Chapter 145

Now then, what should we do?

Relying on Terapolapaneshio's response, they teleported Queen Bee. Since it was a fair distance from the Central Star Cluster, the movement took some time. During that, Kait leaned deep into his seat, lost in thought.

In the end, the method was simple. Capture Batmute alive and rescue the Earthlings being held hostage. When put into words, it wasn't much different from what they did in Queen Bee's first battle. Back then, they had first taken down ships that didn't have Earthlings aboard, so they didn't attack any ship carrying Earthlings except the flagship.

This time, it was likely that all the ships carried Earthlings. It didn't seem like there were many of them, but their purpose was clearly as hostages—to make Kait hesitate to attack. If they had researched the battle with Divin thoroughly, they would've realized that such an act was meaningless. But in this case, the objective of Tsubanda's fleet was still unclear.

"I just can't figure out the reason..."

'Are you referring to the Earthlings being held hostage?'

"Yeah. There are about thirty ships, right?"

'Yes. We can't fit them all on Queen Bee.'

"We'll need to arrange for a cargo ship."

If Terapolapaneshio was searching for Batmute, there should be five of them. That meant there were five Di-Kigaia Zarmos on their side. If one was assigned to escort the cargo ship—

If they took hostages to ensure escape, then they'd have to keep the hostages alive until the end. The moment they killed the hostages, Kait would attack.

Unlike Divin, who didn't know Kait, the people of Tsubanda knew at least a little about him. If they weren't in a situation where they could fight Queen Bee or Di-Kigaia Zarmos on equal footing, they should realize that hostages would be meaningless.

Because once they were detected by Federation ships, they wouldn't be able to escape. Even with a teleportation device manufactured by the Corporation, they couldn't break through a deployed field. That meant they had no choice but to use the hostages for offense, not escape.

In other words, unless they had enough firepower to defeat Di-Kigaia Zarmos or Queen Bee, the hostages would serve no purpose other than to provoke Kait's wrath. Were they trying to imply that by carrying hostages, they had the equipment to defeat Kait's group?

"No, that's not it."

At that point in his thoughts, Kait threw the idea away, thinking he was overthinking it. Maybe Queen Bee, but enough firepower to crush Di-Kigaia Zarmos? Even if all thirty ships focused their attacks on one point, it was obvious they couldn't even scratch the Space Jellyfish's barrier.

Tsubanda was a star system under the Federation's influence. Since they lived there, those who fled from Tsubanda also held Federation citizenship. And yet, they had placed themselves in a situation where they couldn't escape—that alone showed they weren't very smart.

Despite understanding the risk of their own destruction, they turned away from it and continued indulging in momentary pleasures. As a result, they ruined themselves and could no longer live as Federation citizens—only as thugs from Tsubanda. So now that Tsubanda was gone, they were trying to flee to a similar environment.

"In short, some fools took hostages without thinking too deeply. So that means, after all..."

'Perhaps to increase their chances of escaping even a little farther?'

"Yeah, that makes sense. In that case, I guess we can't use the same tactics we did with Divin."

There were other differences in conditions too. In the worst case, the people of Tsubanda might not care if the Earthlings died. They were still Federation citizens. Even if they died, they'd be resurrected in the Central Star Cluster. They might not escape, but they'd just be captured.

Only the Earthlings would lose their lives. And they'd loudly claim it was because Kait didn't stop his attack. Kait would be left with a reputation for abandoning the Earthlings. If some idiot lost their temper and killed the Earthlings, that future would become reality in that moment. Asheido had declared he would protect Kait's position because, in the end, that future was the most likely.

'Should we try time stop as a last resort?'

"That's a last-ditch option. I do consider myself a model Federation citizen, you know."

'Captain, your grasp of reality and perception seems rather disconnected.'

"Shut up. Either way, this is going to be difficult."

'Oh? Why's that?'

"Didn't I say time interference has a severe backlash? Using time stop against thirty ships while searching for and rescuing Earthlings? I can only see a future where I burn out and vanish from the recoil."

On top of that, considering the case with Divin, there was a risk he wouldn't be able to resurrect. If success were guaranteed, maybe—but betting his life on a gamble with high chances of failure wasn't his style. Now was the time to explore options that didn't require risking his life.

'I see. ...You're right. If the Captain dies, it's meaningless. Forget I said anything.'

"I will."

It probably wasn't because of Emotion's words, but the view on the other side of the monitor became clearer.

'Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif). Thank you for coming.'

"Sorry to keep you waiting. What's the situation?"

'I'll explain now.'

It wasn't five Di-Kigaia Zarmos at the rendezvous point.

There were ten. When Kait looked around in surprise, a cheerful transmission came from one of them.

'Surprised? Units operating in nearby space offered to help.'

"...Huh."

That was a lie. There was no way they could conveniently arrange five more Di-Kigaia Zarmos. Maybe they thought Kait might do something reckless. Still, what a sloppy excuse. Kait couldn't help but laugh.

Maybe because he had a good laugh, his thoughts suddenly became clear. Apparently, he'd been taking things more seriously than he realized. With a slightly more flexible mind, he restructured his thoughts. Right—there was no need to play along with the enemy's plans.

"Well, with ten ships, we've got more options."

Kait twisted his lips with confidence. Seeing that expression, all the Terapolapaneshio on the other side of the monitor shivered in unison.

It seemed being scolded by Kait over the Earth Jellyfish had left them slightly traumatized.

***

The bridge of the Batmute-class battleship was bustling with combat preparations.

The surrounding Tsubanda fleet couldn't be trusted. You never knew what fools might do. If the tide of battle turned against them, some idiot might destroy Batmute's ship just to seek a pardon for themselves—and that wouldn't be surprising.

Though neither side ever realized it, at this point Batmute and Kait's assessment of the Tsubanda remnants was perfectly aligned.

"Sir! Incoming object from afar!"

"An incoming object?"

"It appears to be a small asteroid. Shall we shoot it down?"

"No, we don't want those fools panicking. Deploy the barrier and let it pass."

If they suddenly opened fire, the surrounding ships would think a battle had started and chaos would erupt.

Thinking that, Batmute ordered the crew to deflect the small asteroid with the barrier. The crew must have agreed, as they calmly deployed the barrier. A nearby ship sent a communication asking what was happening, but they convinced them it was just an asteroid.

The small asteroid collided with the barrier. Everyone thought it would shatter and flow backward along the barrier. But then—

"Huh...?"

Who was it that let out that dumbfounded voice?

The monitor showed a completely different scene. The small asteroid shattered the barrier and continued straight into the ship.

"All hands, brace for impact—now!"

As time seemed to slow, Batmute dropped to the floor.

Immediately after, a tremendous jolt rocked the Batmute-class battleship.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.