Close-quarters combat

"Confirmed. Escort vessel 1 is a shielded ship belonging to the Sirius Stellar District Merchant Fleet, and escort vessel 2 is a Falcon-class high-speed missile boat from the same fleet....Communication incoming from the missile boat."

"Understood. Connect me to it."

Marks established a communication link with the missile boat.

Hey, I'm late! My buddy's shield ship is slow, so you got ahead of me. I'm Zany—leave those two escaping ships to my pirate killer, and head over to the Galaxy Camel!

The man piloting the missile boat who went by the name "Zany" speaks in a rather rough and forceful tone, but what he says makes sense.

"This is Captain Kasimura of the Cerberus. I'm proceeding to rescue the Galaxy Camel as instructed."

"Hey, talkin' so stiffly, huh? I know who you are—Sinnosuke, the rookie who took down six bounty ships on his first mission. If you've got that kind of skill, I'm countin' on you to handle things over there!"

Zany abruptly ended the transmission and pursued the fleeing pirate vessel.

"Rude and forward, aren't you? Anyway, I'll leave tracking enemy ships C and D to Zany. This ship will focus on pursuing the Galaxy Camel."

"Understood. From now on, we'll refer to Escort Ship 2 as Pirate Killer and Escort Ship 1 as Shield Ship, according to the merchant fleet registry names."

"Plus, their naming sense is pretty hit-or-miss..."

Shin nosuke sighed, yet accelerated toward the Galaxy Camel.

Shield Ship approaching Galaxy Camel and enemy vessel E. Situation confirmed—enemy vessel E is indeed boarding Galaxy Camel's starboard side. Enemy vessel E has been acquired within our firing range. Communication from Shield Ship.

"This is Dag from the Shield Ship. Can you separate the pirate vessel from the Galaxy Camel?"

"Kerberos Captain Kasimura here. I can breach their entry path."

Understood. Once the pirate vessel separates from the Galaxy Camel, I'll take charge of the pirate ship. Can I leave the suppression of the remaining pirates on the Galaxy Camel to you?

Shinnosuke glanced at Marks, who gave a nod without turning back.

"Understood."

As he replied, Shinnosuke confirmed the situation.

The boarding passage from the pirate ship to the Galaxy Camel can be easily destroyed.

Originally designed to rescue survivors from a distressed vessel, it features a safety mechanism at the connection point between the two ships. Even if destroyed from the outside, this system prevents air and other internal contents from being sucked into space. If destroyed skillfully, damage to the Galaxy Camel can be avoided.

"Destroy the enemy ship on the E side of the entry route to separate the two vessels. We can't use the main cannon or rapid-fire cannons due to the risk of damaging the Galaxy Camel. Use the Gatling gun."

"Understood. I'll handle the Gatling gun for precision shooting."

"Got it. Leave it to you."

Having entrusted the Gatling gun to Marks, Shinosuke took up a position optimal for firing.

"Lock precision aim on the boarding section of both ships, enemy vessel E side. Fire the Gatling gun at 30 percent output for 0.8 seconds. Maintain a fixed relative angle to enemy vessel E."

"Understood. Angle fixed."

"No biological signatures detected inside the passage. Two, one, fire!"

Marks pulls the Gatling gun's trigger.

The five barrels of the Gatling gun rotated at high speed, firing one laser each from every barrel in 0.8 seconds, destroying the pirate ship side of the boarding passage.

"Hit. Enemy vessel E has detached from the Galaxy Camel. No air or other leakage from the Galaxy Camel side. The shield ship has inserted itself, becoming a shield for the Galaxy Camel."

Shin nosuke reversed the Cerberus.

"We will forcibly dock with the Galaxy Camel's port side and suppress the pirates still aboard through close-quarters combat between the two of us, rescuing the crew and passengers."

"Understood... just the two of us? I could handle it alone."

Marks turned to face him.

"Should I send you alone into danger? No objections allowed!"

"Understood. Then, Master, put on your armor suit..."

"There's nothing like that on this ship. Instead, there's an enhanced shield. It's too heavy for me to handle, but Marks could manage it with one hand, couldn't he? I'll follow behind Marks, who's holding the shield."

"......Understood."

Shin nosuke maneuvered the Cerberus alongside the left side of the Galaxy Camel.

"Anchor me!"

"Understood. I'll secure the entry route after launching the anchor."

The Cerberus fired a docking anchor, and a boarding passage was extended, piercing through the Galaxy Camel's hull.

During this time, Shin Nosuke and Marks exited the bridge, preparing for close combat as they moved toward the breach point.

Shin Nosuke carried a compact, maneuverable blaster machine gun, while Marks held a blaster assault rifle in one hand and a large shield in the other.

Each also had a sidearm for self-defense.

"Alright, moving in. Don't forget to secure the airlock on Cerberus."

As Shinosuke entered the access corridor, he loaded an energy cartridge into his blaster machine gun.

"Airtight door lock confirmed. Entering Galaxy Camel."

When Marks pressed the airtight door control switch on the Galaxy Camel side, the door opened, revealing the interior of the Galaxy Camel.

Immediately after the door opened, a grenade was thrown into the access corridor.

"Grenade. Handling it."

Marks caught the grenade with his shield, dropped it at his feet, and kicked it back immediately.

"Yiip!"

Bash!

A dry explosion echoed, accompanied by a cry of pain.

"P172 personal heat-explosion bomb. Effective radius five meters. User self-destructed. Boarding Galaxy Camel."

Marks stepped inside the ship, shield raised, scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger.

"Portside corridor. No issues other than the burned corpse of the bomb thrower from earlier. The bow section is sealed off. It can be breached, but let's clear the stern side first."

Marks raised his shield and took a forward stance, so Shinosuke followed behind him.

"Have you obtained the internal ship map data?"

"Yes. There are eight third-class cabins ahead, and only a lounge space beyond them. I'll send the necessary information to Master's glass monitor. Let's advance while sharing data."

"Understood. That'll be a big help."

The two moved through the cabin, checking each room, but all eight cabins were empty, and the door leading to the lounge space was locked.

Marks activated his built-in sensors to scan the interior of the lounge.

"Twenty-five biological readings above 35 degrees Celsius detected beyond the door. They're gathered in a corner of the lounge."

Marks' information was transmitted to Shinonosuke's glass monitor.

A concentration of heat sources was clearly visible in the back of the lounge.

"Survivors must have fled in there."

"Shall I open the door?"

"Are there any other passages leading to the lounge area?"

"No. Beyond the lounge are only the kitchen and the crew quarters."

"Then we'll leave it as is. We can't subdue the pirates while carrying the victim. Let's at least inform them that help has arrived."

"Understood. Please wait."

Markus operated the communication device mounted on the door.

"Audio transmission to the lounge area is possible."

"Attention to all personnel taking shelter in the lounge: This is Captain Shinosuke Kashimura of the guard ship Cerberus, affiliated with the Salius Stellar District Free Merchant Fleet. We are currently conducting a operation to eliminate the space pirates attacking this vessel. The safety of the lounge area has been secured, but please remain in the lounge for the time being until the operation concludes. Rest assured, additional guard ships have already arrived in this sector."

There was no response from within the lounge to Shinosuke's words, but there was no time to wait for one.

He decided to proceed with clearing other areas.

Returning once more to the bulkhead at the front of the ship, Marks operated the control panel for the bulkhead release, beginning his search for the password to open it.

Analysis complete. The barrier can be opened at any time. However, there are two biological reactions detected beyond the barrier, both with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. Both are portable devices with internal temperatures around 40 degrees, likely laser assault rifles.

Pirate?

The possibility is high, but we cannot rule out other possibilities—such as the crew or passengers having rifles and lying in wait for self-defense.

"You're right. Well, a laser assault rifle shouldn't be a problem—Markus can block it with his shield. Let's open the bulkhead, check their position and identity, then respond accordingly."

"Understood..."

Markus crouched in front of the bulkhead, holding his shield low as he entered the access password to open it.

Shin nosuke dropped into a crouch behind Markus, concealing himself behind the shield and Markus's body, his machine gun ready.

As the adjacent door opened, gunfire rained down toward Markus and the shadowed Shin Nosuke behind him.

"Target confirmed—neither crew nor passenger. Identified as space pirates."

"Understood. Use the flash grenade."

"Understood."

Shin Nosuke pulled a flash grenade from Markus's belt pouch and pulled the safety pin.

"Try not to burn your eyes out."

"My camera isn't that low-end."

Shinnosuke rolled the flashbang toward the feet of the men firing their guns wildly.

...Shhh!

The area was enveloped in blinding light, and the gunfire halted for just an instant.

Taking Markus's shoulder as a signal, the two fired simultaneously.

...Shh-ba!

....Bababam!

Shinnosuke and Markus each put down two pirates with a single burst.

The two resumed advancing, checking the second-class cabins along the bow, but found no survivors.

The rooms were either empty or contained corpses resembling passengers or crew members, sprawled on the floor.

"Got it—now I understand why they came in from the starboard side. That side has more VIP rooms, first-class cabins, and deluxe suites. They were probably targeting valuable items efficiently. The condition on the port side is bad enough; the starboard side must be even worse."

"I agree."

By the time they finished speaking, they had reached the stairs leading forward to the bridge.

Beyond the reinforced door at the top of the stairs lay the bridge.

"Stairs, and no biological readings beyond."

"Understood. Let's head to the bridge."

"I'll go ahead. Follow once I signal."

With that, Marks raised his shield and ascended the roughly 20 steps, checked the area ahead for safety, then signaled with a hand gesture.

Shin nosuke advanced up the stairs, keeping his machine gun ready and watching his back.

The two stood before the door leading to the bridge.

"Biological readings detected: eight. Five people are lined up in front of the bridge, three are further inside, one to the right, two to the left."

"There are hostages. The number of space pirates on the bridge is probably two or three."

"Yes. The crew and passengers lined up in front of the door are probably standing there as shields. One of the two people on the left doesn't show any signs of being armed—likely another hostage as well."

"I think so too. And our movements are being watched by the surveillance cameras."

At that moment, a ship-wide announcement echoed from inside the bridge.