Chapter 14: Riding the Waves of Battle

I’d rather take the controls myself than leave them to that useless helmsman.

Of course, there isn’t an actual steering wheel.

It’s a system where you sit in a chair and synchronize with the ship.

“Chris will take the helm.”

“Re… Really?!”

Chris jumped up in surprise, fluttering into the air.

“You can do it, right?”

“I’ve… watched from the side… and I’ve fully mastered the manual….”

Her eyes darted around nervously.

“That’s enough.”

“Th… Thank you!”

The original helmsman vacated the seat.

Chris flew over and touched the area near the pilot’s seat.

The helm began to transform.

Clack! Click! Clang!

A chair appeared on top of the chair.

Then another chair appeared on top of that.

It continued upward like a pyramid.

Pop!

At the very top, a palm-sized chair appeared.

Chris fluttered down and sat on it gracefully.

“Whoaaa~!”

Her eyes sparkled like a supernova.

She looked like a child who had received the gift they wanted most.

Well, she did say being a ship’s helmsman was her dream.

“Our ship will capture the enemy leader.”

The crew looked at me with expressions full of anxiety.

It was understandable.

They had followed me to three victories, but this was their first proper fleet battle.

Furthermore, there were over a hundred ships on the battlefield.

No matter if most were cargo ships, the intimidation coming from that scale was different.

“The rest of the ships will stand by. Take positions and attack the enemy as we have done before.”

With us, the flagship, pulling out, the formation changed slightly.

The efficiency would likely drop as well.

Despite being a medium mobile ship, our ship’s main cannon was the most powerful.

“Establish a communication link with the Sojin family.”

Beep!

At the sudden communication, Sojin answered with an anxious expression.

[Surely… are you retreating? I beg of you. Could you not hold your position and fight just a little longer?]

So that was it.

Since the battle was still in its early stages, the alien fleet was running rampant.

Even though we had joined, they still held the upper hand.

It might have looked like we were trying to withdraw before it was too late.

“It’s not that. We’re going inside to catch the enemy commander.”

[What?! Inside is hell. We are an escort ship, so we are somehow enduring the enemy’s fierce onslaught, but…]

“I’m only taking the flagship. Since it’s a medium mobile ship, it’s not that dangerous.”

This was the reason for my confidence.

Among mobile ships, it was surprisingly common for battles to end in a draw.

Since everyone was fast, it was difficult to even trade blows.

[Ah! I think I understand what you mean. But if by some chance, Squadron Leader Pak Yu, something goes wrong…]

In this situation, she was worried about me.

More than that, the name Pak Yu had a strange nuance.

My real name is Park Yu, but… since it wasn’t the most important issue right now, let’s put that thought aside for a moment.

“That’s why I need help. Please herd the enemy flagship so our ship can pursue them.”

[Do you know which ship is the enemy flagship?]

“I have information obtained from the enemies who surrendered. Of course, if it’s wrong information, I’ll pull back out of the barricade at any time.”

[In that case, leave it to us. I am confident in moving ships.]

To harvest honey in a nebula, moving ships in perfect order must be a basic skill.

That’s probably why they thought of creating a barricade with cargo ships.

Beep!

After finishing the communication, I reached out my hand.

“Advance!”

“Yes….”

Chris replied cautiously, eyeing my reaction.

Thrum—!

The ship I was on slowly moved forward.

The vessel began to pitch.

Jolt! Rattle!

The personnel in the situation room looked uneasy.

“Is she really a proper helmsman?”

“You saw her flying a fighter jet before.”

“Then why is it pitching like this?”

“Is there a problem with the ship?”

“I don’t think so. Isn’t it just because a ship is different from a fighter jet?”

“Maybe we should just switch the helmsman back….”

“Ugh….”

We hadn’t even picked up speed yet.

And yet, we were being affected by the waves?

It was serious enough that we should have put a ‘student driver’ sign on the tail.

However.

“Wait? Why is it getting smoother?”

As we picked up speed, the ship actually began to find its stability.

At the same time, I saw the corners of Chris’s mouth curling up in the reflection near the helm.

“Employer! Can I increase the speed more?”

Confidence had entered her tone.

“Advance at full speed.”

“Ro~ger!”

The emotions of the synchronized ship surged.

It felt as excited as if it had just received a confession from someone it liked.

Naturally, this emotion was not mine.

“Hehe~!”

It felt as if the surroundings were being dyed pink.

“Our ship is entering the barricade!”

“Waves are very unstable due to interference from the cargo ships.”

“Gravity stabilizers approaching their limit.”

I checked my seatbelt one more time.

“Enemy ship spotted on the flank. They’re aiming at us!”

“We’ve been scanned! Brace for impact.”

Zzzzt! Zing!!

“Defending with shields!”

Fortunately, there was no damage.

Since we had just joined the fray, our shields were still at full strength.

“Should I turn back?”

I shook my head at Chris’s question.

“No. Ignore them. Small fry like that aren’t our target.”

“Enemy ship is getting behind us! It’s dangerous!”

The scout shouted urgently.

The rear shield was unstable, so it could be breached in one or two shots.

I asked Chris.

“Can you lose them?”

“Ah….”

She replied while veering the ship.

It felt as if my body was floating into the air.

The belt tightened so much it was painful.

“…Maybe? It’s possible.”

And by the time her answer ended, the enemy ship had already disappeared.

She had easily outmaneuvered them in that short time.

“Blegh!!!”

One of the staff in the situation room dry-heaved.

It was a clean turn, but it must have felt so alien that it triggered that reaction.

My own stomach felt a bit uneasy as well.

“Captain. We’ve spotted the enemy flagship.”

Sojin was working hard to block the paths with cargo ships, attacking and herding them with the escort ships.

Besides that, they were depleting the shields with concentrated fire.

Thanks to that, the enemy flagship’s shields looked like they were in tatters.

“Pursue immediately! Once we take that one down, the battle is over.”

“Ro~ger!”

At the same time as Chris’s reply, my body was pushed far back into the seat.

I felt dizzy for a moment.

“Cra… Crazy.”

I reflexively gripped the armrests tight.

It was more intense than any G-force I had ever felt in my life.

Creak!

Grrr!

Ugh!

Hah-pah-hah-pah!!!

It seemed I wasn’t the only one struggling.

Everyone was straining just to breathe properly.

The ship slid forward rapidly as if riding a wave.

It’s a technique called surfing.

It’s a method of gaining rapid speed momentarily by following the flow of the waves.

You have to be at least B-rank to use it.

Her skill was much better than I thought.

Chris was the best fairy helmsman I had ever seen.

But then.

“Oops!”

She suddenly let out an exclamation.

It seemed she had made a mistake.

Boom!

A massive impact hit the ship.

This is why you shouldn’t give praise carelessly, even in your imagination.

“Going again~! Passengers, please fasten your belts tightlyyyyy.”

My body surged, and it felt as if I were being stretched out like spaghetti.

This time, it felt like we had caught an even larger rapid than before.

“We. Caught. Up. To. The. Enemy. Flagship.”

The first officer reported through gritted teeth.

There was no real need to report verbally like this.

Since my mind was synchronized with the ship, the information reached me even without words.

Still, the manual dictated that we reinforce it once more through speech.

Because one could miss something through thought alone.

“Phew—!”

We broke out of the waves.

Only then did the G-force fade.

The tempting rear of the enemy flagship appeared before my eyes.

“Open battery!”

“Ready to fire. Two lasers and one beam can be fired immediately.”

“Attack!”

At the command, a flash erupted before my eyes.

“Enemy ship, evasive maneuvers! It was a grazing hit.”

I scowled.

The opponent’s helmsman’s skill was no joke.

“It seems they’ve stayed in this sea for a long time and adapted to it.”

Unlike the previous battle, this was their home ground. And.

“Since it’s a light mobile ship, it’s hard to catch up.”

Their mobility was also superior.

However, we continued to stay on their tail.

“Fire!!”

“It missed.”

“Damn it! Hit them this time.”

“I’m sorry. I failed!”

The chase lasted a long time, but narrowing the distance further was difficult.

Even when we caught up for a moment, the distance would invariably widen whenever they hit a familiar wave or a straight section.

Then, the moment they stepped slightly outside the barricade.

Bang! Pop!

The enemy flagship was suddenly showered with attacks.

“It’s our fleet!”

I could see my fleet in the distance.

However, unfortunately.

“The enemy flagship is intact.”

“Changing direction.”

“They are fleeing back inside the barricade!”

I frowned.

We had dragged this out for too long.

Because we had moved the formation to catch that one guy, our allies’ damage was continuing to accumulate.

At this rate, we might actually be the ones to lose.

“Switch ships. Call the Light Mobile Ship.”

At my command, a light mobile ship approached us.

“We’re switching! All personnel, move at a double-time.”

I stood up from my seat as well.

However, Chris was sitting blankly in her seat without moving an inch.

Thinking something might be wrong with her, I hurried over.

“What are you doing?!”

I grabbed the back of her neck and lifted her up.

Only then did she seem to snap out of it, flailing her limbs.

“Eek! Employer?”

“Can you pilot that ship over there too?”

“The Light Mobile Ship is my favorite type of ship!”

Her eyes were sparkling again.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with her body.

“Let’s go! Round two.”

“Yes!”

After we transferred ships, we pursued the enemy flagship again.

Sojin herded them once more so it would be easier for us to chase.

Other enemy ships tried to latch onto us in between, but we shook them off with ease. However.

Hah!

Huff!

Uuuuugh!

Blegh!

It was fast. It was way too fast.

The sound of beats that couldn’t be controlled.

“Tokki-tokki-tokki-shukki-rub-rub!!!”

Chris let out some strange rap.

She leaped over double and triple surging waves like a madwoman.

I was worried the ship might shatter at this rate.

‘Ah! This girl had a prior record, didn’t she?’

In an instant, my body tensed up.

I felt the hull twisting.

Hah-pah! Hah-pah!

Heaaaaah.

Phew….

Huff, puff.

The crew and I exhaled.

Fortunately, the ship was safe.

Then, the situational officer reported in shock.

“The… enemy flagship. In effective range!”

When I regained my senses, they were right in front of us.

Unlike us, those guys had slowed down.

I’d be an idiot to miss this chance.

“Fire all batteries!!”

Zing! Zing! Zing!

Lasers that looked weak were fired all at once.

The power wasn’t that strong, but.

“Shields are being stripped away!”

“Now! Beam attack!”

A beam is not a single shot, but a weapon that continuously fires photons.

Instead of damaging shields, it was lethal if it hit the hull.

That’s why it’s used as a finishing move.

Drrrrrrrrr!

The enemy ship’s hull was hideously torn away.

Kaboom!

Flames erupted, perhaps because the beam had grazed the engine properly.

The enemy ship gradually lost speed.

Eventually, it drifted below our line of sight while triggering explosions.

Kaaa-boom!

Then, it sank after a massive explosion.

Whoaaaa!!!

The crew screamed with joy.

“Communication from Sojin’s ship!”

“Connect it.”

Beep!

[That was incredible piloting. As expected of a helmsman raised by the prestigious Pak family.]

Who raised who?

She’s a gem I discovered myself.

My shoulders squared with pride for no reason.

“It’s because you herded them so well, Sojin. Advise the enemies to surrender.”

[Understood!]

Simultaneously with the advice to surrender, the enemy ships raised white flags.

“Captain. An invitation has arrived from Sojin’s ship.”

“Tell them I’ll be there. And helmsman. Switch back again.”

We couldn’t exactly go there rattling and jolting after such a cool victory, could we?

“Phew….”

Chris slumped down onto the floor, fluttering down from the pilot’s seat.

Her face was flushed red, and she had an expression like she had poured out everything she had.

“You were magnificent, Chris.”

At my words, she bowed her head with a shy smile.

“Thank you….”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

She shook her head side to side.

“Let’s go to the So family flagship.”

Our ship moved leisurely.

The So family flagship sent us a guidance signal.

Clunk!

The two ships pulled up alongside each other and were connected.