016 Beginner Training 2 Simulation Battle Simulator

Reached 4th place on the Weekly Space [SF] Ranking.

Thanks to all of you — really appreciate it.

Entering the pseudo-CIC of the virtual simulator and taking a seat in the cockpit.

A virtual screen opens before me, displaying the training space in VR.

Three armed girls appear on the screen.

Their faces are mine, Ayame, and Tanpopo — standard avatars, basically.

Same armaments. Since it's a simulator, the station-standard ship D-model, colloquially known as NPC (mob) ship D (destroyer), is what we're using.

Ship specifications:

『NPC Ship D-model』

Class: Destroyer

Hull: 100m long, destroyer-type, two arms

Main Engine: G-type thermonuclear reactor, standard propulsion unit B-type

Armament Main Gun: 12cm Railgun (Single Mount) ×1, 1 Barrel Standard Ammo: 40 (Remaining) / 40 (Maximum)

Secondary Gun: 10cm Particle Beam Cannon (Single Mount) ×2, 2 Barrels

Anti-Space Cannon: 5cm Laser (Single Mount) ×2, 2 Barrels

Missile Launcher Pod: Type D Standard ×3, 3 Barrels Maximum Ammunition: 4 × 3

Defense Impact-Resistant Special Steel Armor Plate

Beam-Resistant Shield Type E ×1

Stasis Field (Barrier) Type G

Electronic Equipment Anti-Ship Radar Type G Communications Unit Type G

Empty Energy Slot: 0

Avatar Appearance: Modest armor covering the torso, Railgun mounted on the right arm, shield on the left arm, Particle Beam Cannons on both hips, Missile Pods on both legs, and a small thruster-equipped backpack resembling a school satchel.

When looking at each avatar, a ▼ (downward triangle) and the name appear above their heads.

Front-facing: myself. Left: Ayame. Right: Tanpopo.

Incidentally, the enemy male team’s three ships should be somewhere in this exercise space.

No point starting if they’re within visual range.

“Exercise space is an asteroid belt. Victory conditions: annihilate the enemy or render them inoperable, surrender.

Combat ends when time runs out. Instructor will give a summary afterward. For now, get a feel for ship handling.

Exercise duration: thirty minutes. Simulation battle, commence!”

With Commander Shiina’s signal, the simulation battle begins.

In the top-left corner of the virtual screen, the exercise time counts down.

We adjust the anti-ship radar, scanning for enemy vessels.

“First, let’s locate the male team. Watch for debris shadows. And—any specialties among you two? I’m handling command.”

We coordinate tactics as we search for the enemy.

“I was a rear-line sniper in SFC,” Tanpopo says.

"I'm the front-line charge, then," Ayame says.

"Then can I handle command?" I ask.

"Sure."

"Fine by me."

"Thanks. So formation: Ayame up front, me next, Tanpopo in the rear—single-file line."

"Understood."

"Ah, no 'san' needed."

"Same here."

"Got it. I'll do the same."

I focus my awareness on my avatar, picturing the railgun and shield swapping places.

The advantage of a single-file formation? Minimizes exposed surface area to the enemy.

If Ayame's holding her shield to the left, I should hold mine to the right—easier to react in close combat.

Worst case? Getting ambushed with my flank wide open.

If it comes to fighting, just switch the shield to the enemy side.

We move through the drill space, scanning with radar.

The radar showed nothing but asteroid rubble.

Probably the guys chose an ambush.

After moving a little farther, we approached a rock formation large enough to hide a ship.

Ayame carefully circled behind the rock, shielding the hull with her barrier.

I followed close behind, scanning the surrounding rubble. No enemy. Passed through.

Then, something unexpected happened.

"HYAH-HA-HA-HA-HA! Got you from behind!"

The voice echoed across all frequency bands. Forest's voice.

Didn’t seem to realize he was shouting on an open channel...

Well, he was already detected by radar the moment he jumped out from behind the rock.

Still, a close-range charge like that had real impact.

I fired all three missiles at Forest (male avatar?!) to keep him at bay.

I scanned the surroundings without delay and issued a course correction.

“Turn at ten o’clock! Forest’s probably a decoy! Alter course toward the rock cluster at ten—likely ambush point—while engaging Forest!”

“Understood!”

I redirected toward the rocks to minimize exposure to sniper fire.

At the same time, I secured a position to attack Forest.

“Ayame, watch the approach. Tanpopo and I’ll take down Forest!”

Probably an old man from Ooi’s crew is up ahead. Kiri’s the real worry.

If the coordination’s tight, Kiri’ll strike at our weak point right at the decisive moment.

I reloaded the next missile while peppering Forest with beam fire.

Forest’s an SFC clear veteran. Handles the ship well. Immediately raised a Defense shield to block.

In that split second, Tanpopo fires the Railgun. That’s what it means to be targeted by two ships at once.

NPC Ship Type D lacks Beam Defense. Beams pierce through Stasis Fields too.

So you’re forced to intercept with a Defense shield. Move the shield, and the opposite side of the hull is left wide open.

Tanpopo exploited that flaw perfectly. Railgun fire rakes in ten rounds or so.

Stasis Field disabled by rapid-fire. Bullets hit the hull, tearing through armor.

Each hit chips away at the avatar’s armor—like peeling off layers. Not something a man should see.

Poor Forest’s ship is declared non-operational.

“Why’d he scream like that? If he hadn’t, we’d’ve gotten the first hit.”

In the end, Forest was busy intercepting the missile I fired as a feint—missed the real attack entirely, and got reduced to debris.

“Where’s the move at 12 o’clock?!”

"Moved, now."

Without pausing, Ayame rained beam cannons down on the enemy vessel.

The enemy, thinking they'd exploited a gap, was flustered.

Our interception of Forest had come too fast—plans derailed.

And they're coming in hard with emergency rotation.

Thought we'd box them in—now they're in danger of being picked off one by one.

"Full fleet, missile launch! Saturation attack—finish them!"

Three missiles each from Ayame, me, and Tanpopo—nine in total—fired, each following separate trajectories, guided toward the enemy.

NPC Ship Type D has only two anti-space lasers. And they're close.

Random evasive maneuvers—targeting laser blind spots—nine missiles plunged in.

Two lasers couldn’t intercept all nine. Too weak.

Missile hit. Enemy vessel: sinking verdict. Told you it was the Ooi-class.

But Kirii’s expected intervention never came.

“What’s going on? What’s this?”

In the end, Kirii wasn’t found before the timer ran out.

Victory by verdict—win is win—but not a clean sweep. Too bad.

Thanks for reading, rating, and bookmarking.

Your support means a lot—so if you found it even a little interesting, or want to see more, please consider bookmarking or rating.

The rating button is below the latest chapter.