Chapter 58: An Unexpected Admirer

The special convoy sent by Schwaiger to pick up the expert group, along with the lead car carrying the Director, Shion, Shakya, and the others, had also arrived at the airport.

However, Shakya had initially thought it was just a routine airport pickup by Schwaiger personnel, only to discover upon arrival that representatives from the domestic government and the military were present as well.

The scale of the gathering was quite grand.

"Whoa..."

This was Shakya's first time attending such a formal occasion, and she felt somewhat nervous.

Like Shion, she was dressed in full uniform, wearing white gloves, and standing straight in a position of attention.

Slowly taxiing toward them was a military command aircraft, being guided by a ground crew vehicle into its designated parking bay.

This E-4B command aircraft was far from an ordinary military plane.

While watching the aircraft park, Shakya noticed that even the ground crew handling it wore United States military uniforms.

The security measures for this plane were extremely tight, preventing even Schwaiger's local ground personnel from approaching it.

"Making all this fuss... aren't they just here to get their hands on our technical data anyway..."

Shakya muttered inwardly.

During the journey, the documents provided by Shion seemed to contain some information about this model of aircraft. Though she could not recall the specific details, she still had a vague impression of it.

The files seemed to state roughly the following:

The E-4B was the safest airborne command post prepared by the United States for a doomsday war.

In the event of a large-scale nuclear war, this aircraft would serve as the command center for the United States Air Force.

Even if the North American Aerospace Defense Command deep within Cheyenne Mountain were destroyed, surviving high-ranking military commanders and generals of the U.S. military would transfer aboard the E-4B to continue directing operations.

Refueled by aerial tankers, this aircraft could remain in continuous flight for a week without landing.

Nuclear warfare could be considered the most devastating weapon of mass destruction in human history thus far.

It was also a major hurdle facing Earth's civilization. Although it evidently fell far short of the hyper-civilization era from which Traum originated, nuclear weapons were perhaps humanity's ultimate trump card in the face of the Descendants' threat.

Humanity itself recognized that using such power for internal strife would yield catastrophic consequences, which was why in the modern world, nuclear weapons paradoxically preserved this delicate peace.

Shakya was usually diligent and studious, and history was one of her favorite subjects—perhaps, subconsciously, to recover her lost memories.

To return to the topic of this mysterious U.S. command aircraft.

To withstand the immense blast wave of a nuclear explosion, the E-4B had also undergone specialized reinforcement and modification.

It was equipped with anti-nuclear shockwave armor, ensuring that the electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear detonation would not disrupt the normal operation of the electronic equipment aboard the E-4B.

Furthermore, the aircraft deployed the highest-level command and control systems of the U.S. military.

Decision-makers could issue orders from the plane to U.S. forces around the world, and even transmit nuclear strike commands to strategic nuclear submarines, strategic bombers, and land-based intercontinental ballistic missile forces.

As the strongest global police force of this era, the United States maintained military deployments in most regions across the globe.

This included the United Nations fleet intercepting the Descendants codenamed "Water Ghost" in international waters earlier, an operation also overseen by the U.S. command.

However, Schwaiger had previously cleaned up their mess, effectively doing them a massive favor.

No wonder the U.S. military was so guarded about this plane, though Schwaiger had little use for their nuclear defense technology anyway.

Still, any fool could guess that they also wanted to outshine Schwaiger in terms of prestige in order to bargain for greater benefits during the negotiations.

"Salute!"

The cabin door opened, and the advance-guard U.S. officers stepped out. Schwaiger personnel responsible for the reception formed two lines in front of the aircraft and executed a military salute.

Following the high-ranking military officers came the technical team composed of scientists.

The first scientist to emerge from the cabin was the man they had seen previously, named Strey Clarke.

He was also the U.S. official who had been in communication with the Director.

The moment he arrived, he spotted the Director's group and raised a hand to signal them.

Next came the diplomatic protocols.

Shakya could hardly remember everything that transpired, merely following the lead of the Director and Shion.

Maintaining a polite smile throughout the entire process was quite an exhausting task.

Shakya felt as though her facial muscles were about to freeze.

Once the diplomatic procedures at the airport concluded, the participating officials and scientists boarded Schwaiger's convoy to head toward the base.

"Oh! This is my first time visiting your base, I'm honestly quite excited."

Dr. Clarke wore a cheerful smile, chatting with everyone with natural familiarity.

Truth be told, his Mandarin was quite decent.

At Dr. Clarke's request, he and Director Qin of Schwaiger boarded the same vehicle.

It was an eight-seater official transport vehicle that had not been fully occupied beforehand, so adding one more person was no issue.

"Dr. Clarke, please pardon our humble reception. Next time, you must definitely let me tour Area 51."

The Director was still somewhat unaccustomed to this; the doctor who had arrived did not feel like a stuffy old academic, but rather an easygoing and approachable younger man.

"Oh my god! I didn't get to properly introduce myself just now—you must be Shakya, the pilot of Traum?! How wonderful to meet you! Just call me Strey."

Shakya was seated in the back row, but Dr. Clarke enthusiastically grabbed her hand and shook it relentlessly.

"Eh? Um... nice to meet you too."

"I've seen your combat footage! It was ridiculously cool! At the time, I kept wondering what kind of person was piloting it, and I never expected it to be such a stunning beauty!"

"R-Really? ...Thank you."

Back at the airport, Shakya hadn't felt this way, but now she suddenly found this doctor quite amusing.

The guy refused to let go of her hand, prompting Shakya to cast a look of appeal toward Shion, who was seated next to Clarke.

"......"

Shion shrugged, indicating that they would simply have to wait until Dr. Clarke's excitement subsided.

After a long while, Clarke finally released her hand, wearing the expression of an absolute fan meeting his idol.

It left Shakya in an awkward spot.

Without fear of being laughed at, Clarke candidly told Shakya that he had been a mecha anime fan since childhood, and the reason he became a Ph.D. in robotics engineering was precisely to one day build his own super robot.

However, although he had attained a doctorate in robotics and worked for the military where he could touch upon similar projects, every single one of them had ended in failure.

Naturally, decades ago, Dr. Clarke had also seen the old Traum report obtained by the United Nations from the newly established Schwaiger.

Regrettably, given the technological level of that era, it was still impossible to fully realize the dream of a heavily armed mech capable of total control and stylish combat.

At most, they had managed to build multi-legged tank-like contraptions, which were inferior to the military's current vehicular equipment.

Such things possessed zero tactical value; perhaps they held minor strategic value, but they were utterly awkward and impractical.

It wasn't until Schwaiger's prophesied "Descendants" truly attacked, and Traum sortied for the first time piloted by Shakya, that he realized it.

To think he would actually witness the scene of his dreams in this lifetime: a colossal, terrifying enemy attacking, while a beautiful girl stepped forward piloting a giant robot.

From that moment on, the fire within Dr. Clarke's heart was completely ignited, and he resolved to visit this organization.

"I see. Back in my student days, I heard that giant robots are every boy's dream. I thought it was a sentiment unique to my country. Who would have thought you Westerners share it too?"

Shion picked up the conversation.

"That's right! Dreams know no borders!"

Dr. Clarke laughed.

"Haha, Dr. Clarke, you truly are a frank and open person. Well then, once we arrive at the Schwaiger base, please make yourself at home."

The stone in the Director's heart finally settled. This Strey Clarke was not only a renowned robotics doctor but also a passionate mecha enthusiast.

Moreover, since he was so candid in his conversation right from the start, he didn't seem like someone harboring hidden schemes.

At least this time, the Director felt the United Nations had finally sent someone who actually intended to get things done.

Of course, this did not mean the Director would drop her guard completely.

"Thank you, Director! I will follow your arrangements."

Dr. Clarke turned around, having produced a signing board from somewhere, and asked Shakya to autograph it for him.

He truly looked like a devoted fan of Shakya.