Asteroid Belt Search (1)

The escort mission for the cargo fleet had been a minor affair, and aside from that, nothing of note had occurred. There had been two inspections by squadrons under the 37th Flotilla along the way, but the cargo fleet carried identification codes issued directly by the 37th Flotilla, so the checks amounted to little more than routine verification. Three days after crossing the Nox System, the search battalion led by Freesia finally arrived at the warp gate connecting to the Garion System.

The massive circular warp gate, five kilometers in diameter, glowed with a bluish light like a lake suspended in the black void, continuously spitting out ships. "Battalion Commander, in approximately twenty minutes, outbound traffic from the Garion System will be restricted and inbound traffic from the Nox System will begin," came the report.

Warp gates, built upon spatial leap magic, worked by breaking down targets into countless particles of information upon entry and reassembling those particles at a predetermined location upon exit. In the distant past, spatial leap magic had often failed when foreign matter occupied the arrival coordinates, resulting in either contamination or incomplete reassembly that left the target scattered. Over centuries, however, the magic had grown far more stable. Modern gates could now safely redirect to nearby clear coordinates if an obstruction was detected. Yet they still carried the old weakness of spatial leaps: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the longer the jump distance, the greater the margin of error at the destination. By fixing the coordinates, warp gates ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eliminated that error—at the cost of retaining the original vulnerability to foreign matter.

That was why traffic through warp gates was strictly one-way and alternated at set intervals. The same rule applied to military vessels. A cruiser or larger warship might simply scatter upon collision, but if the mana circuits or engines were damaged during the reassembly process and an explosion occurred, the result would be catastrophic. For that reason, Freesia's battalion and the cargo fleet waited near the gate for clearance.

Before long, the stream of ships emerging from the gate ceased. The destroyer controlling access withdrew, and the permission signal came through. "All ships, enter the warp gate."

Upon entry, the view flared white for an instant before the familiar starscape reappeared—now with patrol ships instead of destroyers, and two of them rather than one.

Success messages filled the control panel, followed by reports from every section confirming normal status. Once the entire ship had been verified clear, an incoming video transmission arrived from one of the patrol ships conducting precision scans.

— Loyalty! This is Captain Hameln of the Garion System Defense Force.

"Loyalty. Lieutenant Colonel Vermillion, commander of the 2nd Search Battalion under the 41st Flotilla."

After confirming identities, Freesia pointed at the patrol ship's active precision scan and asked with a puzzled expression, "I know the Garion System is a key location, but I didn't think precision scans were standard during warp gate transits. Has something happened?"

In most inner systems, only basic scans and simple inspections were conducted by the company stationed at the gate. Precision scans were rare unless the situation was truly urgent. The Garion System, with its constant flow of traffic, almost never performed them unless resources were exceptionally abundant. Running one here meant something serious had occurred. Freesia and the bridge crew's expressions darkened.

— Yes. Yesterday, eight pirate high-speed craft disguised as ordinary merchant vessels raided a trade ship. As a result, the system has raised its alert level and is conducting thorough inspections of every vessel entering the Garion System.

As expected, an incident—quite a major one—had taken place. No wonder two companies were stationed at a single gate usually handled by one. Eight high-speed craft represented enough firepower to potentially wipe out an entire company if several targeted the patrol ship while the rest overwhelmed its escorts. Pirates targeting the military was madness, yet the fact that they had infiltrated this close to the Garion System and conducted raids spoke of extraordinary boldness. Deploying two companies made sense if the goal was to guarantee repulsion of any concentrated attack.

"Have the pirates been completely eliminated?"

— Three high-speed craft were sunk, but the remaining five escaped into the asteroid belt. The situation is still ongoing.

Freesia could already see the mission that would fall to her. They would have to patrol and secure the area around the asteroid belt until the pirates either escaped the system or were dealt with. The patrol ship's transmission ended, and silence fell over the bridge. Everyone understood. The comfortable, "milk run" assignment they had expected had turned into the exact opposite. All they could do was pray the pirates had already fled the system.

"Proceed directly to the naval base."

Even Freesia's order and the responses that followed lacked any real conviction.

The planet Nord, the heart of the Garion System, was a bustling trade hub where countless ships came and went without pause. True to the emergency, they only reached the naval base after passing a stringent inspection by the system defense force.

"Battalion Commander? A directive has arrived from flotilla headquarters. In approximately thirty minutes—at 1400 AST—the flotilla commander will personally conduct an operational briefing."

At least they weren't being summoned to the secure communications room immediately. That gave her a little time to prepare before facing the admiral. Freesia handed temporary command to Major Dmitry and made her way to the secure communications room aboard the ship.

After several deep breaths, a glass of cold water, and multiple checks in the mirror to ensure her uniform and appearance were flawless, she entered the designated communication code. The screen filled with faces—flotilla commanders and fellow battalion commanders, all senior to her in both rank and seniority. Freesia offered a light salute. "My apologies for the delay. I am Freesia Vermillion, newly appointed commander of the 2nd Search Battalion."

— It's fine. Weren't you escorting a cargo fleet from the Nox System? That must have been your first time, yet you handled it without issue. Well done.

Fernando, Colonel and commander of the 1st Squadron of the 41st Flotilla, offered the praise. Freesia bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you for your consideration."

While they exchanged brief pleasantries, another connection request came through. The squadron and battalion commanders immediately straightened their postures. A middle-aged man with a wild, rugged presence appeared on the central panel. The single star on his shoulder marked him as Rear Admiral Lavalle, commander of the 41st Flotilla.

"Loyalty!"

— Loyalty. I assume you're all aware of the situation, so I'll get straight to the point.

The briefing that followed was far more serious than Freesia had anticipated. Lavalle wasted no time.

— The fact that I'm conducting this briefing myself should tell you the Garion System's situation is worse than expected. Of the eight high-speed craft that raided the trade ship yesterday, three were sunk, but five escaped into the asteroid belt. Subsequent investigations revealed an even larger number of pirates hiding within it.

A summary appeared on the panel to Lavalle's right.

— As you can see, we've identified two destroyer-class vessels and nearly twenty high-speed craft—roughly the equivalent of three companies. We suspect they belong to a major pirate group, either the Orca or the White Shark. More troubling is that they haven't withdrawn. They're still lurking in the asteroid belt, severely disrupting logistics throughout the system.

This explained why the flotilla commander was personally briefing them instead of delegating to the operations staff. While the officers reeled from the pirates' audacity, Lavalle continued.

— System defense forces will secure the warp gates and key installations. My flagship and the squadron flagships will cover the main planets and supply ports. The battalions of the 1st and 2nd Squadrons will disperse across the system to strengthen patrols and protect civilian vessels. The 3rd Squadron's battalions and the search battalions will enter the asteroid belt to hunt the pirates.

The prospect of combing through that vast asteroid field—a scenario no one had imagined—drained the color from Freesia's face. A glance around showed the other battalion commanders looking equally grim. Those must be the commanders under the 3rd Squadron and the 1st Search Battalion.

— The 3rd Squadron battalions will follow predetermined routes while deploying sensor satellites. The search battalions will operate with full autonomy to locate and eliminate the enemy.

"Then… we are to search the asteroid belt independently and destroy any enemies we find?" Freesia asked, her expression bleak. Lavalle nodded firmly.

Even a mere lieutenant colonel questioning a rear admiral was unusual, yet no one commented. The operation was that daunting.

— Correct. The confirmed enemy strength is equivalent to three companies, but there may be more. Engage and destroy when possible, but if the enemy proves larger than expected and retreat is necessary, do so. In that case, coordinate with nearby units to establish a blockade and ensure the enemy is not lost. Additionally—

Lavalle delivered the final, devastating order.

— The pirates may be anchored on asteroids, so all searches will be conducted using Precision Scanning.

For a moment, Freesia doubted her ears. Centuries ago, when the Federation's three races had first ventured into space, they had relied on optical radar. Back then, evading optical detection in open space had been nearly impossible. As technology advanced and mana engines became standard, ships gained magical stealth capabilities that defied physical laws, rendering optical radar obsolete. Mana radar had taken its place. While normal detection could be maintained passively, Precision Scanning required the captain to personally weave a net of mana across a wide area—an exhausting task far beyond simply running sensors. It was like carrying weights on every limb during daily life. Doing it all day, every day, until the pirates were eliminated or driven from the system… The battalion commanders' faces darkened further.

Finally, Colonel Francia, commander of the 3rd Squadron's 1st Battalion, spoke up cautiously.

— Flotilla Commander, maintaining continuous Precision Scanning will place an enormous burden on the captains. If the operation drags on, we risk encountering pirates while our fleets are combat-ineffective.

Lavalle nodded without irritation. He had said the same thing when the staff first presented the plan. Twenty-four-hour Precision Scanning was madness. He clarified that the search would not continue at night and would run from 0800 to 2100 with appropriate rotations per battalion to minimize the captains' strain, then ended the transmission.

Once the flotilla commander vanished, the squadron commanders offered brief words of encouragement and disappeared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as well. The 1st and 2nd Squadron battalion commanders, who had received lighter assignments, cast sympathetic glances before logging off. Only the 3rd Squadron commanders and the search battalion commanders remained, exchanging hollow looks.

— Everyone… you'll be busy preparing. I'll take my leave.

After Colonel Francia disconnected, the others followed one by one. When the last transmission ended, Freesia sat alone in the secure communications room, clutching her head and screaming internally.

'They said they were sending me somewhere comfortable!'