Chapter 10

"Dawson. Dawson, wake up. We’re about to complete the jump, so you need to take the controls!"

At Oine’s call, Dawson realized he had been sleeping and opened his eyes.

"Sorry, I fell asleep."

"It’s fine. You must be tired after the long-range bombardment. Did you have a good dream?"

"It was a dream of when we first met."

"Wow, that’s definitely a good dream. Maybe something good will happen today?"

"...I wouldn’t call our first meeting a good memory."

Dawson stretched in his chair on the bridge and placed his hands on the control stick.

"Jump completion in 5, 4, 3—We’re back in normal space."

"Detecting spatial reentry vibrations—Attitude control complete. No issues with the ship’s balance."

"No abnormalities in the ship’s structure. The cocoon is still intact. Everything’s green across the board♪"

"Well, from here on, we’ll have to navigate while dodging obstacles."

Dawson revved the thrusters and moved the *Mandible* forward. Ahead lay a dangerous area of space filled with numerous metal debris and asteroids. They had a purpose in this area.

"Leave the optical surveillance to me. Let me know if anything is on a collision course."

"I’ll project the predicted trajectories on the monitor, so don’t make any mistakes."

"Who are you talking to? I’ve done combat maneuvers with this ship. Dodging floating debris is a piece of cake."

Dawson entered the dangerous area, maintaining the ship’s speed at half. Immediately, asteroids and debris started flying in from all directions—up, down, left, right, diagonally, and even from behind. Dawson skillfully maneuvered the ship, avoiding the larger objects and deflecting the smaller ones with the debris shield. He smoothly navigated through the dangerous area until he reached a space free of asteroids and debris.

As the *Mandible* entered this space, the abnormality of the area became apparent. They hadn’t passed through a region with debris and asteroids; instead, in the middle of a debris-filled area, there was a clear space, about the size of an artificial habitat, where the debris and asteroids had been avoided. In this mysterious space, a massive metal structure was floating.

It looked like a bottom-heavy pot with fine lines extending from its neck to the opening, resembling a metal anemone. Its volume was so enormous that even if the *Mandible* were multiplied by ten thousand, it wouldn’t match its size. This abnormal space and the strange metal object clearly had a connection—there was no doubt that this metal anemone was using some force to clear the nearby space of debris and asteroids.

The *Mandible* approached this suspicious object. When they got close enough, the metal anemone sent a communication to the *Mandible*. Dawson put on his white-and-black mask and allowed the communication. On the bridge’s physical monitor, a mannequin-like figure with no facial features appeared.

"This is *Hamanoonna*. Please display your letter of marque."

The mannequin spoke. No, this figure wasn’t a mannequin but an android equipped with an impersonal AI. Dawson knew this.

"Hey, Lorelei. This is Dawson of the *Mandible*. I’ll send the letter of marque information. Please confirm it."

"Information confirmed. Welcome back, Captain Dawson. How was today’s catch?"

"Just two cocoons. As usual."

"I congratulate you on filling your maximum cargo capacity. Do you have a buyer in mind?"

"Of course, I’ll sell them to Hamanoonna. The contents are artworks, so I’m prepared to be underpaid."

"Then, after the automatic appraisal, I’ll transfer the payment to your account. Electronic money, right?"

"Yeah. The ship’s cargo space is limited. If I carried metal like other pirates, the ship wouldn’t move."

"Understood. I’ve confirmed the availability of the dock. Please proceed to Dock 135. I hope we continue to have a good relationship."

"Same here. I’d like to keep working with you for a long time."

After the communication ended, the monitor’s screen went dark. Dawson maneuvered the *Mandible* towards the designated dock on the super-large mothership called *Hamanoonna*.

Soon, Oine’s voice came through the speakers.

"Tsk. Tsk, tsk!"

She said these strange words in an angry tone.

"What’s with you?"

"Dawson, you cheater. We have a perfectly good AI named Oine, yet you’re being friendly with an impersonal AI. Tsk, tsk!"

Dawson took Oine’s dramatic words as a joke.

"Ha. Jealous of someone I just had a business conversation with? You sound like a troublesome girlfriend. Besides, I’m not into falling in love with AI."

"That’s a relief. So, what about falling in love with an AI?"

"...No comment."

"Come on, Dawson! Even a lie would be better here to hint at the possibility!"

While brushing off the conversation, Dawson docked the *Mandible* at the pier extending from *Hamanoonna*. He then had the pier’s arm retrieve the cocoons from the *Mandible* and confirmed that the appraised amount had been credited to his account.

"I’m going to check in with *Hamanoonna*."

"Understood. Did you check the airlock’s seal? Did you bring your laser pistol? Are you mentally prepared to beat up some arrogant pirates?"

"Are you a mother worried about a child in kindergarten!"

Dawson teased Oine’s joke and headed to the *Mandible*’s airlock in a form-fitting spacesuit. After the inner door closed and the airlock was sealed, he opened the outer door. A metal bridge and the vastness of space lay before him. The *Mandible*’s dock was an open type in space, with no air. Without a spacesuit, it would be impossible to go outside. New pirates like Dawson were usually assigned to these open docks. Only veterans and consistently successful pirates were allowed to use the air-filled ports inside *Hamanoonna*.

Many new pirates were dissatisfied with this arrangement and often complained about being denied access to the ports. Dawson had heard such complaints while on *Hamanoonna*.

Dawson, while finding it inconvenient to change into a spacesuit, didn’t have strong feelings about it. The transfer handles from the dock to *Hamanoonna*’s interior made it not too inconvenient. He grabbed a handle and let his body be carried through the zero-gravity space.

After being transported to the end, he activated the electromagnets in his spacesuit boots to attach to the dock. He then walked to *Hamanoonna*’s airlock. The airlock at *Hamanoonna*’s dock was a gel-type, using a semi-fluid gel instead of a partition. It didn’t require opening and closing for each person, making it suitable for areas with high traffic. The downside was that it required force to push through the gel, and the gel would stick to the spacesuit.

"Maybe some people are complaining about the gel and asking to use the ports."

Dawson attached his body to the semi-fluid gel and forcefully stepped into it. The sensation of entering the thick, sticky liquid was peculiar and might be unpleasant for some. The gel layer was three meters thick, making the sensation last longer and potentially more unpleasant. Dawson, however, didn’t mind the sensation and passed through the thick gel layer without any reaction. After passing through, air jets from all directions blew off the gel stuck to his spacesuit. The gel was collected, cleaned, and reused in the airlock.

After this process, the inside of *Hamanoonna* was visible, with the dirtiness typical of a pirate base. The corridors, affected by artificial gravity, had trash and dust at the ends, and mysterious stains on the walls. A few pirates, drunk and passed out, lay on the floor, one of them vomiting on the ground.

To cover up the dirt, the walls and floors were adorned with multicolored spray art, forcing a unique artistic experience on the viewer. Dawson, looking at this scene, felt he would never get used to it.

Dawson moved through *Hamanoonna* without opening his spacesuit’s visor—avoiding the smell of vomit. As he walked, he heard the sounds of revelry. It was the entertainment district of *Hamanoonna*, where pirates gathered in bars.

"Today’s a good day! Those mercenaries thought they were safe, but that interstellar back alley is our territory!"

"The cargo from the merchant ships and the mercenaries’ ships and equipment sold for a good price, Boss!"

"Great, great. Alright, everyone. Let’s indulge a bit and drink and eat to our heart’s content!"

"“Hooray!”"

Pirates who had achieved great victories were buying mountains of alcohol and food, starting a grand feast. Their civilian clothes indicated they were veterans with permission to use *Hamanoonna*’s port.

While some were cheering, others were dejected.

"Damn. Got hit by a stray shot from the mercenaries, and the repair costs ate up my earnings."

"Don’t be so down. On days like this, this is what you need. One hit, and your fatigue will vanish."

"I got some high-purity stuff... Ah, it’s good. I can see El Dorado."

A group of pirates, in dirty spacesuits, injected suspicious ampules into their necks, tripping out. These were ampules used on the illegal organization’s mothership, and their effects and contents were definitely not normal.

Not only these pirates, but throughout the bar district, people were indulging in various pleasures. Some mixed blue powder into their drinks, others smoked fluorescent pink electronic cigarettes, and some attached electronic sticks to electrodes implanted in their necks. There were even couples who got so high they started having sex, turning the area into an impromptu free-for-all, which excited the surrounding pirates.

Dawson, after surveying the scene, mentally distanced himself from it. He walked through the bar district and stopped at a food stand. The sign simply read "Noodles" in large letters.

He confirmed he had his letter of marque card and entered the shop. The shopkeeper, with half his face replaced by a machine, silently faced him. Despite the lack of friendliness, Dawson, used to it, didn’t mind.

"Large noodles with fried items."

"Ten credits. Place your card."

Dawson placed his letter of marque card on the reader, and a chime sounded, indicating the payment of ten credits on the spatial projection monitor.

"Wait here. I’ll make it right away."

The shopkeeper, with a half-mechanical face, took out a dull silver bowl, placed a block of bandage-like noodles inside, and poured a light brown soup over them. He used tongs to gently separate the noodles in the soup and then dropped three square, fox-colored fried items into the bowl.

"Eat quickly and leave when you’re done."

Dawson took the bowl, which was served with a tone that didn’t seem businesslike. He opened his spacesuit’s visor, wrinkled his nose at the smell of the air in the pirate mothership, and pressed a switch on the mask’s mouth. The lower half of the black, worm-like mask opened in the middle, revealing Dawson’s own mouth.

Dawson took the provided fork, stabbed the center of the wide noodles, lifted them from the soup, and quickly brought them to his mouth.

"Munch munch munch—chew chew chew—slurp, munch munch."

He bit into the noodles, chewed, took a sip of the soup, and then bit into the fried items. The combination of the synthetic wheat’s emphasized grainy smell, the umami from the brown coloring and chemical seasonings, and the crumbly texture of the cultured bird meat, while not exactly delicious, resembled the noodle dish from his homeland, *udon*.

Since finding this shop that reminded him of his hometown’s taste, Dawson had decided to visit it after work.

After finishing his meal quickly, Dawson closed his mask and called out to the shopkeeper.

"Give me five eggs."

The shopkeeper, with the remaining human side of his face, twisted in a grimace.

"Two are enough. Just get two."

"No, I want five. Give me five."

"...Two hundred credits."

Dawson paid with his letter of marque card, and the shopkeeper took out a paper bag and placed five quail-like eggs inside. However, the eggshells were iridescent, shimmering in a mottled rainbow.

Dawson took the paper bag and closed his spacesuit’s visor. The shopkeeper, seeing his spacesuit, shook his head regretfully, knowing the effects of the mottled rainbow eggs.