LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 12: MC Correction
The repairs of the Hunter Frigate were complete, leaving it looking almost brand new. The skills of the mechanics were beyond impressive, judging by their handiwork! For the Range Falcon, however, repairs were delayed quite a bit.
Procuring enough LV3 Shield Generators for all sides of the ship took some time—and a large chunk of my money—which ended up slowing things down. Thankfully, the repair work was finished within three hours once the parts arrived.
During the wait, in addition to the quest from Mercy, I picked up a couple more contracts to deliver goods to the Jiguer Sector, where we were headed. As a gamer at heart, it felt good to make the trip more efficient.
"Alright, time to set off!" I barked into the communicator.
A moment later, Eva's voice echoed back. {Roger that, captain.}
This would technically be the first mission of the Knights of Camelot Fleet, but with all my experience playing the game backing me up, I wasn't worried at all. The only thing that could really cause trouble would be pirates blocking our path.
The ship's thrusters roared to life, propelling the Range Falcon away from the dock and into the vast void of space. Once we left the Narlia Commercial Hub's AI navigation range, the thrusters kicked in fully, pushing us to cruising speed in no time.
"Percy, set a waypoint to the nearest warp gate leading to our quest destination."
[Command received. Setting up jump waypoints... Complete. Final destination set to Jiguer Sector, Ygret Star System, Gala Space Station. Distance: 3 Space Jumps -> 1 Long Distance Warp -> 14 Space Jumps.]
"That's quite far..." I muttered as Percy finished relaying the details. "Add a stop at the Helios Space Station along the way. We can finish Eva's earlier commission while we're at it."
When I first met Eva along the Calumet Asteroid Belt, she had been on her way to the next solar system. Apparently, she didn't have the money for a long-distance warp and was planning to cross the distance with intermittent jumps instead. It was a slower, riskier option but definitely cheaper—warp fees were no joke, costing more than what most commissions paid out.
As soon as the jump drives finished synchronizing, we initiated the first Space Jump toward the center of the Calumet Star System, heading for the warp gate.
But then, alarms blared across the bridge, and the view of stars streaking past came to a sudden halt.
"... You've got to be kidding me. What kind of luck is this?"
Before we even made it halfway, we were yanked out of hyperspace. A Jump Drive Jammer had interfered with the jump, forcing us back into normal space. I didn't even need to guess who was behind this.
{Hehehe! We, the Mountain Dogs Pirate Group, have you surrounded. Disarm your shields and weapons, and we promise you'll live to see tomorrow!}
I glanced at the radar and, sure enough, his claims weren't empty. About twenty pirate corvettes had flanked both sides, cutting off our escape. Twenty rats surrounding a fully armed elephant. It would've been funny if it weren't so annoying.
{Captain, I'll handle these guys. You stay put.}
Before I could respond, Eva's voice came through the comms. Her frigate surged forward, the newly-equipped Justice MK3 Beam Turrets—ones I'd originally kept as backups—charging rapidly. A brilliant blue flash cut across the void, striking the nearest pirate and disintegrating its shield in an instant. A moment later, the ship briefly exploded before scattering as debris.
"... Not bad," I muttered, nodding in approval.
But great equipment and skill alone weren't enough to take on this many enemies. The remaining pirates, enraged at the loss of one of their own, turned their muzzles toward Eva. Laser beams lit up the bridge's Virtual Battle Assistance Module (VBAM) in chaotic streaks, but she weaved through the barrage with a precision that almost seemed unfair. Then, with a sharp 180° turn, she fired again, sinking another ship before spinning away gracefully.
Watching her in action for the first time, I could tell she had serious skill. She could probably crack the top 100 in TSO's Open World Ranking with ease—though, of course, she was still far from my level.
"Oh, they've noticed me now. As expected," I muttered as eight pirates broke off to target the Range Falcon. A terrible decision on their part—especially for the ones flying too close to my ship's laterals.
"Percy, fire all weapons. Target all bogies equally."
[Command received. Firing...]
A blinding white flash surrounded the Range Falcon, and when it dissipated, nothing was left—no ships, no debris. "... Was that overkill?" I muttered, glancing at the now-empty space around me.
The remaining pirates panicked, breaking formation and scrambling to flee. But there was no chance I'd let them get away. The Beam Turrets locked on to their targets, and within moments, blue streaks of energy wiped out the rest, leaving nothing but silence behind.
"Eva, collect anything worth salvaging," I commanded over the comms.
Half of them had been vaporized, but there might still be some scraps worth picking up.
Humming a tune, I leaned back in the captain's chair, satisfied with how things were going. This was a great start for the Knights of Camelot—or so I thought. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of our troubles.
---
"What unlucky star are you born under?"
Two galactic days later, on the 8th day of the 6th month, we finally reached the Helios Space Station, our first stopover. That's right, two days. A trip that should've taken 30 hours stretched to a grueling 100 hours.
Why? Well, every time we initiated Jump Travel, pirates would interrupt us, triggering skirmishes that ranged from quick, one-minute dogfights to drawn-out battles lasting half an hour. On top of that, we intercepted about a dozen SOS signals from merchant ships along the way—signals we couldn't ignore unless we wanted a big black mark on our mercenary records.
Half of those distress calls turned out to be traps: pirates posing as merchants to lure in prey. The other half, though, were legitimate calls for help—ships out of energy or with damaged thrusters. Either way, every encounter sucked more time out of our journey.
It was like living in a Detective C*nan episode, where trouble followed you everywhere. I realized that the player was truly a high-tier trouble magnet. Over the two days, the longest period of peace we managed was a measly hour!
"Bastard, are you blaming me for the delay?" Eva snapped, glaring at me. "How's any of that my fault?! And don't talk to me about luck—this is just pure coincidence! Anyone else could've run into the same mess!"
"But in the end, it was us who ran into all of it," I sighed, giving up on the argument. "Forget it. Just go submit your delivery commission. I'll handle the resupplying and sell off the loot."
Two days drifting through space had taken a toll. We needed more catalysts for the Beam Turrets, extra batteries for the shield generators, and a fresh stock of missiles. Even the oxygen tanks—both primary and backup—needed refilling. Not to mention food. The previous week's worth of provisions had been almost wiped out thanks to Eva's magnetic pull for chaos, from sharing part of them with those stranded merchants.
"Maybe I should stock up on a month's worth of supplies this time," I muttered to myself. "That might barely cover for the few days of journey ahead of us."
I headed off to the Mercenary Union to process the pirate loot. Unsurprisingly, I didn't recognize any of the NPCs here. It's not like I memorized every single character in TSO after all. Still, the loot brought in a decent haul—400,000 Credits. Considering the constant ambushes, I figured we'd barely broken even, but we profited more than I expected.
Resupplying was simpler, enough. Just a few taps on my terminal and everything was delivered almost instantly. It was like online shopping but without the long wait for shipping!
As I made my way back to the docking area, I noticed a commotion up ahead. A large crowd had gathered, forming a wall that blocked my path. Curious—and slightly annoyed—I tried to push through.
"Excuse me... Passing through..." I muttered as I squeezed between onlookers. Then I heard a familiar voice that sent a chill down my spine.
"I said fuck off, jerkface! Don't make me repeat myself! Take your grimy hand and your inflated ego somewhere else! I'm not interested!"
That sharp tongue, that unmistakable melodic voice, and that reckless attitude—it had to be her.
Instead of bypassing the crowd, I switched course, forcing my way toward the center. After some effort, I managed to break through the front line of onlookers, only to see exactly what I'd feared.
On one side stood a woman I knew far too well, standing tall and defiant. On the other, a group of five men in blue and white uniforms—the standard attire of the Militia. But what really caught my attention was the insignia on one man's shoulder: a single golden star.
"That insignia..." I whispered, feeling my stomach drop. "She picked a fight with a general?!"
For some reason, a headache started creeping in. Just being with the "player" is literally killing me!