Departure for the Big Catch
“Captain, welcome back. Thank you for today,”
my subordinates in the hangar said when I returned.
“Huh? Shouldn’t I be the one thanking you? I wasn’t able to help with the departure preparations at all.”
“No, Captain, you were the biggest contributor. Because Maria wasn’t here, work progressed smoothly and preparations were completed without incident.”
“Meyrica, that’s mean.”
“There’s nothing mean about it. When you’re around, you try to load all sorts of things and mess with stuff unnecessarily. It’s clear how much more work gets done when you’re not here, right?”
“Sis Meyrica, that’s so mean. But, but, but, the captain gave permission earlier so we’re loading the [Sunflower Mk. 3]!”
“Huh? Captain, you gave Maria permission? “
“Yeah, she asked earlier. And she said it wouldn’t be a problem with the landing craft’s loading capacity and that it doesn’t take up much space.”
“Well, I guess it should be okay.”
“Right, right? And it’ll definitely be useful. It can be used without issues even where laser guns can’t be used.”
“Certainly. Well, considering the operational space around here this time, it might actually come in handy. Although, that’s if we even get a chance to use it. Understood. Maria, make sure to load it properly without causing any trouble. Finish the work by the end of today, assuming we won’t be able to do it tomorrow. Got it?”
“I understand, but is it okay if those girls help?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s fine. They’re from the same den. They probably can’t wait to use it in real combat. Have them get to work right away.”
“Everyone~, Captain said it’s okay to load [Sunflower No.3]. Make sure to load your own stuff properly. Don’t forget the spare ammunition. Load plenty, okay? Understood~?”
” ” “Yes!” ” “
With Maria’s call, the girls who had been behaving nicely under Ms. Meyrica’s supervision until now rushed to the lockers beside the warehouse.
Everyone took out something from their lockers and loaded it onto the shuttle.
The objects were oddly long and didn’t look like weapons at all.
It definitely wasn’t any kind of laser weapon, and it didn’t resemble a battle axe in any way.
If forced to liken it to something similar, it resembled the ancient firearms known as guns that were once mainstream.
I had seen the real thing in the school’s archives before and had been taught the basic principles, but that couldn’t be it.
It was useless in the vacuum of space.
The principle behind it involved rapidly burning a substance called gunpowder and using the expanding air to propel solid objects.
It would be entirely useless in the airless space of the universe.
Moreover, the technology of using gunpowder to impart lethal speed had long been lost.
Most importantly, I didn’t even know how much time had passed since the era when firearms were no longer used, thanks to the universal dominance of laser weapons.
As a rare exception, it was said that explosive material was used in the warheads of space torpedoes. However, they required electrical initiation and had limitations in miniaturization.
Furthermore, it remained highly questionable whether the substance used in space torpedoes could be accurately called gunpowder.
Above all, even within the confines of a spaceship, using it forcibly could risk damaging the ship’s bulkheads, making it practically impossible.
I remember learning that gun mechanisms to shoot lethal payloads at the enemy were lost technology, but I wonder about that now.
The structure itself seems simple, but we were told at school that we can’t make them.
When I get the chance, I’ll ask Maria about it.
Well, Maria did say the things they loaded were charms, and emotional support is important.
Since they don’t look like they’ll get in the way, I can’t stop them now.
At the time, that’s what I thought, but who could have imagined it would lead to that result later. From Maria’s perspective it was an ill-gotten gain? But from my view~
If I had known what would happen after, I would never have given permission.
The second day of my assignment went by without incident, and I got a thorough tour of the ship. It was a fulfilling day.
From this day, I started taking my meals with my subordinates in the duty room beside the rear hangar.
Luckily—or perhaps I’m not as hated as I thought—the atmosphere isn’t too bad.
The next day, in accordance with the operation plan, we departed the spaceport, our home base, from the cruiser [Maschu], flagship of the 3rd Patrol Fleet.
Thanks perhaps to the regular careful maintenance, this old [Arxechey]-class ship also left the planet’s gravitational field without incident and headed towards the first destination, Space Colony [Bismuth], without issues.
This Bismuth is the space colony where the 3rd Mobile Fleet, which I belong to, is based.
The plan is to gather the ships participating in the operation in the vicinity of this Bismuth.
Incidentally, this Space Colony [Bismuth] is also the center of politics and economics in the Rutile planetary system.
The reason the center is the artificially constructed space colony rather than the main planet Rutile is first, as I explained earlier, the main planet has no scenic locations except for resource mining sites. But more problematic is the communication issue.
The supernova Urscyte, which brings disaster to the Diamond Kingdom including the Rutile planetary system, scatters problematic substances all around it.
The frequent communications blackouts with planet Rutile are a problem.
Information exchange still takes place via letters brought by regularly visiting spacecraft, but the inability to use radio and such is fatal.
By having this space colony far from the star, it is barely affected by such influences, so it is satisfactory as the home base for the core 3rd Mobile Fleet in this area.
Also, since it is already in outer space from the beginning, it has the advantage of being able to sortie without taking time to leave like with a planetary base.
Additionally, when carrying out joint maneuvers like this operation, it has ample space convenient to gather the fleets.
Those are some of the reasons given, but the biggest reason is said to be that it’s easier for people to live in this colony than the main planet Rutile.
If both are artificial constructs, then the place made from the start for human comfort is obviously much more livable.
In a society with strict hierarchies, the natural principle of higher ranked people living in better places took effect, it could be said.
The 3rd Patrol Fleet with its home base at Rutile arrived at the gathering point, Bismuth, after about a week of travel.
Though it only takes a few hours to travel directly, they took the usual time for their regular patrol duties on the way there.
Meanwhile, I passed the time training in the ship’s simulators, like practicing operating the armed landing craft, among other things.
I had been a loner until now, but I feel like I opened up a bit in the rear hangar this past week.
As planned, the 3rd Patrol Fleet finished its patrol and arrived at the rendezvous point.
The 3rd Mobile Fleet was already waiting at the gathering point, seemingly ready to sortie at any moment.
As expected of the Mobile Fleet.
The ships of the Mobile Fleet were clearly newer than our [Akkeshi], and looked to have better equipment.
But like hand-me-downs to the Coast Guard, they were still over a generation old compared to active ships in the Space Forces, it couldn’t be helped.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
I thought we would sortie as soon as we gathered here, but we were held up for about three days.
In this operation, not only the 3rd Mobile Fleet and 3rd Patrol Fleet responsible for this area were participating, but the neighboring 2nd Patrol Fleet was joining as well.
We’re currently waiting for the arrival of that 2nd Patrol Fleet.
A question arises here.
No matter how much they’re disparaged as baggage, they are still an organization.
Things that should naturally be there, are there.
Namely, territory. Also called sectors and such, but an organization’s territory.
The Coast Guard has no codified territories.
But implicit understandings exist.
The Coast Guard has the same number of Mobile Fleets and Patrol Fleets.
Three each.
And in the imperial capital region, there are three planetary systems.
Anyone would reach the same conclusion, but they are considered to have each system as their territory.
The 1st Mobile Fleet and 1st Patrol Fleet are in the Dyne system with its imperial capital planet Diamond, with their home base at the Pharren Spaceport on Planet Diamond.
Well, the Space Forces 1st Fleet also uses it as their home base, so their position is quite constrained, but it’s still by far the best conditions.
Especially being close to the joint headquarters building housing the Central Command, it’s an optimal environment with no complaints.
In terms of power dynamics, they are naturally inferior to the 1st Mobile Fleet which has the flagship of the entire Coast Guard, but the 2nd Mobile Fleet and 2nd Patrol Fleet’s territory is the neighboring Yttrium system.
Of course their home base is on Planet Niobium, the main planet of the Yttrium system.
The base there is a civilian-military spaceport, so the Mobile Fleet is centered closer to the central area.
The 2nd Patrol Fleet also uses the same spaceport for their home base.
And as I explained earlier, though the 3rd Mobile Fleet’s home base is at a space colony due to various conditions, their territory is considered to be the Rutile system like the other fleets.
There are almost no cases, but joint operations are sometimes carried out to crack down on major pirates, and in emergencies fleets with free hands provide support, so while they aren’t strict territories, there is an implicit understanding not to encroach on others’ areas when possible.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated.
Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 3-10+ additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
Thanks for the chapter.