Chapter 131: Evil Female Executive ~The Only One in This World~ (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131: Evil Female Executive ~The Only One in This World~ (1)
Spacetro. A group that navigates the vast reaches of space, invading planets with developed civilizations to secure the technological resources and power necessary for their voyage. Though they are called space pirates, their methods of invasion are actually quite peaceful.
Since their objective is technological rather than material, they must preserve the planet's own technology and civilization, securing only the energy required for their travels through their conquests.
As they sail through the stars, they search for a planet where they can finally settle down. However, finding a habitable world without an existing civilization is no easy task.
The 6th Fleet is one of the many fleets within Spacetro. It consists of three motherships, each boasting staggering dimensions: 150 kilometers in length, 25 kilometers in width, and 5 kilometers in height.
Inside each mothership, a social system on the scale of a nation has been established, allowing one to glimpse the diverse lives of people from various regions. As they spend their lives navigating space and conducting invasions, the Spacetro military holds most of the key positions within the organization.
“…Me.”
Unable to fully wake from a deep sleep, a young man furrowed his brow at a distant sound.
“Wake up.”
A familiar voice rang clearly in his ear, but his body refused to cooperate. He merely tossed and turned.
“I said, wake up!”
At the woman’s sharp shout, the young man, who had been dead to the world, bolted upright in bed, startled.
With messy black hair he hadn't even thought to fix, he stared blankly into space with wide eyes before slowly turning his head to the side.
Standing there was a woman with long black hair, wearing the black uniform that marked her as a member of the Spacetro military. A black base suit was visible beneath her uniform, and the rank insignia on the exterior identified her as a common soldier.
“What time is it?”
Still looking dazed, the young man asked the woman for the time. In response, she reached into the air and moved her fingers as if tapping on something, causing a hologram to flicker into existence.
The hologram displayed the time, the weather outside, and the temperature.
“Thank goodness. I’m not late.”
Relieved that he hadn't overslept his morning shift, the young man finally scratched his messy hair and climbed out of bed.
“Were you on duty yesterday too?”
“In the evening. My clock-out got pushed back because of it.”
The young man stretched and opened a large capsule located in a corner of his room. Inside were several sets of black uniforms and his civilian clothes. He pulled out a uniform and tossed it onto the bed.
Even though the woman was standing right there, he didn't hesitate to strip off his shirt. Accustomed to this, she began tidying up his cluttered desk.
“Even if you clocked out late, it shouldn't have been enough to leave you this sleep-deprived.”
“I stayed up late watching a drama.”
Now down to his underwear, the young man stepped into a different capsule—not the one for clothes. After a few adjustments inside, he emerged wearing a suit identical to the one the woman wore under her uniform.
He then proceeded to put on the uniform he had set aside.
“Again? Why do you keep watching that when you always say it’s boring?”
“You’d understand if you watched it. It’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s about a spy who’s supposed to be conducting surveillance but falls in love and starts a relationship with the target. Does that even make sense?”
Despite being a loyal viewer, the young man chuckled as he finished dressing, still finding the plot of his drama absurd. His hair was still sticking up in every direction; noticing this, the woman frowned and approached him.
“Your hair! If you go out like that, the Captain will catch you and you'll get scolded again.”
“I’m going to wash up at the hangar anyway, so what does it matter?”
“How many times have you been chewed out for going out like that? Think about me, since we commute together. I get in trouble because of you too.”
“My apologies.”
The young man laughed and apologized at her grumbling, sitting still as she reached out to fix his hair.
After a quick grooming, the two left the room and walked down the hallway toward the hangar.
Both were part of the aviation corps of the 6th Fleet’s 1st Mothership. Though they held different positions, they worked in the same area and commuted together every day. The woman often looked after the young man, who was far more lax than her. This had been their routine for a long time; though she complained occasionally, she didn't truly dislike it.
“How much longer are you going to watch that drama?”
“There’s still a lot left. Besides, there’s nothing else to watch.”
The young man, who preferred staying indoors to going out when off duty, had received a hard drive full of dramas from a friend he’d made on a planet during the last invasion. He had been hooked for months.
Because he often stayed up until dawn watching them, he had even been late a few times—something he rarely did before. Recently, the woman had been putting more effort into making sure he woke up.
“No flights today?”
“Nope. We’ve cleared the asteroid belt.”
At the mention of the asteroid belt, the young man’s brow furrowed deeply. Realizing what he was thinking, the woman gave an awkward smile.
“How many broke down?”
“Unit 5 and Unit 22.”
The young man vigorously scratched the back of his head, which the woman had just neatly fixed. Seeing this, she shouted, “Hey!” and pulled his hand away to fix his hair once more.
“Heading to work, I see?”
As they walked toward the hangar, the two were startled by a familiar voice. They snapped to attention and saluted.
“Good morning, Captain!”
The woman standing before them had long platinum-blonde hair and wore an eyepatch over her right eye. As the leader of their aviation corps, she accepted their salute with a light greeting.
“A, you look quite angry for someone who hasn't even started work yet.”
“O-Oh, no, ma'am!”
“I know. It’s because of the engine failures on Unit 5 and Unit 22, isn't it?”
“It was the engines?!”
Realizing his workload had just increased significantly, A looked in shock at the woman beside him, who hadn't mentioned it was an engine issue. She smiled awkwardly and avoided his gaze.
“Don't be too hard on Seira. At least she made it back safely from her flight.”
“It’s not because of her flight, ma'am. It’s because she intentionally left out the part about the engines just so she could laugh at me being annoyed later.”
Captain Esmeralda smiled as she watched Seira, who was looking away with a guilty, awkward grin.
“Just don't be too hard on the boys when you get to the hangar.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
After the brief exchange, Esmeralda walked past A and Seira. The two gave a respectful salute to the woman who held a much higher rank and seniority than them.
Only after she had passed did their shoulders slump as the tension left them.
“See? Good thing I made you look decent, right?”
A acknowledged that Seira was right—it was a good thing he’d listened to her since they ran into the Captain. But a moment later, he narrowed his eyes and poked Seira in the forehead.
“Why the hell did you leave out the part about the engines?”
“Ahaha… Let’s just get to work!”
She was a fighter pilot, and A was an aviation engineer. Their jobs often overlapped, and since they had known each other for a long time, they frequently talked shop.
Because they knew each other so well, Seira knew exactly what stressed A out. Since she knew he would fix them perfectly anyway, she often enjoyed watching him get worked up.
“This is your punishment for making me come wake you up this morning.”
“That’s a heavy price to pay.”
Knowing he could never win a verbal argument with her, A gave up on nagging and trudged toward the hangar.
After a long walk, they arrived. Seira headed toward her fighter, while A went to the hangar locker room. As he was taking off his uniform to change into his coveralls, someone else entered and gave him a casual greeting.
“Morning, A.”
“Hey. You’re here, Kirk?”
Kirk, a fellow engineer with black hair and a large build, walked to his own capsule, put away his uniform, and pulled out his coveralls.
“I heard you were on evening duty yesterday?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Nothing, just that the girls were talking about you.”
“About me? It probably wasn't anything good, so don't tell me.”
“Got it.”
A was notorious when he was working, so he knew his reputation wasn't exactly stellar. He shut his ears to whatever rumors were circulating.
Kirk chuckled at A, who was scowling and clearly didn't want to hear it.
“More importantly, we’re screwed. Yesterday, in the asteroid belt…”
“I heard. Unit 5 and 22’s engines are trashed, right? Hahahaha! Serves you right.”
Unlike A, who was despairing over the engine failures, Kirk was laughing his head off. This was because they were in charge of different units. Even though they were both engineers, they belonged to different teams and managed different aircraft.
Naturally, Units 5 and 22 belonged to A’s team.
“Fuck you. If a few screws go missing from your units later, you’ll know it was me.”
“Sure. Even if it isn't you, I’ll blame you anyway.”
Leaving the laughing Kirk behind, A finished changing and stepped out into the hangar, heading toward the broken fighters.
He had told Seira he was going to wash up while yawning widely, but he hadn't actually done it. He scratched his still-messy hair and shoved his hands into his pockets.
The moment he reached the area where the fighters were parked and saw the crowd gathered around the damaged Unit 5 and Unit 22, A’s eyes flipped. He pulled a wrench from his coverall pocket and hurled it.
Clang!
The metallic ring echoed sharply. The flying wrench struck the side of a fighter dead-on. Startled by the sudden loud noise, the people gathered around the aircraft jumped and turned their heads.
“Are you bastards here for a show?! Is this your first time seeing a broken fighter?! Get the hell back to your stations for roll call!”
Recognizing the person who had appeared throwing a wrench was A, the crowd dispersed, whispering among themselves. One young man who had been there shook his head at A’s explosive, profanity-laced entrance.
“You lunatic. Would it kill you to speak a bit more nicely?”
“If a bunch of so-called engineers are just standing around gawking at a fighter they aren't even going to fix, they deserve to be cursed at.”
Kruger, who was on the same engineering team, was well-acquainted with how sensitive A became during repairs. He sighed and shook his head.
“This is why the kids talk shit about you behind your back.”
“Let them. If I catch them, I’ll split their skulls open with a spanner.”
Seeing A’s fierce scowl, Kruger muttered "crazy bastard" under his breath. A heard him but didn't bother responding, glancing at the fighters as he prepared for roll call.
“You were on standby last night, weren't you? Aren't you going home?”
“After roll call. I have some things to hand over.”
Roll call began shortly after. Once the brief inspection was over, A received the handover notes from Kruger, who had been on standby duty since dawn.
He then began inspecting the engines with a few team members. A moment later—
“A!”
Hearing a voice from behind, he pulled his head out of the engine and looked down from the fighter.
Two young men in pilot suits were standing there. The moment A saw them, his face contorted.
“Sorry, man. I didn't think about the overheating and pushed it too hard.”
They were none other than the pilots of the broken Unit 5 and Unit 22. A suddenly flashed a serene, gentle smile.
“It’s okay. That can happen when you’re flying through an asteroid belt.”
Then, he pulled out the wrench he’d been using to inspect the engine. Sensing danger, the two pilots began to back away. A leaped straight down from the top of the fighter.
“Get over here! You sons of bitches!”
“Whoa, you psycho! We said we’re sorry!”
“If you’re sorry, then just die!!!”
Veins popping in his neck, A screamed and hurled the wrench at them. He scooped up the missed wrench and sprinted after the two pilots, who were running for their lives.
Seira, who was sitting in her own cockpit checking her instruments, watched the men causing a scene in the distance and sighed in exasperation.
“Idiots.”