Colonization Start

"The colony ships number 1 to 5 will now commence descending in

sequence."

"I don't think there would be pirates stupid enough to attack at this timing,

but it's not like pirates are the only things to look out for. Keep your eyes

peeled, guys. Mei, set the radar range to the maximum. You don't need to

be stealthy about it, so don't hold back."

[Understood. I shall also raise the passive radar's sensitivity to maximum.]

At my order, Mei adjusted Black Lotus's active radar output to the

maximum and closely monitored the colony ships that were now

approaching the descent coordinates. The information obtained will then be

sent back to Mei and Black Lotus's main computer to be analyzed. In this

way, along with us staying on alert for any anomalies, we'll be able to

watch out for potential threats.

"What do you mean by pirates not being the only ones to watch out for?"

There were a total of five seats present inside Krishna's cockpit. These are

namely the main pilot seat, co-pilot seat, main operator seat, sub-operator

seat, and sub-seat.

And one of those seats – the sub-seat – was reserved for a member of the

media contingent to sit on while conducting an interview. Today, it was

Moebius Ring Media Department Section II's Allen's turn.

"It would be too dangerous to launch an attack at this timing and there's

practically nothing to gain from doing so. That's why pirates likely won't

be dropping in on us. The goods would just end up burning to cinders and

going to waste after all. That's why the only ones who would stage an

attack at this timing would be those who want to get in the way of Earl

Dareinwald's planetary colonization project."

"I see. But that's–"

"There's a low chance of it happening, sure. However, we can't just dismiss

it. That would be far too foolish. And those types aren't the only ones we

need to watch out for. There are also those annoying show-offs and unruly

drunkards to be worried about."

Logically, the ones most likely to try something would actually be the earl's

fellow nobles, but outliers are always present in any society. You can't

dismiss the possibility of weird groups that would resort to extreme

methods like terrorism in order to make a name for themselves dropping in

without warning.

"Hiro-sama, don't you think there's something weird about the debris

approaching from around bearing 860 along the upper starboard?"

"Let's see… Hm? It's a lot colder compared to the rest of the debris.

Thermal stealth? Mei, try to ping it just in case."

[Roger.]

Pinging a ship refers to an act that determines whether or not an

unidentified ship had any intention of communicating. I'm not that familiar

with how it exactly works, but back in the game, it's a function that

basically allows you to get a lock on the target and send them a

transmission request. If they don't respond, there would be no problem in

bringing the unidentified ship down.

[There is no response.]

"I see. Deploy the EML. Fire for effect."

[Aye, aye, sir. Deploying EML.]

At my orders, the Black Lotus's large-caliber electromagnetic rail-cannon

deployed from its bow and aimed directly at the suspicious debris Mimi

discovered. A few moments after it deployed, a call came in from an

outside channel.

[This is Judgement One. We've confirmed the deployment of your weapon

systems. We request an explanation regarding your actions.]

The call was from a heavy cruiser serving on Earl Dareinwald's escort fleet

that was in charge of coordinating the security effort.

"This is Black Lotus and Krishna's Captain Hiro speaking. We managed to

detect a suspicious debris that's unnaturally cold. We pinged it, but no

response came back. It's approaching the descent coordinates of the colony

ships, so we decided to shoot it down."

[Roger that. We will monitor it from here as well. We'll leave the followup to you.]

"Roger. EML, fire!"

[Aye, aye, sir. Firing the EML.]

A bright flash akin to lightning illuminated the void, and a shell was fired

off from the EML at a speed the eyes couldn't follow. We were able to

detect a momentary rise in the heat signature of the suspicious 'debris'

before impact. Was it trying to avoid the cannon shot? In any case, it's

already over. The EML shell hit the target directly and shattered the 'debris'

into space dust.

[An energy reaction was confirmed at the moment of impact. I surmise that

the identity of the 'debris' in question was a small spacecraft, Master.]

"Roger. Please send the data to Judgement One."

[Aye, aye, sir.]

"T-That was pretty merciless…"

"It's the fault of the ones making suspicious actions in this situation. Since

they didn't respond, there's all the more reason to take them down."

It was unclear what exactly that suspicious ship was trying to pull, but it

doesn't really matter now that it's turned into space dust. Since they were

trying to sneak up on us using thermal stealth, I don't think they were up to

anything good anyway. Depending on the situation, we could have moved

in to capture it as well, but if we made a mistake, the colony ships might

have been attacked. In this situation, shooting it down was the best choice.

"The colony ships are beginning to descend."

"Mimi, record everything."

"Roger."

The colony ships began descending onto Comatt III while leaving trails of

light in their wake. It was a magnificent sight to witness them staggering

their descent timings and entering the planet's atmosphere at different

directions. It seems each of the huge colony ships were carrying about

10,000 or so people. In other words, about 50,000 people are now

descending onto Comatt III as colonists.

"Ah, if it's alright with you, can you give us a copy of the data as well

later?"

"Sure. But only if you get permission from Earl Dareinwald first."

"Thank you very much."

Something like that would probably be alright, but it was better for them to

ask permission first, just in case.

"What are your plans after this?"

"Basically, we'll be patrolling around the planet and the rest of the Comatt

system while working with the others on security duty. Well, in our case,

they might request us to actively go around and hunt pirates though."

Considering our ship composition and achievements so far, they might

decide that it would be better for us to actively go around and search for

enemies as well as pirate bases rather than staying put in one place.

"I see…"

"You're thinking something like that doesn't seem like it would be worth

filming, right?"

"Hahaha."

Allen didn't answer me and just laughed wryly. Of course, they'd think so,

right? I mean, the possibility of encountering pirates while randomly going

around a huge star system isn't all that high, to begin with.

[Stop! Don't fire! Surrender! We surrender, okay!]

"I'll give you twenty seconds. Deactivate your power generator and bail

out. If you take more than twenty seconds, we'll fire without mercy. If you

guys try to escape, we'll blow the entire ship away, including the cockpit

block. One, two, three…"

[I got it! I got it already, dammit!]

The pirate captain cried out in panic and the power generator of the enemy

pirate ship was promptly deactivated. The cockpit block then got purged

from the rest of the ship. Basically, the cockpit block of a small-class

combat ship also doubles as an escape pod.

Of course, a cockpit block by itself is incapable of FTL navigation and can

only move at virtually a snail's pace, but it comes with the minimum life

support systems and comm equipment. Plus, it's also securely airtight. It's

structurally tough as well.

"Go ahead and retrieve us, Mei."

[Aye, aye, sir.]

"For the meantime, let's go and collect loot and usable parts from the

wreckage before Mei arrives."

""Aye, aye, sir–!""

Mimi and Elma began operating the retrieval drones. I then scanned the

downed pirate ships. Scanning the ships first makes it easier for Tina and

Whisker to decide which ship modules to strip off and which ship wreckage

are worth salvaging whole.

"…You guys sure are merciless."

"I kinda remember hearing a pretty similar remark earlier… Well, these

guys are pirates after all, and basically, pirates are all degenerate scum not

worth sparing. I mean, we'll still get the bounty rewards even if these guys

are killed on the spot, and the risks are higher if you want to capture pirates

alive. You'd have to get in pretty close after all. You know, I usually kill

them all with no questions asked, but I don't want to show an overly cruel

battle to an unsuspecting audience later, so it turned out this way in the end,

okay?"

"Hahaha… Thank you for your consideration then."

Fomalhaut Entertainment's Zuia laughed dryly in response. His expression

was difficult to read since his face was covered in fur, but it might have

paled a bit underneath.

"Are you familiar with what happens to the crew and passengers of the

cargo and passenger ships that get attacked by these low-lives? It's fine if

they merely steal all the cargo and valuables, but in most cases, the crew

and passengers are massacred, and if not, they're all sold to illegal slave

trafficking rings for cash. Are you familiar with the illegal slaves?"

"…They are slaves traded in the black market, and are used as sex slaves or

disposable biological samples for illegal experiments."

"That's mostly correct, but your understanding is still shallow. It could be

considered a mercy if they were treated as normal sex slaves. I mean, if

they just wanted to sate their sexual desires using the usual kinks and

fetishes, there are several more accessible outlets available, like sexroids or

VR sex. The only people who still insist on buying sex slaves illegally are

those with particularly twisted hobbies. Man, just thinking about it makes

me want to vomit."

We've rescued quite a number of 'processed' sex slaves a couple of times

already after all. In other words, they were turned into slaves who met the

client's preferences. We manage to find people like these while rummaging

through the cargo of the pirates we hunt down from time to time. Having

been equipped with a special collar or bracelet so that they won't be able to

disobey orders, or having chips directly implanted into their heads can

actually be considered lenient compared to what some of the others have

gone through.

"So, you see, these guys regularly do disgusting things like that just to

satisfy their own greed and lust for pleasure. So I personally think guys like

these don't deserve any mercy at all. Besides, if you let even one go free,

there's no telling just how many people will end up suffering in the future.

That's why I just get rid of them usually whenever I find them."

"I see."

Zuia nodded meekly. I'm sure he also has his own thoughts regarding the

matter.

"Hiro-sama, the Black Lotus will be arriving shortly."

"Roger that. Keep your guards up, guys. There might be some pirates who

get lured in by Black Lotus and decide to target it."

"Aye, aye, sir. Should we return to port once the retrieval work is over?"

"Yeah. We'll be able to fill up our cargo hold nicely with all this loot

anyway."

We managed to retrieve some practically undamaged pirate ships as well as

some usable modules from the destroyed ones. We also managed to secure

some prisoners, so it would be better to return to port to settle all the loot

and hand the captured pirates to the authorities.