The large-scale space pirate group Red Flags were dealt a heavy blow resulting in them withdrawing into deep space, so the operation to destroy the Red Flags spearheaded by Lt. Col. Serena was to be halted for the time being.
Although the operation did manage to deal a considerable amount of damage to the Red Flags, the main leaders and other executives managed to slip away, and in the second half of the operation, the rest of the Red Flags got up on their bums and escaped, so the ending was a little anti-climactic. However, it was still an impressive feat to drive away a large-scale space pirate group that had widespread influence without incurring much damage.
『I’m personally not content with the outcome though.』
Lt. Col. Serena said such a thing when we parted ways. However, it looks like the evaluation of the military top brass and general public opinion wasn’t too bad, and if things continued going the way they were, she might be up for another promotion. Perhaps the next time we meet, she’ll be Colonel Serena Holz instead of Lieutenant Colonel.
“Well, it looks like they’re going with this official story huh.”
I sighed as I propped up my chin with one hand while reading the article displayed on my tablet terminal inside the dining hall of Black Lotus.
“Ahaha……”
“You’re not planning to leak classified info out to the general public, right?”
“Of course, not. Do I look like someone who’d do something so terrifying?”
What was written in the article was only a superficial summary of events coupled with a glowing tribute to the young commander who led the operation. Well, in other words, the military was trying to package Lt. Col. Serena as a hero, or rather, an idol. She had the looks, demeanor, and pedigree after all. Her parents and the noble house she’s from were very influential. They also had fairly deep pockets. Although she’d probably just serve as their publicity mascot most of the time, I’d have to hand this one to the imperial military. It’s not a bad plan at all. Furthermore, she hated injustice and corruption, so I think she’ll eventually become an indispensable asset to the imperial military in the future.
“I wonder what really went on back there? Judging from our previous experiences, the imperial military stinks a bit, doesn’t it?”
“Well, it’s a fairly huge organization after all, so it’s only natural that they’re not an absolute monolith. It’s said that three people can already form a faction or something like that.”
“As an imperial citizen, I feel a bit complicated about it.”
Elma was a genuine aristocratic daughter who had a wealth of experience as a mercenary under her belt, so she seemed to be generally used to such things. Mimi, however, was just a common(?) imperial citizen, albeit an upstanding one, so she felt a bit complicated after witnessing the dirty linen of the imperial military that she probably looked up to. For the imperial subjects, the imperial military that protects the empire’s domain and people’s lives from invasions from other countries, space pirates, and space monsters, was probably akin to heroes of justice.
We had witnessed several things that pointed to a very high possibility that some people connected to the space pirates were also connected to the imperial military.
There was the murder of Chris’s father and the plot to take over the position of patriarch of the Dareinwald house. What was that guy’s name again? Anyway, it was Chris’ own blood-related uncle, and somehow, he managed to get his hands on a secret weapon of the imperial military. And even beyond that, traces of corruption within the ranks of the imperial military could be smelled in most of the cases we encountered that involved the nobility as well. In the latter half of the operation, the Red Flags made their move so quickly and decisively that you wouldn’t be able to avoid suspecting that someone might have been leaking information from within the military to them. The maneuvers of that special squadron also highly resembled imperial military combat tactics.
“That squadron might not be from the imperial military at all, but the Vereverem Federation.”
“That’s possible. Well, that would mean that Vereverem Federation engineers have been able to penetrate deep into the imperial territory and are performing sabotage operations.”
“That’s quite the terrible prospect…… We really can’t reveal this stuff to others huh.”
“That’s why they included hush money in the rewards you know.”
The reward money paid by the imperial military this time around was quite substantial. That said, it wasn’t enough to buy another custom ship like the Black Lotus. Even so, if we combined it with the savings we’ve made so far, we can probably afford a smaller custom starship for Elma.
“Will they tell us the results of the investigation on those unknown ships?”
“They probably won’t, and it’s not like I’m interested in knowing either. There’s nothing good that’ll come out from knowing too much.”
“That’s right. I honestly don’t want to get involved in the shady working within the military.”
“[1] Should you or any member of your crew be caught or killed, the authorities will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This holo-data will self-destruct in five seconds or something like that.”
“I wouldn’t want to be involved in that for sure…… Or rather, those lines kind of sound familiar, Hiro-sama.”
“I’m sure they’re from some retro movie of some sort. It’s Hiro after all.”
Correct, my dear Elma. When I wandered around the colonies we visited, I would sometimes find retro movie holo-data stored in data chips selling for very cheap prices. Since you could view them on portable data terminals and tablet terminals at your leisure, it’s recently been my private hobby to collect data chips containing retro movies. I also sometimes stumble upon incomprehensibly bad low-budget movies, but oh well.
I’ve seen quite a lot of them together with Mimi and Elma. After all, we had a lot of free time when traveling through the hyperlanes. I also play some when we unwind and relax in the break space or when I retreat to my room. It’s not like I’m all work and no play even when we have some free time. It’s also important to relax and spend time together with the girls.
『Master, we will soon be entering the Refill system.』
We had nothing to do while Black Lotus was navigating the hyperlane so we were fooling around in the dining hall, but it looks like we’ve finally arrived. I really can’t thank Mei enough for controlling the ship by herself while we’re relaxing like this. When we get back to the Refill system, I’ll take some time to spoil her.
Though somehow, it almost always turns into her spoiling me instead of the other way around. Anyway, let’s just ignore that little detail, shall we? By the way, the mechanic sisters were busy repairing that unknown ship we captured after demanding some hugs. They were trying to put together a single working ship by salvaging parts from the wreckage of multiple ships. It seems they were about to finish it soon.
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