The Captain's Despair: Part 5
The Obelisk assault destroyer, Deck C-01.
The Corpse assault fighter launch bay.
“Don’t be so obvious. Huh?”
“All inspections complete!”
“As always, I owe you one, Lieutenant Kori.”
“Hehe, you’re too kind.”
“Kori, the squadron leader of the Corpse assault fighters, expressed his gratitude. The striking horn on his head marked him as an Oni male. His homeland was Aldebaran, a world blanketed by thunderous storms for roughly three hundred days a year, where the sun never rose. It was a planet far harsher than the vacuum of space, yet it had earned a reputation for forging elite pilots in its unforgiving skies.
“And the adjustments to flaps two and four… you made them exactly as requested?”
“Thanks to that, I’ve been flying comfortably ever since.”
“Hehe, it’s my pleasure. Whenever you need me, just say the word. I have to head to the next launch now!”
Kori flashed a grin smeared with oil and soot, then hurried off toward the next launch bay. Duke Alban watched her retreating back with a faint smile, but a voice from behind him— one he had been waiting to hear—cut through the moment.
“Yo~ Kori is always so bright.”
“Ready?”
“Ready! By the way, the moment I returned, the captain gave no orders and we did a blind sortie. Is that one-eyed captain really trying to kill an Unknown? After getting beaten to a pulp by the Chainstalkers and then hauled off to the Valkyrie? That was just a rumor, right?”
“...Maybe.”
“After finally getting some rest, why come back and stir up trouble?”
“Shane.”
“Hah, if you heard, then hear this! What are you going to do?”
He sighed, glancing at his partner, Major Shane. His close friend despised Captain Elia Edelvine with a burning hatred—genuine, visceral disgust.
“You heard the briefing too, right, Duke? No information on the enemy at all. Sending us out to hunt something we can’t even detect. What kind of crazy talk is that? That woman is clearly insane.”
But Duke understood. Every single time he faced Shane, the captain’s merciless barbs rained down. Harsh training without mercy. Shane had been beaten half to death by her and had spent days curled up in his bunk, groaning in pain.
“But you… you bet on the captain’s prediction being right, even though you hate that bet so much.”
“Of course I bet on it. You don’t know about reverse betting? Reverse betting. Originally this is reverse-”
—WEEEOO— —WEEEOO— —WEEEOO—
Warning Level RED. Warning Level RED.
Shane never finished his sentence. Suddenly the launch siren blared across the entire bay. The pilots reacted on pure instinct. The fighters already waiting in the air were boarded in perfect order.
> Corpse launch preparation, Corpse launch preparation.
> Notification. Fighters 001 through 060. Launch standby.
The launch bay’s blast doors thundered open.
> Nikaia defense system activated. All hands, combat readiness.
Activating the Nikaia defense system.
To the pilots of the Corpse fighters, that meant one thing only:
Complete launch preparation within one minute.
“001st fighter, launch first.”
> Notification. Odd-numbered fighters launch first, even-numbered follow.
> Notification. Odd fighters, launch on orange signal.
“Good. Let’s dance!”
Shane shouted with enthusiasm. Duke nodded and looked at his fighter. The Corpse 001, emblazoned with the words “Hell’s Nikke,” rose first. He climbed into the cockpit and pulled Shane up by the arm. Once settled in the rear seat, Shane immediately checked the comms on his visor.
> Transmission confirmed. Can you hear me, Duke?
> Good, can you hear me?
“Crystal clear.”
> Good. Close the canopy.
The hydraulic canopy above the front seat hissed shut with a rush of air.
> This is control. 001 fighter, final inspection begins. Respond.
> Transmission confirmed. This is Duke Alban, Colonel. Identification number 01-311701.
“Colonel, please confirm engines and stability gauges.”
“All systems green. Confirmed.”
> Confirmed, all systems green.
Final inspection by control.
Only ten seconds remained until launch.
> Major Shane, confirm weapons systems.
> Machine guns, missile systems confirmed. Let’s launch quickly!
“Confirmed, launch preparation complete. Nikke, good luck.”
> Catapult activated. Launch. Launch. Launch.
Blue mana flames erupted from the Kanrad magical engineering catapult, and the fighter rocketed into high-speed launch. Ten seconds after launch, the Corpse stabilized at normal speed. Normal pilots would have blacked out from the g-forces long before, but the Corpse pilots could endure over four minutes with ease.
“Launch successful. Engines nominal. Alpha formation, maintain evasion distance.”
> Roger, this is Viya. Aligning horizontally toward Nikke’s starboard.
> Roger, this is Tott. Aligning horizontally toward Nikke’s port.
“Viya, Tott, Lazar. All squadrons, correct coordinates to 8.1.4.”
Sixty Corpse fighters launched in sequence and formed a Λ shape in front of the Obelisk.
“Hey, the Orion guys are here too. Don’t let them get in our way!”
“Wasn’t this supposed to be our solo show? When did those bastards arrive?”
“The captain’s favorite whore who’s obsessed with the Unknowns has another one besides the captain? That must be it!”
Explosive chatter erupted over the comms. Looking to the right, the Corpse fighters launching from the Orion assault destroyer were visible. Control had said support would probably be nonexistent… yet somehow the coordination had gone smoothly.
> Nikke, this is Tott. Something is approaching rapidly.
> This is Viya. Radar contact confirmed. No reaction so far.
“All hands, on alert. Visual confirmation impossible—”
“—Duke, take evasive action!”
Shane’s shout coincided with Duke clamping his jaw and yanking the stick downward. The fighter shuddered violently from the sudden high-speed turn, and Shane’s head cracked against the instrument panel with a dull thud.
“Shane, you okay?”
> Ugh… damn it, that hurts like hell. I’m fine!
Spiky debris from the Clingor-class enemy vessel had slammed into them. Not missiles or gun fire—just biomechanical spines. Yet the force was so fast and brutal it could shred the Corpse’s armor.
Clingor detected! Adaptive camouflage active!
“This is Viya! Major damage to the rear!”
“Unknowns’ elite biomechanical warship. It possesses self-cloaking capabilities.”
“This is Nikke. Viya, return to the mothership immediately.”
> Damn it, damn it! Those bastards! Sorry, Duke, my bad!
> This is Siryu. Taking command of Viya.
Fortunately, only one fighter had been hit by the ambush.
Duke calmly issued orders.
“Transmit to all squadrons. Engage. Apply Plan C. You all know what to do, right?”
> This is Tott. Roger. Engaging at C-3-854. 021 through 040, follow me!
> This is Siryu. Roger! Engaging at B-1-352. Don’t get shot down like idiots!
With the orders given, the squadrons split left and right at blinding speed. It was a masterpiece. The flawless transition from tight formation to dispersed combat proved how thoroughly these pilots had trained in real battle.
“Let’s go too, Duke!”
The quiet of space was shattered by explosions and pressure waves. Turret barrages from the Obelisk’s anti-air guns wove a deadly curtain around them, while distant Gaser suicide drones from the Clingor-class vessels swarmed in like black locusts.
“All squadrons, execute evasion maneuvers. Do not let any Gaser impact the hull!”
> Roger!
The squadrons executed perfect evasion and began tearing through the Gaser swarm in seconds. The Corpse fighters clashed fiercely with the Unknowns’ desperate attempts to break through the defensive net.
> Fighter 045, 056. Watch for ricochets. Too much waste.
The battle intensified. Some rookie fighters ran out of ammunition.
“Return to the mothership immediately if you need resupply.”
> What the hell? Already out of ammo?!
Shane shouted fiercely.
The little ones were going to die again.
> You’re all getting re-educated when you get back today. Understood?! 13 missiles!
“Missile impact. Kill count thirty-seven. Keep it up, Shane.”
> This is Siryu, is the kill-count bet still valid?
> Damn, you’re relaxed. Let’s do it!
—THUD— —THUD— —THUD— —THUD— —THUD— —THUD—
A sudden alarm blared from the rear warning lights.
Duke, watch your back!
“Hold on tight, Shane!”
The heartbeat quickened.
Two Gaser fighters were closing in from behind at point-blank range.
“I’m going to brake hard. When they come in front, I’ll blow them apart!”
> Roger! I’ll turn them into a honeycomb just like you ordered!
“NOW!”
He leaned back against the seat and slammed the reverse thrusters to the floor. The Gasers that couldn’t match the sudden deceleration fell behind.
“Shane!”
> I know without you saying anything!
Shane bit her lip bloody, eyes locked on the target. Armor-piercing incendiary rounds from the twin 50mm cannons punched through the two Gasers with a heavy boom. Black fragments of the exploded Gasers stuck to the canopy with a wet thud.
> This is Colonel Chloe. Can you hear me, Colonel Duke?
“Engaged! Control, what’s going on?”
“The captain wants to speak with you.”
“The captain wants— kuh!”
A violent jolt shook the fighter. The shockwave from an allied air-to-air missile exploding nearby. Honestly, there was no time to worry about comms. But the captain personally contacting them during battle? It had never happened before.
> This is the captain. Can you hear me, Colonel Duke?
“Yes, Captain!”
“Your skill… I heard you’re the best here.”
We hadn’t even met yet. What was he saying?
Or rather… what exactly had the captain just said?
Best? Wait, did he just praise me?
“I will guide you to the enemy command ship’s coordinates.”
Enemy command ship?
At this scale, it had to be a caterpillar-class.
But the radar showed nothing.
Even though the enemy possessed adaptive camouflage.
Without a cruiser arriving, detection was impossible.
> Use missiles to snipe the enemy commander.
> ...What do you mean?
“I want you to pour missiles into the hole my Nautilus Cannon will punch.”
An incomprehensible order.
“Isn’t it simple?”
The captain said.