Chapter 165: Chapter 162 – Crystal Lifeform Extermination Operation

Translator: SFBaka

The crystal lifeform extermination operation has finally begun. The entire garrison fleet on the imperial military has moved out with us mercenaries following suit.

It would be bad if ships go out of formation for some reason and get separated from the rest of the fleet, so all mercenaries were ordered to activate synchro mode and link up with their respective lead ships. It’s like auto-docking but applied to fleet maneuvers instead. Once we link up with the lead ship, we would automatically move in concert with it and the rest of the fleet unless synchro mode was deactivated, so we really didn’t have to steer the ship ourselves for the time being. But the link was lax enough that we would be able to immediately disengage in case of emergencies.

“It’s really boring huh.”

“Um…… yes. Should we play some games, Hiro-sama?”

“C’mon guys……”

Elma glared at Mimi and me who didn’t give off any shred of nervousness and complained about how bored we were.

Right now, Krishna was parked inside Black Lotus that was currently linked up with the rest of the fleet. We were supposed to be standing by inside Krishna’s cockpit so we would be ready to launch out any time, but it would still take thirty-six hours before we reached the Jerom system where the Mother Crystal was nesting. There was currently no point in us getting worked up inside the cockpit right now. Even if we encounter some sudden unforeseen mishaps, we had dozens of imperial corvettes acting as the vanguards, so as long as they held out for a little bit, there would be enough time for us mercenaries to mobilize.

And so, we don’t have to be on our toes just yet. Or rather, it would work against us if we were too high-strung since that would increase the chances of us dropping the ball when it counts, so that’s why we were currently bored out of our minds. Mimi’s already developed well compared to before. I remember she was a nervous wreck when she experienced her first sortie and pirate hunting mission. And because I was rather bored, she suggested playing a game to kill time. Plus, her skills and composure aren’t the only ones that developed nicely. I’m pretty sure her chest assets did too.

Yep. They were definitely bigger compared to before. Since I was already quite familiar with them, I can only brainlessly claim that they’re hella big, but the data collected from the medical pod’s daily diagnostics will never lie. Mimi…… What a terrifying girl!

“Oww!”

“Hmph.”

As I leered at Mimi’s chest while she was selecting games from the library, Elma suddenly pinched my thigh. Uh, yeah. I might have been too crude there. Let me reflect on it. This time, I’ll stare at Elma. Smooth white skin, pointed ears, and very fine features. Yep, what a beauty. Mimi was the cute type, but Elma was the beautiful type… No, the lovely type. For example, Mimi can be likened to a cute puppy. Elma, on the other hand, was like a beautiful flower in bloom.

Yep. Comparing her to a flower sure fit her nicely.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how you’re as lovely as a flower, Elma.”

“What the heck are you saying, you?”

Elma glared at me in mock anger, but the tips of her ears were as red as a tomato. You can easily tell Elma’s real feelings by observing her ears. Now I think I get why space elves like her had the habit of hiding their ears whenever they felt embarrassed.

As I flirted with Mimi and Elma left and right, a lively voice rang out from the passageway connected to the hangar. It looks like Tina and Whisker finished their maintenance on Krishna and were now going to take a break.

“Good work guys.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Boss. The maintenance was completed without a hitch.”

“We only did some basic systems check and maintenance though.”

The mock battles I participated in were conducted using only low-powered lasers with significantly reduced outputs and dummy ammo, so there wasn’t any actual damage to the armor. Only our ship’s maneuverability and speed weren’t restricted, so I think the power and transmission systems were the ones that needed paying attention to.

“Hey, hey, c’mon!”

“Yossha!”

When I spread my arms wide while sitting on the sofa, Tina immediately rushed in. I caught Tina squarely and started giving her head pats.

“There, there. Good girl. Good girl.”

“Ahahahaha, you’re gonna mess up my hair.”

I patted Tina’s head a few more times then released her. Afterward, two heads collided with my chest from the left and right.

“There, there. There, there.”

“Ehehe.”

“Hey, can you do it gentler? Gentler, I said.”

I happily stroked Mimi and Elma’s heads as well. As I did that, Whisker stared at us with a complicated expression. After I had my fill of stroking Mimi and Elma’s heads, I turned toward Whisker and opened my arms wide again.

“Uryaaa-”

“B-Big si- Waaa!?”

Tina pushed Whisker forward, and she ended up diving headfirst into my arms. I caught her firmly.

“There, there. There, there. It must be hard to be always pushed around by Tina huh?”

“Hey. That ain’t nice, Boss.”

“But it’s true, right?”

“Guh.”

When I pointed toward Whisker who was shoved by Tina and ended up burying her face on my chest, Tina made a mortified expression and pursed her lips. As I gazed at Tina with a gloating expression on my face while petting the flustered Whisker, May entered the break room.

And then, she picked up Whisker, had her sit beside Mimi, then knelt in front of me who was still sitting on top of the sofa, and offered her own head for a round of petting.

“There, there. There, there.”

She must have monitored what was happening in the cockpit, and when she saw me stroking everyone’s heads, she wanted in on the action too. If it’s only head pats, I’ll give you as much as you want, guys.

The peaceful and relaxing moments didn’t last long. Before long, the combined fleet managed to arrive at the Jerom system on schedule. Soon, the ships will be jumping out of hyperspace and plunging right inside the system.

“Now then, start the routine check of each section. May, please prepare the launch catapult so we can sortie immediately when needed after entering the system.”

“Yes.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

『Understood.』

I operated my console while giving out commands to the crew and switched the power generator from idle mode to cruise mode. There should be a good chance of the Mother Crystal being located far away from the hyperlane nodes of the Jerom system, but conversely, there’s a high possibility of Guardian Crystals being near them instead.

Whether due to instinct or some form of intelligence, those things often position themselves near the entrance and exit points of hyperlane nodes. In SOL, their numbers were the highest in the hyperlane node nearest to the position of the Mother Crystal, but I’m not sure if that still holds true in this dimension.

If the behavioral patterns of the crystal lifeforms are the same as in SOL, their numbers should be thinnest in the hyperlane node located the furthest away from the Mother Crystal… Well, we won’t be able to find out unless we jump in anyway.

“We will be plunging inside the Jerom system soon. 30 seconds to warp out!”

“Let’s do this.”

I gripped the flight stick and changed the generator settings from cruise mode to combat mode.

I then simulated the most efficient evasion and attack maneuvers against crystal lifeforms inside my head.

First, we’ll need to deal with the Guardian Crystals that would come after the rear line and aggro the rest. This is my first priority.

In this case, my main job is to make it easier for the allied ships that sport far more firepower to safely pick off the enemies instead of destroying them myself.

“We’ll be jumping out of hyperspace soon. Countdown…… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0!”

A strange sound that was different from what a ship makes whenever it deactivates the FTL Drive rang out. It was like ‘giyooooon’, or maybe ‘biyooooon’…… Like someone going ham on a synthesizer. Just what the heck was that anyway?

As I mulled over that strange sound, Black Lotus finally jumped out of hyperspace with Krishna parked inside it.

After a few moments, an alert rang out inside both ships.

『Crystal lifeforms confirmed. The corvettes of the imperial force vanguard are moving in to engage. The mercenaries have been ordered to deploy as well.』

“Okay. Send us out.”

『Yes. Good luck, everyone.』

May’s image displayed on the cockpit monitor made an elegant bow.

In the next moment, intense Gs rocked the ship. Krishna was promptly launched out into open space by the hangar catapult, and the resulting Gs that couldn’t be fully nullified by the inertial control system assaulted our bodies.

“Uu, no matter how many times I go through it, I just can’t get used to the feeling.”

“The inertial control device is ineffective against Gs resulting from acceleration via an external force after all. Mimi, obtain battlefield info from the main fleet and mark the position of the Guardian Crystals on the radar map.”

“Yes.”

I pacified the grumbling Mimi and headed out to battle. The imperial military corvettes were already at the forefront as they engaged in an intense battle with the Guardian Crystals. The other mercenary ships are heading over as well.

It looks like it’s safe to try and eliminate the creatures going after the rear line. And then, we need to prioritize aggroing the rest of the Guardian Crystals and draw them away.

“Yosh. We’ll make a detour here and hit the enemies from the flank. We’ll attract their attention with a few reactive torpedoes. Weapon systems activate.”

Krishna’s bow transformed, and the two ballistic shotgun cannons appeared in all their glory. The four sub-arms holding heavy laser cannons were also deployed out. Two anti-ship reactive torpedoes were ready to be launched out from the weapon bay below the ship.

Battle preparations complete.

“Roger. Leave the sub-systems to me as always.”

Just as I declared, I didn’t head straight for the battlefield but took a detour instead.

“This is Krishna. We’re going to bypass the front line and hit the enemies from the flank. We will be using anti-ship reactive torpedoes to get their attention, so take care not to get caught up in the blast radius.”

I operated my console in order to share Krishna’s current course and the expected explosion coordinates to all allied ships. Well, I think it’ll be alright since no one else would dare to jump right in the middle of the enemies, but I still sent a warning out just in case.

“We’re punching through.”

“Yes!”

“Aye, aye-”

After getting sufficient distance, I accelerated the ship and began flanking the enemies. One of them already noticed Krishna’s approach and headed out to intercept, but I evaded and pelted it with weapons fire from the shotgun and heavy laser cannons. After gaining the aggro of one enemy by injuring it, it called even more enemies to assist, and before long, the aggro had successfully shifted from the vanguard to Krishna.

“Here’s one shot to get things fired up!”

I fired a reactive torpedo from the weapon bay and immediately changed course to avoid getting caught up in the resulting blast. I fired another round immediately before the first torpedo exploded and changed course again.

“Alright, c’mon! Come and get it, you idiots! C’mon!”

Of course, they won’t get to hear me provoking them personally, but the reactive torpedoes were a different story. They successfully got their attention. The first one landed a direct hit on a Guardian Crystal that was about to turn around to give chase and exploded it to bits. A good number of other Guardian Crystals got caught up in the explosion as well.

Then the other torpedo exploded. It directly destroyed three Guardian Crystals at the same time. The resulting fragments scattered around violently and hit even more Guardian Crystals and caused additional damage. A greater number of Guardian Crystals turned their attention toward Krishna.

“Let’s get started. Pay close attention to the shield capacity.”

“Aye, aye, sir- Leave it to me.”

After hearing Elma’s reliable reply, I fired up the thrusters and flew Krishna at full speed.

And thus began an extreme game of tag (onigokko) with lots of destructive projectiles and hundreds of Onis.