Chapter 434: Hunting Hounds Have No Time to Rest
“That’s strange…… I planned to relax for a while until the Independent Mobile Anti-Pirate Fleet was ready to deploy.”
“Ahaha…… It’s can’t be helped since it’s an order from our client.”
“Let us do our best, My Lord. I will also help you as best I can.”
It was now about half a day since our meeting with Captain Serena. We were currently out on a patrol mission within the Volks star system, which was quite close to the Creon star system. Or rather, we were actually on a pirate hunt.
In other words, we were navigating around the star system using our FTL Drives while organized into a crane-wing formation (though it was more like a V-shape instead of a crane’s wings due to there only being three ships), with the Black Lotus at the center.
『The Restalias and the rest of our fleet cannot make a move unless we reorganize first, but you guys do not have that problem, correct?
There’s a star system we plan to take up camp in, so please head there first and clean the place up.』
These were the contents of Captain Serena’s message. Was that person a demon or something?
『The military’s budget isn’t unlimited. You are first-class mercenaries who are being paid a huge amount of money on an hourly basis, so please work accordingly.』
When the client, Captain Serena, told us that, we couldn’t say anything back, so we obediently obeyed her orders. The contract was set the moment we reached the Creon star system and finished meeting with Captain Serena.
The remuneration that the Imperial Space Force offered this time around was 10 million Enels as basic pay for 30 days of service. They would then pay us 300,000 Enels per day if the service goes beyond those 30 days. In addition, they would cover all ammunition and supply costs. We were free to capture and salvage downed ships, and we’d also get rewarded per ship kill.
In other words, it would be such a waste for us to be left idle while waiting for the fleet to reorganize. It’s not like we were told to go wild on the front lines while they were reorganizing, so there was no reason to refuse the order.
“And here I thought we’d be able to earn easy money while lazing around as the fleet gets reorganized.”
“Umm…… My Lord, it probably isn’t, but that’s not really the reason why you proposed dividing the fleet’s forces to Captain Serena…… right?”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of that at all, but what I proposed is definitely an effective tactic. You can liken the entire Anti-Pirate Fleet moving around as one to chase after the pirates to using a large tuna knife to cut up small fish.”
“I see. So, that’s how it is.”
Kugi responded in a relieved tone. Good grief. This naughty girl really suspected me of leading Captain Serena on for personal interest. I’m gonna fluff her tails a lot later.
“But we can’t seem to find any. Space pirates, I mean.”
“It can’t be helped since it’s our first time in this star system and we lack information. Maybe we should head to the Volks Secundus colony at least once– Huh?”
Suddenly, Krishna’s subspace sensor picked up some sort of response. The details were unclear, but the Black Lotus should be able to get a clearer picture using its more powerful sensor.
“Hiro-sama, it appears to be a distress signal. Mei-san confirmed it.”
“Okay. Then give Mei the go-ahead to charge, and tell Elma to monitor the situation and be ready to activate the Gravity Jammers at a moment’s notice. Kugi, battle preparations.”
“Yes!”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“Remember guys. They apparently have good equipment on them. Keep your guard up.”
The Black Lotus, which the two other ships’ FTL Drives were synchronized with, slowly turned and changed course toward the source of the distress signal. Good, good. Now then, let’s see exactly how well-equipped these so-called space pirates were.
Boom! The moment we warped out, it appeared that the battle on the other side was just moments from being decided. Of the escort ships guarding the transport ship being attacked, only two were barely able to move. On the attacker’s side, a total of nine ships, including two medium-class ships, were still active. The remains of at least five ships were scattered around the immediate area.
『Reinforcements!? Please lend us a hand!』
『Hah! Looks like they’ve come to the wrong party. There’s additional prey with just two escort ships. Get them, you bastards!』
The two escort ships that saw us warp up immediately called out for assistance, and the nine other ships announced their intention to attack us. Mm. The attackers mistook the Black Lotus for an ordinary transport ship. Well, that’s exactly the reason why we hid her weapons using concealed armor in the first place.
“This is Captain Hiro from the Mercenary Guild. I will be conducting rescue operations now.”
『Please do! Oi, send them the IFF codes! Hurry!』
The escort ships hurriedly sent their IFF codes so we could properly differentiate friend from foe. I received them and observed the four assault ships heading our way. Two medium-class and two small-class. Well, since we sported one small-class and one medium-class on our end, it was reasonable to attack us with twice the number.
“I see. They really are well-equipped.”
“They aren’t like your typical space pirates for sure.”
I gradually opened the throttle and accelerated slowly, visually checked the enemy ship’s equipment, and briefly looked over the results of Mimi’s scan. Their hulls were a bit old and worn out, but their frames were of proper combat ships. As far as I could see, their onboard equipment was also decent. At the very least, they weren’t simple peashooters, but proper weapons that wouldn’t be out of place on a novice merc’s ship. Like their hulls, their armor was also in good shape despite being a bit worn out. Even their shields appeared to be of decent quality.
“These guys wouldn’t be a problem for us, but they’d be rough opponents for rookies who are just starting out. I see. Now then, they’re already in range. Let’s go.”
Just before the enemy ships got us in range of their weapons, I opened the throttle fully and used the thrusters to instantly close the gap.
『Whoah!? This guy’s fast!?』
『Fire, fire!』
The assault ships hurriedly fired their lasers and multi-cannons, but they weren’t good at concentrating their firepower. I was able to close in on one enemy medium-class ship before they were able to deal any significant damage to Krishna’s shield.
“One down.”
I turned off the flight assist as I made a pass and aimed for the ship’s cockpit. I fired the two large-caliber shot-cannons and silenced the first medium-class ship. No matter how good your energy shield was, shot-cannons could penetrate it easily at point-blank range. Blast the cockpit and everything’s over.
“That’s two.”
With the flight assist still turned off and the ship moving by sheer momentum, I used the attitude control thrusters to instantly turn the ship around, then fired a salvo from the four heavy-caliber laser cannons at one of the small-class ships that was frantically trying to turn toward me, shooting it down. While doing so, I turned the flight assist on and fired the main thrusters to close the gap with the enemy again. Relentless and continuous attacks were the basis of combat.
『You sure have the guts to point your rear toward me.』
『Aaaaaa—!? S-Stop! I’m burning!?』
The other small-class ship was burned down by the Antlion’s powerful laser beam emitter that targeted its defenseless rear, resulting in it exploding. As for the remaining medium-class ship–
『What!? It’s not a transport ship–!』
The firepower of the Black Lotus’s twelve military-grade laser cannons that disengaged their concealed armor was no joke. They tore apart a decently-sized medium-class ship with an equally decent shield and armor like tissue paper. The poor thing was instantly destroyed in an explosion.
『Oi! The guys who went for the newcomers were done in!?』
『Dammit! Did we pull a losing hand!? Leave them and run away!』
『The activation of the FTL Drive has been canceled!? An error!?』
『Where the heck is that massive planet supposed to be!? Move! Move, you piece of junk!』
It seemed that the remaining five small-class assault ships that were attacking the two surviving escort ships and two transport ships tried to make a run for it. However, Elma seemed to have activated her Gravity Jammers, and their FTL Drives all failed to start. Nice, nice. Things are going great.
“Let’s take care of the remaining ones.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
We effortlessly mopped up the remaining enemy ships that failed to escape. They were showing their rears while soaring unsteadily as they attempted to run, so taking care of them was akin to shooting defenseless ducks.
『Thank you so much. We owe you guys our lives.』
“We’re being paid to do this, so don’t worry about it. Take care.”
We moved location and went to the Volks Secundus colony. After rescuing the escort and merchant ships, we salvaged what we could from the wrecks of the assault ships scattered around the battlefield. We then towed away the medium-class ship with a destroyed cockpit and went together with the merchant ships to Volks Secundus.
As soon as we arrived, we received a transmission from the captain of one of the escort ships who thanked us for our help. He was also a merc affiliated with the Mercenary Guild, and he was apparently escorting the merchant ship pair as part of a request. Apparently, it was impossible to continue the escort request with just two ships, so they decided to stop by the Volks Secundus colony for repairs and to replenish their ranks.
“We don’t have any particular need for resupplying, but…… should we ask for further orders?”
We had better report the situation to our client, Captain Serena, first. We encountered some of the space pirates with high-quality equipment just like what was described in the meeting, and we were able to defeat them, then captured a relatively intact medium-class ship apart from the cockpit and data storage. Perhaps they’d be able to glean some useful info from it.
Oh, by the way, we sent some combat bots into the medium-class ship in order to secure it. It seemed that there were no survivors. However, the supplies and personal belongings of the pirates remained intact inside the ship. Perhaps the information obtained from those things would reveal the origin of those guys and their ships, so we couldn’t just ignore them. There might be portable info terminals and tablets that contain crucial info among the articles.
Also, the mechanic sisters were already hard at work sorting out and restoring the salvaged materials, equipment, and ship scraps. I chuckled when I saw that they even employed the help of the combat bots.
In any case, let’s get in touch with Captain Serena first. As a collared hound, I needed to report back to my current master so I could be praised for doing a good job.
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