Chapter 11: Prologue To The War
Krishna.
It was a small craft made to hold three people but it was always possible to force the maximum occupancy to five; one room housed one person, and two rooms housed two each. It also came with a shower, laundry room, kitchen,lounge and infirmary.
The ship might have fooled someone from the outside, thanks to its renovations, but the Krishna was built for military use. Military duty meant being stuck on board for months or years at a time while fighting for your life. Traveling the vastness of space was not a speedy prospect, after all. And clearly, Krishna was constructed with all that in mind.
When we returned to the ship, I showed Reina her room. I took the private room but gave Reina one of the two-person rooms, identical and facing each other across a hallway. Since they were basically the same, I didn't care which one she chose.
"I like this room," Reina decided. "Um… Are you sure it's okay?"
"Of course," I said. "Once you put your stuff down, feel free to take a shower. After that, we can use the medical pod for a quick check of your vitals, if you want."
"Wow, you have a medical pod?" Reina said. "Th-this ship is incredible. It's like a house from a 1st rate Planet."
"Is that so?" I'd never actually seen the 1st rate planet, of course, so I had to take her word for it.
After sorting out rooms, I gave Reina the complete tour: laundry room, kitchen, infirmary, training room, cockpit, and cargo hold. The whole dang ship.
"Now you must be tired," I said. "Take a nice shower, get yourself clean, and rest. We can talk about the vitals check and the job after."
"Okay, sorry."
"Don't apologize; make that a thank you instead. Now, do you know how to use the shower?"I asked the final part in a mini-sarcastic tone.
"Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you."
"And, I meant, I'm sorry for snapping at you before, I don't know what came over me".
"Don't worry about it, I understand what you are going through, and I don't want to seem nosey but you should talk to your sister about that."
I left her to her shower and headed for the cockpit. She didn't need me fussing over her.
Having nothing better to do, I researched maps of the place that's going to be our war zone, the next day. I'd need to be able to navigate this place if I was going to fight there.
I was still researching when Reina poked her head in the open door of the cockpit. The shower had certainly helped. She looked good after washing up, but she did not have any other clothes.
"Hey, you look good but why didn't you change your clothes?".
"Well the thing is I left my travel pack at the restaurant and since the army didn't give it back, I have to think that the governor's man didn't collect it when they took me with them."
The sound of a rumbling stomach, then traveled through the space occupying the cockpit.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
Reina blushed a little and nodded.
"All right. How about some grub?."
"Okay."
She followed me to the kitchen, her stomach and mine having a rumbling competition the whole way.
I called it a kitchen, but it didn't have any real cooking implements, except for a grill, because that's about all I knew about when it came to cooking, so maybe it was more accurate to call it a grill house and cafeteria.
"Eat as much as you like," I said. "I did buy a lot of artificial meat, so I'm sure it will last us a long while, or at least I think so"
She looked at me with a deadpan look on her face "So, it's just meat?"
I don't know why, but at her question something in me felt embarrassed.
"Yes just meat"
"And it's just grilled?"
"Yes just grilled"
"Why is that?"
"Because that's about all I can do in the kitchen" OK now my face is burning with embarrassment.
'please don't give me that look, like you regret coming here'
"OK I promise you we will find the best chef in the Grakken Empire, so can we just enjoy our simple meal now"
That's when she began laughing at me.
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The following morning the Grakken Imperial Army and the IMG announced the start of the pirate-subjugation mission.
"I love how we can get this briefing on the ship instead of having to leave for some big gathering or something," I said, impressed, to the only other person in the room with me.
"Me too," Reina said.
I sat in the Captain's seat with her behind me in the first-mate's seat while we waited for the briefing to begin.
Even after a full night's rest, we were still dead tired, so not having to leave the ship was a welcomed boon.
It really was convenient getting to stay here instead of having to go to the galactic police's base for instructions.
It was like a shut-in's dream habitat; I could even order food right to the ship's cargo.
The cockpit pinged. The screen lit up, several popups appearing. Each displayed a different person, along with their affiliations and ships. I saw Serena in one corner, the military woman I'd met at my interrogation and the whole reason I was joining this stupid war in the first place.
"Ah?!" When I made eye contact with Serena, I shuddered. An ominous feeling settled in my gut.
'Maybe I ought to be careful around her.'
Serena's window grew larger and moved to the middle of the screen as she spoke. "Let us begin the briefing now. You know me as Lieutenant Serena Holz. I am the commander of this operation. You may call me Lieutenant Serena."
"Understood, Lieutenant Serena," everyone said.
"Now," she said, "an explanation of the operation. It is not especially complex. The space pirates' base is in the Gamma Sector of the asteroid belt."
A map of the star system appeared onscreen to accompany Lieutenant Serena's explanation. Part of the asteroid belt was highlighted in red.
"Again, the mission is simple. The galactic police's armada will head there and destroy the enemy base. They are merely space pirates; their resistance will be futile. It will not take long."It seemed like she was not going to mention the Bellium Kingdom,in this briefing.
The mercenaries nodded or murmured their agreement.
Most Space pirates' found outside the Grand-Void were pathetic ships; they couldn't possibly resist the heavy cruisers and battleships the Imperial Army controlled.
The firepower, shields, and armor didn't even compare. Mercenary ships could occasionally take on galactic Empires under specific circumstances, but definitely not alone. On top of that, the Imperial Army had a whole armada of ships, all piloted by folks with extensive training. The space pirates wouldn't stand a chance, and this gave the mercenaries the confidence boost they needed to register, which wouldn't have happened if they knew the possibility of encountering enemy soldiers was incredibly high.
"As you all know, the Army's attack will be overwhelming but imprecise," Serena said. "They will destroy any ships that come their way, but some small and medium-sized ships will no doubt escape. That's where you come in, mercenaries."
Destroying large ships and their base would devastate the pirates, but their main forces were high-speed medium and small craft. If those got away, they could rebuild and cause trouble again. Hence sending out the mercenaries to mop up the remnants. You could look at it like cleanup, but in reality we were killing off their main forces. Either way, all that mattered to me was getting out alive and getting paid at the end of the day.
"How about the rewards?" one mercenary asked, reading my mind.
"Zero advance payment," Lieutenant Serena replied. "Upon completion of the mission, you will receive 50,000 Ener."
Wow, that was stingy. Okay, well, maybe the reward per ship would be a little better than the base rate.
"That comes with an additional 5,000 Ener for each small ship destroyed and 20,000 Ener for each medium-sized ship," Serena said.
"Naturally, you'll also get the bounty for each ship and rights to whatever they're carrying. And of course, we plan to destroy the large crafts ourselves."
Serena grinned. The mercenaries murmured, but it seemed their concerns were allayed.
"The strategy itself is simple, as well," Serena said. "All mercenaries will meet in the Gamma Sector and hide. The Imperial Army's fleet will attack head-on and destroy the pirates' base and large craft. When small and medium craft scramble to escape, you will ambush them. Take down anyone who tries to slip away, then the Army and Captain Monkey D Luffy and his Crew will join the army and join us in boarding the enemy hideout."as she said that my picture was enlarged and now was beside hers.
"Can I ask a question?"All eyes then turned to a large man with a mustache.
"Yes," Serena said. "Go right ahead."
He continued"Why is he the only one who is being asked to be part of the boarding team, I know I speak for everyone here in saying we would all like to be part of the boarding team as it gives us a higher reward, and don't you need the numbers"
Serena smiled and said, "Because we need quality instead of quantity, they are the strongest amongst you, all with a combat S grade, while the rest of you are only B grad or lower, and since the captain owes me a favor he has agreed to do that without the need of extra payment, he will only get the bounties of the pirates he kills on board."
"The battle is taking place a week from now, so in the meantime, rest, stock up on supplies, and we will meat up in a weak time"
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