Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!

Loyalty was the last quality you'd ever expect from pirates.

The moment they sensed real danger, the majority of those advancing toward me followed my warning without hesitation. One after another, they powered down their weapons and disabled their generators, shutting their ships down in an instant.

Then came the white flag—or to be more precise, the encrypted control codes to their mainframes—symbols of their total and unconditional surrender.

"Good!"

Out of all the ships in the area, about 67% caved without putting up a fight.

Without wasting even a heartbeat, I locked onto every ship that remained operational and unleashed a barrage, striking them down one after another. A second wave of fiery explosions lit up space, closely observed by those who had already surrendered—relieved it wasn't them.

After all, they could vividly imagine being next if they'd hesitated.

"For the rest of you pirates out there, how about it?" I continued, voice calm and laid-back as always. "This is your final opportunity. Surrender now, or prepare to fight—no, scratch that. Prepare to die."

To my surprise, they didn't even argue.

All of the remaining ships in the distance... began turning away and attempting to flee. Not a bad move, honestly. If I were in their position, I'd probably do the same. Unfortunately for them, their timing couldn't have been worse.

"Nyssra, I could use a little help here," I asked. "Can you neutralize their systems? I'd like to take their ships intact if possible."

{...You mean wiping out their control systems? I suppose I can, but...}

Her voice no longer trembled—probably thanks to the overwhelming display I had just put on. After watching that, she clearly had no doubt left about my prowess in combat.

Just a few seconds after she responded, the remaining ships froze mid-maneuver.

If I could peek into their main cockpits, I'd bet I'd see a flood of system error messages. To think Nyssra could crash over a hundred systems in a single swoop... As expected, her hacking skills were on par with mine—maybe even better in certain ways.

While she disabled their ships, I worked on locking down the ones that had already surrendered. Since they handed over their encrypted control codes, I now had full remote access to their vessels. I didn't plan to mess with much—just applied a firm lock on their weapons and engines to keep them still.

Once I confirmed their complete disablement, I advanced the Range Falcon, slowly gliding through the now-lifeless cluster of pirate ships.

Even without hearing them, I could almost feel their panic. Losing control over your own ship? There's no blow more terrifying to a pilot.

No need to rush—I coasted up to a nearby small cruiser and opened a public channel with it. The message would be audible to all surrounding pirates.

"You ignored my offer once, twice, and now a third time." I began coldly. "But hey, I'm a patient guy. Tell me you're ready to surrender everything—and I mean everything—and I'll spare your life."

A few moments dragged by... Still nothing. Not even static.

"...That so? What a shame."

I let out a breath and locked onto the cruiser.

All weapons, except for the Brionac, were activated. A flash later, and the cruiser burst apart in flames—reduced to spinning chunks of wreckage, the fragments smacking into nearby ships like warning shots.

"Next up—how about you?" I asked, smoothly targeting the next ship. "Feeling any braver?"

Silence again. Not a single word. No movement.

I shook my head, sighed softly, and activated the turrets again. Another beam barrage surged out, obliterating the next target.

{Uhm... Arthur?}

Just then, Nyssra's voice returned through the comms.

{Sorry, but when I crashed their systems, I think I hit their communications by mistake too. I'm working on restoring them right now, so maybe give it a second?}

"Huh? Oh... okay." I nodded, noticing the nervous mix of guilt and embarrassment in her tone.

Wait a minute... Does that mean those two ships I just blew up might have been trying to scream out their surrender?

Yikes. That's... awkward. And a bit wasteful, honestly.

Roughly ten seconds later, the comms flickered back to life.

{W-We surrender! Please spare us!}

{I don't wanna die! Please, just don't kill me! You can take all my credits! Just let me live!}

{*Clattering noise*}

A storm of desperate cries flooded the channel, chaotic and overwhelming—so much that I couldn't even make out individual voices anymore. I sighed and muted their frantic pleas before giving my final ultimatum.

"If you wish to live, send me the white flag. Otherwise, well... you know how it ends." I clarified firmly.

Moments later, hundreds of white flags popped up on my system notifications. It signified that every last pirate had surrendered to me without much resistance. Threatening their lives while providing a real-time demonstration of what awaited—not even giving them the opportunity to use their weapons—them truly worked wonders.

Nothing beats a dose of brutal realism.

Afterward, I verified that the access keys they transmitted were genuine, before locking out all of their ship functions.

Everything—except for their thrusters.

"Alright, time to head back!"

Originally, I only intended to capture one ship. Yet here I was, walking away with hundreds instead. An unexpected windfall, but one I gladly welcomed.

"Percy, re-engage AI-assisted controls, synchronize navigation protocols across all captured ships. Disable the jump drive jammers. Then, plot a course toward the nearest space station—Leymos."

Leymos was another station situated within the Calumet Star System, nestled near the very edge of the system's outer boundary—and notably closer to our current position than Narlia Commercial Hub.

Of course, distance wasn't the only factor behind my choice. Leymos was a so-called "gray" station—an unaffiliated haven that welcomed all types of ships, be they independents, government vessels, private traders, or even pirates. That made it the perfect place to "process" my latest haul.

Before long, we arrived at our destination.

Leymos consisted of two elongated structures, like twin tenant buildings facing each other across an invisible street. One was coated in deep shades of grey and black, while the other flaunted brighter hues—streaks of white, red, and blue breaking up its surface.

Naturally, docking wasn't a free-for-all. Each structure had a different "owner," and this unique division was what preserved Leymos's neutrality.

The darker half belonged to the "Shadow" society, one of the largest underground collectives in the Calumet Star System. Pirates, smugglers, and shady merchants all docked there without question.

The other side was owned by someone named General Keith. I didn't know much about him—he was more of a background name in the game. Whether he was a real general or just playing one was anyone's guess.

Regardless, both factions had settled into an uneasy truce. Since they shared space, they chose to ignore each other's business to avoid unnecessary complications.

And so, I made my way toward the Shadow society's docks.

I was hauling pirates, after all. If I tried docking on the other side, those guys would be doomed to imprisonment—or worse.

Not that I cared much about what happened to them, but given the current situation, it seemed more worthwhile to put them to use than throw them away.

"Percy, initiate docking procedures. Keep the pirate vessels hovering outside in a defensive formation, and lock out all systems until I release control."

[Command Received. Preparing to Dock.]

Slowly, the Range Falcon closed in on the massive station, steering toward one of the block-shaped docking bays. Nyssra, who'd been trailing along, pulled into the adjacent bay—keeping her distance minimal.

Just as I moved to shut the shutters, an incoming hail blinked on my console. Intrigued, I accepted the signal and was greeted by a familiar face.

"Eva?"

She, who should've been at Mithra, was suddenly close enough to hail me?

Glancing at the radar, I spotted her ship just dropping out of warp and quickly closing in—she'd reach me within eight seconds.

{Keep the dock open, I'm coming in.} she ordered briskly, ending the transmission without giving me time to ask anything.

Well, she was practically here already, so I humored her request and held the shutters open. Within moments, I spotted her Hunter Frigate rocketing toward the dock.

With smooth, practiced precision, she rotated her ship mid-air and executed a rapid deceleration, bringing herself to a halt in just four seconds—perfectly inside the same dock. Then she gently lowered her ship to the deck and placed her engines in standby.

I stepped out of the Range Falcon, standing by to meet her arrival. As I did, I activated the dock's locking mechanism, sealing the bay in preparation.

Moments later, Eva emerged from her cockpit, landing decisively ahead of me. She didn't pause—just walked straight up and started talking.

{I saw the recruitment post. Since Mother's initial tests were done, I figured I'd oversee things—make sure you don't end up recruiting some unstable weirdos.}

Her voice rang out through the suit's comms, flat and unreadable.

Judging by her tone... Did I screw up somehow?

{Arthur? You're not done yet? What's our next move anyway—wait, who's that?}

Almost on cue, Nyssra made her entrance, striding in as if she owned the place.

The two women locked eyes...

Was it just me, or did I literally see sparks fly between them?