I Was Thawed Out 1,000 Years in the Future. Men Were Extinct. ~Apparently, I’m Being Forced into Breeding Sex by Lewd Beautiful Girls in Skin-Tight Suits to Preserve the Human Race~ - 19

Chapter 19: Alpha Squad Commander Alisa: The Sniper in Position

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Right after showing off her signature aerobatic maneuver to Touya as he appeared on the bridge, an alarm rang out inside the cockpit of the mobile space fighter Swallow I, piloted by Alisa. Alisa immediately switched her consciousness over to mission mode, set her mouth in a hard line, and listened intently to the orders coming from the Migdal.

『Unidentified vessel detected by wide-area patrol radar. Currently approaching at high speed on a collision course with this ship. No response to warning signals.』

Coordinates were transmitted, and a marker was projected onto the display. Amid the glittering starlight, the ultra-long-range camera caught the unnatural flicker of booster flames swaying erratically. Speed and distance were calculated automatically, and the time remaining until impact was computed.

『Estimated time to collision: three minutes and twenty-one seconds. No response to the second warning signal. As there is no matching identification ID, the target is hereby designated active shoot-down target ‘Jack-One.’ Deployed Alpha Squad is to commence attack on the target.』

“Alpha-One, acknowledged. —All units, have you confirmed the order?”

『Alpha-Two, acknowledged.』

『Alpha-Three, acknowledged.』

At Alisa’s call, the Alpha Squad combat pilots, linked by close-range comms, responded. Including Commander Alisa and Vice-Commander Teres, five pilots were deployed around the Migdal. Fortunately, the closest to Jack-One was Swallow I, piloted by Alisa.

In standard spaceflight, even suspected pirate vessels were not to be attacked preemptively. However, the human-search vessel Migdal, due to the gravity of its mission, had been granted blanket interception authority directly from the Galactic Unified Government of Calvaria. Thus, with a single decision from Captain Sail, it was permissible to punish the suspicious without hesitation.

Responding to Alisa’s controls, Swallow I ignited its engines. Pale-blue flames like trailing tails erupted as the craft accelerated in a single burst. Inside the cockpit of the mobile space fighter, a space lacking a gravity-control system for weight and size reduction, the pressure bore down on her. 

“Alpha-One, target locked. No allied craft detected in the vicinity.”

『Acknowledged. Begin interception immediately.』

Even while enduring inertial pseudo-gravity, Alisa calmly maneuvered her wings. The skinsuit she wore was designed to withstand pressures of up to 70 Gs. As long as oxygen could be managed, it was capable of supporting even solo extravehicular movement in space with just this suit and a full-face helmet. It was not merely a convenient condom suit meant only to receive Touya’s semen. If anything, that function was the afterthought.

“When I get back, I’ll have sex with Touya-san. If I shoot this down, they’ll let that slide, right?”

Touya had looked surprised when he saw her aerobatics flying on the bridge. Remembering that cute expression, Alisa let the corners of her mouth soften. Intercepting an attacking craft was nothing more than routine clerical work to Alisa. With over a thousand total training hours and having even broken through Migdal-manufactured air-defense systems constructed on Earth, she was an ace pilot acknowledged by herself and others alike.

She set her sights and prepared to finish it with her fastest laser thermal cannon. Just as her fingertip was about to pull the trigger…

『Commander!』

“!?”

A voice struck her ears—it was Teres, who had chased after her. At her Vice-Commander’s shout, Alisa did not spare even a moment for deep thought and reflexively slammed the control stick. With almost no lag, the craft responded to the pilot’s intent, and the Swallow twisted its body in mid-flight.

“Kyaaah!?”

In the next instant, a tremendous impact shook the cockpit. It was a sniper shot from an entirely unexpected direction, physical ammunition. The round pierced the tip of Swallow I’s right wing and blew it away. Without Teres’s warning, there would have been no time to evade. The cockpit and fuselage would have been pierced straight through.

『Commander! Are you all right, Commander!?』

“I’m fine! Scan the area! Assume concealment and search thoroughly!”

Issuing rapid-fire orders to Teres, Alisa clenched the control stick. The impact had sent the craft into a violent spin. She immediately fired the thrusters and began braking. The excellent stabilizers activated at once, and before long she regained control.

“Damn it! Alpha-Three, Alpha-Four—where did the enemy craft go!?”

『W-We don’t know!』

『We’ve searched the sniper’s direction, but there’s no response!』

Even the wingmates overseeing the broader situation couldn’t hide their confusion. Suppressing the urge to smash her fist into something, Alisa scanned the surroundings. At the very least, she would shoot down Jack-One.

“There!”

Jack-One continued straight ahead without even flinching. Without hesitation, the trigger was pulled, and a silent beam of light shot out from the swallow’s throat. The ultra-high-energy destructive ray, fired at near light speed, pierced Jack-One’s cockpit without the slightest deviation and caused it to explode. It seemed to have struck the energy generator directly.

“Jack-One down! But we were sniped by an unknown craft!”

『What!?』

“We’re searching now, but there’s no response even on high-precision radar. It is likely already disengaged.”

Alisa’s report visibly shook the Migdal’s central command. The radar systems aboard the main ship were fundamentally on a completely different scale from those of Swallow I. Even so-called wide-area radar should easily tear through ordinary stealth measures like wet paper. Yet the mysterious sniper had slipped past those eyes. Even while deliberately firing physical rounds, which was easy to detect on radar, it had demonstrated skill sufficient to deceive the Migdal’s sensors.

『Alpha-One, return to the ship and receive repairs. Remaining Alpha Squad units are to continue area surveillance. Beta Squad, recover Jack-One’s wreckage and forward it for analysis. This ship will transition to full defensive posture. Prioritize safety checks and begin investigation of the unidentified craft.』

At Captain Sail’s orders, each unit sprang into action. The Migdal released its emergency energy tanks and began enveloping its massive hull in a repulsion field.

『Commander, are you injured?』

“I’m fine. Thank you, Teres.”

With half of its right wing gone, Swallow I headed back toward the Migdal with unstable motion, as Swallow II, which was piloted by the Vice-Commander, rushed to escort it. Responding bravely to the worried voice over short-range comms, Alisa answered firmly. In truth, without Teres’s warning, it would have been Alisa who vanished in an instant. Only now did the fear of death cling heavily to her back.

“You noticed well. Even the Migdal couldn’t detect it at all.”

『For just a moment, it felt like the starlight flickered. I sensed something was off.』

“Thank you. You saved me.”

The skinsuit absorbed the cold sweat seeping from her, but even so, Alisa could not shake the bone-deep chill of fear. When Swallow I returned to the Migdal’s hangar, waiting mechanics took charge of the craft. Stepping onto the mother ship on trembling legs, Alisa finally felt a bit of relief.

“We’ve heard from Jane and the others analyzing the wreckage. They found no biological traces in Jack-One.”

“So it really was a decoy.”

At the report from Alpha Squad’s analysts, Alisa’s shoulders slumped. No wonder it had charged in so straightforwardly. Realizing she had been crowing over nothing more than a scarecrow made her feel like her face was on fire. She had fallen perfectly for a feint using an unmanned craft and been targeted the moment she moved out. The concealment technology was impressive but more than that, she couldn’t forgive herself for falling for such a simple ruse.

“The captain says to report to Central Command after a medical check.”

“Understood. Things must be rough over there too.”

The patrol unit that served as the ship’s eyes had failed to catch the enemy. By now, every department was likely in an uproar, from total equipment inspections to reworking operational plans. Three days remained until arrival at their resupply city planet destination, Tiria. She could only hope nothing else happened.

Holding a prayerful feeling in her heart, Alisa set off toward the infirmary with heavy steps.

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