Episode 79: Operation Selection

Dawson maneuvers the Sparrow Hawk and allied vessels along the surface of Chicken Ball. He then shifts trajectory to re-emerge into space from the Antarctic sector, aligning with the fleet led by Dika's Escort Battlecruiser. At the same time, he dons a mask and transmits a signal to the pirates positioned around Chicken Ball.

"Listen. 200 SU Navy vessels incoming. All damaged. I'll give you a chance to earn credits. Make it worth my while."

Dawson speaks with arrogant confidence. Almost all the pirates respond with variations of "We know what to do without being told."

Without pause after the reply, a pirate vessel near the Sparrow Hawk moves. It initiates motion to finish off the surviving S.U. Space Force vessel that once suffered from Chicken Ball’s defensive weapons after chasing the Sparrow Hawk.

Watching the scene on the monitor, Kiwaka speaks with mild confusion.

“A pirate ship has a fighter attached to it?”

Upon closer inspection, the weapon familiar to Dawson and Oine appears.

“A kamikaze unit. That can pierce even a pirate ship or an orbit patrol cruiser.”

Oine speaks on behalf of the pair, sending the kamikaze unit’s design data to Kiwaka.

“Huh. This was your creation, Captain Dawson and Oine? But it’s not installed on the Sparrow Hawk.”

"The Chicken Ball was developed out of necessity, Captain Dawson and Oine. A weapon created to destroy an Orbit Patrol Cruiser with a weakly armed pirate vessel. The Sparrow Hawk, equipped with a battleship-class turret, does not need it."

"The kamikaze unit has high attack power, but surprisingly short range. It is also expensive. It cannot be used frequently by pirate vessels that pay for their own equipment. There is little practical use. This time, due to the crisis facing the Chicken Ball, General Kernel authorized its deployment."

While speaking, the Sparrow Hawk moved through space, accelerating toward the location where the Escort Battlecruiser would return.

As the Sparrow Hawk approached the rendezvous point, the motion of a Charged Particle Beam became visible ahead along its course.

A fleet led by the Escort Battlecruiser was engaged in combat with an enemy fleet.

At maximum zoom, the number of Escort Battlecruisers in the fleet had decreased.

"Approximately thirty."

"Exactly twenty-eight remain."

"Higher casualties than expected."

The enemy fleet's formation remained disorganized. In such a formation, coordinated firing was difficult, which should have reduced damage.

Dawson thought this was the case, but reality differed.

He understood why when observing the enemy fleet's gunfire.

"Damn. They're concentrating fire, sinking one ship at a time."

As Dawson had deduced, the enemy fleet was employing a strategy of concentrating fire on a single target at a time.

Combat in space had greater distances between friendly and enemy units than combat within planetary atmospheres.

Small differences in gun angle result in large deviations in impact location due to the wide distances involved. Hitting a maneuvering vessel directly, even when aiming deliberately, is difficult.

The enemy fleet resolved this issue by overwhelming the target with volume of fire.

They swept through the expected position of the targeted vessel and its surrounding area by coordinating dozens of ships to fire simultaneously.

This tactic allowed coordination even if the formation was disorganized and the fleet as a whole could not move in unison. Only ships in coordinated positions needed to act in concert.

"Adapting well to the situation."

Dawson raised the enemy commander's threat level by one stage, yet felt relief that it remained within the worst-case scenario he had anticipated.

Allied ship damage was significant but not beyond recovery. Escort Battlecruisers remained operational. The enemy fleet was approaching the Chicken Ball too closely in pursuit. The situation matched the general outline Dawson had anticipated.

Dawson observed how the enemy fleet would respond in the next phase of the operation. He coordinated the fleet led by Sparrow Hawk with the fleet led by the Escort Battlecruiser.

"Move northward toward the Chicken Ball's pole while performing evasive maneuvers."

Dawson issued the order to the allied fleet. He directed fire from Sparrow Hawk toward the enemy fleet.

The enemy formation was irregular. Distances between ships varied widely. He targeted isolated clusters of enemy vessels. Concentrated groups were more likely to be hit.

Whether aware or not of Dawson’s intent, the escort battlecruisers and other allied vessels began attacking the same location.

Coincidentally, they replicated the area attack, inflicting damage on the enemy fleet.

The enemy fleet, angered by the damage, increased its pursuit speed.

Dawson fired at the lead ships of the enemy fleet to disrupt their advance. The allied fleet followed suit.

The lead enemy ship was hit, exploded, and scattered. The blast seemed to blind the enemy fleet, slowing their momentum.

"Good. Use this opening to increase distance."

Dawson gathered the allied ships and accelerated toward the northern pole of Chicken Ball.

The enemy fleet, having distanced itself from Dawson and his group, ceased pursuit. It then altered course to move further away from Dawson and his group.

"Where does the enemy fleet intend to go?"

Dawson answers the question in Kiwaka's voice.

"Report. They are attempting to secure the surface from the Antarctic sector of Chicken Ball."

"Why from the South Pole?"

The southern polar region of Chicken Ball is currently unguarded. The pirates are currently attacking the surviving vessels of the SU Space Force, the ones we previously lured toward Chicken Ball and destroyed. The enemy fleet's objective is to capture Chicken Ball.

It is logical to ignore Dawson and his group and attempt to seize control from within the Chicken Ball.

Additionally, reducing personnel and vessels is one of the objectives for the S.U. Space Fleet. A forced landing on the enemy base will naturally result in casualties.

After hearing Dawson's assessment, Kiwaka stiffened her slender shoulders in anger.

"Why are you so calm when the enemy is about to enter the Chicken Ball!"

"Because it falls within my expectations. In fact, I'm relieved it has come to this."

Dawson gave Kiwaka a cryptic reply, then immediately repositioned the fleet. Instead of heading toward the North Pole, he directed it to pursue the tail end of the approaching enemy fleet, now moving toward the South Pole.