Chapter 65
Even the Federation, regarded as the largest organization in this galaxy, controls less than half of it.
The reason isn't so much the limits of the Federation as an organization, but simply that there aren't enough intelligent beings affiliated with it. Given enough time, the Federation will continue expanding, and one day it might encompass the entire galaxy.
But that "one day" is still a distant future.
For now, there are still many places beyond the Federation's reach. And among them are intelligent beings who have developed their own cultures.
***
The ironclad spaceship Tortoise is an extremely sturdy vessel manufactured by Janatirella Corporation.
Its turning performance and hull durability are exceptional, but in exchange, it's slow and has almost no space for weapons. Instead of arming the ship, the Tortoise is equipped with boosters to increase speed, leaving it with zero offensive capabilities. They gave up on ship-based combat fairly early on due to lack of funds to buy weapons.
In exchange, they had a crew member capable of firing a shot powerful enough to sink even a ship.
That's right, the self-proclaimed Galactic Viper.
"Damn it. Persistent, aren't they?"
Viper and his partner, the girl, are currently being pursued.
Criminal trading company Tarlmache. It's the corrupt corporation Viper was sold to after being dumped by his former organization.
The company president of Tarlmache has a hobby of gourmet cuisine—or perhaps grotesque cuisine. This time, he bought Viper to taste the flavor of an Earthling, which has become a galactic rumor.
According to what the girl heard, Viper wasn't sold as food by his former organization. They merely agreed to transfer an Earthling, but upon later hearing he was being treated as food, they hastily approved her infiltration.
However, officially, he's considered exiled from his former organization. For the two of them, there's no place to return to.
"Can't be helped. No way a grotesque gourmet like Tarlmache would allow multiple failures. We're desperate here."
Three ships are in pursuit. One of them has an Earthling aboard. The man who first called for their surrender identified himself as Carlos. When they refused, he hurled some rather eccentric insults. He was half-crazed as he shouted their circumstances, so it's easy to see why they're dead serious.
"If they don't bring us back, he'll end up as Tarlmache's dinner, right? Gives me the chills."
"And since he can be resurrected after death, he'll be served up as many times as Tarlmache feels like. No way I'm letting that happen to me."
Of the three ships, two are essentially assigned to monitor and capture Carlos and the Tortoise.
It's not that they don't sympathize with Carlos, but being locked in Tarlmache's pantry is far worse.
"......Alright, charging complete. Which one should we aim for?"
"Take the one on the right, boss."
"Got it!"
The Tortoise has three hatches that serve as entry and exit points. Viper opens one on the ceiling and exposes only his upper body to space.
Naturally, he's wearing a suit for space activity. The only downside is that it hides his trademark blue outfit, but it won't be for long. Accepting that, he raises the Psionic Launcher mounted on his right hand.
"There!"
A green beam pierces the void. The ship visible on Viper's right is skewered straight through the center, halting its movement.
"Phew."
Without even confirming the result, he slides back inside.
The Psionic Launcher, which converts mental energy into light, is Viper's trump card, but firing it wears down his psyche. Additionally, the right fist it's mounted on evaporates from the recoil, so it can't be fired repeatedly.
Suppressing its power would prevent the fist from evaporating, but this time there was no room for that.
"Sorry, girl. I won't be able to fire again until my right hand heals."
"Yeah yeah, I know! While you're at it, lift your mood too, boss!"
The body modification performed on Viper was a technique known as the composite type.
It granted psychic powers, enhanced his physical strength, and gave him regenerative abilities near the level of full recovery. A dreamlike modification, but very few reach practical levels in all three aspects. Viper was a rare case where all three were reasonably functional.
That was the main reason the organization was reluctant to let Viper go.
There's no pain. His evaporated right fist gradually begins to reform.
"Whew...... I don't like shooting a fellow Earthling."
"Then are we running together? We're rootless wanderers with nowhere to go too."
"Yeah, true. First priority is escaping somewhere Tarlmache can't reach."
"Would be great if Captain Kait from the Federation showed up. Bet he'd fix everything in no time."
Among Earthlings taken in by groups outside the Federation, there are mainly three rumors about Captain Kait.
One: He's a destructive incarnation with terrifying power. His fierce battle with the Zanigariu Grand Fleet sent shivers through the underworld.
Two: A savior who rescues only Earthlings. Some organizations have even started exiling Earthlings out of fear of drawing Captain Kait's attention.
Three: A conman who sold out his home planet to join the Federation. The underworld is actively spreading this rumor.
Viper and the girl, once part of the underworld, know the second rumor is true.
But there are quite a few Earthlings scattered across the galaxy. They don't expect such a hero to conveniently come save them.
"Well, a man's gotta handle his own crises."
"You're a man, so you'll do it yourself. I'm a woman, so I'll just pray that Captain Kait comes to help."
"Cold as ever...... Alright then."
He opens and closes his reformed right hand. His mental energy hasn't fully recovered, but they don't have time to complain. The enemy ships are gradually drawing closer.
"Can't shake them off, girl?"
"Nope. They're closing in little by little. Looks like they've got some speedy ships."
Two ships remain. If they can sink one of the monitors, maybe they can negotiate with Carlos. Viper fits the Psionic Launcher onto his right fist and grabs the railing with his left.
As he opens the hatch, he sees a yellow glowing net being deployed and spreading.
"Capture net!?"
"Boss, shoot!"
"Goddamn it—!"
His mental energy hasn't recovered, but he thrusts out his right hand. The beam is thinner than before, but it slices through the net and even cleaves the enemy ship beyond it in two.
Viper feels his heart sink with a heavy thud. Not good.
The word "negotiation with Carlos" flashes through his mind. From Carlos's ship, another capture net is launched.
"Boss! Get back inside!"
"Yeah, got it."
He slides back in and shuts the hatch.
"Sorry, that was reckless."
"It's fine! But this is bad!"
The Tortoise is completely surrounded by the capture net. With no weapons, they can't destroy it.
"Boss, can you fire the Psionic Launcher?"
"Not right away. My fist's regeneration is still slow."
Viper's psychic power isn't as practical as the other two. The Psionic Launcher is fired more for romance than function, and he pushes himself to use it.
If they survive, they're definitely installing weapons. Viper made that decision, ignoring their budget.
"What should we do? At this rate, they'll disable the ship's functions!"
"Let's see......"
He checks the surroundings on the monitor. Then, his eyes lock onto one point.
"Girl. That planet...... the one on the second monitor."
"A planet with life on it. Oh, and a Federation battle fortress is monitoring it!"
This area is still outside Federation territory, but the Federation is proactive in observing life-bearing planets. If a battle fortress is dispatched, no organization would dare interfere. The Federation, being indifferent to external power struggles, ends up creating strange neutral zones.
Perhaps reading Viper's thoughts, the girl fires the boosters at full power in that direction.
"Don't head for the battle fortress. We'll be sunk for sure."
"I know. We're heading for the planet!"
If they enter the atmosphere, Carlos's ship might release its grip. Speed-prioritized ships tend to be fragile.
On the other hand, with the Tortoise's durability, a forced atmospheric entry isn't out of the question. Silently agreeing with the girl's plan, Viper braces himself for the turbulence.
"Make it in timeee!"
"Guuuuh......!"
The ship, which was being pulled back, is now being dragged forward by a strong force. They've entered the planet's gravity well.
Looking behind, they see Carlos's ship being dragged along toward them. Looks like it got caught in the gravity too. That's dangerous.
"Carlos! Let go of the net and pull back!"
'Shut up, you bastard! I'll never let go, not even if I die!'
"Hey, you'll die—"
The monitor screen turns bright red.
Just before his vision is swallowed by the shaking, he thinks he sees another ship beyond Carlos's.