Chapter 32: 31

Chapter 31

Translator: SFBaka

The Alein star system is a flourishing place sporting two residential planets, three active technological research colonies, and one commercial trade colony .

It doesn’t have an expansive asteroid belt area like the Termaine system, but it mainly obtains wealth through the export of their high tech products and component parts . Thus, it’s a common sight to see a large number of mercantile ships coming and going to and from the system .

And, of course, opportunistic pirate groups aiming for said ships are also fairly common .

Due to this system being a place of strategic and economic importance to the empire, the military’s on-going crackdown against the pirate groups is more strictly enforced compared to other places . But even so, their patrols can’t possibly cover the entirety of this relatively large star system . That meant more jobs for mercenaries like us .

“That’s the Alein system in a nutshell . ”

“Bravo〜!”

I clapped encouragingly after Mimi’s concise explanation of the Alein star system’s particulars . She was holding her personal tablet terminal in one hand and looked quite professional . It seems she was a bit embarrassed due to my unreserved praise . Her cute face reddened in a light blush .

“So, which colony are we heading to?”

“Since the research colonies strictly prohibit the entry of anyone apart from the actual researchers, we’ll be heading to the trading colony instead . ”

“There’s still an opportunity for us to visit those places if we took delivery requests from the guild branch in the trading colony . But it’s not like we’ll get to see any interesting stuff if we do manage to go there . There’s nothing worth visiting after all . They don’t have a single tourist attraction available . ”

“It sounds like quite the dull place . How do they even get any entertainment over there?”

“The only entertainment they need is research work, apparently . The people staying there are all honest-to-goodness research addicts . ”

“Ugh…”

Just hearing about it already made me feel all worn out . It sounds like a place filled with workaholics treating their jobs as their hobbies . I wouldn’t want to stay there long even if we do need to go there .

“Well then, let’s set course for the trading colony . Elma . ”

“Aye, aye, Sir〜!”

Elma, who was sitting on the sub-pilot seat, pointed Krishna’s bow towards the coordinates leading to Alein system’s commercial trade colony .

“We’ll be arriving in approximately fifteen minutes . ”

“Roger . Keep a sharp lookout while on the way . Please pay careful attention to the radar readings, Mimi . ”

“Yes!”

Mimi responded enthusiastically and moved her attention to the hyperspace sensor that can be used even when the ship is in the middle of traveling via hyperspeed drive . It seems normal sensors just won’t cut it when a starship is moving near the speed of light… or so I’m told . The only thing that will work is the hyperspace sensor . And, of course, I have absolutely no idea how the thing works . What’s ‘hyperspace’ anyway?

In any case, if we use this thing, we’ll be able to keep a constant lookout over a wide range even while traveling via hyperspeed drive . We can detect the presence of other ships within the sensor’s effective range, as well as former battlefields field with drifting debris . Also, we can pick up SOS signals; even though encountering such a situation is fairly rare .

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“Um, Hiro-sama . I managed to pick up an SOS signal . ”

“What the heck!? And they call this rare!?”

“I understand how you feel, but we can’t just ignore it . ”

I would’ve normally ignored such a side-event if this happened in the game, but I can’t just do that now that it’s happened in reality . A mercenary starship is also obligated to respond to an SOS signal, except under certain special circumstances .

“Yeah, you’re right . Please change our course toward the SOS signal’s coordinates . There’s a good chance of encountering hostiles, so brace yourselves . ”

“Yes!”

“Roger!”

Krishna changed course and headed towards the SOS signal’s coordinates . We can’t be absolutely sure unless we see the situation for ourselves, but there aren’t many reasons where sending out an SOS signal is necessary . It’s either a starship encountering some form of mechanical trouble or being assaulted by pirates .

We can just temporarily let the crew on-board and tow their ship to the nearest station or colony in case of a mechanical breakdown . If it’s a pirate assault… then a battle is inevitable .

“A few more moments to contact . Deactivating hyperspeed drive in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Contact!”

*Boom! The hyperspeed drive deactivated; accompanied by a booming sound akin to an explosion . Krishna got ejected to normal space . We immediately checked the radar and caught five responses . A single medium-sized ship was being chased by four smaller ones .

“It looks like we hit the jackpot . The one being chased looks like a medium-sized passenger cruise ship . ”

“The SOS signal is coming from that ship . We’re moving out then . Mimi, scan them and send out a courtesy call!”

“Yes! This is a ship affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, callsign 『Krishna』 . We came here in response to the SOS signals being sent out . To the unidentified ships attacking the passenger cruiser, halt your assault immediately!”

Mimi gave out a cease-fire warning while scanning the other ships at the same time . Their response, however, was quite straightforward .

“They locked on to us . ”

The unidentified ships immediately activated their weapon systems . Since they’ve already locked on to us, I guess they’re saying further words are unnecessary huh .

“Mark them all as hostiles . Weapon systems online . Raise the generator output to battle level . ”

“Aye, aye, Sir . Weapon systems online . Raising output . ”

“Let’s do this!”

Our ship’s weapon systems immediately activated, and four manipulator arms sporting large-caliber pulse laser cannons popped out from the hull . At the same time, two cannon barrels popped out from both sides of the cockpit, gleaming menacingly .

“The four ships have all been placed with corresponding bounties . ”

“Great . We can shoot them all down without holding back then . ”

Two of the ships chasing down the passenger cruiser broke away from their formation and headed for us . I responded in kind and moved Krishna towards them as well .

『This guy’s fas– 』

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I’m not obligated to let them get the first shot anyway . I locked on to one of them immediately and fired all four large-caliber pulse laser cannons . The enemy ship’s energy shields were saturated easily and brought down .

『What the-!? The shields!?』

“That’s one down . ”

I fired the large-caliber canister-shot cannons at the now-defenseless ship when we passed each other by, and its hull was immediately filled with countless holes .

These two cannons – alternatively called shotgun cannons – fired live rounds that scattered innumerable smaller submunitions, and packed quite a punch . It was a fairly destructive weapon . Its range was limited, but its destructive ability was quite high . One shot was all it took to bring down a shield-less enemy ship and reduce it to swiss cheese .

“These shard cannons of yours are brutal as usual . ”

“Calling them shard cannons is so old-fashioned . ”

“Old-fashioned, he says…”

While we exchange pointless banter inside the cockpit, the flight assist system made the ship turn around, positioning us right behind the exposed rear end of the other enemy ship .

“Fire〜! Fire〜!”

I fired another volley of pulse lasers and brought down the enemy ship’s shield, destroying its main thrusters afterward .

『No! Stooo–』

“No way . ”

I heard someone begging for his life through the comms and ignored it completely . These damn pirates attack unsuspecting civilian ships, kill all the crew and rob everything valuable they’re able to find inside . They also tend to capture civilian passengers for slave trade . They’re not worth sparing . Not one bit .

After losing their shield and main thrusters, the enemy ship got pelted by a merciless volley of pulse laser fire . After getting hit by all four large-caliber pulse laser cannons, the enemy ship promptly exploded and was shot down .

“That’s two . Next!”

“There are only two more enemy ships remaining… but it looks like they already turned tail and fled . ”

Maybe they got terrified after we easily dispatched two of their comrades, so the two remaining ships chasing down the passenger cruiser hastily pulled away and escaped from the area .

“The hell! Don’t run, you bastards!”

『Don’t screw around! We’re not fighting a monster like you!』

One of the surviving enemy ships retorted back via comms . Guess he’s one of the smarter pirates out there . Oops, now’s not the time for being impressed . We’re still a bit far from the passenger ship . Can I make it?

“The pirates have activated their hyperspeed drives!”

“Make iiiiiiit!”

They’re nearly in range of our laser cannons . Just a bit more……!

『Later, bastards!』

*Boom! The pirate ships turned into streaks of light after the sound of explosions and successfully escaped from the area . It’s not impossible to give chase… but aiding the attacked passenger ship was more of a priority .

“Dammit . They sure can run away . ”

“It was an impressive escape for mere pirates . We sometimes encounter guys like those . Pirates who use their brains . ”

“Those types are really troublesome……”

We could have shot them down if we managed to get them within range of our weapons, but it looks like this time’s a bust… It’ll be a different story if we had weapons sporting even greater range than the pulse laser cannons though . Something like a large-caliber electromagnetic rail cannon perhaps .

“Oh well . Please connect us to the passenger cruiser . If their navigation systems are fine, we’ll proceed to recover the loot from the destroyed pirate ships . ”

“We’re not obligated to escort them back after all . ”

It sounds a bit cold, but that’s how it is . It’s not like we accepted a request to guard the passenger ship, so we’re not obligated to look after them . But it still depends on their affiliation and their following demands .

In this world, mercenary ships that manage to pick up a distress signal are obligated to lend aid if possible . But the extent of that aid can be somewhat negotiated . It would be through the distressed party offering additional remuneration and rewards .

The compensation amount would largely depend on the number of passengers and valuables present on a ship, but a medium-sized passenger cruise ship was certainly a promising prospect . It can be said that we were unfortunate to have been involved in such an incident just after arriving at this star system . But it can also be considered a lucky break – monetarily speaking, that is . That’s how we mercenaries earn a living .

『This is the Koueimaru . We’re a civilian passenger ship affiliated with Inagawa Technology . We’re grateful for your help . 』

We picked up a reply from the comm line Mimi connected . The Koueimaru of Inagawa Technology? A Japanese company? It’s written in katakana, but the name ‘Koueimaru’ can also be written in kanji .

“We’re glad you’re OK, Koueimaru . I’m Captain Hiro; a mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild . What’s the status of your ship?”

『The life-support systems are alright, but our propulsion systems got done in . Would it be possible for you to guard us until the system military patrol arrives?』

So they want us to guard them until the imperial patrol arrives huh . If the ship were a bit smaller, Krishna could have towed it to the colony . But it seems impossible with that size . It looks like we don’t have any choice but to wait for a military ship to tow them instead .

“Can we take that as an official request? How about the compensation?”

『Yes . Inagawa Technology will pay you the appropriate compensation . I’m truly sorry for being unable to tell you a definite amount, but rest assured that I will immediately forward it to the head office once the request is completed . I do not have direct authority to decide the compensation amount you see . 』

Well, I guess he really isn’t given authority to decide even if he’s the ship’s captain . I turned towards Elma who silently nodded in assent . It looks like she doesn’t have any problems with those arrangements .

“I understand . We accept the request and will begin guarding your ship . The request will be considered completed once the military patrol arrives . The rewards for both the earlier rescue action and subsequent guarding of your ship will be paid by Inagawa Technology . Do you agree to these terms?”

『That would be fine . 』

“Well then, we’ve reached an agreement . Mimi, please keep a record of the earlier conversation . ”

“Yes!”

Mimi spiritedly responded . Alrighty then . Might as well salvage the loot from the pirate ship wreckages while we wait for the imperial military patrol to arrive . But, since we shot them down in the middle of attacking a ship, I’m not expecting much loot anyway .

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