158
Ep. 158
He succeeded in infiltrating the ship and preparing a safe place.
So what should we do now?
'We have to destroy the faster-than-light engine.'
This ship is a warship belonging to the Star Union fleet. Once the battle is over, we will return to our original space base to receive repairs. If that happens, it will be the end for all of us here.
'But if there is a problem with the faster-than-light engine, movement becomes impossible.'
The faster-than-light engine, the culmination of super-scientific technology, is a very sensitive engine befitting its outstanding performance. A broken FTL engine is as dangerous as an overloaded nuclear reactor. This is because a ship traveling at faster than light speeds is dropped in a completely unexpected place.
'If you're unlucky, you might fall inside a star.'
In the game, if you fail to travel faster than light speed and fall into a star, you will die instantly. All ships with the highest level of equipment and characteristics are useless. I, too, once fought a Vortex One and was forcibly warped into the interior of a star and died.
'Even in reality, it would be similar.'
Falling into a star due to a malfunction during transit is an extreme case, but not impossible. Unless the war was defeated, there would be no way to move recklessly.
I held the auxiliary organ against the wall inside the garbage disposal site. An intense flow of energy can be felt from the side of the ship, along with intermittent vibrations.
Because the forward rockets and the front part of the ship were greatly damaged, it was difficult for this ship to participate in battle. They will probably fall to the rear of the fleet and move while avoiding the cults' attacks.
'I don't know when the battle will end…'
It probably won't be long.
'The cyborg flagship I saw earlier.'
The ship that looks three times larger than other ships is a model I know.
'Z2 class large battle cruiser. It looks like it's had some modifications, but it's probably correct.'
Star Union battle cruisers are commonly equipped with anti-ship torpedoes.
'Gremlin torpedoes.'
This weapon, which has outstanding performance among Star Union's inventions, is a type of nanomachine torpedo that, as its name suggests, only gnaws away metal. Among these, the Gremlin torpedoes carried on the flagship have been specially modified so that the type of metal to be preyed upon can be specified.
For example, a Gremlin torpedo that targets Moonsilver will not stop until all Moonsilver near the point of impact is destroyed.
And there is only one force that built a ship using Moon Silver.
'There is no problem at all if you shoot during a melee.'
The only downside is that it is very expensive and it is vulnerable to EMP.
'But cults can't use EMP.'
It would be difficult to defend against Gremlin torpedoes with a normal shield alone, as there might be a Cult Prophet who is a level 26 skilled psychic power user.
'They will seize the opportunity and shoot at the imperial carrier.'
Shooting the Gremlin torpedo ends the battle. Until then, engine issues need to be dealt with.
The goal has been set. Now is the time to move.
[Zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (I'll go out and come back)]
｢Where are you going? I want to go with you too."
"Me" "Together"
"You both wait. Moffak…keuhmm, big baby has business to do."
"Business?"
[Zuzzuzuzuzu zzuzu (I'm going to take a quick look around. I'm playing in the meantime)]
"Yes. Come back!」
「I」 「Greetings」
「….」
It was quite enjoyable to watch Heaven's Mother embarrassed by the fact that she had said certain words, but there was no time. I told the kids to rest and crawled out of the garbage disposal.
If it were any other time, I would move with them, but not like this.
'Because I have to move secretly.'
It is only after safety is assured that everyone can run wild together.
After leaving the treatment plant, I was hanging upside down from the ceiling and crawling. There were numerous cameras in the hallway, but they did not notice my presence.
This is thanks to the 'fur and skin of unknown organisms' characteristics of the hairs that are tilted downward by the wind while hanging upside down.
'If you were a cyborg, you would have been surprised to see me, right?'
I said it was a stealth effect that avoids detection equipment or characteristic skills, so regular cyborgs will be able to see me just fine. I don't know much about Android or drones, though.
'Let's experiment with that later.'
It would be better not to meet him right now. I, who was moving close to the ceiling with a total of eight arms and legs, chose a place where I could not feel the movement of the androids or drones.
The good news was that most of the drones and androids were used to repair the ship, so there weren't many robots walking around the hallways.
As the distance to the engine room got closer and closer, I felt the movement of something large in the distance.
'Are you a walker?'
But I immediately changed my mind. The closer it got, the more certain I became that it wasn't a walker.
To avoid running into him, I walked away from the intersection and covered myself with the wall of the hallway.
Soon, a machine resembling a spider appeared from beyond the hallway. It was a robot with a human head and torso, but with six robotic legs where the arms and legs should have been.
'It's a screamer, right?'
"Kuu" "Kuuu"
The ugly appearance of the screamer took a rough breath with a tube in his mouth. The tubes attached to the guy's mouth and back gurgled and cold sweat flowed from his body non-stop every time the chemical solution was injected.
It looked around the hallway with bloodshot eyes and then walked away, flapping its six metal legs.
'For some reason it smells like sweat.'
I thought it was the less modified cyborg soldiers sweating nervously, but I never thought they were screamers.
Screamer is something that clearly reflects the tastes of the space survival developers. To briefly summarize the setting of that strange mechanical creature, it is like a punishment unit operated by communist countries in the past.
Star Union does not send bad criminals or dissidents among cyborgs to prison, but turns them into screamers. For fear of being called a machine, even those who are useless to society are not wasted and are used as combat weapons.
When you become a Screamer, you lose all control over your body and become a puppet with only your mind remaining. What is the nickname? Biodrone?
They say they will restore them to normal cyborgs when their sentences are over, but most of them die rolling on the battlefield before that.
'There is a Screamer in the elite fleet. that's interesting.'
At the time of the Mechanical Committee, they are all criminals, so they don't form a good fleet like this. As far as I know, I heard that there is a unit made up entirely of Screamers among the Star Union's elite forces, but this ship is not part of that unit.
'Screamers are annoying enemies, so be careful.'
It is a fearless being similar to an android, and its combat power is incomparable to that of a combat android.
When it sees an enemy, it bites and grabs its ankle like a mad dog. At a time like now where you have to sneak in and hunt down enemies one by one, they are bound to be annoying enemies.
After that, I confirmed that there were two more besides him. Because screamers moved around periodically, I had to take a long detour down the road to the engine room.
It took longer than expected because of them, but that didn't mean the time was wasted.
'Let's assume that you have learned the ship structure in advance.'
We confirmed the information needed to attack this ship, such as the security level of the communication facility and the location of the auxiliary terminal that can check the output of the thruster.
After taking detours and gathering information, we were finally able to reach the upper level of the engine room.
The reason why it is upstairs and not in the engine room is simple.
'It's dangerous to go straight to the engine room.'
Because it is a warship, the level of security in the engine room is incomparably higher than that of the research ships that traveled around in the old hatchling days.
The most important facility on the ship, it is guarded by 10 heavily armed androids and 20 combat drones. They keep strict surveillance 24 hours a day to keep unauthorized intruders out of their hives.
In addition, all kinds of sensors are installed in the hallway leading to the engine room.
It is true that the fur of unknown organisms cannot be captured by cameras, but it is probably not omnipotent. It might be caught on something like a motion sensor that detects vibration.
So I don't plan on attacking the engine room directly.
'You just have to destroy other things needed to run the engine.'
For example, a cooling system in the engine room, a circuit that receives energy from atoms, etc.
I adjusted the direction of the cameras installed above the hallway and jumped to the floor. After landing lightly, he knelt down and touched the auxiliary organ under his chin to the metal plate on the floor.
Intense heat and shallow but stronger vibrations than other places can be sensed on the dark gray interior wall.
'Is this about it?'
The camera has just been turned around, so this area is not filmed. I dug out the metal plate in the floor with my sharp fingernail. I scratched carefully, fearing that someone might come because of the noise.
Soon, I saw a hole in the plate and wires and tubes tangled inside it. I opened my mouth wide over the hole.
'It will be difficult to recover what has melted, right?'
The acid-fungal gland located between the inside of my throat and esophagus became active. Soon, chunks of highly acidic fungus poured out of my mouth.
–
｢Imperial carrier damage 78%. "Incapable of action."
"Whew."
Keynes Q sighed as he watched the video information coming in through the cable connected to the ship.
In the center of the video he was watching was what was an 'imperial mother ship.'
The imperial carrier 'The Punisher of Gormos 03', an absolute weapon boasted by cults, is sinking after being hit by a Gremlin torpedo.
"It was intense. really."
As the battle dragged on, at some point the imperial carrier began to struggle. This may be because they knew that they would finish it off with Gremlin torpedoes from this side. Other cult warships also tried to avoid reaching the Imperial carrier within the torpedo's striking range.
'It was more troublesome than I thought.'
The flagship also had a hard time firing the Gremlin torpedoes as the cult warships sacrificed themselves to block it.
"The cult warship is retreating."
"Tsk, run away already. "You idiots."
When the cults became more troublesome than expected, Sanadaev, acting commander of the Nemean Fleet, chose an extremely Star Union-like strategy.
They landed a torpedo on a friendly ship, coated it with nanomachines, and then charged it toward the imperial carrier.
As a result, about 10 ships were sacrificed, but thanks to this, the imperial carrier was hit by the nanomachines of the Gremlin torpedoes.
The result is the video Keynes Q is currently watching.
｢No tracking required. The entire fleet will return to the ESS-22 star system."
The short battle ended like that. Keynes Q does not know how big of an impact the outcome of this battle will have in the future.
'It has nothing to do with me anyway.'
All decisions are made by the higher-ups of the Mechanical Committee. I wonder if Sanadaev, acting commander of the fleet, will be bothered by this battle.
"Order the repair drone to return and prepare the superluminal engine."
"Confirmation."
Ship number 98's computer transmitted Keynes Q's command. In the meantime, he checked information on the 'special machines' onboard the ship.
'Chet, why are you experimenting with the new Screamer on my ship?'
Originally, all of Star Union's screamers were managed by the android Pyrrha Eleven, a member of the Machinery Committee.
Normally, they would have been in charge of the screamer experiment, but in this case, the situation was different. The suggestion above was to test whether Screamer could get along well with regular soldiers on a ship.
Currently, experiments are being conducted to see if there will be any problems if a small number of completed prototypes are placed on regular ships, and Keynes Q's ship was one of the ships that carried the Screamer.
'I wonder why they put criminals on a boat.'
No captain would be happy to have criminals roaming around his ship, no matter how completely controlled it is. Moreover, I would hate it even more if I had to regularly observe and report on how well the criminals are adapting.
However, Keynes Q could not complain.
Pyrrha Eleven's rank is Supreme Council Member. He is the commander-in-chief of the Nemea Fleet to which he belongs and has the same rank as Nemea Five, the highest member of the Mechanical Council. There was no way he could say anything to an android whose status was infinitely higher than Acting Fleet Commander Sanadaev.
"Ugh, if I'm going to criticize, I'm going to criticize. Is number 98 still far away? "Why aren't you leaving?"
｢A problem occurred with the faster-than-light engine.｣
"What? "What's the problem?"
｢Cooling function not operating. Energy supply rate from nuclear reactor reduced to 40%. In this state, there is a 63% chance of an error occurring when jumping to faster than light speed."
"What? "What kind of bullshit is that?"
Why is the normal speed of light engine suddenly going crazy? Keynes Q was dumbfounded.
At that time, a communication came from the flagship.
"What's going on with ship number 98? "Why isn't it returning?"
"There's a problem with the faster-than-light engine. "If we take a leap like this, there is a 63% chance of an error occurring, so it is dangerous."
｢JP-99 You never know when the enemies will return to the star system. Move to a nearby star system, repair it urgently, and return when the probability of an error is reduced to 10%. "
I understand!"
After ending the communication, Keynes Q called number 98 again.
"Where is the closest star system from here?"
"This is the AD-100 star system. "With the current state of the thrusters, it will arrive in three days."
"Okay. First, let's go there and
start repairing…" As Keynes Q was about to give an order, the video in front of him suddenly cut off. Not only that, but the lights in the situation room where he was sitting turned off all at once.
"what? Number 98? "How did this happen?"
The ship remains silent despite his cries.
After a while, everyone returned to the ship's situation room. Number 98 again sent a message through the cable connected to him.
｢Crackling EMP of unknown cause occurs. Currently recovering."
"What? Suddenly EMP? "What is the cause?"
"Unknown. Searching"
"Connect with Starlink to investigate the cause."
"impossible. Current communication function disabled. "
Holy shit! "How did this happen!"
Communication function disabled. Those words meant only one thing.
Distress.
The place where they are is the enemy's territory where they were fighting a little while ago. In such a dangerous place, even the super-light engine was damaged and left behind.
That wasn't all.
｢Confirmed where the EMP occurred. Presumed to be inside the ship.｣
"…Inside?"
After hearing report number 98, Keynes Q felt the back of his neck freeze.
Just being left behind is a problem, but there is something unidentifiable next to them.
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