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Mob No.12: “Please! Lend me your ship!”
After finishing the 8 hour shift of debris removal assistance and security duty, I properly switched shifts and returned to the management colony.
The first thing to do after returning is to peel off the polymer on the ship.
They will supposedly dismantle or melt the microscopic debris and anything else adhered to the polymer that can be reused as materials.
After finishing peeling it off, filling up the fuel tank, and doing a quick check of the ship, I finally got a break.
Then I headed to the capsule hotel style lodging facility inside the colony.
I could sleep on the ship but I decided to use the facility they kindly provided.
Thankfully there seems to be a bathing facility too, so first I secured a room, put away my luggage, locked the door, and then went to the bathing facility.
After refreshing myself at the bathing facility, I went to the cafeteria to eat a meal. The menu was abundant and the taste was quite good.
Then after the meal, I was absentmindedly watching TV in a lounge area when suddenly a loud voice rang out.
“Don’t mess with me! How is this a mercenary’s job! Mercenaries are supposed to be killing pirates and rampaging on the battlefield!”
“It can’t be helped. There’s no work on the battlefield and we didn’t qualify for the pirate subjugation request that came in.”
They were probably newbies who just became mercenaries. And the cute girl with him was definitely his partner on the other side.
I didn’t recognize them from the planetary branch I belong to, so they must be from a different mercenary guild, but I did see them at the briefing so we must have had the same shift.
Anyway I don’t want to get involved with them, so I decided to return to my room early.
After locking the door and putting on an eye mask, I set an alarm for waking up and started reading a light novel I brought. Between the unfamiliar fatigue, I unknowingly fell asleep at some point.
The next morning. Or rather, 3 hours before the shift change, I woke up, finished breakfast, and was checking my ship in the docking area when I heard a voice.
“Please!”
It seems like she was pleading for something but getting rejected.
I heard rough replies like “No way!” and “Don’t mess with me!”
Eventually the voice got closer.
The one going around pleading turned out to be the girl who was with the guy shouting loudly in the lounge area.
As she approached me,
“Um, excuse me!”
she desperately called out to me.
“W-what is it?”
“Could you lend me your ship?”
“Huh?”
What was this girl talking about?
Having your own ship is mandatory for this job.
And she definitely participated in the first shift with a ship.
“No, lending you a ship… You had your own ship properly for the first shift right?”
“Fideek… the other person I came with took it saying ‘I’m going to go kill some pirates, take care of the rest’…”
I see. That’s a clear violation of the contract.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
The contract said it clearly.
Respond to and sortie for emergencies even during standby rest periods.
No leaving the colony during standby rest periods for the above reason.
“Didn’t you stop him?”
“He left a note while I was sleeping and took off…”
The girl made a miserable expression.
“Please lend me your ship!”
she pleaded while bowing her head, but I can’t lend her my ship which I need for work either.
“I can’t. It’s asking a lot for a mercenary to lend their own ship, and besides, we have the same shift so it’s impossible for me. At least ask someone on a different shift.”
When I said that, the girl dejectedly walked towards what was probably the break room where people on different shifts would be.
And so the next shift started.
Repeating coordinated work with the debris guy I breathed well with, I realized the amount of debris was decreasing.
Incidentally, that girl apparently wasn’t able to borrow a ship and got scolded badly by the gate management personnel and people from the mercenary guild she belonged to.
Considering her partner was like that, she probably took this job because of monetary circumstances.
I think it would be best if they disbanded soon…
While thinking about such things, the end of the shift was approaching.
At that time, a transmission came in on the open channel. It was the first time this had happened so I panicked a little.
It could also be a pirate transmission, so I had the debris guy stop work.
“This is the security for the Sadal star sector gate replacement operation. State your ship name, reason for approaching the work area.”
[This is the container ship [Seed 1] from planet race team [Crystal Weed]. I wanted to request and pay for use of the gate but… I didn’t hear the replacement work was happening?!]
The face that appeared on the monitor was a middle management uncle-type.
“The notice has been out for quite a while you know?”
[I’ve been so busy I didn’t check for info…]
The middle management uncle let out a deep sigh with a tired expression.
[I wanna get to planet Depton soon…]
Incidentally, planet Depton is the destination of the gate currently being replaced.
The gates are basically one way, and while there was a direct route from planet Ytts to Sadal sector, the return required transferring 3 times.
Round trip tickets accounted for this of course.
However, planet race team [Crystal Weed].
I’d rather not get involved with this planet race team if possible.
Because the one other survivor from the incident I was forced to participate in with Riole Burnnext was a pilot affiliated with this team.
Her name is Skoona Noswile.
She had blue hair and a ponytail when she was a student, but after graduating she cut it short.
She’s 180cm tall with a great figure, and was a handsome beauty who was popular with girls rather than guys since her school days.
She’s called the prince of the planet racing world, having totally dominated many prestigious races despite her tall height said to be a disadvantage for pilots.
She and Burnnext became the talk of the town right after the incident, and were dragged around by the mass media as the handsome guy duo, but I continued living my everyday life like normal.
The only time I spoke with her was the brief period after the end of combat in that incident.
After that our classes were different so we had no contact.
So unlike with Burnnext, I don’t get irritated when I see her, but she’s become a celebrity so I feel a little hesitant to approach her.
Moreover, if someone like me tried talking to her, the top racer popular with both men and women, she herself might not mind but the people around her definitely wouldn’t allow it.
Anyway, we can’t have them get close to the work site and cause or get caught up in an accident.
“For now I’ll contact the management colony, so please decide what to do after going there. It’s dangerous to approach the work area.”
I decided to contact the management colony and have them take over.
When I contacted them, the people at the management colony were quite surprised at the appearance of the famous race team, but said this kind of thing happens frequently during normal maintenance work.
Well, maintenance supposedly finishes in under 2 hours, but the replacement work will take over 16 hours more.
If there’s a faster detour route they should take that instead and get where they want to go.
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