Discovery of an Alternate Route
Before long, the executive officer and Mr. Thomson returned to the bridge.
“Captain. Thank you for all your consideration.”
“Mr. Thomson, what’s with the sudden gratitude? I just had them guide you, but was that arrangement acceptable?”
“Yes, more than enough.”
“From here, it’ll be easy to contact any of your scattered investigators, so don’t hesitate to ask. Also, Director, feel free to use that chair over there. …Ah, don’t worry. That one really is just a spare—Her Highness uses this chair here.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Seeing Mr. Thomson looking somewhat apologetic, the executive officer relayed to him:
“As for the others, they’re free to use the room in the back. We only really use it for breaks anyway.”
The room the executive officer suggested was right next to the bridge, separated by just a single door.
Originally, it was meant for gathering and discussing operational plans. On a civilian ship, it would likely be called the chart room—a place for plotting courses using star maps—but on a warship, it boasted far more advanced facilities.
Unlike merchant vessels, warships called this space the Combat Information Center (CIC), a standard feature on every naval vessel.
As such, this ship was fully equipped for the task. Inside the CIC, one could simultaneously monitor multiple displays of radar, optical sensors, and astrogation charts—all of which were also visible from the bridge.
Ah. If that was Mr. Thomson’s goal, they could’ve just gathered everyone there from the start.
Well, I suppose there’s something to be said for aesthetics of procedure.
If you just press a button and get all your answers instantly, it wouldn’t feel like an investigation.
Truthfully, the captain’s chair also allowed monitoring various screens.
However, the displays were inevitably smaller, so unless in combat, I rarely used them—preferring either the large main screen at the front of the bridge or peering over the shoulder of the relevant crew member at their station.
This time, it would be Mr. Thomson and his team doing the peering.
Several hours after entering the asteroid belt, we finally reached the location where we had received the ambush report.
“Mr. Thomson. This is where we received the report from our fighter craft.”
“A report from fighters?”
“Yes. Based on the information you provided, we deployed fighters ahead to search for any traces of activity. It was here that we received their distress call—they had come under laser fire.”
“Then the actual attack occurred further ahead?”
“Yes. We’re heading there now—it’s just nearby.”
As per Mr. Thomson’s request, I guided the Shunmin to the location where our fighters had been attacked, then proceeded to the spot where we had captured the pirate ship.
Just as we were about to arrive at the capture point, an internal call came in from the aft fire control station, summoning Mr. Thomson.
“Captain. Apologies, but I’ve been called by my subordinates in the rear. They seem to have found something noteworthy…”
“I’ll guide you there. Whatever caught their attention has piqued my interest as well.”
“Captain.”
Karin Senpai called out to me in a sharp tone.
Under quasi-combat conditions aboard a warship, every crew member had an assigned station.
Naturally, the Shunmin was no exception.
The only exception—if there was one—was the captain.
Even the captain had a station, but more importantly, the captain bore responsibility for the entire ship. Thus, moving between critical posts was permitted under captain’s authority—an almost absolute privilege onboard.
Well, ordinarily, this wouldn’t be allowed… But then again, with the flippant excuse that “This ship technically isn’t a warship~”, things tended to get handwaved.
“Executive Officer. I need to check something with Mr. Thomson at the aft fire control station. I leave the bridge in your hands.”
“Aye, Captain. I assume command of the bridge.”
“Captain.”
Karin Senpai still seemed unconvinced, but I left the rest to her.
I escorted Mr. Thomson to the aft fire control station.
Maybe we should’ve just used that conference room in the back after all.
Regret always comes too late—a thought that crossed my mind as I hurried through the (thankfully not too large) ship.
Upon arriving at the aft station, the investigator who had called for Mr. Thomson immediately beckoned us to a monitor.
A security officer followed up with the standard protocol.
“Captain, entering.”
He saluted me as he spoke.
Aside from the investigator, the crew in the aft fire control station paused their work to salute.
This was a tradition carried over from military practice.
I returned the salute and gestured for them to resume their duties before leaning in to look at the same monitor Mr. Thomson was studying.
One screen displayed the trajectory we had taken, while the adjacent monitor showed a navigational map of the surrounding sector.
“Director. What do you make of this?”
The investigator was deferring to Mr. Thomson’s judgment—
though to me, it was all indecipherable.
Then, Mr. Thomson turned to me.
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“Captain. Do you know where this path leads if we follow it in the opposite direction?”
“No, but according to that map, it seems to extend near that space colony.”
“Apologies, but would it be possible to turn back? To me, this looks like a single continuous route. I’d like to confirm it with my own eyes.”
He was right—we had come here in a straight line.
If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been ambushed in the first place.
Which meant—could this actually be a navigable route?
Granted, getting here required navigating a troublesome asteroid belt.
But if so, the endpoint Mr. Thomson mentioned was worth investigating.
“Understood. We’ll turn back immediately. It shouldn’t take too long. We were moving slowly earlier because we were surveying the area, but this time, we’ll pick up speed and head straight for the terminus.”
I rushed back to the bridge and gave the executive officer my orders.
“Apologies, XO. Reverse course immediately.”
“Eh? What do you—are we returning to that space colony?”
“No. I was just discussing this with the Chief Investigator. It seems the path we’ve been following might actually be the hidden route the pirates have been using—the very one we’ve been desperately searching for. To confirm, we need to trace it in the opposite direction. We stumbled onto this path partway through, but there must be a proper entrance somewhere. If we find it, we might finally locate the pirates’ stronghold.”
“Understood, Captain.”
Executive Officer Meyrica acknowledged my order and immediately relayed commands across the bridge.
“Reverse course one-eighty degrees. Cruise speed—retrace our path.”
As the bridge buzzed back into activity, Chief Investigator Thomson returned.
“Captain. Thank you for trusting my judgment. At the very least, this reversal should yield some answers.”
Until he mentioned it, I hadn’t realized—but after the ambush, we had maintained the same course without deviation.
Sure, we had fired photon torpedoes to clear potential asteroid obstacles along the way, but none had detonated.
Meaning—there were no asteroids on this path.
At least, not up to the point where we captured the pirate ship—and likely beyond.
We could investigate further ahead first, but given the nature of our enemy—
likely the notorious pirate family, the Sicily Syndicate—there was a non-zero chance we’d need military backup to handle them.
No, scratch that—the odds were overwhelmingly in favor of that outcome.
If it were just me, I wouldn’t mind—but this ship carried a full crew.
Not to mention the numerous non-crew investigators onboard.
If we called for reinforcements after sensing danger, only to be told “The asteroid field is blocking us, sorry”, we’d be left with no recourse.
The fact that the pirates had abandoned their ship the moment their attack on our fighters failed suggested they had prepared something further along.
Worst case, they might already be fleeing—so time was of the essence.
This was a race against the clock, but as the saying goes: “More haste, less speed.” To ensure the safest approach, we had to locate the pirates’ hidden route.
“Yes. I may be jumping the gun, but I think we’ve hit the jackpot.”
“Jackpot, you say?”
“Yes. I believe this is the route we’ve been searching for. First, let’s backtrack toward that space colony.”
With that, we proceeded cautiously, scanning our surroundings as we advanced.
Since we were retracing our path, the Shunmin moved at cruising speed—allowing us to pass the point where we had first entered this new route (tentative) in about two hours.
Then, after another two hours, we seemed to have reached our destination.
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