Unexpected Situation

"Man, what a haul. What. A. Haul."

A wide smile formed on my lips as I looked at the piles and piles of rare

materials and loot we managed to recover. The amount of rare metals

wasn't much, but the number of expensive-looking high tech stuff was quite

substantial. It looks like we can definitely look forward to the profits from

selling these things.

"It looks like we haven't managed to recover dangerous items this time."

"Uh… Yeah, I guess."

"And what's with that reaction, mister?"

"Eh? I didn't really discover anything strange y'know…"

I ignored Elma's piercing gaze and Mimi's somewhat frightened state and

closed the goods list. Well, we can't really expect to recover things like

those every mission anyway. It looks like this time's a bust. How

unfortunate.

Major Serena already sent the mission end notice earlier, so I guess it's

about time for us to return to port now. Though it looks like there were still

some cruisers and destroyers anchored on the surface of the destroyed pirate

base; it seems they were still busy securing the interior of the place. Well, I

guess the elite imperial soldiers wouldn't let mere pirate rabble get the drop

on them, so there's no need to be concerned. Their equipment wasn't on the

same level in the first place.

The mishmash of weapons and equipment the pirates have cobbled together

wouldn't stand a chance against the military's high-end power armors and

heavy weaponry.

What about me, you ask? I have absolutely no intention of tangoing with

trained imperial soldiers with just my bare flesh and blood. Even though my

laser gun was really high quality, it still didn't possess the capability to

destroy a power armor in one shot. And, conversely, it would be all over if

they hit me with their weapons even once. I don't think I'll lose that easily

if I use my personal power armor stored on the ship though.

But there just wasn't any chance to use the thing recently. But it would

really come in handy if we did get ourselves into a melee shoot-out by any

chance, so I still try to keep it operational at least. Not that I think we'll be

using it anytime soon. For now, it was still gathering dust in a corner of the

cargo hold.

"Well then, shall we go back?"

"W-Wait a minute! You're sure you didn't recover anything strange this

time, right!?"

"I-It should be fine, Elma-san...!"

After the two girls were done hastily checking on the recovered loot in a

panic, we finally returned to the Alein Tertius colony. Our cargo hold was

already filled to the brim after all, so we really couldn't take anything else

back even if we wanted to.

We unfortunately had to leave the rest of the loot we haven't managed to

recover. I'm sure those scavengers are gonna have a field day with them

anyway. There's already some reading appearing on the radar. It's probably

them.

"Hyper speed drive, charging start. Let's bail."

"W-Wait a moment! You're sure, right? You're absolutely, positively sure?"

"It's fine I tell ya. I didn't manage to find anything strange, okay. There's

no dangerous stuff this time. They're all safe goods. Probably."

"Probably!!!?"

The hyper speed drive activated at the same moment as Elma's agitated

scream, and the Krishna disappeared from regular space after the sound of

an explosion.

"Just how much trauma did that Singing Crystal manage to plant in you

two? Sheesh."

"Anybody would get a trauma from that kind of blasted thing, you damn

idiot!"

"Really?"

"'Really', he asks... I think it's actually even more dangerous than those

reactive torpedoes, okay?. It would be an absolute disaster if you dropped

that kind of thing, right?"

The reactive torpedoes were a type of highly destructive ordnance used to

bring down large, heavily shielded and armored ships. I don't know how

exactly they work, but it's said those things were even more powerful than

nuclear and hydrogen bombs. And they definitely did possess the power to

bring down a full-fledged battleship in one shot, so I guess they really were

as powerful as they claimed.

And she was saying the Singing Crystal was even more dangerous

compared to them? Well, it depends on how you think about it, I guess.

Summoning a crystal creature swarm did last longer and caused more

widespread damage in a sense after all.

"I see."

"I see...? That's how you react?"

"It's Hiro-sama, so..."

Elma gave me an exasperated look while Mimi sounded somewhat proud.

What are you being so proud for, Mimi-san?

"Guess you'll be spending time with the princess again once we get back to

the colony..."

When she finally settled down a bit, Elma let out a soft sigh.

"It'll just be a week more before the contract expires. What should we do

once it ends?"

"How about moving to a star system with more job prospects? With your

skills and Krishna's capabilities, we'll be raking in cash in no time."

"Mm, I'm not too keen on moving to a more chaotic star system though.

You won't have the time to relax in those kinds of places."

In fact, it was very stifling to stay in such star systems since the military is

always wary of sabotage and stuff, so strict rules are imposed. In the game,

most open markets and private shops were closed down and you could only

do some basic ship maintenance and resupply runs. I wonder how it is over

in this dimension? It's kinda hard to imagine.

"Um, we'll be able to reach a resort planet if we make three jumps from this

sector via hyper lane, and it seems there are a high number of pirate attacks

on private passenger ships over there recently."

"Hm, a resort planet... Hunting pirates while on vacation doesn't sound

so bad."

"But the cost for staying there will be high as well. But we'll follow

whatever you decide, Captain. And a vacation does seem nice."

"Well then, let's do just that."

I have a grand goal of buying a detached house with a garden someday, but

it's not like I'm in any particular hurry to fulfil it. I'm also not that keen on

searching for a way to come back to my former world, so I guess a nice

detour for a bit of R&R wouldn't be so bad. Let's just enjoy things as they

come then.

We finally reached the airspace of Alein Tertius colony and deactivated the

hyper speed drive. We then sent out a docking request... Hm?

"Doesn't the colony seem somewhat strange somehow?"

"Eh? Yes, it does seem weird. That section's power is cut off, right?"

"You're right. I wonder what's wrong? Ah, a red light is flashing on the

docking bay."

As we watched on, multiple ships launched out of the docking bay one after

the other. It was as if they were running away or something.

"What happened?"

"I have no idea... Mimi, can you connect us to port administration?"

"Yes, I'll put it up on the main monitor."

Mimi operated the console and opened a line with the Alein Tertius port

administration bureau. It would usually connect right away, but it was

taking way too long this time. We waited for a while and finally got

through.

[This is the port administration bureau! We're busy at the moment!]

"Oi,oi. Calm down. This is Captain Hiro from the Mercenary Guild. We just

got back from the pirate subjugation operation, but did something happen in

the colony? What's up?"

[So you're a mercenary!? Oi, do you have a combat-ready power armor in

your ship!?]

"Huh? Uh, yeah, I guess. Why...?"

I was puzzled after being asked a weird-sounding question and replied

offhandedly. Afterward, the port official on the other line screamed.

[Please help us! Our colony is being attacked from the inside by

unidentified creatures!]

The port officer on the other side of the monitor desperately begged. It was

quite sudden, so we failed to respond right away and looked at each other in

confusion.

"Uh, even if you say that…"

"We're mercenaries you know? Our lives aren't so cheap that we'll offer to

risk them for free."

Elma nodded at my words, and the both of us exchanged looks and shook

our head. Mimi was fidgeting in front of the Operator console though; at a

loss about what to do. Well, it can't be helped.

[You're still asking for money in a situation like this!?]

"We'll ask for compensation in any situation. We need as much in order to

risk our lives. It's only natural, right? Did you file a formal request at the

Mercenary Guild?"

[P-Probably. I'm not too sure.]

"So you're not sure. In any case, please guide us to the nearest hangar. Let's

talk about the details later."

[A-Alright... Uh, hangar bay number 32... No, number 3. Please

enter hangar number 3!]

"Got it. Moving in."

We cut the line and followed the guide beacon to dock.

"We're really entering? I would prefer not sticking our heads into

something troublesome."

"I'm not sure about the situation, but I get the feeling it would be worth

something. Let's just hear them out first. It doesn't seem so bad to earn

some more cash before Major Serena returns to port."

"Will we be okay...?"

"I don't think it'll be that dangerous if we made use of the power armor.

Probably."

In any case, we also needed to claim the bounties inside Alein Tertius

colony anyway. It would be really troublesome if Alein Tertius got wrecked

due to this incident.

After we docked at the third hangar, I left Elma and Mimi to mind the ship

and contact the Mercenary Guild. I then headed for the cargo bay. My aim

was the power armor stored over there.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't had the opportunity to use this even

once since coming to this dimension huh..."

A power armor is basically a mechanical armor suit. It would give the

wearer the protection of thick armor and augment their strength to

superhuman levels, and would allow them to wield destructive heavy

weaponry powered by the armor's dedicated power core. It's a futuristic

weapon that gives individuals defense and mobility, as well as firepower

akin to that of a tank in a more compact and agile package.

Well, it was a staple in most SF themed games and novels, I think. In fact, it

was quite difficult for players to win against opponents wearing power

armor without wearing their own in Stella Online melee matches.

Judging from the port officer's question earlier, the thing that was attacking

the colony was dangerous enough to require power armor. Hm. I don't think

I've encountered an event like this during my time playing Stella Online

though. I guess reality really is different from the game. This sure is

troublesome.

I boarded the power armor, started the boot-up sequence and let out a quiet

sigh.