068 Drift Arc 8 Repair Expedition 1

Sorry we’re late. Apologies.

We towed the President’s ship out of dry dock and into storage, using fusion repair protocols.

This is where the crew’s ships doubled as tugboats—saved us some coin.

We’re standing by the waiting room window, watching the Kamizawa ship, starting our strategy meeting.

“Looks worse than I thought. Rear thrusters are completely gone. That puncture from the reactor breach—sliced clean through the port side. Bad.”

“Hmm…”

I’m going through the damage report, line by line, and President Kamizawa’s muttering under their breath.

“Wait—wasn’t the President’s ship a mutual annihilation reactor? If that thing blew and antimatter leaked… we’d’ve been gone before we could even evacuate.”

“Hey—calm down. We’re fine now, aren’t we?”

Saya, who helped with the tow, leans in, face pale.

"Looks like the control systems and energy transmission components are damaged. The core’s been properly isolated in emergency mode, so that’s safe.

But President Kamizawa… there’s no such thing as leftover parts for an annihilation reaction furnace. You’d never find them, no matter where you looked."

"Yeah… even if we wanted to buy one, they’d be ridiculously expensive…"

President Kamizawa slumps. It’s clear from her expression that acquiring an annihilation reactor during the ship’s development wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

"High-speed thrusters are in the Dimensional Storage Vault—those from the cruiser and assault ship. Performance might be down, but we’ve got two units. Just suck it up.

As for the reactor issue… we can either give up on the annihilation reactor and make do with two fusion reactors, or trust the ship’s repair systems and gamble on bringing the annihilation reactor back online."

"First, send over one thermal nuclear reactor as a backup. We'll see how it goes. For propulsion, I'll rely on that."

"Next up, external armor repair. I got my hands on the armor from Captain Sato's ship. Apparently, I have first claim since I was the one who delivered the final blow—got the intact plates as a physical prize."

"Right, his ship's wreckage got sold off, and part of the compensation came through."

"Can I use that armor? I know it’s a bit of a sensitive topic—just checking, you know?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Treat it as a war trophy—something to remember the fight by! And Akira, here's the compensation money. Use it for spare parts."

"Got it. Thanks. I'll take it. Alright, let’s get started then."

The plan was set. We climbed aboard our Personal Ship and got to work.

I pulled out the Type E High-Speed Thruster, Type F High-Speed Thruster, Type E Fusion Reactor, and ten layers of Multi-Layer Beam-Resistant Coating Special Steel Armor Plates from the Dimensional Storage Vault.

President Kamizawa took the pilot seat aboard the Personal Ship and began preparations for fusion.

We used the Personal Ship’s arms to install the various components into the breach on President Kamizawa’s ship.

“Wait—where’s this going?”

“First, shove the fusion reactor into the aft breach.”

“Wait—what’s this?”

“Lay the armor plates along the port breach.”

“High-speed thrusters—top’s E, bottom’s E?”

“Bottom’s E. Stack them up like that.”

All components were in place.

We pulled away from President Kamizawa’s ship.

“Ready.”

“Good. Fusion countdown.”

As soon as we were clear, President Kamizawa initiated the fusion countdown and exited the vessel.

Not gonna get trapped like I did back then.

"Five... four... three... two... one... zero. Fusion initiating."

A fusion field unfolds around the ship, wrapping it like a cocoon.

Now we just wait and see.

The Kamiyama Ship is inoperable during fusion.

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My Personal Ship had grown—levelled up—without me noticing.

Probably thanks to the mass destruction of enemy vessels and Sato’s ship being disabled.

Three changes from the upgrade.

First: I now have a new special ammo called the Leap Bullet.

Leap implies dimensional teleportation, but who knows—maybe it’s just a warp shell.

Second: the maximum ammo count is now ∞ (infinite).

The Dimensional Storage Vault acts like that so-called infinite storage—item storage, really—so if the ship’s manufacturing capacity keeps up, I can just shoot without worrying about ammo.

Third: increased ammo production capacity.

Regular ships have their max ammo count capped by their load capacity.

But my Personal Ship, with its Dimensional Storage Vault, ignores weight and volume constraints.

Plus, it can store ammunition materials—plus surplus energy from external reactors. That’s probably why the production capacity went up.

The G-Bullet charge is fueled by surplus energy, so it’s always ready—full clip, anytime.

“Akira… you there?”

Just thinking that, and the CEO’s voice came through.

The CEO walks into the office, looking for me. Wait—shouldn’t it be the other way around?

“Yeah, here.”

“Found you. Good—time to head out on the expedition.”

“Expedition?”

"Emergency reinforcements for the Anoi System from nearby star systems."

Ai, the organic terminal of the Sabot AI, replies.

Right—she was in the president's office earlier.

"That's it. The mercenaries are all stirred up, saying they're currently running a quest."

I activate my wristband, projecting a holographic interface into the air.

As I begin searching, Ai speaks up.

"Planet Graul appears to be under attack by enemy forces.

Reinforcements are being requested.

No qualifications needed—this is an emergency. Anyone can join."

"Seems like it. Hand over your RIO. Let's make some coin."

President Kamizawa smirks.

I spread my arms, shrugging with a "well, here we go" gesture, mirroring him.

"Leave Ayame behind."

"Right. It'll be our first time passing through the Dimensional Jump Gate with just the ship alone."

You can fight alone too. Commanding’s not my style, and taking orders is a hassle."

"Got it."

Well, guess I’m fighting solo again. For once, it’s just me and the ship.