Episode 19: Assailant Attack
A small boat slowly approached the trade ship ＜Paraiso＞.
The sky was cloudless, and the starlight provided enough visibility. They seemed to be relying on ＜Paraiso＞’s lamps, advancing without any lights of their own.
＜Paraiso＞ had collision-avoidance lamps lit at the bow and stern, using oil in accordance with the local level of technology. Other than that, there were no other lights. Communicator Dolls with lamps patrolled every two hours, and the small boat was approaching by exploiting these intervals.
(It seems an attack plan was formulated somewhere.)
The boat began its approach approximately 30 minutes after a patrol ended, timing it perfectly. Rather than dismissing it as coincidence, it was better to be cautious and assume it was planned.
＜Ringo＞ moved the Communicator Dolls, positioning four in the direction the small boat was coming from. The remaining two were hidden at the base of the main mast as a mobile unit.
(After confirming everyone has boarded, we’ll suppress them all at once.)
To avoid any escapes, she decided to lure them in.
The small boat pulled alongside ＜Paraiso＞’s hull. As if they had some means of communication, four boats pulled up and almost simultaneously threw grappling hooks.
“Ah…”
The Commander (Mum) watching the monitor, voiced.
One of the grappling hooks nearly failed to catch.
＜Ringo＞ didn’t panic. She manipulated a waiting Communicator to catch the hook and secure it to the ship’s edge. The man who threw the hook froze for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to have realized he almost failed. Then, the man next to him hit him on the head for it.
“Well, it wouldn’t have mattered if he failed…”
“It would have been extra work.”
Men began climbing the ropes from the four small boats. One reached the top and surveyed the surroundings. He gave a signal, and a second man began to climb. The Communicators were hidden in the shadows of rope drums and life-saving equipment, unnoticed by the intruders.
Four out of the five men in the small boat had climbed aboard. One seemed to be staying behind. Of the four who had infiltrated, one was securing the rope. The other three began to walk slowly, cautiously scanning their surroundings.
The Communicators followed behind them, keeping a low profile.
Apparently, they intended to gather together before taking their next action. They began to gather near the bow, under the rotating turret.
“Then, it’s about time. We can only capture three alive. Attempting more might result in escapes.”
◇◇◇◇
Under the massive Cannon, he waited for his comrades.
According to the information, the crew of this ship was quite small. Moreover, it was staffed only by women. Frankly, he thought it would be an easy job. They had a total of 20 men, all experienced in brawling. Although only 12 of them would actually participate in the attack, it was a surprise attack. If they neutralized them one by one, they should be able to easily subdue this ship.
“…They’re here.”
In the starlight, he could see figures approaching cautiously. He could only make out silhouettes, but they were probably comrades who had climbed up from the stern. He waved his hand, and they began to raise and lower their right hand. A confirmation signal. He returned the signal by waving both hands.
“…Alright, everyone’s here.”
The four groups had joined up. With 12 people gathered, it was cramped under the turret. In the darkness, it was difficult to see everyone clearly with just the starlight.
“There’s nowhere to run anyway. As planned, a small group… let’s say four, will go inside. The rest will wait outside. If anyone tries to escape, bag ’em.”
“Aye.”
Once they captured everyone, they could leisurely search for treasure. The ship should be loaded with Trade Goods, and he had confirmed that they had acquired some gold and jewels through transactions with the port. He couldn’t believe they had left such a delicious target untouched. They should attack quickly and take everything.
“Alright, let’s decide who goes inside. Let’s see… you, and you…”
He was about to randomly pick four people from the silhouettes when he felt something was off.
“Wait, did everyone come? We were supposed to leave one behind…”
It was too dark to see clearly, but it felt like there were too many people gathered around him.
“Nah, we left one behind.”
“Same here.”
“One, two, three…”
“Huh? What do you mean there are too many people…”
The men began to murmur, and then.
A metallic clank echoed.
Four of the figures on the outer edge simultaneously took a step back and took aim.
“Hey, what are you doing…”
◇◇◇◇
Everyone had conveniently gathered in one place. Since they had been discovered, ＜Ringo＞ manipulated the Communicator Dolls and pulled the triggers of their Assault Rifles.
The rifle bullets that flew from the muzzles ravaged the men’s bodies at close range. The precisely calculated bullets fulfilled their purpose within the expected margin of error. The Assailants, their lives swiftly taken, fell to the deck. Immediately after, automatically controlled searchlights illuminated the remaining men.
“What…!”
Before they could even scream, they were struck down by the Communicators who rushed in and smashed them with their gunstocks. Their vision blurred, and panicked by the gunshots, the men had no way to resist. Accurately struck on the head, their brains rattled, they couldn’t even scream and fell to their knees.
“Ma’am. The deck is secured. Suppression of the small boats is commencing.”
“Eight left.”
Leaving two Communicators on the deck, she combined the two from the mobile unit and assigned one to each boat. The four men on the deck were immediately shot dead by the Communicators. She considered shooting the watchmen remaining in the small boats from above, but that might destroy the boats as well, so she decided it was necessary to go down. She jumped over the ship’s edge, hooking one hand and one foot on the rope to slide down.
“Whoa! Hey, what’s…”
Muzzle flash.
The man was blown away, his chest pierced by three bullets. He probably didn’t even have time to understand what was happening. On the four small boats, four men were dealt with almost simultaneously.
“Clear.”
She performed another scan, confirming that there were no lifeforms remaining other than the three who had only been knocked unconscious and the six Communicators. As expected, it was an incredibly anticlimactic end.
“Is it over? …What do we do now?”
An attack by 20 men, 17 killed, 3 captured. Generally, ships were considered to have Extraterritoriality, but it was unclear how they would be treated while docked. It was highly likely to depend on the lord’s whim.
“Although we don’t have a guarantee, there will basically be no repercussions. If we negotiate well, we might even be able to extract compensation.”
“And why is that?”
“I believe we are in a very advantageous position due to our previous negotiations. We have no need to attack the people of the port, and I believe the other party is rational enough to understand that.”
She simply replied “Hmm” to ＜Ringo＞’s analysis. Honestly, she didn’t care that much. If negotiations broke down, they could just run away. She had chosen this place simply because it was relatively prosperous and the closest port to Fortress ＜The Tree＞. Considering the surrounding situation, it was unlikely that wanted posters would be circulated. Due to the war, communication between the cities was almost completely cut off.
“We will wait for dawn and transport the prisoners and corpses to the port by boat. The other party seems to be a group with a less-than-stellar reputation, so, well, anything could happen.”
“I see… yawn. Well, I’m going to sleep… Wake me up when something happens and tell me the results.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Seeing her off as she returned to the bedroom, ＜Ringo＞ inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had been careful with the images and sounds, but the opponents were still human beings, even if they were Assailants. There was a possibility that she would overreact to the killings, but for now, it seemed there were no problems. Although she was somewhat drawn to the idea of comforting the Commander (Mum) if she became emotionally unstable, of course, it was best if nothing happened.
With the extremely biased notion that seeking an accent in their relationship was something to consider after they reached a state of ennui, ＜Ringo＞ resumed operating the Communicator Dolls.