Chapter 8: Fierce Battle with the Sicily Family
The Thoughts of the Investigation Division Chief
I ended up bringing the members of the Investigation Division back with me.
Aside from the military personnel, there were also officials from the royal palace stationed at the space colony, but it seemed they still had work left to do.
“A new assignment has come up, so unfortunately, we won’t be able to accompany the Interstellar Criminal Police Organization .” Inspector Charlie, who had come to see us off, politely declined on behalf of the officials.
Apparently, our actions had added to their workload.
I silently apologized in my heart before leaving the space colony.
After guiding the Investigation Division members to their rooms aboard the Shunmin, I played my usual role.
The fact that the interior of the Shunmin was lavishly designed had already become common knowledge within our Interstellar Criminal Police Organization .
The riot squad members who had boarded before, as well as the security personnel regularly stationed on this ship, had likely spread the word.
And of course, this was a vessel meant for Her Highness—a royal flagship.
Naturally, everyone in the organization understood why its interior was so extravagant.
However, when I showed them to their crew cabins, they made the same request as always: “This is too much. Please give us something more appropriate.”
The last time I had riot squad members aboard, they never ended up using the private rooms due to the nature of their mission. But this time was different.
The Investigation Division members were our guests.
If the Shunmin had no spare rooms, I would’ve made do with whatever was available. But right now, the ship had plenty of space.
When I tried assigning them the same quarters as our officers, they refused.
They also turned down the non-commissioned officers’ quarters, insisting on rooms equivalent to those used by the student cadets.
Let me be clear about this:
The Shunmin has the fewest available rooms reserved for student cadets.
After a long back-and-forth, I finally managed to assign the chief inspectors and above to the non-commissioned officers’ quarters. As for the Investigation Division Chief, I had to practically beg to get him into the officers’ quarters.
Even then, simply pleading wasn’t enough—I had to show him another room of the same rank as Her Highness’s before finally dragging him to the captain’s cabin and saying, “Even I endure this much.” Only then did he relent.
Of course, I couldn’t possibly show him the room reserved for Her Highness.
Fortunately (or unfortunately?), the Shunmin had one other room on par with Her Highness’s.
Maria claimed it was meant for any royal guests Her Highness might bring aboard, but I knew that wasn’t the real reason.
The truth? They probably just had extra materials and got carried away during construction.
But never mind that—back to the story.
Investigation Division Chief Thompson seemed relieved when he saw that his assigned room was noticeably less extravagant than Her Highness’s, so he agreed to stay in the officers’ quarters. Still, I could tell he wasn’t fully comfortable with it.
Somehow, this whole room selection debacle seemed to be treated like a favor I owed them.
Well, given that I’d never use those rooms myself, I suppose it did feel like borrowing something. But even so, there’s such a thing as going too far. If I ever get the chance, I’ll make sure to teach those guys a lesson.
Once the usual formalities were settled, Thompson-san came to see me almost immediately with a request.
At first, I thought he was here to collect on that favor—but it turned out to be something else entirely.
“Captain—no, should I call you Squadron Commander now?”
“No, Captain is fine. More importantly, what can I do for you?”
“Well, actually, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“And that would be?”
His request? He wanted me to take them back to where we had captured the pirate ship.
Rather than expecting any evidence from the wreckage, he wanted to see the scene for himself—something about “a hundred visits to the crime scene.”
“Captain, we’re investigators. We may be complete amateurs when it comes to space, but when it comes to investigations, we take pride in being second to none. I want you to understand that.”
What followed was a story of frustration—how, until now, they had never been allowed to participate in space-related investigations.
Of course, when pirates attacked ships in space, there was no role for ground-based investigators.
But pirates didn’t always stay in space.
After all, selling stolen loot was possible in space, but far more difficult than doing it planetside.
That’s why most pirates came down to the surface and laundered their goods through the underground market.
And in cases like this space colony incident, criminals often kidnapped people on the surface before fleeing into space.
Every time Thompson-san and his team investigated an abduction case, the moment pirates were suspected, their investigation was shut down.
The reasoning? “If the criminals escape into space, there’s nothing you can do.”
Still, Thompson-san had repeatedly argued to his superiors that they could at least wait for the perpetrators to return to the surface. But the answer from above was always the same.
He suspected political maneuvering within the higher-ups.
“What are they so afraid of?” he lamented. “Why are they so determined to block investigations the moment pirates are involved?”
That’s why being allowed to investigate in space this time was both shocking and exhilarating for him.
“Her Highness really kept her promise to us.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah. When Her Highness first invited us to join her organization, she said: ‘The organization I’m building will have no sacred zones in investigations. If you say it’s necessary, I’ll make sure you can investigate anywhere—even in space. No, even if it’s the royal palace itself, if there’s a need, I’ll allow it. That’s why I want you to work with me.’”
“Then, being forced out like this… you must have some resentment?”
“I won’t say I don’t have my thoughts on the matter, but there’s nothing left for us there anyway. More than that, I’m grateful to you, Captain. And… I also feel a little guilty.”
“Huh??”
“Even in our own investigation, we couldn’t find any crucial information—just my gut feeling leading the way. I’m sorry for that. But you, Captain—you’re incredible. You not only trusted my instincts but also delivered results. For that, I’m truly thankful.”
“Ah…”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I gave a vague, half-hearted reply.
“But those pirates we caught—they’re not the only ones, right? There must be plenty more out there. Call it another gut feeling. That’s why I’m asking you—take us to where you found that ship. I want to see the scene myself. All I can think about is whether we can capture the rest in one sweep. Not that I actually believe we could investigate anything there, but still… I need to see it with my own eyes. I need to look for even the smallest clue. Could you do that for me?”
Thompson-san’s request was earnest.
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Personally, I did think we needed to return to that location, so I had no issue with Thompson-san’s request. However, I couldn’t just go without reporting to Her Highness’s headquarters.
“Of course. The so-called ‘hundred visits to the crime scene,’ right? I’ve heard that phrase in dramas since I was a kid.”
“Yeah, it’s a common trope. But we’re not as glamorous as those shows make it seem. Still, the idea’s similar. Are you really okay with this, though?”
“Yes, I also felt we needed to revisit that area. But since we just had an incident here, we can’t just leave without informing Her Highness. We’ll need her permission first.”
“You’re right. But if we go back first, it’ll waste too much time. To save time, I’d prefer to go straight from here… Hey, can’t we contact Her Highness directly from this ship?”
Taking his suggestion, I led Thompson-san to the newly installed communications room—
a recent upgrade during our last dock visit.
Normally, communications were handled from the bridge, but the new room was meant for crew members’ personal messages.
A communications officer was always on duty there, so I had them reach out to Her Highness.
Thompson-san then gave a brief report and requested permission to accompany us to the scene.
Since it seemed like the conversation would drag on, I left Thompson-san there and returned to the bridge.
With departure clearance granted, I maneuvered the Shunmin out of the colony’s controlled airspace.
“Captain, what’s our next destination?”
the Executive Officer asked.
“We’re waiting for Her Highness’s approval, but we’re heading back to where we captured the pirates.”
“Huh? With the investigators still aboard?”
“Yeah. The Investigation Division Chief requested it.”
As I was talking with Executive Officer Merika, Communications Officer Kaori reported in.
“Captain, we’ve received word from HQ. Her Highness has approved joint investigation operations with the investigators near the pirate ship’s capture point.”
“Send confirmation of acceptance. There you have it, Executive Officer.”
“Understood. Setting course for the pirate capture coordinates.”
With the Executive Officer’s order, the bridge sprang into action.
Each officer relayed commands to their respective sections as the Shunmin surged forward.
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