Chapter 214: I'm Sorry, But No

“W-Well, it’s not like there’s a need to follow after them when they enter the atmosphere, right?”

“I sure hope so.”

“A-Ahaha…… I’ve already marked their atmospheric entry coordinates.”

Of course, we didn’t manage to catch up to them before they initiated atmospheric entry. By the time we reached Comatt IV that was currently being terraformed, the suppression ship had already begun to descend, and although we did manage to destroy their propulsion system, they just crashed straight onto Comatt IV instead. I was ordered not to destroy them, so I couldn’t do anything further than that.

Even so, Krishna was still a small-class ship completely capable of long-distance interstellar navigation. The performance of its various sensors is more than adequate and that makes it really easy to accurately observe the entry trajectory of the suppression ship from above Comatt IV’s low orbit region.

And so, that makes us capable of marking the exact entry trajectory and landing point of the suppression ship and put pressure on its passengers safely from above Comatt IV’s low orbit region.

“I’m aware that the environment of a planet that’s under the terraforming process can be very dangerous, but what other reasons do you have to stay put in this region.”

“Even if they might possibly change to another ship capable of interstellar navigation, we’ll be able to react fast and intercept them the moment they fly out to space again if we stay here.”

No matter what model of starship they change to, in order to break away from a planet’s gravity and leave its atmosphere, they all basically need to fly straight up. Since that would make them incapable of making evasive maneuvers, they would be very vulnerable to attacks. In that situation, it would be relatively to destroy the enemy’s propulsion system even if they’re riding a speedy small-class starship.

“It’s really difficult to go up into space if a planet’s orbit is under guard. The one who gains control of space first controls the flow of battle. That’s why the military forces of any interstellar nation – the empire included – focus so much on developing their space fleets.”

No matter how powerful a soldier, tank, ship, or aerial weapon is, as long as they’re grounded, they would be extremely vulnerable to orbital bombing from space. Basically, the current rules of combat in this world emphasize holding control over outer space.

“If that’s the case, why did that suppression ship decide to escape to Comatt IV regardless?”

“They might have a trump card of sorts hidden on Comatt IV – maybe a way for them to escape or to buy time.”

“Buy time?”

“If they don’t have a trump card with them, then maybe they’re counting on help from reinforcements instead. Or maybe they’re banking on something like us withdrawing and are waiting for that chance. I think they have another agenda apart from hiding away on the planet, but I still have no idea what it might be.”

Actually, there’s another possibility, but I think the chances are low.

“Anyway, we’ll wait for the military to arrive here first. Once they’re here, we’ll let them take over and head back to the colony to take care of our loot.”

“You’re getting desperate huh.”

“Ahaha…… W-Well, there’s no reason for Krishna to land on the planet too, so I think it’ll be alright, Elma-san.”

Stop it, you two. If you keep saying things like that, we might really end up being forced to land. I ain’t having any part of that. I ain’t, okay!?

Approximately an hour later, I found myself inside an imperial dropship.

“Please let me go back.”

“I’m sorry, but no.”

Lt. Col. Serena was seated opposite me. She wasn’t in her usual crisp military uniform this time. Instead, she was wearing lightweight combat armor. There were also imperial marines wearing heavy combat armor and specialized jumpsuits suitable to be paired with power armor. The only saving grace in this situation was the presence of a good number of women in the squad, so it wasn’t like I was caught in the middle of a group of burly guys. This reduced my annoyance a bit.

By the way, I wasn’t wearing my usual mercenary get-up either. Instead, I was wearing lightweight combat armor geared for melee engagements coupled with the chameleon thermal cloak I bought at the Brad Prime colony before.

By slotting an energy pack in, this cloak will be able to keep you nice and comfy even in ultra-harsh environments with temperatures ranging from -50 degrees Celsius to +50. It also has a hood that lets you cope with typhoons and sandstorms and a chameleon camo function that lets you blend into your surroundings like a literal chameleon.

Aside from those, it’s also equipped with a high-tech canteen that can automatically collect moisture in the air to store up to 2 liters of drinkable water in a day, a specialized gas mask that defends you from not only harmful gases but also unknown bacteria, viruses, biochemical weapons and the like, among other survival equipment. I also equipped myself with my pair of noble-issued swords, my personal laser gun, and a laser rifle. In other words, I was fully armed for combat.

“The one we’re chasing after, Geritz Ixthermal, is a master swordsman who strengthened his body using state-of-the-art cybernetics and biotechnology. Right now, the only people able to handle him in this system is you and me.”

“But can’t you just surround him and barbeque him with lasers or something……?”

Only those Drawn Sword idiots would be crazy enough to insist on fighting with swords. Can’t you just use more modern equipment and weaponry, please?

“We already tried to do that back in the base and we incurred a lot of casualties as a result. In the first place, we need to ensure we capture him alive.”

“Why?”

“Geritz is actually the younger brother of Earl Ixthermal and it’s rumored that he basically handles all shady matters for the earl as his right-hand man. He hasn’t been arrested and questioned until now because his guard is perfect and he hasn’t left any traces of wrongdoings for the authorities to latch on to. We can’t let the guy slip away this time. If we manage to capture and interrogate him, we’ll be able to finally crush Earl Ixthermal for good. That’s why we absolutely must capture him.”

“I still don’t get this situation, but I do get that you want to take down that Earl Ixthermal fellow no matter what.”

“It’s enough that you understand that much. Well, let’s just say Earl Ixthermal is one of those corrupt nobles you keep hearing rumors about.”

A corrupt noble huh? I can kinda picture it already since his right-hand man is actually hanging out with scum like pirates. I have no intention of getting involved in noble issues so I better not ask anymore.

But didn’t they say the nobles are kept in line by the AI so they can’t do anything too over the line? Well, I can’t exactly ask Lt. Col. Serena about it openly here anyway. Whether it’s Elma or Chris, the nobles I’m familiar with always act reserved and a bit uncomfortable whenever we come to the topic of the independent AIs. Maybe they’re all under a tacit understanding, or maybe it’s actually an open secret. Or perhaps they’re under special circumstances that nobody talks about openly instead.

“Rather, I’m a specialist in starship combat y’know. You’re actually counting on me to fight it out with the guy on the ground?”

“Hahaha, didn’t you show us all such wonderful swordsmanship during the tournament? I’m sure you’ll be fine. Or rather, apart from me, there are no other people suitable for the job apart from you, so just give it up. Your employer has also given permission for you to take part in the operation. Well, I don’t think they will be able to refuse an official request from the imperial military in the first place though.”

“That’s playing dirty. You’re abusing authority.”

“Calling it dirty is a bit rude, don’t you think? I merely exercised my privileges in a legitimate manner.”

Lt. Col. Serena shrugged her shoulders and gave me a taunting grin. Gununu.

“30 seconds to atmospheric entry!”

“All personnel, prepare for descent! Make sure not to bite your tongues!”

“””Aye, aye, ma’am!”””

Lt. Col. Serena raised her voice and the marines loudly responded to her. It really felt like a proper army sortie, but why the heck am I included too?

“Now then, accompany me for a bit. Let’s head to the hell known as a planet under terraforming.”

Lt. Col. Serena’s lips bloomed into a smile as the dropship began its descent into the atmosphere. It began to shake intensely.

“Aaaaaah! Nooooooooo! Lemme go back alreadyyyyyyyyy!”

My desperate shouts were futile of course, and the dropship quickly made its descent onto the planet under terraforming.

“Secure the landing point! Go, go, go!”

“Armored marines, proceed to check and secure your equipment! Combat engineers, hurry and get that material projector up and running!”

Upon landing, the imperial marines jumped out of the dropship immediately and Lt. Col. Serena began issuing commands. The marines started to check their equipment and began setting up camp.

Honestly speaking, the environment in place we landed wasn’t exactly great. The temperature was 20 degrees below zero. It wasn’t arid or snowing, but dust kept blowing at our faces under the influence of storm-like winds, and if you didn’t wear a mask, your face would have been peppered full of scratches.

In the middle of all that, I brought out my portable terminal and called Krishna. The terminal relayed the image I was seeing through the universal mask through wireless comm.

“This is Hiro. In any case, we managed to land safely.”

『This is Mimi. Thank goodness you were able to safely land.』

“Yeah. So, are you guys tracking me just fine over there?”

『Everything’s okay on our end. We’ll be able to support you right away if anything happens.』

“I’m counting on you, guys. But please don’t hit me by mistake.”

『Trust my skills more, will you? I’ve also trained to handle Krishna as its sub-pilot you know. You are aware of that, right?』

“Well, yeah.”

Elma’s been training hard to pilot Krishna for a while now as her sub-pilot. Of course, she can’t handle her as well as me, but she’s at least got the basics down pat. As a former pilot of a machine that’s inherently hard to handle, Elma’s piloting skills are by no means low. She was able to handle that Galactic Swan after all. If she practiced performing combat maneuvers with the auto-balancer turned off, I’m sure she’ll be able to improve further.

“I really don’t like fighting without a power armor on……”

『You can’t swing your swords freely if you’re wearing your power armor after all, so it can’t be helped.』

『Wouldn’t it be good if you bought a power armor specialized for swordsmen next time though? We still have some space in the ship after all.』

“I guess I can consider that.”

There are lightweight power armors for sale that mimic the body’s full range of motion. Even so, it still possesses mobility and strength superior to a regular physical body, and if you install an optional jump pack, you’d be able to fly for short distances. In exchange, its defensive ability is drastically lower than regular power armors and is probably just a bit tougher than the lightweight combat armor I’m wearing right now.

However, it’s still a power armor, so its weather resistance and environmental adaptability are very high. Since it does seem like it would come in handy in situations like this, I might just consider buying one next time.

“But man, to think you’d suggest buying expensive equipment to overcome situations like this. You’re finally shaping up to be a proper mercenary, aren’t you, Mimi?”

『That’s right. Just go along and come to our side, Mimi.』

『A-Ahaha…… I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing though……』

C’mon. You don’t really have to be so reluctant. Wouldn’t it be easier to let yourself fall to the dark side?

『Sorry for changing the topic, but what’s your plan now?』

“Can’t I just wait around here until the target’s been found?”

Right now, the military material projector we brought with us was furiously spitting out building materials for constructing a sturdy base camp. I don’t know what kind of super-tech it’s using, but it’s kinda like a 3D printer – only made many times more awesome.

I wonder how that thing works though? Well, it does make more common sense than the main character of a crafting game that cuts down trees with his bare hands to create walls and ceilings from out of thin air. At least they’re making use of high-tech equipment.

“That won’t be allowed, of course.”

Before Mimi and Elma could reply, a voice called out from behind me. When I turned around, I saw Lt. Col. Serena in full combat gear. She was wearing her personal sword on her waist among various other equipment.

“Hiro, you and I are the trump cards against Geritz this time. Regular troops wouldn’t be able to handle him head-on, so you will come with me in order to sniff him out. You’ll be in the lead or course.”

“Um, lieutenant? Doesn’t a commander normally stay behind in the rear in order to coordinate the troops?”

“Which bygone era are you referring to? You’d be able to coordinate the troops just fine if you have a command device, and noble commanders have improved thought speeds to facilitate multi-tasking you know. A qualified imperial commander leads the troops from the front.”

“Oh, okay……”

In other words, I’ll have to accompany Lt. Col. Serena on the front lines in order to search for Geritz under this terrible weather condition. I see I see.

“Please let me go home already.”

“No.”

Lt. Col. Serena smiled under her transparent full-face helmet. Goddammit!