035 Idol Chapter 11 Emergency Call

Slightly revised from last episode 034.

The impression that Seira becoming an idol was solely due to President Kamizawa’s coercion was too strong, so I added a scene showing her latching onto the bounty.

Decided on the three factors—escaping the commotion, the bounty, and the president’s pressure.

With tuition paid, the rush of daily life is over.

Just need to pay back the one billion G debt to the government now.

Me? High school student. Summer break ends, and I’m straight into full student mode.

A debt with no deadline and no collateral? Honestly, it’s better to be the one borrowing.

I’ll do idol activities without letting it interfere with schoolwork.

Right now, I’m at Earth’s agency every day, memorizing lyrics and choreography for my debut.

So yeah… I haven’t been to the station in days.

No launch without being at the station. Even if there’s an emergency call, no emergency departure.

I thought I had the weekend free—otherwise, I was on my own.

That was yesterday.

I’m here at the station now, attending briefing for emergency launch.

I’d forgotten—completely underestimated alien science.

Wait, I was abducted during that game, wasn’t I?

So the station government can haul me in anytime they want.

“Everyone’s work? Huh? Replaced by dummy robots?”

Preparations are thorough, apparently.

So, what’s today’s mission?

The buzz of the small conference room—briefing room—froze the moment one man walked in.

Looks like the area leader for our sector.

No military ranks, but he’s the senior commander here.

And now, he’s starting the mission briefing.

"Anomaly detected at the Dimensional Jump Gate. Standard procedure—our sector’s defense mission, as usual.

Designated zone: random draw, 0-0-M19. Congrats, rear-center."

Murmurs of complaint ripple through the group.

To clarify the sector coordinates: they’re a simplified grid system using XYZ notation.

X is horizontal, Y is vertical, Z is depth.

Origin point 0-0-0 is the Dimensional Jump Gate. 0-0-M20 is the station.

Positive numbers are P, negative are M. So P2-M3-M1 is two to the right, three up, one forward from the Gate.

This is a station-defense shorthand. A separate, global cosmic coordinate system exists, of course.

We’re defending the area just nineteen units in front of center.

Right in front of the station.

If the enemy’s targeting the station and launching a full-scale assault, it’ll be the most concentrated point of conflict.

But if the enemy’s small, it’ll be a safe spot nobody even bothers to look at.

Complaints came up—probably just grumbling about how it wasn’t profitable.

“Wait in your Personal Ship’s CIC until the operation starts. Don’t miss the launch order!”

We all moved to our respective hangars.

Though, since it’s an emergency call-up, a temporary transfer port’s been set up in the briefing room.

Straight to the nearest transfer port by our hangar.

I thought, if we’re doing this, why not just use a digital meeting? But apparently, seeing your comrades in person is necessary.

Though I’d bet that’d backfire if we started arguing.

I climbed into the CIC of my Personal Ship, *AKIRA*, and took my seat in the cockpit.

Check all statuses—especially ship condition and remaining ammo count.

『AKIRA』

Classification Flagship (Fleet Command Ship)

Hull Length: 212m High-Speed Cruiser Class, Two Arms

Main Engine: Disappearance-Neutralizing Reactor Type G, High-Speed Propulsion Unit D

Armament Main Gun: 5cm Long Barrel Railgun, Single Mount, One Unit Standard Ammo: 50 (Remaining) / 50 (Max) Special Ammo (G-Bullet): 20 (Remaining) / 20 (Max) Special Ammo (Erosion Bullet): 04 (Remaining) / 20 (Max)

Secondary Gun: None

Anti-Space Cannon: 10cm Laser, Single Mount, Four Units, Four Guns

Missile Launcher Pod: Standard Type D, Two Pods, Two Launchers Max Ammo: 4 × 2 Missile Remaining: 8

Defense: Beam-Resistant Coating, Special Steel Armor Plating

Kinetic-Resistant Beam Shield Type E, One Unit

Stasis Field (Barrier) Type D

Electronic Equipment Anti-Ship Radar S-Type Wide-Area Communication Device S-Type Tactical Weapon Integration Control System S-Type

Empty Energy Slot 6

Status Good

Status is good. Standard ammo 50 rounds, G-Bullet 20 rounds—both at MAX. Four Erosion Bullets acquired through level-up.

Missiles haven’t been used. Oh—those I used before were all in the simulation, so no depletion. Still at 8 rounds MAX.

If ever used, launch tubes would be restocked per mission from the station.

If ever fewer than two rounds left, two missiles should’ve been issued.

Railgun ammo is automatically replenished by the ship.

On my Personal Ship, standard ammo is three per day, special ammo one per day.

Possibly increases with level-up.

Materials unclear, but apparently refilled from debris.

If the supply is low enough to affect operations, you’ll need to buy your own.

They’ll deliver it straight to the hangar, no problem.

(All set. Time for my first sortie! Oh right—this is my first sortie in a rented ship.)

Corrected miswriting "Dimensional Jump Gate" as "Dimensional Transfer Gate" — standard terminology.

Fixed the bit about Akira’s misunderstanding; it was starting to feel like the author’s mistake instead.

It’s been one month since the start of the post, counting from the R18 version.

Made it to #2 in daily, weekly, and monthly rankings for the [SF] category, and #6 in the quarterly rankings.

All thanks to your support. I’m truly grateful.