Fated to Die to the Player, I’ll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!

Today was the day the war was supposed to begin. Of course, we had no plans of being "late" to the party. All three of us were already aboard the Range Falcon, waiting for the fight to start. "So this is your ability? [Irrefutable Orders]?" As we idly waited, Eva and Cassandra began discussing Cassandra's newly unlocked power—her royal bloodline's special ability. "Right." Cassandra nodded, though her brows furrowed slightly. "To be exact, it only works on those who have shown subservience to me at least once..." I could guess why she seemed conflicted. Neither Eva nor I had ever shown her subservience. From the moment we met, we treated her as a mission objective—a comrade at most—but never as royalty. 'It'll take a while before she realizes what her ability truly considers subservience... or at least, it was supposed to.' In the original story, Cassandra unlocked this ability at age thirty, and she spent a year experimenting before discovering its true nature. But to hell with the plot. She was barely nineteen or twenty right now, meaning she had awakened her power at least a decade early. "Wait..." At this line of thought, a sudden spark of inspiration flashed through my mind. I turned to Cassandra, who was still deep in conversation with Eva, and slowly grinned. "This... could work!" --- "Squads under Sectors 1 to 1184 have completed preparations. All units are ready to warp at any moment." "Espionage Teams 2 to 16 have lost contact. Presumed compromised." "Scouts report: The Astoria forces have solidified their defenses." Inside the Eclipse Sovereign, the command center was a flurry of activity. Managing millions of ships in coordinated formations was already difficult—but ensuring warp synchronization, safe arrivals, and avoiding encirclement post-transition made it exponentially more complex. King Meyers sat on his throne, his gaze impassive as he listened to his officers' work. There was no need for last-minute orders—everything had already been planned. Now, all that was left was execution. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. "What's the status regarding Cassandra's movements?" One of his closest officers immediately pulled up the tracking data. "Her signal remains stationary on the first planet of the Astoraxia-001 Star System. They appear to be fortifying their defenses around her location." That information was false. But they had no way of knowing that. The first planet was heavily fortified—not because of Cassandra, but because it was a strategic military asset. A rare gas giant burned in its atmosphere—a fuel source that burned hotter than any plasma-grade gas known elsewhere. A resource planet that gives them an edge in terms of "attack" output. It was, in essence, Astoria's "secret weapon." To protect it, the Astoria Conglomerate had deployed warp jammers and jump-drive disruptors across a 10 AU radius—ensuring that no enemy fleet could warp in for a surprise attack. Trying to invade that place was suicide. Even more than fighting the entire Astoria fleet head-on. King Meyers gave a slow nod. "I see… Then proceed as planned." "Yes, sir!" The final checks were wrapping up. The full-scale assault was only minutes from commencing. Then—emergency sirens blared throughout the ship. The Star Map showed no detected enemies, yet his officers froze in alarm. King Meyers frowned. "What's going on?" One of his men turned, his voice shaking. "I-It's a hacking attempt, sir! The tracking program—it's being used to backtrace our entire network—!" And then— Across millions of primary visualizer modules connected to the Eclipse Sovereign's network, a single figure appeared. A graceful woman stood before them, poised with elegance. Her golden hair waved lightly in an artificial breeze, framing her delicate features like a painting. Her royal blue eyes drooped with a melancholic sadness—so deeply sorrowful that it gripped the heart of anyone who looked upon her. It pierced through the screen like a silent plea, making even the most hardened officers feel a pang of guilt. King Meyers' eyes widened. "Cassandra?!" But that wasn't the worst of it. Like a virus spreading through a body, the transmission leaped across networks, infecting every connected device across fleet—and even reached the Meyers Star System. Every billboard, every monitor, every television screen, every personal communicator—everywhere. In homes, in businesses, in warships, in his own palace. The people of his kingdom all saw the same thing. Princess Cassandra Meyers—standing alone, staring at them with pleading eyes. Then, she spoke. Her voice was soft. Sorrowful. But unwavering. [I… am Princess Cassandra Meyers, First Princess of the Meyers Royal Family…] A sudden hush fell over everyone. Even those who already knew what was happening felt a shiver down their spines. This was the princess herself—acting as a whistleblower. [Currently, I am treated as a rogue… a wanted criminal. But this is nothing more than my father's plot—to take my life.] Gasps erupted across the kingdom, even among his own officers. King Meyers felt a cold sweat forming on his back. Something terrible was happening. And he had no way to stop it. [If my death were truly necessary to maintain peace in our land, I would offer my life without resistance…] Cassandra inhaled softly. Then, her next words were spoken without hesitation. […But my father does not seek peace. He seeks to preserve his own power. He fears I would take it from him, and now, he moves to eliminate me before that can happen.] At that moment— The entire Meyers Royal Court was thrown into chaos. The public watched in shock. The military wavered. And on the bridge of the Eclipse Sovereign, King Meyers slowly rose to his feet. His hands curled into fists. His lips twisted into a snarl. "You… BITCH…!" King Meyers grits his teeth, rage twisting his face. The veins along his forehead bulged dangerously—he looked like he might topple over from sheer hypertension at any moment. But Cassandra's words were far from over. [Our king—our wise and noble king—is no longer with us! All that remains is a selfish pig, so hungry for power that he would sacrifice even his own flesh and blood!] A tremor ran through the command center. The room, once filled with the focused murmur of officers coordinating a war, now buzzed with unease. The transmission was everywhere. On every public screen, in every household, on every private channel—even military frequencies had been hijacked. Cassandra Meyers' voice was shaking the very foundation of his rule. Feeling powerless against the sudden revelation, King Meyers snapped. "What the fuck are you dawdling around for?! STOP THIS BROADCAST—NOW!" His officers scrambled—but to no avail. There was no way to stop the transmission unless they wiped out all electronics with an Electromagnetic Pulse. Arthur, through a series of ruthless underhanded methods, had seized complete control over the Eclipse Sovereign's entire public and private networks. There was nothing they could do. And then— Cassandra delivered the final blow. [I will fight for what is right. I will fight for justice!] Cassandra's voice rang clear and resolute across the universe. And then, with one final declaration, she lit the flames of rebellion. [If you can hear my voice—stand up and fight for what is right! Those who support me… "Stay still for 24 hours and do nothing."] At that moment—hell broke loose. Inside the Meyers Royal Army, over 25% of the personnel suddenly collapsed forward—their eyes open, still breathing… but completely motionless. But that wasn't all. Throughout the Meyers Star System, at least 90% of civilians—ordinary citizens, workers, and even government officials—succumbed to the same fate. Hospitals, traffic control centers, power grids—everything was thrown into absolute disarray. And for those unfortunate enough to be driving at the time… Chaos. A single sentence had caused devastation. Crashes, pileups, explosions—lives were being claimed left and right across the star system. But on the bridge of the Eclipse Sovereign… King Meyers sat frozen. Stunned. His trusted aides, the ones privy to the royal family's secrets, were equally horrified. Because they knew. They knew exactly what had just happened. Cassandra had awakened her ability. And she had ensnared hundreds of trillions of people in it. "...N-No way..." One of the officers stumbled backward, his face pale. "It's too early for her to have unlocked this power! What is happening?!" Another officer stammered, panic lacing his voice. "S-Sir! We've lost control of 25% of our fleet! 10% of our ships have been completely abandoned—there's no one left to pilot them!" The damage was catastrophic. Enough that even King Meyers began to hesitate. The entire war was suddenly thrown into question. His own forces were in tatters. The public had turned against him. If they retreated now, he could cut his losses and try to rebuild. But—he had already invested too much. Too many resources. Too much reputation. Backing down now would cripple his image, weaken his rule, and leave an open wound for rival factions to exploit. His pride—his fear—wouldn't allow it. All of this… All of this happened… Because of one seemingly harmless girl. "Cassandra, you...!" King Meyers' entire body shook with fury. Then, he snapped. "ALL TROOPS, ATTACK! ATTACK!!" And with that, in his blind rage—he made the worst possible decision. --- "Phew..." I exhaled deeply, leaning back into my chair. That was intense. While hacking into the Meyers' network, I had to simultaneously maintain control over public and private communications, all while expanding our reach as fast as possible. And the counterattacks? Brutal. For a few moments, I genuinely thought I was done for. "I really shouldn't underestimate the other side's counter-hacking abilities," I muttered to myself before glancing toward the star of the show. Cassandra. She was kneeling, sweat beading heavily along her forehead. Not just from nerves—but from activating her ability on such a massive scale. Even though her ability technically had no visible "cost," applying it to hundreds of trillions of people had clearly drained her. "You alright, Casey?" Eva, who had been on standby, quickly stepped in—wrapping an arm around Cassandra's shoulders and guiding her back to her seat. Cassandra let out a weak chuckle. "I'm fine, really…" she murmured, forcing a smile. "I just need a little rest." "Good job! You both worked hard!" I sent them a thumbs-up. Eva technically only held the camera and handled the staging, but that didn't change the fact that she had given her all to this mission. But before we could celebrate—the cockpit sirens blared. Immediately, I turned toward the radar display. And as the next scan pulse went out— Half the screen turned red. "…Damn," I muttered, smiling wryly. "Your dad is really pissed, huh?" Shots had been fired. The war had begun.