Chapter 63
"Heh. We've finally made it this far, Kait Crouch."
'Honestly, going this overboard just to target me alone, Prosecutor MacDonnell.'
A massive fleet, enough to fill the entire field of vision, surrounded a single ship.
The infamous combat ship, Queen Bee. A devil born on Earth who made the Federation dance to her tune and drew them to her side. It was the pinnacle of combat ships, piloted by Kait Crouch.
At first, the people of the Federation were deceived, but through patient persuasion and explanation, they finally came to understand what was right. Though Kait Crouch gradually lost allies, he continued scheming with the few who still blindly believed in him to maintain his position—but that would soon end.
"All your biological records have been erased. Once we bury that ship, the devil born of Earth will vanish from this world forever."
'Is that so.'
Even though he was cornered, Kait Crouch's demeanor remained unchanged. Nonchalant and irritating.
A villain should act like one and at least beg for their life in disgrace.
"Any last words? I'll let you leave them behind, just this once—as the death throes of the great criminal who toyed not only with Earth, but the entire universe."
'Not really. I'll live as long as I can, and when the end comes, I'll die laughing. So yeah, I'll resist to the very end!'
"So that's your final word, huh. All units, commence attack!"
Responding to the command, the surrounding fleet began their attack all at once.
Convinced of her archenemy's absolute death, Lucia allowed herself a smile for the first time in years—
***
'Hey, how long are you gonna sleep? Get up and get to work, you dumbass.'
"—Huh!?"
Blub-blub—bubbles gushed out from her mouth.
When she opened her eyes, a distorted green landscape came into view.
The water level was receding toward her feet. After spitting out the vile-tasting solution left in her mouth, she asked,
"W-where am I...?"
"Obviously, in a resurrection pod. You died again, didn't you?"
"No way!?"
A room she was becoming all too familiar with. She remembered being told by a senior at the Corporation that getting used to this place was a bad sign. The resurrection room. However, this wasn't the same one she'd first been revived in. This one was installed on the flagship Vovrimos.
It was a punishment imposed on employees who acted against the Corporation's interests—cleaning the outer hull of Vovrimos using a dedicated ship.
The task was waived while Vovrimos was in motion, but most of the time, the flagship remained docked at the Corporation's headquarters. The biggest drawback of this punishment was the lack of breaks and the meager pay.
"Heard you crashed into a small asteroid this time. You're really slow, huh."
Meteblin, the frog-faced staff member of the resurrection room, looked down on her as he spoke. Lucia wanted to argue back, but bit her lip in anger and humiliation.
Meteblin was one of the Corporation's top fighters. Even with some modifications, challenging him would only result in a swift defeat. He supposedly served as the President's bodyguard when the flagship was active, but normally, he was an insufferable, sarcastic man.
After several failures, Lucia had stopped resisting this frog-faced man.
"It's the ship's fault. You guys gave me a piece of junk and expect me to overwork it, right? I know all about your malicious schemes!"
"Don't be stupid. There's no way the President would stoop to something so petty."
"Then why do these accidents keep happening!?"
"Because you're slow."
Insults alone wouldn't provoke this man. Even when she hurled abuse at him, Meteblin just brushed it off. After all, even the Corporation's President had been easily swayed by Kait Crouch's sweet talk. The same went for the bodyguards, so there was no reasoning with them.
She had to earn her freedom and organize a righteous grand fleet to defeat Kait Crouch. For now, this was her time to endure. Gritting her teeth, Lucia bore the humiliation.
"Well then, back to work. I'm heading out."
"We'll be deducting the resurrection and ship repair costs from your pay."
"Grrr...!"
One day, she would throw all this humiliation back at that man.
Holding onto that dark passion, Lucia headed for her ship.
***
"She's just spinning her wheels."
After Lucia left, Meteblin muttered while scratching what Earthlings would call his temple with a long finger.
Such an irritating Earthling. If not for his pride as a bodyguard, he might have made her use the resurrection pod a few more times already.
'What do you think, Meteblin?'
"Chief... It's no good."
The lead bodyguard must have confirmed that Lucia McDonnell had headed for her ship, as a communication came in.
While fiddling with his terminal, Meteblin let out a slow breath.
"I reviewed her subconscious thought patterns during resurrection, and this time too, she was dreaming of cornering Captain Kait with a grand fleet."
'You mean that thing where they surround the Queen Bee with countless ships?'
"Yeah. That would only lead to friendly fire, though."
People who had never experienced combat with ships or fleets often fantasized about such scenes. The grudge from her home planet, and the recent space eel incident in the Namibif star system—MacDonnell's resentment toward Captain Kait showed no signs of stopping.
"So, what do you intend to do?"
'Well, it's not like there's much we can do.'
"Right."
If her dangerous ideology didn't improve, there had been discussions of secretly erasing her, including her biological records. President Palnesbrogia would never approve, but the Corporation had staff who specialized in such tasks.
Meteblin and the Chief were part of that staff. Out of loyalty to the President and the Corporation, they had been eliminating internal threats without the President's knowledge. If reprimanded, they were fully prepared to take responsibility with their lives.
Well, in MacDonnell's case, the President might just forgive them.
In any case, while such measures were rarely enacted, they had been considered.
But they still hadn't been carried out. Why?
'She dies on her own even if we do nothing.'
"She really has no talent for piloting a ship."
Simply put, Lucia McDonnell had absolutely no aptitude for handling a ship.
'At this rate, the repair costs alone will wipe out her salary for a while.'
"Hmm."
'The budget's...'
The two of them held their heads in their hands, wondering if they should consult the President and assign her to another low-paying job.
***
"Damn it, damn it all! I won't forgive them, never!"
While working, Lucia vented her anger aloud.
She swore that one day she would make both the Corporation and the Federation kneel before her.
She never once considered that this might be a wish beyond her means.
Lucia McDonnell would never give up.
"Eh, no way. Kyaaaaaa!"
Her journey was still, still, still, endlessly far from over.