Episode 26: To Strike Down a Major Target

Dawson returned to the Chicken Ball after capturing one Sky Sweeper during the previous attack.

Dawson needs only the Sky Sweeper's torpedoes. He sells the rest to the Chicken Ball. The Sky Sweeper's equipment is military-grade, so it commands a high price.

"Between the proceeds from selling the Sky Sweeper and the destruction of three SU vessels, and combining that with what we already had, we now have a considerable credit balance."

"Four torpedoes have been acquired. Even if we deploy kamikaze strike craft, we should not face hardship."

"Still, we must consider whether a suitable airframe exists for construction."

To build a kamikaze strike craft, the base fighter must possess speed and evasive capability. Without both, it will be shot down by fire from an Orbit Patrol Cruiser.

"If we're considering options, it has to be a military fighter. For evasion priority, a strike craft under carrier direct control—assault interceptor. For speed, a dogfighting fighter with high maneuverability."

"Pure speed-wise, a civilian drag race aircraft could be considered. It would be unmatched if speed alone is the criterion."

"That aircraft can't turn. If it only knows how to charge straight ahead, a torpedo would suffice."

"Then what about fitting a drag race propulsion system to a torpedo?"

"That's a good idea—but if it only moves straight, it'll be shot down before it reaches the target."

Dawson had initially dismissed it, but he still considered it too valuable to discard.

"If we can deliver a drag race torpedo to the ship's interception limit point, it becomes a decisive weapon. But that's difficult."

What about maneuvering past the ship with the Heavy Jaw and transporting it to that point?

That’s outright impossible. The closer we get to the vessel, the denser the intercepting barrage becomes. Even with my skill and the Heavy Jaw’s speed, we can’t evade every gun emplacement.

Then how about using a close escort fighter to protect the torpedo? It would absorb attacks from the gun emplacements and carry it to the interception limit point.

A heavy fighter, you mean. But that’s a one-way mission. Whether it succeeds or fails, we lose a large number of credits in a single engagement.

Dawson, you’re indifferent to credits anyway. You’d have no problem spending them all here, right?

Indifferent is irrelevant. I’ve never had spare credits for leisure. That doesn’t mean I lack interest.

For example?

That’s… well…

"Can't think of anything on short notice? That means you have no interests."

Caught off guard, Dawson called up a fighter catalog on the physical monitor to deflect the question.

"Regardless. What's needed in a point-defense fighter is the ability to carry torpedoes to their intercept limit while under fire. Armor must withstand two or three direct hits. Propulsion must achieve maximum possible speed. Maneuverability must allow evasion of gunfire to a measurable degree."

"Too ambitious. You'd be better off buying a basic frame and customizing it than selecting a pre-built model from the catalog."

"Custom build, then. Your credits will vanish faster."

"Money from pirate accounts is useless in Amato Imperial Japan. Spend it while you can."

That’s true, but I can’t help it—I keep thinking it’d be better to hold back on payments if I can.

Dawson had grown up in an orphanage. He had donated his salary from the Officer Academy, earned through the military youth school, to the orphanage. He had lived a frugal life for years. He was skilled at saving money, but he had little experience spending large sums at once.

It was precisely because of this mindset that he had chosen to build a pirate ship optimized for long-range artillery—despite sacrificing cargo capacity—because it was less likely to be hit by enemy fire and required fewer repairs.

From Dawson’s perspective, spending a large sum on a custom-built fighter and discarding it after a single use felt like a terrible waste.

“This is a necessary expense, Dawson. But if we don’t need to destroy the Orbit Patrol Cruiser, then it’s unnecessary equipment, isn’t it?”

Dawson hesitated, caught between Oine’s reasoning and his own calculation.

Could he afford to discard mission gains just to preserve credits with no use outside piracy?

“No. Destroying the Orbit Patrol Cruiser is mandatory. Destroy one, and its equipment can retrofit the *Mandible*. After that, torpedoes and fighters will no longer be needed.”

Dawson repeated the logic to himself, then ordered Oine to construct the escort fighter.

Oine complied with full effort.

She allocated every credit from Dawson’s pirate account not required for immediate survival to the project.

Five days after assembling materials, the escort fighter was finally completed at the *Chicken Ball*’s harbor facility.

“Best work I’ve ever done!”

Dawson returned from the dining district to examine the exterior of the *Big Jaw*.

The hull of the *Big Jaw* had adhesive anchors mounted on both sides. On each side, a metallic fragment resembling the character '介' was attached.

As Dawson stared at the anomaly, Oine began speaking with pride.

Built upon the base of the heavy fighter Arrowhead. Armor consists of naval-grade plating fragments arranged in a scale structure over standard armor. This configuration withstands ten direct hits from an orbit patrol cruiser’s main gun. To compensate for increased mass, two high-performance propulsion units designed for drag racing are added, with auxiliary fuel tanks. These provide speed enhancement. The high-speed torpedo is secured between the propulsion units for transport. If the target is reached without destruction, the torpedo’s warhead is triggered upon penetration into the enemy vessel’s interior. If the craft sustains fire exceeding its defensive threshold before reaching the target, the airframe is fragmented via explosive bolts, releasing the drag racing torpedo to strike the enemy vessel with certainty.

Dawson hesitated slightly to Oine’s rapid explanation.

“So, basically. This spear-shaped fighter has enough performance and firepower to sink an Orbit Patrol Cruiser, right?”

“That’s correct! Well, no actual proof-of-concept tests have been conducted, so that’s the caveat on paper.”

“If the specs are sound, that’s acceptable. If it fails, we’ll apply the lessons next time.”

“Next time, Dawson’s account is nearly empty.”

“Earn more, build another. While active with Chicken Ball, we receive payment for destroying S-class vessels. No need to haul prey. That suits the low cargo capacity of the Jaw-Claw.”

Dawson entered the prey selection process with Oine in the bridge of the Jaw-Claw, having acquired weapons likely to be effective, to destroy the SU's Orbit Patrol Cruiser.