Episode 54: A New Order

Even after Dawson acquired the Chicken Ball, the lives of the other pirates remained unchanged.

Although General Kernel was officially still alive, all facilities within the Chicken Ball functioned as they had before.

Some pirates had sustained injuries from Dawson's Engineer Robot during the conflict at Kizaki, or had suffered damage to their vessels from the Escort Battlecruiser. Yet those pirates received medical treatment and repairs, and compensation. Relations were not fully restored, but the individuals who might have incited unrest through open dissatisfaction were no longer present.

These factors were the primary reasons the pirates' lives remained unchanged.

However, behind the official narrative, General Kernel’s cybernetic unit had been destroyed and was now faking survival. The management of Chicken Ball’s facilities had been transferred from the original cybernetic system to an artificial intelligence disguised as an Amato Imperial Japan construct, manufactured by S.U. The pirate crew members affected were silenced through payment of non-disclosure fees.

The most significant of these hidden truths involved negotiations between the pirates’ supporters, TR, and the corporations backing Chicken Ball.

From the surviving data of the mountains of cybernetic systems that once constituted General Kernel, a portion of usable information had been recovered.

Thus, the method of establishing contact had been roughly determined.

The issue remained, however, on who would conduct actual negotiations with TR or the corporations.

"I can't be the one to approach them. I can't afford to provoke another conflict with General Kernel."

Dawson considered the matter, then decided to train one of the artificial intelligences to emulate General Kernel. The purpose was for the AI to perform as General Kernel.

Conversations exchanged during the subjugation of Chicken Ball, salvaged fragments of damaged records from the data net, speeches stored in the database.

These were fed into the AI until it could mimic General Kernel accurately.

Such a superficial measure would inevitably cause unease among TR and the corporations, long-standing trading partners.

But Dawson did not consider that a problem.

Whether TR or the corporations viewed General Kernel as slightly altered or unchanged, they would still be able to conduct business as before.

If one speaks in extreme terms, then TR could manage pirates to inflict damage on SU, and corporations could use unapproved prototypes and artificial intelligence without public exposure. It would not matter if the leader of Chicken Ball were not General Kernel.

"Realistically, there is a trust issue. Continuing dealings with an unknown individual is not feasible. That is why General Kernel must remain alive."

At least until a successor was chosen and the successor established new trust with the trading partners, General Kernel's existence remained necessary.

And there were matters to consider beyond General Kernel.

Having occupied the position, it became necessary to improve Chicken Ball's operations.

The artificial intelligences installed in the 10,000 Engineer Robots.

Without accurately deploying the artificial intelligences across Chicken Ball's locations and establishing a dedicated network among the AIs, Chicken Ball's operations would inevitably face disruption.

"Can't afford to skip the external伪装—must make them look like cyber-mechanics."

Distribute the AIs to their assigned locations. Assign appropriate external casing to each. Provide operational manuals for their designated tasks.

Once this is completed, the AIs manufactured in Amato Imperial Japan will function diligently—performing their duties thoroughly, without oversight.

Dawson methodically executed all necessary tasks for managing Chicken Ball.

Five days after the occupation, Dawson had finished every task required to govern Chicken Ball.

"Ugh. The effort required for running a base simulation at the Officer Academy versus actually doing it—there's a difference."

"Good work, Dawson. I'm sorry to bother you, but a dispatch has arrived from Amato Imperial Japan."

"Dispatch from headquarters?"

Dawson raised an eyebrow, then requested Oine display the order on the monitor.

The monitor of the <> unit enlarged the order issued by the rear operations chamber of Amato Imperial Japan.

Dawson read the content, then furrowed his brow.

"Return home temporarily? I don't recall being summoned."

"Though it doesn't say so in the order, perhaps it's an advancement?"

"That would be welcome, but it might be something else…"

Dawson remained uncertain, but military personnel obeyed orders. He immediately began preparing to return to Amato Imperial Japan.

Dawson had informed Ida and the others that he was an entity from another arm of the galaxy. He could depart if he claimed temporary necessity to return.

But Amato Imperial Japan’s location required concealment. SU-made artificial intelligences could not accompany him. They would remain behind at Chicken Ball.

Upon explaining these circumstances, Ida and the others accepted without hesitation.

‘No matter. It will be a good opportunity to test whether Chicken Ball can be operated by artificial intelligences alone.’

‘If you’re going to another arm of the galaxy—bring back some fashion information.’

‘Visual media. Anime. As much as possible.’

‘That’s cheating! I have weapons for combat androids!’

He nodded in agreement and ended the communication.

He immediately rerouted the connection to Dika.

‘Dawson-san, what is it!? I’m busy right now!’

Dawson smiled faintly at Dika’s strained voice. He recalled why Dika alone was communicating separately with Ida and the others.

“Could it be the AI consultations are still ongoing?”

“That’s right! Why do all the new arrivals come to me for advice! I didn’t agree to be the counselor for the AIs at ≪Chicken Ball≫, even though I was forced to take the role of Captain of the Escort Battlecruiser!”

Dawson’s smile tightened at the complaint.

“Dika, people gather to consult you because you take each matter seriously. That’s respect. That’s not a bad thing.”

“But I can’t just ignore someone who comes to me for advice…”

Dawson understood. That was precisely why he had been pushed into the role of Captain of the Escort Battlecruiser.

"If too many consultations are coming in, set up a few AI interfaces for handling them. No need to handle all of it yourself, not just Deca."

"Unh... I'll think about it after I calm down a bit. Right now, I'm barely managing to process the consultations."

"Sorry to bother you while you're busy, but I have something to ask."

"What is it?"

"I need to return home temporarily. Can you look after the Chicken Ball for a short while?"

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

Dawson felt a sense of disappointment at the effortless reply.

"...Ida and the others asked for souvenirs, but Deca doesn't have any?"

"Me? Hmm. Could I ask for souvenirs for everyone who's accompanying me on the Escort Battlecruiser?"

"Fine. Though it'd be better if it didn't cost too much."

Then, could we have a few of the Engineer Robots that Dawson used? We’d like to use them as our terminals.

Is that acceptable?

Yes. They are more advanced than the SU military’s repair robots. They are expected to perform well in repairs aboard the Escort Battlecruiser. And through the Engineer Robots, we can also tour the interior of Chicken Ball.

If you want a mobile body, an android chassis would work.

We don’t need it. None of us insists on humanoid form. We don’t find bipedal locomotion romantic.

Is bipedal locomotion romantic?

Yes. Bipedal movement produces little speed while imposing heavy stress on joints. From an efficiency standpoint, wheeled drive is better.

Dawson thought the request was blunt, yet complied. He assembled twenty new Engineer Robots from repair supplies and sent them to the Escort Battlecruiser.