Rising Rays of the New Century: Tale of the Japanese Empire

Messenger from Earth

March 21, 2199

Shackleton-Taketori Base, International Federation Space Force, Lunar Capital Taketori

Moon.

This celestial body, Earth's only satellite, was the first celestial body where humanity settled. Currently, it has been surpassed in population by Mars, which has become almost the same as Earth in terms of environment, but it still has a population of 1 billion, making it the second-largest among the celestial bodies in the solar system, excluding Earth.

There are 78 cities scattered across the lunar surface, and an extensive railway network connects these cities underground. The prosperous capital of the moon, Taketori, is a city of 15 million located in the Shackleton Crater at the lunar South Pole. The crater is filled with numerous structures, forming a sprawling metropolis. Unlike Mars, outdoor activities without spacesuits are impossible, so people live inside sealed structures. Within these enclosed spaces, air and water recycling systems have been established, allowing people to enjoy a lifestyle similar to that on Earth.

Outside the Shackleton Crater is the largest extraterrestrial International Federation Space Force base, the IFSF Shackleton-Taketori Base, serving as the headquarters for the IFSF Lunar Area Force.

The base consists of multiple hangars, with rows of space fighters parked inside. Adjacent to the base are harbor facilities for the arrival and departure of space battleships. It boasts the largest scale among the IFSF bases scattered throughout the solar system, and not only the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces but also space fighters from the United States and the European Union are deployed, much like the Suiryu Base on Mars. And now, pilots are lined up in those hangars. At the forefront of their gaze is the holographic display projecting the image of Vice Admiral Rin Mineoka, the commander of the Lunar Area Force.

"Tomorrow, the International Federation delegation will depart from Washington, D.C., heading to the occupied Mars. Our mission is to safely escort the spacecraft carrying the delegation to Mars!"

The International Federation delegation is being dispatched from Earth to the occupied Mars. The existence of the Space Drifters Union will be publicly announced, and the first public meeting will commence. The pilots stationed at the lunar base are tasked by the IF with escorting the space cruiser carrying the delegation.

"This solar system is our world! To protect our world, we must succeed in this negotiation at all costs! The future of the solar system depends on the success of this mission! Everyone, stake your lives on its success!" Vice Admiral Mineoka delivered a passionate speech. The pilots and maintenance crew who hear it once again steel themselves for the mission.

'Aliens... I can't believe I might actually lay my eyes on them with my own eyes...'

Among them is Lieutenant Toshimichi Togo, a fighter pilot from the 2nd Air Group. He is one of the soldiers seconded from the Imperial Japanese Space Force to the IFSF. He harbored both anxiety and faint hope for contact with extraterrestrial lifeforms he has yet to encounter.

The possession of space-faring ships is limited to the IJSF, the IFSF, the European Union Space Force, as well as state-owned organizations like the Japanese National Spaceline of Solar System, and a few private organizations authorized by national governments and the IF. Furthermore, due to the revision of the Space Treaty, military activities by single nations or private companies on celestial bodies other than Earth have been formally prohibited. Thus, around the same time as the establishment of the Space Development Organization, the International Federation Space Force was organized, and military activities in space are now solely carried out by the IFSF