Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Editor: Thor’s Stone

I managed to wake up just as the dawn came. I slept quite early yesterday so I managed to have plenty of rest. Thanks to the upload of a large amount of data last night, I was still feeling a bit of vertigo.

A lot of the things I had no knowledge of previously are now as familiar to me as the back of my hand. I have now familiarized myself with the continental makeup of this planet. There were quite a few continents and landmasses on the surface of this planet, but the only one that is housing a human population is the continent I’m located in. The rest of the continents are populated by wild animals and the so-called ‘monsters’.

The local inhabitants of this planet call it Ares. And the name of the continent I’m located in is Cerise.

I displayed a map of the surface of this planet on a virtual window. The various countries on the map are indicated using different color designations. But a significant portion of the map is colored white. These areas were either not under any country or have not been properly explored and mapped yet. The multicolored portions comprised about 40% of the entire map while 60% was a dull white. There were fifty four countries altogether.

I didn’t really care about this stuff all that much though.

(Iris.)

『Good morning, Captain.』

(Good morning. I have several things I want to confirm with you. First, I wanna ask about the coordinates of this planet. Why have we deviated far too much from our initial course when we came out from forced warp? No, it isn’t on a level of mere deviation. We’ve come to a completely uncharted region.)

『I currently have no definite answer to that. We don’t have enough data regarding forced warp-outs due to external interference.』

(Can you give me a probable conjecture then?)

『I’m sure Captain is already familiar with the basic principles of hyperspace navigation, correct? Determining the warp-out coordinates during hyperspace travel is a result of rigorous and detailed calculations. But since we were forcibly warped out due to external forces, hence failing to go through the proper procedures, arriving at these coordinates was just a result of sheer probability.』

I have no idea what you’re trying to get at.

(In other words?)

『Simply put, we were just unlucky.』

Now that’s easier to understand. But yeah… I had a strong streak of bad luck ever since I was a kid. I can accept that reasoning, at least.

(Alright then. Next, I want to know why you have data on the estimated probability of the empire discovering these coordinates. Just how did you get a hold of this?)

『I am familiar with the algorithms used in order to determine target sectors for exploration. These algorithms have not been updated for the past five hundred years. Of course there is always a possibility of it being updated while we are unaware, but the data I have is accurate if we assume that not to be the case.』

(So they’ll come here after a thousand years or so huh. Hoping for a rescue is all but hopeless now.)

『These results are ultimately just the result of statistical probability. There is still a chance of it being wrong and the time of discovery being shortened.』

(So how about the probability of me being alive once rescue comes?)

『Next to zero, Captain.』

(I see… Right.)

The search method implemented by the empire in order to discover the home planet of the Bugs is basically dispatching several fleets to uncharted sectors and mapping them extensively. They had to be absolutely thorough because the search will be meaningless if they miss even just one sector.

But by using this method, the empire is only able to investigate a relatively small corner of this vast universe. It also takes a considerable amount of time and effort.

However, if we had not deviated so far off course, Iris would have been discovered by allied ships within a hundred years in the worst case.

(Alright then. Let’s get to the main point. Are the results of these calculations reliable?)

『I had based my calculations on the latest survey probability patterns. In that sense, these calculations are mostly accurate. But in the end, probability is still merely probability. Even I cannot be completely certain of their true accuracy.』

I guess that’s right, huh. Dammit! Just what am I supposed to do now!?

(What do you suggest we do now?)

『There is nothing the Captain can do to resolve the current dilemma.』

Yeah, I guess… There really is nothing I can do about this situation…

Some of the info from the data Iris uploaded onto my database were somewhat interesting, but the rest were just your standard reports.

Firstly, the coordinates of this planet was so far from the initially planned navigation route that the estimated period of an imperial fleet or vessel discovering our current location will only occur after one thousand two hundred years, give or take.

This wasn’t a definite number of course. If the empire made considerable efforts to bolster their exploration rate, then there is a chance we may be found earlier than first estimated. Of course, the reverse can also happen as well.

Secondly, the estimated probability of Bugs discovering this planet before the empire arrives is 88%.

In other words, there’s a pretty large chance of this planet being attacked and ravaged by the Bugs. We don’t really know when exactly it’ll happen though.

(By how much can we strengthen the combat capabilities of the ship within, say, five hundred years or so?)

『If we were to face a standard fleet of sixteen BG-I cruisers, we will be able to take at most two fleets of this caliber by focusing on upgrading the combat effectiveness of the ship. However, there would be no chance of winning if we end up facing a BG-X battleship.』

Right. If we go up against a BG-X battleship, Iris, that has lost most of her main propulsion systems, will just end up being a sitting duck. We can easily destroy it if the engine section was still intact though.

And when it comes to the Bugs, there’s no way an attack will end with just two fleets. Once a Bug fleet fails to return after attacking a certain sector, multiple other fleets will keep swarming said sector until it is completely ravaged. Iris, that no longer possesses a reactor, will probably run out of energy while facing those continuous relentless attacks.

(Can you manufacture comm equipment that is capable of FTL communications?)

『It is possible to build equipment capable of FTL communications by dismantling and turning some sections of the ship into components, but it will still not work properly due to the lack of a reactor.』

(Can’t you manufacture a reactor then?)

『Negative. There aren’t enough resources to build one. Even if we did possess enough resources, building a proper reactor will require the use of a large, well equipped dock. We cannot build one with just maintenance bots.』

So those really weren’t possible huh. What a mess.

Before I ended up boarding the Iris Conrad, I was assigned to the Star-class heavy cruiser Theo II. While serving there, we were sent on a mission to provide aid to a colonized civilian planet that was attacked by the Bugs. Before the rescue troops came, almost seventy percent of the total population was all but killed. After annihilating the Bugs in the star system, we landed on the planet to aid in recovery and rescue operations, but what greeted us was a real hell.

And that damn tragedy will also repeat itself on this planet huh.

I lapsed into a depressed silence. After brooding for some time, I communicated with Iris again.

(How about we increase the technological level of this planet?)

『That measure will not make it in time. Even if we did manage to complete building a reactor on the surface within six hundred years or so, acquiring the technology and knowhow to successfully launch and install the reactor onto the ship out in orbit cannot be achieved within those six hundred years.』

(Why?)

『There are various issues to consider, such as education, manpower, and resource acquisition and development. For example, just how do you propose we educate the human population on this planet?』

That’s right. We would definitely need to start from the very basics. And due to the presence of a variable called magic, it’ll be hard to predict the reaction of the local inhabitants when exposed to imperial technology and knowledge.

Do we have no choice but to force them to learn? But how would we?

(Hey, Iris, I’ve decided! I’m going to seize control of this planet! I will seize it, and then make the inhabitants learn the required knowledge and technology, even if I have to do it by force…… Heh. Yeah right. Like that would work.)

『……Understood.』

Huh?

(You’re not gonna oppose that?)

『I have no reason to oppose, sir. Only the Captain has the authority to decide our course of action.』

(That can’t be! I’m talking about forcibly usurping control of the planet, y’know!? Doesn’t that violate the imperial codex or something?)

『This planet is not part of the empire after all. It will not be grounds for violation of military law.』

(But… I just can’t believe a mere ship captain has the power to decide that sort of thing.)

『Captain Corinth is not a mere ship captain. You are effectively the commander-in-chief of this sector. In sectors not under an official imperial governor, the commander-in-chief will stand as the official representative of the central Adel government. In other words, in this sector, Captain’s will is the empire’s will.』

(You gotta be kidding me!)