I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary - Chapter 433.2
After our first meeting with Colonel Serena, we returned to the Black Lotus and gathered the crew to share the details of the meeting.
“I see. So what we’re going to do is the same as usual.”
“That’s right. The enemy’s equipment seems to be a little better, so we’ll have to be careful, but the work itself will be the same as usual. You two will be busy after this.”
“If their equipment is excellent, then it couldn’t be helped. We’ll just have to be careful and do our best to deal the least damage to the enemy ships as possible.”
Wiska clenched her fists in front of her chest in enthusiasm. The amount we earn from salvaging a destroyed ship mostly depends on how much damage it received, so I’d really like them to do their best to minimize the damage the enemy ships received before I destroy ships or make them immobile.
“Well…I was wondering why the Imperial Space Force doesn’t have a tactic to deal with this kind of situation?”
“It’s simply not very efficient to deal with such small forces. After all, at most, these small numbers of enemies would only cause a slight delay in the supply of goods from the private sector to here, but it was not enough to disrupt the logistics of the Imperial Space Forces itself. It would be impossible to infiltrate a force capable of fighting in the front line. It would only be considered harassment at best.”
The Imperial Space Force’s Transportation Unit itself didn’t suffer any damage. After all, logistics further back were being targeted, not the Transportation Unit which carried supplies from here to the front line. The Belebelem Federation may be paying a reasonable cost to carry out these attacks, but I suspect the result would only be a slight reduction in the amount of food delivered to the front lines and a little irritation for the soldiers.
“Then, why did the Belebelem Federation make such a move?”
“Only those involved will know that… I think it is Colonel Serena’s mission to solve this whole thing, including finding out what they are after. In fact, the mission of Colonel Serena’s independent fleet may not just be to take out the space pirates who are disrupting the rear, but to make us face a Belebelem Federation fleet that is disguised and moving separately from the front lines.”
There was no doubt about it, since I did hear it directly from Colonel Serena when I was eavesdropping on a chat, or rather a complaint to her superior after our meeting. That might be the reason why she simply ignored her colleagues who came from the front line, who told her in a roundabout way that she was “just a decoration fleet to gain popularity” or something along those lines. I guess that was also the reason why the Colonel was in a bad mood when she escorted us to her ship.
“To be honest, I don’t even know if this case is connected to that unpleasant thing with Count Ixamal’s family. I still have my suspicions that Count Ixamal might betray them, but both Colonel Serena and Elma say it is absolutely impossible.”
“That’s right. No matter how cornered and depressed Count Ixamal is, there is absolutely no advantage for him in betraying the empire itself.”
“Is that so? Well, since Count Ixamal has a history with us, there is a possibility that we may be harassed in some way. But if that happens, I was told that I could mention Colonel Serena’s name to silence them.”
“We are mercenaries, but we will be under Colonel Serena’s command from this point on for a while. That’s our position. So if the Count Ixamal interferes with our work, it would also mean that they would be selling a fight with Colonel Serena. So I don’t think he will mess with us that much.”
“My Lord, this time we will also capture the space pirates?”
“Ah, well, I’m willing to capture them if they happen to survive. The more sources of information, the better. Is that a problem?”
“None, it’s just that if you want to interrogate them, I’m here to help. It’s a bit of a stretch, but I may be able to get them to spill what they know quickly.”
“Oh, I see… I’ll be counting on you then.”
“Yes!”
Kugi puffed enthusiastically as her fox ears perked up on top of her head. Certainly, using Kugi’s psionic abilities, it would be possible to get them to reveal what they know voluntarily more quickly than torturing them, using a drug to make them more honest, or using a machine to directly look at the contents of their brains.
I had to repeatedly suffer through that technique from Kugi to learn how to build a mental barrier to protect my mind from that kind of attack… that thing made me confess many things to the crew, who were very amused. I think one day when I master that technique, I might do the same to everyone. Viva! Hypnosis!
I heard that it was a very advanced technique, and I doubt if I would be able to master it anytime soon. It appeared that my psionic abilities tend to be strong in space-time manipulation and physical power, including telekinesis, and while I have the same mental manipulation skills that Kugi excelled in, mine were slightly inferior in comparison.
Well, I didn’t have any ability that I could fully utilize at the moment. Holding my breath to slow down the flow of time wasn’t something I was specifically aiming for, and the other one that attracts strange fates wasn’t something I was consciously using.
I could use a mental barrier if I was aware of it, and I could use a little telekinesis, but…. I’ve heard that if you master telekinesis, you could blow away a soldier wearing power armor without even touching them, tear them apart, or compress them into the size of your fist. What kind of monster would that be? I don’t think I would be able to reach that point in my life.
“Now, regarding our future activities, we’ll wait until Colonel Serena is ready to go. It will take some time to reanalyze and organize the information.”
Everyone agreed with my conclusion, with Mei standing behind me and not speaking, but the fact that she didn’t say anything probably meant that she didn’t have anything to comment on.
That was all good.
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Also check out my other novels: A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, and Reincarnated into a Game As the Hero’s Friend