Episode 13: Escape

Episode 2 has been updated.

Please note: if you have not read the previous episode, proceed with caution.

After completing the short-range jump, the vessel *Mandible* approaches the supply transport ship, which it has destroyed by cannon fire to the bridge. It secures the transport ship’s hull by anchoring to the wall surface.

“Oine. Hack into the supply transport. Connect the internal broadcast system.”

‘Initiating main system hack into the transport vessel. Broadcast connection established. Proceed.’

Following Oine’s report, Dawson conducts a broadcast toward the transport ship’s crew.

“This is Captain Dawson of the privateer *Mandible*. I have just destroyed the bridge of this vessel. It is no longer capable of navigation. All crew members are advised to move immediately to the evacuation pods.”

On the physical monitor, a report from Oine was logged. 'Alarm system, gained control of bulkheads.'

'Over time, bulkheads at bow and stern will be lowered. Air in the lowered sections will be vented. Move quickly if you do not wish to die.'

Dawson gestured. Oine continued the hack, activating the transport vessel's alarm system, sealing the bulkheads at the bow and stern ends.

'Seconds after viewing the alarm and bulkhead closure on surveillance footage, crew members began moving. Fewer than maximum capacity, no confusion during transit, and sufficient evacuation pods remain.'

'Progress of the hack?'

'Resistance ceased. Progress has increased. Currently securing life support and propulsion systems.'

"Disrupting the generator would be inconvenient. Evacuate the air from the engine room slowly, until no one remains. Once life signs cease, seal the bulkheads in the engine room."

"Understood. I'll seal the bulkheads in areas where personnel have been eliminated as well."

By now, the transport vessel's corridors were likely filled with crew members fleeing down hallways as closing bulkheads sealed off the alarm's wail.

Dawson imagined the scene and thought, 'Hate your captain for making such a foolish choice.'

At the moment Oine was about to seize full control, the pirates under Dawson's command had jumped ship.

From those pirates, a transmission arrived, delivered with force.

"Master of the Great Jaw! What is the meaning of this order!?"

How are we supposed to go back now that we’ve got something this big!?

Dawson’s voice flared with anger, sharp enough to be felt even through his mask.

Shut up! We’re not the ones who got us into this! The idiot captain of this transport vessel caused this mess! Now we have to run from an SU warship while carrying this ship all the way to Hamano Onna! If you want to come along with me to escape the SU warship, fine! But I won’t be saving any of you if you get sunk!

Dawson’s shout echoed across the screen. The pirates’ faces on the screen paled instantly.

Why are we being chased by an SU warship now? That’s never happened before!

"Idiot. If we're carrying a vessel this large, normal navigation won't let us escape, and even if we jump, the tracking device will predict our next position."

"Then... we should just take one hundred cocoons and run, like we did before."

"Useless coward. You're not going to ruin this hard-won victory. This single ship brings in hundreds of times more than all our previous hauls combined. We can live comfortably for the rest of our lives."

Dawson spoke, refuting the argument. Then came a transmission from Gold Rush.

"...Could it be that the Big Jaw told us to flee in another direction to avoid the SU warship?"

"You're only a burden if you're here. You don't contribute to combat. You're just in the way."

Dawson spoke with genuine intent, but the message seemed to have been misinterpreted by Gold Rush in the wrong direction.

"We’re choosing the hard path—running away, splitting the money with you. Huh, the Big Jaw’s got guts. Fine. Leave the others to you. I’ll run just as you say."

Gold Rush’s captain said nothing more and ended the transmission. Then, one by one, the other pirates cut their connections.

Dawson was startled by the sudden change in attitude.

"What was that?"

"Probably misunderstood you, Dawson. You were going all-in for the money, and they thought you were trying to avoid dragging the other pirates into it. That’s why they changed their minds."

"Am I supposed to have had a change of heart? And the other side’s a bunch of scum. Hmph. Not funny."

Dawson shrugged, then gripped the control stick again.

"Status of the transport vessel?"

System control established across all nodes. Full system dominance achieved. Jump drive currently filling—began filling immediately after your request, Dawson. Nearly full.

Then the plan to bypass the generator on the *Mandible* can wait until after the jump.

Affirmative. With the transport vessel and the *Mandible* both generating power, we can escape the SU fleet through consecutive jumps.

Let us hope so. For safety, we will take a circuitous route to Hamano Onna. Estimated evasion duration: ten days.

A warship chasing a fleeing pirate. Exactly like an old space fiction scene.

Would be easier to enjoy if we weren’t the ones in it.

Dawson. The transport vessel’s jump preparation is complete.

Good. Launch escape pods equal to the number of crew aboard the transport vessel. Then jump. Scatter the remaining personnel into the space after the jump, then re-jump.

Understood. Launching escape pods!

Escape pods launched sequentially from the transport vessel. After launching approximately two thousand units, the transport vessel jumped in tandem with the anchor-linked ≪Big Jaw≫, vanishing from normal space.

First jump, from the attack site.

While releasing the remaining escape pods, connected the ≪Big Jaw≫ and the cargo transport vessel via an energy bypass. The ≪Big Jaw≫ lacked bypass energy conduits, but the cargo transport vessel had them prepared.

Dawson moved the ≪Big Jaw≫ to a position near the cargo transport vessel’s jump drive. The repair robot piloted by Oine transferred from the ≪Big Jaw≫ to the transport vessel, and began establishing the bypass connection between the two ships.

While Oine worked busily with the robot, Dawson verified the escape route.

If they continued fleeing along the Star Arm Nebula (main route), the frequency of SU vessel patrols would make detection inevitable.

A detour through the Interstellar Side Route (sub route) was necessary. However, the super-sized cargo transport vessel, carrying twenty million cocoons, could not navigate certain sections. These included regions with uneven cosmic particle density, or proximity to a High-Gravity Planet—reasons varied.

In addition, the freighter could not return directly to the pirate mother ship, Hamano Onna. If it performed a jump using the freighter's spatial jump capability, the high mass of the vessel would inevitably allow the SU fleet's spatial jump tracking device—Warp Tracer—to accurately pinpoint the destination. Jumping into the Hamano Onna's vicinity without caution would mean guiding SU fleet vessels straight to the pirate base.

For this reason, the freighter had to evade SU fleet tracking completely and perform a jump from a location where the jump point could not be determined.

The escape route required to reach such a location had become an exceptionally complex path.

Use the Star Arm Nebula and the Interstellar Side Route alternately to jump away from regions with active stellar flares. The flare activity will obscure the jump trail, but to be safe, jump again from near another star before returning to the region containing Hamano Onna via the Interstellar Side Route, which is wide enough for large vessels. It is simple to describe, but the journey will take ten days.

There will be no moment of relief during the movement.

Whether in the Star Arm Nebula or the Interstellar Side Route, avoid detection by other ships and prevent reporting to SU vessels. Do so while carrying the heavy load of a supply transport.

A significant challenge, but Dawson had confidence in his ability to complete it.

"Never thought experience with harassment at the Officer Academy would be useful in a place like this."

A certain instructor had held Dawson in particular disdain.

The instructor assigned a simulation exercise on the electronic grid, directing the transport unit to proceed toward a designated location.

The difficulty level was structured so that those from better family backgrounds received easier tasks, while those from poorer backgrounds faced greater challenges. Dawson, an orphan with no family lineage, had no choice but to confront an exceptionally difficult assignment.

One path appeared, at first glance, to be passable without intervention. Dawson, guided by a sense of unease, deployed a reconnaissance vessel ahead of time. Intelligence reported a large number of pirates stationed along that route. The force was far greater than the transport unit's defensive capabilities could withstand.

The situation had become significantly unrealistic at this point. Yet, if the exercise was meant to simulate impossible scenarios, there was no counterargument to be made.

Dawson hurriedly found an alternate route, choosing a location so perilous that a single misstep would result in total unit annihilation—ideal ground for ambush, yet devoid of concealment—and managed to complete the task somehow.

"Compared to that task, this one takes longer but is safer. Good warm-up."

"Dawson, this operation is complete. Jump is possible at any time."

"Understood. Then, jump to the next sector!"

After moving a short distance from the location where the escape pods were dispersed, the *Mandible* and the cargo transport vessel performed a long-range spatial jump.

After re-emerging into normal space, they navigated cautiously outside the detection range of other vessels, avoiding detection as they traversed the Star Arm Nebula and the Interstellar Side Route.

When a location prevented maintaining distance beyond cognitive range, the Long-Range Perception System on the *Mandible* continuously scanned the surroundings. If another vessel approached, the *Mandible* would first drive it away from the vicinity before proceeding through the sector with the cargo transport vessel.

Upon reaching the end of the route, a star constantly emitting flares, the ship approached as close as its heat tolerance allowed before initiating long-range jump. The jump coordinates appeared to shift due to flare wind interference, causing difficulty in determining the current position after the jump.

They employed every possible tactic: jumping from near satellites that orbited a planet multiple times in a single day to evade detection, navigating through the Star Arm Nebula while concealed within a meteor’s tail, and having Oine relay false information about ship sightings in the Interstellar Side Route at a completely incorrect location.

After meticulously applying every precaution, and after both Dawson and Oine had concluded that no pursuit was detected, they initiated a long-range jump from an unobserved region of space toward the sector where the pirate mother ship Hamanoonna was located.