Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Space Pirate
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# 39
Space Pirate
I wouldn't benefit from it myself, but under the Monarch family's guarantee, unlimited credit transactions were possible.
“……!”
The staff member who checked the card pondered for a moment before jumping in surprise.
Then, with my permission, they stepped away briefly.
“How long will the approval take?”
-I don't have information on card payment approvals, Master.
“I wasn't asking you.
Truth be told, in this era, cards weren't the simplest payment method anymore.
People generally handled it with panels implanted in their wrists.
For large sums, options expanded.
Things like virtual currency guaranteed by the Human Alliance, mining and purchase rights for rare metals that functioned like cash, large transport ship's loading rights, and so on.
The forms currency took were incredibly diverse.
‘In the end, the simplest is still money…….’
Humanity no longer fixated solely on cash.
It was an age where people chose based on preference or circumstance.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, sir.”
As I mulled it over, the staff returned.
They had a bunch of stuff hanging off them.
“The payment has been processed. These are our museum staff members.”
“Ah, I see. Hello.”
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, we wrapped up the artifact transport discussion without issue.
They even promised a discount next time.
I emphasized safe, shock-free transport and took my leave.
The staff followed me all the way to my personal shuttle, waving goodbye with bright smiles.
-Beep. Master. Their facial expressions seem extremely artificial.
“No. Those are genuine smiles.”
-Is my facial recognition program malfunctioning?
“No. They're not jerks, and no one hates a big-spending customer, right? Simple logic. Remember that.”
I sped up, glancing at R3D3 beeping in confusion.
Financial leeway really was refreshing.
*
Space is vast.
No matter how advanced technology got, interstellar distances were too far to traverse freely.
The AD Drive was developed to overcome that.
Building Drive Gates cost an insane amount of money and time.
Since not every human planet could have one, safe travel inevitably consumed time.
Still, AD Drive tech kept advancing.
Older AD Drives required Drive Gates sending signals bidirectionally from origin and destination, but now they weren't strictly necessary.
Accuracy in calculating ship coordinates from just the origin signal was improving.
The issue was that the mother computer handling ship control needed incredibly high performance.
For one-way dives, that wasn't all.
Escape from the astral dimension required ship defense gear to prevent unforeseen accidents.
So, what did that mean?
Naturally, it was tech small-to-medium shuttles or civilians couldn't dream of.
“Should I get one anyway……?”
Why was I pondering this now?
In the past 28 days, 20 had been spent just traveling.
Actual work time? A mere 7 days.
With so much to do, wasting time crawling through space was boring—and a huge time sink.
-Beep! Coordinate measurement tech is still unstable. Reports indicate a 0.027% accident rate for AD Drives without Drive Gates.
“Lower than I thought.”
-Most accidents result in disappearances. Factoring in unreported cases, the rate would be much higher.
R3D3 was right.
AD Drives were inherently risky.
Even maximizing precautions, accidents happened.
Anything but bidirectional drives was essentially betting your life.
That wasn't all.
In AD Drives, destination coordinates mattered more than origin.
Failing to specify them spiked the mother computer's computation load, increasing with distance.
Even short hops within star systems were manageable, but rarely attempted.
‘Do I have to wait another 20 years for that tech?’
A solution to all these issues flashed in my mind.
Still pie in the sky.
And not something money alone could buy, so premature.
For now, time sinks like this were unavoidable.
“Anything fun happen?”
-I've prepared a game for you, Master.
“No thanks.”
-Beep!
I cut it off without listening.
Obviously some brain-draining program disguised as a game.
-Master?
“You're trying the same thing as last time, right?”
-No. This one trains repair skills and reflexes simultaneously...
“No. No.”
Last one boosted cognition.
The one before was similar, just different flavor.
They all had two things in common: headaches, and humans couldn't win.
Training games were annoying enough, but losing every time? No fun.
Amid this pointless banter during travel, something shattered the boredom—unexpectedly.
-Master. Signal jamming.
“Signal jamming?”
-Unidentified ship presumed pirate ahead, attacking a small transport. They're engaged.
My interstellar travel shuttle's radar wasn't picking it up.
This was pure R3D3.
R3D3 accessed the shuttle and displayed the info clearly.
“Pirates here?”
I was in Kalahab Sector, Third Defense Line.
Sectors were open space anyone could traverse freely, regardless of affiliation.
Merchants and travelers used them, but lacking protection made them pirate hotspots.
‘But Kalahab Sector?’
The problem: Kalahab was among the safer sectors.
Dense planets nearby, regular patrol fleets from the Defense Line—it was the worst spot for pirates.
-Scale suggests it could be opportunistic.
“No distress signal?”
-There is one, but jamming degrades reception. Your orders?
Two choices: risk closing in, or detour around the jam.
I decided to approach enough to decipher the signal.
Reason: both pirate and victim ships looked lightly armed.
My shuttle? Top-of-the-line.
With R3D3, escaping if needed was low-risk.
“Got a read?”
-Message received. About 37% data corrupted by jamming.
“Recover what you can.”
I closed to risky distance.
They'd likely spotted me by now.
No reaction yet, but time to decide.
-Decoding complete. Playing video.
The footage was chaotic, underscoring the urgency.
Damage hit the audio, so no sound.
Transport crew wore spacesuits—deck breached—and combat was clear.
‘Energy guns at best?’
Both sides poorly armed.
Pirates slightly better, but not overwhelming given the fight.
Still, it looked headed for a quick end.
“Audio?”
-Failed recovery.
“Lip reading?”
-Damage too high. Only basic distress intent decipherable.
Help or not?
Honestly, after the video, urgency plummeted.
That armament? I could handle it without injury.
“What to do?”
-Per Article 2, Section 3 of Space Aviation Law, non-intervention upon pirate sighting incurs no fault on Master.
“And intervention?”
-Given your status, risk of complications.
Pure intentions don't guarantee smooth outcomes, even in novels.
What if the transport started it? Not pirates?
Ignoring raised moral issues.
If word spread, someone would yap.
Of course, vast space—odds of detection astronomical, no witnesses.
Personally, ignoring was easiest.
“Your take?”
-I recommend intervention.
“Really?”
Slightly surprised.
Expected risk-free non-intervention from AI R3D3.
Reason even more so.
-I haven't fully mapped your tendencies, but non-intervention has high chance of guilt. Weighing risk level, your status, abilities—intervention better.
“...Hmm.”
-Risks minimizable. Leave pirate suppression to me, R3D3. Beep!
R3D3's head spun 360 degrees, flashing multicolored lights.
Looked eager.
‘Good chance to test performance.’
Past 28 days, support functions solid.
AI excellence made it convenient.
But R3D3's true purpose: combat.
Boosting available combat resources 10% yielded 20x normal mech performance—worth verifying.
“Fine. How?”
-Leave it to me. Swift resolution.
R3D3 exited via emergency hatch, floated toward pirate ship.
Poor radar? No intercept fire until infiltration.
Then a flash—and it ended.
-Suppression complete, Master.
“...Already? Fatalities?”
-None. 7 injured in process, no life threats. 12 identified pirates restrained with cuffs. Victim rep requests comms.
“Patch through.”
I checked combat data while scanning footage.
A middle-aged man, soaked in sweat inside his spacesuit, face still tense, opened his mouth.