Chapter 84
As a start, Kait aimed the muzzle of the Psionic Launcher at the ship below and to the left that had fired at the Queen Bee. There was no special intent behind it. They had fired at him, so firing back seemed appropriate—that was all.
"Psionic Launcher, fire."
A soft white light was emitted from the muzzle.
The barrier deployed for defense, unfortunately, was of no use. It pierced through the barrier and the not-so-small battleship.
To avoid accidentally hitting a Federation ship, the light emission was kept brief. Still, it was obvious that the single shot was fatal.
An explosion from within began turning the ship into debris.
"Huh... It consumes less energy than I thought."
Realizing the strain on his body was less than expected, Kait turned the muzzle toward the next ship.
This time it was a ship approaching from the horizontal direction. Perhaps sensing the strength of the Queen Bee's barrier, it seemed to be planning to use its own hull as a kinetic weapon.
An enemy that disregards their own life is truly troublesome. Does the concept of life backups bring back such ancient and foolish tactics as viable options?
'Enemy ship approaching.'
"A bit late, huh?"
Calmly, he fired a second shot. The enemy ship, pierced straight through, exploded before it could crash into the Queen Bee.
Only the pressure from the explosion lightly shook the Queen Bee's barrier as an aftereffect.
As expected, the strain was minimal.
"...Could this be an incredibly energy-efficient weapon?"
'That's probably only true for you, Captain.'
Emotion's voice sounded exasperated.
Was it that George lacked aptitude, or that Kait's aptitude was exceptionally high? Emotion insisted it was the latter.
In any case, it was clear that this armament was a perfect match for both the Queen Bee and Kait. Especially since the Queen Bee's arms could easily detach and reassemble, there was no need to worry about mounting or dismounting.
"Alright, now that it's proven effective even against battleships, let's move on to capturing the ones who ran away early."
'What about the big one right in front of us?'
"What about it? The answer's obvious."
In response to Emotion's question, Kait replied with a cheerful smile.
"The big, clumsy one can wait. If we take it down first, the rest might rush into Traltan 4 in desperation."
***
"No way..."
It was larger than the one mounted on George's right arm, but there was no doubt about it—its shape was that of a Psionic Launcher. Seeing the weapon Kait's ship was using, Liz muttered involuntarily.
What was most astonishing was the rate of fire. Far more powerful than when George fired it, and it showed virtually no signs of energy depletion.
One shot, one kill. Each time a beam of light was fired from Kait's ship, another enemy ship nearby was destroyed.
"What... is going on?"
George, watching in stunned silence, forced out a raspy voice.
Was it because the ship had arms, or because the Psionic Launcher was being wielded so effortlessly? Or perhaps both?
The hairy creature who had brought the three of them here—who had introduced himself as Madoon—misunderstood their astonishment and nodded solemnly.
"As expected, fellow Earthlings are always surprised."
"Huh?"
"That weapon is a psychic armament used by the people of Terapolapaneshio on the battlefield, right? Third-Rank Citizen Kait (Enec Lagif) wields psychic power with a talent equal to or greater than that of the people of Terapolapaneshio."
"Enec Lagif?"
"Yes. Among the Federation's citizenship tiers, it is the third-highest level of rights. Third-Rank Citizen Kait... Ah, you Earthlings call him Captain Kait, don't you? His combat style deviates from the Federation's standard tactics and is truly exceptional."
"Captain Kait... the real one?"
Hearing Madoon's explanation, George's eyes widened. Carlos was just as shocked. Liz, who had somewhat suspected it, was not as surprised.
For George, who had been pretending to be the Galactic Viper, they had respected the misunderstanding that Kait was a Captain Kait cosplayer. If George hadn't said anything, Kait likely would have helped them as Captain Kait.
Then, Carlos began trembling violently. Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes as he collapsed to the ground.
"Thank goodness... I'm glad I misunderstood."
"Carlos?"
"If I'd known he was the real deal, Damian definitely would've come here too. If he'd shown up, I wouldn't have been able to stay calm."
"Ah."
George suddenly remembered. They had heard there was another Earthling. Since Kait hadn't brought him, he must have stayed with Tarlmache.
"Hey, man. That Damian guy—he was on one of the escaping ships, right?"
"Why do you ask?"
"W-Well... If he's on one of those ships, can Captain Kait really shoot...?"
Liz's question was a natural one for anyone familiar with Captain Kait's reputation. Known as the liberator of Earthlings, could he really shoot an Earthling who chose to fight against him?
"He will."
George's answer was full of certainty.
"Damian made his choice. He said he wouldn't go to the Federation. He chose to become part of Tarlmache, not an Earthling, not a Federation citizen."
That's why he'll shoot—without hesitation.
To Liz, George's tone somehow sounded tinged with sadness.
***
Meanwhile, Segari Gug was losing composure due to the overwhelming situation.
"Damn it, wasn't Captain Kait's ship supposed to have low firepower as its only weakness!?"
The countermeasures prepared by Tarlmache's analysis team had been rendered useless. Knowing that they might someday face Captain Kait and his ship, Tarlmache had abducted Earthlings and compiled all the observational footage available to devise plans.
As a result, it had been concluded that while his ship had great penetration power against mid-sized vessels, it lacked the firepower to take on massive battleships alone.
"Damn it, weren't we told that as long as we avoided ramming with large structures, we'd be fine!?"
Shouting in frustration at the absurdity before him, he scrambled to think of a solution.
Immense firepower and a barrier unfazed by their attacks—was it really possible to have both?
"That's it!"
A brilliant idea flashed through Segari Gug's mind.
Around him, allied ships were being destroyed one after another. He had to act fast—he hurriedly opened a communication line.
"Listen, he's defenseless while firing! Attack simultaneously from multiple directions!"
No matter how strong the barrier was, it couldn't possibly function while he was firing.
If other ships attacked from different angles while one was being shot at, they should be able to sink him before the barrier activated.
Perhaps convinced by the explanation, six of the ships not yet targeted aimed their cannons at Captain Kait's ship.
As they fired, a barrage of attacks surged in from all directions.
'Whoops.'
He thought he heard a voice say that.
Captain Kait's ship ceased fire and clearly took evasive action.
Good, the plan worked. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Segari Gug clenched his fist.
"Alright, he can't handle multiple attacks! Keep pressing in!"
'Clever thinking, Segari Gug.'
Suddenly, Captain Kait's face appeared on the communication screen. He had forcibly hacked into their channel. Was anything off-limits for this Earthling?
"You're not getting away with doing whatever you want, Captain Kait."
'So it seems. I didn't expect to have to reveal my trump card this early.'
It sounded like sour grapes, but it wasn't. Captain Kait's expression showed neither panic nor anger. This Earthling didn't seem to think his situation was difficult in the slightest.
Though inwardly overwhelmed by that expression, Segari Gug put on a brave face and sneered.
"Don't be stupid. Sure, your weapon's strong—but it's just one ship against at least six. You don't have enough hands."
'True. It'd be easier if my Federation allies helped, but it's not like I'm out of hands.'
Captain Kait grinned broadly and raised a finger for emphasis.
'After all, the Psionic Launcher isn't only mounted on my two hands. In other words...'
Similar cylinders were ejected from the ship—three of them.
No way. A strained laugh escaped his lips.
'There's no rule that says the Queen Bee has to have only two arms.'
It was exactly that.
The three cylinders were mounted onto the arms of the ship called the Queen Bee.
And just like that, the two arms became four.
'Sorry, but I've got four Psionic Launchers.'
In an instant, beams of light fired evenly from all four.
Four ships were blown away at once, followed by another volley. The six ships targeting Captain Kait, plus two more caught in the crossfire—eight ships in total—were sunk in an instant.
"You... you bastard! Can't you..."
He couldn't even laugh anymore.
"Can't you hold back just a little, you bastard!!"
As if responding to Segari Gug's cry, the four barrels turned toward the flagship.