Episode 154

Takasaki—the Alpha Region’s undisputed heavyweight champion of shipbuilding. While their bread and butter was cranking out civilian tubs, their military track record was nothing to sneeze at. The company was a titan, the literal backbone of the EAP, the largest Alliance in the surrounding space.

The reborn Plum—fresh from the hands of Takasaki Shipbuilding after a production cycle that dragged on two months longer than promised—finally cruised into New Wyoming where Taro and the crew were waiting. It had snagged a prime parking spot right at the base of Pier 1, radiating an "I’m bigger than you" energy that practically vibrated through the station. It wasn't just the political or military weight of a battleship that turned heads; the damn thing was just massive.

"Look at those crowds! I’ve never seen the lobby that packed!" Marl shouted excitedly.

She was riding the high-speed moving lane on the pier next to Taro, twisting around to gawk at the station. Taro followed her gaze. Over the heads of the Rising Sun leadership trailing behind them, he could see the lobby. It was a mosh pit of gawking civilians.

"Well, it is the RS Alliance flagship," Taro said. "Even if it’s technically company property, the residents probably see it as 'Our Battleship.' It’s a real village pride and joy situation."

I went out of my way to keep the Alliance’s operating budget far away from the construction costs. The final bill was high enough to make my soul leave my body, but it was better than letting it become 'shared property' and having a committee tell me when I can or can’t fly my own ship. Of course, the local residents didn't care about the accounting—they just liked the big ship.

"Exposed main guns, huh? Reminds me of the Empire’s Riot-class or Middle Comet-class... Hey, Teiro. Is this thing front-loaded? That big, sexy ass is great and all, but it looks like it’d get in the way of a bombardment. Also, what’s with that giant structure in the middle? Looks like an observation deck for a tourist cruise," Alan grunted from behind, squinting through the pier’s windows.

"Nah. It’s what you’d call a front-dominant type—only the main guns have restricted firing arcs. Those bays on the sides are secondary guns with semi-spherical coverage, and that big ass is actually a drone hangar. You can pack a whole swarm in there. As for the giant structure, that’s the communication system. It’s the beefed-up version of the one we had on the skeletal Plum II," Taro explained, casually pointing at various sections of the ship without even bothering to look forward.

Viewed from the front, the battleship Plum was diamond-shaped; from above, it was a sleek, elongated oval. It bore a striking resemblance to the Earth vessels Taro knew so well, right down to the bridge bristling with communication arrays.

The structure Alan had mistaken for a tourist deck—and which Taro had "apparently" labeled a comms system—was a last-minute addition. It hadn't been in the blueprints, but during the final phase of construction, it became a necessity. Making the silhouette larger from the front was a gamble, as it increased the target area during a slugfest, and Taro had initially wanted to keep the hull compact. However, trial runs revealed that the plasma spat out by the large-caliber railguns was messing with the drive particles used for communication. Since this was the Alliance flagship, communication was the one thing that couldn't fail—it was more important than the guns or the shields combined.

"As for the nitty-gritty specs, you don't even need to look at the handouts. Koume-san, do the honors."

Receiving the cue, Koume gave her usual, robotic nod.

"Acknowledged, Mr. Teiro. Super-Kilometer-class Battleship, the Super Thousand Ship, BB-RS001 Plum III. Total length: 1,024 meters. Minimum hit area: 200 square meters. It is powered by four large-scale battery generators and eight fusion engines. It carries the Main BISHOP Core salvaged from the previous Plum along with four composite sub-systems. As you can see, the main batteries are Large-caliber Twin Railguns in an exposed turret configuration—three staggered on the upper bow and two on the lower bow. For secondary defense, it features three Retractable Triple Beam Turrets on each side for semi-spherical coverage. These primarily handle targets outside the main guns' reach. Additionally, the main gun barrels can double as torpedo launch tubes."

Koume rattled off the stats with terrifying fluency. She shot a sidelong glance at Gon, the "Cats" pilot who had just opened his mouth to ask about hangar space, and kept going.

"Leveraging the know-how from the original Plum, we have integrated facilities equivalent to a small carrier. It can house approximately 150 standard-type fighters, HADs, and bombers. With an internal dock, ship-borne craft can be repaired on-site for any damage up to a Yellow Alert level. The bridge's communication system is, as Mr. Teiro stated, an improved version of the one found on the neural network relay ship. It manages the relays for unmanned accompanying craft, though a backup sub-system is also installed in the drone hangar."

Every eye turned toward the Plum’s rear. Sure enough, separate from the secondary turret bays, two drone launch bays were visible. Assuming the other side was symmetrical, that meant four drones could be spat out at once.

"You really crammed everything in there, didn't you? I assume the suspiciously low price tag was thanks to that refining method of yours?" Bella asked.

"Yeah," Taro nodded. "Mr. Dean hooked us up with Razor Metal at a massive discount, saying the current returns were too small. If we’d paid market price, I don't think even doubling the budget would have covered it."

Razor Metal was the ultimate money-sink in shipbuilding. Anything involving drive particles required it. Cutting that cost down was the only reason they weren't bankrupt.

"Otherwise, the company would’ve gone tits up... Well, let's get inside."

The group moved as one, crossing the pier and stepping into the battleship via the umbilical tube. After passing through several layers of thick, armored bulkheads, they reached a corridor that looked standard but smelled of that unmistakable "new ship" scent.

"Two command centers? Splitting the risk?" Alan asked, checking the map on his terminal. The interior was a labyrinth; without a map, a person could get lost for days in there.

"That, but mostly division of labor. We’ll have teams for every device, so the day-to-day internal control will be handled by the Second Bridge. It needs a crew of about 300. By the way, Alan, you’re the leader over there."

"Whoa, hold up! You could’ve mentioned something that big in advance... actually, never mind. Sorry. You were unconscious, so it’s not like you could’ve called a meeting. Fine, leave it to me."

Taro parted ways with the main group, heading toward the First Bridge with Marl, Koume, and Etta. Bella wasn't planning on staying aboard the Plum since she had her own second fleet to command, so she wandered off to inspect the Second Bridge instead.

"Such a beautiful flow... the waves are made so they don't interfere with each other," Etta murmured vacantly, staring at the rugged ceiling of the empty corridor. Taro looked up too, but he saw nothing but gray plating. She was likely "seeing" the invisible network woven by the ship’s comms system.

"Alan handled the design," Taro said, picturing the rough-and-tumble engineer. "When it comes to networks, he’s world-class. Even if it doesn’t match his face at all."

The three women giggled as they walked.

"Wow, it’s smaller than I expected. I saw the blueprints, but still," Marl noted as they entered.

"Well, it was just us using the bridge on the old Plum, too. To make up for it, the Second Bridge is about ten times bigger."

"I guess it has to be, if it's fitting 300 people. Oh, this is my seat!"

They reached the circular bridge and migrated to their respective stations. Taro climbed up to the elevated Captain’s Seat. Marl claimed a chair surrounded by a mountain of storage boxes and monitors. Koume took the station rigged with manual overrides, and Etta hopped into a high-end, oversized seat that practically screamed "Nap Time."

"I designed this myself, but man, there isn't a shred of visual consistency in here..." Taro muttered.

"Function over form, Taro! Anyway, I’m heading down to the Engine Room," Marl chirped.

"Koume shall accompany you, Miss Marl. I wish to verify the status of all equipment."

Taro watched the two of them bolt out, then leaned back into his seat and let out a long breath. Back on Earth, they used to say a man with a house was the lord of his own castle. I wonder if this is how those guys felt?

"............Nah, not yet. There’s still more. Super-dreadnoughts, massive carriers. Heck, Gigantech has transport ships that carry battleships like they're cargo. I’m no man if I’m satisfied with just this."

Taro scolded himself for his fleeting moment of contentment. He slapped his cheeks hard. "Alright! Focus!"

I’ve got the tools. Now I just have to do it.

With the rhythmic sound of Etta’s snoring acting as his background music, Taro began to visualize the conquest of the WIND-infested corridor. It actually seemed... easy.

I never realized how incredible it is to be able to predict exactly what the enemy is going to do.