Published at 4th of December 2020 04:55:50 PM
Chapter 64
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
『It’s the Bugs, Commander . 』
I was jolted awake by the loud volume of the emergency alarm .
Bugs! Ah, just how unlucky was I…?
A week ago, I was just appointed as the commander of the Tau Vegas 2 star system defense fleet, but I’m really down on my luck to encounter Bugs just after a week of service here .
(Teo, give me their numbers and current distance . )
『One fleet . BG-I cruisers . Ten ships . Distance, approximately 30,000 light-seconds . 』
It wasn’t the worst-case scenario yet .
(Attention, all ships . We’re entering Alert Level 1 . I repeat, we’re entering Alert Level 1 . )
If it’s just against that many, our fleet here might be able to manage .
Although we’re called a defense fleet, we only had three Satellite-class destroyers and a single Star-class heavy cruiser「Teo」under my direct command . In other words, we were more like a single squadron than a proper fleet .
(Call the colony planet governor-general, um, His Excellency Cheetos . Slap him awake if you have to . )
I hurriedly changed into my commander’s uniform and impatiently waited for the governor-general . A sleepy-looking male finally called me through the comms . He looked quite irritated . He’s the so-called governor-general here, but he’s most likely nothing more than a washed-out politician who lost in the nasty political battles in the central capital of the Adele government and got thrown out here . This was an extremely out of the way place with a population of a mere 20,000 imperial citizens . It was an out and out demotion .
『Just who in blazes are you, woman!? Just what time do you think it is!?』
“I’m the commander of the Tau Vegas 2 garrison fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Iris Conrad . The Bugs have appeared here . ”
『W-What did you say!? ……Why! They haven’t shown up here for the longest time! Are you sure about your info?』
“There’s no mistake . Please start evacuating the citizens immediately . In this case Evacuation Plan C would be the most appropriate . ”
『C, you say!? But isn’t that issued only once the colony planet is judged to be unable to avoid being destroyed!? No, absolutely not . I have finally managed to begin standing up again . If we abandon this place, I really will have nothing left! It would take years and years for me to recoup my losses once again!』
“But once the Bugs appear, it would be your life that would be at stake . ”
This planet was just a small colony with scarce resources . They will never be able to afford the loss of an imperial garrison here . The colonial program might even be halted for years after this incident .
『Lt . Col . Conrad, I order your fleet to do something about it straight away!』
Is this guy crazy? Does he not understand the current situation? It’s already a race against time . If he cannot even tell the difference between a regular fleet and a small squadron of three destroyers and one heavy cruiser, it would be a waste of time to explain further .
“Your Excellency, as the commander-in-chief of this star system, I request that you implement Emergency Evacuation Plan C under Article 8, Paragraph 3-A of the Imperial Military Codex . ”
『Did you not hear me? I’m telling you to do something about those damned Bugs with your fleet!』
“Then may I take this as a rejection of my earlier appeal?”
『Enough! Hurry up and do something already!』
Either this man was confused by the sudden emergency situation, or he’s just plain idiotic . Just how did such a dimwitted man become a governor-general? …This may be a sign that the empire’s glory is already starting to fade .
“Well then, I move to implement martial law on the entire Tau Vegas star system, effective immediately . ”
『W-What did you say!? You can’t be serious!?』
(Teo, what is the name of the star system Colony Planet Athena is part of?)
『Vegas, ma’am . 』
“Vegas . Did you manage to hear that clearly, soldier?”
『Yes, ma’am . 』
“As of now, you are hereby placed under my direct command . ”
『Yes . Acknowledged . 』
“I will temporarily relieve Governor-general Cheetos of his authority henceforth . Execute Evacuation Plan C and start gathering the citizens immediately . ”
『Understood!』
“Once the evacuation is complete, destroy all the important facilities as per standard protocol . ”
『Yes, ma’am . 』
I ignored Cheetos who was kicking up a fuss and cut off communications . I wrapped my VR terminal around my neck .
(Teo, are the captains ready?)
『They are already on stand-by . 』
In the next moment, I found myself sitting in the virtual meeting room of my fleet .
“I take it that you’ve already been briefed about the situation, gentlemen?”
The three ship captains under me nodded their heads .
“For now, we need to intercept the Bug fleet . ”
“But can our four ships actually handle them?”
“We don’t have a choice but to engage them anyway . Get ready to sortie!”
“”Roger!””
I found myself back in the real world after a short instant .
I hurried out of the captain’s quarters and proceeded to my ship’s bridge . When I arrived, the bridge crew were already seated . I promptly sat on the captain’s seat and gave my orders .
“Immediately advance to intercept the Bug fleet . Starship Formation 1 . Maximum combat speed . ”
“Aye, ma’am . Starship Formation 1 . Maximum combat speed . We will engage the enemy in approximately 50 minutes . ”
(Teo, do you have any good strategies to propose?”
『Tactic Sigma 1 that Captain is currently studying might be a good option, considering the relative firepower and speed of our opponents . 』
Sigma 1 was a fleet maneuver that involves encircling the enemies and kiting them from a medium distance while orbiting them at high speed . The firepower of this Star-class heavy cruiser『Teo』does trump the enemy BG-I cruisers, and the Satellite-class destroyers aren’t far off either . However, our advantage in overall firepower is offset by the Bug’s speed . Thus, this tactic might be the most appropriate .
We are now about to engage with the Bug fleet .
“By my authority, I order that the tactical systems of all ships be connected to Teo immediately . ”
“Connection complete . ”
“Begin Tactic Sigma 1 . ”
“Executing now . ”
In fleet battles, human intervention was quite minimal . The FCS of all weapon systems was handled by the ship AIs, so there’s very little room for human intervention . Thus, fleet battles are more of a head to head between our ship’s AIs and the Bug ship’s AIs .
Of course, the overall performance of our AIs is superior, so we hold an advantage in a sense, but the Bug fleet had three times our number . We can’t make even the tiniest mistake, or it’ll cost our lives .
Our squad started to circle around the Bug fleet at maximum speed .
“First ship, down . ”
“Oh!”
“Second ship, down . ”
“Yes!”
It looks like Tactic Sigma 1 really was effective . We started bringing down Bug ships one after another .
“Bug fleet, only three ships remaining . …Bug fleet, all ships down . ”
“Oooh!”
“We did it!”
“Immediately head back to Colonial Planet Athena’s orbit to assist in the evacuation efforts . Cruising Speed 1”
“Aye, aye, ma’am . ”
The bridge crew looked at me with gazes filled with respect, but I really didn’t do anything . I did indeed study the tactic we used, but it was Teo that implemented it perfectly .
The colony ship that people rode when they first came to this system was repurposed as a space station orbiting the colonial planet . However, since it hasn’t been that long after this planet’s colonization, both cold sleep and hyperspace navigation functions were still available, so it can be used as an evacuation vessel in case of an emergency .
But since the population has increased, it may be necessary to split the citizens between it and our three Satellite-class destroyers .
Three shuttles were used to send up people via piston drive, and more and more citizens were brought into space .
A week later, the evacuation process was proceeding smoothly, and almost all of the 20,000 citizens were already sent up to orbit . The ones sent up have already boarded the colonial ship, and there was a little bit more room for some people from the last returning shuttle to squeeze in . However, the colonial ship will not be able to accommodate everyone in the end, so it was necessary to send the remaining citizens to the destroyer .
『It’s the Bugs, Commander . 』
(Yes…… Number and position?)
『BG-III-class cruisers, 16 ships . Distance, approximately 40,000 light-seconds . 』
What rotten timing . Just a little bit more and the evacuation would be complete…… My Star-class heavy cruiser won’t be able to compete with 16 BG-III ships that were far larger and sported more firepower than BG-Is . The BG-IIIs completely outstripped the Satellite-class destroyers in terms of firepower and speed as well . We won’t be able to handle them even if we fought with all we had . If we just had another Star-class, then maybe…
Just what should we do? We will be able to complete the evacuation with just one more return trip from the three shuttles .
(Teo, how long would it take to complete the evacuation process and escape to hyperspace?)
『Approximately one hour and thirty-two minutes . 』
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That long!?
There are still more than six hundred people scheduled to board the shuttles . More than six hundred people…
I watched the monitor and saw the people hurrying to board the shuttles on the surface . I zoomed in on the image feed . I saw many children among those who were evacuating .
First, let’s have the colonial ship depart immediately . There’s no merit in keeping it here . I promptly gave the order .
The people boarding the shuttles on the surface of the planet had no choice but to take the destroyers now .
(Teo, can the three destroyers accommodate all the people from the three shuttles?)
『It’s possible . 』
(What about the crew of this ship? Will they be able to squeeze in as well?)
『There will be no problems . 』
(Please contact the captains for a meeting . )
After a short while of waiting in the virtual meeting room, the ship captains under me appeared one after the other .
“I shall try to buy some time with Teo . Wait for the shuttles to return to orbit, and once they’ve all boarded, immediately head for the Daks imperial base . Oh, and I’ll have the rest of my crew board each of your ships as well . ”
“You can’t be serious, ma’am!? Please allow us to fight with you!”
The other captains were of the same opinion .
“Adding three Satellite-class destroyers to intercept them won’t make much difference anyway . And I am the commander of this fleet . So obey my orders . If I fail to stall them, leave immediately without waiting for the shuttles . Captain Kurz, make sure to lead them well . As the next highest-ranking officer after me, you will now be in charge . Is that understood?”
“……Understood . ”
“Alright then . It has only been for a short while, but I am truly glad to have served with you all . Good luck . ”
“”Good luck as well, Commander!””
I returned to my captain’s seat in reality .
Of course, I knew that the most rational decision I could make as a military officer was to abandon the shuttles and leave immediately .
However, I, personally, cannot bring myself to do that . I’m a failure of a military officer . At the very least, let me make up for this lapse in judgment with my utmost effort .
Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
“All personnel, abandon ship! Start evacuating everyone to the other fleet ships at once . ”
“Captain!?”
“That’s an order, XO . ”
“But–!”
“I’m going to buy us some time . Please, Sarah . Listen to me . ”
“………I understand, Iris . All hands! Abandon ship!”
The bridge crew gave me one final salute and started to evacuate . I also gave them a crisp salute in return .
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m going to have you come with me, Teo . ”
『It’s fine . I’ll accompany you till the end, Captain . 』
“Declare a first-class state of emergency . Teo, ignore normal regulations and release the limiters of all the systems of the ship . ”
『Limiters are off, Captain . 』
With this, I should be able to put up a decent fight even by my lonesome .
Before long, all of the ship’s crew have managed to escape via the landing crafts and started heading for our allied ships . However, I had them leave the combat bots usually assigned to the landing crafts behind .
“Now then, let’s head for that Bug fleet . Maximum combat speed . I’ll leave the system controls to you . ”
『Roger . 』
The Bug fleet was acting warily . They were slower than usual . Well, that’s convenient .
We will soon have them within firing range .
“Tactical Maneuver Sigma 1, commence . ”
『Roger . 』
We started circling around the Bug fleet at maximum speed and attacked them from medium range . As expected, BG-IIIs really are different from BG-Is . This won’t be easy at all .
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『One ship, down . The attack trajectories of the Bug ships seem odd . They seem to be recalibrating their aim constantly and are trying to disable us . 』
As I thought! It’s just as I predicted . I banked on the possibility that they will act like this when faced with just a lone ship . The Bugs greatly desired humanity’s tech after all . They are probably thinking of acquiring this ship so they are trying not to overly damage it . Of course, even if this ship gets shot down, the Bugs still won’t get their filthy hands on it . The moment we get incapacitated, Teo will activate the self-destruct sequence according to protocol .
If I can just shave off a couple more from their number…
When I managed to shoot down an additional five ships, their attack patterns finally changed . It looks like they won’t be permitting any more losses . I guess this is how far we can go with this strategy .
“Prioritize evading their attacks while exchanging fire . ”
『Roger . 』
“How much time left before the evacuation is finished?”
『The shuttles have reached orbit and the transfer of passengers has started . I estimate that it will take approximately 36 minutes until they can escape via hyperspace navigation . 』
So there are still 36 minutes left . We’ve ended up coming pretty close to the colony planet . Just how long will we be able to last at this rate?
Even when we prioritized evasive maneuvers, we still managed to shoot down one more enemy ship . There were nine ships left . At this rate, we’ll be pushed back near the orbit of colony planet Athena, and it will end up within enemy range . But there’s still 25 minutes to go before they can make their escape .
“Can you cause a localized explosion near the engine remotely?”
『It’s possible . 』
“Okay . Try to make it appear as if we got hit by one of their attacks and detonate an explosion . Bring down the shield as well . ”
『Are you sure, Captain?』
“There’s no other way to get their attention . ”
『Understood . I will execute it now . 』
This is a very risky bet . I couldn’t think of any other way but this .
We evaded a couple more attacks from the Bug fleet and made a sudden sharp turn at maximum combat speed . After gaining some distance, vibrations rocked the ship . Teo must have already set off a localized explosion . What is the reaction of those damned Bugs?
Yes! They bit the bait! All nine ships turned back to encircle Teo . Yes, this is fine . I was worried they would end up splitting their forces in half . It looks like they really want human tech for themselves .
“Activate all combat and general-purpose bots . Have them defend all passageways leading to the bridge . ”
『Roger . 』
They would probably have a hard time eliminating the bots while trying not to cause too much damage to the ship .
“If the Bugs try anything funny and attempt to access the main system, immediately activate the self-destruct protocol . ”
『Understood . 』
“You can jam the communication systems of the Bugs, right? Make sure no information leaks out . Activate the self-destruct protocol at your discretion . ”
『Understood . 』
The Bugs had three of their ships approach Teo and extended something that looked like a boarding passageway to infiltrate the ship . They broke through the ship’s hull and started infiltrating . They seemed pretty efficient for mere insects . They probably planned all this in advance the moment we engaged them with just one ship .
They immediately entered combat with the combat and general-purpose bots guarding the main passages . Only 15 more minutes to go .
Unexpectedly, the Bugs didn’t seem afraid of causing damage to the ship . They sent wave after wave of armored insect soldiers to engage the defending robots . The combat bots were already beginning to suffer large losses . Ten minutes more .
The Bugs finally made it in front of the bridge . They immediately destroyed the reinforced sliding door by tearing it with their claws . So these are the enemies of humanity – the Bugs . It’s my first time seeing them alive like this . All I saw before were dead specimens sent back for research . Six minutes more .
The ones that entered were basic Beetle Type IIs . They had a horrifying figure covered in messy hair filaments and rugged carapace . Their entire body looked slimy and greasy . And the smell! It made me want to throw up a thousand times over .
They invaded the bridge en masse . They looked like they were talking with each other, but all I could hear were bizarre clicking noises . Then one of them started fiddling with a tiny box-like device .
“System, hand over . ”
A Bug spoke!? Precisely speaking, the voice was from the tiny device, but still…
(What’s going on!? How did these Bugs get a hold of our language?)
『This is just my conjecture, but this may be proof that a certain unsavory rumor was true . 』
Rumor? Oh, that rumor huh… There was a claim saying that the Bugs might have captured a great number of humans and brought them back to their home-world .
It stemmed from the fact that the number of those reported missing after attacks on colony planets did not match the number of corpses recovered to a significant degree . According to that rumor, the Bugs apparently raised humans akin to livestock and were treated as gourmet foodstuffs back in their home-world . To think there was a possibility of that being true…
I definitely don’t want to end up like that though…
“System, hand over . ”
So that little box is some sort of translator device? They seem to want me to hand over the systems of the ship .
They seem to be getting impatient .
“No!”
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“System, hand over . Otherwise, kill . ”
“Go ahead and kill me then . ”
It seems the Bugs were confused when I told them to kill me without hesitation . The frantic clicking noises they make is getting on my nerves .
“System, hand over . If you don’t, I, eat your hand . ”
Eat my what now? Oh, was it threatening me? Did it think the reason I’m not self-destructing immediately was that I wished to live? Ah, the foolishness of these Bugs is one of the saving graces for the human race . It would be terrible for humanity if they were even just a bit smarter .
“No, don’t eat me!”
I don’t know if the Bugs actually understood human emotions, but I pretended to shake uncontrollably to signify fear . I’m sure these bastards are having a blast watching me .
“No, will eat . System, hand over . ”
“I won’t hand over the system, but please don’t eat me . ”
“Will eat . System, hand over . ”
“I won’t hand over the system, but please don’t eat me . ”
It looks like it finally realized I was making a fool out of it . It grabbed one of my arms and chewed it up starting from the fingers . I screamed as loud as I could . One minute more .
…4, 3, 2, 1 . I stopped screaming immediately . I had my nanoms cut off my sense of pain earlier, so I naturally didn’t feel a thing .
(How long before the reactor goes critical?)
『We can go out right now if you like, Captain . But for maximum effect, three minutes more would be ideal . 』
I see . Alright then . I guess there’s enough time for me to finish handing over command .
『Captain Kurz . 』
The image of Captain Kurz, who was currently sitting on the captain’s chair of the destroyer under his command, went up on the screen . My former XO, Sarah, was standing by his side . She was crying profusely . My current appearance might be a bit too much for her .
The situation on my ship was monitored by all of my former subordinates, so they must have seen the entire thing .
The Bugs got surprised when the screen suddenly turned on and were making a racket . Ugh, so noisy . The scum that was happily munching on my arm finally released me .
“Captain Kurz, I now fully relinquish command of the fleet to you . ”
『…Understood, ma’am . 』
“Stay safe, Sarah . ”
『Uu… Captain!』
Sarah was a friend who’s been with me since I was first assigned as the captain of an imperial destroyer .
“I’m sorry Captain Kurz, but can you help me send a video message?”
『Of course ma’am . We can depart via hyperspace drive anytime so there’s absolutely no problem . 』
“I’ll send it to you later then . ”
I cut the comms . The Bugs were still clicking and clacking in confusion .
“Teo, my appearance is a bit unsightly, so can you edit the video so I’d look like I was inside the captain’s quarters in civilian clothes? Edit out the clicking sounds too of course . ”
My left arm ended up getting eaten right up to the elbow . I can’t show such a thing to my family .
『Understood . Go ahead, Captain . 』
“Selena, Sharon . Are you doing fine, girls!? I got the sketch you sent me! You drew it very well! Mama was really surprised! But Mama’s busy with work, so I won’t be able to come home for a while . I’m really sorry . Be good girls and listen to Papa always . I’ll leave them both to you, okay, Aaron? I love you……… And cut . ”
The Bugs seemed taken aback by my sudden actions . They looked pretty confused when I made my best smile and waved goodbye cheerfully .
I didn’t think I would actually record a holo-video for my family under the eyes of dozens of Bugs… You really never know what life will throw at you next, huh .
『The reactor has reached critical mass . 』
“I see . I’ve been in your care, Teo . ”
『No . It was my pleasure to serve under you, Captain . 』
I ran my gaze to the surrounding Bugs . They still looked absolutely bewildered . Oh, and I suppose I should thank them for allowing me to shoot a holo-video without any disturbance .
“Okay then, you lot! I’ll see you all in hell! ……Detonate!
Five of the nine Bug ships got caught up directly in the explosion and got thoroughly destroyed . The other four heavily damaged ships were brought down by the three destroyers with a vengeance .
The Imperial Military High Command praised Lt . Col . Iris Conrad for her heroic actions and gave her a posthumous promotion to Brigadier General .
And when the last video message of the Brigadier General got mysteriously leaked from the imperial military database, which never allowed any sort of data leak until that point, it immediately spread throughout the known galaxy and caused a massive commotion . It was then decided that the Brigadier General would be given the highest-ranked imperial military medal; the Great Galactic Cross .
After this, it was also decided that the next-gen Galaxy-class dreadnought being constructed at the time will be christened as the Iris Conrad, in commemoration of the fallen hero .