Battle Phase

"Confirm synchronization with allied ships."

"Synchronization confirmed."

"Initiate the Hyperspeed Drive charging sequence."

"Hyperspeed Drive charging initiated. Charging complete. Drive activation

in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Hyperspeed Drive start-up!"

The Hyperspeed Drive activated; accompanied by a booming, thunderous

sound. This time, the Drive was initiated in sync with the surrounding allied

ships, so we basically didn't need to handle anything on our end. All we

needed to watch out for was making sure that we and our friendlies don't

veer off-course.

And it seems that Elma was sent to the ambush point opposite from us

instead. Let's pray that she stays safe.

"Now then, we're about to enter battle…"

"…Yes!"

"In this engagement, I'll have Mimi handle both radar observation and the

comms."

"Understood!"

"What's the job of a radar observer?"

"Keep track of the movements of both friendlies and enemy ships displayed

on the radar and alert the pilot whenever danger presents itself."

"That's right. How about the comms officer?"

"Yes. Intercepting enemy communications, collecting info and responding

to communications sent by allies to this ship."

"Looks like you're good to go. When I was piloting this ship alone, I was

responsible for doing all of that stuff. So my aim is for Mimi to take over

some of the work in order to reduce my burden a bit. The more things you

can handle, the easier it will be for me. I know it'll take some more time for

you to get the hang of all this stuff, but please do your best okay?"

"Yes! Please leave it to me Hiro-sama!" Mimi cheerfully responded.

"Yeah. I'm counting on you."

I made a final check of the ship's weapon systems while we were still in the

middle of the FTL Drive sequence.

Our main weapons were four heavy pulse laser cannons mounted on

manipulator arms. There were two large-caliber live ordnance cannons

directly mounted on the ship as well. We also had two "trump cards" loaded

with two shots each – for a total of four shots. The ammo for these things

was hella expensive, so I didn't want to resort to using them if possible. But

they're "trump cards" after all. If push comes to shove, we should fire them

without hesitation. Indefinitely holding off on using these things is just

stupid.

"How beautiful…" Mimi uttered while looking at the scenery outside the

ship – the light of the stars streaking past like countless meteors in the far

distance, the nebulae which brightly glowed in orange and green hues, and

the sparkling trails of light scattered by our ship in its wake. The sight of

them was so breathtakingly beautiful that even I, who was familiar with

them from my time in the game, was captivated.

"That's right. It's a great privilege for us to be able to move freely in this

beautiful ocean of stars."

"Yes."

We finally arrived at the designated coordinates after a few minutes.

"Deactivate the Hyperspeed Drive. Brace for possible shock and vibration."

"Yes."

We exited the Hyperspeed Drive sequence and switched to normal

navigation. A thunderous din rang out once again and Krishna finally

returned to normal space. The allied mercenary ships scattered in groups of

four or five and headed out to each of their assigned posts. We also

followed suit.

"We've reached the target point."

"It's really quiet."

"Well, space is basically a quiet and lonely place after all. But I don't feel

so lonely now because I have you with me, Mimi."

"…Eeeh. W- Well, I'm not lonely either then."

We reduced the output of the main generator to the bare minimum and

entered a state of comm silence while having a light-hearted exchange.

"Are you feeling cold?"

"No, I'm okay."

Since the power supply to the life support system was also dialed down to

the minimum, the temperature inside the cockpit dropped quite a bit. I

didn't really mind because I wore thick clothes, but Mimi looked a little too

lightly dressed.

"These clothes are made from a thin but warm material."

"Really? I kinda had some misgivings, but it really was a good clothing

store huh?"

"Yes."

It's a truly great pleasure to see a cute girl wearing cute clothes every day.

For the past few days, Mimi has been dazzling my eyes by wearing various

types of cyberpunk-flavored cos-play outfits. She looked particularly

wonderful as a big-breasted cyberpunk maid… While I was thinking about

such inane stuff, countless light streaks penetrated the area in front of us.

Immediately afterward, we intercepted communications that seemed to be

from the rattled pirates.

[Wha- What's going on? What the heck is that?!] [Michael just got done in!

Enemy attack–] [Uwaaaah!?] [It's the damn star system military!] [They hit

our main base and our large ships! Fires have broken out everywhere!]

[Close the third to seventh bulkheads now!] [B- But there's still people

inside!?] [You f*cking idiot! We'll all get killed if you don't close them

right now! Do it!] [U- Understood!]

It was absolute chaos. Meanwhile, the bombardment from the system

military's Star-class warships and heavy cruisers continued to destroy the

base facilities and large-sized starships of the pirates. It's just not possible

to do that kind of stuff with my Krishna. The overall firepower and range of

military warship weaponry far outstrip the medium-sized ships used by us

mercs. The outputs of their defensive weapons aren't anything to sneeze at

either… If one carelessly went against them right from the front, they'd be

ripped into shreds before they can even get the military warship into

weapon range. Well, going toe-to-toe with them by your lonesome head-on

is ill-advised to begin with.

[No! It's no use! Let's get outta here!] [Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Dammit!

All our accumulated treasure's as good as gone!]

Oh, looks like they're finally escaping. There were a few daring pirate ships

that charged at the military battleships with abandon, but they all turned

into space dust in the end. Well, this is the expected outcome if you go

against a military warship head-on. That's just how it is for any nonmilitary ship.

[Drop comm silence. Operation start.] [GO! GO! GO!] [Don't let a single

one of them get away!] [Hyahaaa! Just look at those big, fat preys! You're

mine bitches!]

Once the order to commence the operation was given, Krishna's generator

output was raised to battle level in one go and we began accelerating.

"Mimi, we're entering the battle! Brace yourself for the impacts and Gs."

"U- Understood!"

I felt my entire body get strongly pressed against the pilot seat from the

sudden acceleration. A feeling of tension welled up from deep within me.

My hands began sweating lightly. I proceeded to deploy the manipulator

arms and the large caliber live projectile cannons. The battle's finally

begun.

[An unknown ship's closing in fast! What the heck is that?! There are arms

growing out of that thing!] [It's an unknown model! Keep your guard up

boys!] [Take it head-on! Shoot it down!] [We greatly outnumber it.

Surround that ship and fire at will. Tear down its energy shields and shoot it

to pieces!]

There were a total of four enemy pirate ships in front – two transport ships

and two fighters. They're going after me head-on – right from the front. All

their weapons were deployed.

"Looks like they want a frontal shoot-out huh. Let's oblige."

I aimed the pulse laser cannons at one of the fighter crafts in front and the

large caliber live ordnance cannons at another. The enemies seem to plan on

concentrating their firepower, but my Krishna's laser cannons have a longer

range compared to all their weapons.

[What the–!? Our shield–]

The energy shield of the fighter craft immediately went down after being

pelted by simultaneous fire from my laser cannons. A second barrage

punched through its now-unprotected hull and put the fighter out of

commission.

[You gotta be kidding me!?] [This guy's way dangerous! Let's get outta

here, you lot! Escape–]

The other fighter craft my live ordnance cannons had a lock on tried to get

away, but it was too late. I fired two canister shots on its vulnerable guts in

succession.

A great number of destructive projectiles rained down on its shield and

brought it down in an instant. Its hull was then mercilessly punched through

with countless holes. Another serving of Swiss cheese is served. The two

fighter ships were swiftly shot down in mere moments.

[Gyaaaah!? That's a goddamn monster!] [No! Re- Retreat– ]

The remaining two transport ships tried to escape as well, but these types

were generally a lot slower compared to fighter ships. On the other hand,

my favorite unit, Krishna, was a full-fledged fighter ship sporting highspeed specs. Escaping from me was impossible.

[Hurry the f*ck up!!!] [I can't shake em!] [No, no, no! I can't possibly die

in a place like this!]

"Nah, you'll die here man. You're a pirate, and we were ordered to

eliminate every single one of you. No mercy for you guys."

I pointed the stern towards the escaping transport ships and brought them

down with laser cannon fire. They tried to escape by going in different

directions, but there was no way I'd let them go. If they manage to get

away, chances are, they'd target and attack innocent folks again. Once one

falls into a life of piracy, it's difficult to wash oneself clean again after all.

As I proceeded to head for the next target point, I turned back to see how

Mimi was doing. She was shivering uncontrollably on top of her seat. Her

gaze was glued to the radar screen, but I'm not sure if her attention was

truly focused on it or not. Well, I guess it's too much to expect a stellar

performance from her on her first sortie, so it can't be helped.

I turned away from her and looked at the next target shown on the screen.

What greeted my eyes was a scene of bright laser projectiles cutting

through space, smoke trails from the live rounds fired off from the other

ships, the flaming tails of missiles and the blooming explosions of

destroyed ships. The myriad colors brightly lit up this corner of space in a

chaotic cacophony of light.

These sights were strangely beautiful but exceedingly deadly for humans.

Even a shot from the lowest caliber laser cannon would vaporize a human

without a trace, and they'd be turned to minced meat if hit with live rounds.

Missiles would obliterate them just the same. Once a ship's shot down,

you'll be thrown out into outer space and wouldn't escape death either.

But what about escape pods, right? Although the cockpit block could

function as an escape pod, it'd usually end up as a priority target in live

battle after all. Plus, it's hard to survive getting caught up in the explosion

made worse by the detonation of your ship's ammo reserves. In the end,

one's survival heavily depended on luck.

"Mimi, we're heading to the next battlefield."

"…Eh? Ah! Y- Yes, understood!"

Mimi responded in a trembling voice after she heard me call out to her.

Looks like it'll take some more time for her to get used to this sort of work.

[Chi, there's too many of em!] [Surround it! Besso, cut him out from the

front!] [Here ya go!] [You f*ckers!]

Five pirate ships were ganging up on one allied mercenary ship. The merc

was managing to hold on due to the difference in ship specs, but it'll get

cornered before long if left alone. Its energy shield would gradually be

shaved down and its armor would be penetrated by enemy fire. But that's if

I don't interfere. Seems the call sign of the merc ship is "Quiet".

"This is Captain Hiro. My callsign's Krishna. I'm moving in to assist,

Quiet."

[Ou! Thanks for the help man!] [Chi! Another one's here. Lang! Cummer!

Hold him down!] [Gotcha!] [Leave it to me, boss!]

Of the five ships that were chasing down Quiet, two disengaged and headed

straight for me. One seems to be a fighter ship while one's a missile cruiser

modified from a regular transport ship. Missile support ships are really

troublesome. Missiles are difficult to avoid and are quite destructive. Quiet

did a really good job surviving being ganged up on by five ships which

included a missile support ship.

[Seeker!] [Roger that boss!]

The support cruiser fired a barrage of missiles which headed straight for

me. A seeker's probably a type of heat-seeking missile. Though their range

is relatively short, they're not radar-guided so they won't trigger a lock-on

alarm and were a type most effective when used for surprise attacks. But I

don't know what the deal is with those guys firing them off right from the

front. They even shouted out the exact missile type. They have no idea how

to make use of their weaponry effectively, don't they?

There are roughly two ways to deal with this type of missile. Either shake it

off with superior maneuverability or confuse its sensors by launching out a

decoy emitting high heat. But I'd rather take a third option.

The ship vibrates from the recoil resulting from the launch of live rounds.

Soon after, countless projectiles swarmed at the seeker missiles and

successfully detonated all of them before they could even reach my ship.

We punched through the resulting explosion at maximum acceleration,

brushing past a pirate transport ship, straight towards the missile cruiser

guarding it at the back.

[Geeh!? This guy just slipped right through– ]

"One."

I blasted the missile cruiser with canister shots at point-blank range and

shot it down. A relatively large explosion soon followed, probably due to all

the missiles detonating at the same time.

[What the–!?]

"Two."

I quickly turned the ship around using the auxiliary thrusters and fired at the

pirate transport ship with the laser cannons. Large caliber pulse laser

cannon fire can easily deplete a ship's energy shields. The small, substandard reactors of the pirate ships can't withstand the simultaneous fire of

four pulse laser cannons at all.

As expected, the shield fails in mere moments and laser fire penetrated the

defenseless hull, resulting in a scarlet explosion. After putting them out of

their misery, I checked the radar to see how the Quiet was doing. Seems he

just shot down one of the remaining three ships and was now chasing down

another. He was really skilled.

"I'm going to bring down that other ship."

[Yeah. Sorry bout this man. And thanks.] [Wha– Godammit! Things aren't

supposed to be like this…!] [W- Whadda we do Raizo!?] [Shut up you

idiots! We obviously need to give it to em then get the f*ck away!]

The captain of the lead ship scathingly replied to his other remaining

comrade, who asked him what to do in a pathetic-sounding voice. In my

humble opinion guys, you have next to no chance of surviving, so just

obediently hand your asses over and get shot down to save us all from the

trouble. I downed the pirate ship giving its all to escape moments after, and

the Quiet successfully shot down the lead ship as well. We cleaned both of

them up in a relatively short time.

[Thanks for the help Krishna. It was pretty hard having five ships on my

tail.]

"Nah, don't worry about it. I got me some prey as a result anyway. Later

man."

[Yeah. Be careful.]

The Quiet then retreated from the frontlines – probably for emergency

repairs and shield replenishment. I collected the scattered loot from the

downed pirate ships and proceeded to move to the next point to hunt some

more.