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NOTE: This is a "Fastpass" translation. A better translation will come later.

 

Nov 8th, 2024

 

 

INDEX

Chapter 1: Change of registration of Odette II

Chapter 2: Report on the War of Independence

Chapter 3: The second solar sailing ship

Chapter 4: Currently in the War of Independence

Chapter 5: Liberty-class intelligence gathering ship

Chapter 6: The missing intelligence gathering ship

Chapter 7: High waves on the ecliptic

Chapter 8: Pirate ship Odette II

 

 

Illustration by Matsumoto Noriyuki

Design by Shindosha

"Okay, we're awake."

 

Lynn Lambretta, captain of the Hakuoh Girls' Academy Yacht Club, announced gleefully from the captain's seat on the bridge of the training sailboat Odette II.

 

"We've taken control of the FTL booster. The converter reactor is in idle mode, and the automatic check is up, but there are no abnormalities so far."

 

"Confirmed."

 

Yayoi, who was in the engineer's seat, reported. Half of the display that had shown the status of the Odette II's normal propulsion system was replaced with a display related to the FTL engine. After checking the current coordinate system and movement pattern of the FTL booster, Yayoi circulated the necessary data.

 

"There are no abnormalities with the FTL booster at the moment, and no signs of strange spinning. Approach and docking can be done as per usual."

 

"Understood."

 

After checking the data sent, Lynn looked at Marika in the radar/sensor seat.

 

"How is it?"

 

"The data from the FTL booster matches our observations."

 

Even if they had permission, they couldn't just fire off a high-power radar without restraint in the anchorage airspace managed by the star system military. Marika confirmed the current position of the FTL booster, which was anchored at the planned coordinates, using radar and sensor data with a moderately adjusted output.

 

Objects that have been left in space for a long time can enter a rotating state due to radiation from their orbit or parent planet, or tiny gas leaks or vaporization of buried elements. The FTL booster, which was placed in a corner of the anchorage airspace managed by the Tau Star System Military, was in a stable orbit and condition, probably because it had not been long since its last activation.

 

"It looks like we can grab it without too much trouble. What do you think, Ai?"

 

Lynn called out to Ai, who was in the helmsman's seat. She checked the display showing the attitude of the FTL booster and the current position of Odette II.

 

"It's fine. We can rendezvous and dock at this orbit."

 

"Let's go then. Can you hear me guys outside?"

 

Lynn, who was in the captain's seat, called out to the extravehicular work team, mainly made up of first-year students, who were preparing for docking outside the Odette II.

 

"We're entering the military anchorage airspace now. There's no change to the scheduled time of contact with the FTL booster or the start time of the docking procedure. If everything goes well, we'll move up and head up earlier."

 

The unison voices replied "Understood."

 

"Automatic check of the FTL booster completed."

 

Yayoi reported from the engineer's seat.

 

"No abnormalities at present. Operating normally in idling mode."

 

"Understood."

 

Lynn scanned the data passed around from the engineer's seat. The converter reactor, which provides the enormous amount of energy required for the FTL jump, is normally operated at the required power during navigation. Even if there is no immediate need to use it, it is often left in minimum power operation unless it is shut down for a long time. It is easier to keep it running at minimum power than to go to the trouble of restarting a converter that has completely stopped reacting.

 

"Are you changing the category of Odette II?"

 

For a while, Ai will be in charge of maneuvering the ship, and it will be on a course to approach the FTL booster. Marika, who has no more work to do, said this while checking the situation in the surrounding airspace. Although it is an anchorage airspace managed by the military, it is one of the Lagrange points between Tau Star and Sea of the Morningstar, and is far from the satellite orbit of Sea of the Morningstar, so there is not much traffic of spaceships.

 

Marika continued while tracking several spaceships that were on a distant orbit to enter the relay station of Sea of the Morningstar.

 

"I never thought that we would have to do something like an inspection of Odette II in our generation."

 

"It's a category II sublight spaceship, a training sailing ship that had no intention of leaving the star system, and suddenly we're adding the option of a FTL booster."

 

Lynn looked at the image of the FTL booster captured by Odette II's observation system.

 

"If you plan to continue using FTL boosters, I think it's a reasonable recommendation to switch the ship's registry to Category I, which allows FTL speeds."

 

"I agree with that."

 

Marika remembered the time when the vice principal, Black Granny, suddenly appeared in the yacht club room. Seeing that the club president, Lynn, Marika, and several other members were there, the vice principal took out an electronic document that had arrived for Hakuoh Girls' Academy, the registered owner of Odette II.

 

"We have received a recommendation from the Shipping Bureau regarding the registration of Odette II."

 

After projecting a three-dimensional image of the coat of arms, which is essential for official documents, the vice principal briefly conveyed the contents of the recommendation to the club members.

 

"If you plan to continue using FTL boosters with Odette II, you should change the spaceship's registration category from II, which does not allow FTL speeds, to I, which does."

 

"Are you changing the registration category of Odette II!?"

 

Nodding at Lynn's abrupt voice, the vice principal placed the electronic document from the Bureau of Shipping on the table in the club room.

 

"If you're not going to change the category, then you'll have to do something about the FTL boosters. If you want to change the category, then you'll have to go through the necessary procedures yourself."

 

"Are you sure you want to change the category of Odette II!?"

 

Lynn asked in an even more blunt voice.

 

"At the moment, Hakuoh Girls' Academy has no plans to let go of the training sailing ship."

 

The vice principal said in a quiet voice.

 

"We have no intention of letting the students continue to use the training ship with its registration problem. Fortunately, it seems that the Shipping Bureau has also sent over the necessary documents for the category change."

 

The vice principal tapped the electronic document on the table. A list of the enclosed data was displayed like a long scroll, and it began to scroll at a fairly high speed.

 

"When it gets to the stage where the person in charge's authentication or signature is required, please come to the staff room. We will decide as soon as possible on whether to change the category of Odette II or do something about the FTL booster. Is that okay?"

 

Having conveyed everything that needed to be conveyed, the vice principal looked around at the club members.

 

"Do you have any questions?"

 

"Yes."

 

Lynn hesitantly raised one hand. The vice principal nodded.

 

"Lynn Lambretta, please."

 

"I've never done anything like a Category I to II change before, so I'm not sure, but what about the costs and the effort involved?"

 

"If it's a necessary expense, make a budget and submit it. If it's reasonable, it will be approved, but if not, it will just be rejected. Our school will spare no effort in covering the necessary expenses for maintaining the training ship, but we have no intention of paying extra fees to outside agencies or consultants for that purpose. Do what you can yourself. If you can't, state the reason in the budget. Is that okay?"

 

"I understand."

 

Lynn answered, thinking about what she needed to do right away and what she could find out by looking into it.

 

"If you have any questions or concerns, I will come to the staff room right away. Regarding the category change of Odette II, well, I will get back to you by tomorrow."

 

The vice principal nodded with satisfaction, ignoring the murmuring of the club members.

 

"I'll wait."

 

As soon as the vice principal left the club room, the yacht club members who were there started discussing the matter.

 

None of the club members, including Marika, had any reliable data on the category change of spacecraft classified as faster than light and sublight. They started checking the electronic documents sent by the ship bureau and split up to investigate the operating rules, and all of the yacht club's practice plans for that day were canceled.

 

By the end of the day, several facts had become clear.

 

Currently, there are no aircraft registered with a faster than light booster alone in active duty, at least in the current star system.

 

There are no operating laws that govern faster than light boosters alone, and if they want to continue using a faster than light booster on Odette II in the future, they will need to change the category.

 

There is a set procedure for changing category registration, and although it is complicated and time-consuming, the application method is set.

 

Even if Odette II were changed to Category I, the maintenance and operation of the spaceship itself would not change much from the current effort.

 

Lynn declared just before the end of the yacht club activities that day.

 

"This is a good opportunity, so I'll try changing the category of Odette II. This is also a way to earn experience points to operate the spaceship."

 

Odette II was built as a solar sail ship in orbit around the Sea of the Morningstar 200 years ago. At the time, human civilization did not yet have FTL technology, and because it was a solar sail ship that used sunlight as propulsion, its range of operation was limited to the inner planetary systems of the Tau star system.

 

Traveling to and from colonies that were separated by light years from the Stellar Alliance was done by combining long-term sublight travel with cryosleep. A network of giant laser beams, powered by stars, connects the stars, and spaceships depart and accelerate when exposed to laser radiation from the departure point, and decelerate when exposed to laser radiation from the destination.

 

Interstellar space travel that does not exceed the speed of light takes anywhere from a dozen years to several decades depending on the distance from departure to arrival. Over a period of time that allows for several generations to change hands at both the departure and destination points, humanity slowly expanded its living space into the Orion Arm.

 

The practical application of FTL technology changed the universe in a decisive way. Until then, no information had been able to travel faster than the speed of light, and no people or materials had been transported faster than the speed of light. Information arrived before people or materials, and information transmitted across a space measuring light years was at the same time as being in the past by the time it takes light to travel through space.

 

FTL technology made both FTL communication and FTL travel practical. People, information, and goods began to travel between planets that were previously separated by time and space without any time lag, and humanity came to have a common economic sphere.

 

When FTL travel became possible, some of the older generation spaceships were modified to have this capability. What was required for FTL travel was an extraordinarily large acceleration force and the energy required to jump through hyperspace, as well as the strength of the spaceship to withstand it. By using inertial control and anti-gravity technology to increase the apparent strength without relying on actual strength, most spaceships were able to gain the ability to travel faster than light relatively easily.

 

To make it even easier to grant FTL travel capability, FTL boosters were developed. A large number of booster packs were made for older generation spaceships, each of which combined a powerful converter reactor that could supply the energy of an entire planet with a single unit and a propulsion engine to make hyperspace jumps a reality.

 

Once the ship arrives at the destination planetary system, the FTL engine is no longer needed until the next jump. There was even a business, similar to FTL tugboats, where boosters would be swapped for other spaceships after their missions had been completed.

 

The practical application of FTL travel made it possible to manage colonies around their Stellar Alliance. Now able to operate the entire planet as a single economic sphere, humanity pushed forward in pursuit of greater profits.

 

Then, conflict between the Stellar Alliance and the colonies led to a war of independence.

 

The FTL booster, which was first fitted to Odette II when it was known as the White Swan, was apparently installed towards the end of the war of independence, which had been fought for 20 years since 120 years ago. The conversion reactor and FTL engine were manufactured by the Galactic Empire, with which the Empire should have had no contact at the time, and the FTL booster, which was fabricated from makeshift parts likely during the war, was used a few times before going missing.

 

There are several theories as to why the FTL booster was removed from the White Swan and then left alone. However, the yacht club crew who actually operated the Odette II equipped with a FTL booster experienced the reason for this.

 

If the FTL booster is attached, the Odette II will be able to travel faster than light. However, with the heavy booster attached, the solar sails will not be enough to propel the ship, even if the inertial control system is fully rotated, and the ship will lose balance and become difficult to maneuver. In exchange for the advantage of being able to travel faster than light, the lightweight and slender advantages of the Odette II are mostly lost.

 

The Odette II's booster seems to be designed for unmanned operation. It is equipped with a small emergency cockpit that looks like it was taken from a fighter plane, but like a fighter plane, it is not capable of long-term navigation, and it can only control its attitude to a small extent by itself.

 

Fortunately, the attitude of the FTL booster, which had been left in the star system military's anchorage airspace, was stable. It seems that there is no need to add any extra steps to approach and dock the Odette II.

 

"Black Granny said we should either change the category of Odette II or do something about the FTL booster."

 

Looking at the latest status of the FTL booster on the display, Lynn switched the display. It showed the surroundings of Odette II.

 

The military-controlled anchorage airspace is set at the Lagrange point created by Tau and Sea of the Morningstar. The anchorage airspace, which is set as a temporary waiting area for old ships and fleets that have been sealed (mothballed) and are in long-term storage, is vast, but since it is in a planetary orbit far away from Sea of the Morningstar's satellite orbit, there are only a few ships there.

 

"What do you think that means?"

 

"Should we give up ownership of the FTL booster?"

 

Marika spoke one of the answers she had been thinking of.

 

"Otherwise, we should probably hide the FTL booster somewhere it won't be found."

 

"... Right?"

 

Lynn, who was in the captain's seat, clasped his hands in sympathy.

 

"If we just put the FTL booster somewhere that's hard to find, I don't think the Bureau of Shipping or the Star System Military will complain too much if we use Odette II the same way we have been. Considering the hassle of the paperwork involved in changing the category, I think that would be the easiest thing to do, but where is a place to hide it?"

 

"We could either have it blend in with a group of comets in the outer planetary system, or disguise it as an asteroid..."

 

Marika said unsurely.

 

"But Odette II is slower than an average spaceship without the booster, so even if we wanted to keep it nearby so we could use it in an emergency, there's no convenient place to hide it near the Sea of the Morningstar."

 

"Well, we've been doing it without a booster for almost 100 years since it became our training sailing ship, so I guess that's fine."

 

Lynn looked around the bridge.

 

"I wonder when our spaceship will next use its FTL booster."

 

"But once the booster can be used normally, it will be easy to make training voyages to other star systems."

 

Ai, who is in the helm, slowly turns the wheel.

 

"Maybe we could even participate in a solar sailing race."

 

"That would make for some fun, but it would be hard for a 200-year-old antique spaceship to beat the latest solar sailors."

 

Solar sailing ships, which use sunlight for propulsion, are still in active use as sports ships. Solar sailing ships for racing, made with the latest technology, have maneuvering performance that is comparable to that of conventionally powered spaceships. Yacht races are held everywhere, from formula class races held in a variety of star systems with different conditions, from red giants to white dwarfs, to Sunday races in local star systems.

 

"Generally speaking, when you say racing solar sailors, the sails are big, but the body is very delicate and small. Are there any classes that a large solar sailboat like ours can participate in?"

 

"Probably in the unlimited class."

 

Ai carefully adjusted Odette II's position as she answered.

 

"I think Odette II can participate in the unlimited class, which has no restrictions on the size of the hull or sail. With the age of our spaceship, I think we can register it as an antique class, which is a class before we acquired FTL technology."

 

"An antique-class solar sail race is a galaxy-wide event. No, no, it's not a stage where a training sailing ship from a rural girls' school can participate."

 

"But in this neighborhood, ours is the only solar sailing ship left."

 

After completing the final attitude control, Ai put Odette II into slow astern.

 

"Docking."

 

The foremast at the front and the mizzenmast at the rear were deployed to add propulsion, but the solar sail mast at the rear, the largest, was retracted. Odette II slowly made contact with the thick and short FTL booster unit, which only flickered its navigation light dully. The nozzle for normal propulsion was sucked into the docking mechanism on the booster unit, and the locking arm on the booster held down the thin engine of the Odette II.

 

At the same time, several slender space suits carrying thick cables flew from the Odette II to the FTL booster.

 

"Commence wired connection."

 

Lynn announced from the captain's seat. Although it could be controlled wirelessly to a certain extent, the combined booster would not become one with the Odette II unless it was connected by wire. It seems that frequent docking and undocking had not been anticipated, so several wires had to be manually connected to connect the Odette II to the booster.

 

"Connection completed for row A, numbers one to three."

 

"Row B, numbers four to six, docked and secured."

 

"Row C, numbers seven, eight, and nine, connection confirmed!"

 

The control cables were thick, but the connection process itself was not that complicated. So the inexperienced first-year students were sent outside to gain experience in extravehicular work, but thanks to the precise instructions of the second-year students who were on-site supervisors, the work was completed within the scheduled time.

 

"Understood on the bridge."

 

Lynn looked up at Yayoi, who was sitting in the engineer's seat.

 

"Are they here?"

 

"They're here."

 

The sign that the wired connection is complete flashes on the display for the FTL engine.

 

"FTL booster, Odette II connection confirmed. Both the converter and the FTL engine are now under Odette II's control."

 

"Okay, now let's begin the regular inspection and equipment check."

 

Among the mountain of application documents that had to be submitted for the category change, there were many items in which detailed data about the FTL booster itself had to be filled in. These included the manufacturer and model of the converter, the operating period and inspection and maintenance status, detailed operating data including rated output, and the FTL engine data, some of which could only be confirmed when connected to Odette II.

 

If they were to take the data in the application documents seriously, it could become a full-scale performance test of Odette II. The yacht club members calculated the data from available data under President Lynn's command, and for some, they entered arbitrary numbers they had brought in from elsewhere, eliminating as much trouble as possible. Finally, there were some data that could only be confirmed when the Odette II was actually connected to the FTL booster. In order to confirm some numbers and symbols necessary for the category change application, the Odette II docked with the FTL booster for the first time since its last use.

 

"Woosh, here it comes."

 

With a lick of her tongue, Lynn, who was in the captain's seat, brought her own keyboard with her, as the standard equipment was not enough, and began typing on the additional control panel.

 

"I knew it. I thought it would come out like that, it had to be that way."

 

Feeling something uneasy, Marika, who was sitting in the radar/sensor seat, lifted her hips and kicked the step. She jumped diagonally across the Odette II's facing bridge, which was basically weightless when underway, and went around to the back of the captain's seat.

 

"Boss, what are you doing?"

 

"Checking hidden files."

 

Lynn answered, moving her hands busily.

 

"I told you before, the world of Odette II is full of strange hidden files and locked files, so it's not like you can see everything clearly."

 

"Eh, right?"

 

Marika remembered something the chief had told her a long time ago.

 

"The memory capacity is so large that it's hard to believe it's an old spaceship, and it still holds all kinds of data."

 

"Well, I think the ones with the dates from the War of Independence are just battle records, but when I connected the FTL booster, a lot of files that were definitely locked before were open."

 

"Eh?"

 

"I don't remember which files in Odette II's database are locked and which are open, so I thought maybe I was just imagining things. But, the last time I connected the FTL booster, I was in combat mode the whole time I was flying, so I didn't have time to take a good look inside."

 

"Really?"

 

"I thought I'd take my time to check it out when I got back, but when I tried to access the Odette II at the dock from the clubroom on land, the files I thought were open were still closed. So, I was planning to check them the next time I connected the FTL booster, but look."

 

Lynn showed me a list of files lined up on an empty display.

 

"These are battle records from the War of Independence, and from the dates before the end of the war. I don't know if the same files are on the ground, or in our archives or the fleet headquarters in the haunted mansion, but the files that were definitely locked or in stealth mode last time are now visible."

 

Seeing Yayoi in the engineer's seat, who was steadily inspecting the FTL booster, Marika turned her eyes back to the display on the captain's seat.

 

"...So you're saying that the key to the files that were locked on the FTL booster is set up?"

 

"Since we're trying to get the FTL engine to work properly in the converter, the booster has a proper navigation computer as well. There are three systems, normal use, emergency, and backup, as per theory. Although it's not as strong as the Odette II, there is a heavily protected memory area that won't be erased even if you swing it around during FTL travel. If we connect this and the booster, we should be able to exchange keys to confirm each other, so it's not that difficult to set it up so that you can see the files in our database."

 

"That's quite an elaborate mechanism..."

 

Marika remembered that it had been almost a century since the FTL booster had been connected to the Odette II.

 

"It's amazing that the data inside and the key on the other side have survived until now without being erased."

 

"Apart from the boosters, this has always been an active spaceship. The navigation records are also a great history. I should be grateful to my predecessors for not carelessly messing around with it and erasing the data."

 

"Really, even though we've been neglecting it lately, I wonder how our predecessors managed to operate this solar sailing ship back then."

 

Marika looked around the bridge. Lynn was carefully checking the identity of the files that had been unprotected. Depending on the settings, traps could be set up so that everything would be erased if someone carelessly tried to look at them, or that it would self-destruct if someone tried to copy them.

 

"I think it was just a leisurely training voyage in a vast star system. Unless there's a pirate captain on board, no gangster-like smuggling ship or crime syndicate would be interested in a girls' school training ship."

 

After disabling a simple copy prevention trap, Lynn tried to back up the contents of the file just to be sure.

 

"Huh?"

 

As she tried to create a backup in the normal record area, Lynn realized it already existed. A backup of the battle record with the same date had been created in the extremely large database that she regularly accessed.

 

Considering the possibility that the same protected hidden file existed without being hidden from the beginning, Lynn compared the two records just to be sure.

 

"...No."

 

There are several battle records with the same date from the end of the War of Independence. Despite this, just by checking the size, she realized that the battle record that was in the backup from the beginning and the file that was unprotected by connecting to the FTL booster were not the same. Lynn spread out the battle records with the same date on two displays and compared them.

 

"What's wrong?"

 

Marika couldn't read what Lynn was doing from the rapid keystrokes and the display switching one after another.

 

"There are two battle records from the same date."

 

"Yes?"

 

Marika tilted her head, unable to understand what that meant.

 

"The hidden file that became visible is the battle record of the White Swan during the War of Independence. It's not unusual, as it's also in the database. However, when I tried to back up the battle record of the visible file, it asked me if it already existed and if I wanted to overwrite it. It's a battle record from 120 years ago. I wondered if a file that was hidden like this was the same as a normal one, so I checked it."

 

Lynn showed Marika the battle records displayed on the two adjacent displays. The battle records were automatically recorded over time, but one was neatly edited to make it easier to view later, while the other was raw data, with even the smallest details that would normally be deleted recorded in text.

 

"Isn't this before and after editing the battle records?"

 

Not just for battles, but the navigation records of spaceships are automatically recorded by machines. If left as is, they will only get larger, and since only a small portion of the data is needed for battle records or logbooks, it is normal to extract the necessary information later, edit it, and compress it.

 

"That's what I thought at first, but the locations are different."

 

"Huh?"

 

Marika couldn't help but look back at the two battle records. The records also include the current location along with the time.

 

"According to the battle records, the White Swan fought different enemies at different times during the War of Independence."

 

Lynn spoke, clearly separating each word.

 

"Huh!?"

 

Marika asked again.

 

"Well, I've heard that the White Swan is a slow sailing ship, but it has some kind of magical battle record, but is that really true?"

 

"It's not that hard for a spaceship to disguise itself as another spaceship."

 

Lynn started copying the two battle records separately onto his data card. He carefully checked the process, but there didn't seem to be any traps he'd missed.

 

"I wonder if another pirate ship was a substitute, or if it would be easier to rewrite the battle record later. I don't know why they did that, but I've got a copy here now so I can examine it later at my leisure. Now, I wonder if there are any other strange mechanisms I've missed."

 

Odette II, who docked with the FTL engine, checked some of the data necessary for the category change application documents, such as adjusting the power output of the conversion reactor, temporarily operating at full power, and taking the FTL engine's operating records.

 

The integration test ended successfully, although it took a little longer than planned due to the time it took to adjust the conversion reactor. The Odette II put its FTL boosters back into idle mode for a long-term standby, carefully stabilized its attitude after docking out, and left the star system military's anchorage airspace.

 

At the Sea of the Morningstar Relay Station, an unexpected person was waiting for the Odette II's return.

 

All of the solar sails that the Odette II had deployed were retracted before entering its final approach orbit. The Odette II entered the relay station's Pier C68 with a total of nine solar sail masts folded and the slender hull powered by conventional propulsion.

 

Entering a closed pier is much more difficult than docking at an open pier. Unless the attitude and speed are precisely adjusted, it is impossible to fit a spaceship into a closed pier perfectly.

 

Entering the port is easy if the target coordinates and attitude are specified using the automatic ship-raising system. However, because this would not serve as training, the Odette II was operated manually as much as possible when entering the home port.

 

If it was the final entry into the dedicated pier, it would hardly interfere with the operation of other spaceships. At first, it took hours to secure the hull and send a declaration of completion of entry to the control station, but recently, thanks to the members' habit, it has become possible to enter the port in minutes, the same as other commercial spaceships.

 

The door hatch of the closed pier is closed, and while checking that it is airtight, the Odette II is secured in place. A boarding bridge connects the hull to the pier, and the members who have finished today's training flight disembark from the Odette II, having completed their respective roles.

 

After confirming with the club president, Lynn, that the main conventional propulsion engine and the main power source of the bridge had been shut down, Marika closed the external hatch of the Odette II and disembarked from the ship, noticing the club members gathered outside the boarding bridge.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"Jenny?"

 

Hearing the sound of laughter, Lynn suddenly kicked the floor of the boarding bridge and dashed off.

 

"Oh, welcome back."

 

As Lynn jumped out of the boarding bridge onto the pier, Jenny, who was surrounded by uniformed club members, stretched out in a suit. The club members ran up and down and left and right along the straight line connecting Jenny and Lynn.

 

"Jenny!"

 

Lynn took another step and jumped straight towards Jenny. In front of the club members hoping for a hug, Jenny stretched out her hand and caught Lynn’s.

"When did you come back? Space University?!"

 

Lynn jumped up and wrapped one of Jenny's hands in both hands, slowly descending to the passageway.

 

"We just arrived at the relay station. I saw Odette II entering the port from the window of the spaceship, so I thought I'd meet everyone here."

 

Jenny looked around at the faces of the club members around her with a happy look on her face.

 

"I'm glad to see you all doing well."

 

"Yeah, we're still going strong."

 

Lynn looked at Marika.

 

"...What's with that unsatisfied look?"

 

Marika shook her head hastily.

 

"There's no way I was expecting something unexpected like that."

 

"Can I keep giving you that kind of service every time?"

 

Lynn turned her eyes back to Jenny.

 

"Are you going home?"

 

"No."

 

Jenny shook her head with a wry smile.

 

"I've been in contact with my parents, but my father's ambition to use me as a promising candidate for a political marriage hasn't been completely crushed yet. The main family is keeping me in check, but if we actually meet, it's obvious that we'll end up fighting again."

 

"Then we can relax. Do you want to stay at my place?"

 

After saying that, Lynn tilted her head.

 

"What did you come here for?"

 

"You found something amazing in the basement of our school, right?"

 

Jenny looked around at the faces of the club members, then grabbed Lynn’s left arm. She checked the current time on Lynn’s sturdy men's watch. Lynn’s watch displayed both Galactic Standard Time and the local time of Shin-Okuhama City, where Hakuoh Girls' Academy is located.

 

"I'll tell you more about it as we move. Can you give me a ride on the shuttle on the way back?"

 

Hakuoh Girls' Academy has its own shuttlecraft at Shin-Okuhama Airport. The medium-sized shuttle, which can carry all the members of the yacht club on one flight, is used not only for trips to and from the relay station but also for official school events.

 

After storing the Odette II at Pier C68, the yacht club members return to Shin-Okuhama Airport on the school's shuttlecraft. During the short flight, Jenny, who was sitting next to Lynn, explained the circumstances of their return to the club members.

 

"The history of the War of Independence!?"

 

Lynn exclaimed.

 

"Jenny, weren't you in the economics department!?"

 

"That's my major, but I'm also choosing a variety of liberal arts subjects."

 

Jenny began to explain.

 

"That's amazing, as you'd expect from the galaxy's top educational institution that occupies an entire star system, the number of research institutes with their signs alone is in the tens of thousands, and the number of lectures and research you can take and participate in just for liberal arts courses is in the tens of millions."

 

"Um..."

 

Lynn blinked at the numbers, which were literally in a different league to the universities she knew.

 

"It feels like a whole year would be spent just checking off the list..."

 

"That's right. So, there are lectures and subjects that are perfect for every student, but it's said that you need a lottery-like chance or a series of lucky jackpots to find them. Of course, among them are things like etiquette from a long-extinct interstellar civilization, grammar of an ancient language that no one can speak, mysterious religion classes, and incomprehensible talent training."

 

"... What's that?"

 

"Anything goes as long as you can use the excuse of culture or history."

 

"So, are you going to learn the talents of ancient civilizations?"

 

"I went to Space University, and I don't have time to explore such niche subjects. I chose history, and modern interstellar war history."

 

"Honestly?"

 

Lynn gave Jenny a suspicious look.

 

"I didn't know you were interested in history, especially military history."

 

"I like history. You know that we chose between interstellar history and pioneering history, right?"

 

On planets that were part of the former Federation of Colonial Stars, including the Sea of the Morningstar, pioneering history is the history of the planet, starting with planetary discovery, investigation, and settlement, through the War of Independence, and continuing to the present day. Interstellar history is a vast history that began before the establishment of the Galactic Empire, which is the entire universe centered on the Milky Way Galaxy.

 

"I know that, though."

 

Lynn sighed, remembering Jenny's superhuman memory.

 

"I gave up on that direction because I had to memorize so many names and facts of people and places without any rules or rules."

 

"In the first grade, you can't move forward unless you learn a basic knowledge that is considered common knowledge, so of course you have to learn a lot of things other than history. In my case, I chose history, economics, and classical literature, and also basic things like astrophysics and space law for practical use."

 

"There's no way Jenny would choose a useless subject."

 

"Actually, there is no such thing as a useless subject. It's just a matter of whether the probability of it being useful is high or low."

 

Jenny nodded plausibly to the members of the club who were listening to her story with interest.

 

"Among them, if you want to do good business in this universe, history is a required subject, not an elective. You want to know before you meet someone what planet is in its current state and how your business partner has done business with whom."

 

Marika remembered hearing something similar from Ririka.

 

"So, we have a terrible person as the professor in charge of history for the liberal arts course."

 

Lynn looked at Jenny's face again. She rarely hears words like "he." She just went along with the conversation.

 

"What kind of person is a professor at a space university? I can't really imagine it."

 

"You could say he's the perfect choice. He's a member of the imperial aristocracy with a history of tens of thousands of years, and a long-lived species (Methuselah), he's the epitome of a jerk!"

 

Jenny frowned, a rare sight, and spat it out.

 

"You know we come from a pioneer planet with a history measured in centuries, and yet you say that if you want to study history, you should at least study history from over a century ago that has been well-established. That's just full on nasty!!"

 

"Methuselah's historian, huh?"

 

Lynn muttered, causing the cabin to burst into laughter.

 

"A professor who might have seen history with his own eyes. How old is he?"

 

"Age? I didn't ask because it would piss me off. He said he was older than he looks, but long-lived species have an average lifespan that is at least 20 times longer than us, depending on the species. There are even sages who live for 10,000 years. His life is like history, so don't you think it's pretty unfair that he's a history professor?"

 

"I've heard that the students and teachers at Space University are all amazing people, but if that's the case for history, other subjects must be amazing."

 

"They say it's not just eccentrics and weirdos, it's a nest of monsters and cyborgs."

 

"Jenny will be like that too..."

 

Lynn muttered, looked around at the yacht club members in the cabin, and leaned back against the backrest.

 

"...It's not much different."

 

"What!"

 

"Nothing."

 

Lynn sat up and turned to face Jenny.

 

"So, the history of interstellar wars? Isn't the only war around here the War of Independence?"

 

If we expand the scope to include the surrounding star systems, there are plenty of skirmishes and disputes that don't amount to war. However, the only war that Sea of the Morningstar has experienced in its history is the War of Independence.

 

"That's right. The War of Independence for us, known in the galaxy as the Orion Arm Unification War."

 

Jenny spoke the official name, which she had only recently gotten used to.

 

"History from 100 years ago. There aren't many cases of the Empire intervening in a war of independence between a colony planet and a Stellar Alliance, and since it was a unification war during the expansion period, it seems that the battle records of the Empire don't really match those of the Stellar Alliance or the colony planet."

 

Marika nodded. Lynn asked with a slightly suspicious look on her face.

 

"Is that common? The battle records don't add up?"

 

"It's rare for battle records to add up between allies and enemies," Marika answered.

 

"Even if both sides observe the same data, they interpret it differently, and battle results evaluations change depending on the situation and the convenience of the reporter and receiver, so in large-scale fleet battles, it's hard to even compare data. That's why, when it comes to exercises against the Imperial fleet, it's a big job to submit and organize the raw data after it's over."

 

Schnitzer, the combat commander of the Bentenmaru, and Coorie in charge of electronic warfare both spend a lot of time preparing for exercises against the Imperial fleet, which have a set scenario, and writing reports after they're over.

 

"In other words, even though the Unification War was evaluated from the standpoint of the Stellar Alliance and the colony planet alliance, it's just a record of the Empire's Unification War, and there's no way to properly quantitatively evaluate it."

 

Jenny summed up the story.

 

"If you're going to study history anyway, you'd want to know the history of your own planet as a basic knowledge. But it's not like the headquarters of the Independence War was found under our school, along with all its records. Since we're a space university, we can touch the Empire's records as much as we want, and the Stellar Alliance's published records can be accessed as much as we want. So, if we don't get the records of the Independence War headquarters now and make them into a proper history, the facts can be rewritten as much as we want later."

 

"What do you really think?"

 

"I want to show my professor, who acts like he's history, that even a newcomer colony planet has a respectable history."

 

Jenny answered frankly, sticking out her tongue.

 

"When a historian changes his mind, it's best to present him with a newly discovered fact that overturns the established theory. So, what do you think? Has the newly discovered Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet HQ been investigated?"

 

The club members exchanged awkward glances.

 

Lynn spoke up.

 

"It's just not open to the public, but it seems that our underground fleet HQ was originally only known to those in the know."

 

"That would be true, if it was the Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet HQ, not only Sea of the Morningstar would have been there, but people from other planets too."

 

"It would be a different story if it was rediscovered in the basement of a public facility, a museum or a theater, but we're a prestigious girls' school, after all. It's not good for outsiders to come in in broad daylight, even if it's under the pretense of an investigation team or whatever. Besides, it's not like Fleet HQ has any secret weapons lying around from long ago."

 

"It's not like there's nothing there, right?"

 

"Yeah, there's old paper records and a bunch of junk left over when they moved out, but when the War of Independence ended and they became the Galactic Empire, they took all the electronic equipment and furniture they could use when they moved out of Fleet HQ. It's practically empty, and, um, maybe the electrical wiring and lights were still there."

 

"Oh."

 

Jenny frowned a little.

 

"I guess that's the situation. It wasn't destroyed, but it's a war ruin that's been left alone for 100 years, so that's what happens."

 

"Are we going to dive?"

 

"That's what we came back for."

 

Jenny looked out the window. We were about to enter the atmosphere.

 

"Don't worry, I won't disturb your club activities or classes."

 

"Well, I don't really mind if you do."

 

"But first, I need to check all the records that are publicly available."

The next day.

 

It was a normal morning, and Lynn had come to Hakuoh Girls Academy as usual. During the break after the second period, she was called to the yacht club room by her mobile information terminal.

 

Waiting for her was Jenny, who looked like a new teacher in her business suit.

 

"I got your entry pass from the vice principal."

 

Jenny showed Lynn her ID card, the same color as that for faculty and staff.

 

"As expected, it's pretty quick since Space University has been talking to them. It's hard to believe that I had such a hard time negotiating with the vice principal when I was a student here."

 

"Well, it's been over ten years since someone from our school went straight to Space University, and Jenny is the daughter of Hugh & Dolittle Interstellar Transport, which donates a lot to the school, and she graduated with good behavior and excellent grades."

 

"You have to make use of things that you can use."

 

"Is this what you want?"

 

Lynn took out a big old set of keys that had been passed down to the captains of the yacht club for generations.

 

"Here. We'll get to the Fleet Command Center in the depths later, so let's start with what's within reach."

 

Lynn didn't hand the set of keys to Jenny, who was about to take them.

 

"You have your next class, right? You don't have to join me."

 

"Well, as the captain of the yacht club, if you're going to open our archives, I have to be there at least."

 

Lynn jingled her keys.

 

"I don't think the teacher would mind if I was late to class if I was escorted by a current student at Space University."

 

"Even though it's called record research, at this scale it's not much different from archaeological excavation."

 

Jenny looked around the archives, which she hadn't been to in a while, with amusement.

 

"What are you going to do?"

 

There were rows of bookshelves packed to the ceiling. Seeing the pile of old records illuminated by the lights that had been turned on for the first time in a while, Lynn turned her eyes back to Jenny.

 

"If I read them all, I won't have enough time."

 

"Don't worry, I borrowed a new weapon for an occasion like this."

 

Jenny opened the small container she had dragged from the club room to the archives.

 

"What is it?"

 

A slim automated wagon with spherical tires on the ends of its four short legs came out of the container.

 

"An autoscanner. Setting it up before use and analyzing and organizing the collected data is a pain, but this will convert all the text and image records in the bookshelf into electronic data."

 

After turning on the main switch, Jenny opened the top of the cylindrical body and began to pull out the thick transparent crystalline antennas on all four sides. The control panel on the top lit up and the automatic check began.

 

"Scanner?"

 

Lynn looked at the awkward cylindrical wagon, which seemed to be made from whatever parts were available, and at Jenny, who was setting it up with unfamiliar hands.

 

"Are you going to scan all the documents in the archives?"

 

"Not all of them, I guess."

 

After setting the thick crystalline antennas that extended out on all four sides, Jenny ran her fingers over the control panel on the top.

 

"It can't scan electronic records or microfilm, but it should be able to read documents and printouts in bound files."

 

Looking around the endless wall of bookshelves in the archives, Jenny began to set things up in detail.

 

"All of them?"

 

Lynn also looked at the rows of bookshelves that stretched up to the high ceiling, even equipped with sliding ladders.

 

"All of them."

 

Jenny answered nonchalantly. She continued without looking at Lynn’s shocked face.

 

"Don't worry, this is an automatic research robot borrowed from the research department. It was originally developed as a scanner to collect data from libraries of ancient ruins."

 

"Really?"

 

"It depends on the development process, but civilizations that invented writing first wrote it on stone, then on wood, leaves, leather, or cloth. Civilizations that didn't have writing used knots on long strings to record things, or wrote in woven patterns, or carved the surface of sticks into various shapes, or whatever they could think of, so there are mountains of ancient characters that haven't been deciphered."

 

Switching the display, Jenny set the language. Next, moving on to the scan settings. Lynn noticed that the settings Jenny was doing were similar to the procedure for preparing a radar for use.

 

"Whenever a library or archive that has been abandoned for 100 or 1000 years is discovered, the biggest problem is how to read the decaying records. Of course, these files are only about 100 years old, so you can pick them up and read them, but in 300 years the ink may have faded and the paper may have crumbled, and in 1000 years it's impossible to know if the book will still be in the right shape."

 

"1000 years?"

 

Lynn looked around the library again, saying that was too long to be realistic.

 

"I wonder if our school is still open?"

 

"It wouldn't be surprising if Sea of the Morningstar had disappeared."

 

Jenny answered nonchalantly.

 

"No one knows how long this file will be readable in this form, but the chances of it being preserved in this form after 500 or 1000 years are not very high. That's why we're making copies and storing them now. For both Hakuoh Girls' Academy and the Sea of the Morningstar Government, it's not a bad idea for our historical documents to be stored in Space University and become the subject of research."

 

"For Space University research?"

 

Lynn looked at the self-propelled wagon-like scanner again.

 

"Yes. It's a robot developed at Space University. It was developed because of a strong desire to scan the contents of books and scrolls that might fall apart the moment you pick them up, and are miraculous for still having their shape, without touching them. They realized as they were developing it that if they set it up properly, they could scan books lined up on a bookshelf or documents stored in a case as they were."

 

"Ah."

 

Lynn made a strange noise. Jenny looked up at Lynn. "What's wrong? Why do you look so displeased?"

 

"So, that antenna is a powerful radar that scans the entire archive at once and reconstructs the information it reads into documents, that's the system?"

 

"That's what I expected from Lynn."

 

Jenny nodded with a smile.

 

"Exactly. However, the radar that comes out of the antenna isn't very good for your body, so we'll make the archive off-limits while it's running."

 

After completing the settings, Jenny tapped the control panel to check.

 

"You got it all just from that explanation."

 

"I see, a similar system has been used right before my eyes."

 

"Right before!"

 

Jenny raised her voice.

 

"Are you okay? You're fine, aren't you? Did you suffer any aftereffects?"

 

"Sparks flew in my eyes."

 

Lynn twisted her lips.

 

"Apparently they placed reflectors and other things underground before the scan, but they fired a high-powered radar from the sky at the underground reference room. You're okay, you were taken to the hospital and checked thoroughly, and there's nothing wrong."

 

"Are you really okay?"

 

Jenny looked over Lynn from head to toe with a worried look on her face. Lynn smiled and waved her hand.

 

"There's nothing to worry about, you were even genetically checked."

 

"That's good."

 

Jenny turned her eyes back to the scanner.

 

"Well, is this okay?"

 

After checking the settings, Jenny tapped the control panel. It automatically confirmed that all the settings were OK.

 

After setting a timer to start the scan in one minute, Jenny left the auto-scanner.

 

"Okay, we're ready. They say we can scan this entire archive in an hour."

 

After checking the expected time to finish, Jenny took Lynn’s hand.

 

"It will be finished by lunchtime. It'll be okay since we're in class, but please lock the archive so no one enters it while scanning."

 

"Sure."

 

Lynn closed the archive door with a big old key.

 

"There's one thing I want to ask."

 

Lynn looked up at the big archive door.

 

"What is it?"

 

"After scanning all the data, which may hold the equivalent of several libraries, and putting it inside, how is he going to analyze and evaluate it?"

 

"I won't."

 

"Eh?"

 

Lynn looked back at Jenny. Jenny answered as if it was obvious.

 

"All a scanner can do is compile data. It makes it into a database so it's easy to search, and it can translate most languages, but all it can do is act as a librarian, copying the books on the shelves and creating an index. Of course, the capacity is bottomless, so I think one scanner could store enough data for several libraries."

 

"Oh, I see..."

 

Lynn turned away from the door to the archives, looking displeased.

 

"What's wrong?"

 

Jenny, who was about to leave, turned back to Lynn. Lynn pointed over her shoulder to the archives and started walking away.

 

"You're at Space University, right? Aren't there robots that can automatically analyze and evaluate data when fed it?"

 

"If there were such convenient robots, the professors and students would all leave their research to the robots and go off and play."

 

Jenny smiled and walked side by side with Lynn.

 

"It's not that they don't exist, but they said they can't be used."

 

"Why? If there's a robot that can analyze it, it's easy to just look at the results."

 

"That's what everyone thinks and expects. In fact, there are places that are researching electronic brains in hopes of finding such results, and it seems they've been developing them for a long time."

 

Jenny nodded in agreement.

 

"Of course, it's the best academic institution in the galaxy, so they've been researching and developing artificial intelligence for a long time. Depending on the genre, there are electronic brains that are fully practical, but there are also fields where they are completely useless."

 

Lynn tilted her head. Jenny continued.

 

"The reason why they can't be used is explained in detail in the guidebook for new students. Do you want to hear it?"

 

"By all means."

 

After thinking for a moment, Jenny began to explain.

 

"You know, if it's a problem with only one correct answer like mathematics or physics, it's fine. You know what kind of question it is and what kind of answer you're hoping for, so you can easily tell that the answer you get is correct and check it. But when it comes to literature, history, or cultural studies in the humanities, there isn't just one correct answer. You don't know what kind of data you'll need to get the answer you're looking for."

 

Lynn gave the simplest answer.

 

"If it's a computer, you just feed it all the data you have."

 

Jenny answered right away.

 

"When you do that, you get bigger research results than the data you put in."

 

"Huh?"

 

"Well, let's say we want to analyze and evaluate the history of Sea of the Morningstar. Let's input all the historical documents currently available at this school. If they're electronic text records, inputting them is easy. Images and audio are a bit trickier, but even so, if you use image pattern recognition, even a very fast computer will take some time, but it should be able to read a lot of things."

 

"Well, the speed of computer calculations has been at a plateau for the last 100 years, but software has improved, so if you set it up for image recognition or pattern analysis, it can give you pretty good results."

 

"That's right. In fact, that's how the database of the National Archives is created. Let's say we've created a database with a fair amount of historical records in this way. If we ordered it to look for trends and patterns that haven't been recorded before, what do you think would happen?"

 

"Well, won't it be possible to find all sorts of things that historians haven't noticed before?"

 

"If the goal is to find trends and patterns that haven't been discovered before, then in addition to the records that have been recorded so far, we'll have to input a number of research results."

 

"From the analysis results that come out, we can just omit anything that has been discovered or proposed in historical research so far. There are plenty of servers that specialize in history if you connect to the Internet, so it's not difficult to check the contents."

 

"Then the computer will analyze everything from the detailed wording to numerical matches, approximations, the recorder's habits, and even the angle of the graph lines. A computer can't tell which matches are important, which are important patterns, which are new facts that have not been discovered, and which are coincidences. So it will output a report that is larger than all the data that was input, about an order of magnitude larger."

 

"Yeah..."

 

Lynn nodded with a disgusted look on her face.

 

"Yes, yes. If you don't specify parameters and let it calculate, the output will never stop, no matter how long it takes, right?"

 

"I wonder."

 

"But if that's the case..."

 

After thinking for a moment, Lynn opened her mouth.

 

"Why not assign parameters to the input data?"

 

"That's the next step. But isn't it a lot of work to set the necessary parameters for each piece of historical data and assign numbers?"

 

"That's exactly what you can do with a computer. Just set as many parameters as you can think of and give it a pattern for setting the numbers, and it will do the rest no matter how much data there is."

 

"For combat information, the descriptions are pretty standardized, so it's still quite practical. In fact, the military evaluates combat information that way. But not all historical records are recorded according to a set of standards, right? Even with combat records, how do you turn personal impressions and observations into reliable numbers that can be used for analysis?"

 

"Ah..."

 

Lynn finally began to understand what Jenny was trying to say. Looking at Lynn’s face, Jenny continued.

 

"Apparently, if you try to quantify all the information you can get, you'll get some results. But the results you get are either already out there or something that everyone thinks of without a computer analyzing them, or they're nonsensical or incomprehensible."

 

"In other words, it takes a lot of effort to create the data to analyze, and the answer you get isn't worth the effort."

 

"If you have the answer you're looking for, you can just look for records that fit it from the start. You can't trust the numbers unless you have a deep understanding of the parameter allocation and numerical settings of historical information, and if you understand that well, it's more efficient and educational to research it yourself instead of getting a computer to think about it."

 

"Isn't that just an excuse for students who have to study?"

 

"Maybe so, but the reasoning is convincing."

 

Jenny sighed deliberately.

 

"So it collects as much information as it can, and indexes it automatically, but you have to do the rest of the analysis yourself."

 

"Oh, so even if you memorize the data through the installation, if you don't remember it, understand it, and use it, it's just a waste of memory space, you know?"

 

Lynn remembered a learning method that had been repeatedly experimented with but never put to practical use.

 

Install learning, which mechanically writes memories into unused memory areas of the brain, was expected to be a dream learning method that would allow people to gain a great deal of knowledge in a short amount of time without the effort and trouble of studying. However, simply selecting unused memory areas and burning unknown knowledge into them did not form the synapses needed to access them. Without synapses connecting memory areas, memories in the brain would not be recalled. If drugs were used to forcibly connect synapses and people were able to recall unknown memories, they would then need to be re-studyed like rehabilitation in order to be able to use them. Even if a foreign language dictionary was installed in the brain, people would not be able to use the foreign language without re-studying it, and when dementia and brain damage caused by forcibly using unused memory areas through install learning were confirmed, install learning was no longer an effective study method.

 

"Well, that's pretty much it. There are people with monstrous memories and calculation skills, and people with cheat-like intuition, but everyone seems to do it themselves, although there are differences in how fast or slow they are at inputting data."

 

Lynn made a difficult face.

 

"Inputting, you mean,"

 

"Reading, watching, and listening to data. I'm really grateful that I was trained in speed reading."

 

"Studying, huh?"

 

Lynn raised her voice.

 

"Even after graduating, I have to go to another school and study again, huh?"

 

"The reward is great, so I won't complain! This is the last time I can just study without working."

 

"I'm not working, you see."

 

Lynn stopped and glanced at Jenny.

 

"I told you, combat information can still be analyzed by computer to some extent."

 

Lynn looked closely at Jenny's back as she walked away. Following her, Jenny continued.

 

"Even though it was called the Orion Arm Unification War, there were too many factors for a first-year student to deal with. Colony wars of independence are not uncommon, but there are not many cases where an independence war and an Imperial unification war were fought at the same time. The Galactic Empire was on the very edge of the territory at the time, but had no contact with either the Stellar Alliance or the Federation of Colonial Stars, so they suddenly came in and forcefully annexed it with their overwhelming military power. Thanks to that, there was almost no damage to the Imperial fleet or the side fighting the independence war, and although it is called the Unification War, it is said to have been an exceptionally peaceful and successful unification that was beneficial for both sides, but we don't know everything about the flow of information between the Empire and this side, who was thinking what and how they guided them, and how they operated." "Are you going to write a history paper based only on battle information?" Jenny nodded with a happy look on her face. "There are established methods for evaluating battle information, and even computer analysis can produce very useful results. If you want to get reliable results within the scope of what you know, I think it's probably best to focus your analysis on ship-to-ship battles between the Stellar Alliance and the Federation of Colonial Stars."

 

"Haven't all the battles during the War of Independence been thoroughly studied?"

 

"Almost all of the space battles between regular armies are already known, from the placement of each ship to the search situation, to what level the commands were sent and how they responded, and all of the movements at the individual ship level. But that's not the case with the pirate ships mobilized by the Federation of Colonial Stars for the War of Independence."

 

"Eh?"

 

Lynn spoke up in dissatisfaction.

 

"The battle records of Odette II when it was the White Swan are pretty thorough."

 

"I know. I'm looking at the same thing."

 

Jenny opened the door to the yacht club room. It was during school hours, so the clubroom was empty.

 

"But pirate ships aren't military spaceships. When they were issued their privateer licenses, they were of course trained on the terms of engagement and other things as regular warships, and that should have included how to record battle information just like regular military forces, but there's no way that pirates, who haven't received specialized training like warships, can record battle information just like regular military forces. Pirates don't attack regular military warships, but civilian transport ships and military-commissioned supply ships, so the attacked ships don't have battle records like warships. It's better if the black box data from the battle is attached, but at worst, it's not uncommon to only have a list of the time, place, enemy, and battle results."

 

"That's terrible."

 

Lynn entered the clubroom and sat down at the table opposite Jenny.

 

"Well, that can't be helped. We did electronic warfare on the Odette II, but we didn't make a battle record until everything was over."

 

"It's the captain's job to write the logbook, isn't it?"

 

Remembering that, Lynn clicked her tongue.

 

"The captain at that time was Professor Kane. He slacked off."

 

"There's no way a training ship from an all-girls school could have done electronic warfare during a training voyage and won. Whatever the truth, Captain Kane was supposed to be asleep at the time. Do you have any battle records from when we were out in the frontier?"

 

"Yeah, Captain Ririka made the records every time, nodding her head. I remember it well because I helped her."

 

Lynn nodded yes.

 

"I was just going to have fun as a decoy, but I ended up having to be the flagship of a pirate fleet. I only helped with the battle records related to electronic warfare, and there were plenty of people who would explain anything I didn't understand, but I had a really hard time then."

 

"Are those records in a place where anyone can see them?"

 

"Not at all. You wouldn't just throw out records of a girls' school training sailing ship in a place where anyone can see them, would you?"

 

"Right. The battle records of the pirate ship and the records of the civilian ship that was attacked are all pretty well written and seem to make sense on the surface, but they seem to be made to make various adjustments later, or just adjust the facts, and inconvenient parts are blurred, hidden, or not mentioned, and that seems to be the case a lot."

 

Jenny took out a pack of drinks from the sideboard.

 

"The only records that can be considered credible are those of the regular fleets fighting pirates on the side of the Stellar Alliance, but they also had a hard time dealing with the sudden emergence of the Galactic Empire, and it's hard to say they've been properly analyzed due to the emergency nature of the Imperial annexation. In other words, there are still plenty of gaps that amateur students can exploit in the records of pirates from the time of the War of Independence, and on the Sea of the Morningstar, there is plenty of primary information about pirates that I can directly access."

 

"I see."

 

Lynn opened the drink pack that Jenny had given her.

 

"So you came back to this planet after you had gone to the space university where you had gone to great lengths to get accepted, and risked being taken to your parents' home and imprisoned, because you want to have a smash hit in your studies?"

 

"That's right. So when I finish scanning our archives, I'm thinking of taking all the data that's been scanned in the Fleet HQ reference room. Do you have maps and blueprints of the HQ, and so on?"

 

"Yes, I do."

 

Lynn touched the table in the club room to open the information terminal. The entire table became a display, and she searched for data on a 3D map of the Fleet HQ that had been constructed based on data provided by the one-armed meat-grilling old man in the staff cafeteria at Shin-Okuhama Airport.

 

"Well, the data on the HQ that we made with the help of the crew of the Bentenmaru is probably around here, this is it."

 

A 3D image was projected onto the table. Jenny looked around at the display, which was more detailed than usual. "Is that everything?"

 

"Almost everything. I've left out the power units and escape routes that are distributed."

 

"Hmm."

 

Compared to the usual spaceship and building floor plans, the lines are thinner and there are many overlapping 3D shapes. Jenny guessed the scale from the scale of each floor.

 

"It's big."

 

"It's big."

 

Lynn placed the ground buildings of Hakuoh Girls' Academy on top of the 3D drawing on the table.

 

"Well, even though it's a colony planet, it's still the headquarters that's going to unite the star system and fight an interstellar war, so it needs to be this big."

 

"That's right..."

 

Jenny stared at the 3D structure of the fleet headquarters drawn on the table in the clubroom.

 

"They used all the power of the colony planet to fight the war."

 

"That's right. The headquarters knew where everyone was doing what in the space that spanned dozens of light years, and sent out orders to win somehow. The spaceships on the ground who received such unreasonable orders had a really hard time."

 

"Even so, they were determined to win, so they simplified and streamlined their command and information systems more than the Stellar Alliance, and were able to share the same level of information with the headquarters on the front lines while simultaneously working top-down and bottom-up, so they were able to hold out against an enemy ten times stronger than them."

 

Jenny recited the mantra that anyone who receives an education at Sea of the Morningstar learns in history. Lynn took over.

 

"Even if the low-ranking man on the front line of the spaceship understood the situation around him, he could make better decisions overall, even if they weren't the best, and they say that by accumulating those decisions, they managed to get by, but if you look into it a little, you'll see that it wasn't that good."

 

"Even if the decisions on the ground were 10% or 20% better, it wouldn't be enough to overcome a 10-fold difference in military strength. If the Galactic Empire hadn't intervened in the War of Independence, the Federation of Colonial Stars would have lost in every simulation, whether it was early or late, whether they would have been completely defeated or would have surrendered before that. I don't have any illusions about my planet or its history now. I'm just hoping that I can find some useful lessons for the future while enjoying it."

 

Lynn stopped tapping on the panel.

 

"Want to see?"

 

"What?"

 

"It'll take a while to scan the entire archives at the Fleet Command. It'd be unproductive to just wait that long, so here's the battle records of Odette II when she was still the White Swan."

 

"I've seen it all."

 

Jenny looked at Lynn with a puzzled look.

 

"Obviously, I don't remember all the details, but I know the big battles."

 

"What about the White Swan in June of the New Year 129?"

 

Jenny frowned.

 

"That's a pretty specific number. Um, six months before the end of the war?"

 

At first, the Sea of the Morningstar used the same calendar as its Stellar Alliance, but after the start of the War of Independence, the Sea of the Morningstar used the new calendar, which counts the year the first survey team landed on the oldest colony planet, Sea Forest Star, as year zero. After being annexed by the Galactic Empire, the standard calendar common to the entire galaxy is used, and the new calendar is only written in small letters in the corner of a special calendar. The new calendar, which was used throughout the Federation of Colonial Stars, is no longer used in official documents from the government.

 

After thinking for a moment, Jenny looked up.

 

"Wasn't it fighting a trade war against the supply fleet for the reconnaissance fleet of the Stellar Alliance that had made a long march to invade the Sea of the Morningstar?"

 

"That's right. They were solar sailing ships, so the farther they got from the star, the weaker the sunlight they could use for propulsion became, but they were struggling to cut off the supply line of the reconnaissance fleet of the Stellar Alliance in the outer planetary system. And this..."

 

With a wave of her outstretched hand, Lynn erased the 3D image of the fleet headquarters, and two record folders appeared on the 3D display. Just by looking at the format, it was clear that the data was old. Jenny read the text displayed alongside it and looked at Lynn’s face.

 

"The battle records of the White Swan."

 

"Yes."

 

Lynn nodded.

 

"Look at the date."

 

"June 22nd to 28th, 129th New Calendar? A week's worth of records."

 

Jenny read the writing on the second folder.

 

"This one is also the battle records for the fourth week of June 129th. Which one is a copy?"

 

"Strictly speaking, they're both copies."

 

Lynn said, staring at Jenny.

 

"The original is in Odette II. Both of these are copies. However, the contents are different."

 

Seeing Lynn’s face, Jenny looked back at the folder projected on the 3D image.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I've only ever looked at battle records from 120 years ago, so I haven't checked how well they match the official records. But these are records of a battle voyage in the southern part of the outer planetary system, from Niji no Kumo Star to the outermost orbit of Kita no Hate Star, where we were messing with the supply fleet while investigating the movements of the reconnaissance fleet of the Stellar Alliance."

 

"Is this one different?"

 

Jenny looked at the folder Lynn had moved her gaze to.

 

"No, that's a battle record too. But what they did was completely different. In that record, the White Swan was fighting a disguised cruiser in the northern part of the inner planet system that was trying to invade the absolute air defense zone of the Sea of the Morningstar."

 

"I see."

 

Jenny smiled with delight.

 

"Just like our ancestor, fighting on two fronts against a transport ship and a cruiser, even in the middle of the War of Independence, isn't that amazing?"

 

"The battle records in this folder are not in the official records."

 

Lynn said, looking at the folder floating on the table.

 

"I only checked the star system military database and the public archives website, so if I looked elsewhere I might find some other data, but I couldn't find any records of the White Swan chasing a cruiser from the Stellar Alliance that had invaded the area near the Sea of the Morningstar pretending to be a neutral transport ship."

 

"Oh?"

 

Jenny tilted her head slightly. It's not that uncommon to discover battle records that aren't in the official records.

 

"Have you checked the records of the Stellar Alliance?"

 

"Oh," Lynn looked taken aback.

 

"I haven't checked those yet. But it seems they were faking their transponders, so I'm not sure if their ship numbers or names are reliable."

 

"If there are battle records from one side, we can just generate enemy actions from there and check if there are any matching ships. After 100 years, the information should be declassified."

 

"If we check those, we might find something."

 

Lynn looked at the folder.

 

"I think that no one has seen the records of those who fought against the dummy cruisers of the Stellar Alliance for about 120 years."

 

"Oh? Why do you think so?"

 

"You know that there are a ton of encrypted and locked folders and files in the memory area of ​​Odette II, right?"

 

"It's an old ship, after all. I guess it's inevitable that there's a lot of stuff piling up."

 

"When I connected the FTL booster before, I noticed that some of the locks were open. So when I connected the booster to change the category of Odette II this time, I opened the folder and copied it, and it turned out to be a different battle record with a date that overlapped with the battle record that was already there."

 

"Hidden files with overlapping dates?"

 

With a strange look on her face, Jenny looked at the folder again.

 

"Is it real?"

 

"Honestly, I don't know."

 

Lynn shook her head.

 

"If two battle records that overlap in time were discovered, one of them would be fake. But if you want to make a fake battle record look real, there's no need to overlap the time. It's easier to make a fake look real by writing some random records during a free time when there are no battles.

 

"If it's fake, there's no need to lock it and hide it."

 

Jenny reached for the folder that was displayed in 3D.

 

"Can I take a look?"

 

"Here you go. I've removed all the locks and traps, so there shouldn't be any strange mechanisms left."

 

Jenny touched the folder and slid her finger over the control panel to open the battle records. A week's worth of battle records sorted by date appeared.

"These battle records were automatically generated using the ship's recorder, right?"

 

"That's right."

Lynn nodded. Spaceships are required by standard law to have flight recorders that automatically record flight conditions. Even the simplest flight recorders record the current position, speed, and direction at regular intervals, and more advanced flight recorders also record the surrounding space conditions obtained by radar and sensors.

 

Battle records are not required by standard law. Standards vary from one military force to another, so even space battles are not recorded to a unified standard. In general, in addition to the spaceship's navigation trajectory, including combat maneuvers, and more detailed information on the surrounding space obtained by radar and sensors, the ship's personnel distribution, including the engine and onboard weapons, the situation on board, and the predicted or confirmed movements of enemy ships are also recorded.

 

Even pirate ships with privateering licenses are required to keep the same battle records as warships during operations. Space pirates during the War of Independence, who mobilized everything from second-hand combat spaceships to unarmed civilian spaceships, were a minority that kept detailed battle records like the regular army, but the White Swan belonged to that group.

 

"The official records were from the trade wars in the outer planetary system, and the locked records were from chasing disguised cruisers in the inner planetary system, right?"

 

"That's right."

 

Lynn nodded. Jenny ran her fingers over the control panel on the table.

 

"The sailing records from the White Swan's time are in the club room (here), right?"

 

"Backups have been kept for generations. The location hasn't changed."

 

Jenny easily opened the archives, which contained the Odette II's 200 years of voyage records. This was an area where all kinds of records related to the Odette II, from blueprints to hull structure to maintenance records and voyage records, were backed up from the main ship.

 

"I'll help you analyze it."

 

"Sure."

 

Jenny answered, operating the control panel with fingers that were a little faster than when she was at Hakuoh Girls' Academy.

 

"I can play back battle records here, and I know how to do it and read them. If you have time, come over during lunch. The scanner should have finished copying the archives by then, and then I'll open the archives and have them collect the materials from the Fleet Command."

 

"Well, take your time."

 

Lynn stood up to return to class.

 

"Wh-what's going on!?"

 

After school, Marika called out as she opened the door to the clubroom.

 

"We're multitasking at the request of the previous club president."

 

Burst-in-the-room with 3D images filling the clubroom, Lynn answered with one hand on the control panel on the table and the other on her beloved computer, HAL-Bou, which she had brought with her.

 

"Maruchi-sama."

 

With the door open, Marika once again looked around the clubroom, which was filled with all sorts of displays, including diagrams, photos, and 2D and 3D images. The 3D display on the table in the middle couldn't possibly be enough to fill the entire space of the clubroom.

 

Not only were the 3D display on the main table and the information system on the wall both fully open, but a large display that had been brought from somewhere was temporarily placed on the floor and was playing slideshows and videos.

 

Marika once again looked around the 3D displays that filled the clubroom.

 

"Um, are you comparing battle records?"

 

"Wow, you're a real pirate captain."

 

Lynn answered as she sorted the values ​​on the 3D chart.

 

"Marika is the first person to realize at a glance that this is a battle record."

 

"What are you doing?"

 

Marika looked again at the overlapping 3D displays. She confirmed the date 120 years ago, the display of the White Swan.

 

"Is this Odette II's hidden file?"

 

"Yes. Jenny was interested in it, so I'll help out."

 

"Analyzing battle records?"

 

Records of spaceships that participated in battles are automatically generated by recorders, so the amount is enormous. In most cases, only a portion of the records is needed for analysis, but even selecting only that portion and converting it into data for analysis is a lot of work.

 

From what I can see, the data displayed in the clubroom seems to be almost all of the elements of the battle records. If you are going to analyze something, you would normally extract only the necessary elements and edit them to make them easier to handle.

 

"What are you planning to analyze from the battle records of the White Swan?"

 

"First, I want to see if they're real."

 

Marika found herself standing at the door to the clubroom when someone called out from behind her. She hurriedly ran into the room.

 

"I mean, the captain, I mean the former captain."

 

"You know about the hidden file on Odette II that Lynn brought, right?"

 

Jenny came into the clubroom with her hands full of files.

 

"Even among the pirate ships that participated in the War of Independence, the White Swan's battle records should have kept the most accurate records, so it's strange that the dates overlap but the contents are different. I thought there was something there, so I'm looking into it."

 

"Good day."

Following Jenny, Gruier, also carrying a mountain of files, entered the clubroom. Marika, holding the door with wide eyes, returned the greeting.

 

"Yes, hello. What is this?"

 

"I borrowed some documents that might be useful from the headquarters in the basement."

 

After popping her head out into the hallway to check for suspicious figures, Marika closed the door to the clubroom and turned to Jenny and Gruier.

 

"Did you sneak into the Fleet HQ!?"

 

The Fleet HQ, built in the basement of Hakuoh Girls' Academy during the War of Independence, remains officially closed. It's a historical relic with enough volume to get lost if you get lost, and there are no plans for a large-scale investigation in the near future, so all you can do is lock the door to stop anyone from getting in.

 

Meanwhile, thanks to the information provided by the meat-grilling dad nicknamed "Boss" of the staff restaurant at Shin-Okuhama Airport, knowledge of the complex structure of Hakuoh Girls' Academy, which uses the former Sea of the Morningstar Government House as it is, has deepened. Several undiscovered secret passages and hidden passages have been discovered and are being put to practical use by the students.

 

However, the Fleet Headquarters, which is slightly larger in total floor space than all the buildings at Hakuoh Girls' Academy, has been mostly closed off since a volunteer from the Exploration Club teamed up with the History Research Club to conduct a partial investigation. It is not dilapidated enough to be explored, nor is it messy enough to be excavated, and it is so large that it would be a hassle to go up and down, but the real reason is that the toilets are unusable.

 

"I've been in. Only in the immediate vicinity though."

 

After placing the pile of files she brought home on the floor of the club room, Jenny tapped the control panel on the table and a three-dimensional diagram of the Fleet Headquarters' structure appeared.

 

"I just finished scanning one document room with the auto-scanner I borrowed from the university for document collection. I just started the second one, but at this rate it might be more efficient to have the scanner read the map, open the document room door, and let it patrol on its own."

 

"Yes."

 

Marika looked at the other pile of files that Gruier had placed, then back at Jenny.

 

"So, is this the result?"

 

"No, no, how can you get results on the first day of an investigation?"

 

Jenny waved her hand with a clean smile.

 

"They say that in an excavation like searching for treasure that you don't know where it's buried, you won't find it unless you're interested in finding it, but with this much material it's a similar situation."

 

Jenny looked around at the many displays filling the clubroom.

 

"Did you get the back of the hidden file battle records?"

 

"Not really."

 

Lynn answered while typing on HAL-bou's keyboard.

 

"Pirate ships with privateering licenses don't go on combat voyages where they ask headquarters for instructions on how to move and then go to work. Even headquarters doesn't know all of the movements of the Stellar Alliance's space fleet, and they fight based on on-the-spot decisions to a large extent, so even headquarters' records can't keep up with the movements of pirate ships."

 

"I see."

 

Jenny nodded gloomily.

 

"I thought that if we compared it with the records from the Fleet Command, we might be able to find out where the White Swan was and what it was doing at that time."

 

"It's an interstellar war that spans dozens of light years, and if you count the spaceships that are fighting head-on, there are hundreds of them, both friendly and enemy, and if you include the spaceships that are not on the front lines or doing supply missions, the number is close to 10,000. It would take tens of thousands of hours to properly check even the public information."

 

"They're doing their best just to look after the regular fleet, so they probably don't even know what the pirate ships are doing."

 

Jenny reluctantly rummaged through the folders of communication records from the Fleet Command that were floating around Lynn.

 

"In the fourth week of June, 129, when the two battle records were found, the White Swan had several communications with Fleet Command. One of them was a warning that a disguised cruiser from the Stellar Alliance Fleet, disguised as a high-speed transport, had entered the star system for reconnaissance. This communication record and the location of the White Swan estimated from it are close to the battle records found in the hidden file."

 

Extending one hand, Lynn opened the communication record folder in the 3D display and pointed to one of the communication records.

 

"There were only a few communication records with the White Swan during that period. The Fleet Command did not give any active operational orders against the pirate ships, so we might find other information if we looked into it in a different way, but I think this is all we could easily find at the moment."

 

"The movements of the White Swan before and after this match the unhidden records."

 

Jenny muttered, as if to confirm.

 

"But the records that were purposely locked match the communications records from the fleet headquarters. That doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it."

 

After thinking for just a moment, Jenny looked up.

 

"Marika?"

 

It had been a while since her former President had called her by name, and Marika instinctively straightened her back and replied.

 

"Yes."

 

"There are a few things I want to check with the booster connected to Odette II. When is the next docking scheduled?"

 

"...Whaaat?!"

"FTL booster confirmed."

 

Yayoi in the engineer's seat announced. Half of the display automatically changed to FTL engine-related information. Yayoi read the status sent.

 

"There are no abnormalities with the engine itself, the interior, or the booster's attitude."

 

"Okay, we're checking it too."

 

Lynn in the captain's seat confirmed that there had been no abnormalities with the booster since the last docking out. Of course, the data sent had changed since the last time, but everything was within the acceptable range. There was no sign of any change from the last time in the airspace around the booster, the star system military anchorage airspace that was divided by coordinates and had a floating buoy that emits a beacon.

 

"It's a pain to have files that can't be released unless you dock every time."

 

Jenny jumped from the radar/sensor seat where the first-year students were sitting to Lynn in the captain's seat.

 

"Can't you insert a dummy into the system to make it look like Odette II is docked with the booster?"

 

"I mean, I don't even understand the Odette II's system, so there's no way I could simulate the system of an old FTL booster."

 

Lynn answered while tapping on the control panel at a rapid pace.

 

"Even a booster has a system the size of a spaceship. It would be different if I could take the time to copy all the systems and try them out, but I don't know what mechanisms are hidden where."

 

"The size of a spaceship."

 

Jenny looked around at the 3D displays around the captain's desk.

 

Lynn added. "And it's not brand new. It was completed over 100 years ago, and there's been a lot of time where we don't know what it was doing. The data recorded on it is larger than the voyage records of Odette II, which has been a training ship and sleeping in a special dock for the last 100 years, so I wonder what it was used for."

 

"Is our FTL booster a special product for Odette II?"

 

Jenny looked at the short, chunky booster displayed on the monitor.

 

FTL boosters, which add a jump function to sublight spaceships, are transitional products. If the high-power FTL engine is not securely fixed to the mainframe, the initial acceleration for the FTL jump could distort the frame and crush the spaceship. The operation must be performed carefully in accordance with the docked mothership.

 

Installing and operating a FTL booster is like forcing a second-hand FTL engine onto a sublight spaceship and then operating it. It was often used a long time ago when FTL technology had just been introduced and most spaceships could not exceed the speed of light, but since spaceships have started to be built with FTL engines from the start, it has become rare to see them.

 

"That should be true."

 

Leaving the automatic checks around the system to the computer, Lynn stopped what she was doing.

 

"A solar sail is a spaceship with a special shape, and it's hard to find one even if you search the whole galaxy. It should be very difficult to use that booster on anything other than our spaceship."

 

"FTL boosters must have been expensive."

 

Jenny folded her arms and thought deeply.

 

"Now that we're part of the Empire's economic bloc, the construction costs don't change much between Category I FTL spaceships and Category II sublight spaceships, but before the War of Independence, when neither the colony nor the colony could build FTL engines on their own, the engines alone would have cost two orders of magnitude more than the spaceships." "Well, it's like magic technology for a civilization that can't go FTL." Lynn started moving her fingers again. "FTL speeds consume a ridiculous amount of energy. If you have a stable FTL engine, you can supply enough energy to support several large cities as long as you don't do anything flashy, and even a station with no nearby stars can last for years, right?" "A converter reactor isn't the kind of thing that will operate stably if you leave it alone." The amount of energy a converter reactor contains and can output is commonly said to be the equivalent of one star. The energy density per volume of a converter reactor is orders of magnitude greater than that of the center of a star, so regular inspections and daily adjustments are essential to keep it running stably.

 

"By the end of the War of Independence, the magical technologies of converter reactors and FTL engines had become quite widespread, but they were still quite expensive for colonies that didn't have much contact with the outside world of the Galactic Empire or the outskirts. I read somewhere that the cost of acquiring Odette II's FTL booster was about five times what it would have cost to build a new one."

 

"Five times the price of the main unit, that's a bit of a stretch."

 

"That was before we were even able to make converter reactors or FTL engines ourselves. That's why Odette II's FTL booster had converter reactors and nuclear reactors that hadn't yet been connected to them at the time. It was made by the Galactic Empire, which should have never been touched."

 

"Even so, I wonder how the pirates of the supposedly poor Federation of Colonial Stars could pay such an exorbitant price, five times the price of a new ship."

 

"Unlike warships, pirates have a way of making money. That's how much they made, working as pirates."

 

"Even if they made money, they were only dealing with the trade fleets of the Stellar Alliance system, and even though they were at war, they were still trading within the same economic bloc. Isn't it like a barbarian from the backwoods going shopping at a major supermarket chain in a myth?"

 

"No matter who you're dealing with, as long as you have money, you can do business with them."

 

"Um..."

 

Ai, who was at the wheel of Odette II, looked at Marika in the co-pilot's seat as if asking for instructions.

 

"Yeah, that's fine, just continue with the docking sequence."

 

Marika waved her hand.

 

"We're just going to check the connection with the booster and check the computers here and there anyway, so there's no need to rush."

 

"Understood."

 

Marika looked at the first-years crowded around the radar/sensor seats. They had been keeping watch over the surrounding area smoothly up until just now, but something seemed a bit off.

 

"What's wrong?"

 

Marika called out to them.

 

"Did you get any strange reactions?"

 

"Yes."

 

Among the first-years crowded around the radar/sensor seats, the one with the braids in charge of the sensors looked up at Marika.

 

"There's a strange reaction coming from the direction of the planet Tau."

 

"I wonder what it is."

 

Based on the control station's announcement and the transponder reception of Odette II after departure, there should be no other spaceships in the vicinity. Marika kicked off the step of the first officer's seat and jumped to the radar/sensor seat opposite, peering upside down at the display.

 

"This is it."

 

The braided freshman pointed to the vague reaction that spread over a wide area on the display.

 

"It's far away, but if this is a stealth spaceship, isn't that a big reaction?"

 

"Huh?"

 

Looking at the radar settings, Marika said. "You turned up the sensitivity too high. This is the reaction of the planet Tau."

 

"What!?"

 

"The solar flare from two days ago will soon reach the orbit of the Mare Star, so the station was notified that ships traveling within the star system should be careful of celestial forecasts. If the star is normally active, the reaction is automatically omitted, but if it is abnormally active, we need to adjust it here or the radar will find ghosts like this."

 

Stars emit a wide variety of electromagnetic waves and radiation. Reactions from naturally occurring stars and planets are registered and filtered in advance, and will not appear on the display unless they are an obstacle to the route or approach unnecessarily.

 

"As long as we are using the normal civilian settings, this level of activity should be filtered out."

 

Reaching out from the side, Marika displayed the radar settings on the display.

 

"Right now, there are no spaceships around that could cause trouble, so the radar output of Odette II is higher than when it is normally sailing on the course. The electronics of this spaceship are old, so even if the radar output and sensitivity are increased, it doesn't automatically change the filter settings."

 

Marika looked around at the first-year students.

 

"If we were in outer space with no stars nearby, we wouldn't have to worry so much about filter settings, but this is the Lagrange point of the Marsh Star, still an inner planetary system. Even so, it's surprising that it's getting such a reaction beyond the range of the filter settings."

 

Marika looked around at the display at the radar/sensor seat.

 

"Maybe that's because the planet is that active, or maybe our system is too sensitive."

 

Marika muttered, then turned back to the first-year students.

 

"Well, that's the cause, so reset the filter so that our radar/sensor system isn't misled by the stellar activity of the planet Tau."

 

"Okay."

 

The three first-years at the radar stations all spoke in unison and started working.

 

"Is this also an abnormality in solar activity?"

 

The first-year with braids at the sensor system showed Marika one of the displays.

 

"In that case, first check the control station's celestial forecast to see if there are any warnings or alerts!"

 

Marika slid her finger over the control panel and updated the celestial information that the control station at the Sea of the Morningstar Relay Station was distributing 24 hours a day to the latest data. The increased activity of the planet Tau, accompanied by flare emissions, had prompted the star system military to dispatch a dedicated solar submarine (Sundiver), and more detailed warnings had been issued.

 

In the inner planetary system, a magnetic storm is occurring due to increased activity of the star, and it is predicted that both normal and FTL communications will be affected. In certain spaces, spatial disturbances due to gravitational storms are predicted along with magnetic storms, so caution is required when jumping faster than light.

 

No particular note is given to planets and comets entering the inner planetary system from the outer planetary system.

 

"So, what's strange?"

 

"This."

 

The first-year student with a single braid in the sensor seat unfamiliarly enlarged a part of the spatial situation displayed on the display.

 

"It's a place that has nothing to do with Odette II's planned orbit, so I don't think we need to worry about it."

 

"It's a spatial disturbance. I wonder if some spaceship made an inadvertent touchdown."

 

After reading the spatial coordinates, Marika quickly scrolled through the warnings issued by the Astronomical Agency.

 

"A FTL jump is a jump that breaks the laws of physics by warping space-time, so even if you jump normally, there are many problems. Well, the universe is big enough that even if you disturb it a little, the slight disturbance and distortion will eventually disperse and become no problem."

 

Several spatial disturbances have been observed in the space between the third planet Mars and the fourth planet Brilliant Blue Star in the Tau system, and warnings have been issued. None of them are large-scale, and they are not affected by the activity of Tau.

 

"The coordinates of these things are determined by symmetry through hyperspace, so it's difficult to predict. It's not very common for spatial disturbances generated by takeoff or touchdown to remain or expand."

 

Marika compared the coordinates of the spatial disturbance captured by Odette II's sensor with the warning. They are in almost the same place.

 

"You found it well. This is a spatial disturbance that we're warning about. It's outside the shipping lane and doesn't seem to be moving or growing, so there shouldn't be any problem."

 

"Space disturbance, you say?"

 

Repeating the unfamiliar phrase, the braided freshman glanced around at the radar/sensor display.

 

"This is a good opportunity. Let's gather the latest information and send it to the Astronomical Agency. They'll be grateful if we can update it to the latest information, even if it's just rough observation data."

 

The space disturbance captured by Odette II's sensor was over 10 million kilometers away in a straight line from the star system military's anchorage airspace at the Lagrange point of the Sea of the Morningstar. It was so far away that even if they could confirm its existence, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to obtain more detailed observation data than what was displayed in the warning.

 

"It's not like we can try to hit it with radar when it's 10 million kilometers away," Lynn muttered, glancing at the observation data on the space disturbance being carried out with a makeshift sensor while docking with the FTL booster.

 

"Wouldn't an observation probe in orbit get better data?"

 

"If we get more data from different angles, it will be useful. The radar and sensor systems will be idle while we're docked with the booster anyway."

 

"It will be good enough for training."

 

Odette II and the FTL booster docked without much delay, and it went smoothly without any problems.

 

As soon as Odette II and the FTL booster connected, several files stored in Odette II's mainframe were unlocked and became accessible.

 

"Hmm."

 

Moving quickly with both hands, Lynn wrote out a list of files whose access rights had changed just before and just after docking.

 

"I thought so. The files that become visible are tweaked so that they are not visible from our system unless we dock with the booster. What's more, we don't keep records of when they become visible or disappear. If you don't want people to see those files that much, you can just delete them, so I wonder why you keep them."

 

"How is it?"

 

Jenny, floating behind the captain's seat, looks around the multiple displays around Lynn.

 

"Aside from the battle records, are there any files that have been unlocked or become visible?"

 

"Right now, we're doing a full system scan on the Odette II to see if there are any differences from the previous shot. But things like ion cannon output adjustments and fire control are shipboard weapon controls that the current Odette II doesn't have, and short-distance jump patterns are not really useful data for an Odette II that doesn't have a FTL booster."

 

The most common hidden files that open when you connect to a FTL booster are those related to engine control. The operating patterns of the converter reactor and the FTL engine are finely tailored to suit various situations, but unless you make a FTL jump in a very special situation, the data is not very useful.

 

"What about the battle information from the other day?"

 

Jenny looked at the display where detailed text was flashing by at high speed.

 

"Are there any files with dates around the fourth week of June, 129th New Calendar?"

 

"They don't seem to have increased. Hold on, I'll run a search."

 

After searching all the files that could be accessed while connected to the FTL booster, Lynn ran a search on all areas of the system.

 

"Is it okay if I search for about one month before and after?"

 

"Please."

 

"Okay."

 

The results came back immediately. A list of files that were searched for within a specific period appeared on the display.

 

"As you can see."

 

Lynn filtered the search results again.

 

"No new files have become visible this time. Only the same files I copied last time are visible."

 

"If I change the date on the FTL booster, will different data come out?"

 

"Setting the date on the booster? Do I have to adjust the clocks of the converter and the FTL engine, which are protected independently?"

 

Lynn looked at Jenny's profile again.

 

"Both systems are tightly protected, so it's going to be a pain. The converter would have to rewrite the operating time log, so I wonder if a proper method would be to adjust it after shutting it down completely."

 

"I see..."

 

Jenny looked around the bridge.

 

"It's one thing if we're in the dock, but there's no way we can shut down or restart the converter here."

 

"Is there anything else you want to try?"

 

Lynn ran her finger over the control panel.

 

"If we had more time, that would be a different story, but we haven't really analyzed the booster's locking method. Some of the records locked on the booster are protected so they can't be viewed by radio from the outside. Right now, we can see them all and try them out."

 

After thinking for a moment, Jenny looked up at the display.

 

"Among the operating patterns of the converter that we can see now, are there any patterns that are safe to try, but that we rarely have the opportunity to actually operate?"

 

"Um..."

 

Lynn called up a file of operating patterns for the converter and the FTL engine on the display in the captain's seat. There were many operating envelopes that would likely never be used on a peaceful voyage, such as making short jumps in succession in a short period of time, or operating patterns that kept the converter at high power.

 

"I wonder if the driving pattern itself is the key to unlocking it."

 

"I wonder? Is it really that complicated? Yayoi!"

 

Moving her hands, Lynn called out to Yayoi in the engineer's seat.

 

"Can you see if there are any driving patterns that are meaningless or suspicious?"

 

"Now?!"

 

Yayoi screamed.

 

"That's impossible! It's hard enough to make evasive maneuvers with a solar sail ship and a super-fast booster, which is an absurd combination, but now you're asking me to just look at the driving pattern."

 

"Yeah, right?"

 

Lynn nodded, perhaps realizing that it was an unreasonable request.

 

"Sorry, forget it."

 

"Well, I think we could just leave all the checks on the booster to automation and try to classify the patterns in the file here."

 

"Eh?"

 

Lynn looked up at Yayoi.

 

"The file related to the booster's driving pattern is locked over there, so we can only check it while it's docked. We have a limited time, so I don't know how much we can analyze."

 

"I don't care what I can. There aren't that many driving patterns that you don't normally use, right?"

 

"That's not to say that there aren't."

 

Yayoi pulled out some new control panels from the console.

 

"When we were pirates last time, the booster was always connected, so I just checked the saved operation patterns. I didn't know where it would happen."

 

"Oh, you're a real engineer."

 

"But it seems like there's a mix of operation patterns that were only simulated and patterns that were actually tested, so there are a surprising number of operation pattern files. Patterns that would definitely go out of control if we did this, and patterns that would probably cause the converter to explode."

 

Yayoi said something so threatening that Lynn, who was sitting in the captain's seat, exchanged glances with Jenny next to her.

 

"For the time being, we'll just need to organize the patterns that seem usable."

 

Seeing Jenny's face, Lynn quickly changed her approach.

 

"It's already a lot of work just to analyze the files we have now. Let's clear out what we can see in front of us, and if we're still not satisfied, we can look elsewhere."

 

"A spatial anomaly reaction!"

 

A first-year student spoke up.

 

"There's a prejump phenomenon in the direction of the outer planet!"

 

Before Marika could give her instructions, the braided freshman at the sensor seat gave an additional report.

 

"There's no flight plan that matches the data from the control station!!"

 

When a spaceship traveling faster than light speed returns to normal space, a number of abnormal phenomena, including space tremors and gravity quakes, can be observed. Due to the principle of faster than light speed travel, which avoids the physical laws of normal space by passing through hyperspace, it is impossible to avoid abnormal phenomena that disturb space, whether you jump into hyperspace (take off) or return to normal space (touch down). Furthermore, abnormal phenomena such as space tremors and gravity quakes vary depending on the scale of the jump and the power of the spaceship.

 

"It's a civilian ship!"

 

Marika, who was behind the radar/sensor seat, read out the results of the Odette II's computer's judgment based on the data currently available. The Odette II's system, which has been trained for actual combat, quickly determines the scale of the jump and the type of ship. If the jump pattern of the spaceship is recorded, it is not uncommon for the ship's name to be displayed as well.

 

"This is not a warship touchdown. It's a civilian ship, a type of ship..."

 

Marika stopped reading for a moment. Both Lynn and Jenny looked down at the display that showed the same data transferred to the captain's seat.

 

As if making up her mind, Marika read out the displayed data.

 

"Type of ship: solar sail ship, name of ship: Odette II!"

 

"We're going to touchdown!"

 

The first-year student in the sensor seat couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the ship's name displayed along with the exact coordinates observed.

 

"Odette II, without a doubt!"

 

It wasn't just the spatial anomaly and output pattern that accompanied the FTL jump. The computer also determined that the ship's name was Odette II without any probability, based on the ship's silhouette captured by the optical sensor and the radar response.

 

"Um, run another observation," Lynn ordered from the captain's seat.

 

"If it's Odette II that came out, then what in the world is this spaceship we're on?"

 

"Isn't it a prank?"

 

Jenny looked straight at Marika and said.

 

"It would be easy for a seasoned pirate to create an identical reaction to Odette II and fake it, right?"

 

"Yeah, sure."

 

Marika shook her head, wondering if Bentenmaru could fake an identical reaction to Odette II.

 

"No, it's impossible. You can fake radar and sensor reactions, but you can't fake the spatial anomaly of the prejump phenomenon or the gravitational quake pattern."

 

"Then what's that?"

 

Jenny looked around at the information about the touchdown spaceship that was displayed on the display around the captain's seat. There was no other activity in the military's anchorage airspace. The unidentified ship that the computer had determined to be Odette II was the closest living and functioning spaceship to Odette II.

 

"Gruier, make contact!"

 

Saying this, Marika jumped into the radio operator's seat. Gruier, who was sitting there, lightly touched the earphone microphone and ran his finger over the control panel.

 

"Radar and sensors continue gathering information! President, may I use the radar?"

 

"Permission granted within the range used for normal navigation."

 

Lynn answered, also moving her hands.

 

"As it is now, we can't tell if the other party is friend or foe. ... He comes out with an identical face, there's no way he's an ally."

 

"Opening communication line."

 

Gruier said in a cool voice.

 

"Will you call by voice? Or in writing?"

 

Either way, it will be recorded.

 

"Both!"

 

Marika jumped diagonally and got behind Gruier.

 

"I don't mind a standard phrase, just introduce yourself and request communication!"

 

"We've reconfirmed the transponder."

 

The first-year with the shortcut reported.

 

"The computer says that this is definitely Odette II's transponder!"

 

"From Odette II..."

 

Gruier was at a loss for words for just a moment.

 

"From Odette II to Odette II, this is the Hakuoh Girls' Academy training sailing ship, Odette II. Please state your ship's nationality and name."

 

A standard message containing our transponder data and vectors is sent at the same time as the voice communication.

 

"Are you receiving it?"

 

Jenny asked, and Marika, looking around at the communication panel, answered.

 

"Probably... they're checking the situation right after touchdown."

 

The shape of a spaceship far away cannot be seen by radar or sensors. If the name of the Odette II ship wasn't even displayed on the display, there was nothing suspicious.

 

"So it's a different spaceship with the same name..."

 

Yayoi, who was in the engineer's seat, said timidly.

 

"No,"

 

Jenny answered.

 

"I checked this spaceship before it was sent out of the station for the first time in 20 years. There are many Odettes registered at the station with a radius of 100 light years, from unbranded and colored to abbreviated and numbered, but even if you search the entire galaxy, this is the only solar sailing ship, Odette II."

 

"Even if there are ships with the same name, they are assigned different transponder IDs."

 

Marika said while looking at the transponder of Odette II, which had just touched down, displayed on the display.

 

"There is no other ship with the same ID in the empire. Even in the entire galaxy, probably..."

 

"No reply."

 

Gruier, who had been listening carefully to the faint noise on the radio, repeated the standard message twice just to be sure, and reported.

 

"Based on the transponder and the situation immediately after touchdown, I conclude that there is no way that they could not hear our communication."

 

"What about the radar and sensor response?"

 

Lynn asked. "Not only the reaction at touchdown and the transponder, but also the reaction of the radar and sensors? No matter how far away we are, we should be able to see it by now, right?"

 

"It's showing the same reaction as ours."

 

The ponytailed freshman handed the analysis results to the captain's seat along with a summary of the report.

 

"The solar sailboat's overall length and shape match those of Odette II."

 

"Is it that similar?"

 

Lynn ran her eyes over the display at the captain's seat.

 

"I don't know how we dealt with the spatial disturbance at touchdown, but we can fool the radar and sensors. Right, Marika?"

 

"Well, well, it's not impossible depending on the enemy's situation."

 

Marika answered, considering conditions such as detection distance and axis angle.

 

"So, how can we expose their true colors?"

 

Lynn should already know what he's talking about, and Marika realized that he was also explaining things to the other team members.

 

"The easiest thing to do is to get closer and improve our observation accuracy. Even at this distance, we can get accurate data by using a combat fire control radar, but we're not hostile yet."

 

"Okay, Gruier, keep calling out to them. Yayoi, can you move?"

 

"There's nothing wrong with the normal engine or the FTL booster."

 

"Well, let's take a test drive around the neighborhood. We'll hunt down the fake and expose its true identity!"

 

Marika returned to her seat and ran her finger over the control panel.

 

"If the trajectory deviates too much from the flight plan, we'll have to contact the control station again."

 

"It's not an emergency, it's an abnormal situation, don't be so strict."

 

Realizing that it would be a big problem if he declared an emergency while sitting in the captain's seat, Lynn quickly corrected himself.

 

"If they go too far from the anchorage airspace, we'll revise the flight plan, but we don't intend to delay the return to the station that much. Let's get it done quickly."

 

"Yes..."

 

"Are you going to follow that spaceship?"

 

Setting the recorded voice call to repeat every minute until there was a reply, Gruier raised her head to the captain's seat.

 

"Yeah. It came into our territory pretending to be the same spaceship, so it would be polite to confirm its identity."

 

"If that spaceship's performance is the same as ours, not just its reaction."

 

Gruier spoke fluently as if he had already considered the issue.

 

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be difficult to catch up?"

 

Lynn and Marika exchanged glances. Marika checked their ship's current position.

 

"We're a little closer to the star, so we have an advantage in terms of solar radiation. But at this distance in the orbit of the Sea of the Morningstar, it's only a margin of error."

 

"If they've touched down, they must be equipped with a FTL engine at the very least."

 

Jenny peered at the display from beside the captain's seat.

 

"Even with normal propulsion, wouldn't they be able to easily escape?"

 

"What if that look-alike is faster than us?"

 

Lynn looked around the bridge with a grin.

 

"If it's faster than this ship, that's proof that it's a fake. Record all of their movements, radar, sensors, so we can verify them. Ai, Yayoi, launch Odette II as soon as you're ready!"

 

"Understood." "Engineers, we're ready to go anytime!"

 

"Target to track, erm, fake Odette!"

 

Lynn announced, using her captain's authority to decide on a temporary name.

 

"Odette II, launch from anchorage airspace!"

 

"Should I prepare a backup?"

 

Marika sent a silent message to the captain's seat, the kind used for private conversations between seats.

 

"What's that?"

 

She immediately got a reply in the same message. Marika typed out a message.

 

"Bentenmaru should be nearby. We can contact them and track the fake Odette. If we know that we have reinforcements, the tension will go down, so let's keep it a secret from everyone.'

 

In the captain's seat, Lynn exchanged glances with Jenny, and there was a delay in her reply.

 

'Please. We don't know who the enemy is, so it's better to have some backup.'

 

Marika opened the communications system from the panel on the first officer's seat. Gruier in the radio operator's seat glanced at Marika. Marika continued without paying any attention. She sent a message with the current location of Odette II and the fake Odette, as well as a brief situation, and asked them to track the fake Odette.

 

In the regular contact before Odette II departed from the relay station, Bentenmaru was near Sea of the Morningstar. Unless it was caught up in an emergency such as an accidental battle, it shouldn't have been moving around much since then.

 

In order to prevent the members from realizing that Bentenmaru was providing support, Marika added the words 'no reply necessary' and sent the message to Bentenmaru. Gruier in the radio operator's seat probably noticed, but the other members of the club probably didn't.

 

"Fake Odette has started moving!"

 

The short-haired freshman reported.

 

"Which way is it? Are they running away or coming towards us?"

 

"Um, it's a clone."

 

Lynn couldn't help but look back at the short-haired freshman's face as he told her exactly what he saw.

 

"What did you say?"

 

"The reaction split into two. I think they've probably detached the FTL booster."

 

"What?!"

 

"The energy reaction has been decreasing since touchdown, so they don't seem to want to use the FTL booster."

 

"What?!"

 

Unable to grasp what Fake Odette was up to, Lynn looked at the report from the radar/sensor seat for more information.

 

"Fake Odette, deploy solar sail!"

 

Even with Odette II, the solar sail, which creates extra resistance when jumping faster than light, is folded up along with the mast. After detaching its FTL booster, the fake Odette unfolded the solar sail that had been stored in one go.

 

"Are you planning to escape from the ship with the solar sail and booster?"

 

Lynn tilted her head. The Odette II was also equipped with normal power. The means of propulsion were not limited to solar sails. After glancing at Jenny, Lynn looked at Marika.

 

"What do you think?"

 

"The fact that the fake Odette detached its FTL booster and raised the solar sail means that it has no intention of using the engine."

 

Marika listed only what she could infer from the facts before her.

 

"Does it not want to use it, or can it not be used...?"

 

"If it copied our reactions, there should be nothing wrong with the hull."

 

Lynn looked at the observation data of the fake Odette, which was unfolding its solar sail and changing its position.

 

"If there's something wrong with the ship's hull, there's no need to go to the trouble of timing your reaction and coming out in front of us."

 

"Then I don't want to use it."

 

Marika looked at the fake Odette's observation data, which was steadily updated on the display.

 

"If we only use the solar sail, the FTL boosters won't even serve as ballast. If we're just moving around normally, it's lighter and easier without the boosters."

 

"Why not? If you want to increase maneuverability to the point of detaching the boosters, isn't it easier to just use the normal engine?"

 

"If we use the normal engine..."

 

Marika thought for a moment and said.

 

"Even the engine's power performance would be observed by us. If we use solar sail propulsion, we can move while hiding our true engine performance."

 

"...At the very least, you're not an easy opponent who will easily reveal her true identity."

 

Lynn looked at the fake Odette on the display. With impressive skill, the fake Odette raised all of its masts and deployed all of its yards, then used the propulsion of the solar sails in combination with an inertial control system to change its position with agile maneuvering.

 

"The power performance we're observing now isn't much different from ours!"

 

"You're running away just as fast as us, aren't you?"

 

Lynn glared at the power performance calculated from the observation of the fake Odette, which had started to move slowly.

 

"I don't know if they're trying to hide their power performance, but that's not the case here. Navigation team, predict the trajectory of the fake Odette and corner them in the shortest distance!"

 

"This trajectory is..."

 

Because the solar sail is changing course, the trajectory predicted by the computer changes every second. Seeing the direction of the change, Marika checked the situation of the surrounding airspace displayed on the display. Since it is interplanetary space near the Sea of the Morningstar, there are no natural celestial bodies that can be used to hide.

 

However, there is a space disturbance for which the Astronomical Agency has issued a warning.

 

"At this rate of movement..."

 

I still don't know what the fake Odette's intentions are. However, seeing the width of the future predicted trajectory, Marika looked up.

 

"Fake Odette, I'm going to place a space disturbance between us as a warning!"

 

"If you do that, what will happen?"

 

Again, for the members of the team, Lynn asked something that was obvious without asking. Marika answered.

 

"We'll be observing Fake Odette through a turbulent space. With the scale of this space disturbance, the observation accuracy will drop drastically!"

 

"What if we change our orbit and go to a position where there's no space disturbance between us?"

 

Lynn presented a solution that anyone could understand right away.

 

"That way, we'll be off the shortest orbit that gets close to Fake Odette. It will delay our obtaining more detailed observation data, and if Fake Odette places a space disturbance between us to match our changed orbit, the observation data will end up being disturbed again."

 

"Hmmm."

 

Lynn, who was in the captain's seat, compared the slowly changing predicted orbit of Fake Odette with its future position, the map of the universe and its current course.

 

"...Radar/sensor team, focus on observing the spatial disturbance. I don't think it will be a big deal if we go straight in, but this is a spatial disturbance that would cause the Astronomical Agency to issue a warning, so we will keep a safe distance and go through!"

 

"Are you okay?"

 

Jenny just asked. Lynn smiled confidently.

 

"The fake Odette said to follow us if we could. If we only use solar sails, we can use not only normal propulsion but also FTL boosters, so we will eventually catch up. I don't like how it has been going on for so long, but if it's a phenomenon like spatial disturbance, we can fly at a safe distance and not get dragged in or have our hull destroyed."

 

"Predicted trajectory, out."

 

Ai, who had left the helmsman's seat and gone to the navigation team's seat, spoke up.

 

"I've constructed our future trajectory on the assumption that Fake Odette will use the spatial disturbance as a blind!"

 

A flight plan was transferred to the captain's seat, designed to allow Fake Odette to be pursued on as simple a trajectory as possible. Lynn glanced over the planned trajectory, and when she saw Marika in the first officer's seat nod, she gave the navigation team a thumbs up.

 

"I approve. Show Fake Odette what you've got!"

 

"Got it!"

 

Ai jumped out of the navigation team's corner and returned to the helmsman's seat.

 

"Full speed, Odette II, let's go!"

 

It seems that Fake Odette also has information about the spatial disturbance. Fake Odette took an trajectory to escape to the outer planetary system, aiming to disrupt the radar and sensors of Odette II, who had left the anchorage airspace to pursue her, and maintained an trajectory that would put the spatial disturbance in front of her pursuers.

 

A solar sail ship that relies on sunlight for propulsion can fly without matching its attitude with its thrust direction. However, with the heavy FTL booster connected to Odette II, the solar sail not only provides little propulsion, but can also cause flight resistance, so it has no choice but to use normal propulsion. The more efficient the flight, the easier it is to predict its future trajectory from its attitude.

 

Odette II has been unable to receive any radar or communication from the fake Odette. Although its transponder is the only thing oscillating, it is almost completely radio-blocked and does not appear to be willing to leak any data.

 

The pursuing Odette II has focused its observations on the spatial disturbance between it and its target. Data is occasionally obtained of the fake Odette sailing beyond the spatial disturbance using only the solar sail, but the fragmentary observation results show that its performance as a solar sail ship is exactly the same as this one.

 

Regarding the spatial disturbance for which a warning has been issued, the accuracy of observations has improved as the observation distance has decreased.

 

"That's a strange space disturbance."

 

The space disturbance, which would normally dissipate and disappear, seems to be continuing on a scale similar to the touchdown of a large spacecraft.

 

Since this is an amateur observation, there is no information beyond what was automatically processed by the computer, but Lynn was still checking the accumulated observation results.

 

"What is the point of something of this scale continuing on a continuous basis..."

 

"I've heard that space disturbances appear at symmetrical points via hyperspace."

 

Jenny, who was floating next to the captain's seat, said while looking around at the same data.

 

"There is a phenomenon in which space disturbances occur somewhere in this universe, and it appears on the opposite side when various conditions overlap."

 

"So does that mean that somewhere in the galaxy there is a space disturbance that doesn't disappear?"

 

"It could be in another galaxy, not in this galaxy, or it could be on the opposite side of the time axis centered on some reference point."

 

"I don't know which scholar this is, but that's useless!"

 

Lynn dismissed it.

 

"Boss."

 

Marika looked up, looking at her watch.

 

"Let's decide on a tentative schedule now."

 

"Schedule? What are you talking about?"

 

"This time, Odette II is leaving for a short flight from the station to the anchorage, and everyone should be returning to Shin-Okuhama City today. Do we change our plans and chase after the fake Odette, or do we report to the authorities that there is an unidentified ship emitting a transponder with the same ID and leave it to them and go home? Which do you want to do?"

 

Tracking a spaceship takes time. It's a mission that is no different from reading the enemy's trajectory before a battle, predicting the encounter situation, and creating an advantageous situation.

 

"...Even if we extend it as long as possible, it will be until the start of work tomorrow."

 

With a smile on her face, Lynn looked around the bridge. Marika couldn't help but speak up.

 

"Boss! Are you planning to chase the fake Odette all night long!?"

 

"Predict the most optimistic tracking trajectory possible."

 

Lynn said, looking around at the faces of the bridge members one by one.

 

"The conditions are that we will go as fast as we can with our current speed, the fake Odette will continue to sail on the sun, and the completion condition is to get close enough to get data that allows us to get a detailed picture of the enemy with our observation equipment. How long will it take to corner the enemy and get the data we need?"

 

"One hour."

 

The braided girl in the sensor seat answered without much hesitation.

 

"It depends on how far away we are from the spatial disturbance, but we can get close enough to the target spaceship to get sufficient observation results in as little as an hour."

 

"It will take an hour to get closest, then we'll go back and clean up, so we'll be three hours late than planned."

 

Lynn rearranged her plans in her head.

 

"I guess we'll have dinner on the shuttle on the way back, not after we get to the ground. Okay, when it becomes clear that we can't get close enough to the fake Odette within the scheduled time, we'll report the ship's presence to the control station, and if necessary, we'll ask the star system military to track it."

 

"Will the military take action just because we're emitting a fake transponder?"

 

Lynn laughed and shook her head at the question from the second year navigator.

 

"Unless there's a suitable ship in a convenient location, that's fine, otherwise they'll just accept the request. So if we don't find out the real identity of the fake Odette by the scheduled time, we lose. But we don't have time to sacrifice tomorrow's classes for a single fake Odette. After all, the motto of the Hakuoh Girls' Academy Yacht Club is good behavior."

 

The bridge erupted in excitement at the unheard motto.

 

"However, I don't want them to know that we're flying with a time limit. Plan a trajectory that will corner the fake Odette in the shortest time possible, and that also makes it look like we're not in a hurry."

 

"It'll be fine."

 

Marika answered, calculating the future trajectory of Odette II under various conditions.

 

"When the enemy is sailing under the sun, their acceleration is two orders of magnitude slower than when they are sailing under power. It's only a matter of time before they catch up."

 

"If the fake Odette knows our performance," Gruier muttered, and Marika looked up. The Odette II, the training sailing ship of the Hakuoh Girls' Academy Yacht Club, was also a pirate ship that held a privateer's license during the War of Independence. Now that it has become a civilian ship, its power performance is registered with the Shipping Bureau and can be viewed by anyone.

 

"If they're sailing, they'll eventually catch up, so they should know that."

 

Gruier shifted his gaze from Marika to Lynn.

 

"Why did they run away without even responding when they were definitely in a position to be caught up?"

 

"Just catch them and ask them directly."

 

Lynn answered matter-of-factly.

 

"If we get close and observe closely, we'll know if they're just faking the reaction or if they've replicated the exterior as well. Let's hear from them carefully to find out what purpose they've gone out of their way to make the same reaction."

 

"Even if the reaction and sailing performance are the same as ours, we can't tell if they have weapons or not."

 

Imagining various worst-case scenarios, Marika ran her fingers over the control panel.

 

"Watch out for reactions like the booster that was separated over there, and the drone that was launched without our noticing. It's not that difficult to fake the reaction and have something different inside."

 

Marika put together a suitable trajectory for the fake Odette, leaving a spatial disturbance between us and the one we were chasing, and applying the sailing performance of Odette II as it was.

 

"How about something like this?"

 

Thinking that if Luca, the navigator of the Bentenmaru, checked it, he would immediately reject it, she transferred it to the captain's seat.

 

"There aren't that many parameters, so it won't be such a complicated trajectory. If the movement of the fake Odette is within the expected range, the only difference is how far away we can avoid the spatial disturbances that are hovering in units of 1000 kilometers, and how close we can get."

 

"Isn't that good?"

 

With just one glance, Lynn gave the OK to Marika's flight plan.

 

"On the other hand, even the fake Odette can predict how we will move. If it goes according to plan, there is a possibility that they can set a trap. We will continue to observe the spatial disturbance, but we will keep a large safe distance. This is still within the defense range of the star system military, and if it is an unplanned touchdown, an escort ship will fly in to confirm it."

 

"It's true that it was an unplanned touchdown, but if the transponder is exactly the same, I wonder if they will really think it's an unidentified ship."

 

"What?"

 

Lynn looked at Jenny's profile.

 

"Apart from the area around the Sea of the Morningstar, the patrol network of the Star System Military is not that dense once you reach interplanetary space. Of course they would be able to catch the spatial anomaly that accompanies touchdown, but if there is a space disturbance like that nearby and what comes out is a training sailing ship with a flight plan already submitted, even if they notice that there are two transponders, they will probably think it's a machine error."

 

"You can't expect the Star System Military to show up unless you report it."

 

"Shall we notify the Star System Military that we have found an unidentified ship that appears to be a fake ship with the same transponder?"

 

Gruier, who was in the radio operator's seat, asked.

 

"We have all the data for that."

 

"You work fast."

 

Jenny smiled at Gruier. If you want to report a suspicious ship to the star system military, you need to attach the necessary data. It's not enough to just report it to the control station or the star system military.

 

"It's not like we're under attack or at risk of being affected or anything like that, so it's not that dire."

 

Lynn checked the current position and predicted orbit of the fake Odette, which was trying to escape using only the propulsion of its solar sail.

 

"I'll report to the military and the control station after I've gathered more data. I'll corner the fake Odette on the shortest orbit!"

 

The fake Odette was flying using only the solar sail for propulsion, and was in a radio silenced state, not using radar or responding to communications, and was heading for the outer planet's orbit. As per the policy of placing spatial disturbance between it and the pursuers to prevent accurate observation data, it was making small course corrections in response to the orbital changes of Odette II.

 

The distance between the fake Odette and the Odette was definitely decreasing, but the observation accuracy had not improved much due to the spatial disturbance that was keeping it stationary. From the data obtained, all they could determine was that the fake Odette was exactly the same as Odette II, not only in appearance but also in sailing performance with the solar sail.

 

Even with regard to the spatial disturbance designated as the immediate observation target in place of the fake Odette, no significant data has been obtained. The sensors have picked up high-energy reactions that are enough to disturb the space, but high-precision analysis has not produced any good results.

 

"The FTL booster is not moving, and there is no sign of any unmanned probes being released or operated."

 

Lynn looked around the displays around the captain's seat, where the straight-line distance was shrinking, and the relative speed was also showing an advantage in our favor, but there was no significant increase in data.

 

"We will soon enter an orbit to avoid spatial disturbances," Marika announced.

 

"If there is no spatial disturbance between us and the fake Odette, then our observation accuracy will increase. Once we pass the spatial disturbance, the fake Odette will have no place to hide."

 

"That's true, but..."

 

Jenny, who had emerged into the central space, looked around at the faces of the bridge crew.

 

"If they're thinking about it as much as we are, I think they know that much. If that's the case, I wonder what the fake Odette is going to do when we get past the spatial disturbance."

 

"Electronic jamming and active stealth, if the enemy knows our capabilities and launches an attack, there's a lot they can do."

 

Lynn looked at the display showing their positions, wondering when that would happen.

 

"The fact that they're responding exactly the same as us means they've done a thorough investigation beforehand. There's no way that such an enemy doesn't know about our electronic warfare power. Despite that, they're showing no signs of running away when we try to close the distance, so that means they're prepared with some kind of plan."

 

"Something?"

 

"If you know that, it won't be a problem."

 

Lynn looked at the current position of the fake Odette on the other side of the spatial disturbance.

 

"But there are as many moves they can make as we can. It's likely that we won't be able to respond in time. So we'll just have to avoid the spatial disturbance and observe the fake Odette through the clear space, and that's it."

 

Lynn checked the situation in the surrounding space on the display. There were still no other spaceships in sight.

 

"We have classes tomorrow, too, so I'm sorry for the guy who went to the trouble of making an identical reaction to come out, but we'll just turn around and return to the anchorage airspace."

 

"Oh?"

 

Jenny looked at Lynn’s face again.

 

"You've already decided to retreat from the beginning? That's a pretty quick decision."

 

"We're not at war."

 

Lynn said with a wry smile.

 

"I don't like the idea of ​​the same reaction, but so far they're just running away, they're not doing anything to us, let alone attacking us."

 

"Isn't it hostile to respond exactly the same way we do?"

 

"It's definitely not friendly, but it's a very gentle thing to do."

 

Lynn traced the trajectory of the fake Odette after touching down with her fingertips.

 

"I haven't done that many voyages or actual battles on this spaceship, but if they're willing to fight, there must be more they can do. If they're thinking of doing something bad, there must be plenty they can do."

 

"You don't sense anything bad?"

 

"That's true, but if this is a trap set by the fake Odette, wouldn't it be best not to get on it?"

 

A protesting voice was heard from the bridge crew. Lynn raised one hand in response. "We'll gather intelligence. We'll submit it to the control station and, if necessary, to the star system military. We don't have any weapons anyway, so if the fake Odette launches a serious attack, we'll have no choice but to run away. So, rather than slowly approaching a distance that would make us a target for long-range fire, wouldn't it be better to turn around just before that and disappoint the enemy?"

 

"That's passive."

 

"When we think about the safety of the crew and the spaceship, we can't take any aggressive measures."

 

Lynn waved her hands dramatically.

 

"But before we get too carried away, let's do something. Radar/sensor team, once we get out of the space disturbance, observe the fake Odette with all the equipment you have. The data we get is the result of this battle. With that, we can openly report the presence of the unidentified ship that even disguised its transponder to the control station and the military."

 

"Understood!"

 

The four first-years in the radar/sensor seats replied in unison.

 

"You can use high-frequency radar, but not fire control radar!"

 

Marika sent the radar settings to the radar/sensor seats.

 

"Maximum output, keep it to medium. If we use maximum output, it's not surprising that it will be thought of as an electronic attack."

 

The radar equipped on the former pirate ship Odette II has a large antenna using a mast and high output. It is so high-output that it is unreasonable for a civilian spaceship, but even for a military spaceship, it can pinpoint the enemy's location before the enemy, making up for its power performance that is far inferior to that of a warship and making the battle possible.

 

Odette II's radar can easily break through simple jamming signals with its high output, but if it was fired at full power, it could fry the target like a microwave even if it was far away. Marika ordered the radar/sensor seat to use a high output for civilian use, but not so high that it would be in trouble if fired in the inner planetary system.

 

"We only need to fire it once, since that's enough to read the enemy's details at this distance."

 

"That's a pretty simple setting."

 

Lynn, who was in the captain's seat, looked at the settings Marika had sent to the radar/sensor seat and turned her head to the first officer's seat.

 

"Odette II (our ship) could do a lot more."

 

"I'm worried that the enemy isn't even sending out radar signals."

 

Marika looked at the fake Odette's current location on the display.

 

"If they want to hide their electronics to that extent, we don't need to go along with it. We'll only illuminate the radar once, and whether we get a response or not, we'll turn around and return to the anchorage airspace. I think that's the plan, President."

 

"We'll soon be at the closest point to the spatial disturbance."

 

With that, Ai gripped the wheel again.

 

"All right, Odette II, prepare to maneuver!"

 

Lynn confirmed the planned orbital motion.

 

"Keep the bow pointed at the fake Odette, and slide sideways to avoid the spatial disturbance. Yayoi, full engine speed!"

 

"Increase normal power and engine speed to full engine speed."

 

The power output of the normal engine equipped on the FTL booster far exceeds that of the Odette II. With the bow pointed at the fake Odette through the spatial disturbance, the Odette II started moving sideways at high speed by fully rotating the inertial control system on the side thrusters.

 

In response, the fake Odette, located far beyond the space disturbance, also begins to move sideways in the opposite direction. However, the movement of the solar sail ship, which moves only with light pressure, is much slower than the powered flight of the Odette II.

 

The space disturbance, which seems to be fixed at a single point in interplanetary space with no support, is almost spherical, and emits gravitational waves and airquakes like needles in all directions. Odette II suddenly changes its orbit, as if to make a large detour around the space disturbance, which is several thousand kilometers in diameter.

 

Preliminary observations had precisely recorded the range of the space disturbance's influence as data. The clearer the space between it and the target, the more accurate the observation data obtained. Odette II slid sideways from the shapeless, irregularly changing space disturbance and captured the target solar sail ship in far-away space.

 

"Target confirmed!"

 

The first-year student with the short hair called out.

 

"Radar launching!"

 

Suddenly, an ear-splitting noise came from the speakers on the bridge.

 

"What? Have we gotten a response yet!?"

 

"At this distance, it will take 20 seconds for the reflected response to return!"

 

In response to Lynn, Marika glared at the radar display on the first officer's seat, which had quickly become filled with noise.

 

"They read my mind. They hit our current position with accurate jamming signals!"

 

"Twenty seconds before we launched our radar!?"

 

"Even though it was through spatial disturbance, they could see us just as well as we could. You fired your thrusters so dramatically and changed your orbit, so they predicted your future position and launched jamming signals!"

 

"That's not as accurate as a naval gunfire attack."

 

Jenny, looking at the distance between them, spoke in a calm voice. Jamming signals spread out more than beams, but still, precise aim is required to fire them at this density from such a distance. And to keep emitting jamming signals, you have to keep tracking the target accurately.

 

"We're emitting jamming signals to civilian ships sailing normally. With this, there's no reason to go easy on them, right?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Lynn nodded.

 

"High-frequency radar, irradiate the target with full power! Show them the power of the real thing!"

 

Lynn gave the order to increase the radar output and forcefully destroy the jamming signals, the simplest way to deal with them.

 

"Understood. Raise radar output."

 

Shortcut at the radar seat entered the specified value into the control panel. The converter reactor, which was operating at high power, put as much power as the circuitry would allow into the radar system.

 

The noise on the bridge became quiet, as if the jamming signals attacking the Odette II were being pushed back by the brute force of the high-powered radar.

 

"Can we go?"

 

Lynn muttered to himself. Because of the distance, it would take some time for the radar to respond.

 

"It might turn into electronic warfare," Marika said in response.

 

"The fact that the enemy fired jamming signals at this timing means that they predicted our response to some extent. That means they might have predicted our move as well."

 

"High energy reaction!"

 

The ponytail in the radar/sensor seat cried out.

 

"What!?"

 

Lynn looked around the displays around the captain's seat for the source of the high energy reaction. The high energy reaction that she thought was from the fake Odette was being detected from a surprisingly close distance.

 

"High energy reaction from spatial disturbance, spatial disturbance expanding rapidly!"

 

"Rudder 90 degrees, sharp turn!"

 

Marika quickly gave orders.

 

"Point your tail at the spatial disturbance, full power! Get away!!"

 

"Full rudder, change course 90 degrees!"

 

Ai turned the wheel vigorously. Odette II, which had been flying with the spatial disturbance to the side, swung its bow rapidly. Next to her, the spatial disturbance grew so rapidly that it even shook the stars in the background.

 

"High-energy reaction expanding!"

 

Speaking in a high-pitched voice, the ponytailed first-year completed her role.

 

"Shock wave coming!"

 

"Shock-resistant defense!"

 

Lynn shouted, thinking about what position she would be in to receive the shock wave.

 

"Don't get blown away, grab hold of something!!"

 

As Odette II turned around rapidly, she was engulfed in a shock wave.

For a moment, the bridge of the Odette II was shrouded in darkness, but it was quickly switched to emergency power. In the dim emergency lights, the piercing alarm in her ears brought Marika back to her senses.

 

"Check the current situation! Check the hull, engine, radar, and sensor systems for any abnormalities!"

 

As she issued orders using her captain's authority, Marika looked around at the display on the first officer's seat. The display was normal, and when the ship was engulfed in the explosively expanding spatial disturbance, the impact on the hull was only dull, but it was unclear how much damage had been done or not.

 

"What kind of alarm is that?"

 

Jenny tilted her head at the unfamiliar alarm. Lynn answered while checking the captain's seat display to see that there was no damage that required immediate action.

 

"There's a shooting alert. The fake Odette has hit us with her fire control radar."

 

"It's not the fake Odette!"

 

The short-haired first-year screamed.

 

"Close range, unidentified ship! The surrounding configuration is completely different!"

 

"Confirm current position! Increase engine power, keep course, prepare electronic warfare! Captain, turn off transponder!"

 

Marika jumped out of the first officer's seat and slid into the empty electronic warfare seat.

 

"The Sea of the Morningstar has disappeared somewhere! I think the nearby star is Tau, so it was probably hit by the shock wave and made a short jump, but being illuminated by the fire control radar is not a normal situation."

 

"It must be a misunderstanding or some kind of mistake?"

 

"Even if it's a misunderstanding or some kind of mistake, if we get shot, something will fly. We have to defend ourselves first!"

 

Marika started to turn on the switches in the electronic warfare seat one by one.

 

"As captain, I declare a state of emergency."

 

Lynn floated up from the captain's seat.

 

"This is an order from the captain, please take over as captain."

 

Lynn slipped out of the captain's seat and flew to the electronic warfare seat in the shortest distance.

 

"If it's a real emergency, the captain's seat will be too heavy for a mere captain of the yacht club."

 

After looking around the bridge, Marika nodded.

 

"Understood. I will take over as captain of the Odette II."

 

"Current location confirmed."

 

The third-year student in the navigator seat reported in a calm voice.

 

"We're in the Tau star system, near the orbit of the Bright Blue Star."

 

"Did we jump the width of one inner planet?"

 

Marika muttered as she stood up next to Lynn, who had sat down at the electronic warfare seat, and watched as the electronic warfare panel went into automatic defense mode.

 

"So that means the unidentified ship nearby is a fake Odette?"

 

"I can't get the transponder."

 

As if in response, the braided girl in the radar/sensor seat answered.

 

"The unidentified ship is 500,000 km away, probably a cargo ship."

 

"What kind of thing would a cargo ship have a fire control radar?"

 

It was Jenny who said it. Commercial spaceships are built and operated with efficiency as the number one priority, and only have the necessary and sufficient radar/sensor systems. A fire control radar requires precise measurement of the target, and the accuracy, power, maintenance effort, and cost are too great for commercial spaceships to operate.

 

"Only ships that have something to shoot and are motivated can hit something like that!"

 

"Ours is even equipped with electronic weapons."

 

Marika looked at Lynn, who had begun to run her fingers over the electronic warfare control panel.

 

"Odette II, prepare for battle. Please blind the enemy."

 

"Understood!"

 

"Notification to fake Odette has been ended."

 

Gruier reported after checking the display in the radio operator's seat that there was no fake Odette in the vicinity. Marika looked at Gruier in the radio operator's seat from the electronic warfare seat.

 

"Did we make it in time?"

 

"Probably."

 

Gruier nodded.

 

"The last communication was just before it was swallowed by the shock wave. We turned off the repeat before the next communication, so the enemy should not have intercepted our communication. And..."

 

"Commence electronic jamming."

 

Lynn declared, tapping on the control panel. Jamming radio waves began to be emitted toward the unidentified ship that had been hitting the fire control radar without even emitting a transponder.

 

"With this, the enemy should no longer be able to see our exact position or shape."

 

"Sorry, if it's not urgent, I'll ask later. If they're planning to shoot, they should change the frequency."

 

Raising one hand to Gruier, who still seemed to want to say something, Marika looked at the progress of the electronic warfare that had begun on the display. We were flying by inertia, and the enemy was also flying unpowered and only moving by inertia.

 

"Radar/sensor team, focus on observation of the unidentified ship. Is it a cargo ship, right?"

 

"It seems to be this type."

 

The braided man in the sensor seat read out the details displayed on the display.

 

"It seems to be a Liberty-class cargo ship, a small, high-speed mass-produced type."

 

"Liberty-class?"

 

Marika tilted her head at the type name, which she had never heard before.

 

"There seem to be a lot of different types, so I haven't been able to pinpoint which one it is, but they say it's probably a Liberty-class Category I type."

 

"Category I type?"

 

Marika looked back at the data on the display, wondering what it was now. If it was a cargo spaceship that connects stars, it couldn't do business unless it was a Category I type that could travel faster than light.

 

"Are Category IIs that can't travel faster than light listed in the catalog? That's rare."

 

"This is the first time I've seen a Liberty-class that's alive and moving."

 

Marika couldn't help but look up at the captain's seat. Jenny came flying from the captain's seat to the electronic warfare seat, following Lynn.

 

"Do you know?"

 

"It's a spaceship that was used from the early days of colonization. When it was first developed on the Stellar Alliance, it was so old that FTL engines hadn't been put to practical use yet."

 

"It's that old!?"

 

The early planetary colonization was carried out without FTL technology. Interstellar colonization, which took many years to cross interstellar space, is taught in elementary school on colonized planets.

 

"It was simple to make and sturdy, so it was used for a long time even after it became possible to travel faster than light. However, it quickly disappeared after the War of Independence ended and Imperial spaceships and technology started to come in."

 

Jenny flew to the electronic warfare seat and looked at the display from the opposite direction.

 

"There should have been Liberty-class ships with boosters that were only equipped with normal engines, but if it's Category I, it's probably a type that was built with FTL engines from the beginning. I wonder if it's possible to do business with such old-fashioned ships in today's universe."

 

"No way a freighter would be equipped with a fire control radar!"

 

Lynn manipulates the electronic warfare panel to find out the enemy's response.

 

"Well, maybe it's a disguised cruiser or an armed merchant ship."

 

Jenny took the seat next to Lynn, taking the place of Marika who had emerged from the electronic warfare seat.

 

"Or maybe it's a memorial ship like ours and they've kept the old equipment as it is?"

 

"We don't have any onboard armaments!"

 

Marika slid into the captain's seat.

 

"Even if they shoot at us, we don't have anything to shoot back!"

 

"It's easy enough to pretend we have it."

 

Jenny said nonchalantly.

 

"Although, the way we respond will vary depending on whether they know about our spaceship or not."

 

"They're the kind of people who turn off their transponders and aim their fire control radar at us."

 

Marika said, tracking the movements of the unidentified ship that we had observed on the captain's seat display.

 

"We're still in the inner planetary system, so even if we sink it, it will be considered self-defense."

 

"But considering that, they're not coming at us."

 

The unidentified ship continued to move by inertia, slowly increasing the distance between it and the Odette II. Perhaps our electronic jamming was working, because there were no further illuminations from the fire control radar.

 

"They don't seem to be responding to the jamming signals either," Lynn said.

 

"I don't know what they were doing here before we showed up, but at least they don't seem to want to fight now."

 

"I can't trust someone who's turned off their transponder."

 

Marika replied.

 

"If they're equipped with a large-caliber beam cannon, we're at a distance where we can engage in artillery fire. If they fire at us the moment we relax, we won't be able to deal with them."

 

"Unidentified ship, no change in posture."

 

The ponytailed freshman reported.

 

"Energy response is decreasing."

 

"What should we do?"

 

Lynn in the electronic warfare seat looked up at Marika in the captain's seat.

 

"After the first radar shot, the enemy hasn't made a move. The distance is gradually increasing. At least, I don't think they have any intention to escalate the fighting any further."

 

"It will be difficult to aim accurately thanks to our jamming signals, but we are still at artillery range. Don't let your guard down."

 

Thinking that it would be possible to avoid a situation where we would enter into a fighting situation without even knowing the enemy's true identity, Marika thought about what she should do next. Odette II, which should have been in an orbit close to the Lagrange point of Sea of the Morningstar, is now in interplanetary space, about the radius of the planet's orbit.

 

Even though she was suddenly hit by the fire control radar, Marika wondered if it was an overreaction to return jamming signals, and tried to check the location of other spaceships in the Tau system.

 

The data that should have been updated in real time from the control station was not coming. Even when the display range of the correlation display was switched to a wide area, the current location of the spaceship that should have been in the Tau system was not displayed.

 

When Marika tried to check the current location of Odette II again, she noticed that not only had the data communication from the control station disappeared, but also the current location displayed by the Galactic Positioning System (GPS).

 

"Huh?"

 

Unlike protoplanetary systems that have just begun to be developed, star systems with open sea routes have a fully-equipped Galactic Positioning System. Reference drones are set up in multiple orbits around a star, covering the star system in layers of polyhedrons around the star.

 

There are countless GPS devices in interstellar space, and unless you are in a deserted or undeveloped area, you can check the current location.

 

If you use the Galactic Positioning System, the current location of the spaceship is automatically displayed with high accuracy. As long as you fly along a route within the empire's territory where the Galactic Positioning System is in place, you can operate it completely automatically without touching the control system even once from departure to arrival.

 

Because it is a core system for flying in space, its maintenance and operation are subject to multiple safety designs and strict standards, so it is safe to say that it is almost never completely out of service.

 

While wondering if something serious had happened in the Tau system, Marika gave the following instructions.

 

"Well, we'll determine our current location using celestial navigation. It seems that the entire GPS has gone down, so we'll use the positions of the stars to determine our current location."

 

"Isn't that impossible?"

 

Jenny looked up at Marika in the captain's seat.

 

"GPS stars are independent, so even if some of the stars in the sky that can be used as a reference go down, the rest can be used to supplement them. Is it possible that all of the GPS stars in the Tau system could suddenly become unusable?"

 

"I can't imagine that happening, but it's true that that's what's happening now. It's not just GPS, we can't pick up any transponders from spaceships that are supposed to be flying in the Tau system."

 

Marika looked around the displays around the captain's seat in search of new information.

 

"There's nothing but errors with the astronomical navigation."

 

The platinum blonde third-year student in the navigator's seat reported in a calm voice, and Marika looked down at the navigation panel on the captain's seat.

 

"I've been trying to confirm our current position with the astronomical navigation for a while now, but no matter how many times I try, I get an error."

 

The astronomical navigation uses Odette II's cameras and sensors to observe celestial objects in the entire sky and calculate the current position. The reference star varies depending on the location, but the database for astronomical navigation contains data on all the major stars in the entire galaxy, so there is no need to worry about getting lost no matter where you go.

 

The camera sensor automatically identifies the reference star from among the celestial objects captured in the field of view. By precisely observing the positions of multiple stars, you can reverse-calculate your own position from that data. Observing several stars with a sextant from the astronomical dome and manually calculating your current position from that is basic navigation training.

 

The error was coming from part of the navigation system that automatically performs astronomical navigation. The reference stars used are Tau, the second planet Ishi no Shirahoshi, the third planet Mare Myojo, the fourth planet Azur Lane, and several other prominent stars that shine brightly in the sky.

 

The spaceship's navigation system detects the reference celestial bodies using cameras and sensors installed in various places and precisely observes their positions. The astronomical system has detected the current positions of the Tau system and the third planet Mare Myojo, but it continues to give observation errors for the remaining stars.

 

"I wonder if it's broken."

 

The main body of the navigation system is not there, so it's pointless, but Marika lightly flicks the screen of the navigation display.

 

"There are no malfunctions found in the connections to the camera and sensor systems, or in the computer itself."

 

The platinum blonde third-year student reported, apparently having already checked since the error was detected.

 

"However, it seems that the position of the planet and the position of the reference star do not match. They said to set the clock and calibrate it."

 

In order to accurately calculate the current position, an accurate clock and adjusted equipment are required. Calibration means to accurately readjust the equipment.

 

"The clock should be correct with GPS, right?"

 

Galactic Positioning System buoys have accurate clocks built in and transmit the current time. Spaceships are also equipped with high-precision clocks (chronometers) in case the positioning system cannot be used, but this should be calibrated every time the position is determined.

 

After muttering, Marika remembered that the positioning system itself could not receive signals.

 

"Did the clock go out of sync because of the space disturbance?"

 

"It's too good to be true that GPS cannot be used when we're out here."

 

Jenny sighed as she looked around the displays around the electronic warfare desk.

 

"Speak."

 

Gruier raised one hand. Marika looked at him.

 

"Yes, what is it?"

 

"Just before we were engulfed in the shockwave of the rapidly expanding spatial disturbance, we received a reply from the fake Odette. It was a short message."

 

"From the fake Odette?"

 

Seeing that everyone on the bridge was paying attention to Gruier, Marika said.

 

"So, what's it?"

 

"Here it is."

 

Gruier forwarded the message to all seats on the bridge.

 

"From Marika Kato, Captain of the Odette II, one week later, to all crew members of the Odette II, one week ago."

 

The bridge was buzzing ominously. As if not hearing, Gruier continued reading.

 

"When Gruier is reading this message, your Odette II is in the star system 120 years ago, at 00:44 on June 22, 129, Gregorian Standard Time. For the exact current location and time, please refer to Loran. Continue to track the Liberty class and do not allow it to get close to the Sea of the Morningstar, and if necessary, use the transponder in the name of the White Swan. I wish you the best of luck."

 

Marika stared silently at the message sent under her own name. The date of the message was certainly a week earlier than the date of Odette II displayed on the bridge.

 

"What is this?"

 

Jenny asked, speaking for the entire bridge crew.

 

"Also, what is Loran?"

 

"It is an old navigational support system used by the Stellar Alliance and Federation of Colonial Stars before the Galactic Positioning System."

 

The platinum blonde third year student in the navigator's seat answered. He started tapping on the control panel as if he had remembered something.

 

"Our ship is old, so I think it probably has the Loran system, but I wonder if it's still usable after it was decommissioned a long time ago?"

 

"I'll check, and if it works, I'll use it to confirm the current location and time. Marika?"

 

No response. Jenny called out again.

 

"Captain Kato Marika?"

 

"Y-Yes!"

 

Marika, who was in the captain's seat, instinctively straightened her back and replied.

 

"What do you mean? I mean, it's no use asking for an explanation."

 

Seeing Marika's face, which looked like it was all she could do just to reply, Jenny smiled sympathetically.

 

"If the caller is the captain of the Odette II in a week's time, will we understand what happened in a week's time?"

 

"......"

 

Marika opened her mouth to say something. No words came out. Raising one hand, Jenny nodded.

 

"The crew of Odette II will follow the captain's orders. So please give us your orders, Captain Kato Marika."

 

"...Yes."

 

Marika tried to concentrate on the situation that was right in front of her.

 

"Um, Sasha, do you think Loran can be used?"

 

"Probably."

 

Sasha, the platinum blonde third-year in the navigator's seat, answered while moving her hands.

 

"The automatic check revealed no abnormalities. It will take a while to start up."

 

"Then, please wait for Loran to start up and check its current position. The radar/sensor seats, please re-observe the current positions of the inner planets and the reference celestial bodies, and check whether the results match those from 120 years ago. ... 129th year of the new calendar? How many years is that in the standard calendar?"

 

"In the new calendar, this year would be 249."

 

Jenny answered.

 

"I only see the Gregorian calendar displayed on shrines and churches, but it's essential if I'm going to do pioneer history."

 

"So Gregorian 129 is really 120 years ago then."

 

Muttering, Marika looked at the message still displayed.

 

"120 years ago, um."

 

"The end of the War of Independence, the war will end in six months."

 

Jenny spoke smoothly.

 

"June 22, Gregorian 129, isn't that the time of the locked battle records?"

 

Jenny jumped from the electronic warfare seat to the vacant first officer's seat.

 

"The FTL booster is connected, and if this is the star system from 120 years ago, surely there are other unlocked files?"

 

"The time on Odette II is the same as it is now, so the situation hasn't changed at all, right?"

 

Lynn switched the electronic warfare panel.

 

"But does that mean that only the clock on Odette II is 120 years ahead? If this is really 120 years ago."

 

"Loran, start up."

 

Sasha stopped at the initial setting screen that appeared on the navigator's seat.

 

"May I have Loran obtain the current time?"

 

Although it is not as accurate or precise as the Galactic Positioning System, Loran, which is a navigation support system for each star system, also receives signals containing current position and time information from multiple satellites and calculates the current position. Since accurate coordinates cannot be calculated without knowing the exact time, the signal contains time information.

 

"Um."

 

Marika tried to remember what kind of trouble would occur if one of the navigation systems obtained a completely different time.

 

"Before that, please disconnect the Galactic Positioning System, which is currently unusable, from the navigation system. If there were multiple different times on the ship, it would definitely cause confusion."

 

"Understood. I will disconnect the GPS from Odette II's navigation system."

 

Sasha stopped running her finger over the control panel.

 

"Should we shut down the GPS?"

 

"There's no need to shut it off."

 

Marika looked at the numbers on the Galactic Positioning System clock, which was ticking away Galactic Standard Time 120 years in the future, with no coordinate input.

 

"It should work again when we return, and even in this universe, if we go within Imperial territory, we should be able to use the Galactic Positioning System."

 

"Understood. Disconnecting GPS from the navigation system. Switching coordinate acquisition to Loran, adjusting current time to Loran."

 

The numbers on the display showing Odette II's current location all returned to zero for just a moment. A new display immediately appeared. This time, there were no data acquisition errors.

 

Marika stared silently at the newly displayed current time. 00:49, June 22, 129 New Calendar.

 

"Current location acquisition successful," Sasha announced. "The positions of the reference celestial bodies matched."

 

A moment later, the first-year students in the radar/sensor seats reported.

 

"We were able to confirm our current location using data from 129 S.E.C. It matches the new location data."

 

A sense of relief spread across the bridge after their current location was confirmed.

 

"Um, so to speak," Lynn said, scratching her head so that everyone could hear.

 

"So, we've been transported back in time to the Tau system 120 years ago, in the midst of the War of Independence, right?"

 

In the Tau system at the time of the War of Independence, the many navigation systems introduced after it was annexed by the Galactic Empire were no longer in use. The transponder standards, navigational support systems such as Loran, and even the standards used for normal communication were all different.

 

The Odette II, which had been maintained as a memorial ship, had old equipment that would have been discarded and replaced long ago on a normally operating civilian ship, but it was left as it was due to its historical value.

 

After the Galactic Empire was annexed, navigational aids and communication standards were no longer in use and were considered antiques. However, for colonies with records dating back much shorter than their Stellar Alliance, they were important historical assets.

 

Some of the systems that had been left without proper maintenance and adjustments and that the yacht club members had never even touched were a pain to even start up. They found the manuals in the vast record area of ​​Odette II, followed the procedures to start up the necessary systems, connected them to the communication system, and adjusted them to work properly.

 

After about an hour of work with all the staff, Odette II was once again able to receive signals flying through the surrounding space and regain its normal function as a bridge that could display data.

 

"Oh, it's working properly," Lynn exclaimed as she looked at the space map that now displayed data from spaceships flying through the inner planetary system via transponders.

 

"There are a lot of spaceships with names I've never heard of, and the display is a bit hard to understand, but I can still tell that spaceships are flying."

 

"The transponders from the time of the War of Independence only emitted normal communications that couldn't travel faster than light."

 

Sasha explained while checking the nearby spaceships in the navigator's seat.

 

"So, just imagine that the transponders of distant spaceships are only now receiving signals from hours ago."

 

"What a classical situation."

 

Lynn looked again at the current positions of the various spaceships shown on the display. On the other side of the star Tau, there were several spaceships flying even further outside the orbit of the star Luna, but from Odette II's current position, there was a time lag of nearly three hours even for radio waves traveling at the speed of light.

 

"So, is the current position of this spaceship visible on the other side of the planet Tau from three hours ago?"

 

"No, what's currently displayed is the estimated current position calculated from the information contained in the transponders we received."

 

Sasha put both hands on the control panel. The number of spaceships displayed on the display doubled in an instant.

 

"Right now, we're displaying both the real-time transponder information and the future position based on that."

 

The transponder contains the ship's name, current position, vector information such as direction and speed, as well as the frequency. When you receive a transponder, you can find out when it was emitted along with the name and vector of the other ship.

 

"Transponder signals arrive at the speed of light. Transponders from distant spaceships arrive with a corresponding delay. Real-time information is the position of the spaceship at the time of transmission, so it's not the current information. The calculated future position is the coordinates where the spaceship is expected to be now."

 

Sasha looked around at the underclassmen on the bridge as she gave a basic explanation.

 

"If a spaceship is nearby, it's safe to assume it's in the location indicated by the transponder, but the further away it is, the greater the error. I think the only spaceships that have transponder information up to their planned orbit are those that operate on a regular schedule."

 

"...So..."

 

Marika swallowed hard and looked at the display, which showed the location confirmed by the last transponder emitted by a spaceship traveling within the star system, and the future prediction that it pointed to as its current location. It wasn't a display she was used to, so it took a while to read.

 

"So a spaceship that shows a future location doesn't necessarily mean it's actually there?"

 

"The transponders from the time of the War of Independence didn't use FTL communication."

 

Sasha stopped what she was doing and looked down at the display on the navigator's seat.

 

"Apparently, transponders were able to display the current location of spaceships regardless of the speed of light after the Confederacy of Colonists was annexed by the Galactic Empire and a common standard was used. Before that, they only used normal electromagnetic transponders, the same as for normal communication."

 

"They're doing orbital control with something like that, aren't they?"

 

After muttering with a look of amazement, Jenny tried to recall from her half-baked memory the situation of orbital control in the Tau system during the War of Independence.

 

"There's a relay station, right?"

 

"I remember there was an event when I was a child to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the construction of the relay station."

 

Marika remembered the scene of the Sea of the Morningstar Relay Station, a festive place that her mother Ririka took her to. When the relay station was first built, it was a shack-like structure made of the hulls of long-distance spaceships that were about to be scrapped, and she remembers a three-dimensional model of how it grew into a full-fledged space station over the years.

 

"But I think it probably doesn't watch all the spaceships in the inner planetary system like it does now, but only controls the spaceships that arrive and depart from the relay station."

 

"We've got both the Sea of the Morningstar Relay Station's position signal and the latest control information."

 

Gruier, who was the first on the bridge to finish the adaptation work and is now devoted to collecting information about the surrounding area, reported.

 

"We've also got some communication between the control station and the spaceships that arrive and depart, but it seems they're checking the data by voice."

 

The Sea of the Morningstar Relay Station that Marika and her friends know communicates primarily by data communication. The only time we communicate with the control station is when we greet each other when entering or leaving port.

 

"If the control station was in the time of the War of Independence, I guess it only controlled the relay station and the round trip flights to and from the ground."

 

Jenny said, piecing together her vague memories.

 

"What about data communication?"

 

"Not really."

 

Lynn, who was gathering all the electronic information he could get at the electronic warfare desk, answered.

 

"The amount of radio waves flying in the communication area is about one tenth to one hundredth of what it is now."

 

"It's that small!?"

 

The information density of interstellar space is directly connected to the density of spaceships. Jenny, who is ingrained with this common sense, couldn't help but speak up.

 

"If we were fighting the War of Independence, it wouldn't be strange if there were more spaceships flying than there are now, but is that the amount of radio waves flying?"

 

"No, the number of spaceships itself is not that different from now."

 

Lynn said while operating the control panel.

 

"We're in the middle of a war of independence, so warships and pirate ships on active missions wouldn't bother to broadcast transponders, and unless it was a neutral transport ship with no fear of being attacked, they wouldn't fly according to their transponders. Our radar can see through to the other side of the planet, but it takes a long time for a response to come back, so we don't do that, but there are still a considerable number of spaceships that can be picked up by our sensor systems. However, the amount of information each one is sending isn't as much as it is now."

 

Lynn ran her finger over the control panel and brought up a list of signals that Odette II was receiving on the display.

 

"Well, unlike today, spaceships back then weren't always connected to a network and exchanging information. The basic principle of spaceships is that they can fly on their own without any communication with others."

 

"They weren't always connected to a FTL network, and transponders only went at the speed of light, and in a star system during wartime, not everything was flying with a transponder."

 

Jenny, who summarized the situation, let out an exaggerated sigh.

 

"Spaceships back then were tough."

 

Amidst the laughter of the bridge, Gruier, who wasn't laughing, spoke up.

 

"Not back then. It's now."

 

The eyes of the bridge crew were on Gruier. Gruier repeated as if to convince himself.

 

"It's not the past, it's the Tau system in June 129 of the new calendar year. We come from the Tau system 120 years in the future."

 

"Now... now?"

 

Ai, who was in the helmsman's seat, asked to confirm. Gruier nodded.

 

"That's right. Now is the world 120 years ago from the world we were in. I think we should confirm where we are, and at the same time, make sure we're aware of when we are."

 

"Thank you, Gruier."

 

Marika, who was in the captain's seat, raised one hand and said.

 

"That's right. We are in the Tau system at the end of the War of Independence, and we are currently at war. Chief, can you confirm whether there is a transponder for the White Swan in Odette II's records, and if so, whether we can use the transponder for the White Swan instead of the current one for Odette II?"

 

"Yes, well, that's easy."

 

"Thank you. Then, I'll check the current status of the ship. Maki, Ursula, please check the stock of food and water. Can we continue moving like this, or do we need to replenish somewhere?"

 

Odette II left the relay station with the intention of only making a short round trip to the anchorage airspace. Since there are no meal times scheduled during the flight, only the food currently stored is on board.

 

"The inventory list, um."

 

Ursula, a second-year student, brought up the food storage inventory list on the display and compared the numbers that came up with the current number of crew members.

 

"We don't have any fresh food, but the rations and preserved food should last the current crew for at least three weeks."

 

"I'm a bit worried about having nothing but preserved food, but I think three weeks should be fine."

 

Marika nodded.

 

"Sorry, but I've got to check the inventory at the food storehouse. There should be things that are on the list but aren't, and things that aren't on the list but are, so could you open all the containers and check the contents?"

 

"Understood."

 

"Check all the radar/sensor systems and see if there are any malfunctions or issues. Also, check the inventory of spare parts for repairs and maintenance. Yayoi, how's the propulsion system?"

 

"The nuclear reactors of both the Odette II main body and the FTL booster are stable. As long as it flies normally, there should be no problems for a month or two. The main body is at 65% propellant, and the FTL booster is at 35%, so there shouldn't be any problems with that for the time being."

 

Lower propellant in the FTL booster means that there are restrictions on combat maneuvers and attitude control. While thinking that she couldn't afford to waste it, Marika wondered if there was anything else she should check.

 

"No, not the chief, but Jenny."

 

"Yes?"

 

"That was..."

 

Marika repeated herself.

 

"How much do you remember about the situation in the Tau system in June 129 of the New Calendar and the situation during the War of Independence?"

 

"I only looked it up again because I was planning to write a report."

 

Jenny looked around with a difficult look.

 

"If it's the current arrangement of spaceships and the political situation, I think you can look it up in more detail in the library or memory area of ​​this ship."

 

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you look it up again?"

 

Marika tapped the control panel on the captain's seat and called up the battle record of the White Swan.

 

"If this is really the Tau system at the end of the War of Independence, I think it would be terrible if we made a careless move. Um, time contradictions, impossibilities, or something like that."

 

"Time paradox?"

 

"Yes, that's it."

 

After answering, Marika looked at Jenny again.

 

"What is time paradox?"

 

"It's the proposition of time travel. If time travel were possible, the law of causality, which says that there is a cause and an effect, would break down."

 

"Um, make it easier to understand."

 

"Well, for example..."

 

After thinking for a moment, Jenny continued.

 

"If, in this star system at the end of the War of Independence, our Odette II attacked and sank the White Swan, which is supposed to be a pirate ship, then what would happen?"

 

A strange silence spread across the bridge after the confused voice.

 

"The White Swan fought through the War of Independence as one of the original seven ships (the Original Seven), and returned safely. That's why we can now be aboard the Odette II. But what if we sank the White Swan with the Odette II now?"

 

"...History would change."

Ai answered timidly. Jenny nodded with a smile.

 

"That's right. If the White Swan sinks, it won't become Hakuoh Girls' Academy's training sailing ship. But if that happens, the ship we're on won't be the old White Swan, but a different Odette II. But even so, I wonder if 120 years from now we'll still be coming here on that training ship?"

 

Jenny looked around at the faces of the bridge crew.

 

"If the White Swan had sunk during the War of Independence, we wouldn't have to worry about being sunk by a ship of the same shape from 120 years in the future. But then I wouldn't come from the future, so the White Swan would survive the War of Independence and become our training ship. Then we would come to the present, 120 years ago, and be able to sink the White Swan. No one knows which history is correct, or rather, what would happen if we did something in the past that contradicts the future history."

 

The bridge crew looked confused. Jenny continued.

 

"What if one of your ancestors was on the White Swan now? If one of your ancestors died now, would someone who was supposed to be born in the future not be born? Would someone here suddenly disappear?"

 

"I have a more understandable analogy."

 

Lynn spoke up.

 

"If, by some chance, Jenny were to kill her direct ancestor who runs a shipping company, then her descendant, Jenny, would never be born, and her ancestor wouldn't have to be killed either."

 

"The grandfather paradox, eh?"

 

Jenny nodded.

 

"In our case, if a direct ancestor is killed, the family tree may be rewritten a little, and no one may change."

 

Lynn looked at Jenny with a pitying look.

 

"Is Jenny's family tree really that messy?"

 

"Enough."

 

Jenny nodded easily.

 

"...If you accidentally do something that changes history, you don't know what will happen, right?"

 

Avoiding a topic that might be unpleasant to touch on, Marika tried to confirm. Jenny nodded again.

 

"That's right. No one has confirmed whether time paradoxes exist, and whether contradictions will occur or not, so no one knows what will happen. Want to try it?"

 

"No way!"

 

Marika shook her head with a frightened look on her face.

 

"I want the world to stay as it is. If I can go back to the future 120 years from now after a week, I want to go back to the world as it was, not to a world where we don't know what's going on because of a time paradox."

 

"Well, I don't think it'll be that troublesome, unless we do something crazy like sinking the White Swan."

 

Marika looked back at Jenny's face as she said it kindly.

 

"How can you say that?"

 

"If a time paradox really could cause such a breakdown in the laws of causality, this galaxy would be in a mess by now. If time travel and time slips were such rare phenomena, we wouldn't be able to come to the past so easily, and I don't think the people who have been caught up in time slips so far haven't done anything crazy."

 

"There's also a theory that the history of the galaxy we were in has already been changed many times."

 

"That's good."

 

Jenny turned to Lynn.

 

"Since we've come all the way to the past, why don't we change the future a little to suit our needs?"

 

"That would be great. Specifically, what would we do?"

 

"Well, for example..."

 

Putting her fingertips on her cheek, Jenny thought for a moment and said.

 

"We could copy the battle records that Odette II has onto the White Swan, or even better, transfer them to the headquarters. If we knew all of the strategies of the Stellar Alliance in the upcoming independence war, it would give us a considerable advantage in the war."

 

"Please stop!"

 

Marika spoke up.

 

"If we did that, history would really change!"

 

"So, there's probably no need to be so nervous about it. Even if we send the battle records to HQ, it won't be of much use if there's no staff who will seriously analyze them, and I don't think we have the will or the time to go into HQ and convince the central staff by introducing ourselves as people from the future, and if we're just moving around a thin airspace with one spaceship, I don't think it will have a big impact even if it's an event that didn't happen in history."

 

Marika, who heard Jenny's words, looked startled and started running her fingers over the control panel in the captain's seat.

 

"Now that I think of it, what was that Liberty class doing earlier? Is the battle record of the White Swan from the War of Independence that was locked the mission we have to do now?"

 

"Are you still tracking it?"

 

Jamming signals to the Liberty class are stopped as soon as the enemy leaves artillery range.

 

"We're not tracking it with radar."

 

Shortcut in the radar/sensor seat answered.

 

"The enemy is not currently transmitting radar or radio signals. There's no infrared response, so I think it's proceeding along the predicted trajectory."

 

If a spaceship ejects propellant from its main engine, it can be easily detected by infrared sensors.

 

"Did you find out the identity of the enemy that the White Swan was chasing from the locked battle records?"

 

While trying to track the target in passive mode on the electronic warfare equipment, Lynn asked Jenny.

 

"If the enemy is a spaceship from the Stellar Alliance's side, didn't we say that we might find something by looking at the records from the time of the independence war over there?"

 

"I did at least get the records."

 

Jenny looked gloomy and looked away from Lynn.

 

"In the last year of the War of Independence, the Stellar Alliance was sending out a lot of spaceships against the colonies, and they were doing multiple missions, so it was complicated to the point of being annoying. I was really impressed that the Stellar Alliance, which operated and governed many colonies, was able to analyze and evaluate so much information."

 

"If you can look into it, could you please look into it?"

 

Jenny looked back at Marika's face as she spoke. Lynn called out from the side.

 

"Do you have any documents?"

 

"Well, I have them because I don't know where I'll have the time."

 

Jenny sighed with a look of resignation.

 

"It's a necessary task to get to know the other party. Okay, I'll try it."

 

"Do you have any other documents from the War of Independence?"

 

"I'm sorry."

 

Jenny shook her head at Marika's question.

 

"If I had known this would happen, I would have brought the documents scanned by the autoscanner, but I never expected this to happen, so I hadn't backed them up yet."

 

The theory of storing one bit per atom

The limit has been reached and it has been in practical use for a long time. It is now possible to easily carry around huge amounts of data that you could never finish viewing in a lifetime.

 

"Because I thought I could read it from anywhere if I needed it."

 

"That's right."

 

The autoscanner that was released into the underground command center should be scanning the documents under Hakuoh Hakuoh Girls' Academy 120 years in the future. Even Odette II can retrieve the data. It's hard to imagine that they would be left in a state where that's impossible.

 

"Then do you have any other documents that show the current disposition of the Federation of Colonial Stars and Stellar Alliance forces in the Tau system?"

 

"The battle records for the next week from 120 years ago that were locked."

 

After saying that, Jenny frowned.

 

"That also had our position and the enemy's expected position written in it, but I don't think it has the positions and movements of other ships written in it."

 

"The only other thing I have is the history books in the library."

 

Lynn said, tapping away at the control panel.

 

"Our database probably has some basic history books and textbooks, but it doesn't have detailed battle reports from headquarters."

 

"Okay, I'll borrow the library then."

 

Jenny floated up from the electronic battle table.

 

"The only thing we have to do now is..."

 

Marika thought for a moment. The answer came immediately.

 

"Let's search the Odette II."

 

"Look, you say?"

 

"The Odette II is in a state where it's best not to accidentally get supplies or come into contact with other ships. So, no matter what happens, we have to deal with it within our own ship. If we don't make a list now of what's happened and what we can use, it won't be of any use if something happens."

 

Marika displayed the list of all the members of the yacht club currently aboard the Odette II on the display at the captain's seat. She assigned tasks to everyone.

 

"The radar/sensor team will continue to track the Liberty-class, Yayoi will check the engine, and Ai will check the ship's course. I'll leave the bridge command to you, Captain Lynn, for now."

 

"Okay. So what's the captain going to do?"

 

"Prepare dinner."

 

Marika answered with a troubled smile.

 

"I asked Maki to check the food storehouse, and I'll make dinner with Ursula. We'll have dinner when we're done searching Odette II's house. If people don't have something to eat, they won't work."

Dinner on the Odette II that day was just after two midnight in the Gregorian Standard Time. In the Galactic Standard Calendar, it was just after seven pm local time in Sea of the Morningstar Shin-Okuhama City, which was a normal dinner time for the Odette II.

 

With extra people on duty on the bridge and in the engineering department, and an open line from the dining hall was used to broadcast the situation on the ship to all crew members, Marika informed them of the current situation on the Odette II.

 

It is completely unknown what the cause or phenomenon is, but the Odette II is currently in a star system where the end of the War of Independence is six months away. The only clear message was a message sent by Kato Marika just before the ship was swallowed up by the shock wave of a rapidly expanding space disturbance, but all other circumstantial evidence pointed to the ship's current location being in a star system from 120 years ago.

 

All information, such as the standards of communication flying through the star system, the content that can be decoded, the navigational support system, the arrangement and movement of the stars, the observation results and timestamps of intercepted radio signals, and the current time reported by the navigational support system that had long since ceased use and was supposed to have been shut down, all suggest that the space Odette II is in is 120 years back in time from the world they were in just a few hours ago.

 

At the same time, Marika also released a message from an unidentified ship that they had been tracking that looked just like Odette II. If they were to trust the message, which was released in a form that could be accessed at any time in Odette II's database, it would mean that they would be able to return to their original world in one week.

 

The interpretation that the unidentified ship they had been tracking was none other than Odette II and that the people aboard it were themselves from a slightly future time period caused considerable confusion among the crew. However, the confusion was easily resolved when they heard Lynn's explanation that this was a guarantee that everyone would be able to return safely to the future as before. Regardless of whether they understood it or not, they seemed convinced.

 

At the same table, Marika also reported the current situation of the Odette II.

 

Since they were not planning a long-term flight, the food, spare parts, and repair parts currently stored on the Odette II were not full.

 

There was enough water to maintain the circulatory system, and there seemed to be no need to restrict the use of showers.

 

As for food, after checking the food storehouse and refrigerator, it was confirmed that there was enough stock to last the crew three meals a day, plus a midnight snack and up to twice the amount of refills allowed for those who wanted it, for a month. There was no stock of fresh food that could not be preserved, but instead a large amount of snacks and their ingredients that were not on the list were found. It seems that some had been brought in on various occasions and left unused.

 

"This will maintain morale."

 

Gruier advised, and Marika lifted the crew's snack allocation limit for the duration of this voyage. However, personal stockpiling was prohibited, and only the amount that could be eaten at one time could be taken out.

 

"I wonder if the whole bridge will turn into Coorie's seat."

 

"I think it'll be fine for about a week."

 

More serious than food is the lack of repair parts, which cannot be expected to be supplied at all at the end of the War of Independence.

 

The Odette II is 200 years old, and 120 years have passed since the end of the War of Independence. Its equipment has been modified over the years to maintain its performance as a spaceship.

 

Since it became Hakuoh Girls' Academy's training sailing ship, the introduction of new equipment has been refrained from, and the armaments have been removed, but the electronic warfare equipment from the War of Independence has remained as it was, and the radar/sensor system, which is outdated but boasts sufficient power and accuracy, is still in good condition.

 

Apart from the systems that have been maintained since the pirate ship's days, it is unclear whether parts will be available for the systems that were updated after the end of the war. There is a certain amount of stock of consumables and repair parts, but it is unclear to what extent they can be used, or even if they can be used at all.

 

Regarding the transponder of Odette II, which should not have existed at the end of the war, it was confirmed that the ID from the time of the White Swan, which Lynn had found, could be used. However, at the moment, the White Swan is participating in an interception battle with the Master Star reconnaissance fleet in the outer planetary system, while also carrying out a logistics cut-off operation targeting individual supply ships. Its location is on the other side of the planet Tau, a distance that can't be reached overnight unless you make a FTL jump.

 

"Well, as long as you don't enter the control zone of the Sea of the Morningstar or a Federation of Colonial Stars warship asks for ID verification, I don't think they'll complain much about flying without a transponder."

 

Lynn started out optimistic.

 

"For now, Odette II has no plans to approach the Sea of the Morningstar. If friendly forces who have checked the transponder check for contact, and we accidentally show up unmasked, it will be obvious that we are a completely different crew from the crew aboard the White Swan, so we can either limit it to message communication, or use a voice changer (equalizer) for voice communication, or we can have the communications staff overlay Professor Cain's appearance data (avatar) that we created a while ago. I think we can manage that. The problem is that the Sea of the Morningstar Fleet HQ still has records of communication with the White Swan in the inner planetary system from that time."

 

Lynn looked around at the faces of the members gathered in the dining hall and continued.

 

"Rather than thinking that the White Swan, which should be in the outer planetary system, came here to work and communicated with the Fleet Command, it would be more natural to think that Odette II contacted the Command. In other words, we will have to contact the Fleet Command several times in the future."

 

"There is some information I would like to share about that."

 

Jenny, who had come to dinner from the library that had been used as a research room, raised her hand to speak. Marika, who was the only one to come forward and act as moderator, nodded.

 

"Please."

 

"Captain Marika asked me to confirm the current battle situation of the independence war. Of course, I haven't examined all the data, and in the current situation I can't compare it with other materials, so it may not be very reliable, but please listen with that in mind. Currently, there is a reconnaissance fleet dispatched from the Stellar Alliance system in orbit around the outer planet of the planet Tau."

 

Jenny looked around at the faces of the club members gathered in the dining hall. The watchmen who are not here must be listening in on the bridge or the engine room.

 

"The star system military is intercepting the scout fleet as the main force of the Federation of Colonial Stars Army. The White Swan, along with other pirate ships, is conducting a commerce war against supply ships and ferry ships in order to strike at the long logistics line that stretches from the Stellar Alliance to the scout fleet. That is the current situation in the Tau star system."

 

As Jenny stood up and began to explain, Marika asked her.

 

"Would it be better if there was a display or something?"

 

"Sorry, I didn't have time to make images, so I don't have any pictures to show you. Now, I'd like to confirm the situation in the War of Independence six months before the end of the war. It is said that the Stellar Alliance sent a reconnaissance fleet to the colony planets that were hostile in the War of Independence, in order to weaken the power of the Federation of Colonial Stars while at the same time measuring their exact strength. The reconnaissance fleet that is currently on Sea of the Morningstar was in the Uzumasa system before that, and then in the Sinclair system after that. It must have been difficult to maintain the fleet and resupply because it was far from the Stellar Alliance, but a large fleet that could engage in a fleet battle was circling the colony planet."

 

"That's impressive," Marika said. The difference in strength between the Stellar Alliance and the Federation of Colonial Stars is taught in history classes. By the time the War of Independence began, only four colonies - Sea Forest, Mare Star, Sinclair, and Minerva D - had managed to establish star system armies and defense forces with proper command structures; the remaining colony planets could only list small armies the size of guard squads, which would be presumptuous to call a fighting force.

 

In contrast, the Stellar Alliance had organized and operated a powerful fleet that was three times the number of ships, and over ten times the actual fighting power.

 

It is said that the colonies were able to continue the war of independence because the colonies that the Stellar Alliance had to fight were spread out over a wide area, and because the Stellar Alliance tried to conserve its military strength by limiting the forces it deployed to each star system to the bare minimum.

 

"It must have been difficult to operate a large fleet for a long time while maintaining a supply line. It's easy if you think about the opposite strategy. Do you think the Federation of Colonial Stars could have organized a fleet and sent it to the Stellar Alliance for reconnaissance or a surprise attack or whatever?"

 

"They were doing their best just to protect their own star system, so I don't think they had the capacity to organize an expeditionary fleet."

 

Sasha raised her hand and answered like a good student.

 

"Exactly. I should think that the Stellar Alliance could have afforded to send a large fleet on an expedition under the pretext of a scouting fleet, but if you calmly evaluate and analyze the enemy's strength in the War of Independence, you wouldn't think of declaring war in the first place, so let's leave that aside for now. The problem is what comes next."

 

It seems that she has everything she needs to say in her head. Jenny, who has no files or displays at hand, looks around at the faces of the members in the dining hall.

 

"At the end of the War of Independence, the Stellar Alliance changed its policy of gradually deploying its fleets and consolidated the fleets that had been spread across the four colonies into one. The target was the Sea of the Morningstar. Well, behind the scenes, it seems that Stellar Slayer was also carrying out an annihilation operation to cut off the colonies, but that's not the main topic of this article, so let's not go into it. The scale of the fleet was enough to tremble in the hearts of the Federation of Colonial Stars, who had assumed that the scout fleet from six months ago was the main force of the expeditionary fleet."

 

No one was talking to each other, and everyone's eyes were focused on Jenny. Jenny continued.

 

"The size of the scout fleet and the subsequent expeditionary fleet are accurately recorded by the Stellar Alliance. The expeditionary fleet's strength is estimated to be about three times that of the scout fleet. So, the question is, where did they get all that power from?"

 

After a pause, Jenny continued.

 

"The easiest way to win a war, both in the past and now, is to deploy a larger force than your opponent. Even if you can prepare a large force that can overwhelm your enemy, if you waste it and just let it sit idle, you will lose the war, so of course how you use it is an issue, but if you can prepare a force stronger than your enemy as a prerequisite, you've pretty much won. The Stellar Alliance, which had prepared a large force that could overwhelm the colony planets, didn't have to worry about losing, but they kept enough forces to defend their planet on their home planet, far away from the colony planets, in order to protect themselves from a hypothetical enemy that they didn't know when or where it would attack, and sent the remaining forces to the colony planets, which had many of them. If they had been assigned to the colonies, it would have been a big challenge on the front lines. Moreover, they knew that weaker colonies would be easily defeated if they fought head-on, so they avoided fighting at all costs. That's why they were able to continue the war of independence. This was the policy of the Federation of Colonial Stars from the time they launched the war of independence against the colonial power until the middle of the war. They wanted to conserve their own military power, avoid bloodshed on the other side as much as possible, and create an atmosphere of war-weariness by continuing the war system if possible, and if possible, they would be willing to seek independence, or if they could conclude a better treaty, they would be willing to end the war.”

 

"What is war weariness?"

 

Ai asked, raising her hand. Jenny nodded and answered.

"You have to be sick of war. Both the Stellar Alliance and the colony planets are run by democracies, so if the general public gets tired of war and wants to stop it, the government and parliament can't ignore that. But the colony planets thoroughly avoid frontal combat, and the Stellar Alliance doesn't actively launch fleet battles, which means there are no large-scale battles, so even if a state of war is declared, it's just a situation that's a little more dangerous than usual, and when that becomes a daily occurrence, it's hard to become war-weary."

 

"Huh."

 

Not really understanding, Ai tilted her head. Since being annexed by the Galactic Empire, neither the former colony planet alliance, including the Tau system, nor the Stellar Alliance have been in a state of war. Even if they say war or wartime, it's only something I learned about in class, saw in movies, or heard about in stories.

 

"Even though they avoided frontal combat, there were battles where privateer-licensed pirate ships would attack transports bound for the Stellar Alliance, and there were also battles where the Stellar Alliance's fleet and the Federation of Colonial Stars 's motley fleet would stand off, but the Stellar Alliance didn't want to damage its expensive warships, and the Federation of Colonial Stars knew they would lose if they fought, so they ran away. Apparently there were occasional ship-to-ship battles, but there were only a few full-scale fleet battles per year where a spaceship would be sunk. It's only natural that things would be this bad. "So, after the war of independence started, they started developing military spaceships in a rush, and they had enough of them. They also realized that the Stellar Alliance wasn't serious, so the Federation of Colonial Stars created a fleet headquarters, unified the chain of command, and began an organized counterattack, which was a story from the end of the war of independence. Now, the fleet headquarters is mobilizing the fleet of the Federation of Colonial Stars to seriously fight an interstellar war against the Stellar Alliance, so that's the time." Jenny looked around at the faces of the club members gathered in the dining hall again. She was a little surprised at how she could tell the difference in each member's level of understanding just from their expressions. "I see, so this is how the teacher feels." Jenny muttered to herself and continued her explanation. "When the Federation of Colonial Stars established a fleet headquarters and began to operate all of its forces under a unified command system, its fighting power clearly increased. The Federation of Colonial Stars was already under pressure, struggling to maintain its front line and avoiding frontal combat as much as possible against the attacking Stellar Alliance fleet, and at best engaging in harassing trade wars, but now it can organize a fleet and confront the enemy on equal terms. This is the change in the war situation in the last few years of the War of Independence, when the Federation of Colonial Stars established a fleet headquarters and began to concentrate its available forces. From the Stellar Alliance's point of view, it was a serious situation that losses were beginning to pile up, even though it hadn't been skimping on the forces it was investing in, nor had the enemy's forces suddenly increased. Naturally, why were they beginning to lose? and began to analyze the situation. The Stellar Alliance's space fleet is widely dispersed, but there is one command system, and it is a huge, bureaucratic organization with a long history of operating its forces even before it began FTL speed or colonial development, so it may be slow to move, but once it does, it moves steadily. It seems that they realized quite early on that the reason the Federation of Colonial Stars was able to fight properly, which had previously avoided frontal combat with regular fleets and only aimed to wear down the Stellar Alliance's forces and make them war-weary, was because the command system was revised and unified. That is why they sent reconnaissance fleets to each star system at this time to reexamine the Federation of Colonial Stars's combat command system. To put it more simply, they tried to find out where the Federation of Colonial Stars's fleet headquarters was located."

 

Jenny reached for the drink pack that was prepared on the table.

 

"The reconnaissance fleet was the first large fleet that the Stellar Alliance organized as a whole fleet for outer space, and it was also a test case to see if a large fleet could be sent to a battlefield far from the Stellar Alliance and operated while maintaining the command system and supply lines."

 

"Didn't the Stellar Alliance know where the Federation of Colonial Stars's fleet headquarters was?"

 

Marika asked. The history of the War of Independence is a required subject for the citizens of the Sea of the Morningstar, but the strategy of the Stellar Alliance's side is not taught in class.

 

"There was a lot of information, but it wasn't clear. In other words, it seems that there was not enough circumstantial evidence for the space fleet, which is a notorious bureaucratic organization, to put all its strength into it. Even if there was reliable information, whether it would be used or not is a separate issue for the organization."

 

"Even if someone knows the facts, it will not be shared information unless they can convince others around them."

 

Gruier said. "That's common in large organizations that rely on consensus."

 

"That's right."

 

Jenny nodded.

 

"In order to focus forces on a specific target, there needs to be a reason and situation that can convince all sides. In other words, the purpose of sending the reconnaissance fleet to each colony planet was to see how the Federation of Colonial Stars defended each planet, to find out which planet had the center of fleet command, and where they could concentrate their forces to cut off the Federation of Colonial Stars 's command system."

 

"As expected of the Stellar Alliance."

 

Lynn nodded with her arms folded.

 

"It's so scary to send a fleet just for reconnaissance, our ancestors had to fight a war against such a terrible master."

 

"The term 'scout fleet' was coined after the war. At the time, it was probably an expeditionary fleet to a certain Stellar Alliance. The press worked on both Stellar Alliances and colonies, so it was a relief that there weren't any confusing names for allies and enemies."

 

"So you didn't know it was a scout fleet at the time?"

 

"I guess they thought it was the main force of the Stellar Alliance that had made a long expedition."

 

Jenny replied.

 

"And just when you think you've pushed them back, they appear on the next colony planet. When the scout fleet first appeared on Sea Forest, they prepared to intercept them in earnest, and when they showed up on Sea Ming Star afterwards, they seemed to think that the expedition to Sea Forest was a diversion. By the time they had reached Sinclair and Minerva D, the Federation of Colonial Stars seemed to have realized their master's intentions."

 

"In other words, they don't think it's a scout fleet now."

 

"That's why the main force of the star system army is concentrating their forces even to the point of clearing the airspace around Sea Ming Star, and they're focusing on logistics because they're happy to reduce their forces even a little. They've even mobilized pirate ships. Now, here's the main point: a reconnaissance fleet is meant to be a scouting force. But the main force is stuck in the outer planet system and can't do much reconnaissance around Sea of the Morningstar. But I'm sure the Stellar Alliance's reconnaissance fleet is expecting that much too. So, what do you think they'll do?'

 

'While the reconnaissance fleet is gathering the enemy's forces, we'll send a separate force closer to Sea of the Morningstar to gather information.'

 

Gruier answered smoothly, then frowned.

 

"So, you're saying that the Liberty class we just saw was a picket ship for gathering information?"

 

"Liberty class freighters were first built on the Stellar Alliance, and then many were built on colonies, so they're the most common type of spaceship these days. There are many ships that have been converted for military purposes, and there are many records of intelligence-gathering ships that don't engage in direct combat. However, accurate records are often not kept for ships that were on intelligence-related missions. The intelligence departments of the Galactic Empire, whether on the Stellar Alliance or the colonies, are famous for being ruthless, so I think they probably tried not to keep records from the beginning."

 

"Do you have any basis for saying that?"

 

"The records from the War of Independence were a big deal, as they were annexed by the Galactic Empire right after, and the confidentiality period has long since expired. Most of the records are public because they're cut off. It's just that there's a lot of data, so it's hard to look through them, but there are no records from 120 years ago that haven't been made public. Despite that, it's hard to find records of the spaceships that the scout fleet had sent out separately from the fleet during its expeditions. Specifically, there are records of the Liberty class accompanying the fleet sometimes disappearing from the star system they were on expedition to and then rejoining, but when you try to look up records about those spaceships, they don't come up, or have been deliberately altered or erased. So, even if I tried to look up the records of the Stellar Alliance about the ship that the White Swan fought against 120 years after the end of the War of Independence, I didn't get any good results.”

 

Jenny looked around at the yacht club members in the dining hall with a confident look on her face.

 

"So, I think that the enemy that the White Swan was fighting in the locked battle record was an intelligence gathering ship belonging to the intelligence department. If that Liberty class was an intelligence gathering ship, and its purpose was to investigate the fleet command system of the Federation of Colonial Stars, then all the pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly."

 

"...So, right now, the star system is in an outer planetary system, and while we're glaring at the Stellar Alliance with a reconnaissance fleet, an intelligence gathering picket ship has infiltrated this inner planetary system, so that's the situation."

 

"I see."

 

Jenny nodded vigorously.

 

"Moreover, we're probably the only ones here who are aware of the situation. Captain Marika, I think we should issue a warning to the fleet command of the Sea of the Morningstar, what do you think?"

 

Marika looked at Jenny with wide eyes.

 

"...Does that mean we should contact Fleet HQ during the War of Independence on Odette II?!"

 

"Exactly."

 

Jenny nodded confidently.

 

"There are records that the White Swan, which was supposed to be in the outer planetary system, contacted Fleet HQ several times from the inner planetary system. That means that even if we sent a warning to HQ here, it wouldn't be an unnecessary shock to history. On the other hand, if we pretended not to see it and kept quiet, the communication that should have been recorded in the records would not have taken place. Wouldn't that be more of a time paradox?"

 

"Wait a second!"

 

Marika shouted with a confused head.

 

"How dare you call a fleet command center from 120 years ago on a training ship from a girls' school! You can't just call and get the frequency and communication protocol and have them put you through to someone!"

 

"But even so, I think that's something that has to be done."

 

Jenny looked back at Marika. Marika opened her mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal.

 

"Communication to the Sea of the Morningstar Fleet Command must be faster than the speed of light."

 

Lynn said, floating next to Gruier in the radio operator's seat.

 

"If it's normal communication, it will be intercepted even by the Liberty class that is listening in."

 

"What about the encryption code?"

 

Gruier asked, setting up the communication from the old data.

 

"That's it here. Even though you have a lot of free memory, I didn't think that the encryption code that changes every day would still be there."

 

Lynn reached for the subpanel and called up the old encryption code.

 

"This is the code to contact fleet headquarters. I put today's date and the White Swan's ID code into the key generator and the encryption conversion code came out."

 

Random numbers started to flow across the display.

 

"How is it, Captain?"

 

Lynn called out to the captain's seat.

 

"Have you prepared the message to send to headquarters?"

 

"I'm still writing it."

 

Marika screamed from the captain's seat.

 

"Why is there only the message record and no text anywhere?! If there is a message record, the text would be there too!!"

 

"According to Jenny, that's to prevent time paradoxes."

 

"Why do I have to write the message to prevent time paradoxes?"

 

"So, even if the text was still there, and the captain copied and pasted it to send it, it wouldn't count as Marika writing it."

 

"Why not?"

 

"Because if you can write a message by copying and pasting, who wrote the original message?"

 

Marika's hands stopped typing. Lynn continued.

 

"It would be easy to send a message by copying and pasting, but someone has to write the first sentence. If no one writes the message, there will be no message to send, you know."

 

"...Ahh!! Don't say such fraudulent things when I'm writing a formal sentence!!"

 

After yelling, Marika started typing on the keyboard. An error sound rang out repeatedly.

 

The message that Marika had painstakingly written was corrected by all the crew on the bridge at the time, and was rigorously checked for inconsistencies in the wording and content before being sent.

 

From: Sea of the Morningstar Privateer, Swan. To: Colonial Star Alliance Fleet HQ.

 

The text message, sent over the FTL line in a format that had long since fallen into disuse, returned an automatic confirmation of receipt with almost no time lag. Gruier sent several fake encrypted messages to the dummy recipient to prevent a third party from tracking her later, and then closed the hyperspace line.

 

"So, the warning from the Liberty-class intelligence gathering ship of the Stellar Alliance that entered the inner planetary system has been received by the fleet headquarters."

 

Seeing the communication results on the display in the captain's seat, Marika, looking completely tired, sighed.

 

"I think so."

 

With his usual expression, Gruier looked up at Marika in the captain's seat.

 

"I don't know how the headquarters will handle a message sent from the inner planetary system by the White Swan, which should be in the outer planetary system, but since there is a record of it, I think it must have been received."

 

"So, now we can return to the future with peace of mind."

 

"Is that so?"

 

Marika looked back at Gruier, who looked a little worried.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Right now, all of the forces in the Tau system, from regular troops to pirate ships, are being mobilized to intercept the reconnaissance fleet of the outer planet system. Even if the Fleet Command received a warning from an intelligence-gathering ship that the fleet had entered the inner planet system and believed it, do they have the manpower to do so?"

 

"Um..."

 

Marika tried to think of a good excuse. There was no way she would know about the location of spaceships in the Tau system at the end of the War of Independence.

 

"I thought that former President Jenny would surely look into it."

 

"Hey, that's bad!"

 

After dinner, Jenny, who was supposed to have returned to the library and flipped through related documents, came rushing onto the bridge. All the eyes of the bridge crew were on Jenny. Marika asked on behalf of the others.

 

"What's wrong, why are you in such a hurry?"

 

"The fourth week of June, 129 S.E., which means that the current Fleet Command has finally found the location of the Allied spaceships!"

 

"Isn't that a good thing?"

 

"It's not good! The current system's fighting forces have been mobilized to the outer planetary scout fleet, so the rest are empty, which means that no matter what warning Fleet Command receives, there isn't a single spaceship they can send over here!"

 

Marika exchanged looks with Gruier, Lynn, and the other bridge crew members in the radio operator's seat.

 

"Huh!?"

 

The off-time communication from the White Swan was mechanically checked to ensure it was a legitimate message that followed proper communication protocols, and was received by the Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet HQ in the basement of the old government office in Shin-Okuhama City.

 

The Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet HQ was in the middle of its second largest operation since it began operations. The largest Stellar Alliance expeditionary fleet since the start of the War of Independence had attacked the Uzumasa star system, and it had only been a month since the start of the interception operation, in which they had rushed all of the fleets together in a local formation, since it would have been too late to organize and deploy them beforehand. As they struggled, prepared for a large-scale battle between large fleets the like of which humanity had yet to experience, the gigantic expeditionary fleet made an inexplicable retreat.

 

The relief was short-lived, as a new large fleet arrived in the star system. The Federation of Colonial Stars, which had once gathered its forces in the Uzumasa system, had shifted to the Tau system and was preparing to intercept with the reinforced forces.

 

The great fleet that had made the long journey to the Tau system, far from its Stellar Alliance, was accompanied by not only battleships to serve as its main force, but also a large number of auxiliary ships and a huge supply transport fleet equal in number to all of them combined.

 

Battleships consume enormous amounts of energy and supplies every day. The fleet cannot maintain its fighting power unless the consumed supplies, weapons and ammunition are replenished. To support a huge fleet, a transport fleet is needed to continuously supply abundant supplies, and military forces are also needed to protect them.

 

At first, the expeditionary force that appeared in the Uzumasa system was a powerful fleet made up mainly of battleships, with only a few transport supply ships. However, as the expedition dragged on, the number of transport ships swelled, and the expeditionary fleet that appeared in the Tau system had become a fleet with many transport ships.

 

In order to make effective use of its limited fighting power, the expeditionary fleet's fighting forces also served as escorts for the transport fleet. The accompaniment of transport fleets, which are large in size and slow with almost no maneuverability, reduced the fleet's usable fighting power. However, the Federation of Colonial Stars could not easily attack a fleet protected by a powerful fleet.

 

The expeditionary fleet, which has a huge transport fleet, receives new supplies every day, and the empty transport ships leave the front line for resupply, and new transport ships arrive in their place.

 

The transport fleet in charge of logistics for the expeditionary fleet also has escort ships attached, but their fighting power is far lower than that of the main force.

 

Fleet Command left the task of disrupting the expeditionary fleet to the regular military forces it had gathered to intercept them, and the task of cutting off the supply lines to the pirates.

 

In space, the battle situation changes at the speed of light. Without an appropriate response, it is difficult to win, let alone continue the war. As a result, Fleet Command made ceaseless efforts toward the impossible goal of taking on the large fleet approaching nearby space with the meager forces it had at hand.

 

In order to centrally command the entire vast space, including the seven colony planets and the Stellar Alliance, as a battlefield, the information command and communication network was built with the utmost priority and meticulous care.

 

All information thought to be related to the War of Independence was concentrated at Fleet Command. The command analyzed and evaluated the information gathered from all over the universe, and gave the most appropriate orders to the space fleet deployed throughout the universe.

 

The Stellar Alliance, which operates a much more powerful fleet and is responsible for the same vast living space as humanity is expanding, gave up on the construction of a centralized command and communication network simply by estimating the amount of information that would be accumulated from the entire universe. The fleet headquarters was already crying out in frustration just from operating the fleets organized for each star system, and the construction of a system that would impose an even greater burden was deemed unrealistic.

 

The Federation of Colonial Stars, which is far inferior in terms of military power, constructed a universe-wide command and communication network, judging that no matter how much of a burden it would impose on the fleet headquarters and communication network, it would be an effective means of directly bridging the difference in military power. Frontline combat is a matter of life and death, but it is said that there was no optimist in the upper echelons of the Federation of Colonial Stars who could disagree with the judgment that no matter how much effort it would put on analyzing information from behind the lines, it was better than combat in space.

 

After many twists and turns, the Fleet HQ, which would centrally command the entire military force of the Federation of Colonial Stars, was located at Kaimyosei, some distance from the Stellar Alliance, where communications facilities comparable to those in the number one productive Uzumasa system were being constructed.

 

The amount of information sent to Kaimyosei from all the independent fronts was literally murderous, easily exceeding the initial optimistic expectations. In response, the Federation of Colonial Stars mobilized outdated computers that would have been disposed of and even underage students, and worked around the clock to fully utilize their massive information processing capabilities.

 

It was just as the Fleet HQ had finally recovered from the manic state and confusion of its initial operation and was functioning properly that it received information that a large fleet from the Stellar Alliance was on a long expedition to the Uzumasa system. In order to process the exponentially increasing amount of information coming from the entire universe, the Federation of Colonial Stars deployed enough personnel to expand the population of Shin-Okuhama City. The huge underground command center, which was mocked as if they were planning to continue fighting the War of Independence for a century, quickly filled to capacity.

 

Until the Federation of Colonial Stars declared war on the Master Star, humanity had not experienced a full-scale interstellar war. Even after the start of the War of Independence, there had yet to be a head-on collision between large fleets. Protocols for interstellar warfare had not yet been established anywhere, and Fleet Command was fighting a war without textbooks, learning every day and suffering considerable casualties.

 

The attack on the system by the Master Star's large fleet, which was thought to have transferred from the Uzumasa star system, greatly increased the quantity and accuracy of the information brought to Fleet Command. This information was not only sent from the Federation of Colonial Stars's patrol ships and intelligence-gathering ships in direct combat. The information ranges from observation records and intercepted communications sent by colonial transport ships sailing through the surrounding airspace, to reports of pirate ships attacking transport ships bound for the expeditionary fleet traveling along the long supply lines from the Stellar Alliance.

 

Fleet Command was fighting an interstellar war while being overwhelmed by the influx of battle information.

 

"Battle information from the White Swan?"

 

The information required by the Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet Command comes from all areas inhabited by humans. Almost all information arrives at Fleet Command in the form of electronic data, and is automatically selected and evaluated according to various conditions such as format, date, time, location, and sender.

 

Some of the information received is reported by civilians over the phone, and some is sent without encryption from civilian ships sailing through the countryside. Information from ordinary citizens, including everything from sightings to rumours to prophecies seen in dreams, is also collected at Fleet Command and automatically analysed and evaluated. Of course, the reliability of this information is not high.

 

Information from pirate ships issued with privateer licenses by colony planets was given the second highest credibility after official information from regular military and private companies. The warning sent by the pirate ship Swan from the interplanetary space between the orbit of the third planet, Sea of the Morningstar, and the orbit of the fourth planet, Blue Star, in the Tau system was automatically transmitted to Fleet Command, which was conducting an operation to intercept the expeditionary fleet at the Stellar Alliance.

 

The White Swan is the only surviving of the seven pirate ships that were first issued privateer licenses in the Federation of Colonial Stars, and is still in active duty and on the front lines, so the information it sends is highly credible. Fleet Command has added the presence of an intelligence-gathering ship from the Stellar Alliance to the star chart of the Tau system, which shows the operational airspace, although it has not been confirmed.

 

"What should we do about this?"

 

After receiving the warning from the White Swan, Lieutenant Endo Miki, who is in charge of liaison between the pirate ship and the Fleet Command as a member of the Star System Military General Staff Division 3, Section B, commonly known as the Pirate Section, asked his direct superior, Commander Christy Sherwood, head of the Pirate Section.

 

"That's a problem."

 

The shining silver-haired pirate chief was buried under a display and a mountain of data cards and reports of various formats in a corner of the bowl-shaped coliseum where the gigantic fleet headquarters, nicknamed the Pit of Hell, was in operation.

"Isn't the White Swan currently engaged in a trade war with a transport fleet in the outer planetary system?"

 

"That should be it."

 

Lieutenant Endo Miki showed the tablet to the chief.

 

"According to the communication sent from the White Swan to HQ before the warning, they are tracking a transport fleet believed to be bound for an expeditionary fleet in cooperation with three pirate ships, and are operating under radio silence."

 

"Hmm."

 

Still wearing a simple headset, the pirate chief ran her fingers over one of the complex stacked control panels. If the rumor that she wrote the text of the privateering license was true, then the chief should be older than Lieutenant Endo's mother, who was mobilized as a student from university.

 

Looking at her lush silver hair and skin without signs of activation, she doesn't seem to be much older than Lieutenant Endo. However, from his intelligence and extraordinary negotiation skills, Lieutenant Endo knew that his superior was part of the giant-brained monster that controlled the Federation of Colonial Stars space fleet.

 

"That's strange."

 

The information he wanted was apparently transmitted directly to the information field of the chief's brain from the headset.

 

"It would be easy for the White Swan with its FTL boosters to travel that far, but Captain White Swan is not the kind of person to chase someone else without finishing his unfinished business. The other three ships in the joint operation have not reported completion, let alone progress. According to our status, the White Swan should still be tracking the convoy."

 

"The ID, encryption code, and all other communication information indicate that the information was legitimately sent from the White Swan."

 

"I know."

 

The chief swept his gray eyes over the multiple displays.

 

"The problem is that the Tau system doesn't have the capacity to confirm the information from the White Swan, much less a spaceship capable of tracking the intelligence gathering ship. The Stellar Alliance Expeditionary Force is invading in large numbers, and we even snatched our spaceships that were under maintenance and sent them off, so all that's left now are scattered spaceships and sunken ships in the dock. You can't even shake it upside down and get a speck of dust."

 

Lieutenant Endo also knows that the Federation of Colonial Stars's military forces are in an unprecedentedly severe operating situation.

 

"What should we do?"

 

"There's nothing we can do. If the White Swan is in the inner planetary system, let's ask the White Swan to track the intelligence gathering ship."

 

"But..."

 

"It'll be fine, the White Swan has dealt with multiple enemies at the same time before."

 

The chief smiled meaningfully.

 

"It'll be hard to pursue a transport fleet while also dealing with an intelligence gathering ship, but we'll be fine, pirates are used to doing crazy jobs."

 

"Pursue the Liberty-class intelligence gathering ship, and either repel it or, if possible, capture it."

 

Gruier's voice read out the reply from Fleet Command on the silent bridge.

 

"Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet Command, Pirate Division, Commander Christy Sherwood."

 

Gruier also calmly read out the final signature of the message.

 

"That's all."

 

An oppressive silence hung over the bridge. Lynn and Jenny exchanged glances, as if asking each other for their opinions.

 

After looking at the two of them, Marika spoke.

 

"Thank you, Gruier. So that's the reply from Command."

 

"All data indicates that this message was sent from the Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet Command."

 

Gruier nodded.

 

"I think it's safe to interpret this as a formal order from Fleet HQ to the White Swan."

 

"Jenny..."

 

Lynn looked at Jenny with a resentful look.

 

"What are you going to do? What if you receive an order from Fleet HQ and then ignore it?"

 

"Pirate ships have the right to refuse orders from HQ. Not being part of the chain of command is one of pirates' strengths."

 

Jenny answered while thinking about something.

 

"In exchange, HQ can suspend or revoke your pirate license at any time."

 

"So, does that mean the White Swan will be suspended if we don't follow HQ's orders?"

 

"Suspending the license of an excellent pirate ship like the White Swan, which has better cost performance than warships and has achieved great results, means that Fleet HQ is directly reducing the fighting power of the Federation of Colonial Stars."

 

Jenny folded her arms and thought deeply.

 

"I don't think the Fleet Command is stupid enough to do something like that that would only benefit the enemy."

 

"So, if we leave the Liberty class alone, can the White Swan continue as a pirate ship?"

 

"There's another problem."

 

With a grim expression, Jenny looked around at the bridge crew, including Marika.

 

"Let's talk hypothetically. If the Liberty class that entered the inner planetary system here were to freely gather information and then return, what would happen?"

 

"At the very least, the control situation around the Sea of the Morningstar would be completely exposed."

 

Lynn spoke up the simplest predicted situation.

 

"The control situation of civilian ships is made public, so it probably wouldn't be much information, but if they listen in on the control information of fleet operations, it would probably be pretty bad. After all, intelligence gathering ships come to investigate those areas."

 

"That's right."

 

Jenny uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips. "I don't know how much intelligence gathering ships of this era can gather, but if they were to gather intelligence this close to the fleet headquarters at the end of the War of Independence, wouldn't that be pretty bad?"

 

"At worst, it would expose the command structure of the Federation of Colonial Stars."

 

Lynn sat down at the electronics battle seat and started running her fingers over the control panel.

 

"No matter how quantum encrypted it is, if the communication can be decoded on the receiving end, it's only a matter of time before it's decoded. If an intelligence gathering ship can eavesdrop and collect all the communications flying around here, it'll make the rest of the war easier for the Stellar Alliance."

 

"That would make things a lot more difficult for the Federation of Colonial Stars."

 

Jenny said, shaking her head.

 

"After sending the scouting fleet around the colony planets, the Stellar Alliance formed the largest expeditionary fleet. Then, to make the colony planets give up on independence, it sent the expeditionary fleet all at once. The question is, why did they choose Kaiyose to send the combined fleet to? It seems to be the result of an analysis of the information the scouting fleet obtained from each star system, but although Kaiyose has the most pirate ships that participated in the independence war and the most privateer licenses issued, the number and strength of its star system army is inferior to that of Kaisen and Sinclair. It is commonly believed that Kaiyose was chosen first with the policy of eliminating the easiest enemies first, but actually, there is another theory."

 

"What is it?"

 

Jenny looked up at Marika when she asked.

 

"The Stellar Alliance was convinced that the headquarters of the Federation of Colonial Stars was located on the Sea of the Morningstar. That's why they put all their forces into the Tau system to crush the head of the Federation of Colonial Stars. If they're going to deploy the largest interstellar expeditionary fleet in history, they'll want to strike where it's most effective."

 

"So, you're saying that the Liberty-class still aren't sure that the fleet headquarters is in the Tau system?"

 

"If they'd gathered the information they needed, they'd have quickly withdrawn."

 

"If Liberty Once the Batty-class gathers the necessary information and is properly evaluated by the Stellar Alliance,"

 

"An expeditionary fleet will attack the system. Probably sooner than history. There seems to have been a lot of discussion on the Stellar Alliance about where the expeditionary fleet should target its attacks, or which colony planets they should start with."

 

"If the expeditionary fleet attacks sooner than history as we know it, will the Federation of Colonial Stars lose the War of Independence?"

 

Marika asked, looking at Jenny's face.

 

"Is that so?"

 

Jenny nodded.

 

"If an expeditionary fleet with extraordinary military power attacks, the Federation of Colonial Stars has no chance of winning. If they can concentrate an interception fleet on the system, it would be one thing, but if they don't do so in time, they will be quickly dispersed, and the Fleet Headquarters will be occupied, or the entire Sea of the Morningstar will be destroyed. It will only be a matter of time. And if the Fleet Headquarters is destroyed, the Federation of Colonial Stars will no longer be able to fight an equal war of independence."

 

"Wouldn't that happen if we could prevent the Liberty-class from gathering information now?"

 

"At least, the history we know doesn't tell us that the scout fleet succeeded in scouting important information that could affect the outcome of the War of Independence."

 

"Can history really be changed so easily!?"

 

Jenny shook her head with a difficult look on her face as Marika spoke up.

 

"It's not easy. It's like the butterfly effect, you never know what's going to trigger it. But if there's a turning point in history right now, the result will come out in three months or six months. Maybe the War of Independence will end before the Galactic Empire shows up, or maybe not."

 

"I guess it's going to be a grand historical experiment."

 

Lynn looked around the display with a voice that didn't seem to be real.

 

"If we didn't do anything now, we could run an experiment to see if the War of Independence would be different from the one we know..."

 

Lynn looked up from the display and looked at Jenny.

 

"If history were to turn out differently, would we be able to know?"

 

"That would be a paradox, too."

 

Jenny shook her head.

 

"This is going to get complicated, but if history were to be altered, we would come from an altered future, and we might not even notice that history has changed."

 

"What if..."

 

Yayoi, who was in the engineer's seat, raised her hand and spoke.

 

"If the colony's war of independence ended in defeat and they were then annexed by the Galactic Empire, what would change from now?"

 

"Now, you're talking about 120 years into the future, not the present, 129 Gregorian calendar year, right?"

 

"Yes..."

 

"It's a story of assumptions piled on assumptions, and there's no way to verify it, so I don't even know if it's something we can trust, but is that okay?"

 

Jenny added, sticking out her tongue.

 

"If this is how it's going to turn out, I should have at least taken the basics of the history simulation class."

 

"I heard it's useless."

 

Lynn interrupted.

 

"No matter how many model planets and civilizations you have, predicting the future of history in front of you is like guessing the outcome of the next game in a casino where all the game records have been kept since the opening."

 

"Is that okay?"

 

Jenny looked around the bridge. Her eyes landed on Gruier, who was staring at her intently.

 

"I wonder if Serenity uses it more practically?"

 

Gruier nodded.

 

"I've only learned the basic theory, and of course I've never used it in practice. However, analyzing and understanding the current situation from the information we have and predicting the future is something that is done in everyday life, even if it's not a historical simulation."

 

"That's right. What I want to predict now is not the predicted orbit of the planet or next year's trends, but the direction of history where we should have been, so of course it's not easy. Although, even if the Federation of Colonial Stars here surrenders to its Stellar Alliance and is annexed by the Galactic Empire, I don't think it will have much of an impact on the faraway Serenity United Kingdom."

 

"That's right..."

 

Gruier answered while thinking.

 

"In order to predict what will happen in the future and what will happen as a result, we need all the information we have now. The information we have now is limited. No matter how precisely we simulate history, I don't think it will be very accurate."

 

"You're right, the information we have is one-sided and limited. But that doesn't mean we have the time to wait for enough information to make a perfect prediction, and we don't have the luxury of watching the situation change."

 

"Even if we were able to collect complete information, there's no guarantee that the simulated history will proceed as expected."

 

Gruier said.

 

"I've heard that history is like a complex arrangement of dominoes. Even if you know the arrangement of all the dominoes, whether they will fall as predicted is another matter. But that doesn't mean I think it's a waste to make as many predictions as possible now."

 

"That's why, no matter how certain a prediction may seem, it's never 100% certain. Please listen with that in mind."

 

After a breath, Jenny spoke again.

 

"First of all, I think the timing of contact with the Empire and annexation won't have much to do with the outcome of the War of Independence, and will likely be carried out in a similar manner to the history we know. On that premise, if the War of Independence ends with a victory for the Stellar Alliance."

 

Jenny thought for a moment before continuing.

 

"Even in the Galactic Empire, there are many planets that have achieved their independence from their Stellar Alliance. However, there are not many planets or national systems that have achieved their goal in a single war for independence. Therefore, in the Federation of Colonial Stars's war for independence, after the main military force is torn to pieces by the Stellar Alliance, one of the planets in the alliance will surrender to the Stellar Alliance, and the remaining planets will either accept the surrender recommendation or their government with authority will be dismantled by the Stellar Alliance and reorganized as a puppet government. Well, the most likely scenario is that even after the war is officially over, the independence movement on the colonial planet will continue to operate underground, and depending on the Stellar Alliance's response, irregular warfare such as guerrilla warfare will continue for a long time."

 

"Wait a moment."

 

Gruier looked up as if she had suddenly realized something.

 

"If the Federation of Colonial Stars surrenders to the Stellar Alliance, what will happen to the pirates?"

 

Marika looked back at Gruier's profile as she asked Jenny a question.

 

"If the Federation of Colonial Stars surrenders, what will happen to the privateer licenses issued by the star system government?"

 

Jenny didn't answer right away, but closed her eyes as if thinking.

 

"It depends on the terms under which the War of Independence ends, but I think it's probably best to assume that the Federation of Colonial Stars will be disarmed across the board. Their privateer licenses will be suspended immediately, and if they ignore that, they'll be pursued as real pirates without a colonial pirate license."

 

"In other words, if the War of Independence ends before history, there will be no more pirates on the colonial planets?"

 

After neatly summarizing Jenny's speculation, Gruier looked at Marika in the captain's seat. Marika shook her head slightly.

 

"That's troubling... When they go back, Bentenmaru, Barbaroosa, and the other pirate ships will be gone too."

 

"If the Federation of Colonial Stars's war of independence ends with the victory of the Stellar Alliance's side and the pirates are disbanded, that will have a significant impact on the Serenity royal family."

 

Gruier turned her eyes back to Jenny and said.

 

"If it weren't for the previous Captain Kato Gonzaemon, I definitely wouldn't be here."

 

"It might not just be the pirates that are gone."

 

Jenny looked around at the other members.

 

"If the colony planets don't surrender easily and immediately accept the rule of the Stellar Alliance, and instead engage in guerrilla warfare, not only space but also the planet's surface will become a battlefield. Casualties on the colony planets will increase, which may have a significant impact on the inhabitants of the Tau star system."

 

"If they don't engage in guerrilla warfare and instead simply accept the rule of the Stellar Alliance, there will probably be a strict policy to prevent another war of independence from happening."

 

Lynn spoke as if it was someone else's problem.

 

"If that happens, won't life on the colony planet become pretty poor? I wonder if Hugh & Dolittle Interstellar Transport will be able to do business as widely as it is now."

 

"Well, even if our company went bankrupt, there are plenty of other companies to replace it, so I don't think it will have much of an impact on the world."

 

Jenny answered coldly.

 

"But if we don't do anything here and someone here might disappear, I would hate that."

 

"Of course, there's a chance that that won't happen, right?"

 

Gruier said.

 

"If we don't do anything, the intelligence gathering ship won't get the information it wants, or even if it does get information, it won't be well received by the Stellar Alliance, and as a result, history might move on without any changes to what we know, right?"

 

"Of course there is."

 

Jenny said, looking at everyone on the bridge, not at Gruier.

 

"Even as we speak, time is passing at the speed of light. No one knows which way history will go in the next moment."

 

"Then, we should just stay quiet." "But what if we do that and a different future comes?"

 

At first, everyone on the bridge was hesitant, but then a floodgate broke and they started arguing. Gruier didn't join in the discussion, instead looking up at Marika, who was silently looking down in the captain's seat.

 

"What do you think, Lynn?"

 

Leaving the crew to debate, Jenny turned to Lynn at the electronics battle seat.

 

"What do you think we should do?"

 

"Tracking the Liberty class."

 

Running her fingers over the control panel, Lynn answered immediately.

 

"Why?"

 

"Because Captain Marika from the future, who was supposed to have been here before us, said so."

 

Lynn looked up at Jenny. "That's what the Odette II sent us in a message just before it was sent here. That means that at least the Odette II that appeared in front of us over there was tracking the Liberty class over here. As a result, the world over there before we arrived was the one we knew. In that case, I think we should do as the captain says."

 

"That's clear."

 

Jenny smiled and nodded.

 

The discussion quickly came to a standstill. Jenny clapped her hands.

 

"No matter how much we debate this matter, we'll never get a right answer."

 

Jenny waited until no one was talking before opening her mouth.

 

"We'll know the answer when we return to the future. Maybe we won't know if something is different because of the time paradox. So what we need to come up with now isn't the answer, but a course of action that all the crew members can agree on."

 

After looking around at everyone, Jenny called out to Marika, who was in the captain's seat.

 

"What do you think, Captain Marika?"

 

Marika, who had been bowing her head deeply, raised her head.

 

"The captain's job is to operate the ship safely. My job now is to return Odette II to where it came from. If I just wanted to stay safe, I could just hide, and it would be easy. But if that meant that where we came from might be different, or there might be no pirates, or it might be a different world where someone else had become someone else, then that wouldn't be a place to return to. If chasing the Liberty-class intelligence ship here means protecting not only the Sea of the Morningstar, which is fighting the War of Independence, but the world of the future, then I think that's what I should do."

 

Jenny nodded.

 

"I'm not asking you to take responsibility, Captain. If necessary, I'll share the responsibility together when we get back. Captain Marika, please decide on the course of action for Odette II."

 

"Yes."

 

Marika closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes.

 

"Odette II will pursue the Liberty-class as the White Swan. To protect the present and the future."

"We lost sight of them!?"

 

After preparing the plan and strategy for pursuing the Liberty-class, Marika left the bridge, pushed by Lynn and Jenny, saying, "We can't let a sleep-deprived captain do his job." It was past midnight ship time and morning local Gregorian standard time when she went to bed in the captain's quarters.

 

She had intended to get by with a short sleep, but she unconsciously turned off the three alarm clocks she had set early, and it was long after noon ship time when Marika woke up.

 

Glancing sideways at the current time in Shin-Okuhama City, Marika got dressed to the bare minimum, and went to the dining hall to get some instant rations and drink packs to warm up, then ran up to the bridge, where she suddenly received a shocking report from Lynn.

 

"You weren't able to track the Liberty class!?"

 

"That was the intention, though."

 

Standing at the electronics battle station, Lynn replied apologetically, still in the same position and outfit as when Marika had last seen her the night before.

 

"I'm sorry, but I had to use a stronger radar on them, since they didn't try to escape even after closing the distance as planned."

 

In the meeting the night before, it had been decided that Odette II would attempt to track the Liberty class while remaining under radio silence and using as little radar as possible. Any decisions that were necessary at any given time would be made by the highest-ranking officer on the bridge at that time.

 

"Did they use radar!?"

 

"It's not like we're using active stealth anyway, and if we move under power, a solar sailing ship with boosters would be completely visible to anyone who is interested in watching us. But then the enemy's reaction was unexpectedly small. I thought we'd been hit, so I narrowed down the fire control radar, and we'd been hit."

 

Lynn showed the image of the unmanned probe with its antennas protruding out of it on the display so that Marika, who was about to enter the captain's seat, could see it.

 

"I don't know when they switched places, but the thing they were chasing thinking we were a Liberty class was actually a decoy launched by them. It's a really impressive move, as expected from an intelligence gathering ship that's actually in combat."

 

"What are you impressed by?"

 

"So, next move. I want to send out Silent Whisper."

 

"What!?"

 

With her hands on the control panel in the captain's seat, Marika turned to Lynn in the electronics battle seat on the bridge of the weightless Odette II. Lynn added as she yawned and stretched in her seat.

 

"Also, a message from Jenny. The captain should wear his captain's uniform."

 

"What!?"

 

Marika couldn't help but look down at her own outfit, still in the uniform of Hakuoh Girls' Academy.

 

"Pirate costumes are still loaded on the Bentenmaru. I didn't bring them here, and besides, why do we need captain's uniforms?"

 

"It should be in the pirate ship's service regulations."

 

It was Gruier who answered, sitting in the first officer's seat.

 

"Pirate ships are treated like warships during operations, so the captain must wear captain's uniform. Even though Odette II is a fake, she is operating under the name of the White Swan, so the captain needs to be dressed accordingly."

 

"Well, the current captain of the White Swan is probably a man, right?"

 

Marika tried to resist, even though it seemed like it would be futile.

 

"Isn't it pointless for a fake captain of the White Swan, especially a girl, to wear a captain's uniform?"

 

"Currently, the White Swan's privateer license is valid."

 

The White Swan's privateer license was returned to the Sea of the Morningstar government after the War of Independence. Now that it has become the training sailing ship of Hakuoh Girls' Academy and has been renamed Odette II, it no longer has a privateer license.

 

"If the White Swan is operating under a privateer license and we are acting under that name, we should adopt a style that does not shame that name."

 

"You're just saying that to get me to cosplay as a pirate, aren't you?"

 

"Yes."

 

After confidently replying with a response that would have definitely caused Marika to fall off the bridge if they hadn't been in a weightless state, Gruier deliberately lowered his voice.

 

"Marika's captain uniform is very popular. Don't you think it's a small price to pay if it keeps the crew morale up during dangerous pirate missions?"

 

"What's so exciting about toying with the captain?"

 

"It's the captain's responsibility to keep the crew motivated, that's another message from Jenny."

 

"Come on."

 

Marika spun around with a pout on her face and slid into the captain's seat.

 

"So the captain's uniform is on the Bentenmaru, not here?"

 

"That's something we can do."

 

Gruier smiled.

 

"Yesterday's reinvestigation of the supplies on board the Odette II uncovered old costume boxes and a trunk full of decorations. Volunteers have already begun the construction of a new captain's uniform for Captain Marika."

 

"Oh, I see..."

 

Marika slumped over in despair.

 

"Fine, do as you like."

 

"Thank you."

 

Gruier bowed with a clear face.

 

"I will tell the volunteers that the captain has given his permission."

 

"Yes, yes. Don't make it such an embarrassing design. So, President Lynn, is there any problem if we use Silent Whisper?"

 

Marika tried to remember the status of the electronic reconnaissance aircraft that should be installed on the Odette II's deck. It hasn't been used recently, so it should only be automatically checked, but there shouldn't be any malfunctions.

 

"Unlike the 200-year-old Odette II, Silent Whisper is an aircraft that shouldn't exist in the current Tau star system during the War of Independence."

 

Lynn floated up from the electronic battleship and turned to Marika in the captain's seat.

 

"If its identity is revealed, or if its existence is discovered later, there is a possibility that a time paradox will occur."

 

"Really?"

 

"Well, well, unidentified spaceships appear all over the place, so maybe we don't need to worry too much about it, but if we use it, it would definitely mean that we've released something that shouldn't exist in the world right now."

 

"That's probably what will happen."

 

"Then, Silent Whisper, which shouldn't exist, will be observed."

 

Lynn said with a difficult look on her face.

 

"For example, if you observe the Sea of the Morningstar from a place 10 light years away in 10 years, Silent Whisper, which shouldn't be there, will be discovered. Apparently, the existence of something that shouldn't be there is also a time paradox."

 

Lynn looked straight into Marika's face.

 

"I'm not asking you to come to a conclusion right away. I'm going to sleep for a bit, so please think about it by the time I wake up."

 

"That's fine, let's use it."

 

Lynn looked at Marika's face again.

 

"Are you sure? You decided to use Silent Whisper so easily?"

 

"Well, it's a cutting-edge electronic reconnaissance plane that's difficult to find thanks to the advanced technology of the future, 120 years from now. Try and find something like that from a few light seconds away, let alone 10 light years away."

 

Marika answered while checking the information on the display without looking up, and Lynn looked dejected.

 

"Well... well, if that's what you want, then I guess that's what you want."

 

"If it's a problem that we'll be found out by later observations, then there's something wrong with the fact that there's already two White Swan ships in the system, when there should only be one. If a time paradox would occur just because a second ship, which shouldn't be there, was released just because something extra had been released, then the future would probably have changed before that happened."

 

"That's... true."

 

"Also, if it's a problem that something will be observed later, then it should have been over the moment we emitted jamming signals at the Liberty class. ... Was the first jamming signal still being used 120 years ago?"

 

The jamming signal emission pattern changes in detail depending on the frequency and output of the enemy. The automatic response jamming signal pattern was selected by Odette II's electronic warfare system, which runs on programs and algorithms that have evolved over the past 120 years.

 

"The principles of electromagnetic waves are the same now as they were back then, so I don't think they emitted anything particularly unusual."

 

After thinking for a moment, Lynn broke into a smile.

 

"However, once the jamming waves are emitted, they spread and fly forever. Even if you chase them now, you can't cancel them. I see. That's obvious."

 

Lynn gave Marika a thumbs up.

 

"If we can send out Silent Whisper now, it will be much easier to track the Liberty class. Then, I'll ask you to prepare so we can send it out."

 

Lynn waved her hand and left the bridge.

 

"Okay, I understand. Good night."

 

Raising her hand lightly, Marika returned her eyes to the display.

 

"So, the next problem is what to do with the decoys sent out by the Liberty class?"

 

"That's right."

 

Gruier nodded.

 

"It would be easiest to destroy it with artillery or something, but unfortunately the Odette II does not have such weapons at the moment. If we could retrieve it and investigate it, we might be able to get some data."

 

"No way."

 

Marika shook her head at Gruier.

 

"It's a decoy sent out by an enemy spaceship during a war. It would be troublesome if we accidentally got too close to retrieve it and it self-destructed."

 

"Ah..."

 

"But it would be troublesome if we just left it like this and it was used later."

 

After thinking for a moment, Marika confirmed the current location of the unmanned probe that was still captured by the Odette II's system.

 

"Let's burn it until it stops functioning."

 

The unmanned probe, which responded in the same way as the Liberty-class freighter, was dazzlingly illuminated by the focused irradiation that concentrated the reflection of the Odette II's large solar sail on one point. As soon as the unmanned probe was hit by the starlight reflected and concentrated by the solar sail, it sent back a sharp increase in infrared response, then went silent within a minute.

 

"We also detected some sort of explosion-like reaction,"

 

A freshman, Shortcut, in the radar/sensor seat reported.

 

"I don't know if it's the energy or propulsion system, but I think there's quite a bit of damage."

 

"If we burn it this thoroughly, it will probably be useless as a decoy."

 

Marika nodded as she watched the observation results being updated one after another.

 

"We will closely observe the state of the decoy and its orbital data, and send them to Fleet Command. We don't have time to recover the decoy or analyze the wreckage, so we will leave that to the Allied Forces."

 

Marika looked down at the all-sky monitor, where unfamiliar reactions stood out.

 

"So we need to find a Liberty-class ship that should still be nearby."

 

"In that case, please take this."

 

Gruier, who was in the radio operator's seat, transferred the completed form, with only the main text left blank, to the captain's seat.

 

"...What is this?"

 

"It's a format for the Fleet Command. If the Federation of Colonial Stars doesn't have any extra ships to send to this system, then retrieving the decoy will be a long way off, but messages will not be accepted unless they are in the correct format, and if they are not well written, the true identity of this ship may be questioned."

 

"Another composition?"

 

With a disgusted look on her face, Marika looked away from the format on the communications monitor.

 

"Please spare me, a message from 120 years ago is like archaic language."

 

"A request to retrieve an unmanned probe released by a Liberty-class intelligence gathering ship?"

 

Lieutenant Colonel Christy Sherwood, in charge of piracy at the Federation of Colonial Stars Fleet Command, looked up at Lieutenant Endo Miki, who had conveyed the message.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"It's a request from the pirate ship White Swan. They neutralized an unmanned probe that was an electronic decoy released by an enemy intelligence ship while pursuing a Liberty-class ship in the inner planetary system, and are requesting that it be retrieved and analyzed."

 

"I see."

 

Giving an unmilitary response, Commander Sherwood tapped the display with the light pen that had been checking the report.

 

"That's an uncharacteristic mistake from Captain White Swan."

 

"A mistake?"

 

"The White Swan, which was supposed to be pursuing an intelligence ship, reported that it had neutralized an unmanned probe, which means that it wasn't a Liberty-class ship, but an unmanned decoy."

 

Lieutenant Endo Miki looked over at her boss, who was working on the other side of the communication monitor. How could this person understand so much just from a verbal report that summarized the message?

 

"Shall I check with the White Swan to see what's going on?"

 

"No."

 

Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood on the other side of the monitor looked down at the display showing the report he was checking.

 

"The fact that they requested us to retrieve it means that the White Swan is still pursuing the Liberty-class. One of the important jobs of the Command Center is to not get in the way of spaceships that are working. As long as the White Swan doesn't make a request that requires our immediate attention, we can just accept the pirate reports."

 

"Okay."

 

The monitor that had been showing Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood's face switched to the words ‘Present, Working.’ Ensign Endo resumed his work of rearranging the sloppy reports sent by a pirate ship that was supposed to be engaged in a trade war in the outer planetary system in chronological order.

 

"We are currently in interplanetary space between the orbits of the Marsh Star and the Blue Star."

 

The lights were dimmed in preparation for the operation, and Marika began her explanation on the bridge, where only the lights of the displays and control panels stood out.

 

"This point is where we first made contact with the Liberty class."

 

Marika plotted the point where the Odette II first appeared on a large projected flat image.

 

"The blue line is Odette II, and the red line is the trajectory of the Liberty class after that."

 

Two bright lines slowly extended from the first point.

 

"After the first contact, the Liberty class left the Odette II by illuminating its fire control radar, and somewhere along this orbit it was replaced by a decoy unmanned probe."

 

The tip of the red line showing the trajectory of the Liberty class shone brightly. Still shining, the red line extended again. The blue line indicating Odette II accelerated slightly and caught up with the red line.

 

"At this point, we found that the reaction Odette II was tracking was a Liberty-class decoy. Therefore, we believe that the Liberty-class deviated from our estimated orbit before this point."

 

"It's partly because we weren't actively tracking it, but even after looking through our logs again, we can't find any infrared reaction."

 

Lynn, who was at the electronics desk, took over the explanation.

 

"There are a lot of noise-level fluctuations in the gravitational system, so I think that after the Liberty-class released a decoy in the same orbit as itself, it changed its orbit by using something like a live propellant injection."

 

"What is a live propellant injection?"

 

A first-year student raised her hand to ask a question. Lynn answered.

 

"It doesn't react with the propellant, it just ejects it raw and cold. Of course, the efficiency drops drastically and it doesn't produce much thrust, but in return it doesn't emit any infrared radiation that would alert the user to its location in space. I've read about it in stories about the War of Independence, but this is the first time I've actually seen it with my own eyes."

 

"What we're seeing unfold before our eyes right now is the story of the War of Independence."

 

Jenny interjected.

 

"And we're one of the characters in it."

 

"Yeah, right? Let's not forget that."

 

A modest laugh broke out on the bridge.

 

"So, that's how we got tricked by the Liberty class."

 

After laughing even louder, Marika continued.

 

"We need to find the intelligence gathering ship from the Stellar Alliance again and disrupt its activities. To do that, we need to figure out where the Liberty class is in this interplanetary space."

 

"If the Liberty class released its decoy and then used its live thrust to change course and pass us by, this is the place where it could have done that."

 

Lynn made a large part of the red glowing line on the map flash.

 

"Assuming the Liberty class is approaching the Sea of the Morningstar as originally intended, here is the course it should take."

 

Lynn spread the red part of the blinking straight line towards the current location of the Sea of the Morningstar like a wide band.

 

"That means there is a high possibility that a Liberty class is somewhere in this red space. And ever since we realized that we were chasing a decoy, we've been aiming our ship's radar and sensors at full speed at this space, but so far we haven't found any ship that looks like it."

 

It's been more than twelve hours since we confirmed that what we thought was a Liberty class was an unmanned probe. Odette II turned around towards the Sea of the Morningstar and continued scanning the vast space with its antenna mast fully open. It hadn't produced any notable results.

 

"As you can see, the space we have to search is too large. Odette II's detection capabilities are much larger than an average spaceship, but the space we have to search is not that large, and it is a disguised transport ship that is probably part of the intelligence department of the Stellar Alliance, who has faced us once and hopes to never meet us again. Even if we just observe the space where the Liberty class is suspected to be, I don't think the chances of rediscovering it are very high. Moreover, since the enemy is moving, the search area will definitely expand the longer it takes. If we continue like this, the chances of rediscovering it will only decrease. So, what should we do?"

 

Lynn looked around at the faces of the club members gathered on the bridge. Yayoi raised her hand.

 

"What is it?"

 

"Can't you cheat?"

 

Yayoi said with difficulty.

 

"Um, among the battle records, there is one from the White Swan from this time period, right? Can we use that?"

 

Lynn and Jenny exchanged awkward glances. Jenny stood up in response.

 

"Well, to cut to the chase, the hidden battle records seem to be different from this one, just with the same date."

 

"What!?" a voice said on the bridge.

 

"For example, the ship in front of us right now is a Liberty-class freighter, but the battle records show that the other ship in the battle records is a disguised cruiser, and the communication records with the fleet headquarters don't match those of the Odette II, and the position records are different from the start."

 

"So, does that mean the battle records are completely different?"

 

Jenny nodded in response to Yayoi's question.

 

"If we could move like that, it would be easy, and in fact, I thought it would be easy because we could predict the movements of the enemy's disguised cruisers, but it seems that it's not that simple."

 

"That's why the battle records from 120 years ago are unreliable."

 

Lynn took over the conversation.

 

"So we have to think for ourselves and do something about it. Do you have any good ideas?"

 

"Send out Silent Whisper and do a two-point scan."

 

If we launch Silent Whisper, which has a detection capability that exceeds that of the old Odette II even by itself, the possibility of discovering the Liberty class will increase. Marika spoke of the immediate plan that had been decided for the time being.

 

"However, in that case, we will still be sending out radar waves at a great pace, and we will perform a scan from two places at the same time. It may cause some inconvenience to spaceships traveling far away, but we'll have to tolerate that."

 

"Okay."

 

Lynn folded her arms with a confident look on her face.

 

"If we can deploy Silent Whisper, our exploration capabilities will increase by an order of magnitude. This gives us a big advantage. So where should we bet on next?"

 

Lynn looked around at the faces of the crew members, dimly lit by the lights of the displays and control panels.

 

"If we continue to aimlessly scan the space where the Liberty class is supposed to be flying, the enemy will finish gathering information before we find them. All they have to do is quietly spread out their antennas and collect the electronic information flying around here, and that will be their job. We can't let them take their time, so we want to find the enemy as soon as possible. Where do you think the enemy is most likely to be?"

 

No one answered.

 

"Are you sure?"

 

Gruier, who was in the radio operator's seat, spoke quietly.

 

"Yeah, tell me."

 

"The Liberty class wants to get as close as possible to Sea of the Morningstar to gather information. The closer we get, the more information we can gather and the more accurate it will be."

 

"I agree. If we get too close, patrol boats might show up, but we can accomplish our goal without getting that close."

 

"So, I think the Liberty class is somewhere in space centered on the line connecting the point where it was last confirmed to Sea of the Morningstar's current location. I think we should focus on searching from there and then expand the search range."

 

"What do you think, Captain Marika?"

 

Marika nodded when Lynn asked.

 

"I think that's a good plan. Let's go with that."

 

"Odette II from Silent Whisper, please."

 

The face of Ursula, who was in the cockpit of Silent Whisper, far away, appeared on the communications monitor.

 

"We've arrived at the planned location. Are you getting any data?"

 

"How is it, President Lynn?"

 

"It's probably fine."

 

With the first-years in charge of radar and sensors floating around her, Lynn, who was in the middle, answered while busily fiddling with the control panel that took up three seats.

 

"We're getting data with much higher accuracy than when we were scanning with just Odette II. Gruier, are the communications lines OK?"

 

"No abnormalities at the moment."

 

Gruier, who was in the communications seat, answered while still wearing his headset.

 

"Two-way data communication has been established between Silent Whisper and our ship. However, the amount of data being transmitted is incredible, so the communication speed is always at maximum."

 

"Well, we're just transmitting all our observation results to them."

 

After checking how the observation data being obtained by Odette II was being transmitted, Lynn left the radar/sensor seat and jumped to the radio operator's seat.

 

"Hmm, the communication speed is slower than I thought. It would be much faster if we connected it with a cable."

 

"How are you going to connect with a boat 300,000 kilometers away with a cable!?"

 

Jenny snapped.

 

"Even if you say that, we're just sending all of our observation data to Silent Whisper after roughly processing it. Thanks to that, even the faces in the image communication are rough and barely move."

 

Odette II and Silent Whisper were connected to form one huge radar system. Silent Whisper was equipped with a system for this purpose. The idea was to sell it to the military on the claim that the accuracy of the data obtained would increase dramatically if multiple aircraft were operated simultaneously.

 

Lynn made a simple modification to the data link system installed in Silent Whisper so that it could connect to Odette II. The first problem was whether the huge amount of observation data obtained should be processed by Silent Whisper or Odette II.

 

Everyone assumed that the data obtained should be processed by Odette II, but Lynn insisted that all the data be concentrated in Silent Whisper and analyzed there.

 

It was 200 years after its construction, and although the software had been updated, the Odette II still used a mainframe that was a century old. However, Silent Whisper's processing power was overwhelmingly higher, as it was equipped with the latest computers and sophisticated software. All the crew members agreed that if Lynn, who had experience with computers from antiques of the past to the latest high-performance machines, said something that was true.

 

Thus, a makeshift observation system linking Odette II and Silent Whisper was constructed with Silent Whisper at the center. Silent Whisper was placed one light second away from Odette II, and both radars scanned the same space. Silent Whisper's observation data was sent directly to Silent Whisper, and Odette II's observation data was sent to Silent Whisper, and the two sets of observation data were processed together.

 

Silent Whisper's observation system can be remotely monitored and operated from Odette II. However, the amount of observation data that Odette II can obtain, which is already equipped with a huge antenna mast, is enormous. A single normal channel for the narrowed directional communication line was not enough, so three channels, including a spare, were connected simultaneously, and Odette II was finally able to send the data it obtained directly to Silent Whisper.

 

Silent Whisper, fully equipped with an optional external antenna in addition to the antennas stored in the normal flight posture, took up a position exactly one light second away from Odette II.

 

"Okay."

 

Checking the communication line from behind Gruier, Lynn gave the captain a thumbs up.

 

"Looks fine. Let's go."

 

Marika, who was in the captain's seat, nodded.

 

"Okay, Odette II, Silent Whisper, please begin observation."

 

The solar sail and electronic reconnaissance plane began a wide-area precision survey to find the lone spaceship that should be somewhere in interplanetary space.

 

Several tens of seconds after the observation began, Silent Whisper immediately found several spaceships. It automatically identified data from the Sea of the Morningstar Orbit Control Station and transponders, and displayed the current positions and names of spaceships flying in space millions of kilometers away on the display.

 

"That's amazing."

 

Marika clapped her hands.

 

"That should be easy to find, right?"

 

"Yeah, if we're lucky, it'll be in two or three hours."

 

"What!?"

 

Everyone on the bridge raised their voices after hearing Lynn’s explanation.

 

"Well, even if we're all guessing that the Liberty class is there, it's still tens of millions of kilometers across. Even if the radar we sent out saying, "Go, go!" finds something and returns, with the current settings, well..."

 

Lynn returned to the electronic warfare seat and checked the display.

 

"It'll be 400 seconds. If there's any big reaction that looks like it, we'll set it so that we don't ignore radar waves that return from further away, but with just two ships, we're going to scan trillions of cubic kilometers of space. Is it that easy to find them?"

 

"I thought that before too."

 

Gruier in the radio operator's seat sighed in an exaggerated way.

 

"Space combat is really so time-consuming that it's annoying."

 

"I honestly wonder why they even bother fighting when it's so time-consuming."

 

Lynn looked up at Marika in the captain's seat.

 

"Well, that's why it'll be a while before we see any results. Captain Marika, you’re relieved!"

 

"Relieved..."

 

"I'll wake you up if anything happens, so go to sleep now. Unless you're really lucky, it's not like a Liberty-class ship will be coming right in front of you."

 

Morning never comes in space. Unless you set a timer, the lights don't come on according to the ship's time, so Marika turned off the lights as usual and woke up in the dark captain's quarters with only the nightlight on. Thinking she was at home, she looked for the clock on her bedside table, but the feeling of her fingertips hitting the headboard reminded her that she was on the Odette II.

 

Marika flicked the control panel by her bedside to display her current location, and woke up with a start when she saw the numbers flashing brightly in the dark room. She immediately contacted the bridge.

"This is the captain's quarters, Marika!"

 

"Good morning."

 

A fresh-faced Gruier appeared on the monitor.

 

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

 

The current time was 05:57, early morning on board. Marika jumped out of bed, checked that our image wasn't being broadcast over there, and swiftly threw off her pajamas.

 

"Because there's no need for it."

 

Gruier answered with a straight face. He continued without giving Marika a chance to argue.

 

"If it becomes a major issue that requires the captain's decision, I'll wake you up right away and have you work. If that doesn't happen, I'll have you sleep well and conserve your energy for emergencies. The crew feels more at ease if the captain is in perfect health."

 

"I told you to wake me up!"

 

"Who would want to be given orders by a sleep-deprived, staggering captain? We don't know when a protracted battle that will make it impossible to sleep will break out. Don't think that we are letting the captain sleep for his sake. If we don't let the captain get a good night's sleep, we will be in trouble if an emergency occurs.'

 

'Oh no!'

 

'There is a new captain's uniform in the captain's room. Try it on.'

 

Marika picked up the uniform blouse that she had taken off the night before and looked at Gruier on the communication monitor.

 

'You didn't wake me up, so that means you haven't found the Liberty class yet?'

 

'Yes.'

 

Gruier nodded.

 

'We will finish scanning the planned airspace soon, but we have not found any signs of it. If you come to the bridge, we will discuss changing our strategy.'

 

'What in the world is this captain's uniform?!'

 

Marika came rushing in screaming, and the entire bridge crew cried out in sighs.

 

"It suits you well."

 

Gruier, who was in the first officer's seat, floated up.

 

"It suits you, don't you think?"

 

Marika, who was simply wearing a captain's jacket with epaulettes and four-striped cuffs over her dignified bunny suit and fishnet stockings, shouted while swinging around a headband with long ears.

 

"Where did you find this costume from? And what are these bunny ears for?"

 

"It's from inside the costume box in the storeroom."

 

Gruier answered without changing his expression.

 

"I've had it dry-cleaned, so don't worry."

 

"That's not the issue, why do I have to put ears on my captain's uniform?"

 

"Because a skull and crossbones mark is a must for a pirate captain."

 

Gruier picked up the tips of the rabbit ears Marika had pointed at him.

 

"After thinking about where to put them, I decided on this."

 

A small skull and crossbones mark had been added to the base of one ear like a hair accessory.

 

"So, as part of the captain's uniform, don't forget to wear a headband."

 

"Everyone's playing with it, right?"

 

After glaring at the bridge crew watching, Marika put on a sullen face and held down her lush hair with a headband with long rabbit ears. A cheer went up.

 

"There's no outside sales going on, so why are you making the captain dressed like this, seriously?"

 

"It suits you well."

 

Gruier nodded with satisfaction at Marika wearing rabbit ears.

 

"We're also developing a captain's uniform for changing colors, so you won't have any trouble getting changed."

 

"Come on, when did you get to do that?"

 

Marika sat in the captain's seat, trying not to think about how she looked from the outside in her bunny suit and captain's jacket.

 

"So, change of plan?"

 

Marika looked around at Gruier and Jenny, who were supposed to have been on the bridge while she was sleeping, and at Lynn, who had woken up early.

 

"We've finished scanning the space where we assumed the Liberty class was."

 

Lynn unfolded a space map of the surrounding space on the bridge.

 

"As reported, we have not found any Liberty-class ships. We are currently rescanning the areas where the reactions were determined to be non-Liberty-class and non-spaceship reactions were found, and then expanding the search area."

 

"Yes..."

 

Marika slid into the captain's seat and tapped the control panel to bring the display back to life.

 

"The reason we determined that the reaction we caught was not a Liberty-class ship is..."

 

Within a few hours of scanning, the makeshift wide-area scanning radar, combining Odette II and Silent Whisper, had found hundreds of spaceships. The reactions found were checked against a database that held a huge number of records, and were compared with the route outline published by the Sea of the Morningstar Control Station, and their identities were confirmed one by one.

 

Spaceships that were flying according to the Sea of the Morningstar Control Station's flight plan and whose transponder IDs were confirmed were initially excluded from confirmation. If the transponder cannot be confirmed even if the flight plan is followed, or if the transponder can be confirmed but the spacecraft is flying on a different route than the flight plan, a different check is required for each case.

 

Of the hundreds of spacecraft that were found, nearly half had transponders that did not match the flight plan. The true identity of most spacecraft can be determined by checking the Orbital Control Station database or by re-reading the transponder.

 

Of the remaining 10% of responses, several 10% were confirmed to be former spacecraft that had been abandoned or were drifting. For spacecraft whose identity cannot be determined no matter what, communication is attempted to confirm their identity. If there is an automatic response to message communication, most spacecraft can be confirmed.

 

For spacecraft that do not respond, a more powerful and highly accurate radar is illuminated for a limited time to confirm the response. If the target is a spacecraft that is far away, it can take tens of minutes for the radar to return a response, but while waiting, the radar can be illuminated at the next target.

 

After hours of searching like this, the bridge came to the conclusion that there was no Liberty-class ship that fit the search criteria, making all the work done up to that point seem like a waste of time.

 

After quickly scrolling through the results of the confirmation process, Marika relaxed her combat stance and looked up at the bridge, which was brightly lit by normal lighting.

 

"I understand that we'll conduct a search while we're gone. President Lynn, what do you think is the chance that we'll find the Liberty-class ship with a rescan?"

 

Lynn, who was in the electronics battle seat, gave a wry smile and shook his head.

 

"Honestly, I think it's low. If Jenny's guess is correct, the ones operating the Liberty-class ship are professional soldiers from the Stellar Alliance. Even though we're from the future, we're just high school students, and we're overwhelmingly lacking in experience when it comes to this kind of pursuit."

 

"That's true," Marika admitted. Lynn continued. "In addition, the Liberty class should also be on the move. The time we wasted will make them move even further away, so the space we have to scan will be about ten times larger. If we do the same thing again, we will likely waste our time."

 

"Is it possible that the Liberty class noticed our pursuit and gave up on gathering information?"

 

Yayoi said.

 

"If we have searched so much and still can't find it, it may be heading for an outward orbit to join the outer planetary scout fleet."

 

"If they want to escape, there's no need to release a decoy that reacts to the same thing as them and drag us around."

 

Marika shook her head slightly.

 

"The fact that they deliberately used a decoy means they're really motivated. As the chief said, if the person on board is a professional warship pilot, they wouldn't just give up on their orders."

 

"So, you're saying the Liberty-class is still here somewhere?"

 

Yayoi glanced at the screen that was showing the airspace that had been scanned once.

 

"Is it here, or somewhere else? That's the question."

 

Marika said with a difficult look on her face and folded her arms.

 

"Speak up."

 

Gruier in the radio operator's seat raised one hand. Marika pointed at Gruier.

 

"Yes, please, Gruier."

 

"I think we need to recognize that the Liberty class we're pursuing is a tricky one and rethink our strategy. If we continue with the same work, the chances of rediscovering the enemy are low, so I think we need to make a bold change of course now."

 

"Yeah..."

 

Nodding vaguely, Marika looked at the screen.

 

"If we make a bold change of course after coming this far, it'll hurt if we miss the mark."

 

Muttered so everyone could hear.

 

"However, if we don't get any results, the Liberty class will be able to gather information to our advantage, so the result will be the same. Yes, if we're going to start over, it's better to do it sooner. So let's think about what we should do from now on, assuming that the enemy is better than we expected."

 

Marika dimmed the bridge lights, which were brightly lit in normal mode, to combat mode. A 3D display in the center of the bridge shows a star map of the inner planetary system from Odette II to the star Mars Star on the other side of the star Tau.

 

"The Liberty class we need to find is somewhere in the Tau system. It may not be on the star map shown here, but it doesn't exist in any of the spaces we've scanned so far. So, if it's there, it's not in this space that's been scanned and colored red."

 

A thin red 3D shape is projected in the direction of Odette II's course.

 

"That's all..."

 

The first-year student, Shortcut, in seat muttered in a daze. Compared to the huge interplanetary space that lies between Odette II and the star Mars Star, what was scanned in half a day was only a tiny part.

 

"You probably thought the inner planetary system was small."

 

Lynn emitted a green line of explanation from the laser pointer she was holding at her fingertips.

 

"But if you try to look into it in detail, it's so big that it's tiresome. There are only two planets inside the orbit of Mars Star, but there are thousands of asteroids in the catalog, and many spaceships passing by."

 

Lynn displayed all the spaceships and asteroids that should be floating between Odette II and Mars Star. Small, colorful dots overflowed into the space in the center of the bridge.

 

"It wouldn't be profitable to display everything that's visible, so this is the only spaceships I've limited to."

 

The number of bright spots suddenly decreased by nearly 10%. Most of them were located around Mars Star and the numerous routes that extended from it.

 

"Spaceships outside our detection range are reconstructed from the flight plans published by the Orbital Control Station and the transponders we can receive. Therefore, the spaceships shown here are not all of them, and their locations are not accurate."

 

Lynn slashed away the bright spots that indicated the many spaceships displayed with a green laser.

 

"And the Liberty class we're looking for isn't shown here."

 

"Let's get the conditions straight."

 

Jenny projected a calendar onto the 3D display.

 

"If Captain Marika's message from the future is correct, there are four days left until we return to our original time. If the history we know is correct, the outer planetary reconnaissance fleet will also begin to move to its next destination in four days. Although the intelligence gathering ship doesn't need to be perfectly in sync with the Stellar Alliance fleet, it's unlikely that they'd continue to operate independently away from the fleet in enemy territory where they can't get supplies."

 

"That's wishful thinking."

 

Lynn stated his personal opinion.

 

"If the captain of the Liberty is really skilled, there is a chance that he will continue to gather information independently, away from the main force."

 

"That's true. But after the main force withdraws, the Federation of Colonial Stars, which has been putting all its strength into the standoff, will have more time to pursue and disrupt the intelligence gathering ship. Besides, if everything goes as planned, we won't be here by then."

 

Jenny looked at the calendar, which showed the new calendar and the Galactic Standard Calendar side by side.

 

"Even if they stay, it's fine if the Alliance or pirates chase the Liberty and disrupt its original mission, but even if that doesn't happen, there's nothing we can do now that we've returned to our original time. So let's do what we can now."

 

"If the Liberty's goal is to gather electronic information around the Sea of the Morningstar."

 

Marika turned off the calendar and switched to a star chart.

 

"For information gathering, it's best to be as close to Sea of the Morningstar as possible. Isn't that true?"

 

"It's a different story if we go down to the surface, but I'm sure most communications will be intercepted if we're in an orbit around Souzuki. If we go down to geostationary orbit, there's a chance that even directional communications will be intercepted."

 

Sea of the Morningstar has twin natural satellites in an orbit much higher than geostationary orbit. Directional communications can't be sent unless the exact location of the other party is known, but Sea of the Morningstar's location is also on the star chart.

 

"However, the problem if they get close isn't the communication waves that can only travel at the speed of light, whether directional or omnidirectional. It's the FTL communications that the Fleet Command is exchanging with the entire front line of the War of Independence."

 

Lynn enlarged the star chart projected in the center of the bridge to an orbital map from Sea of the Morningstar to Souzuki.

 

"The fleet headquarters is in Shin-Okuhama City, and the FTL communication system is via hyperspace, so we want to place it in a stable location as far away from the gravity source as possible. The hyperspace network station is set up as a relay station, and then two communication stations are set up in the same geostationary orbit, 120 degrees apart. If an intelligence-gathering ship gets close enough to directly observe this, it's going to be dangerous."

 

"Is it possible to intercept FTL communication?"

 

Marika asked. That is a technology that is impossible even in the future, 120 years after the end of the War of Independence. Lynn shook her hand and head.

 

"If we could do that, we could take over the world in an instant, anywhere, anytime. Impossible, no way, it's impossible to intercept FTL communication from outside. But if you want to know if they're communicating faster than light, that's not impossible to know."

 

"Ah..."

 

Marika spoke up, as if she had noticed something.

 

"Since large masses jump and disappear, a spaceship's FTL jump can be seen from far away. FTL communication is sent through hyperspace, though not as fast as a ship's jump, so weak space-time quakes and spatial anomalies can be observed around the communication station."

 

"But even if they can observe the frequency of the station's FTL communications, they can't tell what the communications are saying, right?"

 

"That should be fine. But if we were to take up positions around the twin moons and observe from a station in geostationary orbit, we would easily notice that there are an abnormally large number of FTL communications from the Sea of the Morningstar. If intelligence gathering ships in other colonial star systems were also observing the frequency of FTL communications, and they noticed that there were an unusually large number of communications from the Sea of the Morningstar, that would be dangerous."

 

"That's dangerous."

 

Gruier drew the attention of the bridge crew with his language, which was unbecoming of a legitimate heir to the throne.

 

"The amount of FTL communications between the Sea of the Morningstar, where the fleet headquarters is located, and the outside world must far exceed that of other colonized star systems. Moreover, a large fleet is now approaching the outer planetary system. There must be a constant stream of FTL communications."

 

"It's not realistic to ask them to refrain from FTL communications just because an intelligence gathering ship has infiltrated it."

 

Jenny sighed and looked at the orbital diagram.

 

"In that case, we can't let the Liberty class get close to the Sea of the Morningstar after all."

 

"The Liberty class is trying to get close to the Sea of the Morningstar to gather intelligence."

 

Marika looked at Lynn and Jenny's faces.

 

"I'm sure that's the ultimate goal, right?"

 

"Yeah. There's no other place in the Tau system that intelligence gathering ships would target other than the Sea of the Morningstar."

 

"If that's the case, then our guess that the Liberty class must be in the space between the Sea of the Morningstar and the orbit where it lost sight of the Liberty class was not so far off the mark. But that means the premise that the Liberty class is heading for the Sea of the Morningstar in the shortest distance was wrong."

 

"Why would they take a detour to reach the Sea of the Morningstar using normal navigation?"

 

Lynn crossed her arms with a difficult look on her face.

 

"It's a short distance that you could get there in no time if you were serious about it."

 

"But if you try to go all the way and accelerate at a high speed, you'll get caught in the observation net immediately due to the energy and infrared reactions. If you jump, the space will be distorted, so whether you jump or come back, you'll be advertising your position to the surroundings. There's only one reason to take a detour: to throw off pursuit."

 

Marika took the laser pointer in her hand and turned it on. A bright blue light stretches across the dim bridge.

 

"Even if it means a detour and takes longer, shortening the time for on-site observation, the Liberty class decided that it was important to lose sight of us. To that end, they deliberately abandoned the shortest orbit and headed for Sea of the Morningstar, avoiding the space we would have scanned."

 

Marika split the predicted airspace with a blue laser beam and pointed alternately to the space above and below it.

 

"Spaceships traveling through planetary systems take the shortest route to travel as efficiently as possible. In that case, their orbits will not deviate from the ecliptic plane."

 

Due to the process of formation, stars have planetary systems that are almost on the same plane. Planets captured after the birth of a star may deviate significantly from the orbital plane or even move in reverse, but stars generally have planets on a plane perpendicular to their axis of rotation. This plane is called the ecliptic.

 

"As long as it passes through the ecliptic plane, there's a higher chance it will be found by other spacecraft. So, I don't know if the Liberty class is in the southern or northern sky, but I think it's probably heading out of the ecliptic plane of the Tau system and heading towards Mars."

 

"Outside the ecliptic..."

 

Lynn tapped her finger on the control panel as she watched the laser travel back and forth between the northern and southern sides of the sky, above and below the red scanned space.

 

"Well, that's troublesome. The amount of space we have to scan will increase by more than tenfold at once."

 

"If we were to be too honest and search all the places we have to scan, we'd be playing into the enemy's hands. The amount of space we have to search is already ten times larger than what we've scanned so far, and it's only going to expand as time goes by, so we can't really deal with them."

 

"So, what should we do?"

 

"Why don't we ambush the Liberty-class from the start?"

 

It was Gruier who spoke.

 

"If the intelligence-gathering ship's target is the airspace around the Sea of the Morningstar, we can intercept it for sure if we get there first."

 

"That's not a bad idea."

 

With a difficult look on her face, Lynn didn't stop tapping on the control panel.

 

"But that would mean the Liberty class could gather as much information as it wanted until it got close to the Sea of the Morningstar. We might be able to gather information on the FTL communications from the Sea of the Morningstar with a borderline interception, but until then, the Liberty class, which has been moving leisurely through the Tau system, can gather as much electronic information as it wants without interference."

 

"We'll have to jump and chase after them."

 

Marika muttered.

 

"This is enemy territory for the Stellar Alliance's spaceships, so we can't fly in a way that draws attention. But we can accelerate and jump as much as we want."

 

"Well, I don't think the control station will complain if we jump as much as we want as long as we don't interfere with their route."

 

Lynn looked at Marika with an amused look on her face.

 

"But we have to submit all the flight plans for that, you know?"

 

After stammering, Marika glared at the star chart displayed in 3D.

 

"Compared to submitting a report to the Fleet Command, submitting a flight plan that's just a little old-fashioned is easy! I'll do it, just do it!"

 

"If the future changes just because the paperwork is too much of a hassle, maybe the bureaucrats will turn a blind eye."

 

After saying that, Lynn shook her head.

 

"If you weigh the issue of responsibility against the future, they'll only think about avoiding responsibility."

 

"Jenny, do you know the exact specifications of the Liberty-class freighter?"

 

"If it's something that's publicly available, it should be available soon."

 

Jenny tilted her head.

 

"But cargo ships have been in use since before FTL speeds were put to practical use, and there are tons of variations, so their performance isn't uniform."

 

"They're intelligence-gathering ships that the Stellar Alliance sends out to enemy territory on its own. Even if they look like cargo ships, the inside is probably on par with a warship."

 

"That's right. They might not only increase power output, but also have a system that reduces the infrared response of their wake."

 

"They even have that kind of thing!?"

 

The ponytail in the sensor seat screamed. Jenny nodded.

 

"The infrared reaction of the propellant is the most reliable way to find out the current position from the wake. Intentionally dispersing the propellant over a wide area to reduce the infrared reaction was a popular technique at the time. It was a technique that fell out of use completely because it was better to escape quickly than to do that."

 

"It's a target that was once lost sight of."

 

Marika said, staring at the star chart.

 

"In this case, I think it would be better to overestimate the enemy's performance to avoid future pain."

 

"Assuming the Liberty class's power performance is estimated to be higher than the standard type, what route should we take?"

 

Lynn asked.

 

"Which direction do you think the Liberty class's route, which deviated from the ecliptic, was heading towards, the southern or northern sky?"

 

"I don't know."

 

Marika shook her head.

 

"But if the commander of the Liberty class is as experienced as we think he is, I think he will deviate as much as possible from the trajectory we would assume to avoid rediscovery."

 

"So what?"

 

"Probably perpendicular to the departure trajectory of the first Liberty class."

 

Marika thought of the trajectory of the Liberty class that had left after the first contact.

 

"Until we had tracked the decoy and were out of detection range, all they could do was keep quiet and use live propellant injection."

 

Marika displayed the past trajectory of Odette II on a 3D display.

 

"At some point, Odette II, which was tracking the decoy, came closest to the Liberty class, which was on a perpendicular orbit to the ecliptic, and then moved away. If it passed by and something sprayed behind it, it would have picked up even our sensors, even though they were facing forward, so after we had moved far enough away, we took extra precautions and fled vertically, the least likely to be detected."

 

Marika moved the beam of her laser pointer perpendicular to Odette II's past orbit.

 

"If we simply wanted to put distance between us, it would be safer to run in the opposite direction. But if we did that, there's a chance that the jets of fire, which are faster than the main body, would head towards us. If that's the case, the safest direction would be vertical. We changed course toward the Sea of the Morningstar when we were far enough away from the ecliptic where the routes converge. Please estimate how far the Liberty class could have advanced at its fastest based on this estimated course."

 

"How far away from the ecliptic do you think we were when we changed course toward the Sea of the Morningstar?"

 

Lynn asked pointedly.

 

"How far away from the ecliptic do you think the Liberty class is?"

 

Marika closed her eyes and imagined the inner planetary system of the Taru star system in her head. Its current position is on the same ecliptic plane as the Sea of the Morningstar's orbital plane. At what point would the Liberty class feel safe if it had dared to move away from there?

 

"...One million kilometers."

 

Marika spoke the number that came to her mind. Lynn immediately pressed on.

 

"What is your basis for that?"

 

"The distance when we first made contact with the Liberty class was 500,000 km. We can engage in artillery fire at long distances, and it's a sufficient distance for electronic warfare. Since we haven't actively engaged in electronic warfare since then, we thought we should maintain a safe distance of twice as much to ensure the enemy doesn't get chased by us."

 

"I see."

 

Lynn looked around at the electronic warfare display in front of her.

 

"One million kilometers vertically from the ecliptic is a margin of error between planets, but it's enough to fool our eyes, and it will minimize the time loss of the detour. Okay, let's try to estimate the Liberty class's destination along those lines."

 

"Thank you. We'll make a short jump based on that estimate and search for the enemy."

 

"Wait a moment!"

 

Yayoi spoke up in the engineer's seat.

 

"This is an inner planetary system! There's no way we can make an accurate jump!"

 

FTL jumps are greatly affected by the state of space. Space is distorted near gravity sources, so it's impossible to make accurate jumps.

 

"I don't mind a little error."

 

Marika waved her hand.

 

"Anyway, I don't expect accurate jumps in the inner planetary system. Unlike our enemies who have to be sneaky, we can jump around as much as we want. So we're just going to make the most of every advantage we have."

 

"But even so..."

 

Yayoi continued to complain. According to normal navigation procedures, FTL jumps are usually made beyond the outer planetary system where the gravity of the star is weak enough, and if you want an accurate jump, you should do it in interstellar space.

 

"We'll have to jump at least twice, toward the southern and northern sky, and maybe even more, but please!"

 

Marika put her hands together in front of the engineer and navigator seats.

 

"You should be prepared for an error of about 10 million kilometers."

 

Further complaining, Yayoi deployed the control panel of the FTL booster.

 

"An error of 10 million kilometers..."

 

Lynn repeated Yayoi's words and began pounding on the electronic warfare panel with furious force.

 

"Wait a minute, if there's going to be an error in the jump anyway, maybe we can jump a little more and do something interesting."

 

"What do you mean, something interesting?"

 

Feeling an ominous premonition, Marika turned her gaze to Lynn.

 

"Depending on how we do it, we might be able to triple or quadruple our fighting power."

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"It's a long-distance probe, so even if we observe from the jump, it takes several minutes for the radar to return after traveling tens of millions of kilometers. So if we send out a bunch of radars ahead of time and receive them at the jump, we can do the same thing as deploying several patrol ships with one ship."

 

Radar waves are emitted at the speed of light. Spaceships can travel faster than the speed of light, so they can jump after emitting radar and receive their own radar waves at a different point.

 

"What!?"

 

Yayoi screamed.

 

"How many minutes do you plan to make them jump?!"

 

"Um, five or ten minutes."

 

"That's impossible!"

 

Lynn answered casually while moving her hands, and Yayoi yelled.

 

"It's one thing to just jump anywhere, but you can't make a precise short-distance jump in ten minutes!"

 

"If it's a short distance, you can't charge it in time, right?"

 

"You have to charge the energy exactly! It's impossible to recharge the engine when it's hot from a jump and you're going to jump to the next target with enough precision!"

 

"Um, you have to observe your current position in ten minutes and match the numbers with the next target, right?"

 

Sasha said in the navigator's seat.

 

"I don't think it's impossible, but if we do that, we might not have time to check our current position or the next jump point."

 

"No good, huh?"

 

Lynn slid her fingers over her shoulder and took both hands off the control panel.

 

"I think we could get there in 15 or 20 minutes, but if the radar doesn't know its exact location when it's sending or receiving, it can't give us any useful numbers even if it bounces off the radar waves we've sent out."

 

Lynn looked reluctantly at the orbital map of the inner planetary system displayed in the center of the bridge.

 

"I think it's not a bad idea to fly around at faster than the speed of light and receive the radar waves you send out."

 

"Maybe we can."

 

Jenny, who had been thinking deeply with her thumb on her mouth, muttered. Lynn turned around almost reflexively. "What!?"

 

"The point is, we just need to fly around at FTL speed, emit radar from various places, and receive it. A FTL booster might be difficult for the troublesome Odette II, but if it's a Silent Whisper that's smaller and has much more automation in checking its current position and setting short jumps, surely it could fly around in a short time and emit radar waves from various places?"

 

"Is that possible!?"

 

"Gruier, contact Silent Whisper."

 

Jenny instructed.

 

"Silent Whisper has a smaller mass than us, so there's less error in short-distance jumps, and the type and power of the radar it emits shouldn't be a problem, but it'd be quicker to ask them if they have a program or manual for such a mission."

 

It's been a while since the mass of electronic device manuals, when printed on paper, easily exceeded the device itself. Not only electronic reconnaissance planes like Silent Whisper, but most spacecraft and electronic devices have their own databanks with instruction manuals. If you want to confirm the exact operation method, the quickest and most reliable way is to contact the main body.

 

Ursula, a second-year student who was the captain of Silent Whisper, didn't understand what Lynn was saying at first. After listening to Sasha's explanation, which was abbreviated in many ways, she finally seemed to understand the mission expected of Silent Whisper.

 

"I'm having Maki look at the manual now, but, um, how exactly do you plan to have them jump?"

 

"Three locations in the southern sky and three locations in the northern sky."

 

Lynn showed off a plan she had made up on the spot.

 

"Silent Whisper will fly to the opposite side of the ecliptic from Odette II, and have them emit radar waves at each vertex of an equilateral triangle with sides of 100 million kilometers. When we receive it, we will jump to the other side and switch positions with it, and then do the same procedure again."

 

"So you're going to take advantage of the fact that it can go faster than light and use the art of cloning to bombard it with radar from multiple directions?"

 

Understanding the operational plan in her own words, Ursula on the communications monitor smiled.

 

"Well, if it's according to the catalog, the short jump will be more accurate than ever, and by revising the operating pattern of the FTL engine and the shape of the aircraft, the spatial disturbance after touchdown will converge at an unprecedented speed."

 

"The sales pitch in the catalog is unreliable, but it's good that the spatial disturbance converges quickly."

 

Lynn quickly set up the placement of Silent Whisper and the position of Odette II in relation to it. If we emit radar waves before the spatial disturbance has subsided, we won't be able to make accurate observations.

 

"Odette II will make two short jumps, one to the southern side and one to the northern side. Silent Whisper will emit radar waves from six locations. The scanning range is wide, so we can't expect much accuracy, but this should be enough to capture any spaceships traveling outside the ecliptic."

 

"Understood."

 

Looking at the operation plan shown to her by Lynn, Marika suddenly started counting on her fingers.

 

"Oh, so that means at least two short jumps and six for Silent Whisper? Do we have to submit that many applications to the control station!?"

 

"If we consider the rendezvous after that and the pursuit of the Liberty class, we'll have to add one or two more."

 

Lynn grinned.

 

"Thank you, Captain."

 

"And don't submit a flight plan under the name Silent Whisper."

 

Jenny adds.

 

"Well, it's an electronic reconnaissance plane that shouldn't exist in today's world, so just make up a name for it."

 

"Just make it up..."

 

"A flight plan outside the ecliptic is just a greeting to the control station asking them not to worry if they get a strange reaction, so it's fine to make it up. Fleet HQ probably wouldn't expect anything more than a report of pirates doing something suspicious."

 

"Even if it's fine to make it up, the format has to match properly."

 

Marika frowned and tried to bring up the application form for the control station on the display at the captain's seat.

 

"Here you go."

 

Gruier transferred the form for the flight plan for the control station to the captain's seat as if he had prepared it.

 

"Thanks, that's a big help. Well, the units are different now than they were in the past, so if you keep that in mind when converting and setting the time, it should be fine."

 

Marika scrolled through the form on the display to see which blanks she needed to fill in, then suddenly glanced over at the radio operator's seat.

 

"So, Gruier, how many consecutive hours have you been on duty now?"

 

"I've taken days off. I'm fine."

 

"No, you haven't slept since you got here, have you?"

 

Marika asked in a hushed voice, and Gruier answered with his usual cool face.

 

"I'm built a little differently than the others."

 

"Same here."

 

Marika glared lightly at Gruier.

 

"Even if your brain or body is a little better, and you eat different foods and take different physical care, you're still the same human being. You get tired, get hungry, and can get sick or injured."

 

Gruier's face brightened up when she was glared at.

 

"We're not reliable enough to rely on you on our own, so you're forcing yourself to stay on the bridge, but if any of the crew members collapse, it's the same problem. Odette II doesn't have a doctor, let alone a health committee, so she can't treat anyone, and if you fall ill, your fighting power will decrease. Get plenty of sleep and stay in good health like everyone else."

 

Marika added to Gruier, who was smiling broadly.

 

"This is an order from the captain."

 

"If it's an order, there's no other way."

 

Gruier quickly left the radio operator's seat and saluted the captain, naturally relaxing.

 

"Gruier, you're leaving the bridge."

 

"Get plenty of rest."

 

After returning the salute, Marika lowered her eyes to the display.

 

"Now, let's fill out the application documents."

"So, it seems that the White Swan has submitted a large number of FTL jump applications to the control station."

 

Among the pirate ships issued privateer licenses by the Federation of Colonial Stars, not a single one has submitted a detailed operation outline like a military vessel. Pirate ships are seen as valuable in having many ships that act in a variety of ways according to their own judgment, and it is not uncommon for the reports that they are required to submit after the operation to be full of holes by military standards.

 

Similarly, even if he is the head of the Pirate Division in charge of pirates at Fleet Headquarters, there is no way that all pirates will contact Lieutenant Commander Christy Sherwood at regular intervals to report their current situation. The Pirate Division needs to lay a dedicated information network in each area and keep track of the latest movements of the pirates under its command.

 

Checking the flight plans of pirate ships sent to Fleet Headquarters via the Orbital Control Station is a simple and elementary step in investigating the movements of pirate ships. All flight plans submitted by pirate ships are sent to the fleet headquarters. Ensign Miki Endo checks the pirate ship's flight plan and reports to his superior, Lieutenant Commander Sherwood.

 

"The White Swan flew twice toward the northern and southern sky, and the small boats on board flew seven times?"

 

Lieutenant Sherwood checked the summary report from Ensign Endo. Ensign Endo nodded to his superior on the other side of the monitor.

 

"Yes. The destination of the White Swan and the touchdown point of the small boat are both far from the ecliptic, in empty interplanetary space."

 

"That's a pretty dramatic jump for the White Swan. Even after he started using the FTL boosters, I thought Captain White Swan would only make the minimum number of jumps."

 

"And it's not an interstellar jump, it's a short jump between planets."

 

Lieutenant Endo looked at the flight plan from the White Swan and couldn't figure out the pirate ship's intentions.

 

"Did the White Swan have a small boat that could jump faster than light?"

 

"Did they get it from somewhere, or did they get help from another spaceship?"

 

Lieutenant Sherwood checked the registered data for the White Swan just to be sure. According to records from three months ago, the old solar sail ship was not equipped with a FTL small boat that could jump on its own.

 

"Since it's in the inner planetary system, it seems that it's continuing to track an intelligence-gathering ship. Have you found any ships like that here?"

 

Lieutenant Endo, who had expected to be asked that question, updated the answer to the question he had sent to the fleet headquarters. Many Liberty-class freighters from various planets were flying in orbit around the inner planets inside the Bright Blue Star, but no intelligence-gathering ship that met the criteria had been confirmed.

 

"Not yet."

 

"Then this must be part of the tracking."

 

The lieutenant switched the display.

 

"Does this mean that the intelligence-gathering ship has left the ecliptic plane of the star?"

 

Lieutenant Endo voiced his own speculation. A civilian spaceship flying between planets would not go to the trouble of escaping the ecliptic plane, which would be a long detour, but for a military spaceship, this is not an unusual orbit.

 

"That's right. The White Swan is equipped with radar on par with that of a patrol ship, so I think they're going to make good use of it."

 

"But looking at the flight plan they submitted, it doesn't look like they're tracking with a calculated goal."

 

A FTL jump near a gravity source would produce a large margin of error. It would allow for high-speed movement, but it's not a method for tracking, where you need to corner the enemy with precision.

 

"Maybe they'll cross-search the ecliptic together with a small boat. Using a ship's radar instead of their own to scan a space that would take hours even at the speed of light is a common technique in the military."

 

The lieutenant looked at his silver-haired superior again.

 

"With this method, instead of waiting for the radar to return, we only need to catch the radar response sent by our allies from the other side. That alone can cut the scanning time in half."

 

"...Where did you learn to do that?"

 

"I'd like to ask that too."

 

Commander Sherwood smiled mysteriously.

 

" I wonder where Captain White Swan of the White Swan learned to do this?"

 

First, they performed a short jump, jumping far out from the ecliptic plane of the star on which Odette II stands toward the northern sky.

 

As Yayoi, the engineer, and Sasha, the navigator, said, FTL travel in the inner planetary system resulted in a terrible jump error of 20% more than expected. Without Lynn's policy that distance errors would be absorbed by calculation and subsequent settings as long as the direction was roughly correct, an interplanetary patrol network would not have been possible.

 

Silent Whisper's short jump to the southern sky was set based on the current position precisely observed by Odette II, which had flown out far from the ecliptic plane toward the northern sky and touched down.

 

This seems to be a new generation electronic reconnaissance plane that allows for more detailed settings, and thanks to the addition of data from Odette II, which had jumped earlier, the jump error was reduced to a few percent. If it were to be deployed urgently into an ongoing battle airspace, the time difference would be fatal, but it would not be a significant obstacle for deploying a radar network on a scale of several hundred million kilometers.

 

Silent Whisper, which touched down on the southern sky, began irradiating Odette II, which was itself firing its radar toward the ecliptic plane from the northern sky. If it had been fired at a close range, it could have been considered an act of combat, but because of the distance, the radiation would have dispersed by the time it reached the ecliptic plane, and unless it was a warship, no one would notice that it was being irradiated by radar.

 

Based on the data of the precise current position, radar waves are irradiated over the entire airspace where the Liberty-class may be deployed. Ideally, the irradiation would be dense enough to heat up the target, but the space involved is too large for that to be possible.

 

While irradiating the radar, Silent Whisper painstakingly and precisely prepared for the next jump. The first jump can be left to chance, as the irradiation can be adjusted to match the position of the receiving Odette II, but from the second jump onwards, any deviation from the planned touchdown point will result in an error.

 

Thirty minutes after the first FTL jump, Silent Whisper made its second short-distance jump. The data from the first jump can be used to make corrections, but there will still be an error of a few tenths of a percent. In order to obtain the most accurate observational data possible, the radar irradiation must be that dense.

 

Silent Whisper, which had flown from Odette II to the second vertex of a huge equilateral triangle that sandwiched the ecliptic plane of the Tau star system, irradiated it for an hour, twice as long as the previous time, as instructed by Lynn. It then flies to the third location.

 

The radar waves emitted from Silent Whisper took almost three minutes to cross the interplanetary space between the third planet of the Tau star system, Sea of the Morningstar, and the fourth planet, Azur Lane, and reach Odette II. Then, a second wave of radar waves and a third wave of irradiation were received from the second touchdown point.

 

"I don't think it's bad."

 

The observation data obtained was only roughly processed on the Odette II side, and was returned to Silent Whisper again, where it was analyzed in detail, and the data returned to Odette II. Lynn, who had moved from the electronic warfare seat to the radar/sensor seat, compared the data sent with the analysis data from Odette II and the observation data from the previous time.

 

"At least, the spacecraft in the inner planetary system are clearly visible compared to the data we got so far. It's accurate enough to confirm the error between the flight plan sent to the control station and the actual flight. This observation takes time and effort, but it allows us to scan a wide area with precision."

 

"I can't see any reaction that looks like a Liberty class."

 

The radar of Silent Whisper, which is irradiated from the southern sky, is received by Odette II, which is in the northern sky, so data on the northern sky is collected over a wide area. The radar waves of Silent Whisper, which pass through the ecliptic plane, spread out at the speed of light, and if it collides with something, it is reflected and changes direction. If there is nothing in front of the radar waves, they will pass from the ecliptic plane to the northern sky, but if there is something, the reflected reaction should be received by Odette II's antenna mast, which is spread out to the maximum.

 

Marika was scrolling the observation results on the display at high speed, which were being updated with frightening speed. Spaceships travelling between planetary systems in the Tau star system were concentrated in the ecliptic plane, with only a few flying objects that were outside the ecliptic plane.

 

"Can't they find it?" Ai asked with a worried look on her face. Marika, still dutifully wearing her rabbit ears and skull hair accessory headband, answered with a smile.

 

"Don't worry, just because they left the ecliptic, they can't fly without stealth or anything. We've found some suspicious signals. Also, we're currently hitting the northern side of the Tau system, so if the Liberty class was in the southern side, we wouldn't find it with this observation. The real test will be after Odette II's next jump."

 

"Yeah."

 

Yayoi, the engineer, let out a strange voice.

 

What if we complete all the planned jumps, finish the scan, and check all the signals, but still can't get a signal that we can be sure is a Liberty class? Thinking about it, Marika smiled carefree.

 

"Once we find the target, we have to chase it. Then we won't have time to rest. If you can rest now, do so, and if you can eat, go to the dining hall."

 

Marika was taught that one of the captain's jobs is to reassure the crew. In Bentenmaru, it's always me who makes the team members feel at ease, but now in Odette II, I have to pretend that everything is going according to plan and dispel the anxiety of the team members.

 

"The mission is proceeding smoothly," Marika said, as if convincing herself.

 

"Once we started the radar search across the ecliptic, we were able to see a more accurate position than before, so even if the ship is a little off the ecliptic, we'll be able to find it easily."

 

Even when they received radar waves from Silent Whisper, which had jumped to the third planned point, they could not confirm any reaction that could be clearly identified as a Liberty class. The radar waves emitted from Odette II were also received and analyzed by Silent Whisper, but no reaction was detected that would require a rescan on that side.

 

After completing the scan on the northern side of the sky, Odette II jumped to the southern side. Thanks to the correction made using the previous data, the error in this short jump was reduced to half of 10%. However, unlike the last time when they overjumped and touched down farther than planned, this time they touched down closer to the target point.

 

There is not enough time to move to the planned point by normal navigation.

 

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm not expecting to be able to jump to the planned location with a short jump from the beginning. If it's too close it won't be accurate, but this should be fine."

 

Under Lynn's command, the first-year students in charge of radar and sensors all change the settings and prepare for the next scan. They communicate the correction of the coordinates of the target touchdown point to Silent Whisper, which jumps to the northern sky just as Odette II does, and the fourth jump is made.

 

Silent Whisper, being a small aircraft, succeeds in jumping to the northern sky with an error of about 1% as expected. They begin radar scanning towards the ecliptic.

 

With Odette II positioned on the southern side and Silent Whisper on the northern side, the radar scan can receive the radar response from the previous time, so it is expected that the observation accuracy will improve. Before the radar signal from the northern sky arrived, Odette II began receiving radar signals from itself, which was on the northern side, and Silent Whisper, which was on the southern side.

 

The observation results, which were essentially the same scale as if four patrol boats had been mobilized, were sent to Silent Whisper for processing, just like last time.

 

After completing 30 minutes of radar illumination as scheduled, Silent Whisper flew to the second point on the northern side.

 

As the crew became accustomed to the work, both efficiency and accuracy improved. After Silent Whisper had finished illuminating the ecliptic plane at the second point on the northern side and flew to the third point, Odette II received news that the target had been discovered via a FTL link.

 

"It's here!"

 

Several similar reactions have been found so far. Lynn spoke up as she opened the processing results that arrived with a fanfare from Silent Whisper.

 

"It's on the southern side, 2.5 million kilometers from the ecliptic! It's flying right on the edge."

 

"Did the reaction match?"

 

Marika asked as she scrolled through the observation results that had been passed around to the captain's seat. The only radar reaction patterns Odette II had for the Liberty class were those obtained at the first contact, excluding those in the database that had been accumulated over the years. And the reaction patterns in the database had so many variations of the Liberty class that they were only useful as a reference.

 

"It matches. It's cautious, even though it's sailing outside the ecliptic, it's under radio silence and it's not sending out any transponders. But with such a high infrared reaction, there's no doubt about it. It's this one."

 

Marika superimposed the reaction of the Liberty class that appeared in the observation results on the space map. From the Odette II, which had jumped out into the southern sky, the Liberty-class ship's current position was much closer to the ecliptic plane of the Tau star system.

 

"Shall we chase it?"

 

Marika shook her head at Ai, who was in the helmsman's seat.

 

"Not yet. At this distance, even if we chase it now, it will have moved to another place. We need to check first. From this position, it will be detected by the radar of the Silent Whisper that has jumped to the third place. President, please change the settings."

 

"Don't worry, I've already ordered it."

 

From the radar/sensor seat, Lynn gave the captain a thumbs up.

 

"We focused on illuminating the predicted trajectory of the Liberty class. However, at this distance, it takes about four minutes for the radar waves emitted from Silent Whisper to bounce off the target and return to us."

 

While Silent Whisper's radar was waiting to reach us after it had jumped to the next location, the bridge of Odette II began examining the reaction that had been obtained.

 

The Liberty class was not as close to the Sea of the Morningstar as initially expected.

 

"They're taking it slower than we expected."

 

Lynn said, drawing a new estimated trajectory from the observation data obtained.

 

"Is the cruising speed as stated in the catalog? At this rate, I think it's safe to assume that the maximum acceleration is the same as the standard Liberty class."

 

"Did they just add electronic reconnaissance equipment to the standard model?"

 

The range to be scanned is so large that even if they found a reaction from the Liberty class, it was only for an instant when the radar bounced it off. Even if they could observe the position and speed of the Liberty class at that moment, they couldn't tell how fast it accelerated.

 

However, if we know its current position and speed, we can compare it with the observation data of the last Liberty-class ship to estimate its trajectory and performance. The rediscovered Liberty-class ship was in the location predicted by the standard model's performance.

 

"Since it was a single ship that had come to gather information, I thought it would have been equipped with an emergency acceleration booster for the engine replacement."

 

"There's no infrared response on the trajectory."

 

A ponytailed freshman in the radar/sensor seat who was observing for infrared responses from thrust injection behind the Liberty-class ship's current position reported.

 

"The Liberty-class appears to be heading for the Sea of the Morningstar while remaining in inertial flight."

 

"Maybe they're in a hurry?"

 

Jenny tilted her head after looking at the observation data.

 

"Or is this the best the Liberty class can do?"

 

"If Jenny is right, and the intelligence gathering ship's activity period is only while the scout fleet is in the outer planet system, then they'll want to get close to the Sea of the Morningstar and start gathering intelligence as soon as possible. No matter how far away they are, they should only be able to gather normal communication information."

 

Lynn confirmed the current location of the discovered Liberty class.

 

"It's much closer to the Sea of the Morningstar than the outer planet system scout fleet, but they still can't gather much intelligence."

 

"If it's an intelligence gathering ship, they should know that it was rejected by our radar."

 

Marika said, thinking about what she would do if she were in the enemy's position.

 

"If they think they've been found, they'll take some kind of action. I think they'll probably see it in the next observation."

 

Odette II received the radar wave of Silent Whisper, which had jumped to the last observation point on the northern sky side. The Liberty class responded to the changed illumination pattern in the same way as Koukou.

 

"No doubt about it, this is it."

 

Lynn confidently handed the observation results over to the captain's seat.

 

"Continuing inertial navigation. Radio silenced, infrared response somewhat low, but I'm sure it's the one we just observed."

 

"...Do you think it's real?"

 

When Marika said that, Lynn couldn't help but look up at the captain's seat.

 

"What?"

 

"The Liberty class once sent out a drone that sent back an identical response. If we sent out the same one after leaving the ecliptic plane, how would it show up on our radar?"

 

Marika silently pointed to the observation results.

 

"I thought it would either disappear after the second radar hit, or give a different response than before, and that it was probably real. But it seems odd that the Liberty class, which had vanished from our sight so spectacularly, was silent after being hit twice by radar from outside the ecliptic, no matter how far away it was."

 

A radar warning system installed on a warship would easily detect the type and direction of enemy radar.

 

"You say it's fake?"

 

Jenny also turned her gaze to Marika in the captain's seat.

 

"Are you saying that the ship went out of its way to avoid being found outside the ecliptic, and then sent out a decoy?"

 

Marika nodded.

 

"I don't like how this response is an exact replica of the navigation performance of a standard Liberty class. It's strange that it was hit twice by radar and still gave a response that was obvious it was a Liberty class, and that it was flying so clearly even though it was outside the ecliptic."

 

A thought crossed her mind if her guess was wrong. Marika forced a smile, feeling a pain in her stomach.

 

"Well, if you start to doubt, there's no end to it."

 

"If we were to track down the Liberty class that was just discovered," Gruier said, returning to the bridge after the third irradiation on the northern sky side had begun.

 

"How long would it take to confirm that this is the real thing?"

 

"It's a bit far to close the gap with normal navigation."

 

Lynn confirmed the current location of the discovered Liberty class and Odette II.

 

"Should we close the distance with a short jump, and then pursue it with normal navigation?"

 

"That's why you can't make accurate jumps in the inner planetary system, right?"

 

Yayoi argued in the engineer's seat.

 

"At this distance, unless we're really lucky, it might move away."

 

"You're just going to keep jumping short distances until you get lucky and it gets close."

 

"Please stop!"

 

"I guess that's not going to work."

 

"So it's going to take a long time just to confirm this Liberty-class ship, right?"

 

Gruier confirmed the situation.

 

"If this is the real thing, that's fine, but if it's a decoy, the intelligence-gathering ship can approach the Sea of the Morningstar again while we're busy with this."

 

A strange silence enveloped the bridge. Clearing her throat, Marika continued.

 

"I don't like the fact that the Liberty-class we discovered only has standard navigation capabilities."

 

Marika looked at the navigation performance figures estimated from the Liberty-class ship's current position.

 

"I don't think it's possible for an intelligence gathering ship that goes all the way to the inner planetary system of a colony by itself and uses reckless methods like raw propellant injection to have the same power performance as a standard model. Even civilian ships have high-speed options, so it's a deception to see a military intelligence gathering ship stick to a standard model that is even inferior to them."

 

"So if it's real, it should be faster."

 

Gruier took over Marika's prediction.

 

"If it's real, it should be further ahead."

 

Marika in the captain's seat nodded.

 

"If it's an intelligence gathering ship that goes all the way to the inner planetary system, it's not surprising that it has an increased power output that's impossible for a civilian ship. And one more thing, even if we confirm the reaction that should be further ahead and realize that it's wrong, if the real one is behind us, we'll be able to intercept it in time."

 

"I see."

 

Lynn ran her fingers over the control panel in the radar/sensor seat.

 

"If we were an intelligence gathering ship being chased by pirates, we'd place the decoy as far back as possible. If we placed it too far back, it would be obvious, so I guess they're trying to trip us up by making it look like a standard Liberty-class ship. How sneaky, seriously."

 

The bridge crew laughed at Lynn’s dismissive tone.

 

"It's a war, after all."

 

Marika looked down at the observation data sent by Silent Whisper, searching for the next target.

 

"If you can win by being sneaky, everyone will do whatever it takes."

 

"I thought it was the policy of the Federation of Colonial Stars to avoid fair and square frontal combat."

 

Jenny said in a bright tone.

 

"So that's the policy even on the Stellar Alliance when it comes to the front lines. I didn't know that."

 

"I guess it's different when it's a strategic battleship that the Stellar Alliance is so proud of."

 

Lynn couldn't stop running her fingers over the control panel.

 

"The enemy is just an intelligence-gathering ship that has entered the enemy star system by itself. They're only chasing a pirate ship, so they're probably doing their job seriously, but if an escort ship from the star system's military were to show up, they'd be easily crushed."

 

Lynn stopped what she was doing.

 

"So, if you were Captain Marika, what would you do in this situation?"

 

"I'd send a decoy ahead."

 

Marika spoke one of the answers she had been thinking of.

 

"If you put a decoy behind, it's easy, but there's no guarantee that the pursuers will fall for it. If you let them go ahead, the urgency is higher, so they'll definitely take the bait."

 

"That makes sense. So why didn't the Liberty-class do that?"

 

"If they had followed the decoy that went ahead, they'd have to overtake the pursuers again at some point before arriving at Sea of the Morningstar. That would have been troublesome again, so I think they chose the easier option if it worked out."

 

"I see. So the reason they lost was because they were reluctant to take the time up front. There it is!"

 

Lynn listed over ten responses on the display.

 

"Ignoring the previous response, there are these other responses that are likely to be from the Liberty-class. Which one do you think is the most likely?"

 

Marika looked at the responses displayed on the display.

 

"You can ignore the reaction from the northern sky."

 

"Why?"

 

"The decoy was on the southern sky, so the main ship must be on the southern sky as well. We haven't observed any traces of a FTL jump, so the Liberty class must be traveling normally."

 

"I see, that makes sense."

 

Lynn deleted the reactions observed on the northern sky from the reactions that were displayed. The number of reactions was instantly halved.

 

"What else?"

 

Marika thought deeply after hearing that. None of the reactions observed on the southern sky were definitely man-made or spaceship-related.

 

"If the Liberty-class reaction is a decoy, ignore the one flying nearby. No matter how many decoys you send out and how well you camouflage the main body, the closer you get the higher the chance of being found out."

 

"In that case, I guess it's okay to ignore this area."

 

The number of reactions decreased by about two. Three left. Marika tried to think of other conditions to narrow down the target. She couldn't think of any.

 

"What shall we do?"

 

After performing a detailed analysis of the remaining three radar reactions, Lynn asked.

 

"Shall we narrow it down to these three and then perform a detailed observation this time? It's a long distance, but if we can narrow down the target, I think it will be easier to get results."

 

"That's true..."

 

Marika thought about it. If you just look at the probability of the analysis results, any of the remaining three reactions could be real. And all of them have been illuminated by radar twice, from the southern and northern sides.

 

If the reaction that clearly looked like a Liberty-class ship was a decoy as Marika had predicted, then the real intelligence-gathering ship ahead of us could be expected to be using some sort of electronic concealment (stealth). It should have noticed our radar illumination while returning a reaction that could not be judged as a Liberty-class ship.

 

"...Not yet."

 

Marika spoke the results of her thoughts.

 

"If we conduct a third radar scan here, and narrow the target, the Liberty-class will find out that the decoy isn't working."

 

"In that case, how about we pretend to fall for the decoy?"

 

Marika looked at Gruier as he spoke. Gruier waited for the bridge crew's attention to be focused on him before continuing.

 

"What if we started accelerating while illuminating the decoy with jamming signals instead of just radar? If we had an Odette II with boosters, we could create a flashy infrared trail that could be observed by the Liberty-class ship ahead of us."

 

The intelligence gathering ship ahead of us would not be emitting radar or communication waves to hide its current location. The only way to observe in all directions is by receiving them.

 

"I see!"

 

Thinking about what to do next, Marika spoke up.

 

"We're too close to jump, but if we accelerate with boosters, we can make a jet that can be seen from afar. Since we're scattering radar so flashily, if they want to, they'll know where we are. But if we accelerate toward the decoy and then use the solar sail to change course, they won't know what we're doing!"

 

"That's not all."

 

With a grin on her face, Lynn ran her fingers over the control panel on the radar/sensor seat.

 

"They'll want to advance into the airspace around Sea of the Morningstar as soon as possible and begin their intelligence gathering mission. If they manage to escape outside the ecliptic where it's hard to be found, and we get caught in the decoy behind us, they might switch from inertial flight to powered flight and take off."

 

"Once the Liberty class begins powered flight, we'll know which of the remaining targets we should pursue."

 

Checking the flight plan she'd put together in her head once more, Marika made sure there were no obvious weaknesses or elements that would prevent recovery.

 

"I think that's a good move. Odette II will determine that the currently confirmed Liberty class is a decoy, and will pretend to be caught by it and approach it using normal power. After accelerating, cut power, change course toward the Sea of the Morningstar using solar sail propulsion, and focus passive observation on the three unconfirmed reactions that should be ahead, and wait for the enemy's thrust thrust. Tell Silent Whisper to follow the same trajectory. I don't think the Liberty class can see the small boats, but they should be able to tell if they move."

 

"Got it!" "Increase booster engine power, start preparations for high acceleration."

 

Amid the replies from all sides of the bridge, Yayoi in the engineer's seat looked up at Marika.

 

"Rather than actual acceleration efficiency, it's better to have flashy acceleration that can be seen from a distance, right?"

 

"Right."

 

Marika was comparing the direction of the decoy with the direction of the unclear reactions. The course differed by nearly 90 degrees.

 

"I'd like to follow the reaction straight, but in this direction, the solar sail will lose a lot of thrust."

 

"I understand. How about this engine operation pattern to pretend to have gained top speed?"

 

Yayoi passed the operation pattern for acceleration to the captain's seat. Instead of accelerating with a large thrust from the beginning, it is an operation to increase the speed reached by starting with a small thrust and increasing the output with a long thrust time.

 

"This will maximize the thrust trajectory, so I think it will be easy to see even from a distance."

 

"Thanks, then I'd like to ask you to use this pattern. Focus on the three radar reactions for infrared observation. Be careful because if there are any reactions in the direction of Sea of the Morningstar from other places, it may be a real one that you missed. Engine, as soon as preparations are complete, we will start accelerating toward the decoy."

 

Marika looked around the bridge of the Odette II, which had started to move.

 

"Odette II, let's go!"

 

Odette II began accelerating with normal power, using a FTL booster that exerted much greater thrust than its own engines. It accelerated from the southern sky toward the Liberty class, which had just left the ecliptic plane, with an emphasis on efficiency, using time rather than thrust.

 

The thrust itself was only increased by a little, but it was nowhere near the maximum thrust of the FTL booster. Even so, Odette II accelerated more than three times faster than if it was only using its main engines, and took an orbit toward the ecliptic plane.

 

"Considering the performance of Odette II's inertial control, this is the best it can do."

 

The capacity of the inertial control system equipped on the old-fashioned solar sail ship Odette II is not that large. Acceleration that exceeds the capacity cannot be absorbed by the control system, and the hull creaks as acceleration G.

 

Full throttle acceleration for six minutes and thirty seconds. To be on the safe side, Odette II even made trajectory corrections to adjust its course during its terminal acceleration, and completed the planned acceleration.

 

After a long-awaited high acceleration that its inertial control system was unable to absorb, Odette II returned to a state of weightlessness once again, fully opened the solar sails, and began changing course.

 

Its current position is in the interplanetary space between the Mare Star and the Blue Star, protruding farther into the southern sky than the ecliptic. To head towards the Mare Star, it will receive sunlight from the star Tau at an angle from the front. The Odette II deployed its solar sail, which expanded several thousand times its apparent size, deflecting the starlight, and began to slowly change course at a tediously slow speed compared to the powered acceleration it had been using up until then.

 

"How long do you think it will take for the Liberty class to move?"

 

On the bridge of the Odette II, which had switched to solar sail navigation, which cannot be detected from the outside by the infrared reaction caused by the propellant, Lynn returned to the electronic battle seat and asked Marika, who was in the captain's seat, a question. Marika looked down at the planned trajectory of the first powered navigation shown on the display.

 

"That's right... At the current pace, Odette II will be able to rendezvous with the Liberty-class decoy in about twelve hours. The Liberty-class knows that if we come into contact with the decoy, it will know that it's a fake, so they'll want to increase their speed as much as possible while our eyes are on the decoy and pull away from us. In a few minutes, they should see us erupting loudly and biting into the decoy..."

 

After thinking for a moment, Marika answered.

 

"But that doesn't mean they're going to be so easy to get going right away. But I think they'll probably move in an hour or two."

 

However, even two hours later, when Odette II had finally managed to point its course toward the Sea of the Morningstar using only the solar sail, the infrared reaction they were aiming for had not been detected.

 

The ecliptic plane in the background was a busy place with spacecraft traffic, so the trajectories of jets from normal navigation could be easily observed. If an infrared response is observed in a place close to the candidate response from the radar observation, it is assumed to be the Liberty-class jet they are looking for, but most of them end up being misses.

 

The number of infrared responses detected exceeded double digits, and when the tension on the bridge of the pursuing Odette II had completely relaxed, the first-year student, Shortcut, made the familiar report.

 

"Infrared response! Um, we will continue observation."

 

"And then."

 

When on the bridge during pursuit, the captain cannot leave his seat. As a change of pace, Marika looked at the latest infrared response observation data while munching on today's ration set delivered by the person on meal duty. At first, the infrared response was weak, similar to that of a civilian spaceship normally navigating the ecliptic plane, but it rapidly increased as she watched.

 

"Eh..."

 

Cumming on a cream sandwich stick in her mouth, Marika stared at the rapidly growing response.

 

"Increased response!"

 

The first-year continued with a different line than before.

 

"We're getting closer!! On the southern side, directly above the ecliptic!!"

 

"They're coming!?"

 

Marika looked at the output figures calculated from the response patterns captured by the infrared sensor from afar.

 

"Infrared response has increased! This isn't a standard Liberty-class response!"

 

"Full throttle all of a sudden, what a bold captain."

 

Marika muttered as she watched the trajectory estimated from the infrared response being drawn. The longer you continue inertial navigation, the more accurately you can determine your course and speed. Even if the thrust axis of a spacecraft is fixed, the center of gravity will move slightly, even if only a little, due to personnel movements, loss of propellant, and the deployment of antennas and parts. If you want to fly accurately, it's normal to start with a weak thrust and then increase the output while making small adjustments.

 

However, the infrared response that was captured indicated that it was normal operation, and the power was increased with such force that it seemed as if it was normal operation.

 

"I think they probably want to minimize the time of operation at maximum power as much as possible," Yayoi said, glancing sideways at the increasing infrared response displayed on the radar/sensor seat.

 

"Short bursts are more efficient than long, drawn-out bursts, and the infrared response will eventually spread faster."

 

The ejected propellant spreads along with the infrared response. The infrared rays detected are proportional to the amount and time of the ejected propellant, so the shorter the burst, the shorter the time for diffusion.

 

"They're being so careful at this stage, it's no wonder the Stellar Alliance is sending it right into the middle of the colony planet."

 

Lynn, at the electronic warfare seat, was throwing all the observed infrared data into the computer and analyzing it.

 

"Even judging from this infrared response, it's not the acceleration of a standard Liberty-class. It's easily twice as fast."

 

"It's an engine on par with that of a destroyer."

 

Marika was comparing the Liberty-class's estimated speed from the infrared response with the current speed of the Odette II. Even though it was making full use of inertial control, the propulsion force from the sun was shockingly weak, so the acceleration wasn't a big deal. As long as it continued to use the solar sail propulsion, the speed it reached would increase, but that was only enough to leave it behind with one acceleration.

 

"It has a booster, so I'm not worried about the Odette II being able to keep up, but if it was just the main body, it might have been dangerous."

 

The jet that scattered the flashy infrared response suddenly disappeared.

 

"Okay, increase the sensitivity of the infrared sensor!"

 

The infrared response of the propellant is much larger than the stars in the background, so the sensor sensitivity is automatically lowered when it detects it. Lynn instructed the freshman in the radar/sensor seat.

 

"That was a spectacular jet, it will take a while for the engine to cool down. We should be able to confirm the Liberty-class by infrared response now!"

 

Despite the adverse conditions of a long distance equivalent to interplanetary space, the infrared sensors of Odette II, which were spread out across the mast, found the infrared response of the spaceship that had stopped jetting. A small infrared response was confirmed at the end of the trajectory of the infrared response of the jet smoke, at the future position predicted from the jet. The computer determined that the confirmed infrared response was quite large for a civilian transport ship, and a small, high-powered warship.

 

"It's too far away, so it won't be determined that it's a Liberty-class."

 

Lynn passed the data after examining it to the captain's seat.

 

"Okay, analysis complete. There's nothing in the infrared response that would lead us to conclude that it's a Liberty-class ship, but judging from its flight pattern, which accelerated straight from outside the ecliptic toward Mars, we conclude that this is the intelligence-gathering ship we're looking for."

 

Marika looked at the data after completing her analysis. The target's current position based on the new observation results was added to the star chart. Of the three responses remaining on the southern side, the one that was judged to have the second highest probability was picking up speed and starting to move.

 

Marika checked the infrared responses she had obtained once more.

 

"A tiny unmanned probe with limited propellant can't produce such an infrared response."

 

"That's true."

 

"Where is the target after the burn?"

 

"No transponder, no radar or communication."

 

Gruier in the radio operator's seat reported. Since they were only a few minutes away at the speed of light, the display only showed the situation from a few minutes ago, but it was still enough to make a judgment.

 

"Continuing navigation under radio silence."

 

"All right."

 

Marika smiled with delight.

 

"We are determined to be a Liberty-class intelligence gathering vessel. We no longer need to be quiet. Please insert the transponder. Increase engine power and begin tracking the Liberty!"

 

Cheers rang out on the bridge.

 

"President Lynn, can you place electronic jamming on the Liberty-class's predicted course?"

 

"At such a distance..."

 

Lynn drew the predicted trajectory of the distant target on the electronic warfare display. At the current distance, it would take two minutes and twenty-five seconds for the jamming signal we sent to reach the enemy ship.

 

"We can send jamming signals along the Liberty's estimated trajectory. But that will only interfere with regular communications interception, you know?"

 

"That's enough."

 

Marika nodded.

 

"The Liberty's purpose is to gather information on the Tau system and return. Just knowing that we're being pursued by the colony's military forces, who don't want us to get our way, puts us under pressure."

 

Marika stared at the Liberty's current location plotted on the star chart.

 

"If the Liberty knows it's being pursued, it'll try to escape by hiding or fleeing again. Based on our respective positions, there are no reefs or planets that we can use to hide. In that case, there's only one thing we can do."

 

"Electronic warfare!"

 

Lynn exclaimed happily.

 

"That's right. The Liberty class will use all possible means to electronically deceive us and try to escape. But at the same time, that will let us know the Liberty class's current location and what methods they will use."

 

"If they know that much and go to the trouble of emitting jamming signals into the future orbit, then that's basically a declaration of war against the Liberty class, right?"

 

"Yes."

 

Marika nodded again.

 

"It's a declaration to the Liberty class that we know you and are pursuing you."

 

Marika looked around the bridge. She turned on the switch for the ship's PA system.

 

"This is the bridge, Captain Kato Marika. We are now tracking the Liberty class and entering combat mode."

Odette II sent jamming signals at the future orbit of the Liberty class ship ahead of it. No matter how large the antenna you use to aim at a target that is over 40 million kilometers away, the jamming signals will spread out over the long distance.

 

"But if the Liberty class is an intelligence gathering ship, they should be spreading their antennas out as much as possible to increase their sensitivity," Lynn said as she fine-tuned the direction of the jamming signals sent by Odette II so that they would overlap with the Liberty class's predicted orbit.

 

"The more you increase the sensitivity, the more noisy the jamming will be. We're targeting the Liberty class with a jammer. The communications information the Liberty class intercepts will be full of noise that will be difficult to separate."

 

"That's fine for now."

 

Marika looked at the orbital map of the Liberty class ship ahead of her, far away, and the Odette II ship chasing it.

 

"After that, the problem is how to get the Liberty-class to give up on gathering information before it gets close to Sea of the Morningstar."

 

"Any ideas?"

 

"It would be easiest if we could sink it."

 

A murmur of "Oh!" filled the bridge. Raising her hand to stop the crew, Marika continued.

 

"Unfortunately, the current Odette II is not equipped with weapons that can directly attack the enemy. Also, there is no record of the White Swan, a pirate ship in the outer planetary system, sinking a transport ship in the inner planetary system, so we can't sink the enemy."

 

"I see..."

 

Lynn looked bored.

 

"I knew they didn't have beams or missiles, so I was thinking of various things I could use."

 

"I don't know when I'll have to use them, so you can just keep that in mind."

 

Marika aimed the laser pointer at the Liberty-class ship ahead of her.

 

"If we could take control of the Liberty-class and send a message to the outer planetary system, that would be the easiest thing."

 

"That's true."

 

Lynn looked apologetic.

 

"Looking at the data communications flying around, it looks pretty difficult."

 

"I thought so."

 

Marika laughed as she answered, expecting the situation.

 

"Isn't a 120-year-old network too different?"

 

"That's true, but the Liberty class is flying under heavy radio silence, so we don't know what system it's running on or how it will respond if we call it by a certain standard. The data also had a list of the standard and version of the Liberty class's standard control system, but I've never used such an old OS, and there's no way that a control system that's supposed to be for military use would be the same as a standard civilian system."

 

"That's true, isn't it?"

 

After thinking for a moment, Marika asked.

 

"So, what other tactics were you planning to use against the Liberty class?"

 

"We could send so much data through the radar and antennas that the enemy's processing system couldn't keep up, or we could concentrate it with a solar sail to raise the temperature, or we could have Silent Whisper act as an ambush ship and make it look like we've placed missiles on its course."

 

"Okay, okay, I get it."

 

Marika waved as Lynn started counting on her fingers.

 

"You never know when you'll need to do something, so think of something you can use. How's the engine?"

 

"It's fine."

 

Compared to an unreasonable order like a short jump in the inner planetary system, a flight plan to close the gap with a cargo ship ahead of us in normal navigation is easy. Yayoi, the engineer, passed the operation plan to the captain.

 

"The power output is high enough. Five minutes of initial acceleration, then fine-tune the course with the solar sail."

 

"Please do it."

 

After confirming that there was enough propellant left in the booster, Marika approved Yayoi's operation plan. The plan is to continue firing the booster after gaining initial speed with the initial acceleration, and to make contact with the Liberty class as soon as possible.

 

"We'll start right away."

 

Seeing the captain's stamp of approval on the operation plan, Yayoi began operating the booster.

 

Unlike last time, the acceleration was not so great that it could not be absorbed by inertia control. It was a long-term acceleration that prioritized efficiency. However, when the boosters, which have much greater thrust than normal engines, began to operate, a faint vibration was transmitted all the way to the bridge.

 

Marika was watching the Odette II's increase in speed on the display. The problem was the relative speed difference with the Liberty class ahead of it. For the time being, the Odette II was moving faster, so it was only a matter of time before it caught up, but it was unlikely that the other ship would continue traveling at the same speed.

 

Marika showed the current and future positions of the Liberty class and Odette II on the main display. She cleared her throat and looked around at the bridge crew.

 

"Odette II has begun pursuing the Liberty class. It is scheduled to catch up with them in twelve hours, and once they make contact, they need to force the Liberty class to leave the system before they resort to some other mysterious tactic to disappear again. What should we do?"

 

The members looked at each other. They began to discuss in hushed voices.

 

"Fleet Command gave us an order to either repel or capture them, right?"

 

Gruier, who was in the radio operator's seat, raised her hand and spoke.

 

"If there are no Liberty-class ships in the list of cargo ships captured by the White Swan at this time, then our only option is to repel them."

 

"We have all the battle records from when Odette II was the White Swan."

 

Jenny sat in the first officer's seat and ran her fingers over the control panel.

 

"As we all know, the real White Swan is currently pirating in the outer planetary system. There's no record of it ever capturing a Liberty-class ship."

 

"In that case, we have to somehow repel the Liberty-class ship."

 

Marika looked at the star chart with the future orbits superimposed on it. The Liberty-class ship was out of the ecliptic plane, and Odette II was chasing it, jutting out far into the southern sky.

 

"Fortunately, there were no obstacles in the way until we got close to the Sea of the Morningstar, and no approaching fleets. Even if we did something a little flashy, it wouldn't cause any trouble to the surroundings."

 

"How did the White Swan manage to do it?"

 

Gruier asked.

 

"How did the White Swan repel its prey, the spaceships it was trying to catch, during the War of Independence?"

 

"Well, it wasn't like the pirate ships that ran on the seas, so it certainly wasn't a procedure where they would suddenly appear in front of you and make the crew collapse and take over."

 

"Just like regular pirates."

 

Marika looked around the bridge.

 

"You have to find the right opponent before you start your job, but the rest is the same as when you do a tatami-mat business on the Bentenmaru. You launch an electronic warfare attack and take over the opponent's communication and navigation systems, then you introduce yourself as a pirate and ask for a surrender."

 

"That's what happens if the opponent is an unarmed civilian ship, right? What if the opponent might be armed?"

 

"Even if the opponent is armed, it's the same as taking over the control of the opponent. If you point a weapon at them and they lose control of their spaceship, most opponents will listen to you."

 

"What if you don't know if the opponent is armed or not, and you can't take over the control?"

 

Marika thought for a moment. That was exactly the case this time.

 

"...I didn't check this time, but I'm sure the opponent is armed, right?"

 

"It's an intelligence gathering ship that will enter the middle of a colony system in the midst of a war of independence," Jenny said. "You'd think they'd be equipped with at least the minimum level of self-defense weapons."

 

"What kind of weapons are the minimum level of self-defense weapons?"

 

The ponytail at the radar seat raised his hand and asked. Jenny answered.

 

"I think it's probably an anti-aircraft weapon that can intercept missiles. If they're equipped with weapons powerful enough to go beyond the scope of self-defense, they can't complain if they're treated as a warship."

 

Marika said.

 

"That might be true if they insisted that the intelligence gathering ship was a civilian ship, but they deliberately chose an ordinary cargo ship and even strengthened its engines. It's one thing if it's a warship, but you should think that they're armed enough to easily break through something like a solar sail ship that doesn't even have much armor."

 

"After all, they were the ones that hit us with their fire control radar during our first contact."

 

Lynn nodded.

 

"If they have a fire control radar, you should assume they also have weapons that can use it. It's rare to have only a fire control radar like us and have removed our weapons a long time ago."

 

"That's troublesome."

 

"But just because we have weapons doesn't mean we can use them many times."

 

Marika looked around at the faces of the other members.

 

"The fact that they're using the Liberty-class hull means that they intend to insist that we're a civilian cargo ship until the very end. If they fire even one anti-ship beam or missile, the Liberty-class will instantly change class from a cargo ship to a warship."

 

"Well, that's when there are people around to see, right? If we're fighting outside the ecliptic like we are now, there's no reason to go easy on them, right?"

 

"I don't think they'll fire that easily."

 

Marika looked around the bridge with a confident smile.

 

"If it's an intelligence gathering ship, it must have information about the Federation of Colonial Stars spaceships. The Liberty class must think that we're the famous pirate ship, the White Swan. It's a pirate ship that has survived since the beginning of the War of Independence, and what's more, it's a troublesome opponent that's been pursuing us without being fooled by the two decoys we sent out. If they thought we were an easy opponent that could be defeated with one shot, they would have fired at us at the first contact."

 

"Of course."

 

"Another thing, even if it's outside the ecliptic, if we sink a spaceship from a colonial system in an inner planetary system, the situation will be in full view of any spaceships traveling nearby. At that moment, it will become clear that it is not just a transport ship but a warship from the Stellar Alliance that has entered the inner planetary system, so I think it will be difficult to carry out its future mission as an intelligence gathering ship."

 

"In other words, the enemy is hiding weapons that can silence us in one hit, and they also have powerful engines that are unthinkable in a normal civilian transport ship, and are equipped with equipment appropriate for the mission of intelligence gathering."

 

Jenny summarized the situation once again.

 

"There is nothing lacking for the enemy."

 

"Yes."

 

Marika nodded immediately.

 

An hour after Odette II began her pursuit, the Liberty class moved. What was expected was to accelerate in order to delay being caught as much as possible and to speed up its arrival at the Sea of the Morningstar. However, the Liberty class did not follow a straight trajectory toward the Sea of the Morningstar, but instead corrected its trajectory by accelerating further away from the ecliptic toward the southern side.

 

"What are you thinking?"

 

As the Liberty-class changed its orbit, Lynn adjusted the direction of the jamming signals it was continuing to emit. Marika looked at the star chart again, reconfirming the situation ahead.

 

"Does it realize it's being chased and is trying to leave the system?"

 

"They're not that easy to beat."

 

Marika noticed that the direction of the Liberty-class's movement as seen from Odette II overlapped with the star Tau.

 

"They're planning on aligning Odette II with the star Tau to blind us."

 

"Wow..."

 

Lynn exclaimed in shock.

 

"Blinding the Liberty with the sun is an old trick, can it still be used?"

 

"Well, the planet Tau is the biggest source of heat, radiation, and electromagnetic waves within a radius of several light years. If it were to overlap with the planet Tau exactly at this distance, our radar would not be able to track it."

 

"I see. So what should we do? Should we shift our orbit so that the target appears outside the planet Tau?"

 

"That's not necessary."

 

Marika smiled.

 

"Tell Silent Whisper to shine a stronger radar on the Liberty."

 

Silent Whisper, which had jumped to the opposite side of the ecliptic from Odette II, was now tracking the Liberty from the northern sky in order to make contact again.

 

"Right now?"

 

If the Liberty was on the same straight line between Odette II and the planet Tau, radar observation from behind would be difficult. However, it would not be an obstacle for Silent Whisper, who was at a different angle.

 

"Wouldn't it be better to wait a little longer and let them waste their time?"

 

The Liberty class's future trajectory is off the shortest route to Sea of the Morningstar. Whatever trajectory it chooses from now on, the Liberty class's arrival at Sea of the Morningstar will definitely be delayed.

 

"No..."

 

Marika thought for a moment and shook her head.

 

"The other party is a professional soldier who has been through a lot more than us. He may have already started his attack. It would be best to let the other party move as they like and then we can accurately read their intentions, but honestly, I don't know what other moves they have up their sleeves. In that case, I think we should get a grasp of the exact situation now."

 

"I don't think we can do anything more, but if the captain says so, let's do it."

 

Jenny, who was in the first officer's seat, said.

 

"We're not in a position to negotiate."

 

Odette II ordered Silent Whisper, which was on an orbit from the northern sky to the ecliptic, to aim its radar at the Liberty class in the southern sky.

 

The radar, which was irradiated at the speed of light, bounced off the Liberty class, and it took about three minutes for the reaction to reach Odette II. To check the situation, Silent Whisper aimed and irradiated the Liberty class from a distance.

 

The abnormality occurred about ten minutes after the irradiation started.

 

"The reaction of the Liberty class is expanding rapidly!"

 

Shortcut in the radar/sensor seat announced.

 

"This is, um, I think they've probably started releasing a smoke screen."

 

"It's a smoke screen," Lynn said after checking the radar reaction from a distance. Just as smoke screens are used to prevent visual detection, smoke screens mixed with metal powder and chemicals are also effective against radar and sensors. The Liberty class, which should have been clearly captured, suddenly turned into a noisy and vague reaction.

 

"At such a long distance? What are you thinking?"

 

The released smoke screen disperses over time, and as its effective radius expands, its effectiveness weakens. Generally, smoke screens are used at close range. Even if it is released at a long distance that would take several minutes at the speed of light, it will have completely dispersed by the time of actual contact and no significant effect can be expected.

 

"They must be doing something they don't want to be seen."

 

Marika kept her eyes on the Liberty class's reaction, which was becoming blurred even in the narrowed Silent Whisper radar.

 

"Infrared reaction increasing!"

 

The ponytail in the sensor seat reported.

 

"It's not the infrared of the smoke screen! I don't know why, but the inside of the smoke screen is suddenly getting hot!"

 

"I'm going to set something up."

 

Marika spoke clearly, as calmly as possible.

 

"Don't overlook this."

 

"It's here!"

 

Shortcut called out.

 

"A Liberty-class ship is reacting from the disruptive screen! It looks like it's accelerating again!"

 

"Huh?"

 

Marika, who was in the captain's seat, cried out in dismay at the unexpected movement and tilted her head.

 

"Is it really that simple? Do we really have to go to the trouble of scattering a disruptive screen to dazzle them?"

 

"It's here again!"

 

Shortcut shouted a third time.

 

"The second Liberty-class ship has accelerated out of the disruptive screen!"

 

"Huh?"

 

Marika instinctively looked over the radar response.

 

The radar beam emitted from the Silent Whisper on the northern side of the ship was narrow, but after a few minutes it spread out at the speed of light, capturing a wide area. Following the Silent Whisper illuminating the Liberty-class from diagonally behind, the radar of Odette II, which was almost directly behind, also captured the response of a second Liberty-class ship.

 

“Is it an unmanned probe?”

 

Lynn, who had seen the same response as the Liberty-class twice before, made a quick decision.

 

“Which one is fake?”

 

“Probably both.”

 

Marika, who was in the captain's seat, did not take her eyes off the radar response.

 

“They fired it after showing us the unmanned probe. If the purpose was to disrupt the situation, I don't think there were only two.”

 

“The third Liberty-class ship!”

 

Shortcut reported again.

 

"We've confirmed the third reaction from the smoke screen!"

 

In the end, six Liberty-class ships were released from the smoke screen. They could not be distinguished even after analyzing them with all observation methods such as radar reaction, infrared reaction, and optical observation.

 

"It seems the enemy has sent out all the unmanned probes they can."

 

Lynn watches the reactions of the six Liberty-class ships, which are gradually moving away on different orbits.

 

"With two ships, the probability is half, but with six ships, the probability of missing increases. With them this far apart, we can't focus the light on each one with our solar sail and check their reaction."

 

If the large-area solar sail of Odette II focuses the light on one point, it can generate high heat. However, the sailing system is not designed to allow for precise control to focus on a single point more than 20 million kilometers away.

 

"What should we do? Even if we get close and check, will we have to eliminate them one by one?"

 

"Probably none of them are the real target."

 

"What!?"

 

Lynn looked at Marika again. Marika didn't take her eyes off the radar response, where the smoke screen was still in effect.

 

"If the enemy is a veteran, they won't rely on luck no matter how much force they have. If they sent out unmanned probes, and as many as they had, knowing that we were doing radar searches from two places, I think they're thinking of a surefire move."

 

"Really?"

 

Lynn looked at Marika with a dumbfounded look.

 

"Is this an enemy that we have to think about that much?"

 

"Probably..."

 

Marika gave Lynn a smile that seemed unsure of herself.

 

"But what if the unmanned probes were equipped with some degree of exploration capabilities?"

 

Lynn looked taken aback.

 

"It would be much easier to just collect and relay communication information, and the probes on the intelligence gathering ships should be able to observe FTL communications."

 

"Well, it's not a very large probe, so I don't think it's possible to make accurate observations unless it gets very close."

 

"All of the responses from the six Liberty-class ships are heading toward the Sea of the Morningstar."

 

Marika looked at the display that showed the future trajectories of the six ships.

 

"We have to get rid of these all somehow."

 

"As for the unmanned probes, let's leave them to the star system military that's defending the Sea of the Morningstar."

 

It was Jenny who said that.

 

"Even if they don't have the capacity to send warships out to the outer planetary system, they should have enough power to intercept a tiny unmanned probe near the Sea of the Morningstar. We need them to do that much work."

 

"I see... that's an option."

 

Marika checked the data from the six Liberty-class ships.

 

"Please use the observation data from Silent Whisper to predict the future trajectories of the six ships as accurately as possible. I will send this along with a request for interception to Fleet HQ."

 

Thinking about the effort of creating a message to send to Fleet HQ, Marika sighed with a gloomy look on her face.

 

"So, if what you say is true, where is the main Liberty-class ship?"

 

Jenny, who was watching the radar response, asked.

 

"Is it still inside the smoke screen?"

 

"Probably."

 

The smoke screen that was released continue to maintain their effectiveness as they disperse. Some of them remain in place without dispersing much due to static electricity and other factors.

 

"If we release additional smoke screens, the effect will last longer, but if we do that, we will have to reveal that all the reactions from the six ships we sent ahead were decoys, so they will not move for a while. If things stay as they are, the disruptive screen will be aligned with Odette II in a few hours, so if they move, it will probably be after that..."

 

"So, what will we do? If the Liberty class is still inside the disruptive screen, will we head there?"

 

"No..."

 

Marika shook her head.

 

"The situation is still the same, that the Liberty class is heading for the Sea of the Morningstar to gather information. If the Liberty class cannot move for a while from inside the disruptive screen, we will make the most of the situation."

 

Marika looked around the bridge, waiting for instructions.

 

"Odette II will continue on its course, and we will maintain our current observation posture against the harassing screen. Seeing that our course is not being affected by the six decoys or the harassing screen, they will surely make their next move."

 

After saying that, Marika tilted her head.

 

"If you're inside the smoke screen, you won't be able to use your radar or sensors, so maybe you're collecting data from a decoy that you sent ahead?"

 

"You mean you closed your eyes and covered your ears?"

 

Lynn asked back, with an incredulous look on her face.

 

"Would an intelligence gathering ship, supposedly manned by professionals, put itself in that kind of situation?"

 

"If it was a fleet battle between regular fleets, they would never do something like that."

 

Marika nodded.

 

"I think the Liberty class is also hoping that the intelligence gathering ship will think that we're a veteran pirate ship, and won't decide to stay inside the smoke screen. Too bad we're not a veteran pirate, we're just a yacht club member with little combat experience."

 

Marika stuck out her tongue.

 

"So, in this case, not taking the action that the other party expects would be the worst thing for them."

 

"Let me ask just to be sure."

 

Lynn spoke in a relaxed tone, matching Marika's tone.

 

"What would you do if there was a real Liberty-class ship among the six ships that went ahead?"

 

"That's right."

 

After thinking for a moment, Marika answered.

 

"I'll send a congratulatory telegram. Then, let's hurry and chase after them."

 

"A congratulatory telegram, that's great."

 

Lynn burst out laughing loudly. After laughing with Marika, she looked around the bridge.

 

"Well, from here on out, I think it's going to be a test of endurance."

 

Marika said, thinking about whether there was a way to make up for it if her prediction turned out to be wrong.

 

"The enemy has made time their most important bet. By deliberately not moving from within the sabotage screen, they are hoping that one of the six ships ahead of them will think that it is the real one and chase after it."

 

"Can I ask you something?"

 

"What is it?"

 

Marika turned her eyes to Jenny.

 

"What is your basis for thinking that the Liberty class is inside the sabotage screen?"

 

Marika closed her eyes.

 

"If I were in that position and I was there, I would do the same."

 

Marika opened her eyes and forced a smile.

 

"At first, the Liberty class tried to throw us off by using two decoys and even jumping out from the ecliptic. If we hadn't brought Silent Whisper, we would have lost sight of them a long time ago. Even if we lost sight of them again here, we know their destination is the Sea of the Morningstar, so we can get there first. The Liberty class doesn't know the exact shipping situation of the Federation of Colonial Stars, so we don't know where reinforcements will come from, not just pirate ships. They are the ones who are cornered, not us. If we put them in a bad situation, they'll have a headache."

 

In order to reassure the crew rather than herself, Marika listed only the favorable situations.

 

"Six decoys were sent out, and if they took the bait, they would slowly gather information themselves, but if they stayed behind, they would gather information with the decoy's sensors fully open. We can't do both, so I think that's what happened."

 

"Then why did you stay behind here, where the decoys are, even though they might gather information?"

 

"It's fine if the decoys gather information. As long as it doesn't reach the Liberty class."

 

Marika glanced at whether her smile was stiff.

 

"If you want to sabotage the Liberty class, it's better to stay close."

 

Marika looked at the display. The six Liberty class ships released from the sabotage screen ahead were still far away, and each one was taking their own distance as they went further ahead.

 

"The Liberty class is probably going to wait for us to give up."

 

Marika realized that she had begun her biggest gamble of the whole thing.

 

"So let's wait. If we're inside the smoke screen, where we can't even communicate properly, let alone use radar, the Liberty class won't be able to gather information. But if we keep doing that forever, it won't be able to do its job, so it'll come out eventually. We can easily catch up by then."

 

"I see."

 

Lynn displayed the reaction of the smoke screen, which was slowly spreading and moving away from the ecliptic due to inertia, and the future orbit of Odette II on the display.

 

"We're heading straight for Marsh Star. On our current orbit, we'll be closest to the smoke screen in six hours, and after that we'll be able to get closer to Marsh Star. So, what should we do until then?"

 

"Let's get some rest."

 

Marika said, as if convincing herself.

 

"They're probably doing the same. Let's eat now. Tell Silent Whisper to come back."

 

"Okay, let's go eat in the dining room for the first time in a while."

 

Since we left the ecliptic and started the radar search, none of the bridge crew has been to the dining room. Everyone had finished their meal with the delivered lunch boxes and snacks they had brought with them. Lynn rose from the electronics battle desk and jumped to the captain's seat.

 

"Okay, Jenny, Gruier, I'll leave it to you for now. I'll take the captain to the dining room and then throw him in bed."

 

An electronic sound was ringing somewhere in the room. Marika woke up in the dark captain's quarters, with only a faint nightlight on, and jumped up in shock. She half-crawled out of her futon, which was only loosely attached in the zero-gravity environment, and tapped on the control panel next to her pillow to answer the call.

 

"This is the captain's quarters! Where are you now!?"

 

"This is the bridge, Gruier."

 

Gruier appeared on the monitor with her usual cool face.

 

"Current position, 40 million kilometers from Sea of the Morningstar. I was worried you wouldn't be able to sleep, but it seems you slept soundly."

 

"Really?"

 

Marika looked at the ship's time on the panel. I remember clearly going to the dining hall with Lynn and the other bridge crew, having a decent meal for the first time in a while, and then being thrown into the captain's quarters. I thought there was no way I could sleep because I was thinking about so many things, but the numbers on the clock had moved forward by about seven hours since I last looked.

 

"What's the situation? Just looking at Gruier's face, I can't tell if everything is going well or not."

 

Marika got out of bed.

 

"We've completed the recovery of Silent Whisper. Both the crew and the ship are safe."

 

"It would be a problem if something happened."

 

"A new captain's uniform is ready. Please wear it when you go up to the bridge.'

 

'When did that happen?'

 

'Also, the Liberty class just emerged from the smoke screen.'

 

'Is it real?!'

 

Marika tapped the control panel and brought up the necessary data on the display. Gruier on the monitor nodded with a grin.

 

'Odette II's radar, sensors, and all other observation systems have determined that the ship emerging from the smoke screen is a real Liberty class. Congratulations, Captain Marika, you've won.'

 

'Aaah, I'm so glad.'

 

Marika shouted and rose from the bed. A moment later, she turned to the monitor.

 

'No, the real thing is about to begin! What is the Liberty class doing right now?!'

 

'No, nothing yet.'

 

Gruier shook her head.

 

"President Lynn is sending out jamming signals from Odette II, but the infrared response is increasing, so I think it will start moving soon."

 

"Okay."

 

Marika left the bed.

 

"I'll be right there."

 

"But what's with this outfit!?"

 

Marika came rushing in with her captain's jacket flipped up, and the entire bridge crew cheered.

 

"I modified the costume we had in stock, imagining it as a ceremonial guard costume."

 

Gruier explained with a straight face.

 

"I used a costume that seems to be for medical workers as a base, and adjusted the skirt and other sizes to fit Marika, adding epaulettes, a braid, and four stripes on the sleeves."

 

"That's why the skirt is so short!"

 

Marika, dressed in her stage costume of a white jacket with epaulettes, a miniskirt, and white boots, entered the captain's seat with a sullen look on her face.

 

"I don't have a captain's hat, is that okay?"

 

"I've got one ready."

 

Jenny, who was in the first officer's seat, floated up next to the captain's seat. The captain's white cap, with a black brim and gold arabesque pattern, had a silver skull with large eyes, but I don't know where it came from.

 

"This is really turning into a costume contest."

 

Marika took the cap with a sour look on her face and put it on her head. It fit perfectly.

 

"Pirate ships are treated like warships. The captain needs to dress like a captain."

 

"The problem is that there are no concrete rules about what a captain should dress like."

 

Marika let out an exaggerated sigh and sat up straight in the captain's seat.

 

"Yes, Captain. Please report the latest situation."

 

Taking the control panel herself, Marika updated the information displayed around the captain's seat to the latest.

 

The signals from the six Liberty-class ships that had gone ahead had now disappeared. Instead, the signals from the Liberty-class ships were brightly displayed in a position closer to the ecliptic than the Odette II.

 

"Did it just come out of the smoke screen silently?"

 

Marika noticed that the signals from the smoke screen that had still not disappeared were still visible behind the trajectory of the Liberty-class ships.

 

"That's right. We're sailing towards the Sea of the Morningstar at a good acceleration for a cargo ship. They should be able to see us from there, so the signals from the six ships ahead of us disappeared before the main ship appeared."

 

"In other words, the decoys that were ahead of us are still firmly under the control of the Liberty-class ships."

 

Marika was deep in thought.

 

"Have you determined the decoy's current location?"

 

"It's fine."

 

Shortcut in the radar/sensor seat answered.

 

"We've confirmed the latest location information."

 

"Then we'll leave the interception of that to the Sea of the Morningstar System Army."

 

Marika glanced at the Liberty-class's response on the display.

 

"Now, how should we deal with this one?"

 

"Liberty-class has activated their transponder!"

 

Gruier in the radio operator's seat reported.

 

"Oh."

 

Lynn exclaimed in shock.

 

"You're trying to pretend it's a normal spaceship at this point? What are you saying?"

 

The information transmitted by the transponder includes the ship's name and registry along with its current location and direction of travel. Gruier, who was in the radio operator's seat, read out the obtained ship's name.

 

"Outland Trading, St. Elmo 49."

 

Jenny quickly ran her fingers over the control panel and reported the search results.

 

"Outland Trading is a long-distance transport company from the Stellar Alliance. I can find some on the documents, but there's no information on the company itself."

 

Odette II's database also contains information updated after the War of Independence. Some of the vast amount of information from the pioneering days has been organized or deleted, so even if you can't find any information on the transport company itself, you can't tell if it actually existed. Jenny added.

 

"There is information on St. Elmo... 42 and 47, but only one on St. Elmo 49."

 

Jenny opened the hit and gave a wry smile.

 

"It's only in a report from the pirate ship Swan at the end of the War of Independence. It's useless."

 

"If it's an information gathering ship from the Stellar Alliance, it's sure to have a bunch of fictitious ships."

 

Marika saw the information on the Liberty class being transmitted by the transponder on the display. Destination: Sea of the Morningstar Relay Station.

 

"Is our transponder on here on here on here?"

 

Marika checked the control panel. The transponder with the name of the White Swan was transmitting right after the pursuit began.

 

"Well, let's do something pirate-like on here too."

 

Marika closed her eyes. It took courage to say the next line.

 

"Let's request a boarding of the Liberty-class freighter, St. Elmo 49."

 

There was a full breath before there was a response. Just as Marika was thinking that maybe they hadn't heard her and was thinking about repeating herself, the bridge crew shouted in unison.

 

"What!?" "Are you out of your mind, Captain Marika!?" "Are you going to have a party during the War of Independence!?"

 

How would the crew of the intelligence-gathering ship from the Stellar Alliance react if all the members of the yacht club boarded a Liberty-class ship? Holding back from bursting out in laughter, Marika waited for the bridge to quiet down.

 

"Yes, yes."

 

Jenny clapped her hands.

 

"My captain wouldn't say something so unreasonable without thinking it through. Well, I'm sure an inspection means boarding the other party's spaceship and inspecting its contents, right?"

 

"Thank you."

 

Marika bowed to Jenny.

 

"That's right. Warships and pirate ships have the right to inspect suspicious spaceships that may be carrying illegal materials. If the other party has nothing to hide, they will readily accept the inspection, and if they find nothing wrong, they will be released. If they find military supplies or prohibited goods, they can be confiscated. In the star system military, it's one of the basic duties."

 

Marika looked around at the faces of the bridge crew.

 

"If the other party is a subcontracted transport company, they have no obligation to transport cargo that is not in the contract, so it is not that difficult to confiscate or dispose of illegal cargo. The problem is cases like this, when the other party who claims to be a cargo ship is obviously suspicious."

 

Marika forced a smile of amusement.

 

"Since the other party insists that it is a cargo ship, let's inspect it to make sure that it is as they say."

 

"What are you going to do about the communication?"

 

With a look of amusement on her face, Lynn looked up at Marika in the captain's seat.

 

"Are you going to go to the communication in that captain's uniform and request an inspection?"

 

Marika glared lightly at Lynn.

 

"I'd love to try that out and see what the captain of the intelligence gathering ship looks like, but unfortunately the current captain of the White Swan is a man."

 

"If I ask the control station for communication data, I'm sure they can easily gather the necessary data, so I can quickly create an avatar to put over Marika's image."

 

"I'll send the request for inspection by message."

 

Marika spoke the plan she had decided on from the beginning.

 

"Even if we communicated directly, it would still take a full 30 seconds for a round trip. If we send a message rather than a silly direct communication, there will be fewer mistakes on both sides and we'll have more time to consider it."

 

"Now, let's create a message for St. Elmo 49."

 

Gruier began typing on the keyboard.

 

"A standard phrase is fine, right? Shall I start by introducing myself?"

 

"Yes."

 

Marika nodded out loud.

 

"The pirate ship Swan has sent a request for inspection of the Outland Trade cargo ship St. Elmo 49, um, based on wartime law."

 

"Wait a moment."

 

Jenny started tapping on the control panel in the first officer's seat.

 

"There should be some standard text from when it was the White Swan in the communication records, so, um, I think this should be fine. A request for inspection based on the Federation of Colonial Stars Wartime Special Law No. 2578 and No. 3119."

 

Marika checked the date of the message in the old record that Jenny had passed around to the captain's seat. If the timestamp was newer than now, it might not fit the current legal system during the War of Independence.

 

"Yes, I think this is fine. I think it will be fine if I just replace the proper nouns and location information where necessary."

 

"Are you only going to convey the request for inspection?"

 

Marika looked at Gruier.

 

"I'm requesting that St. Elmo 49 stop accelerating and take over our command. If the intelligence gathering ship's operating time is linked to the outer planetary expeditionary fleet, then not accelerating any further now will cause damage to them."

 

"What about after that?"

 

Gruier stared up at Marika.

 

"Are you really planning to board a Liberty-class ship and inspect it?"

 

"Not at all."

 

Marika stuck out her tongue.

 

"We've released eight decoys, and it's a cargo ship equipped with a much more powerful engine than a standard type. If we get close enough to be able to see it, let alone inspect it, we'll know it's not just a cargo ship. A spaceship that comes this far with an important mission like intelligence gathering is not going to listen to what we say."

 

"They might just pretend to listen."

 

Gruier said without changing her expression.

 

"They may pretend to comply with the request for inspection and neutralize us in some way as we approach. If we get close enough to see each other, we can hit them with beams and missiles even without radar."

 

"They don't know that we're an unarmed training sailing ship."

 

Marika realized that the explanation Gruier was hoping for was also what the crew wanted to hear.

 

"If both sides think they're armed, then we're on equal footing. If it's a spaceship manned by professional soldiers from the intelligence department, they should have much more self-control than we do. If they know that firing their guns will prevent them from carrying out their mission, why would they go out of their way to fire their guns at an approaching pirate ship?"

 

"But, well, it's not a very pleasant feeling to approach knowing that the enemy's weapons are ready to go."

 

Lynn said leisurely.

 

"If St. Elmo 49 accepts our inspection, please request that they open their control system to us before contact."

 

Lynn tapped lightly on the control panel.

 

"If we can see inside the other party via the network, that will be a preliminary check for inspection."

 

"What the..."

 

Marika looked at Lynn again.

 

"Opening up the control system to a pirate ship means giving up all power over life and death to us, right? No way I'm going to listen!"

 

"So it's convenient, right?"

 

Lynn started tapping on the control panel.

 

"They only have a limited amount of time. We just need to hold out until the end and make them waste their time. If they really open up their control system, we can check their equipment and contents without having to go through the trouble of boarding, and if they have nothing to hide, it should be easier for them since we can avoid the extra trouble of rendezvous and docking. Above all, if we make such an unreasonable request, there's no way they'll just listen."

 

Lynn looked up at the captain's seat and grinned.

 

"Don't you think this is the perfect excuse to buy time?"

 

Odette II sent a message requesting inspection to the Liberty-class cargo ship St. Elmo 49 under the name of the White Swan. At the same time, it was instructed to switch to inertial navigation while maintaining orbit.

 

When a message is sent with a receipt confirmation while navigating with a transponder, there is no excuse for not receiving it. The reply came back as a message.

 

"It is an honor to be requested to board the famous pirate ship, the White Swan, but unfortunately, St. Elmo 49 cannot accept your request."

 

Gruier smoothly read out the reply from St. Elmo 49.

 

"This ship has signed a contract with the Medical Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Sea of the Morningstar Government to deliver the advanced medical drugs it is carrying to the Sea of the Morningstar Relay Station as soon as possible. For humanitarian reasons, we ask that you refrain from interfering with the ship's route, including boarding. Captain of St. Elmo 49, James F28 Cookie."

 

Gruier looked up from the communication monitor.

 

"Excluding the text regarding the Wartime Special Measures Act and the text regarding certification, this is the main text of the message."

 

"Thanks, Gruier."

 

Marika, who had been looking at the message nervously, let out a sigh and relaxed.

 

"So it says that medical drugs are being transported."

 

Lynn spoke in a surprised voice.

 

"What shall we do? Shall we ask the control station if there really is such a contract?"

 

"It's easy to create a paper contract."

 

Jenny said, scrolling through the messages on the display with a serious look on her face.

 

"It's not that hard to load real medical cargo onto an intelligence-gathering ship. Even if it's a fake transport ship with all the cargo it's loaded with, and there's no space left for it, it's still possible to transport a small amount of medicine. The reason we're making the Liberty-class ship into an intelligence-gathering ship is so that we can say that our main job is as a cargo ship in case of an emergency."

 

"What are we going to do?"

 

Yayoi asked.

 

"Can't we inspect a cargo ship that's transporting medical drugs?"

 

"That's ridiculous."

 

Jenny flatly denied it.

 

"Hospital ships are the only ones you shouldn't mess with, friend or foe. I heard there were even landing craft disguised as refugee ships, so if you let them off the hook just because they heard your excuses, you can't run a pirate business."

 

"Gruier?"

 

Marika called out to the radio operator's seat.

 

"Can you please write the message? If I do it, we'll arrive at the Sea of the Morningstar by the time I finish composing it."

 

"I understand."

 

Gruier put his hands on the keyboard.

 

"So you want me to take Captain Marika's intentions into account and tailor the message to suit the current times."

 

"I see. Well, I want them to accept another inspection based on the Wartime Special Measures Act, and as for the emergency medical supplies, if their existence is confirmed, we will transport them here..."

 

Clearing her throat, Marika repeated herself so as not to confuse anyone.

 

"I told them not to worry, as we will take care of them on the White Swan. Is there anything else we should add in terms of diplomatic strategy?"

 

"That's right."

 

Gruier, who had been moving his fingers as he listened, thought for a moment.

 

"Shall I suggest that the White Swan is faster than a Liberty-class cargo ship, so we can deliver the advanced medical supplies we need more quickly?"

 

"Wow."

 

Lynn muttered softly.

 

"You're saying that after seeing the Liberty-class blowing away standard-class ships like it's no problem. That's sarcastic."

 

"It's a wartime negotiation."

 

Jenny replied in a soft voice.

 

"It would be strange if there wasn't that much sarcasticness. Besides, if we can avoid actual combat by just exchanging words, it would be better for both of us."

 

"How about this?"

 

Gruier sent the completed message to the captain's seat. Marika noticed that the message Gruier had written was so pretentious and complicated that it was difficult to understand the contents by skimming through it.

 

"It's amazing, you can write such complicated sentences so easily."

 

"There is a pattern. It's easy because you just combine them."

 

"Okay, send it like this."

 

The reply from St. Elmo 49 was that they use special containers to transport advanced medical drugs, so it is impossible to transfer only the main body, and it is not realistic to transfer special containers in a place without port facilities. They also sent a flight plan for the Sea of the Morningstar Control Station along with a notice that they would soon enter final acceleration.

 

"You're kidding me..."

 

"Well, you can set things up however you like."

 

Flight plans submitted to the Orbit Control Station are automatically approved unless they are extremely reckless from the start. Marika displayed St. Elmo 49's flight plan on the display and checked the trajectory.

 

"For the flight plan, we're only planning to accelerate to the extent that we can still claim to be a cargo ship."

 

Saint Elmo 49 planned to accelerate to further shorten the remaining journey to the Sea of the Morningstar, and to decelerate to enter the Sea of the Morningstar orbit. It is planned to accelerate at a level that a standard Liberty class would do without regard for schedule priority and operating costs, which is much lower than the acceleration performance of Saint Elmo 49 estimated from the data observed so far. Since deceleration is usually done by pointing the main engine in the direction of travel, maximum acceleration is equal to maximum deceleration.

 

"Well, please check with the relay station to see if Saint Elmo 49 has reserved a pier with special port facilities according to the schedule."

 

"I don't think that's a waste of time."

 

Jenny interrupted Marika's instructions.

 

"If the pier reservation wasn't made according to the flight plan, that might be a good thing, but if they insist that it was a paperwork error, that's all. Instead, why don't you pretend to be in a hurry and request an inspection via the network?"

 

Marika checked the distance between Odette II and St. Elmo 49. Odette II was continuing to accelerate slowly, gradually closing the distance between her and St. Elmo 49, but it would still take some time before they could make contact.

 

"Or is it the pirate way to put up with the other party's excuses until they actually make contact?"

 

"It seems that there are some pirates who are that smart."

 

Marika smiled shyly.

 

"But that's not our style. Understood. Let's ask St. Elmo 49 to open the network so we can conduct the inspection with time as the top priority. Please add that if they don't comply, we may use force."

 

"Use force?"

 

Gruier asked, moving his hands. Marika cleared her throat and answered.

 

"Do something scary."

 

The reply from St. Elmo 49 was a little slower than before. It was just when Bridge was starting to consider whether to prepare a new version of the message with the same content, that the reply finally arrived.

 

I don't understand the meaning of opening the network. Please explain it to me.

 

That's within the realm of expectation. Immediately after the last message was sent, Lynn and Gruier sent a message in which they explained in detail, including Jenny's legal opinion.

 

The reply from St. Elmo 49 was even slower.

 

"Access to the network on board the St. Elmo 49 is limited to pre-registered users and devices, so third parties cannot access it from outside."

 

Lynn snorted as she read over the perfunctory reply.

 

"If that's really true, then we live in a peaceful universe where it's impossible to take control of the ship via the network."

 

"In exchange, we're willing to provide you with the details of the cargo on board and the registration information."

 

Jenny shrugged after reading the same text.

 

"Do these people really think that just showing the pirates a list of the cargo is enough?"

 

"If we had to listen to everything the pirates say, we certainly wouldn't be able to run the transportation business."

 

Marika scrolled through the messages she had received from start to finish.

 

"So, what do you think? Do you think we'll be able to find holes in their system or network from the conversations we've had so far?"

 

Compared to the time when they could only gather information from radar and sensors on radio-blocked spaceships, the situation has improved greatly since they can now communicate directly, even if it's just through messages.

 

"Well, I can see the basics now."

 

Lynn tapped the control panel in a raindrop-like fashion.

 

"They're very well behaved, they're only communicating with us through their transponders, and the standard automated response with the relay station. I think the jamming we've set up on their path is probably working, but there's no sign of them communicating with the decoy we sent ahead."

 

"There's no sign of FTL communication apart from the relay station."

 

The ponytail in the radar/sensor seat said.

 

"It doesn't seem like they're in contact with the outer planetary scout fleet either."

 

"We've got a call from St. Elmo 49!"

 

Gruier announced the arrival of a new message.

 

"They're about to enter final acceleration towards the Sea of the Morningstar."

 

"Well, I knew we had to do it, but it looks like we'll have to use force."

 

Marika let out an exaggerated sigh.

 

"Please tell St. Elmo 49 that the inspection will take place after final acceleration. The inspection will take place before final deceleration, so there will be no time lost by accepting the inspection, and that if the inspection turns out to be unsuccessful, the White Swan will guarantee a safe arrival at the relay station."

 

"Understood."

 

Gruier immediately began composing a new message.

 

"Anyway, communication before an inspection is like a ritual, and it has to be done."

 

Marika explained.

 

"I've never heard of a cargo ship that would accept a pirate inspection without hesitation, and there are probably very few pirates who would stop an inspection just because of a communication."

 

"Most of the time, so does that mean it happens sometimes?"

 

"Yes. There are all kinds of stories, like the other ship having an epidemic, or something being strange and then investigated to find out it was a pushy ship, or it was a pirate hunter."

 

"A pushy ship..."

 

"Assuming St. Elmo 49 accelerates to the final speed according to the flight plan, please create a flight plan for us so that we can rendezvous during the final inertial navigation."

 

Marika looked at the trajectory map to the Sea of the Morningstar. St. Elmo 49 has already reached a speed that exceeds interplanetary travel speed. If it accelerates further, it will arrive at the Sea of the Morningstar sooner, but if it doesn't slow down, it will just pass by.

 

The speed of the pursuing Odette II has already exceeded St. Elmo 49's speed a long time ago, so it will also need to slow down again in order to rendezvous.

 

"If we compare our deceleration time with their acceleration schedule, the final rendezvous time will not change much."

 

Sasha in the navigator's seat showed a rough trajectory prediction on the display.

 

"If St. Elmo 49 maintains its current speed, we won't be able to match our speeds and rendezvous unless we slow down significantly, but if they accelerate, our deceleration time will be shorter."

 

"Even though the rendezvous schedule won't change much, they're still forcing the acceleration, so..."

 

Marika continued as Lynn continued to mutter a summary.

 

"What I mean is, we want to get to Sea of the Morningstar as quickly as possible."

 

Marika looked over the orbital diagram. She assumed that the six decoys that had already lost their reaction were taking the same orbits as they had last observed, and superimposed the predicted orbits.

 

"If we slowed down the decoy, which we've already issued an alarm for, and sent it into the space near the Sea of the Morningstar, it would be obvious, so I think they're only expecting it to observe as it passes by. Even if it's just a one-time flyby, if they sent six at the same time, they could get a lot of data. But an unmanned probe of that size in this day and age probably wouldn't be equipped with FTL links, so it can't collect data unless it's fairly close. Even if they're planning on the decoy being intercepted, if they can arrive at the Sea of the Morningstar at the same time, the accuracy of the observations will increase."

 

"Even at this point, it's a spaceship that's faithful to its mission."

 

Lynn spoke up.

 

"Well, I'm impressed. If I wasn't in this position, I'd like to learn a lot from you."

 

"I'm learning from you. Various tactics, negotiation methods, and so on. I don't know if it'll be useful."

 

"It's not a job suited to post-war pirates."

 

"But if we don't interfere with what we can, I don't know if we'll be able to be pirates after the war."

 

Marika looked around the bridge.

 

"As things stand, we can't stop St. Elmo 49 from reaching its final acceleration. After this, we'll continue to request inspections and rendezvous to stop the intelligence gathering ship. We'll continue to jam communications with St. Elmo 49, but can we use electronic warfare to take over the enemy's control at the same time?"

 

"To be honest, I don't think we can take over the control."

 

Lynn began pounding on the control panel with great force. "But we can try all sorts of things, and let them know we're serious. Maybe we can find a way around it."

 

"Thank you."

 

"Please check the messages."

 

Gruier, who was in the radio operator's seat, passed a new message to the captain's seat. When St. Elmo 49 made its final acceleration, the White Swan would inspect it as soon as possible, so prepare to receive it.

 

"Just to be safe, we should prepare to board."

 

Jenny floated up from the first officer's seat.

 

"The captain can't leave the bridge to inspect the enemy ship, so I'll prepare here."

 

"Thank you."

 

Marika thought of the faces of all the members of the yacht club who were currently on board the Odette II.

 

"Well, do you want someone to help out?"

 

"No. We're going to be dealing with an intelligence spaceship operated by a professional soldier. Even if we know a little, there's no way we'll know what kind of traps a high school girl from 120 years after the war might set up. Or rather, Captain Marika, have you ever done a formal inspection?"

 

Marika immediately shook her head.

 

"No!"

 

"Right? Even if we dock and are able to be inspected, it's obvious that things will get complicated after that. So we're going to prepare to prevent that from happening."

 

"What are you going to do?"

 

"It's a dirty trick, but once we've connected to the boarding bridge, I'll inject some neutralizing gas into the ship."

 

Waving to the crew who were murmuring, Jenny headed for the bridge door.

 

"If you let it rest for two or three days before the final deceleration, the Liberty class will pass through the inner planetary system at its current speed. By that time, the outer planetary scouting fleet should be withdrawing, and when it returns, the regular fleet of the star system military will be there to take it."

 

"Thank you."

 

Marika waved goodbye to Jenny as she left the bridge.

 

As predicted, St. Elmo 49 performed final acceleration to shorten the flight time. It will reach a slower speed than Odette II, which continues to accelerate at a low speed, but it will arrive at the Sea of the Morningstar sooner.

 

To approach in space, you must match your relative speed to the other spaceship. In the vacuum of space, objects do not decelerate like they do in water or the atmosphere, so they continue to move at the given speed.

 

Due to St. Elmo 49's final acceleration, the distance between them and Odette II decreased more slowly, but the speed difference decreased.

 

The back and forth between requests for inspection and gentle refusals continued endlessly.

 

"Maybe the exchange of requests for inspection during the war was automated to some extent?"

 

Gruier started to say while taking a break from composing the message.

 

"Basically, they're just saying no to an inspection, but in a roundabout way with a plausible explanation, so if you make a template, you can just replace the recipient's proper noun and get away with it."

 

"Yeah, I guess."

 

After many exchanges, the contents of the messages began to repeat similar points. Gruier himself often cut and pasted messages he had written previously to quickly create new messages.

 

"Inspection requests are done by normal communication unless it's a long distance like this time, right?"

 

"I think so."

 

"It's fine if the radio operator acts on your behalf or the captain does it directly, but if it's done directly, at least it won't be an exchange of copied messages."

 

If it's a voice communication that includes images, it's easier to deal with it in person than a message that requires you to create the body of the message.

 

"I see. So one of the effects of an inspection request is to make the other party communicate directly and annoy them."

 

"I'm not making a prank call."

 

"What about the electronic warfare?"

 

Marika changed the person.

 

"Do you think it will be possible?"

 

"Well..."

 

Lynn, who was in the electronic warfare seat, answered in a gloomy voice.

 

"The data is increasing little by little, but it's an old system that I'm not used to using. The protocols are completely different in strange places, and since it was before the merger with the Empire, there are standards I've never seen before. I can deal with it because it's an old system, but this is difficult."

 

"I see..."

 

"If the enemy was a little more aggressive, I could read their moves and get a sense of their habits, but they're pretty much silent. People in the old days often used electronic warfare against opponents like this."

 

"Please continue."

 

"We'll be passing closest point soon."

 

Sasha in the navigator seat announced.

 

"St. Elmo 49, no movement."

 

St. Elmo 49, which had left the ecliptic plane of the Tau star system, was on an orbit that would return to the ecliptic plane from the southern side. Odette II, who had made a large jump faster than light into the southern side, was approaching St. Elmo 49 while still inertial navigation.

 

Odette II is currently traveling faster than St. Elmo 49. According to the flight plan, St. Elmo 49 will enter a deceleration sequence as it approaches the Mars Star and aim for an orbit to the relay station. If it does not slow down, it will continue traveling at a speed far exceeding the escape velocity of the Tau system and will pass right through to the outer planet.

 

As it approaches, Odette II is jamming communications with St. Elmo 49 and launching electronic warfare. However, St. Elmo 49 remains almost silent except for transponder signals and communications regarding the inspection, and is not even performing radar scans of its course. The electronic warfare has not produced much success.

 

"The White Swan is a pirate ship famous for its electronic warfare."

 

Jenny said as she returned to her first-in-command seat.

 

"If you know the name even a little and are thinking about how to respond, it's basic to not play the game your opponent is good at."

 

"Well, thanks to that, it's fun."

 

Lynn was tapping the control panel at a slow pace.

 

"If they accidentally get serious, I don't know if I can fight them with the methods they used in the War of Independence."

 

"Optical image obtained!"

 

The braid in the radar/sensor seat reported.

 

"St. Elmo 49, maximum telephoto."

 

The image of St. Elmo 49 obtained by optical observation from Odette II was displayed on the display. The image was computer-corrected and quite rough, but the overall shape was still visible.

 

The optical image of the cargo ship, projected after traveling hundreds of thousands of kilometers, was an old-fashioned spaceship with a chunky hull and a gamut of antennas, auxiliary machinery, and folded robotic arms. It was unclear what color the hull was originally, but it was black with soot in places, turning reddish-black and completely camouflaged.

 

"Wow," Lynn exclaimed.

 

"What a rundown ship."

 

"Um... do you have any blueprints for a standard Liberty-class?"

 

"This is what the later standard model equipped with a FTL engine looks like."

 

At Marika's instruction, a wireframe 3D image was projected next to the flat optical image.

 

"Hmm?"

 

Lynn compared the flat image of St. Elmo 49 with the standard 3D blueprint.

 

"At least, from what I can see, they haven't enlarged the engine or added boosters."

 

"If the engine hasn't been enlarged, that means they've either replaced the entire engine or even remodeled the internal structure to install a more powerful engine."

 

Lynn moved the 3D drawing of the standard Liberty-class and overlaid it on the 2D image. The basic shape of the ship is almost the same.

 

"It looks like there are a lot of robotic arms and sensors that seem to have been added later, but there are a lot more antennas."

 

The antenna masts that would be compactly arranged on the upper keel of the standard type have been increased on all four sides. There are even large parabolic antennas that are half the diameter of the ship on the top and bottom of the hull, but I don't know what they're used for.

 

"It's basic to have good communication functions for a spaceship that flies long distances, but even the standard type should have enough communication equipment."

 

"In any case, a cargo ship doesn't need so many antennas, right?"

 

Lynn glanced at the electronic warfare display.

 

"Above all, it's really suspicious that they're not even sending out a single radar signal even though they've spread out their antennas like this."

 

"It's not like we need a radar in this airspace."

 

The airspace St. Elmo 49 is flying in is about to enter the ecliptic.

 

"Are you ready to slow down?"

 

Marika checked the relative positions of Odette II and St. Elmo 49. Because of its high speed, Odette II quickly overtook St. Elmo 49.

 

"It's fine." "We've done it."

 

Yayoi in the engineer's seat and Ai in the helmsman's seat answered.

 

"Then we'll turn 180 degrees and start slowing down with the main engine. Tell St. Elmo 49 that we'll rendezvous and force-dock regardless of their response."

 

"Understood."

 

Gruier answered.

 

"Commencing 180 degree turn."

 

Odette II, having passed St. Elmo 49 at a speed far greater than its predecessor, begins to rotate around its center of gravity while maintaining its heading. Because the inertial control system is active, the bridge can only hear a faint creaking of the ship's hull.

 

"Be careful, radar/sensor system."

 

Marika said, pretending to be as calm as possible.

 

"Has there been any change in the response from St. Elmo 49?"

 

"No change."

 

The display becomes distorted as the attitude of the spaceship relative to the target changes significantly. The first-year students in the radar/sensor seats responded in unison, switching between subsystems one after another.

 

"The turn will be completed soon."

 

With the tail, equipped with the FTL booster, facing the direction of travel, Odette II completed a 180 degree turn. Since the speed hadn't changed, the distance between us and St. Elmo 49 gradually increased.

 

"We're starting to decelerate," Yayoi announced in the engineer's seat. The FTL booster began firing high thrust.

 

For both acceleration and deceleration, it's most efficient to use the engine with the maximum thrust a spaceship is equipped with. Following the basics of shipbuilding, Odette II began to decelerate with its bow facing St. Elmo 49.

 

"In a real battle, there's no way the enemy would turn their noses up at us."

 

Lynn muttered as she checked the distance to St. Elmo 49 on the display. It was a distance that would allow for long-range artillery fire.

 

"This isn't a battle. This is an inspection."

 

Marika said as she looked at the frontal image of St. Elmo 49 obtained through optical observation.

 

"Well, I guess if they were going to close in on the distance for artillery fire, they'd probably already had an agreement."

 

I don't want to expose my maximum performance in front of the enemy. Odette II reduced the relative speed difference with St. Elmo 49 by slowing down to a level where the thrust output of the FTL booster could be absorbed by the inertial control system. The rate at which the relative distance increased slowed.

 

"It's moving!"

 

The first-year with the shortcut called out.

 

"Radar from St. Elmo 49!"

 

"Which is it? Navigation or shooting!?"

 

"Only navigation for now..."

 

The first-year with the shortcut confirmed the type of radar fired from St. Elmo 49. If it's a navigation radar that illuminates obstacles ahead, it's not precise enough to be used for fire control, and it's not very powerful.

 

"But there's a new antenna rising from the side of the hull."

 

The ponytail in charge of optical observation zoomed in on the image of St. Elmo 49 captured from the front.

 

"This isn't a low-power radar for navigation, is it?"

 

A hexagonal honeycomb-like antenna extended from the side of the St. Elmo 49's hull, facing forward.

 

"It's a phased array radar for fire control."

 

It was Jenny who pointed it out.

 

"Who would have an antenna like that on a warship of this age?"

 

"Watch out for any other movements."

 

Marika stared intently at the image of the front of the St. Elmo 49. No visible shipboard weapons had been spotted yet.

 

"What should we do?"

 

Shortcut asked.

 

"If the fire control radar hits us at this distance, we can get an accurate measurement of our position."

 

"We're using reverse thrust in front of the enemy."

 

Marika spoke as slowly as she could.

 

"You don't need to bring out a fire control radar now. We can easily determine our position with optical and infrared observations."

 

"Shall we fire back?"

 

Lynn said happily in the electronic warfare seat.

 

"Our fire control radar is already built into the antenna mast. We can fire immediately without the trouble of deploying it like they did."

 

"Not yet."

 

Marika was watching the honeycomb-structured phased array radar deploy on the side of St. Elmo 49 in the optical image.

 

"They just deployed a fire control radar, they didn't fire at us. But..."

 

Marika confirmed their position relative to St. Elmo 49.

 

"... Deploy all solar sails. Align the star direction and focal point directly with St. Elmo 49."

 

"What!?"

 

Unable to understand what Marika meant by her order, Lynn looked up at the captain's seat.

 

"The enemy is illuminating us with their navigation radar, though not continuously."

 

Marika said, wondering how well her sudden idea would work on the enemy.

 

"If we fully open the solar sail in this state and point it at them, all of the radar they fire will return to us. It will probably look like our reaction has suddenly increased."

 

"So we're pointing a mirror at the enemy in this state."

 

Jenny jumped from the co-pilot's seat to the rigging seat and began the operation. After entering the low acceleration state, the mast was fully open, but Odette II's solar sail was not deployed.

 

"That's right. The solar sail can accurately reflect not only sunlight but also electromagnetic waves. And the fire control radar emits high-power radar for precise measurement, but it is not designed to receive all of the radio waves it emits."

 

The position of the star is to the side as seen from Odette II. If the direction of the star and the direction of the reflection are aligned with St. Elmo 49, Odette II's solar sail will not receive sunlight.

 

"Even with optical observations, it should look like we've suddenly gotten bigger."

 

The only things illuminating Odette II are the radar emitted by the enemy and the sunlight from the planet.

 

"If the enemy knows that the White Swan is a solar sailing ship, they shouldn't be able to do anything careless..."

 

"Yes, set up."

 

Jenny sat in the rigging seat and typed in a command into the control panel. The solar sail unfolded between the extended masts, forming a huge field with Odette II at the center.

 

"Navigation radar from St. Elmo 49, output reduced!"

 

Shortcut announced happily.

 

"You've got guts."

 

Jenny floated up from the rigging seat to the captain's seat. She whispered to Marika.

 

"Isn't it like asking the enemy to open their arms and shoot?"

 

"If it's going to be a target anyway, don't you think it would be better to make it bigger so it won't hit the important spots?"

 

Marika answered so the other crew could hear.

 

"In this state, if the enemy fires their fire control radar, it will come right back at you. Of course, the target is too big, so you'll probably just have to aim at the center randomly."

 

"So it's safer than just approaching silently?"

 

"And if they fire even one shot, they'll lose."

 

Marika looked at St. Elmo 49 on the display with a gloomy face.

 

"We can't force our way through. But if we really have to dock and inspect in this state, that would be the most troublesome thing..."

 

After muttering, Marika spoke up.

 

"Odette II, continue slowing down! Continue approaching St. Elmo 49!"

 

With the solar sail fully extended all the way to the field, Odette II slowly closed the distance between it and St. Elmo 49.

 

In the end, St. Elmo 49 fired its navigation radar several times in the wrong direction, then stored its fire control radar back inside the ship without using it once. In Lynn's opinion, the wide-area radiation of the navigation radar was probably measuring the effective range of Odette II's solar sail, which was widely extended along its course.

 

And so, St. Elmo 49 accepted the White Swan's request for inspection.

 

"Please confirm the procedure for forced docking with a Liberty-class freighter."

 

Marika began preparations for the inspection of St. Elmo 49.

 

"I can understand the Bentenmaru, but we're going to do a forced docking with the Odette II, are you okay Ai?"

 

"We'll manage it!"

 

With a pale face, Ai, who was at the helm, answered bravely while showing the forced docking procedure from the White Swan era that she had found at the bottom of the archives on the display.

 

"Well, if we do a forced docking with the FTL booster still attached, the inertia will be large, so it might take some time."

 

"I don't mind if it takes a little while. It would be bad if it took so long that the other party thought we weren't professional pirates, though."

 

"Move the neutralizing gas around the boarding bridge!"

 

Jenny began preparing the neutralizing gas to be injected into St. Elmo 49 from the boarding bridge that was connected after the forced docking. She called the members of the crew who were not directly involved in the rendezvous and docking procedures over the entire ship's broadcast.

 

"Everyone, put on your space suits and assemble at Warehouse No. 6 on the port side! I'll be off then."

 

"Thank you."

 

Marika called out to Jenny as she left the bridge.

 

"I think we'll leave it to you to be the first to board St. Elmo 49."

 

"What I'm worried about is the expiration date of the neutralizing gas in the warehouse."

 

Jenny stopped in her tracks, putting her hand on the door, and gave a meaningful smile.

 

"There's no way they'd use a neutralizing gas for riot suppression on a girls' school training sailing ship. If you check the ingredients, it's not something that deteriorates, so I think it's fine, but it was used during the War of Independence, so be prepared."

 

"No way."

 

"Don't worry, I'll bring out the anesthetic gas from the medical room, so if the neutralizing gas doesn't work, I'll use that."

 

"We'll start a wired attack at the same time as connecting to the boarding bridge."

 

Lynn, in the electronic battle seat, was busy preparing to take over the controls.

 

"Our electronic weapons are 120 years more advanced than theirs, so no matter how much it's made for military use, I can easily take over the controls of an old cargo ship. Even if the neutralizing gas and anesthetic gas don't work, it'll be fine if we send St. Elmo 49 into outer space, right?"

 

"No, as long as we can neutralize its ability as an information gathering ship, that's fine..."

 

No inspection was carried out. Finally, when they had come within a few thousand kilometers of each other, a new message arrived from St. Elmo 49.

 

An urgent telegram from Outland Trading Headquarters stated that defects had been found in the advanced medical drug being transported and that it should be retrieved immediately. St. Elmo 49 canceled its flight plan to the Sea of the Morningstar and was returning to the relay base on the planet Sechi.

 

In space, St. Elmo 49 easily changed course and steered toward the outer planetary system as Odette II approached right in front of them. The message ended with the standard message of wishing the ship a safe voyage.

 

Odette II returned a message of good fortune for the ship, as if they were seeing it off, and continued on the same orbit.

 

Although deceleration stopped when St. Elmo 49 changed course, Marika saw St. Elmo 49 off with her solar sails fully spread.

 

The jamming continued for several hours. St. Elmo 49 disappeared beyond Odette II's detection capabilities.

 

"Is this the end?"

 

Jenny asked to confirm as she repeatedly scanned the direction of the outer planet with her radar.

 

"At the last observation, St. Elmo 49 was accelerating toward the outer planet."

 

Ponytail in the radar/sensor seat said.

 

"If it were to reverse course and return from that speed, it would take a minimum of 36 hours to return to its current location."

 

"Is that a standard Liberty-class? Or was it calculated based on the performance of St. Elmo 49?"

 

"For a standard Liberty-class, it would take 72 hours."

 

Ponytail answered confidently.

 

"The outer planet reconnaissance fleet should have already begun to withdraw by then."

 

"I guess it's over."

 

Marika took a deep breath and stretched her back on the backrest of the captain's seat.

 

"Disable combat mode, solar sails, let's put them away."

 

"Yes."

 

The tension on the bridge from combat mode relaxed. Jenny was about to jump to the rigging seat, but Lynn in the electronics seat beckoned her.

 

"What is it?"

 

"Look."

 

Lynn showed a list of battle record files on the display.

 

"This is the data that was visible from the beginning. This is the data that couldn't be seen unless the FTL booster was connected. And this is the data this time."

 

Lynn looked at Jenny's face.

 

"There are now three battle records from the same date. What should we do?"

 

"Huh?"

 

Lynn looked over the three battle files lined up on the display.

 

"I can't show these by accident. I guess I'll just have to hide them somewhere they can't be seen..."

 

The bridge started to get noisy, and an electronic alarm sounded.

 

"What!?"

 

Marika jumped up and looked around the control panel, and Gruier spoke to her.

 

"We have celestial information from the Sea of the Morningstar Orbit Control Station. The flare caused by abnormal activity from the planet Tau, which was observed two days ago, will soon pass through the inner planetary system, so any spaceships in the vicinity should be careful when navigating."

 

"I remember!"

 

Marika exclaimed, looking around the bridge.

 

"Observe the surrounding airspace! Look for any space disturbances in the vicinity similar to those we saw when we came here! We won't be able to get back if we keep going like this!"

 

"There is a small-scale space disturbance in the direction of Sea of the Morningstar, but it is the same type of disturbance as on the way there."

 

Perhaps Gruier had checked it out beforehand, as he passed around the Astronomical Agency's space forecast to the captain's seat.

 

A space disturbance was confirmed near Sea of the Morningstar's Lagrange point. Looking at the coordinates, Marika immediately realized that it was in the same positional relationship as Tausen and Sea of the Morningstar 120 years later.

 

"There, that's the target!"

 

Marika shouted in a manner unbecoming of a captain.

 

"Go in before it disappears! If it's the same pattern as on the way there, we should be able to get back!!"

 

For a moment, the bridge of the Odette II was shrouded in darkness, and it immediately switched to emergency power. In the dim emergency light, the emergency alarm pierced her ears, bringing Marika back to her senses.

 

"Confirm current location! Transponder, Odette II, transmitting, and current time if possible!!"

 

Before she could reply, the Galactic Positioning System in the captain's seat displayed the familiar coordinates and time.

 

"Galactic Standard Calendar, confirmed!"

 

Lynn shouted enthusiastically.

 

"Galactic Positioning System (GPS) and standard time are back! We're back!"

 

"Not yet."

 

Jenny in the first officer's seat carefully checked the surrounding space.

 

"We need to confirm that our world is really the same as it was before."

 

"We were hit by radar!"

 

Shortcut announced.

 

"Unidentified ship nearby."

 

The display that received the transponder immediately showed the name of the ship.

 

"...Odette II!?"

 

"That's a relief."

 

Jenny in the first officer's seat shook her head with a look of relief.

 

"Captain Marika, that was us a week ago."

 

Jenny pointed to the clock on the control panel, which was set to Galactic Standard Time.

 

"Probably just before we were sucked into the space disturbance chasing the fake Odette II. If we're there, then this must be the original world."

 

"Eh?"

 

Unable to fully comprehend the situation happening before her eyes, Marika looked back at the reaction of Odette II shown on the display.

 

"That's what I thought it was. What in the world was that spaceship that looked just like Odette II that appeared before us before we jumped during the War of Independence? Now, Captain Marika, please lure us into the space disturbance a week ago."

 

"Eh, uh..."

 

Marika tried to remember the situation of the training voyage just a week ago.

 

"Well, we'll detach the FTL boosters and use only the solar sails to get around to the other side of the spatial disturbance..."

 

Things went mostly as the crew remembered.

 

At the very last moment, just before Odette II was about to be engulfed in the rapidly expanding spatial disturbance, Marika hurriedly sent the message that was still in the communication records.

 

Odette II, who was in pursuit, disappeared into the spatial disturbance just as Marika and the others knew.

 

"All right, this is the end of the situation."

 

Seeing a reaction on the sensor that was very similar to a spatial jump, Lynn clapped her hands.

 

"Do your best, us from a week ago."

 

Marika was looking at the message she had sent to Odette II. Jenny came up from the first officer's seat.

 

"Thank you for your hard work. Now we can finally go home."

 

A communication sound rang out. Marika looked at the display and reflexively tapped the communication panel.

 

"This is Bentenmaru, Odette II please?"

 

A familiar face appeared on the monitor along with a familiar voice.

 

"Hyakume!?"

 

Marika raised her voice and put the headset to her ear.

 

"This is Hakuoh Girls' Academy Yacht Club, training sailing ship Odette II, Kato Marika! Is that really the pirate ship Bentenmaru?"

 

"It's the pirate ship Bentenmaru as you say?"

 

Hyakume looked at Marika with a puzzled expression on the communications monitor.

 

"Is everyone here? Misa, Kane, Schnitzer, Coorie, Luca, and Sandaime are all on board!?"

 

"Yes."

 

Hyakume switched cameras with a practiced manner. The main bridge of the Bentenmaru was shown, with the captain's seat empty. Cheers rang out from the bridge of the Odette II.

 

"As you can see, everyone is here. We rushed over because an unidentified look-alike had appeared. What's going on?"

 

Hyakume asked, showing the faces of the crew on duty on the bridge.

 

"You look like you haven't seen us in a hundred years, do you?"

 

Holding the headset tightly, Marika closed her eyes with a broad smile.

 

"It's been a hundred and twenty years. Thank you for coming."

 

Marika exhaled and opened her eyes.

 

"Well, we need to return the FTL booster to the military's anchorage airspace and return to the relay station. Please escort us."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

Hyakume returned a stern salute from the monitor.

 

"If that's your order, Captain, we'll do as you wish. By the way."

 

Hyakume looked at Marika with interest from the monitor.

 

"A new captain's uniform? It's nice, as expected of a girls' school, it's gorgeous."

 

"Too bad."

 

Marika took off her captain's hat.

 

"The White Swan is limited."

 

"Huh?"

 

"Now, let's go back to retrieve the FTL booster."

 

Marika put her captain's hat back on and clapped her hands.

 

"Odette II, prepare to launch!"

 

"Umm..."

 

Gruier whispered from the radio operator's seat.

 

"Hmm? What?"

 

"Who wrote the last message Marika sent to Odette II?"

 

Marika looked at the communications monitor and saw the message still displayed in front of her.

 

Afterword (Asahi Novels version)

 

I just finished checking the galleys over the phone and am now writing the afterword.

 

"See you in an hour."

 

Well, it was none other than the author who delayed it this much, so it's his own fault. I'm a guy who never learns.

 

Anyway, this time I'm sending you a time slip historical story. I'm not too sure how a time slip in a space operative can be considered a historical story, but anything goes with space pirates, I guess.

 

Because this is a historical story, the use of super technology is kept to a minimum. Instead, existing technology, electromagnetic waves, and their applications such as radar and communication are used abundantly.

 

Electromagnetic waves propagate at the speed of light. On Earth, radar shows the visible range with almost no time lag, but in outer space, the situation is a little different. It's wide and unobstructed.

 

The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is roughly 380,000 km. So, let's go out into space and fire a radar at a distance of about 1 million kilometers.

 

The speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second. It takes roughly just under seven seconds for the radar to travel 1 million kilometers, bounce off a target, and return. I don't get it.

 

But that's just how it is when you use radar in space. I think that's what it's like. With that in mind, this time I'm trying out using an ultra-long-range radar at tens of millions of kilometers. I wonder if it would be possible unless we brought in a special electronic warfare ship. But in radio astronomy, radio observations of celestial bodies light-years away are easy, so I think it should be fine.

 

This is the place where I worked, which I mentioned in the afterword to the previous volume, and I wrote a large part of this story there as well.

 

It's a three-story reinforced concrete building that used to be an old elementary school, and the room I'm renting is in the corner of the third floor, built on the trying northern land. I was terrified at what it would be like in the winter, but it turned out to be terrible.

 

I think the lowest temperature inside the room barely dropped below zero, but that means it's warmer inside the refrigerator. With kerosene fan heaters, if the ambient temperature is below 5 degrees, the digital display just shows a single horizontal line and doesn't show the temperature.

 

This big old classroom is equipped with two fan heaters, so I thought I could run them both at the same time, but the room is so big that it takes a long time to heat up. I thought I could maintain the temperature with one heater once it got warm enough, but the room temperature, which I had finally raised to nearly 20 degrees, started to drop little by little.

 

I had no choice but to bring in winter sweaters and jumpers, but it still wasn't enough, so I moved my desk closer to the fan heater, and even when I got close enough to the hot air, it was only there that was warm.

 

In the end, I managed to create an environment where I could work by sticking air cushion sheets used for packing between the pillars and forcing the heating volume to be smaller, but the earth is a scary place to be tested.

 

However, being in an environment without an internet connection and with nothing else to do but write has been a great help, and my work efficiency has improved considerably compared to when I'm at home. I feel like it's improved. Maybe I'm just feeling like I'm working because I have nothing else to do and I'm writing instead.

 

The film "Bodacious Space Pirates: The Movie" is in production and is scheduled for release in February 2014. It's scary, but also reassuring and encouraging that so many highly anticipated, popular, and outstanding masterpieces will be released at the same time.

 

I'm counting on myself to have my next new work out by then, so see you in the next one.

 

From a Land Without Rainy Season

Yuichi Sasamoto

Afterword (KADOKAWA version)

 

The Sixth Year, Two Swans

 

I'll send you part 1 of the War of Independence.

 

The author, who has always been a spontaneous storyteller, can't remember if he wrote the time slip arc because he was thinking about what would happen next or if he was desperate, but I guess he was testing things out while thinking about what would happen next.

 

Oh, I remember now. In the past, the big plot of a series was set-up and breaking the set-up, so maybe he thought he could do it in set-up, but I'm not sure.

 

In this story, we're focusing on long-distance space combat, with a focus on enemy reconnaissance.

 

To fight, you need an opponent. You can't start fighting until you find an enemy, whether they're nearby or far away, and you can confirm their location.

 

If the goal of both enemies and allies is to find and destroy each other, the story is relatively easy. However, since war is a negotiation in a different form, there are many troublesome circumstances for both enemies and allies, and the situation is not very simple.

 

The War of Independence is also a means for the Federation of Colonial Stars to gain greater benefits. The objectives of the battles that take place within it also change depending on the circumstances at the time, and the objectives of both sides change accordingly.

 

This time, Odette II, who has been drawn into the War of Independence due to various circumstances, has the objective of preventing a Liberty-class freighter from approaching the Sea of the Morningstar, which is for reconnaissance purposes. The objective of the enemy Liberty-class is to get as close as possible to the Sea of the Morningstar and gather as much electronic information as possible. In order to prevent each other's objectives, sinking the enemy is of course an option, but as people of the same technological civilization who can understand each other's language, even in times of war, that would be too much trouble.

 

This time, the enemy's objective is to gather information on the Sea of the Morningstar. Odette II just needs to stop that. It's very difficult to sink it, as it's in space during wartime without any weapons, but the enemy calls itself a civilian cargo ship, so they can't just shoot at it that easily.

 

As for the machines it's equipped with, Odette II, who jumped from the Sea of the Morningstar 120 years later after the annexation of the Galactic Empire, doesn't have an overwhelming advantage, but in fact, that's not the case.

 

I don't have a chance to explain it in detail in the story, so I won't go into detail, but aside from super technologies like FTL speed and anti-gravity, electronic machines do not continue to advance infinitely in the real world.

 

For example, televisions and cameras are becoming increasingly high-resolution, but when it comes to displays, once the resolution exceeds that of the human eye, any higher resolution becomes meaningless.

 

The calculation speed of computing elements cannot be increased infinitely, and recording density cannot be increased infinitely either. The CPUs and memories of the mobile devices we currently have in our hands have achieved performance figures that seem unbelievable in the last ten years, but these advances may reach their practical limits within our lifetimes.

 

Once computing elements and memory elements have been miniaturized to the molecular or atomic level, it becomes impossible to make them any faster or denser. In other words, we can predict that computer calculation speed and memory density will sooner or later reach their limits.

 

As for chemical fuels, the energy that can be extracted from chemical formulas was calculated in the 19th century. No matter how many new technologies are developed, as long as chemical reactions are followed, it is impossible to extract more energy than the fuel contains.

 

As for materials, as long as known materials are used, we cannot expect strength beyond that dictated by intermolecular forces. The reason carbon nanotubes are expected to be used as a material for orbital elevators is that they can be calculated to achieve the material strength of a 36,000 km long orbital elevator.

 

In other words, if a technological civilization has progressed normally, at a certain point, computer speed and the strength of machine materials will reach the technological limit, and no further progress can be expected. Well, that's what it looks like on the surface, but in a space opera with FTL speeds, anti-gravity, inertia control, and everything else, there are as many things that can be done if necessary.

 

No matter how far into space you go, the laws of physics and the phenomena that accompany them do not change. Whether it's a spaceship from 120 years ago or an Odette II from 120 years in the future, the speed of the electromagnetic waves it emits is the same, and the processing speed doesn't change much either.

 

Even if the limits of computing elements and memory circuits are reached, we can expect progress in terms of software. If an Odette II carrying active schoolgirls comes into space during the War of Independence and can defeat active soldiers and military spaceships, the only thing that can be expected is that the software has advanced 120 years since then and that it understands the history up to that point.

 

This prediction is based on the assumption that the currently mainstream von Neumann-type computers will continue as they are, but I wonder if that will change if other types such as quantum types appear. It's impossible to miniaturize or densify beyond the atomic or molecular unit, so I don't think it's too far off.

 

Well, I thought it would work out somehow, but when I tried it, I realized that space wars are an annoyingly time-consuming process. Even if it's just in low planetary orbit, it's already difficult in many ways, but when the battle airspace expands to the diameter of a planetary orbit, even in an inner planetary system, just finding the enemy becomes a huge hassle, as you can see.

 

I have a real feeling that why wars are fought when it requires so much effort, and this is something I gained when I researched sailing ships and armaments from the Age of Discovery, as I like it. Long-distance communication was by semaphore, and the only way to send orders to the other side of the planet was to send written orders that took months to reach the location, and sailing ships were the fastest means of transmitting information. If ships were equipped with cannons, combat was still on the easier side, but even in times when the only means of long-distance attack were thrown weapons such as bows and spears, and the only means of propelling ships other than sails were oars operated by many people, people still formed fleets into battle and fought.

 

Not to mention battles on the ocean, there are countless examples in history of large-scale battles between large numbers of people on land. Even in an age when megaphones are the only loudspeakers, and when battlefields are vast beyond the range of human voices, there are countless large-scale battles.

 

When you look into the wisdom and technology used to continue fighting and spread the will of command to the lowest level, you're impressed that they were able to fight with such things, and you're astonished that they had no other choice but to fight, despite being so intelligent. Well, battles don't just happen by chance; there is a clear path to get there, and it is just one form of negotiation that is chosen, so whether we, outsiders and spectators, can accept it or not, in most cases the trouble leading up to the battle is recorded.

 

In the end, no matter what stage of technology they have, intelligent beings (in this case, the human race on Earth throughout history) will use any means to achieve their goal of desire. It's a surprisingly obvious conclusion.

 

What's scary about this obvious conclusion is that because it's a space battle of the future, they're making up what they think it might be like based on current battles, but when they actually get there, it could end up being a completely different situation, with people thinking "this is easier" or "this is more rational and practical." Well, if I ever get the chance to see it with my own eyes, I can just write a new story then.

 

In the next volume, volume 11, not only Odette II but also Bentenmaru will be transported to the galactic universe at the end of the War of Independence. This will be Sasamoto's last book in the Heisei era, and the next volume, volume 11, will be the first in the Reiwa era. So, what will the future hold?

 

April 1, 2019

Yuichi Sasamoto

 

This book is a new edition of "Miniskirt Space Pirates 10: Two Swans," published by Asahi Novel in June 2013, with additional content and corrections and a new cover.

Sasamoto Yuichi

 

 

 

1963: Born in Tokyo.

 

1974: Becomes hooked on "Space Battleship Yamato" from the original broadcast.

 

1979: Watches "Mobile Suit Gundam" from the original broadcast.

 

1982: Reads "Galactic Beggars’ Army" and learns how to use airplane pilot manuals as reference books.

 

1984: Published "Operation Fairy"

 

1992: Published "Come and See the Stars Dance"

 

1992: Begins researching rockets from the first H-II rocket to write a space opera.

 

2008: "Miniskirt space pirate" battle begins!

 

2012: "Moretsu Space Pirates" televised.

 

2014: "Moretsu Space Pirates" theatrical animation was released.

 

2018: "Miniskirt Space Pirates" second battle begins!

 

 

Matsumoto Noriyuki

 

 

 

Worked for a game company for about 10 years. After that, he became a freelance illustrator, working on illustrations for light novels. Currently, his main activity is manga. His representative works include "Rin - Noriyuki Matsumoto Art Collection" (Enterbrain), "Tsubame Yodamari Shoujo Kiko" (Tokuma Shoten), and "Minami Kamakura High School Girls Bicycle Club" (Mac Garden).