I have two choices.
One. I intervene.
The probability of receiving some kind of reward is high. Since I intend to leave the Humildas Marshal’s Office as soon as I finish my report, I’m desperate for every cent. Additionally, my reputation will increase slightly.
Two. I ignore it and leave.
Naturally, this would shorten the arrival time. We need to quickly hand over the evidence and the prisoners we’ve collected to the Marshal’s Office. The Humildas Marshal’s Office likely thinks they can use this to pressure the Imperium Marshal’s Office and prevent a war.
Prevent it? My foot.
The Imperium Marshal is a pragmatist. He won’t even blink before launching an attack. These strange actions he’s taking now are just preliminary work for the invasion.
In the blink of an eye, you’ll find the massive army of the Imperium Marshal right at your doorstep.
Still, if we engage in a public opinion war, we might buy a little time. If things go well, we might even get support from other Marshals.
In the meantime, I’ll convince my father to leave the Humildas Marshal’s Office before it turns into hell. No matter how much we struggle, there is no hope here.
“Wait. Where are we?”
“We are in the Pollen Star System. I will display the map for you.”
A large map appeared on the main screen.
“Ah!”
I only realized where we were after seeing the map. A place where a thin nebula stretched out wide. It was a useless wasteland. However…
“I remember now!”
This was a place where a fairly large group of defeated alien soldiers was hiding.
The alien tribes were a great disaster for the Empire. Fleets departing from other galaxies dropped like bombs throughout various parts of the Empire.
They marched from all directions toward the capital. The Empire had to pay a massive price to stop them. Even the Emperor was killed, so that says it all.
And.
“So Jin!”
The name that came to mind when I thought of the Pollen Star System. In the early stages of the game, a man named So Jin tried to develop this place.
In the process, he encountered the aliens, lost half of his family fortune, and barely escaped with his life.
So Jin. He was quite a wealthy man.
Was that it? Of course not. There were various ways to describe him.
A skilled navigator. An honest quartermaster. A benevolent prime minister. A flawless commander.
In a word, he was a “Named” character.
“This is an opportunity to build rapport.”
A chaotic era is approaching. No, it’s practically already here. In chaotic times, it’s easy for skilled people to display their abilities.
He will secure a high position wherever he goes. There’s no downside to getting to know someone like him.
Even if that weren’t the case…
‘He’ll likely give a generous reward.’
Because So Jin was a very conscientious person.
“All fleet, prepare for battle!”
The battle between So Jin’s private soldiers and the alien remnants was a narrow defeat for So Jin. Adding just a little more weight to the scales will change the outcome.
“Captain. We are not currently in a condition to engage in battle.”
Of course, I knew that. A significant number of our naval guns were damaged from the previous battle in the asteroid belt.
“There won’t be any intense fighting, so rest easy.”
***
The So clan accumulated great wealth through the collection of space honey. Space honey is an essential item for extending human lifespans.
Without the honey, the average human lifespan would struggle to surpass 200 years.
“It’s my fault. This is all my fault.”
The problem began with the large-scale alien invasion. The elders of the family passed away, and the business sites were devastated.
Eventually, it became necessary to relocate the business, and the place they found was this Pollen Star System.
Fortunately, it had no owner. A deserted wasteland.
He thought he could just develop it moderately and report it to the Marshal’s Office. The Marshal’s Office would welcome it, too. There weren’t many races capable of extracting honey from nebulae.
Even the clan of Marshal Poena, who was currently famous as the most prestigious family, grew their house based on the honey business.
“Clan Head! The enemy fleet is too numerous!”
He had spent half of his family’s assets to come here and develop the business. Alien remnants that weren’t there during the preliminary investigation were hiding here.
“Thirty ships…”
“We only have fifteen.”
There were many more ships than that, but it was because they were all cargo vessels.
“You must abandon the cargo ships and flee.”
“This is half of our family’s wealth. I cannot leave that behind.”
“At the very least, you must survive, Clan Head! If something happens to you, the So family is finished.”
No branch families remained in the So clan. If he died, the central point of his people would vanish.
The Butterfly race was originally a free-spirited people. If So Jin died, they would all scatter.
“Even so, I cannot. I can’t just hand over our property in such a futile way. I’d rather burn it! Never!”
“But…”
“Don’t worry. Those bastards haven’t received proper supplies for a long time either.”
The large-scale alien invasion had ended in failure. Nevertheless, they could not return home. Even if they had other things, they would be short on missiles.
“If we utilize the merchant ships well, we can hold out long enough.”
Even if merchant ships don’t have cannons, they have shields. They have to protect their hulls from asteroids, space debris, and such.
“We will use the merchant ships as cover and fight back. If we stand firm, they might give up.”
If they lost any more power, they might not even be able to commit acts of piracy anymore.
“Send out a distress signal as well.”
“This is a remote wasteland. There will hardly be any merchant ships passing through. What kind of idiot would pass through a place like this?”
“Who knows? Perhaps by divine providence, someone will be passing through.”
The aliens were a public enemy. Therefore, if anyone came after seeing the signal, they would be an ally.
***
We turned our forces toward the direction the signal was being sent from.
“Captain. What if it’s a trap?”
“We look intact on the outside. They won’t attack recklessly.”
Heavy Maneuver Ships, Light Maneuver Ships, Escort Ships, Patrol Ships.
The lineup was a bit disappointing because there were no Gunships, but clumsy pirates wouldn’t dream of attacking. Pirates usually use an average of three Light Maneuver Ships as their main force.
Even aliens don’t bother with forces that appear to be military. There’s nothing to loot, they would take losses, and it would only expose their location.
“Captain! I see the fleet currently in combat. The scale is about 150 ships.”
That was just the scale; in reality, it was a fight of 15 ships against 30. The remaining 100 ships were all cargo vessels. It was because of that many cargo ships that the aliens were attacking without giving up.
“Captain. A communication is coming in.”
“Connect it.”
Beep!
[Thank you for coming to help. I am Jin, the Clan Head of the So family.]
A handsome young man in the video bowed his head.
His race was the Butterfly race. A race with human bodies but butterfly antennae and wings. The funny thing was that they couldn’t actually fly with those large wings.
“Nice to meet you. I am Yu of the Park family, a Patrol Squadron Leader of the Pepe Star System.”
[Ah!! You are from the renowned Park family. Lord Park Yu. Thank you so much for coming.]
The Park family was a family I had never seen even once in the game. But if So Jin knew of them, it seemed the Park family had more prestige than I thought.
“May I join the battle?”
[Yes. Please, help us. The enemy’s attacks are persistent.]
I scanned the battlefield once more. He likely lacked experience, but he used his head well. As expected of a Named character.
The cargo ships were acting as moving obstacles. They would open a path when an ally passed through, but they blocked the path with their bodies when an enemy approached.
If they were lucky enough to collide, it was a gain for the cargo ship’s side.
“We will block off one side. To be honest, our ships are not in very good condition because we just fought a major battle.”
[That alone is enough!]
Movement was already restricted because of the cargo ships, so blocking off one side would narrow their room for maneuver even further.
We just needed to pick off the enemies that came out from between that maze of cargo ships.
“All fleet. Form a line of fire at the designated position.”
They were already a ragtag group, so we needed to set the line of fire properly to make a decent attack possible.
“Relay to all ships! Move to the target point.”
The First Officer supported me. This was the reason I didn’t send the First Officer as the captain of a Light Maneuver Ship.
If it were just moving the ship, I could do it alone, but to command the other ships, I couldn’t leave the First Officer’s seat vacant.
Swoosh!
I synchronized with the ship. The First Officer synchronized as well. It felt as if I had two heads.
My vision expanded beyond just the ship to the entire fleet. It was thanks to the First Officer communicating with other ships in real-time and sharing information.
“All fleet, fix positions. Open gun ports. Battle preparations complete.”
We quietly took our positions and waited.
“Enemy ship detected!”
“Commence volley fire at the target.”
The four ships fired at an enemy vessel that was poking its head out.
Thump!
The enemy ship deployed its shields to the maximum to block the lasers and beams.
“Try blocking this! Fire main gun.”
The main gun of the Heavy Maneuver Ship was a Triple Heavy Beam. It was a heavy piece unsuitable for a maneuver ship, capable of firing three consecutive masses of concentrated lasers.
Rumble!!
The enemy ship was hit by a glancing blow, but the impact caused its shields to strip away.
Pew pew pew!
Our ships took this opportunity for a second attack.
Crash! Boom!
The enemy ship was hammered across its hull, and holes appeared everywhere. One more attack and it would sink, unable to hold out.
“Enemy ship! The white flag is up. They have transferred all authority to us.”
“That’s unusual. For an alien to surrender. Accept it.”
I’m desperate for even a single ship. The moment we arrive at the Marshal’s Office, the other ships will return to the noble families they belong to.
Then, all I’ll have left are the captured Heavy Maneuver Ship and Light Maneuver Ship.
‘I wonder how many private soldiers our family has?’
I asked Picol, but he didn’t know much. Since the Park family focused on investment-oriented businesses, I speculated they wouldn’t have a manor or a large number of private soldiers.
“Captain! We have a communication from the surrendered Heavy Maneuver Ship.”
It was a ship that reeked of that characteristic alien scent.
“Connect it.”
Beep!
[Thank you for accepting our surrender.]
A fellow with a pig nose bowed his head.
“Enough. If you’ve surrendered, just wait quietly for your disposition. What is your business?”
[Please save our tribe. We tried to discourage the invasion until the very end.]
“So you’re saying that attacking our galaxy has nothing to do with you?”
[Since we invaded, it wouldn’t be unrelated. However, our tribe loves peace.]
“Just your business, then.”
[If you catch the leader, the rest will surrender. That guy put bombs around the captains’ necks.]
The pig fellow tapped his own necklace.
“So, where is he?”
[I will share the location with you.]
Information came in from him. The enemy commander was moving through the cargo ship maze, fighting hard.
“I’ll have to go myself.”
It couldn’t be helped. So Jin’s private soldiers all had Escort Ships. Their defense was good, but they lacked maneuverability and firepower. This was why the battle with the alien remnants, who were all in Maneuver Ships, wasn’t reaching a conclusion easily.
“Helmsman!!”
“Yes, Captain…”
The fellow looked back with a face lacking confidence. I jerked my hand.
“Get out of the pilot’s seat.”
A change of players.