Chapter 164: Final Battle – Climax

The pirate fleet and the space fleet faced each other, nearly equal in number. The final battle began.

Just before that, a problem emerged.

After the brief pause following the fighting, the pirates had calmed down and realized that Major Alma’s command meant sacrificing their own.

The pirates refused to fight under Major Alma’s command and requested Dawson’s leadership.

Dawson, knowing such division at this stage was unacceptable, declared he would take overall command from Major Alma.

Major Alma, who had seemed likely to protest, agreed without hesitation.

‘They were never mine to command. Returning them is natural.’

‘If you saw them as borrowed, I wished you had stopped wasting them.’

That’s a matter of differing perspectives. From my standpoint, artificial intelligences with guaranteed performance were more useful than pirates of low capability.

Dawson now understood that Major Alma was judging by the values of the Amato Imperial Japan.

In the Amato Imperial Japan, humans and artificial intelligences were considered equal, and high capability was respected.

Under both standards, it was impossible to prioritize low-capability pirates over artificial intelligences.

Yet this place was the Orion Arm.

There was no value placed on human life, but artificial intelligence was a banned technology, treated as less than an impersonal computer.

Under those value criteria, it was standard practice to sacrifice artificial intelligences to preserve human life.

Failing to reconcile these conflicting value systems before entering war was a lapse on Dawson’s part as supreme commander.

"Over is over. From now on, you follow my orders."

"Lower ranks always say that. But as long as you're giving decent commands, I'll obey quietly."

"If you have no intention of following orders, you're out of the fight."

"Wait, really? The has a决战 cannon. You'll need it in battle, won't you?"

"It can be managed without it."

"...Really? Damn. You might actually pull it off. Fine. I'll follow your orders."

Having secured a promise from Major Alma, Dawson resumed combat with the fleet.

In a battle of roughly equal numbers, equipment quality, unit training, and morale would decide the outcome.

The pirates had ships with weak armaments and low training levels—typical for pirates. But with command now transferred from Major Alma to Dawson, who had a reputation for never losing, morale had risen significantly.

The military fleet, old and new, was uniformly military-grade with high-quality equipment. Crews had been trained by specialized institutions, ensuring consistent proficiency. However, with the fleet size reduced to less than half, morale was considered at its lowest.

Given these personnel, the military held a slight advantage in equipment and training.

Yet such a margin would be negated by a single tactical decision in combat.

"Enemy strength in numbers and brute force is no longer viable. With calm judgment, they are not unbeatable."

Dawson immediately after combat initiation addressed the pirates and allies alike, urging them to maintain focus and morale. At the same time, he issued clear, simple commands to coordinate the allied fleet’s movements.

The effect was immediate. For every one of Dawson’s ships lost, the fleet lost three.

“Expected the non-destruction rate to stabilize around two to one. Surprisingly, we’re holding the advantage.”

Oine spoke praise, yet her tone suggested the numbers did not add up.

To Dawson, it was self-evident.

“The advantage stems from the fleet’s prior engagement. They expended a high number of barrier ships. Morale is low. No matter how powerful a battleship, how skilled the crew, low morale prevents full operational capability.”

“Is that a matter of spirit?”

“War is spirit. An army without resolve will flee at the sound of a bird in the woods.”

“An Earth-era anecdote.”

Dawson continued explaining the importance of morale while observing the fleet’s movements.

The fleet commander is known to favor stability, but is not incompetent. Above all, he is capable of decisive action when personal safety is at stake.

It follows that such a commander understands the importance of morale and can be expected to deploy measures to restore it.

Yet, within the current fleet, options for boosting morale are limited.

The fleet is operating with most of its allies lost.

A speech would be ignored by crew members who see it as the words of an ineffective leader.

Promises of postwar rewards or medals carry little weight when survival is not guaranteed.

Attempts to enforce discipline through strict measures only provoke crew resistance and fail to improve morale.

There is a method to replace the commander, but it applies only when a more renowned individual exists than the current one.

In essence, raising morale within the space fleet remains a difficult situation.

Even under such conditions, there exists one reliable method.

It is the destruction of a prominent enemy vessel.

For example, a battleship equipped with a decisive cannon.

"Enemy high-energy signature. Decisive cannon."

"How many?"

"One."

Upon receiving Kiwaka's report, Dawson crossed his arms.

Only one decisive cannon in the space fleet? Or are others concealed?

As he considered this, the space fleet fired its decisive cannon.

A straight line of luminous flow extended toward the target: the <>.

The vessels near Mount Okuhodak and the nearby area had begun evasive maneuvers the moment they detected the energy response from the决战 cannon, and only a few positions sustained damage due to unfortunate circumstances.

Bella reports that complaints have arrived from Mount Aokigahara despite the minimal damage sustained.

"Captain Dawson. Lieutenant Colonel Alma is complaining that the evacuation order should have been issued earlier."

"Tell him to avoid it on his own from now on—he'll be targeted by the Ōhotakagō for the foreseeable future."

Why am I being targeted?

"Dawson is conspicuous. And since it was the flagship until just now, it's an ideal target from the perspective of the space fleet."

In fact, the space fleet is concentrating fire on the surrounding fleet of .

The posture suggested that the fleet believed lowering the Ōhodaka would boost morale among the space fleet—or weaken the pirates’ resolve.

The flagship currently was the Sparrow Hawk. The space fleet was mistaken.

Dawson decided to exploit that mistake to shift the situation in his favor.

"Communicate with the Whale Wave. Move to a position shielding the Ōhodaka. Deploy the barrier and defend it. Separate from the Sparrow Hawk—act under the Ōhodaka’s command as you did earlier."

While Beira transmitted the order to Dika, a question arrived from Oine.

"Still pretending the Ōhodaka is the flagship, to skew enemy fire pressure and make it easier for the others to maneuver?"

"That's correct. The worse the situation for the Space Navy becomes, the more they will focus on destroying our flagship. If we establish a decoy flagship, we can render all their actions pointless."

"Thinking deviously again. As expected of Dawson."

Dawson shrugged at the praise laced with reproach.

"I don't intend for the Ōhodaka to sink. I've assigned the Kujira波 as its escort."

"But the longer the battle drags on, the greater the risk becomes, isn't that true?"

"I know. From here on, it's a short-term engagement."

Dawson routed the communication to Ida.

"Ida. Is the Katsuo still operational?"

"Affirmative! In fact, it's been confined to inactivity for too long—frustration has been building!"

Ida's Katsuo and its subordinate vessels were assault-class AI-equipped warships.

Under Major Alma, who had sought to preserve the AI warships, they had likely never been given a chance to act.

"Be glad. The enemy's focus is on the Ōhotaka. This is the opportunity to strike their flank."

"Shout of defiance toward the enemy forces! Target location?"

"Send route instructions. Full speed and full firepower."

"Understood! Proceeding at full speed!"

The Katsuo and its thousand subordinate vessels detached from the main formation. They moved beyond the detection range of the Imperial Navy's radar, then continued at full speed around the edge of detection, circling toward the enemy forces.

Dawson moved the pirate fleet in sync with Ida's actions.

To further draw the enemy's attention and serve as a diversion for Ida's defiant advance toward the enemy forces.

Intense artillery fire continued. Damage inflicted on both fleets accumulated steadily.

Despite the damage sustained, the pirates' morale remained high. Dawson's speech, claiming victory was within reach, sustained their resolve. Meanwhile, the fleet began a slow retreat. The intent to distance themselves from the artillery fire was evident.

In this situation, the fleet's artillery ceased for a single instant. Then, a significant number of weapons shifted aim to a different direction.

That direction was the intended path of the Katsuo fleet.

It appeared the fleet had realized, the moment they detected the Katsuo on radar, that the Katsuo's declaration of intent would be the decisive factor in the battle.

The fleet commander was capable, but cautious. It was precisely because of that caution that he became frantic when forced to respond to bold maneuvers.

Dawson's strategy using the Katsuo had two stages.

The first stage was that, if the Katsuo's cry shattered the enemy formation, the pirates could exploit the resulting disorder to gain a more favorable position.

The second stage was that even if the enemy detected the Katsuo's cry, they would be forced to respond on two fronts, causing their own disarray. The pirate fleet's main force would then strike through that opening.

The fleet had fallen exactly into Dawson's two-stage trap.

"All ships, advance at maximum speed. Full broadside fire. Annihilate the enemy fleet in one strike!"

In response to Dawson's order, every pirate vessel surged forward and unleashed concentrated fire, applying immediate pressure.

In response, Ida’s Katsuo fleet surged forward, aligning their bows toward the enemy and unleashing a full-volume shout. They advanced through the enemy formation at an angle, maintaining offensive momentum despite a few vessels dropping out.

Crushed by the pirate fleet, their formation shattered by the Katsuo fleet, the space forces were in complete disarray.

Morale, already low, had now collapsed entirely.

From the space forces, a surrender request was transmitted to the pirate fleet.

It was not a collective surrender. Individual ships from the space forces were sending surrender signals independently.

In other words, the space forces’ vessels were ignoring orders from the flagship, choosing to cease combat on their own.

The fact reached the Supreme Commander of the Space Fleet. The fleet’s movements changed the moment the surrender offer was made.

It had left the surrendering vessel at this location and begun withdrawing with the other ships.

"Another tail-cutting trick. Lacking originality."

It is not a clever move, but it is undeniably effective.

The pirate faction must secure any vessels from the surrendered fleet that emerge.

Pursuing the fleeing main force of the space fleet could result in the surrendered vessel reactivating its targeting systems and attacking the pirate fleet from behind.

One might think attacking each surrendered vessel with the main fleet would be a mistake.

If the pirate fleet learns the main fleet will not accept surrendering vessels, every ship in the navy’s main force will fight to the death.

The difference between pirates and navy lies in morale.

Using a method that forces desperation—reviving morale in a way that might inadvertently lead to the pirates’ defeat—carries risk.

“This is a good place to hold.”

Dawson allowed the navy’s main force to retreat, but decided to seize the surrendered navy vessels.

He would not let the main force escape unharmed.

He ordered Ida’s mackerel fleet to harass the enemy main force, and requested the three battleships, including the Ōhodaka, to fire their决战 cannons until the navy’s main force escaped beyond range.

The action of hunting down the defeated forces remained, but the outcome of the decisive battle was largely determined.

The result of the engagement was clear: the pirate fleet had reduced the naval force from one hundred thousand vessels to seventy thousand, while the imperial fleet had been reduced from two hundred thousand to fifty thousand. The victory lay with the pirates.