Tak lama setelah melompat melalui jalur hiper, kami bersama seluruh armada Kekaisaran yang berkumpul langsung terlibat dalam pertempuran melawan makhluk kristal itu. Musuh kami adalah makhluk kristal jenis menengah, subspesies Pengawal Kristal.
Pertempuran ini disetujui berkat informasi penting yang 'dia' berikan, dan tidak ada sedikitpun keraguan dalam aksi militer. Cukup sulit meyakinkan para pejabat untuk setuju membentuk armada pemusnah makhluk kristal atas dasar informasi yang belum tentu pasti, tetapi terbukti sangat berharga.
Tentu saja, aku hati-hati agar tidak terungjap bahwa informasi itu berasal darinya. Dengan menggabungkan data dari informasinya dan data yang dikirimkan oleh Flota Pengintai ketiga dan keempat, aku berhasil meyakinkan para kapten dan komander pangkalan depan dengan kemampuan berkata-ku yang terbaik yangkuadung.
Jujur saja, aku tidak perlu mengungkapkan bahwa sumber informasinya hanyo mendengar rumor semata dan bahwa ia sebenarnya seorang tentara bayaran. Dengan cara ini, aku mencegah mereka menemukan asal-usul informasiku.
"Kayaknya fase pertama pertempuran melawan makhluk kristal berjalan dengan baik."
Kapal-kapal korel kempuasa yang berkumpul segera turun tembak dengan Pengawal Kristal sesuai rencana. Kapal-kapal tentara bayaran pun segera bergabung dalam pertempuran, dan mereka yang memiliki kapal ukuran menengah hingga besar pun mulai menembakkan hujan besar kejauhan. Sisa armada Kekaisaran juga mulai mempersiapkan serangan besarnya.
"Benar. Ini semua berkat analismu yang akurat, Kapten."
"Benar juga."
Faktanya, ini bukan karena analisku yang konon, tetapi karena informasi dari pria itu. Ya sudah, tidak masalah asalkan kita berdua puas dengan hasinya. Jika operasi ini berhasil, semua kredit akan masuk ke tanganku di akhirnya.
"Ini Krishna. Kami akan mengelilingi garis depan dan menyerang musuh dari sisi. Kami akan menggunakan torpedo reaktif antikapal untuk menarik perhati, jadi berhati-hati jangan sampai terjangkau ledakannya."
Ia mendatangi seluruh armada melalui saluran terbuka dan memberikan perkiraan waktu tiba, posisi, dan jangkaledakan torpedo reaktif antikapalnya.
"Dasar ceroboh seperti biasanya ya?"
"Seperti yang kuhbisikkan, Kapten. Medali Silver Sword Wings Assault tak hanya dipasang doang."
Kapal itu, Krishna, melaju penuh kecepatan ke arah kerumunan makhluk kristal dengan sudut dan membuka celah besar di sayap mereka. Sepertinya ia tidak hanya ingin melewati kerumunan itu, tetapi juga ingin menyebabkan kerusakan serius pada mereka.
Dan lagi, kecepatan muatnya terlalu nyata untuk diterima. Fakta bahwa ia tidak pernah mengurangi kecepatan kapalnya sama sekali saat melintas di sekitar kerumunan itu sungguh membuktikan betapa unggulnya kemampuan mengemudikannya. Pertanyaan penting, jenis pelatihan apa yang pernah ia lalui, dan seberapa keras situ tempat dimana ia bertarung hingga bertahan?
"Pas dengan data proyeksi."
"Mari hancurkan musuh sambil ia menarik perhati. Mulai serangan terkoordinasi."
"Baik, baik, buwah! Memulai serangan terkoordinasi!"
Seluruh kapal Kekaisaran akan mengumpulkan dan berbagi data medan untuk tidak ada celah saat serangan, sehingga kita bisa menembakkan serangan terkoordinasi yang sempurna. Laser hujan dari banyak kapal Kekaisaran menerangi sebagian ruang kosong yang biasanya gelap.
Aku melintasi Pengawal Kristal yang sedang mengejar kita dan mengarahkan beberapa tembakan meriam shotgun ke jarak dekat. Lalu kuhancurkan makhluk kristal kecil yang terlibat setelah itu dengan empat laser berat. Aku membuka jalur melalui wilayah yang penui dengan musuh.
Pengawal Kristal menyerang dengan cahaya dan tembakan luncuran sembarangan, namun perisai energi Krishna dengan mantap menangkal semuanya.
"Perisai masih stabil."
"Cahayanya dan tembakannya tidak sekeras yang terlihat. Proyektil cahaya cukup kuat, tapi sangat lambat, jadi akan mudah untuk menghindar jika kita memprediksi lintasannya. Hanya hal yang berbahaya adalah serangan penuh tubuh."
"Tapi tetap ada batasnya, kan? Kapasitas perisai kita terus berkurang."
"Kamu berdua tetap tenang di tengah situ..."
Aku tidak bisa mengalihkan pandanganku dari monitor utama sekarang, jadi tak bisa memastikan hal itu, tapi dari suaranya, Mimi sekarang cukup cemas. Aku mengerti itu tentu. Jika aku gagal dan terkena serangan penuh tubuh dari makhluk kristal kecil, atau jika Pengawal Kristal berhasil menyerang dari arah yang buruk, kita akan melayang-layang seperti boloi di dalam kerumunan makhluk kristal itu.
Kalau sampai itu terjadi, perisai kita akan habis dalam sekejap, dan satu-satunya hasilnya adalah kita akan dikelilingi oleh ribuan makhluk kristal dan hancur. Ya, aku memiliki niat mutlak untuk tidak melakukan kesalahan pemula seperti itu.
"Kami mendapatkan peringatan serangan dari Armada Kekaisaran! Serangan terkoordinasi, akan datang!"
Setelah amaran Mimi terdengar, banyak proyektil laser besar dan sinar kuat menggenangi di belakang Krishna. Pengawal Kristal yang terpapar terhadap tembakan laser yang padat dan kaku menerangi terang-terang sebelum meleleh dan meledak. Seperti yang diharapkan dari kapal tempur militer. Besarnya api senjata kapal perang kelas kapal perang betapa hebatnya. Tak ada cara untuk menangkalnya meskipun punya banyak penghalang laser.
"Wah. Api mereka luar biasi."
"Ada sebab kenapa orang-orang di bidang ini selalu berkata untuk menghindari bertarung langsung dengan kapal perang dan kapal terbang. Kamu mungkin bisa bertahan jika berhasil menempelkan diri pada jarak dekat."
Setelah hujan itu, musuh beralih dari kita ke militer Kekaisaran, dan serangan Pengawal pada Krishna menjadi sembarangan. Aku tak toleransi melewatkan kesempatan seperti ini. Aku segera menembakkan dua torpedo reaktif yang tersisa ke tengah kerumunan Pengawal Kristal, membalikkan arah, dan melompat masuk ke dalam \'lubang\' yang dibentuk oleh serangan Armada Kekaisaran tadi. Di dalam kokpit, kami langsung terpukul oleh G yang kuat akibat manuver keras yang kudilakukan bertubi-tubi, tapi sudah biasa saja sekarang.
"Kuh…… Torpedo reaktif meledak! Pengawal Kristal mengejar kita lagi!"
"Yosh. Ayo ajari mereka."
"Lebih mudah dibandingkan sebelumnya."
Ruang di depan kami akhirnya hampir bebas dari musuh akibat serangan Armada Kekaisaran. Pada tingkat ini, akan mudah untuk kita mundur dan meloloskan diri dari makhluk kristal yang mengejar dari belakang. Dalam hal kecepatan, Krishna jelas unggul. Ini hanya soal menghindar dari peluru cahaya yang sesekali meluncur dari belakang sambil menekan gas.
"Serangan terkoordinasi lainnya akan datang."
Kembali, serangan tak terbatas dari Armada Militer Kekaisaran menghujamkan ruang di belakang Krishna dan menembakkan api pada makhluk kristal dari sisi. Laser yang dihitung secara rinci hingga ke detilnya memberikan serangan bedah yang efektif dan tidak memberi ruang bagi celah. Membagi musuh dan sejumlah besar makhluk kristal hancur dengan mudah. Dengan ini, yang tersisa hanyalah beberapa pen survivornya yang berhasil menghindar dari serangan. Segera muncul pertarungan jarak dekat dengan koral Kekaisaran.
"Ayo ikut sertakan dan dapatkan lagi kill statistics."
"Ya!"
"Roger."
Tidak lama kemudian, kami berhasil menghancurkan seluruh makhluk kristal yang bersembunyi di sektor ruang ini.
"Bagus pekerjaan, semua. Kami akan melakukan pemeliharaan dan pengisian ulang amunisi sekarang."
"Aku serahkan saja padamu. Juga, kemungkinan akan ada banyak kapal tentara bayaran lain yang datang minta perbaikan lagi nanti, jadi tolong atur mereka juga."
"Dierti. Kami akan sibuk lagi nanti."
Saat kami turun dari anak tangga, aku memberi instruksi kepada saudara mekanik dan kemudian menuju ke ruangan makan bersama Mimi dan Elma diikutku. Kami akan memanfaatkan waktu hemat selama pemeliharaan untuk istirahat sejenak.
"Hem, agak berat tuh."
"\'Agak\', ya?"
"Iya, \'agak\'."
"Kayaknya hanya kau, Hiro, yang bisa bilang \'agak\' hebat. Untukku, melakukan hal seperti itu itu mustahil."
Kami memesan minuman dari Tetsujin V dan bersantai dengan nyaman. Ah, tak ada yang lebih enak dari jus dingin setelah perang besar. Favorit terbaru-ku adalah rasa lemon. Mimi sepertinya suka rasa pisang, dan Elma suka rasa anggur. Meskipun, ini tetap 0% jus buah asli! Wahahaha!
Eh? Kenapa aku nggak minum minuman gabuhan yang kubeli dari Sierra III?
Aku ingin menikmati minuman ini di saat yang lebih tenang dan santai. Minuman ini tidak cocok diminum setelah perang sengit. Ya, alasan utamanya adalah karena aku hanya punya stok terbatas. Mereka lebih penting bagiku daripada torpedo reaktif antikapal.
Di tengah waktu santai kami, nada notifikasi terminal data portabelku berbunyi. Sepertinya ini panggilan dari Letnan Komandan Serena. Aku menggerakkan terminalku dan mentransfer gambar ke display holo ruangan makan.
"Ya, halo. Ini Hiro."
Wajah Letnan Komandan Serena di layar holo melihat kami yang sedang santai. Lalu ia memeluknya sejenak sebelum berbicara.
"Pertama, selamat. Kamu kembali menjadi top ace lagi."
"Terima kasih. Api dukunganmu sungguh menyelamatkan."
"Ini semua berkatmu juga yang membantu kami dengan baik. Karena Krishna menarik musuh saat pertarungan, kerusakan pada pasukan depan minimal. Terima kasih banyak."
"Syukurlah. Jadi, ada apa?"
"Oh, tidak ada. Aku hanya ingin memberi selamat untuk top ace. Kami akan menyerang pasukan utama mereka berikutnya. Begitu kami selesai pemeliharaan dan mengisi ulang kapal-kapal kecil, kami akan berangkat. Pastikan kamu siap."
"Baik, baik, buwah!"
Saat aku memberi salam, Letnan Komandan Serena tersenyum lembut dan memutuskan panggilan.
"……Aku penasaran kenapa dia menelepon."
" Tidak tahu."
"Hm…… Kayaknya dia punya rencana?"
Bisa dikatakan semua kami merasa tidak percaya pada Letnan Komandan Serena karena aksi sebelumnya. Aku mencoba mengingat kembali percakapan tadi, tapi tak bisa menemukan sesuatu yang mencurigakan. Sungguh terlihat seperti sekadar memberi selamat padaku karena kembali menjadi top ace.
"Ya, mari kita terima ucapannya dengan tulus."
"Benar-benar aman ya……?"
"Kayaknya tidak, karena dari percakapan tadi tak terlihat adanya rencana, jadi sepertinya aman."
Hei. Sepertinya kita kurangnya rasa percaya pada Letnan Komandan Serena, ya. Inilah akibat dari kebiasaannya, jadi kita tidak bisa mengalahkan perasaan ini.
Right after warping out via hyperdrive, we, along with the rest of the combined Imperial Fleet immediately engaged in battle with the crystal lifeforms. Our enemies were the crystal lifeform medium-type subspecies Guardian Crystals.
This battle was approved due to the critical information that ‘he’ provided, and there wasn’t even a speck of hesitation in the Military’s actions. It was quite difficult to persuade the higher-ups to agree to form a crystal lifeform extermination Fleet on the basis of uncertain information, but it was well worth the trouble.
Of course, I was careful not to reveal that the information came from him. Using the combined data from the info we got from him and the data brought back by the 3rd and 4th Recon Fleets, I persuaded the rest of the captains and the commander of the forward base using with the greatest eloquence I could muster.
Frankly, I didn’t really have to reveal that my source only heard the information in passing in the form of rumors and that he’s actually a mercenary. I would be able to prevent them from finding out where I obtained the information by doing so.
“It looks like the first phase of engagement with the crystal lifeforms went quite well.”
The assembled Imperial corvettes immediately engaged the Guardian Crystals in battle just as planned. The mercenary ships soon joined the battle as well, and the mercenaries who possessed medium and large-type ships began unleashing long-range barrages as well. The rest of the Imperial Fleet also got ready to unleash their own barrage.
“Yes. It’s all thanks to your accurate analysis, Captain.”
“That’s right.”
In truth, it wasn’t really thanks to my so-called analysis, but the info that man provided instead. Oh well. I guess there’s no problem as long as we’re both satisfied with the outcome. If this operation succeeds, the credit for it will be entirely given to me after all.
『This is Krishna. We’re going to bypass the front line and hit the enemies from the flank. We will be using anti-ship reactive torpedoes to get their attention, so take care not to get caught up in the blast radius.』
He hailed the entire Fleet via the open channel and provided us with his ship’s estimated time of arrival, position, and the anti-ship reactive torpedo’s predicted blast radius.
“He’s as reckless as always, isn’t he?”
“Like I said, Captain, the Silver Sword Wings Assault medal isn’t just for show.”
That ship, the Krishna, headed at full speed for the crystal lifeform swarm from an angle and tore a gaping hole in their flank. It looks like he didn’t plan to merely cut through the swarm, but wanted to deal some substantial damage to them as well.
And furthermore, his ship’s charging speed was unreal. The fact that he hadn’t reduced the speed of his ship one bit as he flitted around the swarm more than proves how sublime his piloting skills were. Just what kind of training did he undergo, and what sort of hellish battlefields did he manage to survive through in order to obtain such skills?
“It’s a match with the projected data!”
“Let’s go ahead and crush the enemies while he is getting their attention. Commence synchronized bombardment.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am! Commencing synchronized bombardment!”
All Imperial ships will consolidate and share the battlefield data in order to not leave any gaps during the attack, and we will be able to unleash a perfectly coordinated synchronized bombardment. Laser bombardment fired from numerous Imperial ships lit up a portion of the normally dark void of outer space.
I slid past the Guardian Crystal that was turning to chase after us and hit it with a few rounds from the shotgun cannons at close proximity. I then destroyed the small-type crystal lifeforms that rushed over with the four heavy laser cannons. I cut a path through the section of space teeming with enemies.
The Guardian Crystals attacked us with light rays and projectiles haphazardly, but Krishna’s solid energy shields managed to easily shrug off their attacks.
“The shields are still stable.”
“Their light rays and projectiles aren’t as destructive as they look after all. The light projectiles pack enough punch, but they’re painfully slow, so you’ll be able to dodge them as long as you read their trajectories. The only thing that poses some danger is their full-body charge.”
“But there’s still a limit, right? Our shield capacity is steadily decreasing after all.”
“You two sure are composed even in this sort of situation……”
I couldn’t avert my eyes from the main monitor right now so I wasn’t able to confirm it, but from the sound of her voice, Mimi was pretty anxious right now. I get her, of course. If I made a mistake and took a head-on charge from a small-type, or if a Guardian Crystal manages to ram us from a bad angle, we’ll end up bouncing around the crystal lifeform swarm like a runaway pinball.
Once that happens, our shields would get depleted in mere moments, and there would be no other outcome except getting surrounded by countless crystal lifeforms and getting destroyed. Well, I have absolutely no intention of committing such a rookie mistake in the first place though.
“We’ve received a bombardment warning from the Imperial Fleet! Synchronized bombardment, incoming!”
After Mimi’s warning rang out, lots of powerful-looking laser projectiles and beams flooded the spot right behind Krishna. The Guardian Crystals that were exposed to such dense and powerful laser cannon fire emitted intense light right before melting down and exploding. As expected of military combat ships. The firepower of a military cruiser-class ship really was something else. You won’t be able to tank that no matter how many anti-laser countermeasures you had.
“Wow. Their firepower is amazing.”
“There’s a reason why people in the business say that you have to absolutely avoid fighting military battleships and cruisers head-on. You’d probably be alright once you manage to stick to them at close proximity though.”
After that barrage, the aggro was transferred from us to the Imperial Military, and the Guardian’s attacks on Krishna turned more sporadic. I ain’t one to miss such an opening. I immediately fired the two remaining reactive torpedoes at the center of the clumped up Guardian Crystals, reversed heading, and jumped straight into the ‘hole’ that resulted from the Imperial Fleet’s bombardment earlier. We immediately got assaulted by strong Gs inside the cockpit due to the consecutive intense maneuvers I performed, but I was already used to it by now.
“Kuh…… The reactive torpedoes have exploded! The Guardian Crystals are coming after us again!”
“Yosh. Let’s take them for a ride.”
“It’s easier than before.”
The space in front of us ended up mostly devoid of enemies due to the Imperial Fleet’s bombardment. At this rate, it would be pretty easy to pull away and escape from the crystal lifeforms chasing after us from behind. In terms of speed, Krishna was overwhelmingly superior after all. It’s just a simple task of evading the occasional light projectiles coming at us from behind while flooring the accelerator.
“Another synchronized bombardment incoming.”
Once again, the unrivaled synchronized bombardment of the Imperial Military Fleet landed on the space behind Krishna and hit the crystal lifeforms from the flank. Laser bombardment that was calculated precisely to the last detail unleashed an uncannily effective surgical strike that didn’t leave room for even one gap to appear. It tore through the enemies and a huge swathe of crystal lifeforms ended up getting destroyed helplessly. With this, all that remained were the few lucky survivors that managed to somehow avoid getting hit by the bombardment. A fierce dogfight with the Imperial corvettes immediately ensued.
“We’ll join the fray and bag ourselves some more kills.”
“Yes!”
“Roger.”
Before long, we managed to completely annihilate all the crystal lifeforms that lurked in this section of space.
“Nice work, everyone. We’ll perform maintenance and ammo replenishment now.”
“I’ll leave it to you. Also, there are probably going to be other mercenary ships asking for repairs again later, so please take care of those guys too.”
“Understood. We’re going to get busy again.”
When we got off the ramp, I gave the mechanic sisters some instructions and headed for the dining room with Mimi and Elma in tow. We’ll take advantage of the downtime during maintenance to catch a break.
“Man, that was a bit hard.”
“Just ‘a bit’, huh.”
“Yeah, just a bit.”
“I think the only one who’d say that was just ‘a bit’ hard is Hiro though. At least, doing something like that is impossible for me.”
We ordered drinks from Tetsujin V and took a nice break. Ah, there’s nothing like cold juice after a huge battle. My current favorite was the lemon-flavored one. Mimi seemed to like banana flavor, and Elma liked grape. Well, it was 0% real fruit juice though! Wahahaha!
Eh? Why didn’t I drink the carbonated stuff I bought from Sierra III?
I wanna savor that stuff in a more quiet and calm moment. Those aren’t drinks suitable after going through an intense battle. Well, the main reason is that I only had a limited stock of them. They were more important to me than anti-ship reactive torpedoes.
While we were in the middle of our break, my portable data terminal’s ring tone echoed out. It looks like it’s a call from Lieutenant Commander Serena. I operated my terminal and transferred the image feed to the dining room’s holo-display.
“Yes, hello. This is Hiro speaking.”
The image of Lieutenant Commander Serena on the holo-display looked around the room and saw us taking it easy. She then opened her mouth to speak after a short pause.
『First, let me offer my congratulations. You’ve ended up becoming the top ace again.』
“Thank you. Your support bombardment was a real lifesaver too.”
『It’s all thanks to you backing us up well. Due to Krishna attracting the enemies earlier on during the battle, the damage to the advance guard was very minimal. Thank you very much for that.』
“Glad to hear it. So, what’s up?”
『Oh, nothing. I simply wanted to offer words of congratulations to the top ace. We will be hitting their main forces next. As soon as we finish maintenance and resupply the small ships, we’ll be heading out. Be sure to be ready.』
“Aye, aye, ma’am.”
When I saluted at her, Lieutenant Commander Serena made a subtle smile and cut off the call.
“……I wonder what that was about?”
“No idea.”
“Hm…… Maybe she’s planning something?”
It can be said that all of us held a certain sense of wariness concerning Lieutenant Commander Serena due to her previous actions. I tried going over the earlier conversation in my head, but couldn’t pick up on anything that seemed suspicious. It really seems that she only called to offer me congratulations for becoming the ace again.
“Well, let’s just honestly accept her compliments then.”
“Will it really be okay……?”
“Well, I don’t think she’s planning anything judging from that earlier conversation, so I guess it’s alright.”
Man. We really lack a certain level of trust in Lieutenant Commander Serena huh. It’s an effect of her usual behavior anyway, so she can’t blame us for that.
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