The Beginning of Turmoil
Although the Kashimura Company, led by Shinosuke, had welcomed a new companion, their debut was far from peaceful.
The war in which the Rimuria Galactic Empire invaded the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth ended in the defeat of the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth.
The Akneria Galactic Federation had militarily intervened under the pretext of supporting the Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth in this conflict.
However, despite the ongoing disadvantage faced by the duchy, it was unable to turn the tide of battle, and ultimately, the decision was made to reduce support. Just as this decision was reached, the duchy's capital fell, leading to the extinction of the Damura Star Cluster Duchy.
As a result, the Akneria Galactic Fleet, which had been deployed within the Damura Star Cluster Duchy, received immediate orders to withdraw.
Meanwhile, the Rimuria Galactic Empire, having triumphed in its invasion war, ordered all foreign nationals—including ambassadors and diplomats from all galactic nations except those with friendly relations with the empire residing in the former Damura Star Cluster Duchy—to leave the galaxy within a two-month grace period.
Furthermore, while military vessels from other nations were not permitted to navigate within its territory, the empire allowed civilian ships, including escort vessels, to transit for the purpose of evacuating its citizens, and issued a notice to all nations urging them to swiftly evacuate using these ships.
In response to this notice, all nations immediately began taking action to protect their own citizens.
The Akeria Galactic Federation decided to strengthen its vigilance by deploying its fleets, including the 2nd and 7th Fleets, within the regions of the Rimuria Galactic Empire and the former Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, as well as positioning coastal defense forces along exclusive economic space zones. In addition, in order to rescue its stranded citizens from the former Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, the Federation dispatched non-military vessels under its government administration, along with civilian ships including those operated by free merchants.
The front lines of the evacuation operation were the Solius Stellar Province and the Iruuk Stellar Province.
Given that the Solius Stellar Province borders the former Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth, and the Iruuk Stellar Province lies nearby, this was a natural choice. From Solius, it was possible to travel to any planet within the former Damura Star Cluster Commonwealth and return within the evacuation deadline; with fast vessels, depending on the destination, even two round trips were feasible.
On the other hand, star provinces from other regions of the Federation were too distant to reach the target area and still evacuate within the deadline, making it inevitable that the Sirius and Iluk star provinces would bear the main burden of the evacuation operation.
Given that even neighboring Akeria Galactic Federation faced such difficulties, it was impossible to dispatch rescue vessels in time for more distant galactic nations.
As a result, those distant galactic nations had no choice but to entrust the rescue of their citizens to neighboring galaxies like Akeria, where rescue vessels could arrive in time. Even the Sirius Stellar Province faced a situation where no matter how many ships were dispatched, it was still insufficient, leading to a large number of rescue requests being sent to the Free Merchant Fleet.
"There's no way we can turn this down."
"Yes, whether it's from the government, private companies, or even individuals—there's no shortage of requests. If we don't act here, it'd be a disgrace to our reputation as sailors."
Shin nosuke and Miliena carefully reviewing the requests in the union's database.
As sailors and as humanitarians, there's no option to refuse; and as free merchants, we can't possibly miss such a lucrative opportunity.
As a union, we are fully committed to handling this major matter, and based on the capabilities and suitability of each free merchant's vessel, we are carefully selecting and recommending the most appropriate assignments.
"Since Shinosuke-san has accepted the request with both Fubuki and Tsukikage, perhaps these would be the best options?"
Lina said, already highlighting around thirty available assignments.
Fubuki and Tsukikage don't have the capacity to handle large vessels, so the plan is to target two or three planets or colonies with relatively fewer rescue targets and complete multiple requests simultaneously.
"Also, there's another request specifically designated for Shinosuke-san."
Upon checking, as Lina pointed out, it was an order for minerals from Layered Commerce.
"Even in this situation, they're running their usual operations. Remarkable, or perhaps just incredibly resilient... Well, it's just typical of Layered Commerce, really."
Shinosuke muttered half in disbelief, but to Layered Commerce themselves, it seemed as though a change of country meant nothing at all—perhaps they even saw this chaos as an opportunity.
As a result, Shinosuke decided to take on the tasks assigned by Layered Commerce: mineral trading on the planet Librina, rescuing refugees from Librina, and evacuating refugees from colonies near Librina.
Upon returning to the dock, Shinosuke immediately explained the details of the mission to his crew and issued orders for departure preparations.
"This time, the mission will be handled by Fubuki and Tsukikage alone. The three new crew members will be split between the two ships—Ash and Maitis will join Tsukikage, and Shion will go with Fubuki."
Ash nodded in response to Shinosuke's words.
"Leave it to us. We'll show you exactly how useful we can be."
This time, both Fubuki and Tsukikage will be carrying refugees, but naturally, Tsukikage will take on the majority of them.
That's why, as a precaution, two former coast guard personnel have been assigned to Tsukikage. It's therefore a natural choice for Ash, who holds a medical license, to board Tsukikage.
Shin nosuke and the others loaded up all available food and drink, medicines, and minerals ordered from Layered Company, then set sail toward the Rimlia Galactic Empire's planet Librina.