The battle between half fish people and octopuses is over. It can only be described as that, because Brefilmore Prime has so many half fish people.
In the end, Brefilmore Prime paid me a million and a half through the Mercenary Guild. So another hundred million. Should they be paying mercenaries that every time there’s a war?
I’m glad I got money to pay for the storage bracelets.
“Only Genma earned a lot of money, the other mercenaries must have earned around thirty thousand puni.”
“Isn’t that too little, Suzuri? I feel like the disposable items would put them in the red.”
“Small time mercenaries try to avoid that. And they use missiles that are five puni for three but just fly forward and explode.”
Would they really fly forward and explode…?
“Scrappers and salvagers are probably in that battlefield looking for missiles and torpedoes that ran out of propellant, and broken iron.”
“There’s got to be a lot of them, because it was near a colony. But I don’t think they’ll earn a lot, because one side was like biological weapons.”
As we chat, we move to a shipyard in the Lumomo Second colony. The idea is to look at transport ships directly.
In the shipyard, about sixty percent of people are bipeds with faces that are like a combination between fish and reptile. Half fish people are the majority in this star system.
Seafood is the main staple here, and small places that are like convenience stores there are whole isles for moisturizing creams. There are also a lot of bath products you don’t see in other colonies.
Leaving that aside, transport ships are ships with big capacity, that carry large containers. They’re not that fast, about as fast as Tortilla Double, and their mobility isn’t great either.
Armament varies from ship to ship, but few focus on that, and many barely fit in docks.
I could see catalogs with 3D models in VR on my information device, but I wanted to see at least one in person.
They’re interesting, with surprising shapes.
There are types with containers in the cargo bays, and ones with the containers exposed.
The structure preserving field that secures the ship’s surface and the shields that cover ships mean that containers can traverse in space even if they’re exposed.
Transport ships that can carry a lot of cargo are at least medium sized ships, like Tortilla Double. The cargo bay is about twenty meters wide, so it can carry a lot.
Tortilla Double can’t carry too much because of its turret… It’s really heavy considering it’s about two thirds the weight of the ship.. Even more so considering it has its own nuclear fusion reactor.
I’m looking for a transport ship that can store Tortilla Double and act as a mothership, so I’m eyeing large transport ships.
“Don’t a lot of these ships look like fish?”
“It’s a star system full of half fish people.”
“Fish types are not unusual to begin with.”
There are also ships with aerodynamic shapes that remind of whales or sea lions, and ones without any affectations that look like someone attached an engine to a cube.
“The problem is whether or not there are fast transport ships here…”
“I think an armed transport ship with a good amount of storage would be good…”
“For a mothership, perhaps it would be best if it could store Tortilla Double. And speed would have to be put aside for now.”
It’s not really coming together. Saratha and Suzuri are offering their opinions, but nothing’s too clear. Iris is looking online too, but it feels iffy.
Maybe there’s no point in having a regular transport ship as the second ship, since we have space expansion containers.
Then should we make it an armed transport ship? Full of defensive lasers like a hedgehog, and packed with missiles in its belly like a hamster. That could work.
But if Suzuri or Iris were the captain of the second ship, would they keep up with Tortilla Double’s rashness… I’d like a large ship to have a large shield.
So should I actually buy a mothership?
My ideal mothership would store Tortilla Double, and would be faster than it. Everyone’s in agreement there, but unfortunately, Lumomo Second doesn’t really have anything that satisfies those conditions.
“Ahh, should we return to Akul? We haven’t had ham lately…”
“Lumomo Second is not lacking in technological power, but it surprisingly does not have the kind of ship we are after.”
“Yes… Also, is there something like an organic market here? It feels like there would be.”
We’re leaving the transport ship matter aside for now, so we’re going to walk around the colony.
After a big blunder, we return to Tortilla Double.
The refrigerated display case in the living room has had nothing but strawberries lately, but no more.
We have smoked and salted skipjack tuna. Of course, their stomachs are open and their guts have been removed.
“So? Why did you do that?”
Suzuri and I are sitting in a seiza position, and Saratha is sitting with her tail coiled. Iris is a little scary.
“The smoked and salted skipjack tuna was tasty…”
“It was.”
“Indeed it was.”
We walked around a few stores, and found one with organic products.
“Ooh~ Salty~!”
“Eh, it doesn’t smell. Did they use herbs? Fish can often miss the mark, but this one seems nice.”
Kori and Vasilisa cut off pieces and eat them, and fire up the liquid printer to produce alcohol. Is that beer?
“You always waste money, master, but it makes my head hurt that Miss Saratha and Miss Suzuri should be the ones stopping you, and did not… Do you understand how I felt when you returned with a big smile and ten fishes?”
“We didn’t find any good ships, so I just sort of…”
“I thought perhaps it would fit nicely in the refrigerated container…”
“Why do they sell something that tastes so good and keeps for so long?”
Fine, is the last thing I hear before we’re released.
“So what about transport ships?”
“They seem hard to use as a second ship or mothership.”
“It’s weird that pirates use armed transport ships, right~?”
“I don’t think they’re suited for combat.”
“I think perhaps Tortilla Double will do.”
“But this ship is getting cramped!”
Maybe we should remodel a little. The pillows are getting out of hand. And what next… I could go hunt space pirate bases in Mishyltia…
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