Chapter 146

The Federation's victory lies in capturing Batmute. On the other hand, Kait's victory lies in rescuing the Earthlings without a single casualty.

To achieve both, it was crucial to finish one of them quickly. So Kait chose a surprise attack. Naturally, the one that could be ended quickly was the lone Batmute.

But a mere surprise attack wouldn't be enough. A method to slip in unnoticed, without making it seem like a surprise attack. While the part about not seeming like a surprise attack was tricky, he had an idea for how to slip in. Rather, it was a tactic Queen Bee specialized in.

"So, we're going to launch a ramming attack on Former Senator Batmute's ship."

'Hmm.'

Terapolapaneshio didn't blame him for being reckless. The space jellyfish, who treated Kait as an eternal friend, apparently kept track of every battle record involving Kait. They had no doubts about Kait and Queen Bee's abilities, and didn't seem to think his solo charge was dangerous.

"Next, I'd like to make the ramming attack succeed without alerting the surrounding fools, if possible."

'If you want to go unnoticed, that's going to be difficult.'

A normal ramming attack would definitely be detected. No matter how fast you charge in, you can't fool the ship's response systems.

But Kait wasn't that pessimistic. Queen Bee wasn't a large ship. That's exactly why there was a way to do it.

He deployed the Worker Bees from Queen Bee and had them collect small to medium-sized rocks nearby. Then, once the Worker Bees attached the rocks to Queen Bee's body, it transformed in a short time to look like a lump of rock.

"How about this? It only looks like a small asteroid now."

'U-uhm. Indeed.'

'But what will you do, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen Enec Lagif? You still can't hide the radiation from movement.'

"Well, you know. Former Senator Batmute is probably thinking the same thing, right?"

Since Queen Bee is a type of Di-Kigaia Zarmos, it emits psychic light from the rear during movement. This is not due to the ship's design but the effect of psychic power, and neither Kait nor Terapolapaneshio can suppress it. One of the few weaknesses of Di-Kigaia Zarmos is its structural flaw that makes stealth operations difficult.

"It doesn't have to move using my power, you know."

'?'

If Kait used psychic power to move it, the radiation would be emitted. But what if he didn't?

Kait grinned, but it seemed Terapolapaneshio and the others didn't quite grasp his idea.

***

"Heeeyaaaaaah!"

'S-so scary! Captain, isn't this terrifying!?'

With only the minimum barrier deployed, Queen Bee, disguised as a small asteroid, soared through space. No radiation was emitted from its rear. From the outside, it looked like a fast-flying small asteroid.

'Be careful, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen...!'

'Why do you look like you're having so much fun!?'

Even the space jellyfish were restless.

The reason there was no radiation was simple. Terapolapaneshio and the others launched Queen Bee from outside Batmute's detection range. Queen Bee was only applying force to a minimal barrier, and even for defense, it was quite fragile. The space jellyfish were flustered because they were worried.

'Exactly, Captain! What if Former Senator Batmute tries to shoot it down!?'

"It's fine. They won't fire."

With a fair amount of confidence, Kait looked at Batmute's ship. It was gradually getting closer. The turrets were aimed this way, but showed no signs of charging up.

'W-why are you so sure about that!?'

"Well, Former Senator Batmute aside, the people around him are idiots."

They had Earthlings on board as hostages. They didn't realize that choosing short-term safety would increase their own risk. Kait had already concluded that the ones who fled Tsubanda and followed Batmute were fools.

If they truly wanted to increase their chances of survival, they shouldn't have approached Batmute, but rather drawn attention there and fled in another direction.

They wanted the comfort of being near someone strong. They wanted to survive no matter what. And if things got dangerous, they'd betray Batmute to protect themselves. That's probably what they were thinking.

Cowardly, foolish, and short-sighted. That's who was gathered around. If they carelessly fired at the small asteroid—

They'd panic, thinking it was an enemy attack, and excessive firing would begin. And in the chaos, some hothead might end up shooting Batmute. Considering Batmute's prudence, Kait predicted he'd prioritize the risk of provoking the fools over the safety gained by shooting the asteroid.

"That's why they won't shoot. At most, they'll deploy a barrier to deflect the asteroid. It'll also show his capability as a commander."

'I see?'

"And that's when we strike."

Just as Kait predicted, Batmute's ship deployed a barrier. The surrounding Tsubanda ships pointed their cannons, but did nothing. Unless Batmute fired first, they wouldn't shoot. Sadly, the fools around him didn't trust any fool except themselves.

The distance between the barrier and the ship. Kait grinned, certain of victory. He sat up from his seat and focused in preparation for impact.

'Countdown to impact. Three, two, one.'

Queen Bee crashed into the barrier. The barrier and the rocks interfered, emitting light. Now was the time.

"Let's go."

'Roger.'

Kait's psychic power turned the rocks into weapons. The small asteroid, now the ram of the ramming attack, pierced the barrier with ease, rapidly closing in on Batmute's ship.

"Where's the bridge?"

'Straight ahead.'

"Alright."

Aiming directly at the life signals, Kait charged Queen Bee forward. A strong shock hit both ships, but Kait, who was prepared, was unaffected.

"Now, it's time to plunder."

'Captain, it suits you better than I thought. You're like a real pirate.'

"Shut up. Time is of the essence, don't forget the cargo ship's location on the nav."

'No worries.'

Responding to Emotion's words with a bitter face, Kait teleported into Batmute's ship.

***

Not just Federation ships, but all ships are equipped with anti-teleportation measures against Di-Kigaia Zarmos. This originated from the time when the Federation expanded its territory with military force, and direct teleportation attacks using Di-Kigaia Zarmos were extremely effective.

Back then, the Federation wasn't a monolith, and allies, fearing such teleportation, rushed to install anti-teleportation devices. Once those spread, direct teleportation attacks quickly fell out of use, but even now, Federation ships still have those systems.

But even those become meaningless upon contact. Especially if a hole is blown in the bridge.

"Is this our first time meeting in person, Former Senator Batmute?"

"......To think you'd board like this. Most of my plans have gone to waste, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen."

"......I see, so you were fully prepared."

"Now then."

"You'd go this far, huh. I'm impressed."

Though he said "to think," there was no confusion in Batmute's eyes. He must have anticipated that Kait might charge in like this. Proof of that was the lack of resistance from the crew who had stood up.

They weren't alerting the surrounding Tsubanda ships either, meaning Batmute must have informed them in advance.

"Looks like there are no Earthlings on this ship?"

"Yes. I was originally planning for a flashy shootout. Wouldn't Earthling guests be a bit of a nuisance for that?"

"No doubt. If the surrounding fools hadn't gotten involved, I might've gone along with it."

Kait let out a big sigh.

Asheido's wish would only be half fulfilled. That was now clear.

"So, how much did you leave behind?"

"Ho, you figured that out too? No wonder Terapolapaneshio is so taken with you."

"Spare me the flattery. ......So?"

"Don't worry, I left most of it. I only trimmed a small part."

Kait's psychic power couldn't read Batmute's thoughts. The meaning was obvious.

Batmute never intended to flee or fight. That's why he erased his data in the Central Star Cluster. He completely mechanized his thought field and erased the digitized memories.

Terapolapaneshio could read the thoughts and memories of living beings, but not digitized data. Federation machines could read digitized thoughts and memories, but couldn't recover completely erased data.

"I'd love to hear more, but there's no time. I'll leave the rest to the higher-ups."

"Hmm. Then let's meet again in the Central Star Cluster."

"Sorry, I don't plan on it."

What a sly old fox. Kait placed a hand on Batmute's shoulder and teleported him straight to the cargo ship secured by Terapolapaneshio.

"Now then. What about you guys?"

"We surrender. But His Excellency instructed us in advance to help rescue your comrades."

"Is that so? Then I'll be expecting you to work hard."

Scratching his head, Kait returned to Queen Bee.

Everything had gone according to plan. A strange sense of defeat lingered.

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.