Extermination Start

After the day off, we continued with the pirate extermination... is what

I'd wanted to say.

"They aren't biting."

"Yeah, looks like it."

After a week, we started being unable to attract any more pirates. Well, that

just goes to show pirates aren't that stupid after all. We always made sure to

destroy all the ships we lured in the past, but it's not like we can ensure that

they wouldn't be able to send out some form of emergency communication

before being shot down. It's likely that they've already heard about our

hunting method through some sort of channel.

"Now then, what do we do about this? Shall we go ahead with 'that' plan?"

The plan I'm talking about was to change the ship's I.D. and name.

Normally, ship names and I.D.s aren't so easily changed, but Major Serena

was an imperial noble after all. We can just make use of her privileges to

get our way. Afterward, we just had to refurbish the exterior and repaint it

so it can function as pirate bait again.

The achievements of Major Serena had already started being heard of by

the higher-ups, and it actually seems they'd agree to let the decoy ship

become a part of the official military expenses. Depending on how it goes,

we may even get approved to buy another decoy ship.

It seems they were thinking of using the ship as a supply vessel or military

transport ship if ever it outlives its purpose as a decoy ship, so it wouldn't

completely go to waste.

"That would be a valid course of action, but wouldn't this be a good time to

stop our present activities and aim straight for the source?"

Major Serena shook her head at my proposal.

"Yeah. Based on the number of heads we'd shot down so far, I'm sure

they're already running out of manpower as well."

The number of pirates shot down during our continuous pirate hunting

operations has already reached more than 200 ships. If this were a game,

those types of grunt enemies would keep spawning infinitely, but this is

reality. The lost ships won't get replaced by a game script, the pirates

who've lost their lives wouldn't get resurrected either. The number of pirate

ships active in a certain star system is finite.

But if you look at the entire galaxy as a whole, their numbers remain

overwhelming. Even if their numbers get reduced temporarily, if they had a

main base of operations, they would be able to gather numbers again by

recruiting rogue pirates from neighboring star systems. Then they would be

able to resume operations once more.

It's not like you can completely prevent them from gathering again once

you destroy their base, but at least after the loss of a base that allows them

to resupply and get regular repairs, they would be unable to operate as

aggressively as before. Their numbers will definitely get reduced and they

would find it hard to function as an organization again.

"Well then, let us proceed and crush the source."

We've already managed enough valuable intel about their base after

recovering the data caches of the ships we managed to shoot down. Major

Serena chose to directly eradicate the pirate base.

"How should we arrange it? Would we be boxing them in like last time?"

"Destroying them in a siege would be the best bet after all. I'll ask for

cooperation from the Mercenary Guild again."

I really think Major Serena was an excellent military officer for

acknowledging the fact that we won't be able to crush the pirate base on our

own. She didn't overly concern herself with raising her own achievements

but chose a method that would raise the success rate of the operation

instead.

"How about me?"

"I'd prefer it if you participate, of course. You'll be granted the same

conditions as the other mercenaries though."

"Depends on those conditions then."

I shrugged and didn't give a straight answer.

"How levelheaded of you."

Major Serena made a bitter smile. Well, if you're told to do some work

outside of the given contract, it's only natural that you get paid separately

for that work, right? Us mercs don't work for charity after all.

"If, say, we want to destroy a pirate base by ourselves, how much force do

we need to deploy?"

"If you want to completely destroy them, I'd say you'd have to add at least

thirty corvettes to serve as an advance force apart from the ships we have

right now. If you really want to make sure, then make it fifty."

If we just wanted to destroy the pirate base itself, then the ships we had on

hand were more than enough for the job. A pirate base is basically just a

remodeled supply base or outpost, so the firepower of one battleship and

five cruisers would make short work of it. We can just bombard the base

from a distance well away from the range of their defense systems.

But it's a different thing if you want to completely annihilate them. Once

the bombardment starts, I bet the pirates would load as much stolen loot as

they can on their ships and escape. In order to prevent that from happening,

we'll have to send in an advance force first. The independent anti-pirate

mobile fleet led by Major Serena doesn't have nearly enough hands for that.

In order to make sure of the target's annihilation, we'll have to send in the

number of corvettes I proposed at the very least.

Thirty to fifty corvettes would just be enough for the job. The military

corvette is a pretty fast ship with decent firepower and is unmatched by

other ships in its class when it comes to recon ability, responsiveness, and

close-range dog fights.

Even in the upper levels of the military, there were factions that advocate

the use of battleships and cruisers with longer range, heavy armor, and high

firepower, as opposed to ones that promote the increase in deployment of

corvettes and destroyers with high mobility, response times and suppression

capabilities for use in starship-style blitzkrieg tactics.

"It would be quite difficult for this fleet to procure that much corvettes I'm

afraid."

"Thought so. You can just rely on outside help to compensate. Just like last

time. That's why the Mercenary Guild exists after all."

"Yes, you're right."

Major Serena cupped her delicate chin with her fingers and seems to be

thinking about something. I'm sure she's thinking about ways to increase

the number of ships and personnel assigned to the anti-pirate mobile fleet.

That's her job as a military officer. It's not something I can offer advice on.

"We've gathered the necessary data. I will be getting permission for the

operation from HQ.

* * *

On the second day after Major Serena's report to the higher-ups, the

operation was finally given a go. The local imperial garrison won't be

participating in the operation this time. The ships of the independent antipirate mobile fleet finished their regular maintenance yesterday and were

now hiding within the Alein star system while pretending to have moved to

a different system altogether.

This time's operation was a surprise attack. We would swiftly destroy the

pirates before they get news of our approach and have the chance to scatter

and flee. The briefing will be performed via a pre-recorded holo-video, and

the mercenaries of the Alein Tertius colony would immediately head out

after said briefing.

The plan was for each ship to deactivate their FTL drives once the operation

starts and launch a simultaneous blitz attack on the unsuspecting pirates.

"It's almost time, Hiro."

"Righto. Ready, Mimi?"

"Yes, I'm good to go!"

We were waiting for the start of the operation within Krishna's cockpit.

There were a lot of ships in the same trade around us. We will synch with

them and simultaneously deactivate our FTL drives once we reach the

target area. We will switch the generator from standby mode to cruise mode

later on and will head to the target area via high-speed drive.

"We'll finally be entering combat after so long. Your skills haven't rusted,

have they?"

"Probably. How about you?"

"Adjusting the power output and controlling the subsystems is a piece of

cake for me. Who do you think I am?"

Elma flashed me a provocative grin. Looks like she's fine. I also kept up

with practicing my skills using the simulator, so I think I'll be fine. Some of

my piloting instincts may have dulled a bit, but I'm sure I'll get into the

groove again once the battle starts.

"FTL drive, charging start. Activating in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... FTL drive,

activate."

The Krishna launched out almost at the speed of light after a booming

sound akin to an explosion rang out. We're practically in a vacuum out in

space, so just how is that sound produced, I wonder? I did a little

investigating a while back but came up empty.

Well, it's not like there wasn't any relevant info at all. It's just that I

couldn't make sense of it. There was something written about the energy

shields affecting the overall structure and mass of the ship's hull resulting in

some kind of effect. It all sounded like gibberish to me. I tried reading up

on the principles behind the FTL drive and didn't understand a thing as

well.

Oh well. No skin off my back anyway. I could still use a smartphone,

computer, microwave, and T.V. even without understanding how exactly

they worked before anyway. And I can still pilot a ship even without

understanding how it actually functions.

"I wonder how much we'll be able to make this time?"

"Let's see. The fixed pay is 50,000 Enels after the operation, and the

performance rewards are 5,000 Enels for small ships, 20,000 for medium

ones, and 100,000 Enels for large ones."

"So it's just like last time?"

"Well, it's kind of like the standard reward amounts. Add the bounty

rewards and loot to that as well. Any large scale pirate extermination

operation spearheaded by the military is mostly like this. You could

definitely make plenty of profits if your skills are up to par, so a lot of

mercenaries participate in these sorts of operations. Once their nest is

poked, the pirate ships that escape out would be absolutely loaded with loot

after all."

Well, since the base was set to be blown to kingdom come by the military

warships, it made sense that the pirates would attempt to salvage as much

loot as they could while attempting to escape. It would be better to have less

cargo in order to gain more mobility during combat, but the pirates have

next to no chance of winning against military ships anyway. So why not bet

on a small possibility of escaping with all the loot they've managed to

acquire instead? If they ever managed to successfully escape, they would be

able to sell off all the loot in exchange for a great amount of cash and live

easy for some time.

"Now then, let's have a good one... I wonder if Major Serena managed

to do things properly on her end?"

"I'm sure she did. That person is at least excellent as a military officer,

thankfully."

"Ahaha..."

Mimi made a bitter laugh at Elma's statement. Yeah. That unfortunate

incident with her was still fresh in our minds after all.

"We will be arriving at the target point soon. Deactivating FTL drive in 5, 4,

3, 2, 1..."

After another loud boom, the surrounding stars which were streaming

behind us like streaks of light turned stationary again. We're back to normal

space.

Shortly afterward, the independent anti-pirate mobile fleet began their

bombardment. The relentless barrage of large-caliber laser cannons, plasma

cannons, and electromagnetically accelerated kinetic rounds from the main

battleship and cruisers pierced the large asteroid that the pirates appeared to

be using as their base of operations, destroying both its surface and internal

structures.

"They sure are going at it."

"There are few pirate ships that managed to sortie in time. The surprise

attack was a success."

"Are the prey coming out now?"

There's a chance they were destroyed by the shelling before having the

chance to flee as well. That's bad though. This is a good chance to make

money after all.

Krishna's generator output was raised to battle mode. We then began to

advance toward the pirate base. The other mercenary ships were also on the

way.

"Multiple bogeys on the radar. The pirates have begun deploying!"

"That's great news. Looks like we won't be going back empty-handed after

all."

"I'll turn the weapon systems online then."

After Elma's declaration, the front part of Krishna's hull transformed, and

four manipulator arms equipped with large-caliber pulse laser cannons

came out of it. At the same time, two large-caliber cannon barrels popped

out from both sides of the cockpit. They were shotgun cannons sporting

immense firepower.

"Alright! Let's go!"

With an excited shout, I raced through the battlefield with my trusty

Krishna.