I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship, so I Became a Space Mercenary-Novel

“Good morning, Master.”

“Oh, it’s Hiro-kun. Morning. Did you hear about it from Elma-kun and the others?”

“Morning, you two. Yeah, that’s about it.”

When I reached the med bay, I was greeted by the maidroid Mei and Dr. Shouko.

Mei, the maidroid, was a custom model maidroid manufactured by Orient Industries, a company specializing in maidroids. I was the one who designed her, and I filled her with as much of a man’s romance regarding maids as I possibly could.

Specifically, I equipped her with a top-of-the-line maidroid-compatible compact positronic brain, a metal skeleton made of special alloys, a top-quality compact energy generator, and high-output artificial muscles made of special metal fibers. I then installed every skill preset I could think of that would be needed by the perfect maid–from cleaning to ship management to combat.

Naturally, I also designed her face, body shape, and personality and customized them to the fullest according to my tastes. The result was a cool and collected yet very affectionate maid with long, flowing black hair who wore a classic maid outfit and glasses. Un, she’s the best.

“What is it?”

“Nothing much. I was just thinking about what a reliable and perfect maid you are, Mei.”

“I am honored by your praise.”

Mei responded and bowed her head reverently.

“Oya? Aren’t you gonna say anything abouttoo?”

“Your breasts are as awesas usual today, Dr. Shouko.”

In fact, her chest armor was as thick as Mimi’s. Additionally, she was much taller than Mimi, so you could say she had better proportions overall.

“That sort of compliment is kinda…… Oh well. It’s fine.”

Dr. Shouko chose to ignore my teasing and was all smiles, displaying her good mood.

She was an excellent researcher and medical doctor who specialized in biology and genetic engineering. In relation to those fields, she was also quite knowledgeable about nanomachines and materials engineering. In other words, she was a very talented individual with a wide array of knowledge in several fields. So much so that she sometimes engages in technical discussions with Tina and Wiska.

Apparently, the reason why she was so talented was due to her being a designer baby who was specifically made to be a genius. However, for me, she was simply a very talented doctor equipped with amazing knowledge and skills. Her birth was certainly atypical, but nothing screamed atypical more thanwho was a guy from another dimension, so it didn’t really bothertoo much.

“So, I heard she woke up?”

“She did indeed wake up, or rather, we ended up waking her. Her immune functions still have sproblems, so we can’t let her out of the med pod just yet. But I’ve managed to stabilize her spontaneous breathing and metabolic functions. When the problem with her immune system gets resolved, she can probably walk around outside a bit after partially regaining her motor functions.”

“I see.”

When I glanced at the med pod, I saw the girl’s blood-red pupils staring blankly at the med bay’s ceiling. She did seem awake due to her occasional blinking, but she displayed no other reaction whatsoever.

I didn’t know the girl’s name. She was actually a biological command unit who was formerly installed on a Vereverem Federation battleship. There was little information regarding her apart from that.

One thing we confirmed was that she held an astonishing level of computing power and electronic warfare capabilities for a human. She looked like a young girl, or even a small child, but her physical aging was actually suppressed using ssort of bionic procedure, so her actual age was higher than Mimi’s, and might even be the sage as Captain Serena.

Finally, before we managed to find and retrieve her, she apparently spent her life stuffed inside a special module that resembled a tin can and served as a biological unit’s core for more than a couple of years–possibly ever since she gained awareness. Apart from those, we knew nothing more about her. It seemed that Mei managed to glean sinfo out of the biological chip implanted in the girl’s brain, but she hasn’t divulged it to us so far. I believe the fact that Mei didn’t talk about such information meant that it wasn’t something I needed to know at this point.

“It looks like you dressed her up.”

The albino girl was dressed in something resembling a simple surgical gown. I wasn’t sure how they managed to put clothes onto her while she was inside the med pod, but there must be smethod I was unaware of.

“We can’t always keep her naked and exposed to your gaze, after all, Hiro-kun.”

“I don’t really feel anything when looking at a body with no curves, but…… it certainly is better than her being naked. At least, I won’t feel awkward when looking at her.”

『Well, sorry for having a pathetic body with no curves.』

I was startled after suddenly hearing an unfamiliar voice out of nowhere. Where’d it cfrom? As I looked around, I noticed that the eyes of the girl inside the med pod were slightly skewed toward my direction. They were still lacking focus, but I certainly did feel a will from behind them.

The voice was probably not the girl’s actual voice. It seemed artificial and sounded somewhat familiar.

“Were you the one speaking just now? Can you talk?”

『I can’t move my body and I can barely see. Also, my ears can only pick up faint sounds. However, I am picking up information from outside using the sensors equipped to the medical pod.』

Cto think of it, it did appear that the med pod was equipped with sparts that I didn’t recognize. There was probably an optical sensor and a sound sensor among them.

“I see. Sorry for making fun of your body. That was definitely rude of me. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

『I don’t really mind. A body is merely a vessel for the mind.』

“That’s a rather pragmatic way of looking at things…… Can you tell us your name? I’m Captain Hiro, by the way. This maidroid is Mei, and this is our ship’s medical doctor, Dr. Shouko.”

『Unit 104.』

“I don’t think that’s a proper nthough……”

『That’s how they call me, and I have always been addressed as such. I have never gotten a proper human-like nto begin with.』

A dejected voice echoed out from the speaker. I see. How thorough of them.

“I’m going to explain about my position and your current situation now. You fine with listening?”

『I have learned sinformation from the maidroid over there already, but sure. Having multiple information sources will allowto judge the situation more accurately and perform a comparison. Besides, it seems that you are the owner of that maidroid.』

“Okay then. Firstly, you do remember the battle along the border, right? After that battle, we ended up finding the pod you were in and collected it. By the way, the battle ended in the Graccan Empire’s victory. We’re mercenaries employed by the Graccan Empire, and this ship is currently heading for the imperial capital. Your current position is that of a POW we captured, and since you’re physically quite weakened at the moment, it was decided that our doctor will take care of you at least until you’re able to move on your own.”

After hearing my explanation, Unit 104 paused momentarily in order to think, then she began speaking again.

『I’ve understood the situation, but I believe treatingwould be pointless. I’ve heard that my service life is less than a year. Even with the treatment, my life expectancy would likely not increase. Therefore, it is a waste of tand resources.』

“That may be the case with the Vereverem Federation’s technology. But it’s more than possible to clear that hurdle using our own technology.”

Dr. Shouko responded in my place. Since she winked atbeforehand, she probably wantedto leave it to her.

『Even if that were the case, it still wouldn’t be cost-effective. It’s true that due to my position in the Federation, I am aware of many of their military secrets, but the freshness and accuracy of said information decreases steadily as tpasses. I believe the technology that would be used to treatis probably the bionic body enhancement technology that’s used exclusively by the Empire’s nobility. However, I’ve heard that said procedures are quite expensive. The cost should be too high to waste on a disposable biological unit such as myself.』

“Actually, it depends on the degree of enhancement. It shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive if we simply leave it at a level where you’d at least be capable of living a normal life.”

『I see. However, that still doesn’t mean it will be cheap. I do not think the Graccan Empire will tolerate such an expense. Just what is your objective? Who insists on treating someone like me, and what is their aim?』

Dr. Shouko didn’t answer Unit 104’s question, but simply turned toinstead. Mei also turned toward me.

『So, it is you, Captain. Why?』

“There’s no particularly deep reason. I just won’t be able to sleep easy if I went and abandoned you.”

『Won’t, sleep easy……?』

Unit 104’s tone sounded completely perplexed. Even if the synthetic voice sounded mechanical, it was tinged with emotion.

“The Imperial Space Force will probably interrogate you. If you don’t resist and cooperate with them, you won’t end up getting executed, at least. Then they’ll treat you as a POW, and depending on the situation, they might attempt to use you as a witness against the Federation’s inhumane deeds. However, a captain of the Imperial Space Force I’m familiar with said that the Federation might not suffer much damage if they feign ignorance regarding your existence.”

It’s something Captain Serena told me. It wasn’t guaranteed that the Federation would do so, but there was a rather high chance that they’d resort to such a method. That’s what Captain Serena said during one of our pillow talks.

“If that happens, you’d be released as a complete foreigner–neither an Imperial subject nor a Federation citizen. You’d be thrown out into the imperial capital without any hope for help. And you’d probably die soon after. You’d perish in slonely back alley somewhere, cold and starving. I definitely won’t be able to sleep easy if I let that happen.”

『I believe there are many in both the Empire and the Federations who get thrown away and die just like how you described. Aren’t your actions nothing more than hypocrisy?』

That’s true. People suffering a similar fate were probably a da dozen out there. In fact, I often saw people sitting around powerlessly in back alleys whenever I walked around the colonies. And I didn’t have the will to reach out to each and every one of them. I was no saint after all. I definitely wasn’t.

“Is there anything wrong with being a hypocrite? I’m only trying to help you for the sake of my own peace of mind. I’m certainly not doing it for the betterment of the world or to be a savior of the people. I’m just doing it for myself. And I don’t think I should be criticized for that. Not even by you.”

『Since it has something to do with my fate, I believe I at least have the right to complain though……?』

“Then what? You wanna tellyou prefer being left to die miserably as a complete unknown after being made use of by the Vereverem Federation? You’re not even thinking of getting back at them?”

『Of course, I want to get back at them. I want to stick my hand up their behinds and make their teeth rattle. But what can I do now that you’ve taken custody of me? I know you are a mercenary, but what can someone like you possibly do against the Vereverem Federation?』

“In the last battle, I and my Krishna alone destroyed four battleships including the flagship, seven cruisers, twelve destroyers, and tons of corvettes and carrier-based fighters. My partner’s ship and this Black Lotus also achieved great results.”

『Fine, I’m in dammit. I’m very useful, Captain. I can even serve as your mistress if you want. My body may be undeveloped, but I believe this kind of body type also has its own charm. And even though I look like this, I’m actually 24 years old, so it’s completely legal.』

“Is your hand a high-speed drill or something? And you’re suddenly coming on tolike crazy…… Well, there’s the Empire’s plans to consider so I can’t make any definite promises, but I do intend on taking you in. Anyway, that’s how it is.”

『Understood. I’ll believe in you, Captain.』

Thus, our first proper conversation with Unit 104 ended. If I don’t handle things well, this might lead to the birth of a woman who was even more crazy and radical regarding the destruction of the Vereverem Federation than the Empire. But I suppose we’re fine for now since we’ll mainly be active in the Empire. In any case, her being cooperative was a good thing, at least.

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