CH 21

How to fight an Interstellar Battle

Two hours after they departed from the [Radiant]. Kisei and Saki have crossed several star systems and are approaching their target location. Sporadic battles with the Noredian army have begun in other theaters but so far they have not encountered any enemy in their path. It was a peaceful trip.

“Oh, the jet’s amazing.”

The only thing that can be done to kill time is gazing at the universe. Kisei raised his voice while watching the pale jet cones erupting from above and below the white dwarf at the center of the star system they just flew past.

“Don’t even think about approaching that thing alright. It won’t just end with you getting blown away after all.”

“Even I wouldn’t just go off and play during missions, you know.”

“Really?”

“Really, Really.”

They were having such a casual conversation but suddenly, a warning sound started blaring inside the cockpit. Hearing that, Kisei reflexively turns his eyes to the monitor.

“Reaction from the Tadar (TLN: I think it’s a Tachyon Radar)? The quantum sonar is……there are high-mass FTL reactions, an enemy?”

Saki, who seems to have seen the same reading, shouted. In the current era, where means to travel at faster than light speed have been established, there are also technologies that enable enemy detection in another star system that are more than a few light-years away. Naturally, since strikers are designed to travel at FTL speed as well, such detection devices come equipped with them as standard equipment.

“If it’s this size then it must be a battleship class. Moreover, there are 4 of them……..escort ships are also detected. Do you think they are part of the enemy’s main force?”

“Maybe, but this is still only a small number compared to the initial report right. Isn’t it possible that their main force is somewhere else?”

The report said that the enemy’s main force consisted of 14 battleships. If there are only 4 here then it is possible that they are just an enemy’s raid unit. Since they were tasked with finding out the location of the enemy’s main force, if they report this in and turn out that they are actually a separate unit then they would fail their objective.

“No……our opponent is a large army and they only have one target. They should have no need to split up their force and perform a separate assault.”

“That’s true. Then these guys must be their advance guard huh? If so then there’s a high probability that their main force is right behind them.”

Saki calls up the star chart and looks into their possible locations. The star systems in this area are located close to each other. Saki is currently looking into the star systems that are connected via Starways which are within tens of minutes of travel time via the FTL Navigation.

“Hey, since it would be bad if we send back vague information, maybe we should confirm it with the pinger.”

“That’s a little risky but I guess we have to huh.”

Kisei proposed to fully activate the active sensor and expand their search range. Naturally, there are also disadvantages to this method. The enemy will be able to pinpoint their location. If that happens, they would immediately dispatch their interceptor.

However, to confirm that they have indeed found the enemy’s main force, they have no choice but to do this.

With no hesitation, Kisei activated the active sensor. The search range displayed on the monitor greatly expanded. As they expected, a large number of reactions were shown behind the advance guard they discovered. It appears that this is indeed the enemy’s main force.

“As I thought. Let’s call it in.”

With that said, Kisei operated the panel on his console and sent the information to the [Radiant] via an encrypted channel. With them being very far away from the fleet, voice communication is unavailable at the moment. After all, the enemy has already jammed the communication in this system.

“Now, what do we do? Their interceptor will be coming at us soon you know.”

“Well, as a mercenary, it would be rude for me to not give them a warm welcome.”

Kisei grinned and equipped the [Caliburn-Revive]’s left hand with the anti-ship grenade launcher from its back. He didn’t forget to bring spare ammunition to this mission as well. With this, he should be able to sufficiently handle the anti-ship warfare that is about to unfold.

“You serious? I heard that you rushed straight toward 2 battleships the other day but this time there are 4 you know?”

“My combat power has also doubled since last time. It’s a fair game right.”

“You really are insane……Tsk, no choices then.”

Saki is uneasy about this but her pride as a woman does not allow her to retreat while a man is going out to fight. Shaking her head, Saki forced a smile to her face.

“I don’t have any anti-ship armaments on the [Dainsleif]. I’m going to provide support only alright.”

“Yeah, I’ll leave my back to you.”

Saying so, they entered the FTL Navigation mode and headed toward the enemy fleet. Naturally, the enemy also detected their approach since their ships are equipped with high-performance enemy search equipment. Launching an interception, multiple strikers are launching off from the launch deck of their battleships and cruisers.

The sortied Noredian strikers are now in an interception formation. A high degree of training can be observed from their organized positioning.

After a moment, Kisei and Saki arrived at the star system they are traveling in. Accompanied by a flash of blue light, the golden wheel behind their strikers disappears.

“Ugh, there’s a lot more than I thought. Are we really going to do this, Hokuto!”

“It’s not just a lot. But there’s no backing out now right, ORAHHH!”

“Shit, you’re right! Let’s make some fireworks and head back!”

Whether it was due to good or bad luck, the location where Kisei and Saki exited the FTL Navigation……..was extremely close to the enemy fleet. Considering the sense of distance in space, they practically appeared in front of the enemy. Without sparing them even a moment to breathe, they have already reached the engagement distance.

“Incoming!”

Countless crimson beams flood toward Kisei and Saki. The anti-aircraft guns from the fleet also opened fire. Both Kisei and Saki abandon their ride boosters and take evasive maneuvers but the enemy’s attack is relentless. The powerful beams that each could potentially blow up their striker send chills down their spine.

“It will be easier on us if we are in melee range. We are going to use their strikers as covers and approach the fleet alright.”

“THERE’S NO OTHER WAY RIGHT! If they keep firing at us like this we will be blown to pieces even before we can land a hit on their ships.”

Saying so, cold sweat started to gather on Saki’s forehead.