Stormy Night Ambush
I wasn't very familiar with ship types, but the escort vessels the seniors had ambushed were proper combat ships, much larger than the small high-speed boats we'd seen last time. The escorts flanking the transport on both sides had been caught completely off guard by the surprise attack and were pinned down. They were indeed bigger than the speedboats, which explained why they could withstand Aindium strikes. I briefly wondered if a ten-meter steel robot could sink a ship, but comparing an Aindium's size to a human made it clear it wouldn't be easy. It would be far harder than flipping a landing craft underwater using only human strength. We could sink them easily with weapons, but we decided to hold back to avoid casualties. Our unit consisted solely of Alitus cadets, and Yvette-senpai had warned that if it came out we'd taken Karmanu citizens' lives—even rebel ones—it would complicate postwar handling.
When I asked her about the previous speedboat, she said it had been an unmanned vessel as well. Typical sharp judgment from the CT Club's OG. I needed to step up too.
「Escort 1's torpedo launchers destroyed.」
「Escort 2 clear as well.」
「It's Luna's turn now.」
“Yes!”
The escorts' turrets and radars spun frantically as their bows veered ninety degrees off course in confusion. I dropped one White Fang and sniped the radar on the opposite escort. Just as the main gun belatedly swung toward us with the fairy’s help, Rendel succeeded in neutralizing the ship we were on.
「Kelpie 3 and 4 will hold the escorts here. Kelpie 1 and 2 will pursue the transport with Corsair 1 and 2.」
「「Roger.」」
Yvette-senpai’s underwater team used the callsign Kelpie, after the water monster, while Rendel and I—the ones directly raiding the transport—used Corsair, meaning pirate. Some people on the board complained the callsigns were lame, but Yvette-senpai liked them. Rendel’s reaction had been a bit more ambiguous.
While the two seniors each held off an escort, Yvette-senpai, another senior, Rendel, and I chased after the fleeing transport. The attack had ended so quickly that it hadn’t gotten far; we caught up in under a minute. No heat signatures showed on thermal imaging, so no one was on deck.
“No thermal reactions on deck. Landing now.”
「Roger. Kelpie team, beginning operations.」
While Yvette-senpai and the other senior disabled the transport’s engines, we landed on the deck. The vast, flat surface—large enough to serve as an aircraft carrier—held only a few cargo containers swaying uneasily. Judging by their size, they weren’t carrying Aindiums.
“Deck clear. They must all be hiding.”
「They could still resist from inside, so stay alert.」
“Understood.”
Since the transport was mainly used for moving Aindiums, it had hatches large enough for them to enter and exit. We’d received schematics of similar Alitus transports, and fortunately the areas that could serve as prisons had corridors wide enough for Aindiums. Internal combat shouldn’t be too difficult.
「Corsair team entering the ship.」
Rendel tore open the Aindium elevator hatch and rolled one machine down. It was a small sphere the size of a human head, designed to film the interior of hostile spaces and locate enemies or safe zones.
「…Interior clear.」
“What? Nothing there?”
「Yeah. Looks like they offloaded all the Aindiums on land.」
“That can’t be right…”
Even so, not a single guard? I’d expected at least the wrecked Aindiums we’d left behind. Maybe there was a separate maintenance area besides the damaged hangar?
“Let’s proceed with caution.”
「Got it.」
Rendel piloted White Fang into the ship. After a deep thud and several seconds of silence, I activated hover mode and guided Limpid through the square hatch. Only silence filled the interior. Even with the external audio sensitivity maxed, all I could hear were the operating sounds of White Fang and Limpid.
“Are they really all hiding?”
「Who knows. We should check every area an Aindium can move through.」
We headed for the makeshift prison we’d targeted. Only scattered lights illuminated the empty corridors; there wasn’t a single sign of life. The closer we got, the stronger my unease grew.
“Um, Senpai…”
「Wait. I picked up movement.」
Rendel raised his rifle toward the front. Moments later, a man with both hands raised appeared around the corner.
“P-please spare me!”
「Unit and name.」
“I-I’m Rainer, a guard at the Karamis Maritime Prison!”
“Guard Rainer. Is the Karamis Prison cooperating with Rubens Edelstia?”
“W-we don’t know anything about the higher-ups’ quarrels. We were just told there were prisoners to transfer…”
“Senpai.”
The moment I sent the private transmission, Rendel fired his rifle into the wall right beside the guard without waiting for orders.
“Eek!”
“Answer properly. A guard wouldn’t come all the way to a coastal fortress unless he had ties to Rubens’ side.”
“I-I don’t know anything!”
「Luna. We’re wasting too much time.」
“Understood. Mr. Rainer, drop all your weapons and head to the deck.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The guard called Rainer frantically threw down the baton and pistol at his waist, then even stripped off his outer coat to prove he had nothing else.
“Ah, right. Where are the prisoners?”
“They’re right ahead. I’ll leave the key too.”
「Where are the other crew members?」
“Probably in the engine room below or somewhere like that.”
「He doesn’t seem to know much, so let’s just let him go. Rescuing the prisoners comes first.」
“You’re right. Ah, can you hear me? Please leave quickly.”
Rainer bowed deeply and sprinted down the corridor toward the exit.
「Should we grab the key?」
“No. Going down is risky. Let’s check the prison’s condition first.”
「Roger.」
Turning the corner revealed a warehouse-like space being used as a temporary prison. It was sealed behind a thick iron door; without the key, we’d have to blow it open. I regretted not bringing the pile bunker because of weight limits.
“I’ll go get the key.”
「Wait. Let me try.」
Rendel gestured for me to step back, approached the door, and knocked on it.
Thud, thud.
「Everyone inside, please move away from the door.」
He repeated the message three times, then drew his sword and aimed it at the door. Meanwhile, I kept watch on the corridor and had the fairies retrieve the key just in case. Even their limited physical strength could manage that much.
“Thanks.”
The key was as large as my palm, but we didn’t need it. After Rendel swung his sword a couple of times, the door split apart, leaving a hole big enough for a person to pass through.
「Everyone, come out!」
“W-we’re saved.”
“Princess Ruwina?”
Familiar faces appeared. One Aindium pilot, two power-armor soldiers, and… huh? Why were there several more people?
“Just a moment. Are the others also people serving under Her Highness Line?”
“Yes, Your Highness. They’re pilots captured during battle.”
Ugh. I hadn’t expected we’d have to rescue even more people. We’d brought three capsule rescue devices capable of operating underwater specifically for the three captured members, but now there were seven people total. What should we do?
When we brought the prisoners up to the deck, Yvette-senpai, who had been waiting on the water’s surface, came into view. After a quick explanation, she asked in a suspicious tone,
「Are you sure those other people are really on our side?」
“Well, I don’t recognize their faces, but the captured team member said they are.”
「Just to be safe, let’s tie them up lightly and send them ahead on the barge. Sorry, but Rendel and Luna, you’ll have to wait until we make a round trip to land.」
“Understood. We were planning to search the ship anyway. It’ll take some time, so please go ahead.”
「Confirmed. Kelpie team, please provide cover on the open sea.」
「Roger.」
After tying the hands of everyone except the three I recognized and loading them onto the capsules and barge, we sent them off. Thankfully, they all accepted it; the unit commander would verify their identities later.
“Please take me to land as well.”
While we were preparing, the guard named Rainer who had surrendered earlier came up to the deck, so we decided to send him along as a prisoner. The sea was still rough, but the storm seemed to be weakening, so as long as we maintained body temperature there shouldn’t be any major issues. We covered the barge with the large tarp that had been over the transport’s containers and sent the Kelpie team ahead first.
While seeing the seniors off, Yvette-senpai contacted me privately.
「Luna, it’ll take about two hours to make the round trip to land and deliver everyone.」
“Yes. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
As the senior, Yvette was ferrying us between land and sea, so I couldn’t help feeling guilty as her junior. But her reply was quite different from what I expected.
「Not at all. Enjoy your shipboard date, then.」
“…Pardon?”
「Hehe. A thrilling date on an enemy ship in this weather… I’d love to try it someday when I have a lover.」
“No, Senpai, what kind of misunderstanding is this—”
「Bzzt—」
“Senpai? Senpai? Hey!”
Yvette said what she wanted and cut the line. She wouldn’t even reconnect. What on earth? It seemed like she’d jumped to some ridiculous conclusion.
Suppressing the urge to make a meta comment, I took a long, deep breath.
「Luna? Is something wrong?」
“Haa… No, Senpai. Nothing happened. Let’s go inside and look for clues.”
「Roger.」
We checked our equipment and headed back into the ship once more.