Cosmic Pirate Velvet

"Enemy ship F is showing signs of firing! Direct hit incoming!"

"No way I'm letting them destroy my ship again!"

Shin nosuke yanked the throttle lever and steering wheel back with all his might.

He reversed the Cerberus, lowering the rear end as he brought the ship upright.

A beam passed right in front of the bow.

A hair's breadth away—by the skin of his teeth.

"Master, counterattack! Stabilize the ship!"

"Got it. This time, don't miss."

"My calculations are flawless. If he doesn't dodge, he'll be hit."

"This is bad... this is really bad..."

As Shinosuke brought Cerberus back to a horizontal position, Marks immediately locked onto the main cannon's target.

On the Black Rose's bridge, Velvet smiled happily.

"Aha ha ha! He dodged my attack again. Not bad at all. Just as I expected from the man I picked out. Honestly, I could just die from how much I love him!"

"Sister! Enemy fire incoming!"

"I know that!"

"Directly ahead!"

Velvet slid the ship sideways to evade Cerberus's barrage.

"Accurate shot, even beyond range... Hah, so this is the real attack!"

Velvet instantly sensed the danger and reflexively raised the ship.

A moment ago, the space where Black Rose had been a second prior was pierced by Cerberus's beam.

A timed attack—first shot deflecting sideways, the second shot finishing the target.

"Attack dodged."

"Of course. What do you take me for? I'm not the type to be taken out by some lowlife like that... But this is getting troublesome."

The Velvet Ship has forcibly installed battleship-grade main cannons onto a civilian vessel, which has caused various problems as a result.

"Miss, the generator is overheating. The main cannon can fire only one more time."

In particular, the generator lacks sufficient output, preventing the main cannon from rapid fire, and limiting the number of possible shots.

"If we don't finish them off next time, we're in trouble. If they take advantage of the opening and close the distance, it'll be a real problem. We might not even be able to escape."

"But don't they not know our artillery can only fire one more time?"

"Don't underestimate the enemy. Clever ones notice things no matter what."

Velvet glared at Cerberus through the monitor.

"Well then, my dear, how will you respond?"

Shinnosuke carefully guarded against Black Rose's long-range assault while skillfully maneuvering the ship, effectively countering the pirate vessel's attacks with rapid-fire cannons and Gatling guns.

Still, the pirates' assault lacked vigor, resulting in a near-stalemate.

In fact, the pirate ships surrounding us seem to be here merely to delay and distract the convoy, while the main threat—the pirate ship F targeting Cerberus—remains hidden in the distance.

After eliminating the escort ship with long-range fire, the surrounding pirate vessels likely plan to finish off the convoy.

"Got it! Enemy ship B has been sunk!"

Still, one foolish pirate ship has been destroyed by Andy's Beetle.

"Markus, return the main cannon control to me. I'll handle the other weapons instead."

"Understood. You have main weapon control."

"I have. You have sub weapon control."

"I have."

Shin nosuke locked the main cannon of Black Rose onto the target.

"Given its power, the generator must be under heavy strain by now. Only one or two more shots left, maybe?"

Kerberos and Black Rose locked eyes, confirming each other's positions through the zoomed-in monitor.

Velvet also carefully observed Kerberos's image displayed on the monitor.

"It seems we've been noticed. Well then, what should we do? That escort ship's speed isn't something we can ignore. If it closes the distance all at once, we'll be at a severe disadvantage. But since it hasn't made a move yet, that means it has no intention of leaving the protected target. Those who understand their role and carry it out without hesitation are always formidable opponents....No choice, then. It's a costly loss with no gain, but life is precious. This is the right moment to act."

Velvet herself had realized the failure of this attack the moment she missed the escort ship with two salvos.

One of the ships she had lured away had been sunk, but there was no use in targeting someone who could be taken down so easily, and continuing as pirates wouldn't lead to long life anyway.

In truth, they weren't comrades at all—just a group of separate pirates who happened to band together.

Velvet was originally a pirate operating alone on the Black Rose, with no other ships as companions.

Velvet's only crew members were a few from the Black Rose.

Though she is a woman pursuing a career as a space pirate, her skills are exceptional, and thanks to a powerful sponsor behind the scenes, she possesses advanced equipment.

Thanks to that, many pirates want to team up with Velvet, and she often ends up working together with them upon request.

This time was no different—she just stepped in to help out.

"Miss. Are you really letting go of such a tempting prize?"

"That's right. A proper pirate knows when to cut their losses. If you're unhappy with my decision, feel free to do as you please. I'm pulling out now."

Noting Velvet's complete loss of spirit, the Black Rose operator relayed to the four ships attacking the convoy that Black Rose was withdrawing from the mission.

It didn’t matter to them what happened next, but it was the least they could do by way of courtesy.

Slowly retreating, Black Rose turned around and rapidly disengaged.

"Enemy vessel F is disengaging... The four surrounding enemy ships are also ceasing attacks and pulling back."

As Seyla reported, it seemed the pirates had abandoned their assault.

"Serah, what's the damage on each ship?"

"No damage."

"Understood. We've handled them for now."

After confirming that all pirate vessels had withdrawn, Shinosuke and the others reformed their formation and headed toward the Damura Star Cluster Republic.

On the bridge of Black Rose, which had detached in the opposite direction from Shinosuke's fleet, Velvet was uncorking a bottle of wine and drinking straight from it.

Though completely illegal under regulations governing alcohol-influenced operation, such rules meant nothing to the space pirate Velvet.

Though the attack failed and we only wasted energy, the lingering aftertaste of our clash with the long-standing escort ship makes it all feel wonderfully satisfying—this wine tastes especially good tonight.

"That escort ship's captain will surely become a long-standing adversary. I'd love to kill him myself, but I hope this feeling isn't just one-sided affection..."

Velvet laughed, her crimson eye on her forehead gleaming.