I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary

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I locked on to one of them immediately and fired all four large-caliber pulse laser cannons.
The enemy ship’s energy shields were saturated easily and brought down.

『What the-!? The shields!?』

“That’s one down.”

I fired the large-caliber canister-shot cannons at the now-defenseless ship when we passed each other by, and its hull was immediately filled with countless holes.

These two cannons – alternatively called shotgun cannons – fired live rounds that scattered innumerable smaller submunitions, and packed quite a punch.
It was a fairly destructive weapon.
Its range was limited, but its destructive ability was quite high.
One shot was all it took to bring down a shield-less enemy ship and reduce it to swiss cheese.

“These shard cannons of yours are brutal as usual.”

“Calling them shard cannons is so old-fashioned.”

“Old-fashioned, he says…”

While we exchange pointless banter inside the cockpit, the flight assist system made the ship turn around, positioning us right behind the exposed rear end of the other enemy ship.

“Fire〜! Fire〜!”

I fired another volley of pulse lasers and brought down the enemy ship’s shield, destroying its main thrusters afterward.

『No! Stooo–』

“No way.”

I heard someone begging for his life through the comms and ignored it completely.
These damn pirates attack unsuspecting civilian ships, kill all the crew and rob everything valuable they’re able to find inside.
They also tend to capture civilian passengers for slave trade.
They’re not worth sparing.
Not one bit.

After losing their shield and main thrusters, the enemy ship got pelted by a merciless volley of pulse laser fire.
After getting hit by all four large-caliber pulse laser cannons, the enemy ship promptly exploded and was shot down.

“That’s two.
Next!”

“There are only two more enemy ships remaining… but it looks like they already turned tail and fled.”

Maybe they got terrified after we easily dispatched two of their comrades, so the two remaining ships chasing down the passenger cruiser hastily pulled away and escaped from the area.

“The hell! Don’t run, you bastards!”

『Don’t screw around! We’re not fighting a monster like you!』

One of the surviving enemy ships retorted back via comms.
Guess he’s one of the smarter pirates out there.
Oops, now’s not the time for being impressed.
We’re still a bit far from the passenger ship.
Can I make it?

“The pirates have activated their hyperspeed drives!”

“Make iiiiiiit!”

They’re nearly in range of our laser cannons.
Just a bit more……!

『Later, bastards!』

*Boom! The pirate ships turned into streaks of light after the sound of explosions and successfully escaped from the area.
It’s not impossible to give chase… but aiding the attacked passenger ship was more of a priority.

“Dammit.
They sure can run away.”

“It was an impressive escape for mere pirates.
We sometimes encounter guys like those.
Pirates who use their brains.”

“Those types are really troublesome……”

We could have shot them down if we managed to get them within range of our weapons, but it looks like this time’s a bust… It’ll be a different story if we had weapons sporting even greater range than the pulse laser cannons though.
Something like a large-caliber electromagnetic rail cannon perhaps.

“Oh well.
Please connect us to the passenger cruiser.
If their navigation systems are fine, we’ll proceed to recover the loot from the destroyed pirate ships.”

“We’re not obligated to escort them back after all.”

It sounds a bit cold, but that’s how it is.
It’s not like we accepted a request to guard the passenger ship, so we’re not obligated to look after them.
But it still depends on their affiliation and their following demands.

In this world, mercenary ships that manage to pick up a distress signal are obligated to lend aid if possible.
But the extent of that aid can be somewhat negotiated.
It would be through the distressed party offering additional remuneration and rewards.

The compensation amount would largely depend on the number of passengers and valuables present on a ship, but a medium-sized passenger cruise ship was certainly a promising prospect.
It can be said that we were unfortunate to have been involved in such an incident just after arriving at this star system.
But it can also be considered a lucky break – monetarily speaking, that is.
That’s how we mercenaries earn a living.

『This is the Koueimaru.
We’re a civilian passenger ship affiliated with Inagawa Technology.
We’re grateful for your help.』

We picked up a reply from the comm line Mimi connected.
The Koueimaru of Inagawa Technology? A Japanese company? It’s written in katakana, but the name ‘Koueimaru’ can also be written in kanji.

“We’re glad you’re OK, Koueimaru.
I’m Captain Hiro; a mercenary affiliated with the Mercenary Guild.
What’s the status of your ship?”

『The life-support systems are alright, but our propulsion systems got done in.
Would it be possible for you to guard us until the system military patrol arrives?』

So they want us to guard them until the imperial patrol arrives huh.
If the ship were a bit smaller, Krishna could have towed it to the colony.
But it seems impossible with that size.
It looks like we don’t have any choice but to wait for a military ship to tow them instead.

“Can we take that as an official request? How about the compensation?”

『Yes.
Inagawa Technology will pay you the appropriate compensation.
I’m truly sorry for being unable to tell you a definite amount, but rest assured that I will immediately forward it to the head office once the request is completed.
I do not have direct authority to decide the compensation amount you see.』

Well, I guess he really isn’t given authority to decide even if he’s the ship’s captain.
I turned towards Elma who silently nodded in assent.
It looks like she doesn’t have any problems with those arrangements.

“I understand.
We accept the request and will begin guarding your ship.
The request will be considered completed once the military patrol arrives.
The rewards for both the earlier rescue action and subsequent guarding of your ship will be paid by Inagawa Technology.
Do you agree to these terms?”

『That would be fine.』

“Well then, we’ve reached an agreement.
Mimi, please keep a record of the earlier conversation.”

“Yes!”

Mimi spiritedly responded.
Alrighty then.
Might as well salvage the loot from the pirate ship wreckages while we wait for the imperial military patrol to arrive.
But, since we shot them down in the middle of attacking a ship, I’m not expecting much loot anyway.