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Chapter 204 - Colonization Start

“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 follow-up 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.