I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary

「Starting self-check process. Life support system, all good. Generator, weapons, maneuvering wings, shields—probably, all good!」

「Big Brother… could you trust our work a little more? We did all the checks properly …I get where you’re coming from, though!」

A mix of protest and agreement from Wiska came through over the comms.

Well, I can’t help it…The generator’s total output is reaching numbers that are incomparable to before, the onboard weapons are almost entirely different from what we had before, and there are even systems installed that I don’t fully understand what operational principles they operate on. As for the Maneuvering Light Wings, they’ve literally sprung up from nothing. They are also saying that the shield generator has some obvious changes. It seems the shields have some kind of new feature—probably Krishna has implemented the deflective shield that once repelled laser cannon attacks. But we haven’t gotten around to investigating that yet.

「Sorry, it just slipped out. I mean, Krishna’s probably evolved in response to my requests, so it’d be pretty unfair for me to complain now.」

If Krishna has a mind of its own, it might sulk if I complain too much. I guess it’s about time I accept Krishna’s evolution and get accustomed to it.

「Radar and other observational and communication devices are all good!」

「Subsystems are fine too, my Lord. Shield cells, emergency cooling system, chaff, flares—everything’s working perfectly.」

「We don’t even need to allocate output anymore, huh…」

Typically, a spacecraft used in battle was designed to adjust generator output on the fly, directing power to offense, defense, or mobility as needed. But now that the once-enigmatic psionic generator was running at full power, we no longer had to make those adjustments. The generator outputted enough energy to supply the maximum power to all systems constantly. Well, Krishna always had a surplus of power to begin with, so it’s not like we had to frequently adjust the output distribution all that much.

「Master, hatch opening confirmed. Electromagnetic catapult fully charged. Ready for launch at any time.」

「Okay, we’re all set here too. Launch us.」

「Understood, Master. Launching Krishna.」

With Mei’s signal, the electromagnetic catapult accelerated Krishna at high speed, and intense G-forces should have hit us—but they didn’t. I felt no G-forces at all, which was unnaturally strange. Krishna’s inertial control capability was always good, probably one of the best of its class, but this level was something else entirely.

「Inertial control has improved too… Well, that makes sense. I didn’t feel any strain during those crazy maneuvers.」

「It feels unnerving, to be honest… like it’s not real somehow.」

「It’s like being in a simulator.」

「Exactly.」

Both Mimi and Kugi hit the nail on the head—it’s strange, but I can’t complain. This means we can now execute extreme combat maneuvers without going through any physical strain. I feel a slight lack of challenge, but without this enhancement, we wouldn’t be able to withstand the G-forces when using the Maneuvering Light Wings to their full potential.

As I thought about this while running some light practice flights, a transmission came in from the deployed Holy Empire fleet.

「This is Kasha, commander of the Holy Vuelzarus Empire’s First Rapid Response Fleet. So, that’s the combat ship-type sacred relic, Krishna… I doubt we’ll need your help, but it’s good to be able to count on you.」

「This is Hiro, a mercenary. Likewise, glad to work with you. Rest assured, I don’t intend to intervene unless some unforeseen chaos breaks out. The Holy Empire Fleet’s main strategy is long-range bombardment, right? I’d rather not get caught in the attack of the Soul Crusher.」

「Glad you understand. But if an unforeseen event arises, we’d appreciate your cooperation.」

「Understood, leave it to me when the time comes.」

We nodded at each other through the main screen, ending the transmission. They probably don’t want me moving around recklessly and disrupting their coordination. And that makes sense. If I pushed forward on my own and prevented them from delivering a full-powered barrage from the Soul Crusher, resulting in enemies slipping through, it would be a disaster. If I were in their shoes, I’d be tempted to blast everything, including us, with the Soul Crusher. But that would be a big issue. It’s best for me to stay in my lane. After all, I’m just a guest on this mission.

「Is that alright? Won’t you miss the chance to conduct a real combat test with Krishna?」

「That’s fine too. It’s enough even if we’re just running maneuver tests in the rear, away from the combat zone. If we really need to let loose, we can always head to a secluded asteroid belt like before and test-fire as much as we want.」

The simulator can’t replicate things like the Telekinetic Halo or the Telekinetic Impact Cannon. So, real testing with the actual Krishna is the only option. Given that the Nine-Tails Beauty specifically asked for my participation in this battle, I suspect there will be a moment when I’m needed. After syncing my consciousness with hers, I could sense that she can see the future. The fact that she’s set me in motion like this likely means there’s a reason for it.

「Let’s stay in formation with the Holy Empire Fleet while coordinating with the Black Lotus. Mimi, sync us up.」

「Yes, Hiro-sama!」

Alright, let’s see how this unfolds. Hopefully, things won’t get too messy.

☆★☆

「Spatial tremors detected close by at the 9 o’clock direction! Eleventh wave incoming!」

「Scale!?」

「Numerous, but all small-sized types!」

「Engage! Send out the Type-A escort ships!」

「Krishna’s heading out too.」

「Much appreciated!」

Did I say it wouldn’t get too messy? Yeah, that was a lie.

At first, it was going well. Sure, I was surprised when only the upper half of a kaiju-like creature made of some kind of purple mist and larger than expected emerged, but the fleet soon took care of it with a volley from the Soul Crusher.

The real trouble started after that. That initial purple, misty kaiju was just the beginning. After it, a horde of medium-sized, squid-like energy lifeforms appeared, followed by the usual crystal lifeforms, gigantic star jellyfish, photon-based lifeforms—you name it, they just kept coming.

We managed to stay on standby up to the third wave, but from the fourth wave onward, Krishna had to jump in, fighting off small to medium-sized space monsters. Even the Black Lotus, which initially planned to stay out of the combat, had to engage, particularly against the crystal lifeforms and other space monsters that had physical bodies. Elma’s Antlion also launched, using its laser beam emitters to incinerate crystal lifeforms and space creatures that looked like masses of flesh.

「Elma, deploy the jammer when enemies appear.」

「Cooling’s unable to keep up, so I can’t keep it active for long, you know?」

「Just cutting them off at the start will be enough.」

It might sound surprising, but Antlion’s Gravity Jammer was proving exceptionally effective. It didn’t work on every enemy, but many of the space monsters seemed to rely on gravity-based propulsion. When hit by the Gravity Jammer’s interference, a significant number of them slowed down noticeably.

「Do you think the Empire is aware of this effect?」

「Probably not. There wouldn’t be much reason to use a Gravity Jammer against space monsters.」

「Maybe we should report this to them through Selena when we get back…」

While having this conversation with Elma, who was piloting the Antlion on standby as an escort for the Black Lotus, which was shielded by the Holy Empire fleet, we headed toward the area where the eleventh wave was emerging.

The main forces of the Holy Empire fleet were busy dealing with the remnants of the ninth wave and the newly arrived tenth wave, so the eleventh wave was left to a high-mobility fleet composed of smaller ships like corvettes and destroyers, referred to as Type-A escort ships by the Holy Empire. Krishna joined this fleet as well.

「Spatial tremor pattern analysis complete—it’s crystal lifeforms!」

「If it’s crystal lifeforms, the Black Lotus’s EML will be effective. If any large types appear, we’ll have them fire, so make sure no one enters Black Lotus’s line of fire.」

「「「Roger that.」」」

The void distorted, a hole formed, and countless crystal lifeforms warped in from it. They’re ideal targets. Time to let loose and give them a proper thrashing.