Several hours had passed since we departed the commercial colony of Freeport Nova.
The Sperm Whale was currently en route to the gas nebula where our target ingredient—the interstellar migratory fish known as "Star Tuna"—made its home. To reach it, we had charted a course through a notorious navigational hazard known as the Vol Ga Do Reef Sector.
Outside the windows, the subspace tunnel stretched into the distance, streaks of light streaming past us in a hypnotic blur.
"...Hmph. So this is the infamous Vol Ga Do sector. The spectral interference of subspace here is quite unstable—and quite beautiful. It sends a shiver down my spine."
Professor Stein sat in a guest seat on the bridge—a station once occupied by the ship's communications or navigation officers—remarking airily while sipping his tea with practiced elegance.
The eccentric old professor seemed to have mistaken this life-threatening voyage for a luxury safari tour.
"Professor, please refrain from such reckless comments! The last field investigation team was accompanied by a Regular Army escort fleet! Charging in with a single civilian ship is a completely different story! We should turn back while we still can... Oh, honestly, if I’d known it would come to this, I would have stayed locked away in the lab!"
Clinging to a terminal beside the professor was his assistant, Emulgand, his face a ghostly shade of white.
"Whatever are you saying, Emulgand? I believe I was the one who told you that if this ship were a mere facade, we would be picked clean to the bone. We are currently conducting an empirical experiment to prove that very point; is that not a joyous occasion?"
"I’m protesting because I don’t want to be picked to the bone! I haven’t even finished the peer review for my thesis yet!"
Emulgand cried out with teary eyes.
Good grief, the bridge has certainly gotten lively.
I took a sip of my synthetic coffee and turned back to the console.
"Take it easy, Assistant. This ship is sturdy. Besides, if we don’t push through here to reach the Neutral Station Oasis, we’ll never get to the Star Tuna fishing grounds."
Everything was for the sake of delicious fish.
Sashimi, sushi... well, I didn't have rice, so those were off the table. In that case, I'd go with a grilled fish head. Salt-grilling the fatty collar sounded like a plan, too. Regardless, the risk was worth the reward.
All systems were green—a peaceful voyage, bordering on the mundane. Or so I thought.
“Warning. Gravity quake detected. Evasion impossible.”
Lucia’s warning and the impact arrived at the same time.
The hull groaned with a violent shudder, as if a giant had reached out and snatched the ship from the void.
"Whoa!"
"Hieeeeee!"
The physical shock rippled through the ship, and I clung to the console for dear life. Emulgand let out a short, strangled yelp as he was thrown forward, headbutting the back of the professor's seat.
Outside the windows, the tunnel of light shattered. The scenery, which had been flowing at FTL speeds, snapped to a halt. We were forcibly dragged back into normal space, where the stars returned to fixed points of light.
It was more than a sudden stop; it felt as if a car traveling at hundreds of miles per hour had slammed into a concrete wall. Without the inertia control system, we would have been reduced to red paste against the bulkheads.
"...Tch, an Interdictor?!"
Fighting back a wave of nausea, I glared at the main screen.
A fleet emerged from the shadows of the debris, filling the monitor. In the center sat an illegally modified medium cruiser, flanked by four destroyer-class ships and a swarm of smaller vessels. Despite the peeling paint and jury-rigged repairs, the cruiser’s silhouette still bore the unmistakable marks of a military vessel.
"...These aren't just common pirates. That’s a military frame. Scrap from a boneyard, or maybe something leaked through the black market? Either way, they’ve managed to patch it up and keep it flying."
Refurbishing a scrapped warship required a level of capital and technical skill that was far from ordinary. I wondered if they were acting as self-appointed debt collectors for the Neutral Station's transit fees. A normal merchant ship would have hoisted the white flag the moment they appeared.
“Hyahahaha! Welcome to our backyard! Time to pay the toll, you big hunk of junk!”
The communication line forced itself open, and a voice distorted by static crackled over the bridge speakers.
"S-Space pirates...! And look at those numbers! It’s over! My life ends here! I haven't even finished paying off my student loans!"
Emulgand clutched his head, trembling like a leaf. The professor, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes at the enemy fleet, observing their equipment as if he were admiring an exhibit in a museum.
"Ho... so the rumors were true. To actually see an Interdictor with my own eyes. I wonder, did they reconstruct the circuits from scrap?"
"Lucia, status report. What's the status on the shields?"
"Deployed. In accordance with combat protocols, they were raised to maximum output the moment the forced stop was initiated."
Good. At least we're covered there.
I immediately brought the fire control system online.
"Enemy fleet is commencing their attack. Here they come."
Countless points of light and physical projectiles streaked toward us from the enemy formation. I didn't see any expensive guided missiles; instead, it was a deluge of cheap rockets, outdated railgun slugs, and laser fire. They clearly intended to overwhelm us with sheer volume.
Dull vibrations thudded through the hull as the barrage struck our defenses. Countless explosions blossomed across the surface of the shields, but the Sperm Whale didn't even budge. For a ship with as much surplus power as this one, a barrage of this level was little more than a stiff breeze.
"Hieee! Please don't shoot! I’m just an assistant! I don’t want to end up as a skeletal specimen!"
"Quiet, Emulgand. Pessimism does nothing for morale. Besides, look at how calm the Captain is."
The professor rebuked his assistant with a perfectly composed face. Though, from where I was sitting, he looked like he was having the time of his life.
"Damage is negligible. No fluctuations in shield integrity."
"Good. Time to hit back. I'll focus the main and secondary guns on the cruiser. Lucia, you handle the small-scale ships. There are too many for me to track manually, so they're all yours."
While I began manually charging the main guns, I handed control of the anti-air and point-defense systems over to Lucia. Since we had guests on board, I couldn't take my time and carefully disable the ships to maximize the loot. This needed to be quick and decisive.