Chapter 79
As Kait watched the ship carrying Segari Gug depart, a familiar vessel flew into view, cutting into his line of sight. It was the Queen Bee.
'Captain, good work out there.'
"You finished your side, Emotion?"
'Yes.'
That was good to hear. As he shifted his gaze, he saw the Tortoise approaching.
From the top of the Tortoise, a man he was growing tired of seeing leaned out. He seemed flustered and was trying to shout something this way.
"Hey, Captain! They're getting away!"
"It's fine. I let them go."
"I can shoot them down—just leave it to me!"
"Don't. Now's not the time for that."
Kait stopped George, who was yelling with the Psionic Launcher on his right hand. George didn't seem to understand why he was being stopped, but he didn't try to force it. Since Kait had promised to return them safely, he couldn't allow George to fire.
"To protect this planet's environment, I allowed their retreat. We have an obligation to send them back safely."
"You're being too soft. They won't appreciate it."
"That may be true, but a promise is a promise."
To Kait, preserving Traltan 4's ecosystem was more important than the lives of that group. According to his estimation, it was still too early for George to use the Psionic Launcher.
Come to think of it, he hadn't confirmed why Segari Gug's name had sounded familiar. In times like this, Emotion was reliable.
"Emotion. Can you tell me Segari Gug's charges?"
'Yes, Captain. Segari Gug was affiliated with a human trafficking organization and committed massacres to inflate the rarity of the species being sold. There are records of these acts.'
"That's heinous. So the Federation isn't the only one after him."
'Correct. He's wanted by the Federation, the Corporation, and four other organizations.'
So he was basically a VIP in the criminal world. That being the case, there's no way Tarlmache would come with just one ship to capture him.
As he sensed his prediction coming true, he watched the ship shrink to the size of a speck, not missing even the slightest anomaly.
'Are there Tarlmache ships outside this planet?'
"Yes. They're in a standoff with the artificial planet Traltan's fleet."
"...That's the worst-case scenario."
No good. Almost at the same time as he became certain that the worst had come true, he saw something peel off from the ship. Nine times out of ten, it was a physical silencing measure aimed at them.
"Emotion. Projected trajectory of the falling objects."
'Understood.'
"George!"
Kait jumped onto the Queen Bee's pedestal and floated the ship right beside the Tortoise.
George's eyes widened when he realized the ship wasn't being operated from inside, but now wasn't the time to explain.
"There are objects falling from the ship. Can you see them?"
"Falling objects? ...Yeah, I see them now. There's quite a few."
"Sorry, but I need all of those destroyed before they hit the ground. I need your help."
Detaching the Worker Bees from the hull, they deployed to block the trajectory Emotion indicated.
'Captain. Scanning of the falling objects is complete. They're destruction warheads. They disassemble anything they touch, so they're a bad match with the solid Worker Bees.'
"Can we prevent ground damage with layered deployment?"
'There are seven warheads. With the current number of Worker Bees, it's impossible. I request Mr. George snipe them with the Psionic Launcher.'
"That's the situation. Can I count on you?"
"Seven shots? I think it'll be tough to shoot them all down..."
The Psionic Launcher was a beam gun powered by the user's mental energy. According to what George had told him before Carlos was rescued, firing it at full power would cause the user's hand to burn off from the recoil. Apparently, it didn't hurt because the pain was blocked, but the hand and mind would be unusable until they recovered.
Depending on the user's mental fortitude, it could even destroy a ship, but due to its nature, it wasn't suited for rapid fire. That's the kind of weapon it was.
They had considered taking turns using it if it came to that, but losing a hand was undesirable. Kait's body modification didn't include regenerative capabilities strong enough to restore lost limbs.
"Emotion. What's the analysis on George's Psionic Launcher?"
'It's complete. Shall I disable the limiter?'
"Limiter!?"
'Yes. Unlike the Captain, Mr. George's psychic power has a low energy coefficient. The internal mechanisms compensate for that. That's why the recoil generates enough heat to burn off his hand.'
Why was George more surprised about the limiter than Kait? Maybe he hadn't been told about it. If so, then someone had intentionally withheld that information.
The destruction warheads were getting closer. The Worker Bees deployed at the highest altitude made contact with each warhead. They held out for a while with their barriers, but once those were disassembled, they were breached. Maybe they bought fifteen seconds.
That said, resetting the gravitational acceleration was a big win. As he moved the next set of Worker Bees, Kait checked with Liz.
"Ms. Talmira. What's the limiter's function in the Psionic Launcher?"
'...If you disable the limiter, I think it will prevent the body from burning due to heat exhaust. However, the required mental energy will increase dramatically. I can't support disabling the limiter.'
"W-What!? You knew about this, girl!? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Let's leave it at that. I didn't tell you because it might've caused you irreversible emotional damage. I'm a good partner, aren't I?"
"But still...!"
"Emotion. If we disable the limiter, how many seconds can George hold out?"
'About five seconds, I'd say.'
"Then that's all we need."
Kait didn't doubt Emotion's judgment. They just had to shoot down all seven warheads within five seconds.
"Alright then, George. We'll disable the limiter for now. Let's shoot down all seven within five seconds."
***
Shooting down seven warheads in five seconds. There were a few possible strategies.
One. Keep firing for five seconds and guide the arm to destroy the warheads during that time.
Two. Fire in bursts and shoot down all seven.
Three. Wait until they're close enough for safe targeting, then shoot.
"...Each one is risky on its own."
Option one. If the aim is off even slightly, it's over. No second chances.
Option two. Not sure if he can manage precise full-power bursts.
Option three. If he misses even once, it's fatal.
"I-I'll do it!"
"Well, we'll do what we can to make it easier. Emotion, can you disable the limiter now?"
'Understood. Interfacing with the Psionic Launcher.'
'P-Please wait!'
Liz screamed, but Kait deliberately ignored her. Emotion maneuvered out of the ship and carried the launcher to George using the Worker Bees.
In the meantime, Kait gave instructions to the remaining Worker Bees. Those positioned along the warhead trajectories moved all at once.
As they interfered with the descent, they adjusted the angle to guide the warheads onto a path that brought them closer to the Queen Bee and the Tortoise.
Ideally, they'd have the warheads collide with each other, but that was too much to hope for. Right now, better was good enough.
"O-Oh... I feel like I'm being sucked dry...!"
"Stay focused. I got them as close as I could. The rest is up to your aim."
The warheads were now very close. Even from the Queen Bee, which was near the surface, their shapes were clearly visible.
"Alright, I can do this...!"
"Fire!"
George roared as he aimed the Psionic Launcher. But his voice was drowned out by the thunderous blast and didn't reach Kait's ears.
A pure white light burst from the barrel. Swinging his arm in a wide arc, he swallowed up one warhead after another.
'All warheads destroyed! No misses!'
"Oof."
'Sir!?'
As Liz shrieked, the beam stopped, and George's arm dropped with a thud.
'Beam duration: exactly four seconds. Mental values are unstable, but his life is not in danger.'
'T-Thank goodness...'
Even in a moment like this, Emotion's calm voice seemed to be a great comfort to Liz.
As George, who would need time to recover, was brought back into the ship, Kait turned his gaze to the ground.
"This planet is safe thanks to you. You did well, Galactic Viper."
Now, all that was left was to settle the score.