I Reincarnated as the Captain of a Battleship in a Robot Anime, but at This Rate, I’m Going to Be Assassinated – Chapter 22

Chapter 22: The Story Has Changed, From Now On We Have No Choice But To Be Heroes
  “Can you determine our current sector?”
  
  Something incomprehensible and impossible to understand had happened, but the first thing to do was to confirm where they were. This would lead to grasping the overall safety of the situation.
  Beyond the reinforced glass was outer space. As Clart had said, this ship seemed to have warped.
  At the same time, Shougo requested a report on the internal status of the ship. Whether all personnel were still present.
  A sudden warp. Moreover, they were here now, despite having been outside the ship.
  Frankly, it was abnormal. It was possible that the other members who were supposed to be left behind were still there.
  
  “Based on fixed-star observation, we’ve been able to roughly determine our position.”
  
  The first report was sector information.
  As expected, it was Captain Faran, the navigator, who was in charge of this.
  He was originally supposed to be one of the members to disembark, but since he had been caught up in this situation, it seemed he would have to stay with them for a while longer.
  
  “It will take a little longer to determine our exact location, but we are at the edge of the Al Minar Sector.”
  “Al Minar…… ah, if I recall correctly……”
  
  Shougo made full use of Jowain’s knowledge.
  Apparently, that sector was scattered with planets of resource value. At the same time, it was famous as a tourist destination. There were two Earth-type planets, one of which had a warm climate year-round and also had oceans. It was a so-called resort planet.
  Therefore, it was also a sector where many ships came and went. It seemed they were currently off the main route, and even the resort planet in question was more than three days away from their current location by normal navigation.
  At the same time, it was also quite a distance from the sector where Byblos was located.
  By rough calculation, it would take one to two months by normal navigation. Even using warp, it would take two weeks.
  That’s right, Shougo and the others had completed a distance that should have taken several days in just one warp.
  
  “Was this ship’s warp drive that high-performance……?”
  “No, normally this would be impossible. However, it has happened.”
  
  Faran answered firmly. No matter the type of ship, there was a limit to warp distance. Depending on the distance, it was necessary to repeat warp multiple times.
  For a while, a subtle atmosphere flowed through the b*idge.
  But it was Anish’s voice that broke it.
  
  “H-hey, hey, hey! What’s going on, why did we suddenly warp, and why are we here anyway!? We were supposed to be outside!”
  
  She had finally grasped the current situation and started to make a fuss.
  
  “You’re being loud, little girl. Shut up for a bit.”
  
  Mark glared at Anish, who had started to make a fuss. Even he was understandably confused by this situation and was desperately trying to comprehend it.
  The high-pitched girl’s voice that interfered with his concentration was probably annoying.
  
  “S-sorry, Lieutenant! Look, Anish, calm down, we should be grateful that we weren’t thrown out into space……”
  
  Yuuki, who seemed to have grasped the situation somehow, tried to calm Anish down, but it wasn’t that easy.
  
  “Calm down, you say? It’s not that simple! We’re away from Byblos, strange things are happening…… what the h*ll is going on?”
  “Isn’t it Trismegistus’s, no, Thoth’s fault……?”
  
  Yuuki himself was also somewhat resigned.
  In response to this, the Thoth in question was floating in zero gravity, swimming. It was carefree.
  
  “Is it just me, or do I suddenly want to s*oot this thing with a pistol?”
  
  Shougo blurted out. There was no doubt that this thing had created this situation. It wasn’t just the Mirandora’s warp, it was clear that Thoth had done something regarding Percy, who had suddenly disappeared.
  Furthermore, the terrifying thing was that Thoth was a terrifying machine capable of long-distance warp on its own.
  
  “It would be better if you didn’t, wouldn’t it?”
  
  Clart said with a pale face.
  Of course, Shougo wasn’t serious. He understood that if this thing felt hostility, or rather, malice towards them, it would be the end.
  In this situation, Thoth held the power of life and death. Therefore, Shougo came to the conclusion that he might have to deliberately ignore Thoth.
  Besides, although he had various thoughts, there was something else they had to do. To that end, it would be easier to get it to cooperate by keeping it in a good mood.
  
  『Captain, it’s Kes.』
  
  A communication came in from Major Kes, who seemed to have been on the sub-b*idge.
  
  『Confirmation of the crew is complete. Zero missing persons.』
  “Hmm, thank you…… that’s certainly convenient.”
  
  It was a relief that there were no missing persons.
  
  “Well, whatever the outcome, we’ve managed to escape from Byblos, but I can’t be happy about it. I’m worried about Captain Lopes and the others, but I can’t question that old geezer about Trismegistus. Also, I’m concerned about Janet’s fleet’s movements…… I want to believe they won’t do anything rash.”
  
  He could only hope for the best in that regard.
  He had sought to alter the original story, but at this point, he didn’t know what to do.
  
  ‘No, wait…… in terms of the situation, how about we consider that we’ve simply taken the place of the destroyer Savona?’
  
  However, the destroyer Savona never came to the Al Minar Sector. In the first place, such a sector name never even appeared in the anime.
  That meant that the knowledge from the anime should be considered as a reference book, and from now on, he would have to think about everything from scratch, which would be troublesome.
  Even so, Shougo had grasped what he should do for the time being.
  
  “I don’t know what to say, the current situation is full of unknowns, but we will proceed as originally planned and spread Anferu’s misdeeds across the entire universe’s network. If we do this, at least we won’t be attacked by the Rebel Army…… If Captain Lopes and the others were here, we could have contacted the Rebel Army……”
  
  Depending on the circumstances, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were seen as having stolen Trismegistus and run away.
  As proof that this wasn’t the case, they should demonstrate their anti-New Balance stance.
  Fortunately, there was no radio interference in this sector. Furthermore, because it was a tourist planet, the network facilities were also of a high standard.
  It should be easy for Trismegistus to infiltrate this network.
  The only problem was whether Trismegistus would cooperate, and the fact that only Yuuki could operate it right now.
  
  “Well, there are many challenges, but we should do everything quickly……”
  “Um…… Captain.”
  
  Just as he was about to say that, Clart apologetically made a suggestion again.
  
  “……I don’t mean to be negative, but most of the reports you’ve given have been bad, haven’t they?”
  “I’m sorry. That’s my job. More importantly, there’s a distress signal. At the same time, a civilian shuttle is approaching our frontal course.”
  “A civilian shuttle? Hey, what’s going on? This is supposed to be off the route.”
  
  Faran checked the route map after hearing the report.
  He operated the terminal and displayed the map on the main monitor. Linked with the radar, the distress signal in question was displayed as a red light point on the displayed map.
  
  “A distress call? No, then what’s the reason for going off course?”
  “Teurugia reaction detected. Three units…… escorting the shuttle? No, this is……”
  “What is it? Explain clearly.”
  
  Because Clart was showing a perplexed expression, Shougo thought,
  At times like this, it’s definitely the enemy.
  So, while asking for information, Shougo winked at Mark. Mark nodded, zipped up his pilot suit, and left the b*idge.
  
  “Rifle bullet hit confirmed on the shuttle! It seems the thruster has been hit!”
  “Are they attacking civilians? Pirates?”
  “No, the Teurugia reaction is from the military!”
  “What do you mean!?”
  “I don’t know! But military Teurugia are attacking a civilian shuttle! What do we do!?”
  
  Everyone present looked at Shougo.
  
  “What else can we do!? What would it mean for us, who are trying to expose Anferu’s misdeeds, to abandon civilians!? Teurugia squad, emergency sortie! We’re going to be heroes! Really, is this a violation of military discipline, or……”
  
  The ship’s internal alert sounded after Shougo’s order.
  Operational actions were conveyed by various operators.
  
  “This ship will now head to the rescue of the civilian shuttle. Teurugia squad, scramble! The enemy appears to be regular soldiers.”
  “Um!”
  
  Yuuki and Anish were left behind as the ship became noisy.
  Then, Yuuki rushed over to Shougo.
  
  “What is it? We’re going into battle. Stay put here for a while.”
  “No, I think Trismegistus can incapacitate the enemy. If we sortie carelessly, we might provoke them.”
  
  That was an unexpected suggestion.
  
  “So, you mean…… you’re going to sortie too?”
  “Ah, no…… yes, that’s right. Civilians are being attacked, right?”
  “Yuuki!? What are you saying!?”
  
  Anish widened her eyes and made an expression of disbelief.
  
  “But, they’re being attacked?”
  “That’s true, but you don’t have to go!”
  “I can’t just leave them alone. Besides, I don’t want to make excuses like, ‘I couldn’t do anything even though I could have done something.'”
  
  Saying that, Yuuki turned to Shougo again.
  
  “Trismegistus might be dangerous. But we’re going to use it eventually, right? Then, I need to get used to handling it now, right?”
  
  That was true.
  Besides, things had started to move. Yuuki had already boarded Trismegistus and activated it. Whether he wanted it or not, the story had begun to progress.
  However, there was also the concern of whether it was a good idea to use Trismegistus, whose safety could not be confirmed in the current situation.
  
  “Rifle bullet hit confirmed on the shuttle! It seems the thruster has been hit!”
  
  The situation was changing.
  
  “Teurugia squad, scramble! Captain!”
  “Follow Lieutenant Mark’s instructions. Yuuki-kun, if you can’t control it, escape even if you have to force open the hatch. Understand?”
  “Wait a minute! Why are things proceeding on their own!? Yuuki is an a*ateur, so I should……”
  “Alright, alright! You go too! Get on board with him and support him! Hurry, the shuttle won’t last! Stop complaining and focus on helping people!”
  
  With that, Shougo pushed the two of them, taking advantage of the zero gravity.
  Yuuki, with a determined look on his face, and Anish, still bewildered, drifted into the passage. Anish seemed to be shouting something along the way, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. He intended to listen to her complaints later.
  And then he realized that Thoth was gone too.
  
  “I hope it’s not going to leave us behind and warp this time. And…… how well will this go?”
  
  There were two reasons why Shougo had allowed Yuuki to sortie.
  One was to see if Trismegistus could really be used. If it showed behavior that didn’t align with their intentions, everything would be over. It was to ascertain that.
  The other was the expectation that something would happen if Yuuki, the original protagonist, took action. It was a gamble with an unknown outcome, but there was no point in just standing by and doing nothing.
  He had no choice but to play his hand with the cards he had.
  If it succeeded, good. If it failed, it would be time to face the consequences.
  
  “Now…… why is the military attacking the shuttle in the first place……?”
  
  Beyond the reinforced glass, he could see the Teurugia squad sortieing.
  He also saw Trismegistus following behind.
  
  “Assuming it’s not a New Balance unit…… that’s concerning…… Can we establish communication with the civilian shuttle? We need to convey our intentions.”
  “Direct connection to the emergency line. Communication, open.”
  
  Displayed on the main monitor was a man who appeared to be the captain, bleeding from his forehead and seemingly unconscious. Next to him were a girl clinging to her seat with an anxious expression and a bespectacled maid comforting her.
  The girl had blonde hair with loose waves, looking like a “Ojō-sama” type. Not only that, Shougo didn’t know the girl, but Jowain did.
  
  “Eh…… Franny Ojō-san……?”
  
  The words came out unconsciously.
  He had never heard of a character named Franny. However, as Jowain’s knowledge flowed in, Shougo had one thing that came to mind.
  It was truly a trivial thing. A single frame in the anime, a scene that lasted less than a second.
  He had a feeling there was a similar face in a photo displayed on Commander Fauden’s desk.
  
  “C-Commander Fauden’s…… daughter!?”