Defense System

Hi guys. It's your dashing hero, Captain Hiro here.

After ruthlessly destroying the combat robots that fell on the beach, we

finally managed to make it back to the lodge, but the situation was

worse than what we imagined. The glass panes on the windows were

shattered due to the shockwaves when the combat robots fell, and the

lodge was riddled with scorch and bullet marks from the ensuing

firefight. Some sections were already destroyed.

Well, the lodge was mostly done for, but there were still plenty of large

objects in the area we could use as cover, so we went ahead and did just

that.

Eh? Why weren't heading for Krishna, you ask? Well, y'see… We would

really like to… if we could, that is.

"It looks like it's impossible to get through that huh…"

"We'll probably die."

"It's as good as suicide."

"Yes. It's extremely dangerous."

We were hiding behind a large rock near the lodge, and further in front

of us were several fully transformed combat robots, as well as robots

that served as part of this island's defense systems.

The enemy robots transformed from their spherical shape to ones that

walked on three legs. Their upper bodies also transformed, revealing

four deadly-looking laser turrets. They're sporting quite the firepower.

As for the island's defense robots… they were quite unique-looking.

There was a robot that looked like a crab made of rock, one that looked

like a real gorilla covered in fur, mechanical dogs, as well as laser

emplacements that arose from the ground and laser gun-toting maid

robots... Whoah. The gorilla just ripped an enemy robot apart. As

expected of a gorilla. I shall now dub you Death Gorilla.

"But do you think Chris's uncle can get away with doing something this

blatant…?"

"I wonder. Maybe he's confident in covering his tracks. Maybe he didn't

use Enel to hire the pirates and just used rare metals as payment

instead. He might have also used a middleman to purchase those

combat robots. Maybe that's why he couldn't procure reactive

torpedoes."

After hearing my question, Elma made some conjectures.

"What do you mean, Elma-san?"

"If they fired off a reactive torpedo on a resort planet, I imagine the

empire wouldn't be able to stay quiet. They would surely launch a

thorough investigation, and there's a high chance the perpetrators

would be caught. That's why they just made do with what was barely

allowable."

"Does the empire really place such a large importance on reactive

torpedoes? I actually find their management rather lax though."

I did use some reactive torpedoes when we fought the Vereverem

Federation fleet a while back, and I wasn't really questioned all that

much. I also properly received my rewards.

"That's because there aren't a lot of mercenaries who have them. I bet

you've already been marked, actually."

"Really…? Hm. Oh well."

I bet that doesn't just apply to reactive torpedoes, but to combat

starships that have enough firepower to seriously damage or destroy

space colonies and stations as well. It sure makes you wonder how the

heck our mercenary predecessors managed to get properly recognized

to the point of founding the Mercenary Guild. It kinda makes me

curious.

"Hiro-sama, is the Krishna still safe?"

Mimi asked me with a worried look on her face. Well, of course, she's

worried.

"Yeah. I managed to deploy the energy shields using my terminal

earlier, so it's probably okay. But, now that I think about it, it might have

been better if Elma or I were on standby inside the ship. Then we

wouldn't be in such a pinch."

"No use for regrets. In any case, we didn't really expect the enemies to

break through the defense net and execute a pinpoint attack."

"We are very sorry that we are unable to ensure the safety of our

guests."

May, who was hiding behind a nearby hedge, turned toward us and

bowed her head in apology.

"It's alright. Or rather, we're the ones who are sorry for wrapping you

up in our troubles..."

Oh, man. They won't slap the bill for all the destroyed facilities to us,

won't they? That'd really suck.

"Anyway, shall we provide some covering fire? Don't raise your head too

far, everyone."

I broke cover, got into a firing stance, and held my breath. When I did

so, it seemed as if the surroundings slowed down to a crawl. While I

was in that peculiar state, I matched my timing with the defense robots

and fired consecutive bursts from my laser gun.

Even if the objects in the surroundings seemed to have slowed down

from my perspective, the laser shots still went off at lightspeed. One,

two, three, four, five… After I landed five shots in quick succession, the

enemy combat robot turned its laser turrets my way.

"Khh!"

I quickly aimed at one of the turrets, and before it managed to fire, I

was able to land some shots. The laser shots went straight through the

barrel, and the turret's entire front portion was blown off.

I see? So the insides of the barrels were the weak points. I was unable

to keep holding my breath any longer, so I hurriedly crouched down

and took some deep breaths.

"Haa! Haa, haah..."

"Hiro-sama..."

"I'm okay."

After I recovered, I once again broke cover, and this time, I aimed

directly for the insides of the enemy robot's weapon barrels. If I cut

down their firepower, I'm sure the island's defense robots would have

an easier time finishing them off.

I steadied my aim, shot two consecutive bursts at the insides of the

enemy robot's laser turrets, and managed to successfully destroy them.

When the enemy's firepower was cut down, the defense robots began

counterattacking. The rock crab-looking robot closed in on the enemies

at high speed that didn't match its bulky-looking frame. It used its large

claws to bash and crush the enemy robots. The gorilla robot tackled one

enemy and repeatedly pummeled the downed enemy with its large

fists. The mechanical hound-shaped robots swarmed one enemy bot,

bit it, and then simultaneously exploded. Eh? Self-detonation? So those

guys were kamikaze types!? That's scary, man!

The battle began to tilt in our favor. After a while more, all the enemy

combat robots were successfully destroyed, and the battle finally

ended.

"The hounds are now securing the perimeter. Please wait until we've

finished searching for possible threats."

"Okay."

The surviving hound-type robots scattered around the area. For robot

hounds, they looked rather bare-bones. They were lacking armor and I

could even see some of their insides. But considering that they were

meant as disposable weapons that had self-destruct functions, I guess it

made sense. But that's still hella scary.

A rock crab and the gorilla robot stood near us and served as guards.

This rock crab... So its armor really was made of rocks instead of

metal. How curious. The gorilla robot was hit by enemy fire earlier, so

some of its artificial fur and skin was burnt off, revealing its mechanical

nature. So I guess this guy wandered the tropical forest in the center of

the island normally while posing as a real gorilla huh… Just what for

though? Oh, maybe it's the one tasked with monitoring and maintaining

the forest. So what about this rock crab...? Was it tasked with pruning

the trees or something? This island sure has a lot of mysterious stuff.

After it was confirmed that the surroundings were safe, we finally

managed to board Krishna. The maidroids, robot crab, and robot gorilla

escorted us all the way to the ship. Personally, I really liked the rock

crab robot. Cause it was big and tough-looking. I had to look all the way

up cause it was absurdly tall too. I really wanna ride on top of it if I had

the chance.

"Well, we managed to safely get inside Krishna at least."

"Yes. What a relief."

"I'm really sorry for dragging you all into my problems."

"Don't worry about it. And it's not like we're helping you fully out of

goodwill anyway."

"You really can't be honest about your feelings, huh Elma?"

When I said that, Elma gave me a death glare. It's not like that would

phase me anyway. I already know she's just speaking harshly cause she

wants to preserve her image as an all-business mercenary. Well, the

way she does it feels like a child that always wants to look cool in front

of her friends, so I find it quite cute.

"What will we do now?"

"Yeah, about that... We can't just head straight through this planet's

defense net and start exchanging fire with them without a plan, right?"

"Nope. It would be better to stay holed up inside Krishna until the

commotion dies down. In the worst case, we also have the option of

directly escaping as well."

When Elma said [worst case], I guess she was referring to a situation

where the enemy force manages to break through the defense platform

and attacks Sierra III directly. Or maybe if the meteor bombardment

manages to hit the equatorial base directly; thus bringing danger to

Planet Sierra III itself.

"So what's the current state of the situation anyway?"

I asked May, who boarded the Krishna together with us and received an

unexpected answer.

"Yes. An independent imperial fleet specializing in anti-pirate

operations appeared and is now aiding our defense platform in fighting

the enemies. The threats will probably all be eliminated before long."

"An independent imperial anti-pirate fleet?"

"...It's 'that person', isn't it?"

"Did she come all the way here to chase after Hiro…? She's really quite

persistent huh… Or rather, isn't she completely acting like a stalker?"

"?"

After hearing our exchange, Chris tilted her head in puzzlement.

* * *

"A-Achooo!"

"Did you catch a cold, Major?"

"No, I don't feel particularly sick… I just couldn't help but sneeze. Maybe

somebody's talking bad about me somewhere…?"

"I still suggest you go for a medical check later."

"You're right… I'll do as you say. In any case, to think we'll be greeted

with something like this as soon as we arrive. This is a good

opportunity though, so make sure to be thorough."

"Yes, ma'am!"