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"Under Pressure" (アンダー・プレッシャ Andā Puressha?) is the fourth volume of the 86 -Eighty Six- light novel series written by Asato Asato and illustrated by Shirabii featuring mechanical designs by I-IV. The volume covers the third story arc of the series depicting Vladilena Milizé joining the ranks of the Federacy's military, and the dangerous operation assigned to the newly formed Eighty-Sixth Strike Package to retake the former Republic city of Charité.
Tagline[]
"In order to survive, they choose not to feel."
"What is the biggest enemy.
For them to live."
"地の底からの呼び声が、彼らに新たな試練を告げる。[1]" ― A call from the depths of the earth tells them of a new trial.
Epigraph[]
"The Republic is the enemy." ― Vladilena Milizé, Memoirs
"敵は、共和国。" ― ヴラディレーナ・ミリーゼ『回顧録』
Synopsis[]
OLD FRIENDS, NEW ENEMIES
Against all odds, Shin and the Eighty-Six have emerged victorious from their battle with the Morpho, liberating scores of surviving Republic citizens from the Legion's dark agenda. Lena, in turn, has fulfilled her promise and finally caught up to the Spearhead Squadron. And while her presence has brought out a softer side in Shin, it seems to have roused the competitive spirits within Kurena and Frederica. But the fun comes to an end when the Eighty-Sixth Strike Package, with Lena at the helm, receives its first mission. Their destination: an abandoned subway tunnel in the Republic's northern secondary capital, Charité. Deep underground, the gaping maw of a subterranean Legion base awaits them...[2]
Contents[]
- Prologue: Missing in Action
序章 ミッシング・イン・アクション - Chapter 1: Call on Duty
第一章 コール・オン・デューティ - Chapter 2: Identification: Friend or Foe?
第二章 アイデンティフィケーション・フレンド・オア・フォー - Chapter 3: Front Toward Enemy
第三章 フロント・トゥワード・エネミー - Chapter 4: Triage
第四章 トリアージ - Epilogue: Wounded in Action
終章 ウーンデッド・イン・アクション
Summary[]
Six months after the subjugation of the Morpho, Major Henrietta Penrose exited a transport plane and was met by Shin who had come to collect her. In the Western Front’s integrated headquarters' base, Major General Richard Altner was discussing the potential of the Eighty-Sixth Strike Package, as well as the state of the Eighty-Six who he considered to have lost everything.
Finally, Lena could keep up with her promise and catch up to the Spearhead Squadron. A day after her initial meeting with the survivors of the Spearhead Squadron, she was taken to tour around the Rüstkammer base by Shin. Before their tour could begin in earnest, however, she doused by buckets of water by Federacy soldiers, the only retribution allowed to them against the Republic officer. She is then escorted to her room in the base for a change of clothes before resuming the tour.
Through the retribution and subsequent conversations with Shin, she was finally able to shed the burden she had carried since the special reconnaissance mission. Her cross of guilt and her self-imposed martyrdom had been absolved by Shin's insistence. As they spent their time together and headed to the cafeteria, they were unaware to the fact that they were being observed secretly by the rest of Spearhead and Frederica.
Shin and Lena were then summoned to the chief of staff's room to be briefed for their “top-secret mission”. The newly created Eighty-Sixth Strike Package, initially composed of 7 squadrons, received their first mission: A takeover operation of the Republic's northern secondary capital of Charité, specifically its underground central terminal. With the added warning of the chief of staff about the Holy Magnolian Order of Pureblood's demands of the Eighty-Six’s return to the Republic, the stakes were politically and strategically high.
Returning to the Eighty-Sixth Strike Package's briefing room, the Eighty-Six duel it out to establish their positions and ranks. The brawls were mostly held for tradition, as their ranks had already been set by their superiors in the Federacy. Shin easily defeats Shiden of the Brísingamen Squadron and cements his place as the regiment's operations commander. Meanwhile, Dustin Jaeger, the only Republic combatant to volunteer, was initiated into the Spearhead Squadron by being thrown into a table by Anju.
On April 2150, The Federacy’s relief expeditionary force had finally finished its three months of preparation and was ready to go on the offensive. The operation to retake the Republic’s northern regions had begun, and as a result, the Strike Package was placed under the relief expeditionary force’s jurisdiction and was dispatched to its garrisoned headquarters in the capital of Liberté et Egalité. And as they arrive they are met with banners placed by the Republic's citizens:
"GO BACK TO THE EIGHTY-SIXTH SECTOR, EIGHTY-SIX!" "RETURN THIS PURE-WHITE COUNTRY TO HUMAN HANDS!"
countless such banners filled the land around the barracks. And as Lena contemplates what to do to stop the Republic's shenanigans, Annette tries to get Shin to remember her with no success.
As all 7 Squadrons composing The Eighty-Sixth Strike Package (those being Spearhead, Brisingamen, Nordlicht, Lycaon, Thunderbolt, Phalanx, and Claymore) set out. Immediately there was a problem that was that Shin could detect their positions on a two-dimensional plane without fail, but in a three-dimensional environment he suffered. The Juggernauts Shin and the Eighty-Six piloted were surface weapons. While they had naturally experienced fighting in urban areas and mountainous regions with varying levels of elevation, both their units and the enemy were fundamentally always on land—standing on the same surface, on the same plane. The Processors—including Shin, of course—had no experience fighting on a battlefield where many confrontations took place across multiple levels of elevation. So that troubled them. In addition, since they were fighting in such narrow topography (narrow tunnels), they could expect multiple skirmishes to break out among smaller platoons when they were separated. As they tried to try to think of a different idea to enter the tunnel system, they soon realized why charging in was their only way. The infiltration route from the tunnels, there were going to be Legion set on all the rails. They’re hardly moving, so they’re probably Löwe or Stier lying in ambush…
It was hard for it to even swivel its turret in this tunnel, but that was an advantage when it came to playing defense. The tight tunnels meant the enemy would always come from one direction and couldn’t dodge to one side. Which meant that the destruction of the enemy was certain. Even if the Löwe was destroyed, the explosion of the shell would cause a cave-in, and if the shell didn’t explode, the Löwe’s massive frame would impede the enemy’s advance. And while the enemy would be busy trying to remove the obstacle, reinforcements would creep up on them. It was a hard position to crack through.
The thing that would turn the tides of the battle for the Eight-Six; Rocket Sleighs.
It advanced with a sharp, characteristic rumbling that cut through the air of this closed space, rolling down the tracks headfirst. It was an aluminum-alloy ten-car subway train with sleighs substituted for its wheels, and its interior filled with rubble and scrap wood. Pushed by rocket boosters, it skidded along the metallic rails, leaving sparks in its wake as it rushed onward with startling speed. Its weight of over a hundred tons would bore down on the fifty-ton Löwe. The Löwe could withstand the massive kinetic energy for a mere moment. The subway tunnels had been built sturdily to account for the risk of a derailing, so at the very least, they wouldn’t cave in easily.
After they had infiltrated the subway, they had understood the forces they were against. The main force was Stier lying in ambush, accompanied by Ameise and Grauwolf types. They couldn’t bring a Löwe into the fary because the Löwe’s preferred range was two kilometers, and this hall with a diameter of two hundred meters was far too small for them. And if the Löwe’s powerful shells were to impact a pillar, there was the risk of the whole facility coming down around them.
While the main force of the Strike Package continued to fight, Annette was investigating the disturbance the Federacy military had detected in RAID Devices present around the area. It had been discovered several months ago, when the military had been gathering information during preparations for the recapture operation. According to reports, there were no issues with Resonance between squad members, but there was someone else connected to the Resonance, constantly connecting and disconnecting in an unstable fashion. As the Para-RAID was the sole communications method capable of broadcasting under the Eintagsfliege’s jamming. If there was any chance of it not operating properly, it could get in the way of completing military objectives, and so Annette had been requested to look into it, and since she’d insisted that—as the leading person in the field—it would be faster for her to check by herself, she’d asked to come to the battlefield.
Suddenly, a group of Grauwolf types noisily crept out from around the building, surrounding the Phalanx squadron. When the Phalanx Squadron engaged in combat, a Grauwolf leaped diagonally from behind the cover of rubble, charging at Taiga. As he shot it down, he failed to notice the “non-existing” enemy. Instantly Estoc -Aina’s unit- had been slashed in half… As Frederica suddenly stood up, kicking her chair away. All color drained from her face, and her bloodred eyes shot open. She reported the harrowing news… The Phalanx Squadron had been wiped out.
As the battle raged on underground, Lena had noticed something that was simply stomach turning and immediately ordered all Strike Package members to cease all combat and retreat. And the realization had struck the Strike Package weren’t fighting the Legion, but rather, Alba.
At the same time, Annette was captured by the Legion. It was a completely unlit space. Full of humanoid entities appearing to be self-propelled mines.
After Shin and the other Squadron Captains were briefed by Frederica and Lena. They had developed a way to differentiate Humans and Self-Propelled Mines. If anyone encounters humanoid units, they should expose them to the fire-control laser sights at maximum output. If they’re humans, they should run away, or at least stop moving.
Shin had decided that The Spearhead Squadron will move to Annette’s rescue. Subjugation of the Admiral was left to the Brísingamen and Thunderbolt squadrons. And with that they set out with the fear of whatever destroyed The Phalanx in the back of their minds.
The Brísingamen Squadron entered the Admiral’s control module, the massive shadow lurking in the depths of the room didn’t answer them. Silver tubes piled over one another, writhing like the organs or blood vessels of some unknown creature. It had 8 massive legs
Lattices of light began to cover the floor, as shiden looked up, the optical sensors followed suit, and after a brief lag, the image of the ceiling appeared on her optical screen. And then instantly several sharp blue beams of light pierced the hall’s airspace from top to bottom. The spears of light that had scraped and pierced the Juggernauts were absorbed by the half-transparent floor tiles, and then they dispersed and disappeared. What was going on is that the lines on the floor were coordinates, and when you step on them, the lasers fire in that direction…
This whole room’s a Legion…
Appearances[]
- Main Characters
- Supporting Characters
- Brent Bernholdt
- Daiya Irma (mentioned)
- Dustin Jaeger
- Ernst Zimmerman
- Erwin Marcel
- Fido
- Grethe Wenzel
- Henrietta von Penrose
- Kaie Taniya
- Kiriya Nouzen (mentioned)
- Kujo Nico (mentioned)
- Reki Michihi
- Rito Oriya
- Shana
- Shiden Iida
- Shourei Nouzen (mentioned)
- Taiga Asuha
- Yuuto Crow
Illustrations[]
Trivia[]
- The volume's title is in reference to the song Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.
- The setting for this volume, a labyrinthine subway terminal, is inspired by Asato Asato's grudge over how she gets lost in the Shinjuku, Otemachi, and Tokyo Stations.[3]