Episode 3: Mission Details — Building the Ship

From the orbital elevator to the space station 'Wagoyama' in geostationary orbit.

After arriving at Wagoyama, proceed to the entrance of the military facility within the station.

"Department of Rear Operations, Dawson Ida. I was instructed to come here."

"Mr. Dawson, please wait a moment."

The humanoid reception unit, equipped with artificial intelligence, verified the purpose of the visit and informed Dawson of his destination.

The fourth dry dock for spacecraft, located within the military facility. That was the destination.

Dawson bowed to the humanoid unit and immediately proceeded toward the designated location.

Along the corridor of the military facility, artificial gravity was not active. Movement required grasping handrails (bars) floating in midair.

Three transfers between handrails. Finally, Dawson reached the fourth dry dock.

Dawson entered the dock's workroom. Artificial gravity was active. He staggered slightly from the sudden change in gravity, then regained his footing on the floor.

Dawson straightened his posture and looked around. A woman in military uniform sat in a chair, drinking tea. The woman, who appeared to be in her thirties, wore a sergeant's insignia on her uniform collar.

"Dawson Ida. Reporting as ordered."

"Oh, forgive my appearance. I expected you later—welcome, Lieutenant Dawson Ida, assigned to the Rear Operations Office. Himenah Ogetsu, Technical Sergeant."

Dawson did not recognize the rank "Technical Sergeant." Typically, common technical positions were at least Technical Lieutenant or higher.

Himenah seemed to understand Dawson's hesitation. She explained the rank.

I entered service as a second-class infantryman assigned to a destroyer, then transferred to maintenance, where I was trained in practical field techniques until I became a technical non-commissioned officer. After my transfer to the rear operations room, my current assignment has been the disassembly and technical analysis of enemy force SU (Space Union) vessels at Dock Four.

So I am a technical corporal because I have not taken the officer examination.

Yes, that is correct. I must also note that at this stage, Lieutenant Dawson is already an officer. Please be mindful of your language when addressing a non-commissioned officer.

...Understood. A newly graduated orphan speaking with an officer of higher rank—it is difficult to maintain proper posture.

Lieutenant. Age is a forbidden topic when speaking to a woman. Even between an officer and a non-commissioned officer.

Apologies. I am not accustomed to speaking with women.

Dawson apologized for the misstep and redirected the conversation toward the mission.

"Then my role is to harass SU using privateers, correct?"

"That is correct. For this purpose, Lieutenant Specialist will construct a privateer here in this dock."

"Construct? I thought I'd be given a decommissioned destroyer?"

"Regrettably, that is not possible. Using Amato Imperial Japan vessels would expose our involvement to SU, which is prohibited."

"…I suppose I'll be boarding the privateer, then?"

Dawson's hesitation was understandable.

A privateer was a pirate licensed by a specific nation with a privateering commission. Without such a commission, the vessel was merely a pirate ship.

Dawson had assumed that if the Amato Imperial Japan issued the commission, they would grant a degree of flexibility for a destroyer-class vessel.

But Himena said the Amato Imperial Japan wished to conceal their involvement.

Dawson felt this was contradictory.

"Ah. Lieutenant Special Duty, you are mistaken. The privateering commission is not issued by the Amato Imperial Japan. It is issued by the True Rights, a star nation located in the same Orion Arm as SU, yet opposed to SU."

"True Rights? I have never heard of that."

"Apparently, it is a interstellar nation formed by people opposing SU. According to SU's ship database, it occupies one quarter of the Orion Arm."

"So the Orion Arm was not part of SU's unified state territory."

A perfect force to weaken SU's economy through piracy while concealing Amato Imperial Japan's involvement.

"So, I'm to obtain a privateering commission from TR? You have the preparations in place?"

"In his country, privateering commissions against SU are granted freely. Bring a ship and say you wish to destroy SU vessels, and you receive one."

"Is that also based on SU's ship database information?"

Dawson finally grasped the full scope of his mission.

Concealing his identity as an Amato Imperial Japan military officer, he would become a privateer under TR and rampage through SU merchant ships.

"In that case, the vessel we build here should resemble one from the Orion Arm. No, 'ship' is too ambitious. 'Vessel' will do."

Logically, pirates would rarely possess warships. TR would use warships themselves rather than hand them over to pirates. SU would have no reason to transfer them at all. Therefore, the only ways pirates could acquire a SU warship would be either by salvaging debris from a battlefield or by destroying a SU warship and seizing it through their own efforts.

"Was there any information on Orion Arm vessels in the SU ship database?"

"Yes. Here is the list."

Himenah waved a finger. A spatial projection monitor appeared before Dawson.

All ships in the database materialized on the monitor. Warships and military vessels were gradually filtered out.

The remaining vessels numbered roughly half the original total, but still represented an immense quantity.

Shuttles from large transport ships to satellite orbit escape. Exclude those too small.

Due to mission parameters, vessels incapable of interstellar travel—those below a certain size—were removed from the list.

Even so, a vast number of ship data points remained.

Dawson frowned in thought. Himena offered advice.

"Given the Special Lieutenant's mission, wouldn't constructing armed large transports to destroy numerous SUs be the most efficient approach?"

"No. Transport ships are slow. Human crew is required for operation. Both are liabilities for this mission. Exclude such vessels."

"If speed is priority, and the Special Lieutenant must operate alone, then only fast craft below patrol boat class remain. Can such vessels carry sufficient armament to deliver adequate strike power?"

Armament power is necessary. Displaying weapon strength makes merchant ships more compliant.

Prioritizing armament inevitably increases ship size, reducing crew numbers and speed required for operations.

Reducing ship size allows Dawson to operate it alone and improves maneuverability, but decreases weapon effectiveness and plunder yield from piracy.

Recognizing the difficulty of balancing both, Dawson established priorities for ship construction.

Armament strength and ship speed are mandatory. The profit from piracy will be sacrificed.

Privateers must deliver a fixed percentage of seized goods to the issuing state. Therefore, standard privateers prioritize cargo capacity to maximize seizure from merchant vessels.

Dawson’s mission was to inflict economic damage on SU through piracy. Stealing goods from merchant vessels was merely an incidental benefit.

He had decided to forgo cargo capacity when Himena raised a question.

“Is that acceptable, Special Lieutenant? The wealth acquired through piracy belongs entirely to you. The more you take from merchant ships, the richer you become.”

“Those words stir my mind—but no, I will firmly abandon cargo capacity.”

Dawson did not intend to die on this mission. To ensure his own survival, weapon power and ship speed were essential.

Moreover, if he considered it carefully, once piracy operations were established, he could always commission a separate vessel for cargo. The mission included the possibility of co-opting pirates and turning them into allies, in order to inflict greater economic damage on SU.

Dawson settled on a decision and immediately excluded all large and medium-sized vessels that moved slowly.

From the remaining small-sized ships, he selected those that appeared suitable.

"Judging by the specifications, the smaller the vessel, the faster it moves."

"The lighter the hull, the less likely it is to exceed the inertial control system's tolerance when maneuvering at high speed. Also, shorter hull frames provide greater structural strength, allowing the vessel to withstand higher speeds without structural strain."

"In that case, the hull frame's resilience is what matters most. The propulsion system can be modified later."

Dawson reordered the list by hull frame resilience.

At the top of the list appeared a small vessel with a bulky, rounded shape reminiscent of a fish, barely capable of interstellar travel.

"Red by default, it looks like a plump sea bream."

A pleasant vessel. Unpopular with both SU and TL, yet it might find favor in Amato Imperial Japan.

Tuna is the national fish of Amato Imperial Japan, introduced during colonization. It will sell.

Himenah immediately transfers the vessel's data to her terminal. She will likely report to her superior and sell the data to a civilian shipbuilding company under the rear operations room's name.

Meanwhile, Dawson feels a connection to the vessel. He considers whether he can design a privateer based on this ship.

Small transport vessel. Cargo capacity is higher than expected for its size. With the cargo space reconfigured, it could accommodate propulsion systems and a fusion generator comparable to those of a medium-sized vessel.

He calls up the vessel's data. On the virtual design interface for modifications, he begins adjusting various components.

In the course of trial and error, he discovers an unexpectedly precise fit between components.

It is a combined propulsion and jump system from a certain medium-sized fast vessel, paired with the sub-generator from an SU heavy cruiser.

"Could squeeze in a destroyer-class energy refill unit with just a bit more space. If the refill unit fits, all sorts of possibilities open up."

The energy refill unit stores energy output from the generator.

With this unit, the jump system could be used twice in succession. Once using stored energy from the jump system, again using stored energy from the refill unit.

Furthermore, the same procedure would allow a destroyer-class Charged Particle Beam to fire two full-power shots without pause.

If the gun can carry, it should be carried. To maximize the gun’s range, this vessel should be optimized for long-range operations. A long-range view is necessary as well.

Dawson’s mood improved. He added equipment he deemed necessary, one item after another.

What resulted was a vessel with minimal living space, designed without consideration for crew habitation.

The majority of the ship was filled with propulsion jump units, generators, and refilling apparatus.

In the remaining limited space, electromagnetic debris shields, identification signal transmitters, inertia control systems for high-speed maneuvering, long-range radar systems, large communication arrays capable of use beyond stellar arms, repair robots with storage for repair materials, life support systems essential for habitation, and the Captain’s quarters—lavatory and shower, food cartridge-based automatic cooking units, and stowable beds—were installed.

There was no surplus space left.

The bridge, necessary for operating the vessel, had to be improvised using the cockpit of a space combat fighter. Corridors were so narrow that only a single person could pass through, and artificial gravity generators could not be installed, leaving the interior in a zero-gravity state.

There was no surplus space left inside the vessel. Storage for stolen goods from cargo ships had to be located externally. Anchoring clamps were installed on both sides of the hull. The cocoon storage units, standard on transport and cargo vessels, were repurposed into dedicated transport mechanisms.

Armament could only be mounted externally. The Charged Particle Beam, though a Main Cannon, was large—nearly as long as the small vessel undergoing改造, which was the original reason for its external mounting. No issue there.

However, leaving the cannon exposed would immediately identify the ship as a pirate vessel. The cannon needed to be concealed behind armor. The Main Cannon's tip required a mechanism to open and close the armor, or firing would be impossible.

The result of these improvised modifications was a ship resembling a fat fish with a protruding lower jaw.

"Tunny is tunny, but this one's a grouper."

"Ugh. Looks rather ungainly now..."

"Performance over appearance—though, maybe we should drop the red."

Changing the color repeatedly, yellow emerged as the most neutral option when considering appearance.

Yet that neutrality merely shifted the visual impression from grouper to a large tropical fish.