047 Idol Arc 23: Mid-Defense Operation 1

One week before the new term starts, I get called in for emergency muster—just after I've finished paying the enrollment fee and finally let my guard down.

Ayame, who had her debt covered by the administration, is included too.

Since I’m paired with Ayame in a fleet, we’re both summoned to the same small briefing room.

If you’re abducted and forcibly transferred, you might worry about things like being in the bath or whatever— but since we’re dealing with extraterrestrial lifeforms, they’re courteous enough to wait for the right moment and just… y’know… change you into a pilot suit before teleporting you.

The area leader walks in. The room goes silent.

He starts explaining the mission.

“An anomaly has appeared at the Dimensional Jump Gate. Unusual for us— we’re being assigned an enemy vessel strike mission.”

Designated sector: random draw, P2–P1–M9. Intercept in the middle defense zone."

Sector coordinates were divided areas expressed in XYZ format. X was horizontal, Y vertical, Z depth.

P2–P1–M9 was the area two to the right, one up, nine forward from the base coordinates—the Dimensional Jump Gate.

"Hit the enemy ships as they come through, until they pass through our sector. Once they exit our zone, they're someone else’s problem. There are scavengers waiting in the rear, drooling. Don’t worry about them—just clear through."

A ripple of laughter spread through the room. These guys were drooling too, just like the others.

"Watch out for friendly fire—don’t get shot in the back! Everyone stay at your CIC until launch order. This one’s fast—don’t miss the controller’s call!"

Everyone stood. Made for the emergency transfer port.

I fall in line with Ayame.

"Once I’m in the CIC, I’ll give you a heads-up. Plenty of time before launch—let’s tweak the plan a bit."

Got it. I'm waiting.

I let Ayame go ahead, her nerves taut, and moved myself to the section housing the hangar.

The storage bay’s a bit of a walk from the transfer port. Is there no way to make this commute easier?

Frigates are a kilometer long. That’s over a hundred meters wide. Crossing a bay that holds dozens of them? That’s a decent stretch.

No transfer port installed in front of my storage bay—means I’m walking.

The positioning around here probably depends on how much you’ve contributed to the station.

I should’ve asked if Ayame’s storage bay was far from the transfer port—timing’s important when sending communications.

I step into the CIC and take a seat in the pilot’s chair. The pilot suit auto-exchanged during abduction.

When the ship awakens, a holographic screen pops up in front of me.

On a whim, I activate the Tactical Weapon Integration Control System and establish a data link with Ayame’s ship.

Confirmed: Ayame’s ship status is online.

I can send a message now. No problem.

“Ready?”

“Got it. Been waiting.”

Ayame’s face appears on the small screen. The comms are live. My face should be visible on her end.

Looks like Ayame arrived first.

“Yeah, my storage bay’s pretty far from the transfer port.”

“My section’s about three segments away—roughly a hundred meters.”

“Three segments? A hundred meters? Huh. Guess that’s why it’s a cruiser section. This one’s a battleship section—no wonder it’s so far.”

I’ll just leave the bicycle here.

“About today’s plan…”

“Yes.”

“Oh, this sortie’s Akira Fleet, so use Akira and Ayame’s codenames. Don’t call me Kirara.”

“Right. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ayame tilts her head slightly on the screen. Adorable.

Her usual bold expression is clouded with a hint of worry—somehow endearing, in a way I can’t quite put into words.

Not the time to be staring.

“Our objective is capture. I’ll use the Erosion Bullet to disable the enemy ship’s mobility, then Ayame will pierce the enemy’s energy distributor with the Anti-Ship Blade. We’ll seize it.”

“I don’t know where the energy distributor is.”

Ayame looks uncertain.

“Once we’ve eroded the enemy ship, the data link’ll connect. Then we’ll know right away. The target point’ll be graphically marked on your screen.”

"Then it should be doable."

Ayame lets out a sigh of relief.

"Leave it to me. Until the target’s secured, Ayame’ll be guarding you. Unfortunately, my Personal Ship’s armament’s pretty weak."

"Leave it to me. I’ll protect you."

Ayame’s expression shifts rapidly. She’s suddenly all confidence, like she’s been handed a role she can finally own.

"This isn’t a full-on defense mission, so if you think the enemy ship’s about to get past us, just let ‘em go."

"Yes."

"I’ll handle the details. Don’t get too fired up. Your life comes first—way ahead of the salvage. Got it?"

"Got it. Life first. Follow orders. Guard you. Target’s salvage."

Ayame counts off on her fingers, repeating it back. The gesture is utterly adorable.

"Also, watch out for debris from the exploded missile and stray railgun rounds. Better to activate the laser in debris interception mode."

"Got it. Thanks."

"Then just wait until launch. Don’t miss the tower’s instructions. See you in space."

"Right. See you in space."

Cutting the comms. Huh? Did I even need to do that?

Eh, whatever. No time to dwell.

Here are the specs for each ship in Akira’s fleet, this deployment.

『AKIRA〈akira〉』

Class: Fleet Command Ship (Flagship)

Hull: 212m long, high-speed cruiser type, two arms, extended storage bay (one carrier aircraft: 'Phanrel')

Main Engine: Type G Annihilation Reaction Core, Type D High-Speed Propulsion Unit

Armament: Main Gun, Long Barrel 5cm Railgun, Single Mount, 1 Unit, 1 Barrel Standard Ammo: 50 (Ammo Remaining) / 50 (Maximum) Special Ammo (G-Bullet): 20 (Ammo Remaining) / 20 (Maximum) Special Ammo (Erosion Bullet): 16 (Ammo Remaining) / 20 (Maximum)

Secondary Gun none

Anti-Space Cannon, 10cm Laser Single Mount x4, 4 barrels

Missile Launcher Pod Type D Standard x2, 2 units, max ammo 4×2, missile remaining ammo 8

Missile D-type for carrier aircraft, standard ×2, max load 4×2×1, remaining missiles: 4

Defense Beam-Resistant Coating Special Steel Armor Plate

Anti-Physical Projectile, Anti-Beam Shield Type E-1

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, Sub-Computer D-Type

Empty Energy Slot 5

Status Good

'Fanellar'

Type: Attack Craft (Stealth)

Frame: 25m total length

Main Unit: G-Type Fusion Reactor, G-Type High-Speed Propulsion

Armament: Main Cannon: 5cm Short Barrel Railgun, Single Mount, 1 Unit, 1 Barrel — Standard Ammo: 10 (Remaining) / 10 (Max) — Special Ammo (Erosion Bullet): 2 (Remaining) / 2 (Max)

Missiles: D-Type Standard, 2 Units Mountable

Defense: Beam-Resistant Coating, Special Steel Armor Plating

Cloaking Field (Stealth Device): E-Type

Electronic Equipment: Anti-Ship Radar F-Type, Communication Device F-Type

Empty Energy Slot: 0

Status: Good

‘AYAME (ayame)’

Ship Type: Assault Vessel

Frame: 200m total length, Cruiser-Class, 2 Arms

Main Unit: C-Type Fusion Reactor, E-Type High-Speed Propulsion

Armament: Main Cannon: 20cm Long Barrel Railgun, Single Mount, 1 Unit, 1 Barrel — Standard Ammo: 80 (Remaining) / 80 (Max)

Secondary Gun 15cm Particle Beam Cannon Twin Mount x2, 4 barrels

Anti-Space Cannon 10cm Laser Single Mount x4, 4 barrels

Missile Launcher Pod: None

Anti-Ship Blade Type C 1

Defense Beam-Resistant Coating Special Steel Armor Plate

Type E Beam Shield, Impact-Resistant, Model 1

Stasis Field (Barrier) Type E

Electronic Equipment Anti-Ship Radar Type E Communication Device Type E

Empty Energy Slot 0

Status Good

This time, four station-supplied missiles added, all systems are fully resupplied except for Erosion Bullets and ship-launched missiles.

G-bullet has two charges ready.

The 'Fanell' also swapped its main cannon for a short-barreled 5cm Railgun, and was given two Erosion Bullets.

If this works out smoothly, I should be able to pay off the debt all at once.

If I capture two enemy ships still resisting neural control, even after splitting the spoils with Ayame, I’ll definitely be able to pay off the debt all at once.

『Akira Fleet, Akira, Ayame, prepare for launch』

The launch command comes from the control tower.

I open the hangar door and prepare to launch.

『Akira Fleet, Akira, Ayame, launch』

I establish comms with Ayame.

“Ayame, let’s go!”

“Affirmative.”

We launch into space.

How many days since Shira came to SFO? How many days did it take for the special rounds to increase by how many? I got bogged down making a timeline.

If I set the story’s calendar to summer vacation in 2018, summer vacation was 44 days long (Kanto standard). (^^;

Almost ended up doing a premature launch and screwing things up.

Internal fleet comms use quotation marks like speech, external comms use single quotes. I’m going with that.