Ssh!
The elven vice-captain’s hand moved toward her waist.
Her fingers toyed with her pistol.
Even if she lacked special abilities as an elf, it seemed she at least had quick wits.
One shouldn’t expect loyalty from these people.
How could I trust those who boarded this ship solely for money?
I need to persuade the crew before things escalate.
“Attention, everyone. I’m going to issue a brief operational order, so connect the other ships.”
The elf gave me a look that asked if I was sure about this.
It seemed my influence as captain was even more of a mess than I thought.
If I ordered an unreasonable operation, it would definitely end in a mutiny.
Being a captain is an extreme job.
“Connected.”
“Good. Bring up a map of the vicinity.”
The map appeared on the main screen.
I waved my hand casually.
I didn’t need to know the exact controls.
Screen manipulation via brainwaves was possible, and the interface was very intuitive.
“The enemy scale is estimated at about 30 ships. At least 8 mobile battleships will be forming a containment net at our rear.”
As I moved my hand again, our fleet and the enemy fleet were displayed on the map.
Then, a question mark appeared behind us. I labeled the question mark as ‘Mobile Fleet.’
‘I’ve never seen these characters before, but I can read them?’
Is it because it’s a dream?
Come to think of it, the language I was muttering right now wasn’t Korean either.
Scribble!
I manipulated our fleet and the enemy fleet on the map, illustrating what would happen in the future.
No matter which path we took, we would be pursued.
“There is nowhere to run.”
Everyone’s expressions grew grim.
If I ended the explanation here, a mutiny would be inevitable.
“Then should we surrender? No, we would all die. They will never show mercy.”
This was the core point.
I made it clear from the start that they wouldn’t let us live.
The reconnaissance unit I commanded was neither the central army nor the Marshal’s personal guard; it was just a patrol unit that circled the outskirts.
Most of them were people who had been forced onto the ship because they owed debts to nobles.
They were dispatched according to the (forced) request of the Marshal’s Office.
Excluding this ship, the other vessels were likely owned by different nobles.
The possibility of them betraying us was much higher than our own crew’s.
[Frigate: Squadron Leader. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t let us live even if we surrendered. If they are pirates, wouldn’t they want a ransom?]
A question flew in immediately.
I didn’t have time to play twenty questions like I did with the vice-captain.
“Those guys aren’t pirates; they’re from the Imperium Marshal’s Office. They don’t want this matter to be known outside, so even if you surrender, they’ll kill everyone. They’ll delete all the footage from our ship. They won’t leave a single witness.”
They had sent a small force disguised as bandits to scout without a declaration of war.
If other Marshal’s Offices found out, they would point fingers.
That would lead to a drop in reputation.
If your reputation falls below a certain point, you are defined as a public enemy and must be prepared to be attacked from all sides.
If you had built up power, managing your reputation was crucial.
[Corvette 2: Then are we just going to die like this? Can’t we abandon the ship and hide on a suitable planet until reinforcements arrive?]
“It’s a good method, but we’ll be annihilated before we reach a habitable planet where we can survive.”
We had to break through this containment net to hide on a planet.
This place was like the middle of the vast ocean.
[Gunboat: Then do we hold out here and wait for support?]
“That’s also impossible. It will take a full three days just to contact the nearest garrison. If a battle breaks out, it will be over in less than thirty minutes.”
I waved my hand again.
Our fleet on the screen moved toward the enemy’s main force.
Seeing that, the faces of the captains of the other ships crumpled.
[Corvette 1: Squadron Leader. That’s madness! We’re in a position where forming a formation and waiting wouldn’t even be enough.]
“No. Even a mutt has a home-field advantage. What kind of place is this star system?”
[Frigate: Ah! It’s the Dark Sea, famous for being rough even in our Marshal’s Office.]
Dark matter and dark energy.
These two were the most important elements in .
Ships made of dark matter are affected by the dark energy spread throughout space.
Just as a ship is affected by the waves of the sea.
“Is there anyone else who has roamed this sea as frequently as we have?”
Specifically, the place where the enemy’s main force was located was where the dark waves were the most severe.
Severe enough that it was difficult to conduct a proper battle.
That’s probably why those guys are instinctively blocking that area to reduce variables.
In other words, that is the path to life.
“And once we break through there…”
An asteroid belt appears.
[Gunboat: Squadron Leader. I apologize for doubting your skills. It seems like a gamble worth taking.]
“Yawn~ A genius doesn’t reveal himself easily.”
I yawned and waved my hand dismissively.
The crew in the situation room looked at me with absurd expressions.
“Stop admiring my handsome face and get ready. Vice-captain, I’m entrusting the command to you.”
To be honest, she was an unreliable elf.
However, even if I tried to do it, I wasn’t used to commanding.
And sleepiness kept pouring in.
I felt like I needed to close my eyes for even a moment until just before the battle.
“Wake me up when we reach engagement range.”
I leaned the captain’s chair back.
It felt like floating on a cloud.
I really coveted this chair.
I wish the honey water I drank earlier and this chair existed in the real world.
“Understood. I will take command from now on.”
The elven vice-captain shouted.
Her voice was as soft as her face.
If it weren’t for my eyes closing on their own, I would have enjoyed looking at her pretty face.
“Communications team. Analyze individual models of the enemy fleet.”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
“Helmsman, maintain speed level 3. Pay special attention to maintaining formation with the other ships.”
“Understood.”
“All crew. Battle stations. The combat team will standby in the engine room. The artillery team will standby at each battery. The medical team will also standby in the engine room.”
I hurriedly opened one eye.
Because the command just now was a bit questionable.
“What about the situation room? No troop deployment?”
“We have to hold out as long as possible until we escape the battlefield. According to your plan, Captain, I judged that protecting the engine room is the top priority over the situation room.”
I thought she was completely incompetent, but it seems she knows how to think.
The enemy could attempt a boarding action via short-range warp.
In particular, there was a high possibility they would target the engine room to cut off our escape.
Then what about the situation room where I am?
Click!
The elf pulled out her pistol.
“In preparation for hand-to-hand combat, all personnel in the situation room will conduct a check on their personal firearms.”
Everyone pulled out their weapons with trembling hands.
They were afraid of battle.
They were a ragtag bunch who only knew how to shake down merchant ships.
Still, this was the only way to live.
“What about my weapon?”
“Captain, you…”
The elf avoided my gaze.
At that moment, the attendant Picol whispered.
“Young Master. You can’t fight, can you? It’d be a relief if you didn’t accidentally attack an ally while trying to act tough with a weapon.”
No matter how much the reconnaissance unit was a shunned position, if this body was a squadron leader, it meant he was at least a noble.
Nobles are born with a certain degree of talent for mana.
And yet he can’t fight?
As expected, it seems to be a dog-dream.
If not that?
“Am I an illegitimate child? Was I just thrown away as a scapegoat for the family? Ah. It’s the setting of a man of misfortune.”
“What kind of dangerous talk is that? You are the only son of the third generation of the prestigious Park family. Even though you ran away from home because you hated the Master’s nagging.”
The prestigious Park family?
Yeah, right. I’ve never seen a family like that while playing the game.
That just meant it was an average family.
Well, it’s a relief that I’m not an illegitimate child.
Does it really matter?
I don’t know when I’ll wake up from this dream, so what’s the point of discerning whether I’m born with a silver spoon or a dirt spoon.
Maybe if I fall asleep now, the dream will end.
When I wake up, it’ll be my bleak studio apartment.
***
Or so I thought. However.
“Young Master! Young Master!!!”
“Gosh. What?!”
I was still in the captain’s chair.
“Please have some honey water!”
“What?!”
A green antenna appeared in my vision.
It was the attendant.
“I brought the honey water.”
Why am I still in the dream?
‘I was feeling disappointed, so this worked out well.’
Since it’s a dream set in , it wouldn’t be fair to wake up without even having a battle.
The current situation roughly came to mind.
“Captain! They are within visual range.”
The elf said.
Even without zooming in, the enemy fleet could be seen in the distance.
“Inform those guys that we are a patrol squadron belonging to the Humildas Marshal’s Office. Open a channel.”
“Are you planning to surrender now? Didn’t you say our lives wouldn’t be guaranteed even if we surrendered? Wouldn’t it be better to just charge in at once?”
“Who said anything about surrendering? We have to follow procedure.”
Perhaps because of the alcohol, the corners of my mouth curled up for no reason.
“Communication established!”
I looked at the camera in front and said.
“I am the patrol squadron leader of this sector. We will conduct an inspection, so cooperate.”
[Oh, my lord. We are just mere merchants.]
A Lupine face appeared on the screen.
He had a human face with wolf ears, and his nose resembled a dog’s.
His unique hair, with black spots on a white background, stood out, and he had a considerable build for a Lupine.
‘Mere merchants, my foot. He’s a named character.’
The illustration I saw in the game was 2D, but his personality was so strong that I recognized him immediately.
Sagitta.
A relative of the Imperium Marshal, he plays a major role in the early stages of the game.
He usually uses a gunboat as his flagship and is a master of rapid fire.
One of the enemies you least want to encounter in a calm sea.
The only saving grace was that this place was a rough sea.
He has poor compatibility with this place.
‘If he wanted to disguise himself as a merchant, he should have at least hidden that tone of voice.’
To anyone looking, he was general material.
“Your very appearance is vulgar and suspicious. What kind of goods do you deal in! You aren’t by any chance supplying weapons to the Black Ant Bandits, are you?”
The Black Ant Bandits were a massive group of bandits near our Humildas Marshal’s Office.
They were so large that they were left alone because they couldn’t be subjugated.
Since they didn’t particularly cause trouble in this vicinity, we just watched them like a chicken on a roof.
[…]
“Seeing as you have nothing to say, it seems I was right. To think you’d have the audacity to pass through this lord’s territory. I assume you’ve brought a hefty toll?”
[O… Of course.]
“Good. Disarm and wait. I shall personally board your ship.”
[Since you are coming to such a humble place yourself, I will prepare tea and wait.]
The corners of his mouth twitched.
He probably thought it was a lucky break that I was walking right into his hands.
While he had no intention of letting the crew live, warships were expensive items.
He probably thought it was an opportunity to capture them without a battle.
“Very well.”
As I flicked my hand, the communication cut off.
The elf asked urgently.
“Captain! What are you planning to do?”
“What do you mean? Don’t you see them disarming?”
I could see their weapons being retracted into their internal bays.
However, we couldn’t let our guard down.
“They’ll take the chance to warp their marines all at once.”
“Then isn’t that even more of a problem? It’ll be easier for them to analyze our coordinates if we don’t move.”
I shook my head.
“They won’t scan us until we’ve completely stopped.”
If they scanned us, we would notice.
“They’ll scan the moment we come to a full stop.”
“Then??”
“It means those guys are defenseless. All ships. Prepare to fire.”
“Orders issued.”
Unlike them, we were a patrol unit, so we approached boldly with our weapons exposed.
“Slow down gradually and approach. Designate targets for each ship.”
I designated which ship would attack which enemy one by one.
The moment the command is given, we plan to pour it all on them simultaneously.