069 Wandering Arc 9 Expedition 2

Over a thousand bookmarks—thanks a lot.

It means a lot.

According to the organic terminal AI, Ai-san, the planet Grault, our destination, is a giant gas planet.

The habitable planet has two moons: Glauel α and Glauel β. Both moons are colonies of the Empire.

Graul α and Graul β are moons of a giant gas planet, which is why their climates are so harsh.

When the satellite comes around to the sunward side of the gas giant, there’s no night—just the reflected glow from the planet. When it moves to the far side, the sun’s eclipsed, and no daylight remains.

Apparently, it's an extreme environment because it repeats like seasons due to its orbital period.

Apparently, they’re going through the hassle of shuttling back and forth between two satellites just to avoid it smoothly.

Living off the perks of starship life, huh.

Sure, we could probably handle the artificial suns or shielding field applications, but apparently it's cheaper to just deal with it this way when you factor in the cost.

Guess that’s one of those things you can only do—or can’t do—because the population’s so low.

This planet, Grour, is the domain ruled by the canine race.

Main industry: harvesting deuterium from the gas giant.

Which means the fuel for the fusion reactors… well, let’s just say you won’t be able to sleep easy at night.

The front-line forces are deployed elsewhere, so there’s not much in the way of permanent garrison at the relay points.

There is an Imperial fleet stationed here—but only the bare minimum.

So in emergencies, reinforcements always come from Anoi Fortress.

Me and President Kamizawa signed up as reinforcements and met at the Dimensional Jump Gate.

Here’s our ship’s specs:

『AKIRA』

Ship Class: Fleet Command Ship (Flagship)

Hull: 250m long, High-Speed Cruiser Type plus α, 2 arms, Dimensional Storage Vault S-Type (2 Cruisers, 1 Assault Ship, 1 Stealth Ship, 1 Carrier Aircraft 'Fanel', External Reactor, External Armament, External Brain, Numerous Spare Parts)

Main Engine: Anti-Destruction Reactor Type G (+ External Reactor, Anti-Destruction Type D), High-Speed Propulsion Unit Type C

Armament: Main Gun, Long Barrel 5cm Railgun Single Mount 1 Unit 1 Barrel, Standard Ammo 100 (Ammo Remaining) / ∞ (Max Capacity), Special Ammo (G-Bullet) 55 (Ammo Remaining) / ∞ (Max Capacity), Special Ammo (Erosion Bullet) 68 (Ammo Remaining) / ∞ (Max Capacity), Special Ammo (Leap Bullet) 10 (Ammo Remaining) / ∞ (Max Capacity)

(External Armament: Long Barrel 40cm Railgun Single Mount 1 Unit 1 Barrel, Standard Ammo 56 (Ammo Remaining) / ∞ (Max Capacity), etc.)

Secondary Gun 30cm Particle Beam Cannon Single Mount 1 Unit 1 Barrel

20cm Particle Beam Cannon Single Mount 1 Unit 1 Barrel

Anti-Space Cannon 10cm Laser Single Mount 4 Units 4 Barrels

Missile Launcher Pod Type D Standard 2 Units 2 Barrels Max Ammo 4×2 Missiles Remaining 8

Aircraft-Use Missile Type D Standard 2 Units ×1 Max Ammo 4×2×1 Missiles Remaining 8

Defense Beam-Resistant Coating Multi-Layer Special Steel Armor Plates

Beam Canceller (Anti-Beam Barrier)

Beam-Resistant Shield Type E 1

Stasis Field (Anti-Projectile Barrier) Type C

Electronic Equipment Anti-Ship Radar S Type Wide-Area Communication Device S Type Tactical Weapon Integration Control System S Type Sub-Computer D Type (External Brain A Type)

Empty Energy Slot 9

Status Good

『RIO (Rio)』 (President Kamizawa Riding)

Ship Class: Fast Cruiser

Hull Length: 230m Cruiser Type Two Arms

Main Engine: Type D Thermonuclear Reactor, Type E High-Speed Propulsion Unit

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

Secondary Guns: Twin 20cm Particle Beam Cannon, 2 Mounts, 4 Guns

Anti-Space Cannon: Single 10cm Laser, 4 Mounts, 4 Guns

Missile Launcher Pod: Standard Type E, 4 Mounts, 4 Guns Max Ammo: 2×4 Missile Ammo Remaining: 8

Defense Beam-Resistant Coating, Special Steel Armor Plating

Anti-Projectile, Beam Shield Type D, 1 Unit

Stasis Field (Barrier) Type E

Electronic Equipment Anti-Ship Radar Type E, Communications Unit Type E

Empty Energy Slot: 0

Status: Good

My personal ship keeps increasing ammo count indefinitely thanks to the maximum ammo limit being removed.

The new equipment is a Leap Bullet for the 5cm Long Barrel Railgun.

I’m hoping it’s a warp round—would love to try a critical hit with it.

RIO’s Secondary Gun, the Particle Beam Cannon, has been upgraded from 15cm to 20cm.

The thrusters are also upgraded to E-class—just one step up.

Though the increased weight has sacrificed the speed needed for a ramming assault, so the ship’s now classified as a fast cruiser instead.

Still, it should be a solid boost in combat power.

These two ships are the ones assigned to our office’s expedition.

“Everyone, thanks for gathering. I’m Hunter, commander of the Graul Dominion’s驻留军. I appreciate you answering the call during my homeworld’s crisis.

Our plan: while the驻留军 holds them in place, we’ll flank the enemy from behind and crush them. Each of you can enter through any Dimensional Jump Gate exit and jump straight into combat. Let’s make it count.”

Reinforcements are obviously going to be Graul's forces. The rest are optional mixed units from minor territories and Earth Fleet ships.

Caprius's fleet? Zero. Even if Anoi Fortress needs protection, they’re still not on good terms.

"Coordinates set. Entering Dimensional Jump Gate! We’ll arrive at Graul immediately. Watch for enemy identification signals—eliminate all reds!"

Our ships one by one plunge into the Dimensional Jump Gate.

First time ever on an interstellar expedition. Can’t keep the excitement down.

As we enter the Dimensional Jump Gate, hyperspace unfolds before us.

A virtual screen blooms all around me, right in front of my pilot seat, displaying external visuals.

Overlaying the view is a graphic marking our course.

Ahead, a circular, mirror-like exit of the Dimensional Jump Gate appears—damn close.

I steer the ship along the course, slipping into the mirror surface as planned.

A moment of dissonance—then there it is, a massive gas planet seated directly before me.

To my side, President Kamizawa’s RIO had already burst out.

Random spawn point. Terrifying coincidence.

“President! It’s going wild!”

“Yeah! You too, keep it together!”

I activate the Anti-Ship Radar and the Tactical Weapon Integration Control System, linking data to every Earth Forces vessel and the Grathus Fleet flagship.

The RIO is fully under my control—intervention is always possible—but that’s a secret from the President.

In an instant, I gather radar and sensor data, plot the enemy and ally positions, and distribute the tactical overlay to every Earth Forces ship.

This time, it’s a rescue mission—so annihilating enemy forces takes priority.

I pull the Long Barrel 40cm Railgun from the Dimensional Storage Vault.

Activate the firing correction system—number targets by threat level and lock on!

"First shot fired! Direct hit! Second round charging. Fire! Direct hit!"

Hunting goes smoothly.

Since I’ve got the upper hand, I toss in Erosion Bullets between snipes.

Turns out I’ve got two Railguns on board.

Target: enemy battleship. Time to gift President Kamizawa’s anti-annihilation reactor a nice, slow digestion.

"Target enemy battleship. Fire Erosion Bullet!"

The Erosion Bullet strikes the enemy flagship’s bridge.

While I wait for erosion to complete, I pick off other ships with the Long Barrel 40cm Railgun.

『Erosion complete. Data link initiated. Shall we take control?』

A system message pops up on the virtual screen before me.

"No."

"Launch the Leap Bullet?"

A new reaction. Something unprecedented... perhaps this is...

"YES!"

"Understood. Enemy vessel search initiated. Weak point identified. Where shall we target?"

"The energy distributor! Launch the Leap Bullet!"

"Absorbing energy via electromagnetic induction channel. Launching Leap Bullet."

The Leap Bullet absorbs energy from the electromagnetic induction furnace, enveloped in a violet electromagnetic pulse.

Just as the glow intensified—then vanished.

At the same instant, the projectile disappeared, detonating inside the enemy warship.

"That warship is mine. Hands off!"

I declared the vessel captured to my allies.

"Hey, Akira, give us a piece too. We're not even in range yet!"

President Kamizawa grumbles. The mercenaries follow suit.

My ambush threw the enemy fleet into chaos.

I was targeting only the ships designated as command vessels by threat assessment.

After that, I left the rest to them.

Too much of a monopoly and you start getting hated.

From here on out, I decided to just patrol the battlefield, stepping in only when things got dangerous.

My personal tally: one battleship captured, twelve cruisers heavily damaged.

I ran around the field, scooping them up and stashing them in the Dimensional Storage Vault.

Capturing the battleship was delicious. Right now, I’m busy cybernetically reprogramming (overpowering) its core.

Discovered a sweet combo: Erosion Bullet and Leap Bullet. Makes capture a breeze.

Looks like I’ll be making easy money from now on.

Also got a heartfelt thanks from the canine faction.

Apparently, they’re going to give me an award when I get back to Anoi Fortress.

Always nice to see friendly relations with other species improving.

The 5cm railgun works at long range because the projectile is light and fired at high speed—and even non-explosive rounds are effective.

High velocity lets it punch through even strong stasis fields.

Ordinary rounds may pass through a stasis field, but they still get deflected by armor and don’t count as effective hits.