thought it was a perfectly reasonable solution.

Which was why the golden-eyed cadet couldn’t understand why several members of Battalion 10 suddenly looked a little gray.