The Bridge of a Super-Large Transport Ship

Patrice, rushing to the bridge after the alert, has slightly disheveled hair.

"Another space pirate attack?"

The man, a long-time transport ship captain for Newlands Trading Company, shakes his head in response to the question.

"It seems to be rebels."

"Rebels!? Why are they here? And I haven't heard about them having an army!"

The captain, in response to the question of how the rebels who had started an independence movement could have an army, answers with a prediction.

"The garrison force also recruits local residents. They're using old unified army weapons, but they're trained. If they still have control, they're more troublesome than those space pirate scum."

Although there were some space pirates who were ex-military, the longer they were away from army life, the less threatening they became.

An army relies on numerous forms of support, and without that, it becomes increasingly fragile.

However, since the independence movement was in its early stages, their morale would still be high.

They were incredibly troublesome.

In fact, unlike the space pirates, their ships had a sense of uniformity.

Patrice, checking the monitor, found a group unlike the others.

"Mercenaries? They've hired mercenaries?"

The captain had a difficult expression.

"We're monitoring the mercenary unit's movements, but they seem to be experienced. The remaining garrison units add to the problem. But the ambush is concerning."

Patrice clenched his teeth.

"This route was arranged by the Unified Government. They really pulled one over on us!"

They were planning negotiations with the Unified Government, and the route was also arranged by them.

The possibility of a betrayal by the Unified Government came to mind.

"Will the escort hold out?"

"It depends on the ability of the Banfield family, but numerically, they're at a disadvantage."

Patrice found it a headache that not only were there space pirates, but also rebels advocating independence.

"I hope the capable knight sent by that person is truly capable."

If Marie Marian couldn't break this situation, even if she survived, she would have no place in Newlands Trading Company.

Even if she returned to the Empire, she would only be killed.

Patrice could only watch the battle progress on the bridge monitor.

--------------

In the hangar of the flagship leading the escort fleet, Emma was boarding a small high-speed craft.

Emma was in a pilot suit, with two pistols holstered on her thighs.

They were prepared on both sides.

Heidy, Marie's deputy, came to see Emma off as she boarded the high-speed craft to return to the mothership.

"I'm sorry, but the Mobile Knights have no spare capacity. You must return in this. You're probably worried, but do your best."

Although it was called a small high-speed craft, it looked like a fighter jet.

After the Mobile Knights started fighting in the field, their numbers had decreased.

However, they were still used in some areas, so they were still in use.

"Thank you for everything."

Emma saluted, and Heidy, slightly surprised, returned the salute shyly.

It was probably because they didn't use salutes much among Marie's group.

"This is a message from Marie. Atalanta's pilot, if you want to have your way, prove your worth. It's not my words. Anyway, just try not to push yourself too hard."

"Yes."

Heidy left the small high-speed craft and the hatch closed.

Emma, alone, was slightly different from before she came here.

"I will follow my own justice, even if it's selfish, even if it's arrogant."

(Because that's how I can get closer to that person)

------------

Melea's hangar.

Russell, who had finished his deployment preparations, exited the cockpit hatch.

He was furious and yelling at those around him.

"What do you mean don't deploy? The deployment order is out!"

The reason Russell was so angry was that he couldn't deploy because he couldn't get permission from Melea's commander.

Even without the permission of the captain, who also served as the commander, he could deploy if he had Russell's authority.

However, it was pointless if the deployment preparations were not in place.

He could deploy by destroying the hatch of an allied ship, but doing so would mean he couldn't return to the mothership after the battle.

The maintenance crews around him exchanged glances and looked annoyed.

"Even so, we can't deploy until the order comes out."

"Those elites are too hot-blooded, it's a pain."

Russell clenched his teeth and went back to the cockpit.

Charl was dumbfounded in the cockpit.

'I want to check with the higher-ups about why they put us on this ship. Oh well, no special allowance this time. Boo hoo.'

Doug, watching his side, yawned and leisurely continued with his deployment preparations.

"No young mistress this time, so no deployment, huh."

Melea had moved to the rear after the attack.

Since Emma wasn't there now, there were few units trying to deploy in a hurry.

Larry had finished his deployment preparations and was sitting in the cockpit.

And Molly was...

"I rushed to get it ready, but I'm not sure it'll work in a real situation since it hasn't been adjusted yet."

She was looking at the new weapon prepared for Atalanta.

It was a pair of pistols, prepared at Emma's request.

Their distinctive feature was that blades were attached to the top and bottom of the barrel, parallel to it.

The blades were the length of a dagger from a Mobile Knight's perspective.

The grip was also movable, allowing it to be switched between a pistol and a dagger.

Molly put it in the holster she had prepared and forcibly attached it to the back of Atalanta's waist.

It was right then.

The ship shook slightly.

"Direct hit?"

Molly looked up, and Larry appeared from the cockpit.

"It must be debris. If it were a direct hit, the damage would be much greater. Still, why isn't the defensive field deployed?"

Larry complained, but Doug, who heard the news from the bridge, was frowning.

"Larry, your prediction was wrong. The cause is the young mistress. Apparently, she landed on the deck in a small high-speed craft. The bridge is in an uproar. They told her to wait for landing, but she ignored the order."

Hearing that, Larry sighed.

"What the hell is she doing?"

The atmosphere spread that Emma had failed again.

But then Emma arrived at the hangar, and she was different.

She was wearing a pilot suit and didn't seem apologetic for failing.

Instead, she was composed.

"Molly, are the weapons I ordered ready?"

Emma, arriving near Atalanta's cockpit, asked Molly about the condition of the aircraft.

Molly, a little intimidated by Emma's different atmosphere, was at a loss for words.

"U-um, the aircraft is fine. But, I prepared the equipment you ordered, but the holster is makeshift, so it might not hold up to repeated use."

Doug, seeing Molly struggling to answer, came closer.

"Young mistress, I understand your anxiety, but deployment preparations are..."

Emma grabbed Doug's chest and pulled him close, forcing him to look at her.

She sniffed his face, smelled alcohol, and frowned.

"You drank before deployment?"

"No, it's..."

Emma pushed Doug away, turning her back on him.

"Doug Warrant Officer, you don't have to deploy. Get sober and stay in the waiting area."

"What!?"

Doug, told not to deploy, contorted his face in anger at Emma's words.

Molly was flustered and couldn't intervene, so Larry came out of the cockpit.

"Hey, Captain. You can't come in late and act like that!"

Emma grabbed Larry and threw him away.

In the zero-gravity hangar, Larry spun around and hit a hangar pillar, struggling.

"Ouch! What the hell!?"

To Larry's shout, Emma said.

"I just kept the unprepared crew members waiting. Larry Warrant Officer, you haven't completed the training scheduled for you, have you? Head to the waiting area."

Emma's cold words made Larry remember the knight who had mocked him in the past.

Even though she was a knight, she was a vile person in human terms, and she always mocked Larry for not becoming a knight.

He overlapped the image of that knight with Emma.

"Are you saying knights are so great!?"

The Melea crew, who had gathered to hear the commotion, glared coldly at Emma.

Russell and his crew also appeared from the cockpit.

Russell was looking at Emma with a serious expression.

Charl, on the other hand, was enjoying this situation.

"Oh dear, you've made the mothership's crew dislike you. I hope they don't plant a bomb on the aircraft."

A pilot who made enemies of the maintenance crews wouldn't end well.

Especially here in Melea, a group that didn't function properly as an army.

Charl, seeing Emma's actions as short-sighted, enjoyed imagining what would happen next.

However, Emma didn't apologize to Larry.

"You're mistaken, Warrant Officer. I'm a Lieutenant, your superior. Besides, you're the one who caused the reason for not being allowed to deploy."

"You're just like the other knights. You're a no-gooder who mocks and looks down on others!"

To Larry's complaint, Emma might have been downcast in the past.

But now, she was different.

She spoke boldly, not only to Larry but also to the Melea crew.

"Who's looking down on others? You don't follow the rules, yet you still receive benefits and pay. You don't do what you should do, but you complain like you're all-knowing. You act like you have absolutely no fault at all."

"!?"

Larry, surprised as he hadn't expected to be told this, opened his eyes wide.

Emma turned her gaze to Doug.

"If you saw your past selves, you'd surely despise them. You're the same as the upper echelon you hate."

As soon as Emma said that, she went into the cockpit.

Doug, watching her leave, clenched his teeth and clenched his fist.

He must have wanted to say something back.

But he couldn't, so he punched a nearby container.

Molly flinched, but neither Doug nor Larry seemed to care.

The Melea crew also glared angrily at Emma, but they were shocked to be told that they were the same as the old military upper echelon who had tormented them.

Charl, watching, sighed.

"That's it? It's kind of boring."

Charl, who wanted to see more muddled scenes, agreed with Youm.

"I thought it would turn out worse."

Russell was slightly surprised by Emma's change.

He then returned to the cockpit.

"The Melea crew has degenerated to the point of being not able to reflect on themselves. It's to that extent."