The Military Council's decision rippled outwards like a stone cast into a lake, spreading waves through the massive Human Federation Army. Though the high command had been persuaded by Steve, news of the "Tinder Project" activation leaked via various channels. For a while, unease, speculation, and even panic spread like a virus through internal military comms on the SIDE colonies.
Soldiers whispered among themselves. Those who had just bid farewell to family and friends were riddled with doubts about their abandonment and fear for the future. Steve knew this unrest, if uncontrolled and reversed in time, would be more destructive than any Federation fleet. An army without faith was nothing but moving corpses.
So, he resolved to face every soldier and citizen of the Federation, using his words to transmute this poison, turning their uncertainty into the burning desire to fight.
The central hangar deck of "Avalon" was temporarily refashioned into a grand podium. Behind him stood hundreds of state-of-the-art "Valkyrie" mechs, like steel giants, their cold metal reflecting light, every inch poised for slaughter. Before him stood tens of thousands of neatly arrayed Northern Army soldiers—their black uniforms melding into a silent sea.
Farther still, his hologram was simultaneously broadcast to every warship, colony, and square in the Federation; billions of eyes watched this moment.
Wearing the pitch-black Supreme Commander's uniform, he strode alone up to the high podium, without unnecessary words. He simply stood quietly, surveying the young, confused, hopeful faces below. Then, at last, he spoke.
His voice was heavy and clear, echoing in every ear.
"I know what you're thinking."
"Just hours ago, we said goodbye to comrades."
"Ten thousand citizens, ten ships—it is with them that the torch of our civilization has left the Solar System forever."
"Why, you ask—why drive them away at the most crucial moment of our war? Have we been abandoned?"
"Are we, the children left behind, doomed to be sacrificed?"
He took the initiative to voice the fear at the bottom of everyone's hearts, roiling up the hangar's commotion. He waited in silence, letting these uneasy feelings crest. And then—his voice rose, exploding like thunder!
"Yes! That's right, you are the abandoned sons! We gave up on you already!"
"I relinquish your right to live as 'ordinary people'! I gave up the future where you live in peace and comfort!"
"Because the moment you donned these uniforms and followed me, declaring war on Earth, you ceased to be sheep to be sheltered—you became lions charged with carving out a new era!"
"Listen! Who have we sent away? Our parents, wives, children, the unarmed scholars, artists, and engineers! Who did I leave behind? You! The elite warriors of the Human Federation, ace pilots of the finest mechs, soldiers who strike fear into the rulers of the old age!"
"Why?"
Steve's tone rang out, as if the whole universe awaited his answer.
"Because war belongs to the soldier!"
"It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak!"
"I entrust them with our past and future!"
"And entrust our one and only glorious present—to you!"
The light in the soldiers' eyes changed. Confusion and unease faded, replaced by a burning emotion. He did not let them breathe—instead, like an ancient Roman or a Caesar possessed, he continued to paint the vision:
"Do you think those aboard the arks enjoy peace? No! They will forever pine for their home, drifting cold and alone amidst the stars! Their future is unknown!"
"And us? We, who remain, have a chance! We have the chance, with our own hands, to reclaim our homeland!"
"To turn the name 'Earth' from a byword for rot and backwardness, into the one, sacred ground respected by all humanity!"
"Whom will history remember? Those fleeing quietly in the dark—or us, who will set the night sky ablaze with our lives and artillery before dawn?!"
"Will we be drifters chasing illusory hope—or pioneers who forge humanity's new future with blade and steel?!"
"Answer me, soldiers!"
"It's us!!"
Who shouted first? No one remembers. In that moment, a tsunami-like roar exploded from the sea of soldiers, a torrent that shook the stars.
He gestured for silence; something more important remained. He would take his address deeper still—to the true foe.
"But, comrades, let me tell you the harsh truth."
"Our enemy is not merely the old humans of the Earth Federation blinded by self-interest."
"Lurking behind them, in the shadows of human history, is a true crowd of 'ghosts!'"
"They are the stagnant, corrupted things that devour our civilization—the ancient monsters who treat humanity as livestock!"
"They are the likes of Church executor, magus enforcers, vampires lurking in the night!"
"This war is not just the unification to decide who leads humanity's future; it is an evolutionary battle to see whether mankind can break its chains and become the true ruler of Earth!"
"What we face is millennia of darkness and mystery!"
"This is our real, ultimate enemy!"
The soldiers all held their breath. Yet what came after was not fear, but a sacred, frenzied sense of mission. This war was now more than politics—it was a holy crusade against evil!
Steve saw the flames in their eyes and knew the time was ripe. He raised a clenched fist, delivering his strongest, final order:
"Come now, soldiers! Raise your heads! Give your final blessing to those who have departed!"
"Check your ammunition, fire up the engines, hold your weapons fast!"
"Because from today, there's no need to retreat! Behind us lies the abyss!"
"And ahead of us—only the glory of victory awaits!"
"For the Federation! For a new humanity! For ourselves! To Earth—"
"Launch our last and most glorious general offensive!!"
"For the Federation!!!"
"For the Federation!!!"
Fanatical cries drowned everything. Soldiers raised their weapons, roaring with all their might. In their eyes burned not confusion, but absolute respect for him, and a pure hunger for war. In this moment, the army's spirit was utterly reversed—tempered to a new sharpness and strength by his words.
He turned away, walking from the stage amidst a tsunami of cheers, leaving behind his determined back—a figure that countless would idolize.
In the passageway back to the bridge, Sion quietly awaited him. Her purple eyes shined with an unparalleled mixture of adoration, love, and pride. The Watcher, trailing close, delivered his final report in a cold artificial voice:
"Observation complete."
"Federation Army's 'Faith Consistency' parameter has risen to 98.7%. 'Fanaticism' up by 45%."
"Judgment: Successful [Conceptual Weapon]."
"Master, your language itself is a weapon."
…