Let's reach 100 Powerstones for an extra chapter
***
Hayato had been feeling incredibly trapped these past few days. He was responsible for entertaining Yumi Kaneshiro and Luna on the ship while trying to find ways to avoid Luna.
It was all because Yumi, as the employer, had paid so much money just to come and visit the frigate.
Yumi hadn't expected so few staff members inside a frigate, with many tasks automatically handled by machines.
Uncle Walter and several bodyguards, who were retired Special Forces soldiers, discovered that the frigate's automated functions processed data with technology that even Holy Cross Country and Starfall Dynasty didn't possess.
What shocked Uncle Walter and the others even more was that the MS called Original Gundam was not only aesthetically pleasing, but its weapon systems were also very advanced.
The MS units of many countries were equipped with live ammunition and physical weapons; very few MS units possessed Beam weapons. Beam weapon-equipped MS units typically belonged to Special Forces MS units or were only available to ace pilots.
The frigate's captain had also been quite helpless these past few days. This employer was the boss's aunt. She had her own luxurious tourist spaceship, surrounded by nearly ten bodyguard frigates for protection, yet she still came to them to commission an escort.
Among such a large fleet, their mercenary group's frigate was the only one, making them look very out of place.
Ryuuichi spent most of his time hiding in his room, trying to avoid meeting his aunt.
"Ryuuichi, your aunt has something to discuss with you," Hayato said, knocking on Ryuuichi's door.
"If it's about the frigate and its automatic systems, I advise you to give up on that idea," Ryuuichi responded from inside the room.
"No, no, no, it's about the MS you developed, especially that MS called Original Gundam. Your aunt wants to talk to you about it."
"Give up on that. I won't discuss it."
Yumi Kaneshiro had been coming to the frigate frequently these past few days, her real purpose being to talk to her nephew about the MS he developed.
The Kaneshiro family owned their own private arms company. Yumi now wanted to bring her nephew, Ryuuichi, back and inform her father of his talent. Perhaps she could persuade her father to cancel Ryuuichi's arranged marriage and allow him to stay in the Kaneshiro family to fully utilize his talents and contribute to the Kaneshiro family.
An alarm sounded, indicating the appearance of a Pirate Group consisting of dozens of pirate ships.
"Ryuuichi, are you going to sortie?" Yumi Kaneshiro asked, with a worried expression, as Ryuuichi rushed toward the cockpit.
Ryuuichi didn't answer, directly entering the cockpit.
All four MS units of the frigate were deployed.
The ten bodyguard frigates responsible for protecting Yumi Kaneshiro's safety deployed all their MS units and fighters.
The MS units deployed by Yumi Kaneshiro's side were all "Destroyer" MS units developed by the Kaneshiro family's arms company, which were also among the standard military-issue MS units of Starfall Dynasty. The fighters were also among Starfall Dynasty's standard-issue fighters, the "Cheetah."
Yumi Kaneshiro's side deployed 50 Destroyer MS units and 20 Cheetah fighters.
The pirates deployed over 100 MS units and over 50 fighters.
The flag of this Pirate Group featured a pair of pistols and a wolf.
This Pirate Group was named "Gun Wolf." Its leader was a middle-aged man with an eyepatch named Luther. His presence here with his Pirate Group was actually due to him taking money from someone to do their bidding.
His employer's demand was to capture Yumi Kaneshiro.
To ensure he could complete the mission, the employer even provided him with 100 "Tiger Blade" MS units for free. These were among the standard military-issue MS units of another powerful nation, Western Star Confederacy. They also provided 20 "Fierce Wolf" fighters, which were also among Western Star Confederacy's standard military-issue fighters.
"It seems my employer is determined to capture this lady," Luther said, holding a photo of Yumi Kaneshiro. "All units, deploy! Shoot down all the target's MS units and fighters, and capture the target."
All MS units and fighters of the Pirate Group were deployed.
Yumi Kaneshiro's forces could only adopt a defensive formation.
The numerical disparity between the two sides was vast.
However, the pirates were ultimately a motley crew, while they always assumed the pilots on this side were all retired military pilots.
The two sides' engagement was at a stalemate for a time.
Yumi Kaneshiro, Luna, and Uncle Walter, along with the other bodyguards, rushed to the frigate's control room.
Normally, the captain might have directly opened fire on outsiders, but the visitors were the boss's relatives, which made the captain feel awkward and unsure how to proceed.
"How is Ryuuichi?" Yumi Kaneshiro asked, concern etched on her face.
The captain was initially taken aback when he heard "Ryuuichi," but immediately responded, "The boss is fine."
Yumi Kaneshiro looked around the control room. Besides the captain, there were only two other people reporting on the battle.
At this moment, a sound came from the captain's console.
"Captain, our ship's missiles have locked onto 20 enemy MS units and 5 fighters. Missiles are ready."
"Fire!" the captain commanded.
The frigate's 30 missile silos opened, and 30 missiles were launched instantly.
Nearly one-third of the locked targets were shot down, while the rest evaded the missiles.
"Captain, a total of 60 missiles are heading towards our ship. All 60 missiles have been locked by the close-in weapon system. They are only 30 kilometers from our ship."
"Close-in weapon system, fire!"
All missiles were shot down, with the last missile being destroyed 450 meters from the frigate.
Yumi, Uncle Walter, and the bodyguards were all astonished by such battle results.
What surprised Yumi even more was that the frigate's combat operations were entirely handled by an automatic system, with the captain only making command decisions.
Yumi initially thought that the frigate's automatic system was only responsible for maintenance and some logistical work, but she never expected that the automatic system could also handle combat.
If Ryuuichi's technology were brought back to the Kaneshiro family, then he would be a great benefactor to the Kaneshiro family.
Because Ryuuichi's technology could reduce the military's manpower pressure, etc., and could also be used in civilian spaceships, this technology would be highly sought after by everyone.
If the Kaneshiro family mastered this automatic technology, they would gain immeasurable benefits.
At this moment, a bodyguard whispered in Yumi's ear, informing her of the current battlefield situation.
Currently, the Pirate Group, despite having a numerical advantage, was subtly being suppressed by the smaller group.
"What in the world is going on? Why are we, with our greater numbers, being suppressed by the smaller side?" Luther said, his face full of anger.
"Commander, we've spotted an MS unit with an unusual appearance on the enemy side. Many of our brothers have been shot down by this MS," a reporter informed the commander.
"Bring me a photo of that MS."
As Luther looked at the photo of Original Gundam in his hand, he frowned deeply. He suddenly felt that the employer's mission was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
"Damn it, so you were using me as a pawn. On the surface, you told me to capture someone, but in reality, you were sending my brothers to their deaths. You wanted to test how strong the performance of the opponent's newly developed MS was, so you could get the data you wanted," Luther analyzed the true purpose of the person who hired him.
"How many of our brothers has that MS shot down in total?"
The reporter swallowed nervously. "Commander, that MS has accounted for thirty-seven confirmed kills, including five of our Fierce Wolf fighters."
Luther slammed his fist on the command console. "Thirty-seven?! That's almost a third of our MS force! And five fighters! What kind of machine is that?!" He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "Alright, new orders. Focus all remaining units on destroying that MS. Forget about capturing the target for now. If we don't take out that MS, we're all space dust!"
***
Donate Powerstones for extra chapters
Advance Chapters in my Patreon: patreon.com/Najicablitz