I Reincarnated as the Captain of a Battleship in a Robot Anime, but at This Rate, I’m Going to Be Assassinated – Chapter 10

Chapter 10: I Can’t Move Forward Thinking About Someone Who Wasn’t in the Original Story
[space_man][space_man]”Confirmation that all Teurugia units have withdrawn from the line of fire!”
[space_man][space_man]”Planet Killer set on the Mass Driver, complete!”
[space_man][space_man]”Relative distance is good! However, we are being affected by the gravitational field anomaly. Various instruments are malfunctioning!?”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Shougo is momentarily overwhelmed by the rapid-fire reports from his subordinates, who are professionals in their fields.
[space_man][space_man]He bites his lip, a sharp pain shooting through him. It seems his unconscious tension had stiffened his body, but the pain brings him back to his senses.
[space_man][space_man]If he hesitates here, the enemy ship’s sniper fire will come flying in through the opened firing lane. They must be aiming.
[space_man][space_man]He can’t let his guard down for even a second.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Fire!”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Just a short command. Shougo gives the order.
[space_man][space_man]Mass Driver. It refers to the electromagnetic catapult attached to the starboard side of the diamond-shaped hull of the ship. Its original purpose is to launch mobile weapons that require long-distance acceleration into the airspace and to transport containers, but the Planet Killer also needs it to be launched. One reason is that it doesn’t have the shape of a missile or anything like that, but also because this is the safest and fastest way to launch it.
[space_man][space_man]If it were to be stimulated by flammable materials or the like, it could be detonated, or there is a risk of interception in the first place.
[space_man][space_man]In that respect, the Mass Driver, or in other words, a railgun, cannot be easily dodged, depending on the relative distance.
[space_man][space_man]Especially if it’s a massive battleship.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]The Planet Killer is launched along with its cargo container. It has a diameter of only fifteen meters. And it is launched with a single electromagnetically accelerated blow.
[space_man][space_man]How many seconds have passed since then? At the same time as the Planet Killer is launched, an enemy ship’s beam grazes past the Mirandora. It seems to have been deflected by the influence of gravity as it approaches the planet, but this shot is probably a feint. Or maybe it’s a stray shot for fine-tuning that doesn’t matter if it misses.
[space_man][space_man]In other words, the finishing second shot is coming.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’Don’t come, don’t come……! ‘
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Shougo’s heart races. Something that’s neither sweat nor cold sweat, but something in between, is slowly drenching his body. He clenches his jaw so tightly that he feels like his back teeth might shatter.
[space_man][space_man]In an instant, a dazzling light reflects on Shougo’s retina. The knowledge that the anti-flash defense filter applied to the windows of battleships and the like prevents eye pain from this flows into his mind, albeit belatedly.
[space_man][space_man]At the same time, a distorted black darkness explodes on the enemy ship. It’s the Planet Killer’s gravitational anomaly. It’s not a black hole, but something close to it is attacking the enemy ship.
[space_man][space_man]The hull is crushed, torn apart, and explodes, transforming into scrap metal.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Electromagnetic interference incoming. Data link lost.”
[space_man][space_man]”Radar unusable. Commencing restoration work.”
[space_man][space_man]”Internal life support system activated. Switching to auxiliary power source.”
[space_man][space_man]”……Currently, our ship is offline. Based on the last confirmed information, the enemy ship appears to have been annihilated, but……”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Of course, that’s not all. The effects of the Planet Killer’s explosion have reached the Mirandora as well. The shock wave is manageable because it’s a battleship. There are minor vibrations, but not enough to make one feel sick. However, various energies like gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves are causing malfunctions in the ship’s electronic equipment.
[space_man][space_man]Originally, the bombardment was supposed to be carried out from a greater distance. Now, in reality, the ship’s navigation is temporarily impossible.
[space_man][space_man]It will take about ten minutes to recover. If any surviving enemy mobile weapons launch a suicide attack during this time, it’s all over, but…… it seems that’s not a worry.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]One of the Teurugia from the friendly forces, marked with yellow paint on its shoulder for impromptu identification, lands in front of the bridge and makes a hand sign.
[space_man][space_man]Shougo, who shouldn’t know such a thing, understands the content surprisingly well.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Enemy neutralized. Three prisoners captured. Our side, four units damaged, pilots are safe. I see……”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]After reading that, Shougo takes a deep breath and almost slides out of the captain’s seat. His body loses strength, and he slumps deeply into the chair.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”I see…… are we alive?”
[space_man][space_man]”Yes, we are alive. Somehow.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]It was the operator who had been communicating with him almost the entire time.
[space_man][space_man]Come to think of it, Shougo wonders what their names are and tries to activate Jowain’s knowledge, but perhaps because he’s tired, he can’t quite remember. It’s highly possible that Jowain himself has forgotten. He could probably figure it out by looking at their rank insignia, but for some reason, even that seems like a chore.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”We can launch a signal flare or a beacon, right? Have the Teurugia squad secure the perimeter. And hurry up with the ship’s restoration.”
[space_man][space_man]”Captain, due to the effects of the Planet Killer, warp travel to this sector will be impossible for a while, but……”
[space_man][space_man]”Idiot. We can warp if we go to the opposite sector or create some distance.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Warp travel to the sector where the weapon was fired is only temporarily impossible; warp travel from other sectors is still possible. Of course, the margin of error will be greater, but even then, it won’t warp out inside a meteorite or the planet’s core.
[space_man][space_man]It’s a distance that a battleship can reach if it accelerates to its maximum. In other words, this situation is really just a temporary respite.
[space_man][space_man]Two or three days at most.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”Besides, I don’t want to be shot from behind.”
[space_man][space_man]”Behind?”
[space_man][space_man]”Byblos. Ah, damn it, I’ll realize that later.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]He intended to say the last part quietly.
[space_man][space_man]He doesn’t think so, but if the Rebel Army suddenly launches an attack, it’s game over.
[space_man][space_man]The operator seems to have realized something from Shougo’s words and simply replies, “Understood,” and tries to initiate signal communication with the Teurugia squad.
[space_man][space_man]Is it Morse code? They seem to be communicating by flashing lights.
[space_man][space_man]While watching this, Shougo realizes that his throat is parched.
[space_man][space_man]The knowledge that drinks are always stored in tubes on each seat for hydration during battle flows into his mind.
[space_man][space_man]Shougo takes it out and sips the contents through the tube-shaped straw.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’……Sports drink, huh?’
[space_man][space_man]The taste is similar to that.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]”It’s lukewarm.”
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]It can’t be helped that it’s lukewarm. The preservation seems to be perfect, though.
[space_man][space_man]Anyway, he was able to moisten his mouth. Incidentally, it stings painfully on his bitten lip.
[space_man][space_man]And that brings him back to his senses again.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’I’d like to say it’s the peaceful end of episode one, but what will happen from now on? The original episode one was a battle inside the planet, but the planet is peaceful. That means the guys who were supposed to die haven’t died. So, the original pilot of the Trismegistus is also still alive. What happens to the protagonist? He was, if I remember correctly……’
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]He recalls the anime’s memories.
[space_man][space_man]It was supposed to be a typical story where the original officer dies in Jowain and the others’ attack, and the protagonist happens to board the mecha.
[space_man][space_man]The protagonist is not a soldier. He was working as an engineer, maintaining spaceships and such. Each planet also has Teurugia for security, but they are outdated. He was supposed to be maintaining those too.
[space_man][space_man]One of the members of that security force was the heroine.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’Right, right, and then, during the attack, the heroine, who had been excluded from the sortie pilots, was injured, and the protagonist who helped her escaped into the Trismegistus hangar……’
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Thinking back on it, there are a lot of things he’s forgotten.
[space_man][space_man]After all, it’s an old OVA anime.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’Because the injured heroine couldn’t move the mecha, the protagonist activated it, and the pilot registration was completed. It’s a classic, isn’t it?’
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]Because the protagonist boarded the mecha, the pilot registration was completed, and the story was that they had to go to the Rebel Army’s headquarters to cancel it. It’s a common anime development, but it certainly makes for an easy story.
[space_man][space_man]This registration, as explained in the dialogue, is apparently canceled if the pilot dies. Otherwise, cancellation requires large-scale equipment.
[space_man][space_man]In the main anime, the regular pilot died, so it became free.
[space_man][space_man]This part isn’t about convenience or anything, but if you think of it as a kind of “convention” in the development, it’s not that unnatural. Otherwise, the story wouldn’t start.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’……I don’t even really know who the regular pilot was.’
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]With the beginning of the story being disrupted in this way, one question also arises.
[space_man][space_man]It’s about the regular pilot who was nowhere to be seen. Was he a Rebel Army pilot?
[space_man][space_man]Come to think of it, the details around this weren’t particularly depicted in the anime. With this alteration of the original story, a fictional someone who existed but wasn’t depicted will appear.
[space_man][space_man]In the first place, someone must have transported the Trismegistus to this planet.
[space_man][space_man]If that’s the case, it would have to be a former New Balance soldier.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’Were they planning to explain it later? It ended rather abruptly, didn’t it……? Or maybe they decided there was no need to depict a pilot who was just going to die anyway.’
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]That’s the most troublesome thing.
[space_man][space_man]It might be fine in an anime, but this is reality now.
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]’But what’s bothering me is why the regular pilot in question was away from the Trismegistus. It’s weird for them to always be together, but…… with the scramble and all, and it being a newly captured model in the current situation, wouldn’t it be strange if they weren’t overly sensitive about it?’
[space_man][space_man]
[space_man][space_man]He might find the answers to those questions if he goes down to Byblos.
[space_man][space_man]This world where an episode one he doesn’t know has begun.
[space_man][space_man]Shougo has to figure out how he’s going to survive.