CH 284

Pursuit

Kisei and his group who had launched themselves using the mass driver broke through the thundercloud and entered the satellite orbit of Galea-E. As to be expected, the Empress’s striker is nowhere to be found. She probably already left.

Although they’re in satellite orbit, since Galea-E’s atmosphere is very this the altitude they are actually at is relatively low. The ground seemed so close that they almost felt that they could reach for it if they reached out their hand. For someone who’s unfamiliar with space traveling, they would have been worried that they might just plummet to the ground.

“At this altitude, the effect of the storm is still too strong, I don’t think we can rely on our radar here……..”

Schleer let out a small sigh as she looked at the radar screen on her sub-monitor. The radar screen was filled with radar noises and it was impossible for them to detect the Empress using it.

“Still, we don’t have the time to climb the altitude to escape the storm’s effect. If the Empress manages to get to where she can use sublight speed then it would be difficult to track her down with just the three of us.”

You can only travel Faster Than Light speed at the outer edge of the star system but you can still travel at barely the speed of light once you are far enough away from high-mass objects. Ideally, they need to secure the Empress before she can reach that point.

“For the time being, let’s predict where she’s heading. With just the three of us, we can not split up and search randomly. Since our time is limited, it’s probably best if we have some general idea in mind.”

Kisei glared out into space and muttered. Galea system is located near the center of the galaxy so the stars dotting the sky surrounding it are much denser than the night sky of Terra. In other words, the Empress has many escape routes. If the Empress is allowed to escape out of the system then it would be impossible for them to capture her.

“At the moment we are flying at the polar orbit of Galea-E. If we follow this route then we should be able to track her to some extent but……….”

Their original plan was to begin their pursuit from here. After all, even if the Empress is not in sight, they should be able to follow her to some extent since they’re flying in the same orbit.

“Because Liren shot down her ride booster…….no, thanks to her, the Empress’s plan should be completed in disarray right now. It’s very possible that she’s not going to follow her planned route huh.”

Diaroze pondered while stroking the control stick with her finger. Without a ride booster, it would be impossible for her to directly fly back to Nored’s territory. She will need to find a new ride booster somewhere but…….even if a ride booster is a striker’s common auxiliary equipment, it doesn’t mean that they are just left lying everywhere.

“She has two choices. Steal a ride booster from somewhere or get on board a vessel that’s capable of FTL travel.”

“If she goes with the latter then it would be troublesome for us. We can’t just inspect every suspicious vessel in this situation after all.”

“No, that’s not necessarily true……….the surrounding systems are already aware that there’s a battle going on here. There shouldn’t be any civilian ships in this area. In that case, her only choice would be to board a Noredian ship. Still, ………..”

“The Noredian force that was left in space had already surrendered to us after all. Every unit that still intends to fight us has already descended to Galea-E too.”

Diaroze nodded at Kisei’s words.

“The Empress’s subordinates had already turned against her. A lord who prematurely surrendered can not keep the trust of their subjects. Knowing how cautious she is, she wouldn’t take that fact lightly.”

Diaroze looked like she want to say something more but she only let out a sigh.

“Then she’s only left with one option. And the only place she can be sure that she can procure a ride booster around here is………?”

“Is there really such a palace? As of now, there are no other ports or bases in the Galea system you know.”

The only celestial body that had a military base in this system is Galea-E. Knowing that, Schleer knitted her brows and groaned.

“There are plenty right? A ship that deployed strikers should have a couple of ride boosters lying around after all.”

“…….the sunken ship!?”

“Exactly!”

Unlike in naval battles where your ship would sink to the bottom of the ocean when it sank, incapacitated spaceships would just be left abandoned in the same place it was shot. (Since they were fighting in satellite orbit, it would be more accurate to say that they are orbiting around the planet.) Scavenging supplies from those ships is not that difficult.

“I see. When our fleet battled the Angel fleet, quite a few ships had been sunk. It would be weird if her aim is to scavenge those huh.”

Valentina clapped her hand. The surrendered Angel fleet was guided a distance away from the planet so that they couldn’t intervene in the battle on the surface. As a result, there shouldn’t be too many ships in the area. A perfect situation for the Empress to sneakily scavenge whatever she needs.

“Umu, that’s how it is…….that place is close to the equator. She went out of her way to make her exit at the polar orbit too. What a shame.”

Diaroze shrugged. In order to transition from polar orbit to equatorial orbit, the Empress would need to make a 90 degrees correction after all.

“Anyway, this makes things simple. Let’s get there at once.”

Said Schleer while confirming the calculated course correction the computer came up with for their next destination.