Episode 84 Suppression

The personnel of the SU Space Force attempt to seize control of the Chicken Ball at all costs, even abandoning their vessels. As time passes, the number of survivors decreases.

Despite deploying tens of thousands of personnel, why does this happen?

Because combat inside the Chicken Ball occurs primarily along corridors where barricades have been erected.

Chicken Ball corridors are designed to allow people to pass each other easily.

Even so, the width allows no more than five people to walk side by side.

In corridors of this width, it is impossible to deploy personnel broadly.

Even with tens of thousands of combatants on the SU Space Force side, at most fifty can engage in gunfire along the corridor at once.

If engaging from behind corners, twenty combatants would be the maximum that could participate effectively.

It might seem logical to disperse forces during a single engagement, given the fixed number of participants allowed. But Chicken Ball is an artificial construct within the satellite. The number of corridors is limited, so personnel inevitably become redundant.

In essence, the advantage of numerical superiority is not fully realized.

Chicken Ball faces the same restriction on combatant numbers.

Yet we have barricades. Defensive positions that halt enemy advances, serve as cover for gunfire, and allow for one-sided shooting from concealment.

Even with fewer available troops than the SU Space Force, we can reduce casualties while steadily eliminating the enemy.

When the barricades begin to deteriorate under SU Space Force attacks, we retreat to the next barricade, leaving only a minimal rearguard. Resistance remains possible at the new position.

In essence, the combination of personnel limits and full utilization of defensive positions made achieving a favorable kill-to-death ratio possible.

From this disparity, SU Space Force gradually diminished in number.

On the Corridor of Chicken Ball, dead androids and soldiers of SU Space Force lay scattered, their numbers increasing.

Meanwhile, Dawson and the pirates suffered minimal casualties—most losses were combat androids or Engineer Robots.

One side showed visible human casualties. The other showed none.

This contrast further affected SU Space Force.

‘It’s no use. Fighting like this will only get us killed.’

A soldier from SU Space Force clutched a pulse rifle in hand and voiced despair.

Not just this soldier.

Similar sentiments of pessimism emerged from numerous SU Space Force personnel across other locations.

Morale had declined visibly.

‘There is no ship left to return to. There is no way to survive except by securing this pirate base!’

The unit commander issued a sharp rebuke, but the response from subordinates was slow.

Rather, knowing there was no other path to survival had already driven some to despair.

‘I don’t want to. I can’t take this anymore!’

Eventually, one soldier dropped his pulse rifle and fled. There was no escape route, yet he ran directly toward the large opening connecting the interior and exterior of Chicken Ball.

Elsewhere, another group charged a barricade in tattered condition, only to be killed by concentrated fire.

Firing on comrades in frenzy, then eliminated in counterattack. Advancing with hands raised and white flag displayed, the pirate refuses surrender and is shot dead. Sitting in the corner of the corridor, trembling, unable to move. Fighting among soldiers over minor incidents. And so on.

Dawson observed the signs of collapsing command structure through surveillance camera footage and audio from directional microphones.

"About time we push through."

Dawson issued orders to Ida. Move out from the barricade and press the enemy.

‘Understood. All units, advance! Drive out the enemy!’

Ida led her unit over the barricade and opened fire.

The SU Space Force response was slow. They had not expected an attack from behind the barricade. The lead soldier fell instantly. The following troops raised their weapons in panic, but were quickly consumed by gunfire.

Some soldiers, paralyzed by the sight of their comrades dying, began to retreat. Others, unable to comprehend the situation, tried to hold them back.

At that moment, Ida’s portable thermal beam projector—laser bazooka—flared to life.

A thick beam, half the width of the corridor, engulfed the SU Space Force soldiers. It passed through the wall, creating a large hole.

Along the beam’s path, bodies of soldiers and androids lay where the light had struck—vanished.

"Hi—hiiii!"

Before the sight of many comrades dying at once, the surviving soldiers turned and fled.

Eida and her subordinates did not allow the escape.

‘Hahahaha—where are you going?’

Eida switched her weapon to a rotating-barrel laser (Gatling laser), sweeping the soldiers down with a barrage of light.

Her subordinate combat androids and engineer robots fired at the backs of the soldiers.

Soldiers fell one after another in the Corridor.

From the fallen soldiers, the engineer robots collected rifles and energy packs, loaded them, and passed them to the combat androids. The combat androids carried two weapons— their own and the handed one—and eliminated enemy soldiers.

As Ida and the others pursued the fleeing soldiers, a new unit of SU Space Force troops appeared at the end of the Corridor.

‘H-help me!’

‘What!?’

‘Damn it! They brought enemies with them!’

The second unit tried to raise their weapons, but were already within Ida’s range. A shower of rotating barrel laser beams—Gatling laser—cut through the new enemy forces.

Numerous objects rolled into the feet of the panicked soldiers, already reeling from the loss of comrades.

These were hand grenades, recovered by the Engineer Robot from the previously fallen soldiers, now all thrown at once.

‘Flag—’

One soldier began to warn, but the grenades detonated simultaneously. The explosive force and flying shrapnel reduced many of the soldiers to fragments.

Corridor blurred by smoke from explosives and blood fumes, split by beams from Ida and her subordinates’ ray rifles.

More soldiers fell, one after another. Those who lost morale began to flee—toward where their comrades should have been, as if guided by Ida’s group.

Trapped ahead by barricades, pressed from behind by Ida’s unit, SU space forces disintegrated one after another.

On Dawson’s monitor, red dots representing enemies vanished in succession.

As enemy units diminished, the number of Chicken Ball forces available for pursuit increased.

The elimination of enemy units accelerated. Eventually, only one SU space force unit remained.

“This is already decided.”

Without ships and having lost many comrades in close combat, there is no way for the SU space force to recover from here.

At least, Dawson could not think of one.

Dawson looked away from the fighting inside Chicken Ball and turned to confirm with the Sparrow Hawk crew.

“Kiwaka. Is there any new enemy vessel on radar?”

“None. We’ve had the pirates sweep the surrounding space for confirmation, but no sighting reports or destruction indicators.”

“Oine. Any additional information on the enemy ship?”

“Through General Kernel, we’ve requested data from corporations. The outlook is that no further SU space force units are incoming.”

“Anyone else notice anything suspicious?”

Bela, Corry, and Hitokane all shook their heads. Nothing was suspicious.

Dawson had reviewed the information himself, but could not find any indication that the Chicken Ball was in danger.

"Then, if we eliminate the remaining enemy forces, we can consider this battle concluded."

"Looking back, it was a decisive victory for our side."

Dawson scratched his head, a sensation he could not process, in response to Oine's words of blessing.

"A decisive victory. That is accurate, but I can't help thinking we might have avoided more casualties."

There had been little loss of life on Dawson's side during this engagement. Only the pirates intercepted on reconnaissance and those accidentally killed during corridor defense.

Material damage was significant. The fifty vessels initially present were reduced by half, and numerous Engineer Robots and combat androids had been destroyed during the gunfire exchange. Supplies used for barricades were also deteriorated by combat effects, making direct reuse impractical.

Even ≪Chicken Ball≫'s defensive weapons sustained damage from artillery fire originating from SU Space Fleet vessels. A large number of space torpedoes had been expended, and several launch tubes were rendered inoperable due to detonations occurring near them. Large craters remained where SU Space Fleet vessels had struck.

Dawson held a sense of pride that he had won using every capability at his disposal. Yet, observing the extent of the damage, he considered whether a better outcome might have been achieved under more favorable conditions.

Still, Dawson possessed the intellect to recognize that such thoughts were not mere arrogance.

Thinking about what is finished serves no purpose. Focus on the repair of the Chicken Ball instead.

You must pay attention to how the corporation might change its stance now that you have defeated the S.U. Space Force.

Dawson waved a hand in response to Oine’s advice. "I know." He read the transmission from Ida: "Combat concluded. Proceeding to clear remaining personnel." He leaned back into the captain’s chair and exhaled deeply.