The fervor of the banquet had faded, and the silence of the dead of night had returned to the refugee camp.
We had our ship to sleep in, but I was staying outside out of social obligation. Curled up in my sleeping bag inside a tent that had been distributed—or rather, one I had distributed myself—I felt a sudden wave of sobriety wash over me.
"……Hey, Lucia."
"Yes, Master. What is it?"
Lucia, who had been in standby mode by my head, flickered a blue indicator light in the darkness.
"I’ve been thinking about it calmly…… and wasn't that battle a bit strange?"
"That depends on your definition of 'strange.' Are you referring to the fact that a single ship annihilated an entire fleet?"
"No, I’m talking about the premise, not the result."
I stared up at the tent's ceiling.
The request this time was for a "blockade breakthrough."
However, what had been waiting for us was a full-scale fleet centered around two cruisers and five destroyers.
"The specs for the Sperm Whale that I registered with the Mercenary Management Organization are significantly lower than its actual capabilities. Even then, they’re plenty unrealistic, but just barely within the realm of possibility."
"If we registered its true performance, we wouldn't just be viewed with suspicion; we would be considered a threat."
"Exactly. But charging into a fleet of that scale with just one transport ship is suicidal. Normally, you'd be turned into Swiss cheese the moment you tripped their sensor net, and that would be the end of it."
The Branch Manager, our client, had flattered me by calling the ship a 'Mobile Fortress,' but he was just playing along with my bluff. From a professional perspective, it was impossible to conclude that we could 'break through' given such a massive gap in military power.
If that was the case, there were only two possibilities.
Either the Branch Manager was incompetent and had grossly underestimated the enemy's strength.
Or—we were meant to be used and thrown away as a 'decoy.'
"……Now that the alcohol is wearing off, I’m starting to get a chill down my spine."
"Shall I perform an analysis? The possibilities inferred from the client's speech logs and the enemy fleet’s deployment patterns are—"
"Stop. We have guests."
I cut Lucia off and leapt to my feet.
Outside the tent, I sensed multiple presences creeping through the shadows of the rubble. It wasn't exactly bloodlust; it was a murkier, more visceral sense of greed.
"Connecting to the main ship and activating sensors. Multiple heat signatures detected. They are armed. Affiliation unknown, but based on equipment patterns, I estimate they are local bandits or former soldiers who have turned into a mob."
"They're ruining my good mood. ……Let's go, Lucia."
"Understood. It is time for the cleanup."
◇
When I stepped out of the tent, dozens of men were attempting to surround the relief supply containers under the moonlight. They were armed with assault rifles, laser guns, and even improvised tools.
As we revealed ourselves, a man who seemed to be the leader let out a smirk.
His equipment was a cut above the rest. It was likely a hodgepodge of looted gear, but he wore an Exoskeleton and even had a portable energy shield generator equipped on his left arm. He was surprisingly well-outfitted for a local thug.
"Heh, so you finally woke up, huh? Mr. Transporter playing the hero."
"The distribution is over," I said. "If you want seconds, get back in line."
"Shut your trap! I'm taking the contents of those containers, and I'll have that ship too while I'm at it!"
The man gave a signal, and muzzles were aimed at us from the surrounding shadows.
Good grief. This is why I hate star systems with zero public order.
"Lucia, cover me."
"Acknowledged. ……I shall deal with this swiftly to ensure my dress remains unsullied."
Instead of staying back for support, Lucia fluttered her Nano-fiber Maid Uniform and dove straight into the crowd.
"Huh?"
While I stood there dumbfounded, Lucia's silhouette danced in the moonlight.
Fast. Too fast.
She locked the arm of a man about to fire, dislocated his joint, and delivered a strike that stopped just short of crushing his windpipe. Small stun rods appeared from beneath her skirt, dropping the men one by one.
Her movements were like a refined dance. I’d never seen that combat style before. It was honestly terrifying. Lucia wasn't supposed to be a combat-capable companion, but it seemed she was truly all-purpose once she was released from her shipboard duties.
"Is this chick a monster?! Forget her, aim for the man!"
Realizing they couldn't even touch Lucia, the remaining group shifted their focus to me. It was the right call. Dozens of muzzles swung my way and spat fire all at once.
I didn't own anything as expensive as a personal shield, and even if I did, a cheap one would only block a few bullets before failing. It would be useless in a crossfire like this.
But I had something else.
I took a deep breath and focused my mind on 'grabbing' the space in front of me. I put my strength into it, as if gripping an invisible buckler.
Kiiiiin……!
An invisible force field deployed around me—the Telekinetic Shield caught the oncoming onslaught. The lead bullets lost their velocity instantly, as if frozen in mid-air. The stray lasers flickered as they hit the field, losing their trajectories and dissipating into mist.
As I relaxed my concentration, the physical rounds clattered harmlessly to the ground.
"W-What the!?"
"The bullets…… they just stopped!?"
The men were shaken. I wasn't soft enough to miss an opening like that.
I drew the 'Astro Breaker' from the holster at my waist. It was an ultra-large caliber revolver that had no business being classified as a handgun. I aimed for the most troublesome one: the leader in the Exoskeleton.
"Sorry, but this isn't a toy I can hold back with."
Doooon!!
A roar that sounded more like an explosion than a gunshot shook the night air. My quick-draw shot pierced through the energy shield the leader had frantically deployed as if it were tissue paper. It punched straight through his thick bulletproof plating and his torso.
A clean, donut-shaped hole—a cavity you could see right through—opened in the man's gut.
"Gah, ah……"
The man stared down at his own stomach, collapsing before he could even process what had happened.
Seeing that, the rest of them screamed, dropped their weapons, and scattered like baby spiders.
"H-Hieee!?"
"They're monsters! Both of them are monsters!"
All that remained were a few unconscious thugs and the leader, who had become a silent corpse.
"……Cleanup complete, Master."
Lucia returned with a serene expression, smoothing out the hem of her skirt. She hadn't been splattered by a single drop of blood.
"Good work. ……Seriously, this request is starting to smell fishy."
I holstered the Astro Breaker and glared at the backs of the fleeing men. For a simple supply run, the enemy's strength, our treatment, and the state of this planet—none of it added up.
"Once dawn breaks, I’m going to have a 'negotiation' with the Branch Manager. He’s going to tell me a story that won't be settled by just a few extra credits."
It seemed I wouldn't be able to just pocket the 3 million credits and fly away into the sunset.
I let out a sigh and decided to head back to the Sperm Whale to stay on guard.
The ship isn't the only thing that's out of the ordinary around here.