What Do You Mean I'm The Captain Of A Yandere Mercenary Company? Chapter 812: Facing The Insurgents

"How many are there?" I groaned.

A brief silence followed before Renata replied, "The scanners indicate eight vessels, Daddy... Four B Class Heavy Fighters and four B Class Heavy Interceptors..."

"Oh... That doesn’t seem too terrible..."

"Eh? Um... Another vessel has just jumped in... That’s a D Class Freighter, Daddy..."

I furrowed my brow, "A freighter? Don’t tell me they’ve come for trading?"

"Ah... It appears they’ve converted the freighter into a carrier ship, Daddy... They’re deploying their full squadron of fighters and bombers at this moment..."

Damn... The initial ships that arrived must have been scouts ensuring the area was safe before their makeshift carrier entered the scene...

"Are you kidding me?!! Why on earth are they assaulting this location?!" I shouted.

Yumiko touched her cheek thoughtfully, "If I may speculate, Mistress... I think they’re targeting the latest Exo-Knights. They might hope that acquiring them could reverse their fortunes."

I pulled a grimace, "Are the tenth generation Exo-Knights really that impressive?"

"I doubt one could take on a whole fleet alone, since that’s not their intended purpose... But a talented pilot might make it happen. What I suspect is they’re grasping at any potential edge, even if it’s uncertain."

In other words... They’re in a dire situation... Understood...

"What’s the status of the security team?" I inquired.

Renata hesitated once more before responding, "Umm... They’re gearing up, but it seems the insurgents greatly outnumber them, Daddy..."

Looks like we’re out of options...

"Prepare the Verlandi; I’m heading out to support the defenses. Can you undock our ship and join the fight too, Renata?"

"Absolutely, Daddy! Count on me!"

"Reach out to the station and inform them we’re deploying to bolster their station’s protection!"

"It’s handled, Daddy!"

I faced Yumiko, "Would you prefer to remain here or come along with me?"

"How could I assist if I joined you, Mistress?" She questioned.

"The Verlandi features a manually operated railgun turret, so you could serve as my gunner if you’d like."

"Then, please let me join you, Mistress!"

I nodded to her, and we both hurried to the hangar holding my Verlandi.

Meanwhile, the vessel began its movement as Renata disengaged from the station, activating the engines to position us within range of the foe’s ships.

Yumiko trailed me into the hangar, where my ship’s boarding ramp was already extended in anticipation.

I dashed aboard to discover a blonde Renata awaiting me.

"The ship is primed for launch, Daddy!"

Thank you, Renata~

I planted a swift kiss on her before hurrying to the cockpit, pausing to indicate the console for Yumiko to man the specific turret.

Activating the controls, I raised the ramp and powered the ship’s generators.

A swift check confirmed all systems were operational.

"Prepared for launch," I declared over the comms.

The hangar doors slid open as the docking clamps readied to release us.

"All clear, Daddy! Best of luck!!"

The clamp released, sending my Verlandi tumbling from our vessel before I ignited the thrusters, accelerating away from the Iridescence.

Glancing at the tactical display, Renata wasn’t exaggerating about the security team’s disadvantage—a flood of red markers dwarfed the sparse blue ones.

Through the cockpit viewport, the scene matched: a swarm of fighters and bombers advancing on our position.

Evidently, the freighter intended to lurk beyond the station’s defense platforms’ reach, keeping its distance from the impending clash.

The station’s security craft clung near the structure rather than charging ahead, relying on the platforms’ coverage to improve their odds in the battle.

Naturally, facing such lopsided numbers, a defensive stance was the smartest way to have any shot at victory.

"Yumiko? Report?" I called without looking back.

"All systems nominal, Mistress! We’re set to engage!"

I shoved the throttle forward, propelling my ship toward the defensive perimeter, linking up with the patrol vessels arrayed against the attackers.

An incoming transmission buzzed, and I accepted it via the panel, displaying a pilot in a full helmet and suit.

"Are you the mercenary coming to our aid?" He inquired.

I affirmed, "Tera from the Teran Mercenary Company. Here to provide support."

"We could really use more than one-- Whoa! Is that a Verlandi?!! Everyone!! That’s a damn Verlandi! Holy crap!!"

Wow, it’s been ages since I’ve gotten that kind of reaction.

I coughed lightly, "Ahem... Yes, it’s a Verlandi... Save the admiration until after we’ve handled these insurgents."

He regained his composure with a cough, "Ahem... Right... As I was saying... We need more than a lone ship, but we’ll accept any help available... We’ve alerted the nearby military, but they’re blocking our transmissions, so it could be some time before we bypass their jammers and send the distress signal."

"What are our odds?"

"Slim... They ought to deploy the Exo-Knights too, but I’m unsure how much impact they’ll have..."

I arched a brow, "Hmm? I figured those were on par with fighters and bombers? So they should at least strengthen our defenses?"

"Sure... But without arming them first... They lack the punch to destroy that Freighter... Plus... I heard the pilots got pulled for another sim test, so it might delay their launch..."

Hold on... It just hit me... So the test pilots double as station security? That seems pretty inefficient.

Still... They likely haven’t faced a threat this scale before now...

"Lucky for us, we’ve got a major vessel on our side too~" I remarked.

As if on cue, the Iridescence materialized behind our formation, towering protectively as it swung its broadside to aim its armaments.

The pilot glanced up as my craft entered his view, and it must have been an inspiring spectacle with the turrets swiveling into position.

"Wow... A Broadsword Combat Freighter as well? We might pull through after all."

Heh heh~ Exactly~

Their converted carrier may be D Class, but it was built for transport, not warfare, leaving it vulnerable in a head-on clash.

Conversely, our Iridescence is a dedicated combat freighter, engineered to traverse hostile zones, deliver payloads, and fend off warships of equal or greater size.

Thus, in open combat, we outmatch it easily.

The enemy clearly recognized this, pulling their carrier even farther back upon our arrival, as if poised to flee if the tide turned against them.

The horde of enemy craft continued its rush, and though we were fewer in number, our firepower held the edge.

I selected Renata on the display while silencing the security leader’s channel, "Renata? Guns status?"

"Fully loaded and ready, Daddy! But uh... Just so you know... I’m not as skilled as Sister Lea at operating them, so..."

I dismissed it with a gesture, "No worries. Any support fire helps; don’t stress too much."

"Gotcha, Daddy! I’ll give it everything! They’ll enter range in thirty seconds!"

I switched back to the security leader and restored audio, "They’ll be in range in thirty seconds. Do we open fire?"

"Wait one... Ahem... Unidentified ships! You’ve entered restricted space! Reverse course immediately or face incoming fire!!"

I figured he was transmitting that to the attackers.

After a short wait, he continued, "Unidentified ships! Final warning! Advance further and it’ll be seen as aggression—we’ll respond with deadly force! I repeat, retreat now or we fire!!"

Silence from them.

The timer hit zero.

He looked my way, "Engage."

I directed Renata, "Engage."

"Yayyy!! Firing away!!" Renata chirped delightfully before squeezing the triggers.

Time for a light show!