Episode 39 – The Princess and the Knight

One of the facilities installed in the fortress external spaceport is a naval launch facility.

The equipment is designed to give the departing ship a high initial speed, combining two rails with a tractor beam and a gravity control device to provide a super acceleration that the ship’s own propulsion system cannot provide.

The Dragoon class destroyer was on its launch pad. It was a reconstruction of the appearance of the lost Dragoon. It was made based on Setsuko’s memory, so he wasn’t sure how much of it was the same as the real thing, but as far as he could tell, it was almost identical.

Setsuko climbed into the pilot’s seat of the Dire Vaid II and sank into the seat. The pilot’s seat is equipped with a connection crystal, but Setsuo can’t handle it, so he didn’t even touch it.

In the co-pilot’s seat sat an android with the same face as Mitsuki. She had her hair styled in twin tails so that she could be distinguished from Mitsuki.

Her name is Satsuki.

“Satsuki, are you ready?”
“We’re ready to go.!”

A cheerful voice came back. The voice should be the same as Mitsuki’s, but the tone was different and the impression was quite different.

“Then let’s go.”
“Yes, sir. Clear course and execute launch sequence. Launcher energy good, gravity control good, tractor beam good. Condition all green. Firing in ten seconds.”

The countdown goes on.

“Launch in three, two, one, fire.”

The Dia-Vide II began to slide with acceleration. The passengers could only feel a faint acceleration. This was the result of gravity control.

It took only five seconds to run between the rails of the one-kilometer launcher, and the Direwild II leapt into the void.

“Firing complete. We’ve shifted to full acceleration by the main propulsion system. We’ll go to warp as soon as we’re out of the warp blockage zone.”
“Thank you. So, how are the results of your investigation coming along?”

An investigation is an investigation into a kidnapping.

“The kidnappers are from the Glorious Fleet. The kidnapper is a pirate ship belonging to the Glorious Fleet called the Honeymoon of the Void, captained by a man named Roussette Quark.”
“Glorious Fleet?”

The Glorious Fleet is a fleet made up entirely of Vee’s old subordinates. Why would that be the case for a kidnapping?

“There is no unusual activity on the other ships in the Glorious Fleet as of yet. From the transmissions that have been going around, it seems that some of the more intuitive captains have noticed something unusual, but there hasn’t been any commotion, and the crew seems to be playing as usual.”
“You mean a single ship gone wild? What’s Vee been up to lately?”
“Admiral Glorious has been out of the system for five days.”
“Hmm, that’s a little hard to judge.”

Even if he is not here, he can still give instructions. I don’t think he’s the kind of man who would betray us, but it may be too early to judge.

“Was there anyone who knew or noticed that Her Highness was there?”
“His Highness’s visit was only shared with Her Highness, Sister Mitsuki and the rest of the fortress management AI within our military, so there can be no leak. Her Highness didn’t move around much, and she never took off her disguise outside of her room.”
“Could be from the Dawn Cannon side, or the Empire itself.”
“I can’t deny it, sir. We’ve been monitoring all conversations within the outer spaceport and communications within the system, but we haven’t found any relevant conversations or communications.”
“I mean, it turns out I don’t really know.”
“That’s right. However, the Honeymoon in the Void had all its crew on board four hours before the kidnapping took place.”

It seems certain that it was planned.

“Is it possible that you kidnapped her without knowing she was Her Highness?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny.”

In other words, there is no information to judge.

“Oh, dear.”

Settsu crossed his arms.

Captain Vernante of the Dawn Cannon was also on board with Meilia, so the Dawn Cannon made it a point to rescue the captain.

In addition to the Cannon of Dawn, the Glory of Black Silver and three other pirate ships selected by Kitty are in pursuit of the Honeymoon in the Void.

“What a nuisance to come in here and get kidnapped, Your Highness.”
“According to the lore of the Earth Federation, people with the status of princesses and princesses were often kidnapped, so I guess you could say she’ s fulfilling her role.”
“…… What’s with the nasty lore?”
“They say it’s a set of a kidnapped princess and a knight or hero who rescues her.”
“Is that my role?”
“It will be.”

Settsu sighed at Satsuki’s reply.

“Satsuki, that’s not a funny joke.”

The small boat that was kidnapped had two people on it, Meilia and Vernante.

They had been kidnapped as they left the fortress in a small boat to transfer to a ship to share and review what they had seen and heard over the past three days.

The “Honeymoon in the Sky” approached the small boat at a speed fast enough not to accidentally hit it, and fired a sticky Trimochi round at it. It then attached the small boat to the hull of its own ship.

Vernante called out over the comms, but there was no response from the Honeymoon in the Sky. The Honeymoon in the Sky warped in and out with a small boat attached to its hull.

It was only after they had traveled through interstellar space at warp that they were able to talk to each other. Finally, there was a response to their transmission.

“Is Her Highness Meilia there?”

Captain Quark of the Honeymoon in the Sky asked me that first.

“What are you talking about, Captain?”

Vernante tried to play it off, but Captain Quark gave him a look that said he knew.

“I’ve got information. I know you’ve been using aliases like Maia-Revel.”
“Well, if you know, there’s no point in hiding it.”

Meilia decided to admit it. She removed her sunglasses and wig and faced Captain Quark on the communications screen.

“Oh, my God. It’s really Her Imperial Highness!”

Captain Quark showed his surprise at the bar.

“No need to act all white. Who seduced you into doing this?”
“Ha-ha-ha. I can’t tell you that.”

Quack is the only one who doesn’t realize that being seduced is an admitted word.

“Oh my. Isn’t this the place where you’re going to teach me a lesson?”
“It’s too early to give him a souvenir. The pursuers were quicker than I expected, and my plans went very wrong.”
“What’s the plan?”
“There are a lot of people who want her, and it’s better to pay for her than to kill her.”
“Well, that’s scary.”

Meilia covered her mouth with her hand and showed it. This is also a white acting.

“That plan is dead, though. I’m afraid it can only be used to buy our safety.”
“I see.”

Meilia nodded. The radar of the small boat also shows that there are ships that are tracking us. One of them was the Dawn Cannon. It’s not as if Quark is giving up too soon, but Meilia and the others are the ones who are in trouble for not giving up soon enough, so they decided not to say anything.

“Stay quiet, and I’ll let you go before too long.”

After saying that, the communication was cut off from Quark’s side.

“…… Your Highness”
“Yes, it seems that someone tried to seduce him into killing me. Thank God the captain is an idiot.”
“Who the hell is that?”
“He will be the one who benefits from my death here. And one who could figure out that I visited the fortress on the Dawn Cannon.”
“I wonder if my crew is involved.”

Meilia looked a little thoughtful at Vernante’s concern.

“I’m sure the captain is not happy about this, but we may not be able to deny the possibility. It seems that their hands are much wider than we had previously thought.”

Vernante’s expression was austere.

While he couldn’t deny Meilia’s words, he couldn’t help but be amused at the thought of the possibility that his own men were betraying the Empire.

“However, that pursuit is far from over, isn’t it? First, let’s see what His Excellency Settsu Vaile has in store for us.”
“The stakes are our lives? It’s a high stakes game.”
“Oh, Captain. What do you think you’re saying now?”

Meilia pointed out that Vernante’s words were not exactly what she had in mind.

“Isn’t our life on the table, gambled away long ago?”