Chapter 6: The Pirate Hunting Unit

Chapter 6:
The Pirate Hunting Unit

 

I WASN’T ABOUT TO MAKE the same mistake two days in a row. Thus, the next day, I resigned myself to staying aboard the ship. Mimi was just helping me figure out her favorite e-book-reading app when someone came knocking at the Krishna’s door.

Is it Dr. Shouko? Was she freed from her mountain of apology letters already?

I cringed the moment I recognized the person on the holo display.

“It’s been quite a while, silver rank Captain Hiro.” A prim woman with golden-blonde hair, red irises, and a white military uniform complete with a red cape smirked at me. This woman was as beautiful as she was dangerous.

Lieutenant Serena.

The blood drained from my face. No matter how hard I blinked, she remained stubbornly real on the holo display. I had no choice but to scrounge together some appropriate clothing and face her.

“Oh, my,” she said when I invited her into the ship. “What a lovely automatic cooker you have here.”

“Well, thank you,” I said, mouth dry.

The best the Krishna could do in terms of a reception room was the cafeteria. Lieutenant Serena took her seat as though she were in the grand lobby of some fancy hotel and sipped the tea Mimi offered her. Then Mimi came around to join me and Elma on the opposite side of the table.

“So, er… What brings you here?” I tried.

Lieutenant Serena smiled, setting down her tea. As mercs, we didn’t have any fancy teaware.

“Ha ha. I came here to invite you, of course,” she said.

My crew and I exchanged glances, a single thought striking all of us at once: How persistent is this lady?

“I’m the kind of woman who never lets my prey escape,” Serena said as though reading our minds. Her smile sent chills down my spine. Mimi and Elma wrapped their arms around me as though shielding me from the lieutenant. “Well, they clearly don’t approve.”

“Girls, please. Don’t be rude,” I said.

Mimi and Elma reluctantly backed off. I immediately missed the comfort of their touch, but I couldn’t face down Serena that way.

“I think I’ve refused a few times already, but again, I don’t plan to join the Imperial Fleet,” I said.

“Yes, I’m aware. It’s quite disappointing.” Serena sighed, but her dismay was so obviously rehearsed that I couldn’t take it seriously. “I’ve been forced to give up on that goal. I wouldn’t want the mercenary guild to badger me about my forceful recruiting methods, after all. I’d prefer to be on good terms with them.”

“Go on.” In that case, why come all this way? “You’re not here to flaunt the Empire’s noble authority, I assume.”

“Oh, I would never. If I did, you would flee to the Belbellum Federation, wouldn’t you?”

I held my tongue, which perhaps was answer enough.

“Incidentally, I’ve been promoted,” she went on. “They were impressed by my work in the defense of Tarmein Prime. See, the insignia on my badge has even changed. Now you may call me Lieutenant Commander Serena Holz.”

“Congratulations for that,” I said flatly.

She tapped at her badge, nodding to acknowledge my congratulations. But surely she hadn’t come all this way just to gloat.

“My promotion is partly thanks to your efforts during that fight, Captain Hiro. How strangely fortunate for us to be aided by crystal life-forms, hmm?”

“I assure you it was just luck,” I said. “I had just charged into the enemy line at that point, so I was downright terrified.” Cold sweat trickled down my back. She couldn’t prove I’d used a Singing Crystal to summon those beasts, right?

“Heh heh, but of course,” she said. “It was just good timing. Don’t worry. I’m not interested in probing too deeply into that.” Lieutenant Commander Serena smiled as if to say You owe me one. Frankly, that seemed a little unfair to me. If I hadn’t acted when I did, her fleet would have suffered huge losses and damages. Wasn’t she the one in my debt?

“Ha ha. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if my work has helped you somehow, then that’s just great,” I said.

“Heh heh heh.”

“Ha ha ha…”

Mimi trembled at the sound of our awkward, unnatural laughter, but I refused to back down. Serena wouldn’t lead me around by the nose ever again. I was on my guard this time.

“So how about we get down to brass tacks?” I prompted.

“Sure,” Serena said. “With my advancement, I’ve also been charged with a new force to lead.”

“Congratulations for that too, I think?”

“Yes, thank you. I’m very excited about it. The Empire has granted my request for an independent cohort for the sole purpose of pirate hunting, and I’ve been tasked with leading them.”

“Wait, only pirate hunting?”

“Yes. In simple terms, the Imperial Fleet is divided into two sections. One is for defense and stays stationed at colonies and strongholds. The other is a mobile force that actively seeks out enemies and carries out incursions.”

“I see.”

“The Imperial Fleet—our defensive side—wields great power, but we often have to spread it thin to cover our territory. As such, proactively hunting pirates and space monsters is a risky venture that puts us on the back foot. In the worst of times, this leads to casualties and the weakening of national security. Unless we’re able to form an airtight plan and back it up with fire power, the Imperial Fleet looks vulnerable and open to attack.”

“I can understand that.”

Pirates would swarm the moment they smelled weakness in the Imperial Fleet. Any kind of gap in the defenses could entice enemies in neighboring systems looking for quick scores. It would hamper all of the fleet’s operations, defensive and offensive. If that went on long enough, if pirates and others truly believed they’d caught the Imperial Fleet out, it could even provoke an attack on one of the colonies.

“But that doesn’t mean that the mobile force is free to move as it pleases. It is both the Empire’s strongest offense and a component of its defense. Moving comes at great cost, as other nations could attack us if we’re not careful.”

“So basically, you need more mobile forces,” I said. “Right now, mercenaries are making up the deficit.”

“That is correct,” she said. “The goal of my new pirate hunting squad is to fight space pirates ourselves instead of relying on mercenaries.”

“I see. But this still doesn’t explain why you needed to come all this way to talk to me.”

Her mobile force sounded nice and all, but it would also be a rival for local mercenaries, who would likely need to travel elsewhere to scoop up bounties. Anywhere Serena went would be slim pickings for mercs. I couldn’t see why she’d come all this way to deliver that information to me, personally, though.

“Yes, well, I’m here to recruit you,” Serena said.

My eyes narrowed. Hadn’t I turned her down enough?

“Your outright refusal only makes me more—urk! Forget I said that,” Serena said. “Anyway, I have a request for you. It’s something that only a professional pirate hunter can help me with.”

“A request, eh? What are the details?” She could make a request through the guild, but this sounded a lot fishier than the official routes.

“The Imperial Fleet has expertise in traditional battles,” Serena said, “but we lack experience and knowledge when it comes to the guerrilla-style fighting one might employ against pirate ships.”

“Yeah, figures,” I said.

A big lumbering imperial squad would have a tough time catching small mobile groups of space pirates who could simply run away and hide at the moment Serena showed up.

“As such, we would like a professional such as yourself to teach us the necessary skills to exterminate pirates.”

“Gotcha.”

“And?” Lieutenant Commander Serena looked at me expectantly.

“I respectfully decline.”

Her face froze around a tight, tense smile. “M-might I ask why?”

“I mean, I don’t have to accept it. Why not just go to the mercenary guild and ask them to teach you? They’d be able to give you a much better teacher than a guy with no military background like me.” It also sounded annoying as hell, though I couldn’t really tell her that.

Serena hadn’t made any mention of compensation, but I had to imagine we could make more money more quickly by hunting pirates ourselves. I also had no idea how long this little training class might last. The longer it dragged on, the more it hurt my bank account.

“I’d like to learn all you can teach me.”

“Not into it.”

“Why are you so stubborn?” Lieutenant Commander Serena puffed out her cheeks adorably. Wow, gorgeous women can make any face they want and still look good, huh?

I couldn’t exactly explain that I was digging my heels in because I found her annoying, so I searched for some other reason that might placate her. She was imperial nobility, after all. She might slap me with a defamation suit if I said the wrong thing.

Thus, I told her, “It’s because I don’t expect to be sufficiently compensated for the amount of time I’ll have to put into it. Really, why are you so fixated on me?”

“I like your way of thinking and your willingness to stand out,” Serena said matter-of-factly. “Among all the mercenaries we commanded, you were the only one to propose your own independent strategy. It was reckless at first glance, but you did it—you got out, and you won the day.”

Is she complimenting me? Why does that freak me out?

“And the crystal life-form attack,” she continued. “You used a Singing Crystal, didn’t you? Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I don’t have proof, after all. I believe that a man willing to use such a bold, ruthless strategy without hesitation would be able to teach us the best way to obliterate the pirate scum. That’s why I’m fixated on you. In truth, I would love to have you as a subordinate, but I assume you’re not interested in that, are you?”

“Nope. Not into it.” That was twice today I’d turned her down. She really didn’t fold easily.

“I’ll give up on that front, but in return, I want you to help me. If the military’s reward isn’t enough, then I am willing to personally compensate you. After all, I am the daughter of a marquess and a field officer of the Imperial Fleet. Having me as a connection would be awfully helpful, don’t you think?” She punctuated this statement with a downright wicked smile.

I glanced at Mimi, but she just shrugged. Elma leaned a little closer and whispered, “I think it might lead to more trouble if you reject her after all that.”

I still didn’t like it, but Elma was probably right. Serena had traveled all this way to personally deliver the message this time. That was a lot of effort to go to just to get a no.

“Okay, but you owe me.” I sighed. “Make sure to send the contract through the guild, okay? I think they have a system that lets you request me specifically. Now, the rewards?”

“You’ll receive junior lieutenant pay for a period of…let’s say thirty days. Your only superior in the squad will be me.”

“I don’t want the fleet trying to assimilate me or whatever. No matter what, I’m clocking out at a set time. You get ten hours a day and not a minute more.”

“Tch… Very well.”

“Also,” I continued, “all of my knowledge is specific to mercenary work—as in hunting pirate ships alone. I plan to do my best with this job, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll help you become a fantastic squad leader.”

“Of course. I can understand that. We need to be able to digest your teachings and use them well. Our captains are excellent, so you’ve no need to worry.” Lieutenant Commander Serena’s smile turned sweeter. Seemed her mood was improving as I gave ground in these negotiations.

“So again, the rewards,” I prodded. “Elma, what would a good amount be?”

“It’s hard to tell. Mercenaries aren’t usually asked to teach the military, so I don’t have a precedent to work with. But if this were a bodyguard request for a certain number of days, it would be somewhere between thirty and fifty thousand.”

“This job poses no danger to your life, so wouldn’t you expect a little less?” Serena asked. “Besides, the reward comes with a premium, as it’s meant for parties of ships who can perform bodyguard duty.”

She’s shrewd for sure. I guess I should’ve done some research in advance.

“But Hiro can get 200,000 daily from pirate hunting,” Elma argued. “Getting less than a quarter of that is just stupid. We’re mercs, not charity workers. If we don’t profit, we don’t work. You should know that.”

We didn’t actually make 200,000 Ener every day, and we took days off pretty often. Still, Elma was right. Taking this job would cut us off from more lucrative gigs for a month.

Serena let out a grunt of frustration at our haggling. “What about 40,000 Ener a day?”

“We don’t get out of bed for less than 60,000 Ener,” Elma declared.

“Why don’t we meet in the middle? 50,000.” Serena crossed her arms. This was likely her final offer.

Elma glanced at me. I shrugged, leaving it up to her.

“Fine, that works,” Elma said. “Hiro, do you have anything to add?”

“I can’t plan any strategies without knowing what their ships can do, so I’ll need ship blueprints and weapon specs ahead of time. I’d also like to test your pilots in simulators.”

“I will give you as much as I can make public,” Serena said. “As for the simulators, I can send ship data regarding our enemies to the mercenary guild in advance.”

“Sounds to me like we have a deal,” Elma said. “Send all the details through the mercenary guild.” Elma looked plenty pleased with herself, but I had a queasy feeling lurking in the pit of my stomach. With this, we’d become Serena’s underlings.

“So now that we’re done talking about work… Can I ask you a few things while you’re here?”

Serena hesitated. “As long as I’m able to answer them.”

“Awesome. It’s no big deal, though—or I guess it is.” I stumbled over my words. “It’s just kinda bothering me. Do you remember the mercenary ship that crashed into the Imperial Fleet during the pirate crackdown back in Tarmein Prime?”

“Yes, I do,” Serena said. “I warned them not to charge the pilot for that incident, but due to some mistakes, they saddled her with an impossible repayment deadline. I do believe Elma was the pilot of that ship, yes?”

“Great, you do know. That’ll make this faster. I wanted to ask, just in case: Were there any mistakes in the calculated reparations?”

“None at all,” Serena said. “I triple-checked the numbers myself. There was an issue with the deadline, as I mentioned, but that is all. I can’t annul the debt now, and I can’t return it, so don’t ask, if that’s where this is going. I will apologize regarding the issue, but those responsible have been terminated from their positions. Frankly, it was their way of harassing me, so I should be grateful to you for giving me an opportunity to deal with them.”

“You’re awfully unapologetic for almost getting her jailed and then some.”

“Well, yes. I’m not at fault for what happened. It was her mistake that nearly destroyed an imperial battleship. I’ll have you know that people often get tried for felony in such cases. After all, her mistake nearly caused the destruction of a ship and badly wounded many of our troops.”

“Hmm… Fair enough.” Maybe debt alone was the best-case scenario for us, after all.

“I can only apologize for the nature of the deadline, but those are decided at the fleet’s discretion. Typical cases run between a few months to a year, but that’s not an absolute. In the most egregious cases, the fleet will set shorter deadlines, such as the one you dealt with. It’s a case-by-case decision, and I urged them to be lenient, but they ignored me. However, you could say that I’ve expressed my goodwill already by canning the people at fault for the whole ordeal.”

Hmm. I still don’t like it, but maybe this is normal in a society where nobility and the army hold all the power.

“Hiro, it’s okay. We all know I messed up and, I mean…I don’t mind how things ended up with us working together.” Elma smiled a little, tugging at my arm. Hmm… If she says so, then I guess there’s no point in fighting Serena on it.

“Ha ha! Captain Hiro, you’re quite the thoughtful one,” Lieutenant Commander Serena said. “I have good news for you, by the way.” She grinned and it made my stomach lurch. “Once you’ve completed this request, I would like to offer you a position as my own contracted mercenary.”

I blinked at the lieutenant commander, my mouth falling open.

“Goodness,” Serena said. “This is the first time anyone’s ever looked so disgusted by me.”

Did I look that sour? Serena seemed like she was fighting not to grimace, but could she blame me? Her proposal sounded more like a prison sentence.

“I might as well ask. What’s in it for me?”

“I appreciate the straightforward question,” she said. “First, by becoming my contracted mercenary, you’ll find it very difficult to run into trouble with imperial nobility or the army. I’m both a lieutenant commander and Marquess Holz’s daughter, after all. Anyone who wants to bother my mercenary will have to go through me.”

“Uh-huh. But that also means anyone who doesn’t like you will also dislike me, right?”

“It’s not impossible, but I doubt anyone like that exists,” Serena said. “If you run into any trouble, you can let me know and I’ll deal with it to the best of my ability.”

“To the best of your ability, huh?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“Nah. Now let’s talk about the downsides.” For once during this strange negotiation, I leaned back in my chair and relaxed. If she was making this kind of request, there was no need to keep kissing ass.

She returned my smile. Two smiling friends, that’s all we are. Mimi, on the other hand, trembled beside me.

“Downsides? Whatever could you mean?” Serena asked, feigning innocence.

“Ha ha ha, funny joke. Seriously, I’m not here to be your little puppet. You owe me already, so I’m not going to keep helping you out before you repay me.”

“Oh? But making you my mercenary would be repaying you, no?”

“Is that how you’re trying to seduce me now? Pretty bold of you to say that you’d be paying me back by contracting me. As a noble and a military woman, you made a concession to us, and I paid you back in kind. That’s all. Like Elma said before, this reward is lower than low for us. Normally, I wouldn’t even listen to you. You still owe me.”

Serena groaned, but I ignored her.

“If I get in trouble with nobility or the army, I can just run away if I need to. Being protected from that stuff isn’t much of a benefit. You say you don’t have enemies, but I’m not buying it. Anyone who doesn’t like you or your father will be on my ass. Besides, just being your contracted mercenary limits what I can do, right? At that point, there are too many downsides. As you know, my methods are pretty unorthodox. I’m assuming that’s not gonna fly if I’m working for you. The moment I step out of line, you can just cut me off, and I’ll be left high and dry. Doesn’t seem like a very lucrative deal to me. Any rebuttal?”

Serena’s face flushed, lips pressing into a thin line. Is she mad? Sorry, I’ve just got a whole bunch of pent-up anger. After all those annoying spam messages, you come here and toss this crappy request in my lap. Think about how I feel!

“H-hey, Hiro,” Elma said. “That was just—”

“You’re the first person who’s ever spoken to the daughter of Marquess Holz so foolishly.” Lieutenant Commander Serena snorted a laugh, but red still lingered in her heated cheeks. “But very well. I’ll forgive you, as you do have a point. Sometimes, trying too hard to get something will only lead to ruining it. A cute lap kitty can’t match up to the strength of a stray, after all.”

“Who are you calling a stray cat?”

“One doesn’t need a collar to domesticate a pet as long as they have food. The collar can wait until after I’ve tamed you with treats.”

“Are you trying to literally put a collar on me?”

“Yes. Like I said, I don’t let my prey escape.” She rubbed across her lips with a finger. I couldn’t tell if that hungry gaze was anger or arousal, but both terrified me.

Mimi and Elma wrapped their arms around me in solidarity.

Serena just smiled. “For today, I’ll be satisfied that you accepted the request. I will send it through to the mercenary guild, so please be sure to formally accept it. I’ll also provide them with the necessary data.”

“Sure. I’ll watch my language at work, but forgive me if I get a little high-strung.”

“Oh, that’s no problem. You’re very free to talk as you please in a private setting.”

“Ha ha ha, gotcha.” Wait a minute. Private setting?!

 

***

 

“I can’t believe you talked to her like that. I was scared outta my mind!” Elma told me.

We lingered in the cafeteria after Serena departed, eating our lunch. Elma picked at a bang bang chicken salad with Japanese-style noodles. I had a hamburger, fries, and a milkshake. The shake smelled a little off, but it was way better than that stuff down in the colony.

“If that was enough to make her go mad and break things off, then it wouldn’t have worked out anyway,” I reasoned. “In fact, the way she smiled and forgave me shows that she’s serious about this. We don’t want to get tripped up because we were careless, so it’s best to avoid verbal promises.”

“I don’t like her. She’s dangerous,” Mimi said, prodding at her ketchup-drenched omurice.

C’mon, Mimi. She’s hot and she’s got big bazonkers, but I won’t fall for her traps that easily. I’m not like that. Don’t worry about me.

“Anyway, you’ll be training for a while,” I said. “Since I’ll have my hands full with the request, I figure you’ll keep working on your operator studies, Mimi. Elma, I hope you’ll help Mimi out during that month.”

“Sure,” Elma said. “I don’t have much else to do. Not every day can be exciting, even for a merc. But Hiro, make sure you train so your skills don’t get rusty, okay?”

“I’ll do what I can. I’ve already been thinking about it.”

If I just lectured on a whiteboard, I’d be nothing more than an armchair theorist. No, we’d need mock battles and simulations to really make any progress.

“But hey, if I’m gonna do this job, then I’m gonna take it seriously,” I said. “Besides, it’s zero danger, and I get to have a lieutenant commander indebted to me. We get a little bit of cash to sweeten the deal too. Meanwhile, Mimi gets to keep studying. Sounds great to me!”

“Master Hiro?” Mimi said, looking up from under her lashes.

“Yeah?”

“Be careful, okay?”

“You betcha.” Was Mimi especially wary of Serena, or did she not trust me? Hopefully the former. Please tell me it’s the former.

“Don’t let that marquess’s daughter make you her bitch,” Elma said bluntly.

“You don’t trust me at all!”

“It already happened once!”

Ouch. “I have no rebuttal.”

I spent the rest of the day trying to repair Mimi’s and Elma’s sour moods, shutting us in the Krishna for a cozy, lazy day. We had to indulge while we could. Soon, I’d be spending whole days away from them and in Serena’s service instead.

 

***

 

Mimi and Elma slipped right into their temporary roles, devoting their time to training and learning even before I left the ship. As for me…

“Eugh. Nobles are crazy,” I groaned.

Elma had suggested for (read: forced) me to watch a documentary-style compilation of nobility-related problems and shenanigans in the Grakkan Empire. In her own words: “Your attitude toward nobility terrifies me. If you’re not careful, you could have all of us tried for slander. Learn to talk to nobles!”

I found it annoying at first, but the longer I watched, the more horrified I became. Apparently, nobles could actually murder common folk without any consequences as long as they provided even the flimsiest of excuses. And I do mean flimsy. Stuff like “they were a villain,” “they insulted me,” and “I did it to avenge the Grakkan Empire.”

To make matters worse, other nobles served as judge and jury in those kinds of cases. The noble in charge of the territory where the murder took place got to mete out justice—and they’d almost always side with their fellow nobility.

The imperial government did have some power over the nobles. They too could decide it was time to “avenge the Grakkan Empire,” and citizens were a major asset to the emperor. Plus, imperial nobility still valued reputation and honor. Tossing around their authority too much wasn’t a good look for anyone and could even get them shunned by other nobles.

It all struck me as a pretty delicate balance to maintain. Even a whiff of corruption could bring it all crashing down, and since it was clearly intact, they must have been doing something right.

“Nobles are insane,” I said to Elma, surely (not) wowing her with my colorful vocabulary.

Elma just sighed, as if to say See? I told you so.

“Yeah, they’re insane,” Elma muttered. “You need to pick your words better.”

“I’ll try to do better next time. A little late for Serena, though, right?”

“It may be, but it’s best to err on the side of caution. If anyone has a sword at their hip, they’re probably nobility. Keep an eye out for that.”

“Gotcha.” The sword was apparently a symbol of their honor or whatever. Maybe it was akin to a samurai’s katana.

“Most of the Grakkan Empire’s nobility are decent people, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much…but some of them are complete idiots. The best thing you can do is avoid interacting with them. Though they probably wouldn’t come near a mercenary unless they had some business with you.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Unlike normal people, mercs walk around with lasers, most of us know how to fight, and we have ships loaded with weapons. If nobles caused trouble with us, it could easily blow up in their faces. If a noble tries to slice you, just shoot them with your gun. In the worst case, you get in your ship and dogfight. We’re scared of nobility, but they’re scared of us too.”

“Huh. I get it. It’d be a different story if we were defenseless herbivores, but you wouldn’t want to corner a hungry wolf.”

“Weird example, but kinda? Like I said before, you can’t be rude to nobility.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t wanna die, after all.” I certainly didn’t want to end up on the wrong end of their swords.

“I should’ve noticed this earlier.” Elma shook her head. “Amnesiac or visitor from another world, it’s obvious that you’d be short on common sense. I should’ve started teaching you common sense and social norms sooner.”

“I know you didn’t mean to be rude, but that felt mean.” How should I know common sense?! This stuff wasn’t in Stella Online! “Really, though, this world’s common sense just seems bizarre from my perspective. How is it obvious that a guy has to be sleeping with the girls on his ship? What is this, a porn game?”

“Interstellar travel is faster now thanks to hyperdrive functionality, but a long time ago, it took a month or two most of the time. Mercenaries were mostly rowdy men, so taking a woman onto your ship for a month or two… Wouldn’t you think that something was up?”

“Yeah, true, I guess.” All that time stuck together in close quarters—things were bound to happen eventually. If a man didn’t make a move in that situation, people would doubt his sexuality…or his virility.

“There you go, then,” Elma said with a nod. “When a girl gets on a guy’s ship, most people assume that she’s ready and consenting. It’s a tradition at this point.”

“I see. Well, I’ll do my best to pick up this kind of stuff in the future.”

“You do that. Trust me, the effort won’t go to waste.”

It wouldn’t be easy changing my natural tendencies at my age, but I had to learn the social norms here if I was going to survive. Still…

Elma, can’t you at least find stuff other than children’s books to teach me with?

 

***

 

I got in a good week of studying, and in all that time, none of us suffered any side effects from our vaccines. I never did hear from Inagawa Technologies, though. What had happened to my genetic data? Ah, whatever. It’s not worth panicking and bothering them about it.

Okay, I said about a week, but I really only studied for the first two days. After that, I pored over the info Serena had sent me about her squad. It allowed me to set up simulations at the mercenary guild and run them using the Krishna’s data.

Today, it was finally time to put all that prep to good use.

“I’m Captain Hiro, and I’ll be advising you for a few weeks,” I announced. “Let’s get this bread.”

I stood next to Lieutenant Commander Serena on the flagship’s bridge and addressed her recruits. Some sat in the briefing room with us, while others joined via video conference.

“I hear this squad was formed to turn every last pirate from space pest into space debris. I’m a mercenary, so this is my specialty. That’s why she’s invited me to be your advisor.”

I continued, “I’ll teach you all how to hunt them, fool them, and chase them down. You’ll take in that information and apply it through simulations. I don’t think you’ll be able to learn my methods directly, since I’m a mercenary, but the concepts should still translate. As long as we respect each other as pirate fighting comrades, we should make it through this just fine.”

I paused, and my array of students applauded. Thanks for your pity, guys. I’ll do my best.

“Whenever you want to do something, you have to learn the basics. Let’s start with identifying what a space pirate is.” Pirate ship data filled the holographic display beside me. “Pirates often roam in groups of three to five ships. Numbers are important, as they need a few ships to surround their prey. They typically use optical weapons, seeker missiles, and multi-cannons. They’re all Class I to Class II low-power weapons, but they like to really cram stuff into their weapon slots, so they can pack a punch. A few ships will surround you while the beefed-up ones try to exhaust your shields and capture you. That’s their usual plan of attack.”

The men and women of the class nodded along. These weren’t exactly state secrets I was dishing out. Anyone who’d ever encountered a space pirate knew this stuff.

“Next, they usually use private ships that they’ve captured and remodeled. As a result, they have lower mobility. Most customizations go toward adding weapons and thrusters, meaning they’re lacking in armor and shields. They’re built for speed first and foremost. The longer a hit takes, the more likely it is that imperial ships or mercenaries will find them. They add enough strength to suppress private ships, but then the focus is on getting away. If their prey bites back or they’re caught up in an attack, they’re sitting ducks.”

It was no surprise to see my students nodding along. They likely knew how easily their military-grade weapons could blast through flimsy pirate shields and armor.

“As you might guess, pirates are terrified of the Imperial Fleet,” I said. “They don’t go anywhere you might show up, and the first thing they do when you show up is run. They don’t wanna die, after all. To be honest, they would probably turn tail even if they were in the middle of a hit.”

“Yes,” Serena chimed in. “You can expect that they won’t fight back. The only time they’ll try to attack us is when we raid their bases.”

“Pretty much,” I said. “They’re constantly scanning for imperial ships, and they’ve got eyes and ears in the colonies. Heck, they probably already know that something is going on here, since all your ships are docked outside.”

“Er…”

“I don’t think you could’ve done anything about it,” I told Serena. “They’re always slipping in with merchants and normal people, gathering whatever info they can. More of them are lurking in large colonies like this one, so I doubt you could find every single one. But hey, that’s outside my jurisdiction. I’m just here to tell you about the ones in the ships.”

“I see. Perhaps we should address that at a later time,” Serena said.

“Good luck with that. Moving on…” I displayed a map of the Tarmein System. “A while back, we destroyed a pirate base under Lieutenant Commander Serena’s leadership here in this system. Here’s a distribution that shows where pirate ships ran into private ships, where mercenaries destroyed pirate ships, and the expected routes of ships that went missing.”

Dots marked the locations I pointed out with flight paths crisscrossing over the map. At the center of it all sat the pirate base, a flurry of dots and lines that marked the battle there.

“Here’s how it looked after we destroyed their base.” I tapped my terminal a few times, and the map changed. “You can see the difference, right? Add in data of where the Imperial Fleet was putting in work, and you get this.”

Gasps rippled through the audience. The paths of the pirates shied away from any area with imperial activity, making it clear just how much the pirates knew about the military’s movements.

“I don’t know about other mercenaries, but I use data like this to find places where pirates are working and hunt them down,” I explained. “This would be more accurate if we had data from private miners in the most resource-rich locations, but…well, this is good enough. Do you all follow me so far?”

“Yes, how interesting,” Serena said. “This lecture is being recorded, so you’re free to continue.”

“Understood. So the obvious next question is: How can your squad use this information to hunt pirates? Well, what I’m about to tell you may come as a shock.” I glanced at Lieutenant Commander Serena. She nodded ever so slightly. “I’ll give it to you straight. Any ship bigger than or as big as a cruiser isn’t suited to hunt pirates. If you really want to crush them, you’ll have to change your squad composition entirely.”

Another burst of chatter and audible breaths. I couldn’t blame them. This squad was built around two corvettes, three destroyers, five cruisers, and one battleship. They were giants.

“Pirates often work in asteroid belts,” I went on. “If you use that data distribution map to find them, you’ll almost always be fighting in belts. Do you think cruisers and battleships can fight well in that kind of environment?”

This time, they went silent. It ain’t gonna work, see?

“Based on my simulator work, I was barely able to manage destroyers, but I’d recommend corvettes. It’s not my place to make decisions regarding your composition, but I think you’ll want to look into that.”

“We appreciate your concern,” Serena said. “However, could we not use the ships’ firepower to just remove the asteroids from the equation?”

I’d come prepared for that very objection. “Yeah. You can kill the space pirates just fine with that, but you’ll get a whole heap of complaints from private miners. Those resource-rich asteroids are how they make a living. They might be happy to be rid of pirates, but they’ll be much less happy if you kill their business in the process.”

“Hmm.”

“I said you should change your squad composition, but I doubt it’s that easy for you to do. Mercenaries can change ships and weapons whenever we want, but it’s probably not as simple for the military. I’m sure you’re all a bit offended by my suggestion.”

I got a couple nods at that one. Pilots tended to get attached to their ships and treat them like family, like partners. A ship couldn’t be abandoned that easily.

“That’s why I have a proposal,” I said. “Lieutenant Commander, do you have the resolve to do whatever it takes to hunt pirate scum and protect your empire?”

“Y-yes? Anything within my power, I suppose.”

“That’s just what I wanted to hear.”

 

***

 

Within a few days, the Pirate Hunting Unit performed its first real mission in the Arein System.

“Their total record so far is thirty-two ships,” Serena said.

“Ha ha ha! What a bountiful harvest,” I said.

“Yes, quite…”

Standing on the bridge of their flagship—the battleship Lestarius—I was feeling quite peachy. Serena looked awfully uncertain next to me as we watched her crew clean up the last of the pirates, but they were executing their mission beautifully.

“Heh, military ships are a cut above, aren’t they? Loving that range and firepower.”

“Erm, isn’t this rather dishonorable?” she asked me.

“Who cares? You’re happy to see dead pirates, the pilots are happy to serve their cause, I’m happy to get my bonus, and the Empire’s people are happy to be without pirates. That’s like a quadruple win there.”

“True, but…”

Serena and I watched as a medium-sized transport ship lumbered into view. It carried Rare Metal, as well as high-tech medicine produced right here in the system. However, it was having some trouble, limping along as it sent out a weak distress signal—extremely weak, in fact. I mean, the place is crawling with pirates. Maybe they’re lowering their output to keep themselves from being picked up on radars?

“The plan is going well,” I said. That transport ship was pure pirate bait. Serena had purchased it. 5,000,000 Ener right out of pocket, like it was nothing.

“I’m not too sure about this underhanded attack,” Serena said uneasily.

“Look. They’re a bunch of a-holes who attack helpless merchants, miners, and travelers. They can hardly complain if we employ a little trickery. Besides, they’re not some foreign army; they’re pirates. You’re not gonna receive a formal complaint or whatever.”

The strategy I devised was simple. A force built around cruisers couldn’t go chasing after the pirates; we’d have to lure the buggers out. We gave them that sitting duck full of Rare Metal and sat back to wait.

First, the corvettes and destroyers would go into the cluster and clean things up a bit. That meant either attacking the pirates or—if there weren’t any pirates—guiding the larger ships into the cluster. Cruisers and battleships were huge, but if they reduced their generator output, it would be easy for them to sneak in. Asteroids came in plenty of different sizes, and some of them were big enough to hide battleships.

After that, the bait would be placed just outside of the cluster and begin emitting a weak emergency signal. Drawn to it, the pirates would then be eradicated by super-powered cruiser and battleship fire.

Huge military-grade ships like cruisers and battleships had capacitors that could maintain battle-readiness and basic functionality even when their generators didn’t work. That electricity was enough to let them blow away pirate ships without being detected. Once the capacitors ran out of juice, we would stop the distress signal, activate the generator, and restore electricity to them. After they were charged, the bait ship would go back to singing its siren song.

Once we took out one group of pirates, we could simply rinse and repeat. Of course, that would only last so long. If we tried this trick over and over in the same spot, even lowly pirates would catch on eventually.

Still, it should be good enough to take out a bunch of pirates and get me my 20 percent of the loot and rewards. We’d already taken down thirty-two pirates. Pure profit. How could I not smile?

Oh, and if the pirates did somehow manage to get into the bait ship, they were in for a different nasty surprise. They’d be greeted by Serena’s subordinates, all of them big, burly, and ready to brawl. What, you think those rascals would shoot the ship down? Absolutely not. If they did, they would damage the cargo. Stealing it for their own fleet made much more sense.

My little plan worked like a charm. The fleet crushed fifty-two ships that day, a tidy 100,000 Ener profit for me.

“Hoo boy. Big money!” I said.

“Good for you.” Serena shot me a dour glare. She hadn’t come out quite so clean. That ship she bought cost her a pretty penny, and the military refused to treat it as an official expense.

I winked at her. “Keep this up and I bet you can write off that expense.”

“It would certainly be a welcome miracle.” She heaved a sigh. Marquess’s daughter or not, that 5,000,000 was nothing to sneeze at. Maybe her financial situation wasn’t as cushy as it seemed.

“Keep on using this method for everyday pirate hunting, and once you find the location of their base, you can just attack it head-on,” I said. “Ultimately, it’s a battle of wits against those space pirates.”

“I see,” she said. “Though we do have more than half of the contract period remaining. I expect you to stay with us, understood?”

“Aye-aye, Lieutenant Commander.”

It would have been nice to dump this strategy on them and leave, but of course, things couldn’t be that easy. I gave Serena a salute and braced for whatever she had in store for me next.