After departing the commercial colony Transaction Hub, the Sperm Whale settled into its flight path toward the Battlefield Site.
We had some time before our arrival.
I took Mina with me and headed toward the Engine Room—the heart of the ship.
"...This is the generator?"
Beyond the heavy bulkhead, it sat enthroned in the center of the dim, cavernous space.
It was a mass of dull, shimmering black metal. Geometric patterns etched across its surface flickered with a pulsating, pale blue light. It lacked the usual chaotic sprawl of pipes and cables found in standard reactors; instead, it possessed a strange, alien serenity, looking more like a piece of fine art than a machine.
"Yeah. You were the one who adjusted the energy distribution for this thing, right? How was it?"
"...Honestly, I couldn't make heads or tails of it," Mina admitted, her voice trailing off. "The output is on a completely different level. It’s not just 'off the charts'—it’s producing enough energy to power an entire city. On top of that, the internal structure is a total black box. I couldn't even begin to analyze how it works."
"I figured. Parts of it use tech that hasn't been released to the public, and other parts are less like engineering and more like something out of a fantasy."
This was the pride and joy of my ship—a power source I had upgraded time and time again through main quest progression and countless events back in the game. It had been advertised as having "near-infinite energy efficiency," but I never imagined that performance would hold up so well once it became reality.
In all honesty, it was actually a little terrifying.
"The shields and weapons have been rock solid thanks to your maintenance. I appreciate it."
"...I didn't do anything worth thanking. I just built bypasses to channel the overflowing energy more efficiently. I couldn't even lay a finger on the main unit itself."
Mina looked up at the black mass with a mix of frustration and genuine awe.
"Next up, the main battery."
We left the Engine Room and headed to the armament section on the upper hull. Stored within was a massive weapon featuring an exceptionally long barrel.
"The Extra-Large Armament 'Ion Cannon'."
"...This is the one specialized for electronic warfare rather than physical destruction, right?" Mina muttered, her eyes scanning the capacitor banks surrounding the barrel.
"Spot on. It fires a massive ion charge into the target, overloading their generator and forcing a total systems failure. It’s a weapon designed to 'neutralize' a ship without blowing it to pieces."
The fact that the Sperm Whale isn't a combat ship is obvious, given its main battery is designed for neutralization. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
"And over here is our primary pulse laser."
We moved to a turret that looked a bit more practical for general combat.
"The cooling mechanism on this... it’s definitely not a standard alloy. The heat dissipation is incredible; the barrel probably won't melt even under sustained rapid fire," Mina analyzed, running a hand over the housing.
Come to think of it, this was an Excavated Armament too. As an energy weapon, its power increased based on the output allocated from the generator, though it traded that power for a longer cooldown. It made sense that it was built to handle the generator's ridiculous output. I’m sure there was some flavor text in the game that explained exactly how it worked, but I couldn't recall it now.
Having a transport ship this heavily armed was originally just for player convenience, but now, it was the most reliable thing I had.
Once the tour was over, we returned to the Bridge for a strategy meeting.
"When I was checking the Kinetic Weapons, I noticed a lot of the turrets were empty. Are those just for show?" Mina asked.
"Believe me, I’d fire them if I could. But while small-caliber rounds are easy enough to find, ship-grade ammo—medium-caliber and up—is strictly military. Buying it requires a Silver Rank mercenary license or a permit from the regular army. It’s a high bar to clear."
I shrugged. It wasn't just a matter of having the credits; you needed the right connections and a high enough credit score. Right now, we lacked both.
That said, if I can get my hands on physical ammunition, I won't hesitate to use it. Some enemies have high resistance to energy weapons. While kinetic rounds are generally weaker against shields, there are specialized shells that are highly effective—if you can afford them.
With any luck, we might be able to scavenge some unused crates of ammo from the derelict warships.
I turned to the console and issued instructions to Lucia.
"Lucia, tune the energy circuits. Based on our last battle, I want you to prioritize the response time for the Close-in Defense Weapons. When we’re dealing with drones, reaction speed is the difference between life and death."
"Acknowledged. Reducing output to anti-ship armaments by 15% and reallocating it to the anti-air pulse lasers and shield control systems... Optimization complete."
"Good. That's all for the preparations."
Now, it was just a matter of how much "treasure" we could find out there.
"Two hours until we arrive. Take a nap while you can."
"...Like I could sleep right now. I’ve been put in charge of maintaining this monster of a ship, and now we’re heading straight into a graveyard."
Mina let out a heavy sigh, but her eyes never left the tablet in her hand as she reviewed the maintenance manual she had written for herself.
If you enjoyed the story and are looking forward to the next chapter, please click the "★"! Akito's dinner tomorrow might get a little upgrade. Thank you for your support!