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

Captured from the Red Flag Cosmic Bandits, we managed to sell the restored foreign high-speed fighter ship to Space Dwellg, and we decided to head to Shipyard with our feet.

Did your brother's threats work?

"I think I'm upset by 1.8 million Enel..."

The mechanic sisters are accompanying us as we talk with each other.

I thought that Tina and Whisker would work at the branch office as is, but the selection of personnel to analyze and research the brought-in aircraft and the review of the reports brought in by the sisters also took time, so for now, I am talking about continuing my work as a mechanic on my ship.

I'm not sure if it will actually take time to take over the personnel, the work, the assignment of tasks, or if my threats have worked... Well, I'm simply grateful that the mechanic will accompany me as we welcome the new plane. They're both from the industry, too. I can count on effective advice from a different perspective than a mercenary like me or Elma.

You're not going to visit the branch office of the shipmaker, are you?

“If you're in an environment like the Brad system, like the Space Dwellers, that's fine, but if you're in a place like this, it's convenient to go to the Shipyard.”

Elma explains the situation to Mimi, who has a simple question. SOLs used to buy and sell ships from ships by accessing the shipyard in the colony's communication menu, but if you buy a ship in this world, you'll end up walking around like this.

Huh? Can't we just holo-communicate from the ship? Well, there's nothing you can't do, but it seems like a minority of people buy a boat that way.

Hmmm, considering Elma's piloting characteristics, she's very maneuverable after all.

Let's do it. Basically, small ships need speed and maneuvers.

"The problem is firepower and trade-offs." There is also an output problem. "

Tina and Whisker switched the direction of the conversation to talking about Elma's new plane.

Generally, the performance required for small ships is speed and small turns, as Tina said. The question of how much firepower we can get on top of that will be an enduring one. Since a small generator that can be loaded on a small ship can only produce a limited amount of energy output, it is inevitably a headache to pour that output into how much mobility - that is, thrusters and boosters - and how much firepower - that is, laser cannons, etc.

There's a way to supplement the firepower with live ammunition and explosive weapons, though.

It's true that multi-cannons, Seeker missiles, and torpedo launchers require less energy to operate, but they weigh less.

"That's especially true for small ships." The weight of the equipment itself is also a problem, and there is also a problem with the number of reloads in the first place. "

Krishna is against the rules, isn't she?

I don't care if you say that.

I shrugged my shoulders as I paralyzed Elma's eyes.

It was true that Krishna was a very capable ship close to the anomaly. Although it is the largest of the small ships, the energy output generated from the speciality generators on board outweighs that of the medium ships.

That's why we've got enough maneuver power with a powerful thruster, a strong shield, and enough room for four more heavy laser cannons. Of course, just because it is a small ship, it boasts a disruptive performance. For example, in the firepower battle from the front, it is very unmatched by the Imperial battleships and cruisers, and the performance of its shields is unmatched. Krishna is undoubtedly a powerful small ship, but it is by no means invincible.

What kind of boat would you prefer for Elma-san?

"Performance is important, but so is appearance."

Shall I let you do it?

"I might be able to figure it out."

Is that what it is?

Tina and Mimi tilted their necks at Elma's words and Whisker nodded. I'm more of a performer than I look, but I'm not too keen to deny Elma's statement that looks are important. I would probably use the one that I like because of the performance difference.

"Oniisan, what is it?"

"It's not my style to focus only on appearance, but I don't think it's good in terms of motivation that even if the performance is good, it doesn't fit my hobby too well"

"It's a jade insect answer."

"Actually, that's what it is." I don't want to be scratched because I'm a ship that likes its appearance. On the contrary, I don't care what it looks like, so I don't care how much damage I do when I'm on the ship, it's a miscellaneous steering ship. "

I see. Maybe that's what they say.

Tina seemed to agree with my explanation. In fact, I finished the assembly and paint and looked at the ship and said, "What a cool thing. Is it awesome? 'is not a foolish feeling. I think it's important for sailors to have feelings for the ship.

Often traveling with such boat talk - most often on foot, but using the transfer system inside the colony - we arrived at the Shipyard.

"Hee, this is how it's done."

Tina looked around at Shipyard and said something impressive. To be honest, I was a little surprised. Because it was a more beautiful place than I expected.

Somehow, the atmosphere is similar to the resting space of Black Lotus.

"Oh, if you think it looks familiar, is that so?"

Whisker shouted as if he was convinced by Mimi's remarks. Somehow, the design is connected to the Black Lotus, including a good-quality sofa and long table, as well as plants, terrariums, and holo displays displaying Starfleet advertisements.

Is there a booth for each company in the back?

Somehow, it's like a motor show I saw on the news or something.

"That's right. If we find the ship we're looking for, we'll make a deal in this space." First, let's go around from the edge? "

Hmmm, shouldn't we first get a little more specific about what kind of aircrafts we should procure?

"Oh, that's true, too. I've been thinking a lot about it, so let me ask you something."



That's why we decided to have a conversation in the front lounge space before visiting the corporate booth.

"I wonder if it's a ship with quick legs and a lot of firepower..."

Elma cut out the story as she sat down and ordered a drink.

"I see. Well, if you're solo, if you're going to work as a team, then so be it."

I nodded, convinced by Elma's words. However, Mimi and the others seemed to be unable to get the guidelines for each of them, and they were all leaning their necks together.

"I mean... what do you mean?"

“In other words, if we're going to continue with our current style, we should choose a ship based on a clear concept that fills the current hole and builds on our strengths, but if we're going to change our style by adding another ship, then we should choose a ship that matches that new style.”

"I see...?"

After hearing Elma's explanation, it seemed that Mimi hadn't pinned it yet, but Tina and Whisker were convinced. This is the difference between my sister, who has been involved in the design and modification of the ship for many years from a technical point of view, and Mimi, who was not involved in any of these things until she boarded my ship.

"The style of cosmic thief hunting is basically bait fishing, right?" With the Black Lotus as the target, the cosmic bandits who came for us were ambushed by Hilo's Krishna, and the Black Lotus, who was the target, were also armed and held hostage. ”

That's the way it goes.

Mimi nods cheerfully. It's easy to put it in words, but it would be ruined if Black Lotus was caught in the act or spotted before I got ambushed, so it takes a lot of ingenuity.

Well, let's put that story aside.

So, it's when the Space Bandits instantly escaped that a leak will occur in the current state.

“Sure, I think that's what they're going to say.”

If one or two ships escape, the pursuit can be done in time, but if four or five or more ships escape at once, it will be difficult to sink all of them. They scatter when they run away. As you can see... I guess we're actually meeting to do that in advance.

So, if you're going to fill the hole, then you should think about procuring a ship that is good at pursuit ability. If you're going to stretch your strengths, then you should procure a ship that is good at range and firepower in the direction of getting rid of them all before you can escape in the first place.

“Very well, sir.”

"Now that Mimi is convinced, let's talk about exactly what direction we should consider the specifications of the ship." If you can easily acquire both pursuit and firepower, a missile ship loaded with missile pods would be a good idea. "

Due to the accumulation of live ammunition called missiles, it's impossible to avoid weight gain and reduced ability to continue fighting.

"However, since the energy output of the missile pod for driving is small, you can turn it into a thruster." I wonder if I can ensure a certain mobility? "

That's right. The weight of the shot will be reduced, and the speed will be increased.

It makes sense that the lighter the amount of ammo you shoot, the lighter the ship, and the higher the acceleration performance at the same output. It's possible to purge the missile pods after shooting down a missile... but it's not worth the cost. Yeah. There's a lot of waves.

If I purge the missile pod during combat maneuvers, it will blow up into space at a very high speed and I won't be able to retrieve it. No matter how much insurance I had, if I purged the missile pods every battle and went missing, the damage to my wallet would be Mach. Even the missiles are concerned about the cost of ammunition.

“When that happens, is it running cost that bothers you?”

"That's right. We don't have to fight for much longer in a row when it comes to our ability to keep fighting, and we don't have to worry about getting resupplied with Black Lotus between battles." Mimi's right. Seeker, the missile's ammo cost is on the back burner. "

It's surprisingly expensive, isn't it?

With that said, Elma puts one hand on her cheek and exhales a sigh. The price per shot of a commonly used Seeker missile is about 500 to 800 Enel. Converting to Japanese yen is very cheap, but this is due to a combination of factors such as lower manufacturing costs due to replicators, lower material costs due to improved aerospace mining technologies such as asteroid belt mining, and subsidies from mercenary guilds.

The most important contribution to the destruction of the price of ammunition is the existence of a replicator that can create pong and real objects with a single button, including advanced guidance equipment, if there is any underlying data and materials, but this does not mean that you can also make anything. Without the underlying data, it is not possible to duplicate the product with a replicator, and some materials are not compatible with the replicator in the first place. Replicators aren't a panacea either.

"Even if you say 500 Enel to 800 Enel per shot, if you fire 20 shots in a single fight, it will be from 10000 Enel to 16000 Enel." If you were dripping, you wouldn't be able to make a profit. "

Compared to a 500,000 Enel anti-ship reaction warhead torpedo, the amount per round is one-thousandth that of a torpedo, but it is not very easy to pompously fire. If this is a good war to survive, if it's a good match to win, you can put in as much firepower as you can, but mercenary business is business.

“Blowing up a Starfleet Bandit with a Seeker missile can do a lot of damage to the surface elements, so the enemy's laser cannons, multi-cannons, and thrusters are likely to lose everything.”

"As a result, it's expensive and makes less money."

"When I hear it like this, it sounds like it's full of flaws..."

Mimi roars as she holds her eyebrows together.

"No, it's strong." The missiles really do. The energy of the explosion can easily saturate the shields, blow up the armor and deal heavy damage to the hull if you hit them directly, and greatly diminish combat capabilities by damaging surface elements - the opponent's armor and thrusters. That's why it's troublesome if you use it, and because I definitely don't want to hit it, I'm definitely avoiding it and intercepting it. "

"I'm telling you, only a handful of perverts like Hiro can get through the sound of a Seeker missile barrage." Depending on your ship's performance, you won't be able to escape the pursuit of Seeker missiles in the first place, and if you can intercept them with a laser cannon, you won't be able to launch a saturated attack, and even if you can shield them from them, you'll lose everything with two shots. ”

Total loss is a proverb that refers to being able to completely saturate the shield. The ship that lost its shields is very defenseless. Krishna spends a fortune on armor, so even if she gets a shield, she'll be able to withstand a single or two rounds of direct fire, but even Krishna is in danger. In the case of small ships that are lightweight in order to increase their speed, most likely the Explorer missile hit without shielding = explosive scattering.

Hmm, I see. So we're going to be a missile ship then?

Well, that makes sense in the sense of range, strength, and restraint.

“In a situation where we're being chased by Seeker missiles, it's impossible to activate a hyperlight drive. I don't think it's a bad idea to leave the attacker to Hiro's Krishna, and then I'll use the missile to stop him."

Of course, I should load a few laser cannons as a normal weapon, but I decided to take a break because I received the drink I ordered after Elma continued to say.

I've been listening to you, but do you need to work on a small ship?

At a moment's breath, a sharp opinion emerged from Mimi.

"Yeah, that's quite a sharp opinion. I don't think I need to be on a small ship, either."

I agree with Mimi. Looking at the expression on her face, she was not surprised that Elma was thinking the same way. The mechanic sisters, on the other hand, tilted their necks.

"Black Lotus hangers for small clothes and furniture? It's impossible to get a medium-sized ship in there."

"But if you don't want to assume the maintenance at Black Lotus, then maybe it's an ant?" Small ships can be stored and repaired in the Black Lotus, but once they fill the hangar, it will be harder to restore loot ships like this one. ”

"Ah, I see. If we were to clear space to restore something like this, we would either have one of the two small ships follow without storing it, so we would have to turn it into a medium-sized ship from the beginning."

They caught up with us while we were talking. Mimi looks like [I see!], but I just wondered if it was necessary to focus on a small ship, and I guess the two of them didn't even notice the small details.

Well then, let's discuss the introduction of a medium-sized ship.

That's why we moved on from small ships to medium-sized ships.