Chapter 10: Our Vacation Ends

Chapter 10:
Our Vacation Ends

 

THE SUN BEGAN TO SET, and the sky turned from blue to purple. Many shooting stars were visible in the distance.

“Wow, it’s beautiful!” Mimi cried.

“Yeah.” I chuckled. “But I think they’re all chunks of pirate ships.”

“Yep. Beautiful filth.” Elma nodded.

“Don’t you two see any romance in this situation?”

“C’mon, those are all bad guys. Where’s the romance in that?”

“We can’t be too sure that they’re all bad guys,” Mimi insisted. “What if they’re bad ladies, or bad boys? Or even bad girls?”

“That’s what you’re concerned about?”

Regardless, I couldn’t enjoy the sight, knowing it was made up of destroyed ships. Though, yes, it was a pretty nice-looking shower of lights.

Let’s forget about the lame shooting stars and recap the situation so far.

We’d managed to get through the battle robots and onto the Krishna, then lifted off to evade orbital bombardment. After that, we’d slipped through constant kinetic bombardment and had a big fight with all the space pirates, and Milo’s ginormous mass-driver bombs had finished them off. The Imperial Fleet’s Pirate Hunting Unit had arrived when the pirates were already dead. While they did the final cleanup work, we’d ended up on standby and decided to come back to our resort island.

We also had Mei get off the ship for a while. Never know when you might have to take flight, y’know? It would be abduction—er, theft?—if we took her with us off-planet.

By the time we got back to our ruined lodge, the gorillas and crab robots had already gone back to the forest. Dang; I wanted to ride a giant crab.

Now it was evening, and we were enjoying dinner and a movie. We were eating pizza made by the Steel Chef 5. It came with a surprising range of toppings, including my favorite: teriyaki chicken. The salty-sweet meat and sauce fit the pizza very well, and the ginger ale complemented it perfectly.

“So, now what?” Elma asked. “Do we contact Serena?”

“Ugh. I guess it would be safer, yeah.”

We had been hiding on this planet for a week. Hopefully, Chris’s grandfather had received her message by now and was working to save her life. At the same time, that meant a fire was lit under her uncle. But it was too late; hell, you could say he’d lost everything by now. What would a man do when he had nothing left to lose? He wasn’t the kind of guy to give up and accept his punishment, so it was possible he would chase her to the bitter end.

“She does owe you a lot,” Mimi agreed. “Why don’t we have her protect us?”

“Wow, Mimi. Now you’ve got the mercenary spirit.”

“But of course! I’m growing every day.” She puffed out her chest, proud to be seen as one of the mercs.

Mmm, those boobs are just as nice as ever. Are they growing every day too? Inquiring minds want to know.

“What kind of person is this Serena?” Chris inquired.

“I’d say…a disappointing beauty,” I said.

“Disappointing?”

“A drunkard too,” Elma added.

“A…drunkard.”

“Erm, she’s a lieutenant commander who leads the Empire’s Pirate Hunting Unit,” Mimi explained. “She, um…has some feelings for Hiro.”

“Persistent, perhaps,” I added.

“You mean a stalker,” Elma said bluntly.

“A persistent stalker. Are you in danger?” Chris looked very uncomfortable.

Not at all, my dear.

“Yeah, er…” I scratched my head. “I think she’s some noble’s daughter. Who was it again?”

“She is Marquess Holz’s daughter,” Mimi answered.

“Marquess Holz. Their family has put out many military cabinet members and high-ranking leaders. Though our family has communicated little with them.”

“Oh, yeah. What do you think, Chris? Should we ask the fleet for help?”

“Hmm, I think so. With things as they are, anything that would make us safer…”

“You won’t have to worry about using your position this time, Chris,” Elma chimed in. “Hiro’s going to make use of a very useful connection.”

“Is that true?”

“For suuure.” Elma flashed an evil grin. “Besides, we don’t wanna let that lady use us every time. Sometimes, we gotta use her instead.”

You’re saying we make Serena do all the work if we get attacked, right? That’s a pretty good idea. She’s caused us all sorts of trouble; it’s about time we returned the favor.

“Cool. Let’s contact Serena, then.”

“Shouldn’t we talk with Milo first?” Elma asked.

“Oh, okay. Mimi, can you do that?”

“Yes, sir.” Mimi called Milo on her tablet.

It picked up and asked, “Yes. Do you require anything?”

“The lodge is destroyed, so it’s not much of a place to stay anymore,” I explained. “And we have a useful connection coming down, so we were thinking of leaving. Is there anything we need to do first?”

“You still have time remaining in your stay, but once you leave Cierra III, your remaining stay will be canceled. As it was our failure that caused you trouble, and as the lodge is not in a suitable state to stay in, I would like to give you a coupon with a major discount for your next stay.”

“Sounds good to me! It was fun. We should come back sometime.”

“I agree! The food was lovely!”

Elma and Mimi seemed excited by the prospect. Likewise, I was already looking forward to the next time I could drink some real soda.

“By the way, have you put any thought into purchasing your Maidroid?” Milo prodded.

“Huh? H-hmm…”

“Master Hiro, are you really going to leave Mei behind?” Mimi stared at me as I clammed up.

Stop! Don’t look at me like that!

“Aw, don’t be a stick in the mud,” Elma said, rolling her eyes. “It’ll be a relief to have Mei with us, especially with the specs you chose.” She was oddly optimistic about buying Mei.

“True…”

“Why the long face?”

“Guys have issues, okay?”

For real, just imagine having these girls you really like, and you’re just parading your favorite, life-sized figure—someone who exemplifies all of your kinks—in front of them. Except the figure can walk, talk, and devote itself wholly to you. Is that embarrassing or what?

But I get it. I get it, okay? It was too late now that it was all out in the open. And y’know what, I kinda agreed. But I made Mei, from top to bottom. Why shouldn’t I be embarrassed? The only good thing was that they seemed to accept her.

“True,” I said, giving up. “Having Mei around would be a big help. How does a purchase work?” I asked Milo.

“First off, thank you for your purchase. You are free to take Mei with you as she is. All required information is with Oriental Industries, so please be sure to visit their dealership at your convenience. The testing data will be included free of charge.”

“Gotcha.”

“She will lose my processing support, so until you upgrade her, be aware that her functions will be somewhat limited.”

“Huh. We’ll have to get her upgraded fast, then.”

With that, Mei was set to come aboard. The purchase went through awfully fast too; my Ener went through the network, and it was over.

“I will be in your care from now on. I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” Mei said with a lovely bow.

“Same to you.”

“We’re going to have a great time together, Mei!” Mimi squealed.

“Good to have ya. We’re gonna make you work, though.” Elma smirked.

“Yes.” Mei lifted her head and stepped toward me. “I will serve you forever, Master.”

“C-cool?”

The black eyes peeking out from behind her red-rimmed glasses had an awful pressure to them, eliciting only a nervous nod from me.

 

***

 

“Achoo! Haa-choo!”

“Lieutenant Commander, are you certain that you don’t have a cold?”

“How strange. My early morning medical check showed no issues.”

“Lieutenant Commander! Communications are coming from an unidentified ship leaving Cierra III!”

“An unidentified ship?”

“Yes. Checking the model now… Oh!”

“Hm?”

“A report: I have identified the ship’s affiliation. It is the Krishna, piloted by gold-rank mercenary Captain Hiro.”

“Huh…? What?!”

 

***

 

A short while after we opened communications to the Pirate Hunting Unit, a very familiar face came on screen.

“It’s been a while, Captain Hiro,” Serena said.

“That it has, Lieutenant Commander Serena. Glad to see you’re in good health.”

“Yes, good enough. Quite a shame that all this happened during your vacation, no?” Serena smiled, but I could practically feel the dark aura emanating from her. Her expression seemed to say, Serves you right to have your vacation interrupted!

“Ha ha ha! Well, for some reason, the Imperial Fleet took too long to get here and protect the Empire’s assets, so I’ve got to make some extra money. It was just a week, but I think I enjoyed the vacation more than enough. Aaah, Cierra III’s resort was just lovely. Delicious food, gorgeous ocean…”

“I see. Good for you. Hee hee…” Upon my prodding, the dark aura permeating Serena’s smile only thickened. Ooh, scary.

“Ha ha ha! Anyway, Lieutenant Commander…”

“Yes, Captain Hiro?”

“Remember how you kinda owe me one?”

Serena’s smile warped into a grimace.

Ha ha ha! That’s the spirit.

 

***

 

We landed in the hangar of the flagship of the Pirate Hunting Unit, Lestarius, and some soldiers guided us to the captain’s quarters.

We didn’t really need it, as I had been here millions of times during my teaching duty. Mimi and Elma had visited a few times as well, but as this was probably an important job to the soldiers, I shut up and let them handle it.

For Chris, however, this seemed to be a very rare opportunity. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as they roamed over the ship’s metal interior, and she held on to Mimi’s hand to keep from falling and getting hurt or wandering off. It was a heartwarming sight.

Mei was back at the Krishna. Nobody on the Lestarius was likely to mess with our ship, but you might as well be careful, right?

“Lieutenant Commander, I’ve brought Captain Hiro’s party,” one soldier said when we arrived.

We then heard Serena’s voice from the other side. “Thank you. You may return to your post.”

“It shall be done.” He bowed to her despite the door between them and left.

These military guys sure do stick to the rules, I thought to myself as the door opened.

“Come on in,” Serena said, and we all obeyed.

The room was surprisingly neat. There was one desk, a little drawing room area, some cupboards along the walls decorated with crests and shields, and a few swords. Swords are cool. I want one, even if I’d never actually use it.

“Thank you for responding to our request,” I began. “I hate for us mercenaries to take time out of your busy schedule.”

“Please, enough with the act,” she groaned, disgusted. “I’m getting goosebumps. The bad kind.”

“Really? Cool, then I’ll just talk like usual.”

“Ugh… Yes, that will do. So, what’s the problem now? If you’re here to brag about your resort vacation, then I’m very glad to cut you down where you stand.”

“Eww, no. Too scary. I’m actually here for serious talk. Don’t you think it’s suspicious how all those pirates came to attack Cierra III?”

Serena narrowed her crimson eyes. It seemed she did think it suspicious.

“And let’s ignore the scale for a second,” I continued. “They attached FTL drives and thrusters to asteroids to attack from orbit. That can’t be easy or cheap, right? Wouldn’t you think there’s someone behind it? Well, we have an idea of who that might be.”

“How interesting. I would love to hear your thoughts, but first, what are you after?”

“Aww, all I want is a week or two of help. I’d like to get supplies through the Empire too.”

“So that’s your aim. Are you planning to use us as a shield?”

“That’s a mean way of putting it. I just want you to help us fight the big baddie, that’s all. For a limited time.”

“I suppose that makes sense… Go on?”

She clearly wanted to know what was up. I wondered where to begin. “Should I just tell her everything?” I asked the girls.

Elma nodded. “That would be best, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. Let’s start by telling her about Chris,” Mimi said.

We all turned to look at Chris. Serena followed suit, causing the girl to fidget uncomfortably. Starting from the very beginning would be best, I guess.

“First, as soon as we came to this star system, pirates attacked us. They canceled our FTL using an interdictor, but we took them down.”

“You do attract quite the shocking amount of trouble. And then?”

“We found a cold-sleep pod among the wreckage. Chris here was inside. Her full name is Christina Dalenwald; she’s a member of the Dalenwald family and the granddaughter of the current count.”

“Count Dalenwald… I did hear a few months ago of his heir being killed in a pirate attack. So she’s a survivor. What’s the meaning of this?”

“Apparently, it was an inheritance dispute disguised as a pirate attack. They found out Chris survived, so the dispute is flaring up again. This pirate attack was planned by her uncle, the same as the first. His name was, uh…what?”

“It’s Balthazar Dalenwald,” Mimi whispered.

“Oh, that’s right. We think it’s Balthazar’s doing. He even sent battle robots down to our island.”

“Hmm. I think I need to hear more.”

Tired of standing and talking, we went to the drawing room area to sit and told her about everything that had happened so far, including the battle. Mei had received data from Milo regarding the battle robots—and what appeared to be a stealth dropship—and sent it to Mimi’s tablet, which Mimi then shared with Serena.

“I’ve only skimmed it so far, but goodness… I don’t like the look of this.” Serena frowned deeply as she looked it over.

“You mean the stealth dropship, right?”

“Yes. Typically, only the military should have access to such technology. How did they procure it, I wonder?” The battle robots were high-grade, but apparently not too hard for rich nobility to get their hands on. If they had been military grade, we probably wouldn’t have made it through them as easily as we had. “I can see that we—the military, that is—can’t ignore this situation. This Balthazar is sure to attempt some last-resort attack. I imagine you want to use my unit as protection?”

“More or less, yeah,” I said.

“You admitted that quite readily…”

“I don’t like to dance around the truth. I’m an honest man, after all. Besides, this wouldn’t be hard to handle for you, would it?”

“Ugh… Very well. It will be expensive, though.”

“Expensive? But aren’t you just repaying your debt to me?” I smiled.

“Gnngh…” Serena looked at me, frustrated and trembling. Ha ha ha! This is just lovely.

“Think about it this way. You do your usual work, and your debt to me just vanishes! Awesome, right?”

“Yes, yes, I’ve heard enough. Captain Hiro, we will hire you to guard a private supply unit. Will that satisfy you?”

“I’m not gonna just say yes to that. Can I have some more details?”

“Tch.”

Don’t click your tongue at me, you hag!

“We have two ships with us that belong to the Holz family—ahem, we have two privately owned cargo ships. One is the Pelican IV, and the other is the Flying Tortoise. We would hire you to protect them.”

“Hey, hold on. Aren’t Marquess Holz’s supply ships pretty much live bait for pirates?”

“Oh ho ho!” Serena laughed haughtily. “Yes, you silly man. He finds himself attacked frequently for some strange reason, and we just happen to save him every time. But it’s coincidentally so helpful for us to expose those who conspire against us.”

Serena seemed to enjoy dishing out as many jabs as she was taking from me. It was an effective method of pirate hunting, and as long as we could withstand an attack for long enough, the Pirate Hunting Unit would save us.

“Sure, let’s just leave it at that. What will our reward be?”

“The standard wage for a gold-rank mercenary is about 80,000 Ener per day.”

“That’s pretty cheap,” I complained.

“Any rewards from destroyed pirate ships will be yours as well,” Serena added.

I looked at Elma, who shrugged.

“Given our situation, I’m glad to take whatever money we can get.”

“True… Okay. Let’s go with that.”

“Very well. I will prepare the proper paperwork and send it through to the guild. Please stand by in your ship.”

“Got it.”

“As for Christina, we would be happy to take care of her here.” Serena looked to Chris.

I followed suit, and the girl shook her head vigorously. It seemed she wanted to be in the Krishna.

“There you have it. We appreciate the thought, though.”

“I see. Yes, well, I suppose a ship full of soldiers wouldn’t be the best environment for a little girl.” Serena nodded in understanding.

Aren’t you a girl too? I stared at her, baffled.

“I am a soldier and a noble with formal training, not a little girl. Note the sword.” Serena smirked fearlessly. Did she think that sword would save her from anything? What, could she use the Force to deflect lasers and do telekinesis? A mystery, indeed.

“Welp. If that’s that, I’m out.”

“Good. I will call soldiers to escort you to your ship. I wouldn’t want you wandering into our secret divisions, after all.” Serena used her handheld terminal to call someone.

I’d been worried, but this seemed less dangerous than being all on our own. Phew! That’s the power of connections.