Setelah perintah untuk meluncur dikeluarkan, Armada gabungan dibagi menjadi Armada Blokade Sistem Bintang dan Armada Serangan, lalu langsung memulai operasi tak lama kemudian. Setelah tiba di sistem Shinoskia yang berada tepat di sebelah sistem Refill, kami meluncur langsung menuju markas bajak laut antariksa bersama Armada Serangan.
"Menurut kalian, bagaimana jalannya urusan kali ini?"
"Entahlah. Kurasa kita tidak akan menghadapi perlawanan berarti."
"Begitukah? Mereka seharusnya sudah mendapat beberapa informasi mengenai pergerakan kita di sistem Refill, jadi bukankah seharusnya mereka membuat persiapan?"
"Kurasa kita kemungkinan besar hanya akan mendapati markas yang hampir kosong. Bagaimana denganmu, Elma?"
Aku menjawab Mimi yang memiringkan kepalanya dengan bingung dan menoleh ke arah Elma. Ia merenungkan pertanyaan itu sejenak lalu membuka mulut untuk menjawab.
"Kurasa markas itu tidak akan sepenuhnya ditinggalkan, tapi aku setuju kalau kita kemungkinan besar hanya akan menemui sedikit perlawanan.
"Jadi, Elma-san dan Hiro-sama sama-sama berpikir begitu, ya."
"Sebanyak apa pun orang dan kapal yang dimiliki bajak laut Bendera Merah, itu tidak akan cukup untuk menghadapi armada militer yang diperlengkapi dengan baik. Kalau aku jadi mereka dan tahu serangan akan datang, aku akan bergegas mengumpulkan semua persediaan yang kubisa sebelum kabur."
"Begitu ya. Jadi artinya kita akan menjalani hari yang lebih mudah, benar begitu?"
"Itu masih tergantung. Sekali lagi, kalau aku berada di posisi para bajak laut, aku tidak akan kabur sebelum meninggalkan beberapa hal menjijikkan untuk merepotkan musuh terlebih dahulu."
"Merepotkan kita?"
"Contohnya, begitu militer menerobos masuk ke dalam markas, aku akan memicu urutan peledakan diri, atau menebarkan ranjau jarak dekat di tempat-tempat di mana armada musuh kemungkinan besar akan berhenti untuk merapikan formasi mereka. Yah, kurasa kita lebih mungkin menghadapi hal-hal semacam itu di sistem bintang target berikutnya.
"Benar. Sekalipun mereka memutuskan untuk melakukan hal-hal itu, mereka harus menyiapkan tenaga dan materi yang dibutuhkan. Kali ini mereka sepertinya hanya akan menggunakan metode gangguan yang siap pakai."
"Metode gangguan siap pakai?"
"Mimi, ada banyak sekali barang ilegal di dalam markas bajak laut. Beberapa di antaranya berjenis sangat berbahaya.
"Eh, aku punya firasat buruk tentang ini."
"Kristal Bernyanyi itu sangat langka, jadi kurasa mereka tidak punya stoknya, tapi siapa tahu……"
Aku merasa kasihan pada kapal-kapal garda depan yang akan menyerbu masuk. Senjata BC biasa memang tergolong biasa saja, tetapi beberapa di antaranya jauh lebih berbahaya dari itu. Ada banyak senjata jenis itu bahkan di SOL, dan aku yakin ada jauh lebih banyak hal berbahaya di dimensi ini juga.
Kira-kira benda berbahaya seperti apa yang kumaksud? Nah, contohnya seperti makhluk energi yang memarasit mayat manusia dan makhluk hidup berakal lainnya, merombak tubuh mereka dan mengubahnya menjadi monster grotesk. Benda-benda berwarna biru pucat itu dapat meniru kemampuan zombi di film karena mereka berkembang biak dengan membunuh makhluk hidup dan memarasit tubuh mereka. Mungkin mereka dimasukkan ke dalam SOL sebagai bentuk penghormatan kepada game lama tertentu dari genre khusus itu, tetapi karena tingkat kesulitannya yang brengsek, para pemain benar-benar menyerah untuk menghadapi mereka dalam pertempuran jarak dekat dan malah memilih meledakkan kapal penambang kelas besar yang dipenuhi parasit itu yang bertindak sebagai panggung untuk acara khusus tersebut.
Ada lebih banyak contoh seperti laba-laba luar angkasa yang sangat mematikan, alien pembunuh dengan cairan tubuh yang cukup korosif untuk melelehkan zirah dan lambung kapal bintang, dan lain-lain…… Oh, dan zombi biasa juga ada di sana. Tapi seperti yang sudah diduga, para pemain mengatasi hal itu dengan menggunakan senjata laser dan zirah bertenaga dengan kemampuan pertahanan fisik serta biokimia yang tinggi.
"Mereka kemungkinan besar akan menggunakan senjata biologis. Hal terburuk yang bisa mereka gunakan adalah para korban yang dipasangi jebakan."
"Korban?"
"Mereka akan memasang bom, gas beracun, dan bahkan benda yang lebih berbahaya di dalam orang-orang yang telah diubah menjadi 'produk' mereka setelah diculik. Kemudian ketika orang-orang itu diselamatkan, para bajak laut akan memicu jebakan tersebut dan membunuh para korban beserta siapa pun yang berada di dekat mereka."
Setelah berkata demikian, Elma mengangkat bahu.
"Itu sangat keji…… Tapi ya ampun, mereka kan bajak laut."
Segala cara sah bagi orang-orang itu. Mereka tidak akan tertahan oleh hal-hal seperti akal sehat atau etika.
"Para marinir akan mengalami masa-masa sulit, ya?"
"Ya. Itulah kenapa tidak peduli apa pun kata Komandan Serena, aku tidak mau ikut serta dalam operasi pertarungan jarak dekat lagi."
Selain kapal mereka, kau tidak pernah tahu kejutan macam apa yang akan muncul di depan wajahmu begitu berada di dalam markas bajak laut. Bagaimanapun juga, aku sama sekali tidak akan bergabung dengan tim penyerbu. Yah, Sebagian besar waktu, semuanya berakhir dengan hanya beberapa senjata biologis yang dilepaskan.
–Kira-kira dua jam kemudian–
"Kembang api kotor itu muncul lagi……"
"Ini benar-benar seperti yang kita pikirkan tadi."
"Uwaa."
Layar kokpit utama menampilkan rekaman markas bajak laut yang hancur oleh ledakan hebat dan kobaran api.
Ya, itu persis seperti yang kami duga.
Pertempuran antariksa dengan cepat diselesaikan dengan pasukan kita yang melibas musuh. Sebagian besar kapal bajak laut telah kabur, dan hanya meriam anti-kapal antariksa yang dipasang di sekeliling markas yang memberi kami sedikit masalah. Tidak ada kebutuhan bagi kapal berukuran kecil dan menengah untuk ikut serta karena pemboman dari kapal berukuran besar sudah lebih dari cukup untuk melenyapkan seluruh perlawanan.
Masalahnya dimulai saat para marinir menyerbu masuk ke dalam markas. Mereka benar-benar tampak telah memberikan obat atau virus yang mengubah 'produk' mereka menjadi monster yang tidak berakal.
Korps Marinir Luar Angkasa Kekaisaran dengan cepat berpapasan dengan senjata biologis bermutasi yang terbuat dari manusia dan spesies berakal lainnya ketika mereka menerobos masuk ke dalam markas. Setelah sekitar satu jam bertempur, Komandan Serena memilih untuk memerintahkan seluruh pasukan mundur dan menghancurkan markas itu sepenuhnya melalui pemboman artileri jarak jauh. Sepertinya ia mengambil keputusan semacam itu karena tidak ingin menyia-nyiakan pasukan secara percuma dalam pertempuran yang hampir tidak menghasilkan apa-apa.
Yah, karena mereka mampu menyiapkan jebakan semacam itu, aku yakin mereka juga telah menghancurkan peralatan yang menyimpan data penting di sepanjang jalan. Itulah mengapa Komandan Serena menyuruh para marinir mundur. Aku juga berpikir itu adalah keputusan yang tepat.
Alhasil, sesi latihan tembak target stasioner dadakan pun diselenggarakan. Pemandangan asteroid besar yang dirombak menjadi markas bajak laut yang meledak dengan meriah sambil memancarkan kilau menyilaukan di bawah terjangan tembakan meriam laser kaliber besar terasa sangat spektakuler.
"Itu ledakan yang cukup meriah. Apakah mereka berhasil mengenai tangki oksigen atau gudang amunisi?"
"Apakah itu benar-benar aman? Hal-hal menjijikkan di dalamnya akan berhamburan ke mana-mana."
"Apakah ada senjata biologis yang masih bisa menginfeksi sesuatu setelah terpapar tembakan meriam laser dan berhamburan ke luar angkasa?"
"Entahlah. Dan bahkan jika ada, tidak mungkin benda itu bisa menembus lambung kapal karena akan terhalang oleh perisai energi. Bukankah benda itu akan musnah sepenuhnya begitu menghantam perisai energi yang diatur pada keluaran jelajah?"
"Kalau dipikir-pikir, kurasa itu benar."
Jika kau tidak sengaja bersentuhan dengan perisai energi kapal saat diatur pada keluaran keamanan ketika kapal sedang ditambatkan di dalam pelabuhan antariksa atau semacamnya, kau hanya akan mati rasa sedikit jika sedang beruntung dan menderita luka bakar paling parah. Tapi jika kau bersentuhan dengan perisai energi saat kapal sedang melaju di luar angkasa, kau akan menguap. Satu-satunya pengecualian adalah makhluk hidup kristal dan makhluk lain yang mampu bernavigasi di antariksa. Oh, dan Mei mungkin bisa selamat dari kontak dengannya satu kali juga. Tapi pakaian, kulit buatan, dan rambutnya mungkin akan hangus terbakar semua.
"Tapi kali ini benar-benar gagal total, ya."
"Karena hanya ada sedikit kapal bajak laut, kita tidak bisa meraup terlalu banyak hadiah pembunuhan dan buronan."
"Yah, setidaknya kita masih akan menerima gaji harian kita. Itu tidak terlalu buruk. Kita anggap saja ini sebagai mencari penghasilan sambil bersantai tanpa melakukan apa pun, kan?"
"Memang benar, tapi……"
"Apa kamu mengkhawatirkan sesuatu?"
"Aku mengkhawatirkan apa yang sedang menanti kita di sistem bintang berikutnya. Sekalipun lawannya adalah bajak laut, orang-orang itu tidak bodoh. Aku yakin mereka telah menyiapkan sesuatu untuk kita. Lagi pula, mereka tidak mau terus-menerus diremehkan dan dihajar."
"Begitu ya. Itu benar juga."
Pertanyaannya adalah cara seperti apa yang akan digunakan para bajak laut untuk menyambut kita. Tidak aneh jika mereka menggunakan metode yang biasanya tidak diterapkan dalam pertempuran antar pasukan reguler.
"Bagaimana caramu menghadapi kita jika kamu berada di posisi bajak laut, Hiro-sama?"
"Aku akan langsung kabur, tapi jika aku hanya melakukan itu, rekan-rekan bajak lautku mungkin akan mengiraku sekadar pengecut yang lari terkencing-kencing. Sekalipun itu adalah langkah terbaik yang bisa diambil, aku harus mempertimbangkan bagaimana hal itu akan memengaruhi posisiku di organisasi bajak laut besar seperti Bendera Merah. Itulah sebabnya aku setidaknya harus meninggalkan kejutan yang tidak menyenangkan bagi pihak militer……"
Kendati demikian, tidak ada peluang bagi Bendera Merah untuk melawan militer secara langsung. Jadi, cara-cara licik tertentu adalah suatu keharusan.
"Aku akan menggunakan Kristal Bernyanyi dan menghancurkannya di tengah-tengah pasukan musuh seperti yang kita lakukan terhadap armada Vereverem jika aku jadi mereka, tapi bukan berarti benda-benda itu mudah didapatkan."
After the sortie order was issued, the combined Fleet split into the Star System Blockade Fleet and Assault Fleet and immediately commenced the operation afterward. After arriving at the Shinoskia system, which was right next to the Refill system, we headed straight for the space pirate base together with the Assault Fleet.
“How do you think things are gonna go down this time?”
“I wonder. We probably won’t encounter much resistance, I think.”
“Is that so? They should have gotten some info regarding our movements in the Refill system, so shouldn’t they have made some preparations?”
“I think we’ll probably encounter a near-empty shell of a base though. What about you, Elma?”
I answered Mimi who cocked her head to the side in puzzlement and turned to Elma. She mulled over the question for a bit and opened her mouth to answer.
“I don’t think it’ll be completely abandoned, but I do agree that we’ll probably encounter little resistance.”
“So Elma-san and Hiro-sama both think it would be like that huh.”
“No matter how many people and ships the Red Flag pirates have at their disposal, they won’t be enough to deal with a well-equipped military fleet. If I were them and knew an attack was coming, I’d hurry up and gather all the supplies I can before making my escape.”
“I see. So that means we’ll be in for an easier time today, right?”
“That would still depend. Again, if I were in place of the pirates, I wouldn’t escape before leaving some nasty stuff to harass the enemies first.”
“Harassing us?”
“For example, once the military rushes inside the base, I’d set it so a self-destruct sequence would get triggered, or scatter some proximity mines in spots where the enemy fleet would likely stop to organize its formation. Well, I think it’s more likely for us to encounter stuff like those in the subsequent target star systems though.”
“Right. Even if they decide to do those, they’ll have to prepare the manpower and materials needed. They’re probably gonna use some ready-to-use harassment methods this time around.”
“Ready-to-use harassment methods?”
“Mimi, there’s a ton of illegal stuff inside a pirate base. Some of them are of the extremely dangerous kind.”
“Uh, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Singing Crystals are pretty damn rare so I don’t think they’ll have some in stock, but you never know……”
I pity the vanguard ships that are gonna rush right in. Normal BC weapons are cute, but some among them are more than dangerous enough. There are a lot of those types of weapons even in SOL, and I’m sure there are far more dangerous things in this dimension too.
What kind of dangerous stuff exactly, you ask? Well, things like energy creatures that parasitize the corpses of humans and other lifeforms with intelligence, remodel their bodies and turn them into grotesque monstrosities for one. Those pale blue things can replicate the feats of movie zombies since they multiply by killing lifeforms and parasitizing their bodies. Perhaps they were implemented in SOL as a homage to a certain older game of that particular genre, but due to the shitty difficulty, the players completely gave up on taking them on in melee combat and instead chose to blow up the infested large-class mining ship that served as the stage for that particular event.
There are more examples like highly lethal space spiders, murderous aliens with body fluids corrosive enough to melt starship armor and hulls, etcetera…… Oh, and regular zombies were present too. But as one would expect, the players dealt with those by using laser weapons and power armor with high physical and biochemical defense capabilities.
“They’ll most likely use biological weapons. The worst thing they can use are victims who are loaded with booby traps.”
“Victims?”
“They’ll set up bombs, poisonous gas, and even more dangerous stuff inside people who have been turned into their ‘products’ after getting abducted. Then when those guys get rescued, the pirates will trigger the traps and kill the victims along with whoever was near them.”
After saying so, Elma shrugged.
“That’s nasty…… But they’re pirates after all.”
Anything goes for those guys. They aren’t gonna get held back by things like reason or ethics.
“The marines are going to have a hard time, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. That’s why no matter what Commander Serena says, I ain’t participating in a melee operation again.”
Aside from their ships, you never know what sort of surprises would pop up in your face once you’re inside the pirate base. No matter what, I’m not gonna join the raiding team. Well, most of the time, things end with only some biological weapons being unleashed though.
–Approximately two hours later–
“There goes some dirty fireworks again……”
“It’s really like what we thought earlier.”
“Uwaa.”
The main cockpit screen displayed footage of the pirate base being destroyed by intense explosions and flames.
Yep, it was exactly like we expected.
The space battle was swiftly wrapped up with our forces overwhelming the enemy. Most of the pirate ships have already escaped, and only the anti-spacecraft cannons installed around the base gave us a bit of trouble. There was no need for small and medium-class ships to participate since the bombardment from the large-class ships was enough to get rid of all resistance.
The problems began when the Marines rushed inside the base. They really seemed to have administered a drug or virus that turned their ‘products’ into irrational monsters.
The Imperial Space Marine Corps quickly encountered mutated biological weapons made out of humans and other sentient species when they rushed inside the base. After about an hour of fighting, Commander Serena chose to make all troops withdraw and completely destroyed the base through long-range artillery bombardment. It looks like she came to such a decision since she didn’t want to meaninglessly expend troops in a battle with little to nothing to gain.
Well, since they could afford to set up such traps, I’m sure they would have thoroughly destroyed the equipment which stores critical data along the way as well. And that’s why Commander Serena had the Marines pull back. I also think it was the right call.
As a result, the current impromptu stationary target practice session was conducted. The sight of a large asteroid remodeled into a pirate base exploding flashily while emitting dazzling brilliance under the intense barrage of large-caliber laser cannon fire was quite spectacular.
“That’s one flashy explosion. Did they manage to hit the oxygen tanks or ammo depot?”
“Is that actually alright? The nasty stuff inside would get scattered all over the place.”
“Is there any biological weapon that can still infect stuff after getting exposed to laser cannon fire and scattered into outer space?”
“Dunno? And even if there is, it would be impossible for that stuff to breach the hulls of ships since it would get blocked out by energy shields. Won’t it get completely wiped out once it hits an energy shield set to cruise output?”
“Now that you mention it, I guess that’s true.”
If you accidentally get in contact with a ship’s energy shield while it’s set to security output when the ship is moored inside a starport or something, you can only get numbed a bit if you’re lucky and suffer burn injuries at worst. But if you get in contact with the energy shield while it’s cruising in outer space, you’d be vaporized. The only exceptions are crystal lifeforms and other creatures that are capable of space navigation. Oh, and Mei can possibly survive getting in contact with it once too. But her clothes, artificial skin, and hair would probably all get burned away.
“But this time’s a bust huh.”
“Since there were only a few pirate ships, we couldn’t earn that much kill rewards and bounties.”
“Well, at least we’ll still get our daily salary. It’s not that bad. We just have to think of it as earning while doing nothing, right?”
“That’s true, but……”
“Are you worried about something?”
“I’m worried about what’s waiting for us in the next star system. Even if the opponents are pirates, those guys aren’t stupid. I’m sure they’ll have something in store for us. They wouldn’t want to just keep getting underestimated and beaten up after all.”
“I see. That’s true.”
The question is what sort of stuff the pirates are gonna use to welcome us. It wouldn’t be strange if they used a method that’s usually not implemented in a battle between regular troops.
“How would you deal with us if you were in the pirate’s shoes, Hiro-sama?”
“I’d immediately escape, but if I only did that, my pirate associates might think I was just a coward who ran with his tail between his legs. Even if that was the best move possible, I’d have to take into account how it would affect my position in a large pirate organization like the Red Flags. And that’s why I have to at least leave a nasty surprise for the military……”
Even so, there’s no chance that the Red Flags can take the military in a head-on clash. So some underhanded means were a must.
“I’d use a Singing Crystal and destroy it in the middle of the enemy forces like what we did against the Vereverem fleet if I were them, but it’s not like those things are easily available.”
“That’s an option, but unless you can destroy it in the middle of an enemy fleet, that thing is practically meaningless. Using something like that is too difficult unless the pirates have a pilot capable of flying straight inside an enemy formation just like you, Hiro.”
“That’s true. How about the mine trap Hiro-sama mentioned earlier?”
“They might use proximity mines equipped with reaction charges to deal damage to the fleet. They might also use seeker missiles equipped with reaction warheads for an all-out saturation attack.”
Reaction warhead tech was already quite mature after all. The manufacturing methods have long since spread everywhere, and as long as you had the proper tech standards, know-how, materials, and tools, it was pretty easy to produce them en masse.
But it seems that as a countermeasure, most of the essential materials used for their production weren’t that easy to obtain due to several sanctions limiting their distribution in the market. But pirates can probably obtain them easier through illegal means anyway. If one really had the mind to do it, it’s very possible to mass-produce reaction warheads akin to the most manufactured assault rifle that’s used in almost all conflict zones on Earth.
Even if that’s the case, space pirates still don’t favor using reaction warheads. That’s because, with their power, they’d blow away the pirate’s prey entirely along with all the loot. It’s also the reason why I don’t usually use reactive torpedoes when taking on pirates.
However, there’s a good chance the pirates would not hesitate to use them once they get cornered by a powerful enemy – like the Imperial Military for example. When it comes to that there’s a real risk of getting showered with missiles sporting powerful reaction warheads. There’s nothing scarier than that.
“Well, I don’t think the Imperial Military will allow the wanton mass production or procurement of reaction warheads under their watch anyway. I don’t think we’ll face an attack of that magnitude.”
Of course, if such a wanton attack was truly employed, the Imperial Military will likely use all means to completely annihilate the Red Flag pirates. And they wouldn’t be just facing a hastily cobbled up combined fleet just like the one employed by Commander Serena here at that point. They’d be going against the full might of the Imperial Military. Once that happens, there’s no way for the Red Flag pirates to escape annihilation. It’s possible that they’d hang the leader’s heads on display as an example to the other space pirate organizations. Of course, that’s only figuratively speaking. On second thought, they might really do something like that. It’s the Graccan Empire after all.
“Anyway, even if we had it easy this time, we’ll have to be on our guard in the next system. Let’s just hope they don’t go up against Commander Serena with a method that would make the Empire get serious. I’m sure she’s also taken that into account and is trying not to provoke the enemy to such an extent.”
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