novelraw Chapter 170
Chapter 170
Chapter 170
"I see. Thanks for your concern."
After Terapolapaneshio's explanation, Kait replied with a wry smile.
The Federation's upper management's evaluation of Kait was subtly visible, and it was amusing. They trusted his abilities and character, but he tended to be easily drawn to things he found interesting. He couldn't deny it.
That said, he could at least distinguish between right and wrong. At the very least, he had no intention of testing it. For now. The space jellyfish gave a brief greeting to the survey team they had sent, using Kait as a marker, and then dispersed to investigate various sectors.
'Captain. So far, there has been no reaction from any factions outside the Federation in this solar system.'
"Thank you, Emotion. Then shall we return as well?"
'Understood. The modifications on their side should be finishing up around now.'
Upon returning to Moonbase, Emotion headed straight to the dock. Kait returned to the room prepared for him and opened his terminal.
The model he had sent to Asheido and the others—capturing the moment Dan's Earth was annihilated. Fixing it in his mind, he refined the image.
Psychic power was all about imagery. That was the one thing he had learned from Terapolapaneshio, who was also his mentor in psychic power. As long as the image could be concretized, there was nothing Kait and the space jellyfish couldn't do.
"If teleportation is instant movement—"
He turned his gaze to the pen lying on the table. Without using psychic power, he stared at it. Intently. Intently...
The pen vanished from its spot. Kait held out his palm and closed his eyes.
Focusing his consciousness more than usual, he activated his psychic power. He visualized the shape of the pen and willed it to come to this place.
A chill ran down his spine.
"...It came."
A sensation on his palm that hadn't been there moments ago. When he opened his eyes, the pen that had vanished seconds before was there.
"I see, there really is nothing I can't do."
He exhaled with a soft sigh.
The tingling sensation running down his spine was unlike anything he had felt before. Was it excitement from having succeeded, fear, or something else entirely?
Overpowering it with sheer will, Kait turned his eyes back to the terminal.
"No wonder the space jellyfish aren't coming."
It was obvious, but if Kait could do it, then so could Terapolapaneshio. He could now understand, with real conviction, why they hadn't visited.
He checked the data likely being sent to Terapolapaneshio in real time. The flow and types of energy remembered by this solar system and the surrounding space. That data was being accumulated over time.
He gazed at the data with a certain conviction. Kait had no idea what the names and numbers meant, but the space jellyfish reviewing it were probably panicking right now. He could almost picture it.
Probably, very soon.
'Kait, Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif)! Are you safe!?'
"I'm fine. What's the matter?"
See? Just as expected.
***
After repeatedly assuring the overly worried space jellyfish that there was no need to worry, Kait headed to the dock.
Emotion had contacted him to say the modifications to Kissinger were complete. Kait hadn't been interested, so he hadn't asked, but what kind of modifications had been made?
Emotion was waiting at the dock entrance.
"Captain, sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's fine. I haven't been waiting long."
Somehow, she looked unusually glossy.
Compared to Queen Bee, which was a mass of mysterious technology, the satisfaction of being able to use technology she understood was written all over her. Kait made a mental note that maybe he should let Emotion tinker with machines more often.
That said, even Emotion's technology was a mystery to Dan and Dr. Wu.
The door opened, and in his field of vision appeared the modified Kissinger.
"Please, take a look!"
"Oh, this is... quite the elaborate thing."
"Yes. This is the new Kissinger... Kissinger χ (Kai)!"
"Huh."
Since they couldn't boost the unit's performance much, they apparently opted to compensate with equipment. Unlike the unusually excited Emotion, Kait remained his usual self.
First of all, the entire frame was bulkier. Devices for generating barriers were clearly mounted on both shoulders, so the bulk likely wasn't for defense alone.
"Divin's power core was an old model, so I dismantled and modified it. It's still outdated compared to Federation-made ones, but its output has improved dramatically."
"...I analyzed it so thoroughly, though."
Dr. Wu muttered from the shadows. It was a bit scary.
They could probably manage defense with barriers, but what about offense? Honestly, Kissinger wasn't suited for battles against fighters or battleships. It simply couldn't win in terms of speed. It was good for ambushing a few ships, but against a large fleet, it would just get outranged.
There were two possible approaches. Either enhance its shock resistance and give it speed surpassing fighters, or equip it with long-range weaponry.
Dan had hoped for the former, but there was no way Emotion would go for something that reckless.
Upon closer inspection, a gun as long as the unit itself stood behind Kissinger χ. A cord extended from it, connecting to a separate power core.
"This small cannon is my pride and joy. Its beam radius is smaller than the Vengeance cannon, but it excels in penetration. It can pierce the barriers of current Divin ships without issue."
"W-What about Queen Bee's barrier...?"
"Even bundling ten of them wouldn't work. Give it up."
For some reason, Kait felt like Dr. Wu's murderous intent was directed at him and Queen Bee. Strange—wasn't she the one who first recognized they weren't enemies?
Their eyes met. For some reason, he saw the shadow typical of someone whose dignity had been utterly destroyed.
"...What did you do to Dr. Wu, Emotion?"
"Nothing in particular?"
"Ehh..."
"She asked a lot of questions, so I answered them politely. Just as you instructed, Captain."
Perhaps reacting to those words, Dr. Wu gave a sinister smile. Terrifying.
At any rate, it seemed they had modified the unit for artillery combat, not close-quarters.
"S-So, how are we supposed to fight their boss with this?"
"The combat concept for Vengeance and Kissinger χ is to buy time against Divin's massive forces. With strong barriers and long-range weapons. As long as you can hold out until the Captain captures Divin's Emperor, there's no problem."
"...See? She just won't listen!"
In response to Dan's simple question, Emotion was completely unmoved. Dr. Wu's cry was due to Emotion not accepting any of their requests.
Well, it couldn't be helped. From Kait's perspective, what the Lunar Development Agency was trying to do was like ants challenging a whale. They didn't even have the right to stand on the battlefield. He could've just left them to settle things on their own, but that would've been too cold. Emotion understood that, which is why she came up with this modification plan.
With this performance, at least they could stand on the battlefield. Emotion had tried her best to fulfill their request in her own way.
"The initial estimate was far too optimistic. No matter how high-performance the ship, how do you expect to beat the main fleet with a damaged capture?"
Faced with such a blunt criticism, even Dr. Wu couldn't argue back.
But clearly, none of them were convinced either. Emotion quietly observed their expressions and shook her head.
"This won't do, Captain. Maybe we should just leave this alone and let the Federation handle Divin by itself."
It was a blunt way of putting it, but Emotion was absolutely right.
Kait considered offering a few words of support, then gave up. It was pointless.