The Spaceport In The Gorgona Star System

The supplies aboard the supply ship Brava were transferred to the space station, and we relocated from the Brava to the second-class reconnaissance ship Gyogaru.

The Gyogaru was a combat vessel approximately 120 meters long. It was lightly armed, carrying only laser cannons and high-speed missiles. However, it was the fastest ship in the goblin fleet.

Sario and I joined the other members of the reconnaissance unit. Our reconnaissance team consisted of six members, commanded by Unit Commander Valbo.

The other three members were Berta and Rieto of the Werecat race, and Dimas of the Werewolf race. The two Werecats were young, agile, and approximately 150 centimeters tall. Dimas, meanwhile, stood about 190 centimeters tall and was apparently sixty years old.

After forming our team, we trained together. Berta and Rieto were cheerful and talkative. In contrast, Dimas was a man of few words. Incidentally, Berta was the only woman on the team.

When training ended and mealtime arrived, we were handed the usual tubes of preserved food. I grimaced at the sight of them. Apparently, Berta noticed my reaction.

“Zen, you don’t like these food tubes either, nya?”

Berta spoke to me. The Werecats were a race resembling large cats transformed into humans. Although they were bipedal humanoids, their entire bodies were covered in fur, and they had feline faces. Berta resembled a Somali cat. Another distinctive characteristic of the Werecats was that they pronounced the sound “na” as “nya.”

“These food tubes aren’t food. They’re torture devices.”

Hearing that, Berta’s partner, Rieto, nodded.

“I know exactly how you feel, nya.”

Berta and Rieto had apparently been sold to a dark syndicate when they were young before eventually becoming reconnaissance soldiers for the goblins. Their families were nomads who had lost their home planet and apparently couldn’t afford to raise them.

As for Dimas, he had been taken prisoner during a war and sold to the goblins. On one occasion, he had quietly mentioned that he wanted to return to the family he had left behind on his homeworld.

Our training period ended, and the reconnaissance unit was assigned its first mission. We received a briefing from our commander, Valbo.

“Our first objective is one of the several existing spaceports, a facility known as Ponce Spaceport. You will enter Ponce Spaceport, investigate its interior, and examine its structure.”

Ponce Spaceport had been constructed by the Anubis race. Originally, the Gorgona star system had belonged to the Anubis.

The Anubis were another race of dog-people, like Sario’s Kuushi race. However, while the Kuushi resembled Shiba Inus, the Anubis resembled Dobermans. The Anubis had been a Level C civilization and had once controlled approximately three hundred stars. However, they had since gone extinct because they had made enemies of the Celestial Gods.

When I heard that, I thought they must have either had a death wish or been complete idiots. The Celestial Gods possessed overwhelming power. Even if the Anubis controlled some three hundred stars, it was unimaginably foolish for a Level C civilization to oppose them.

Sario told me how the Anubis had met their end. Apparently, the Rikagel Celestial Gods had wiped them out in approximately a single day. It was a chilling story that demonstrated just how overwhelming the Celestial Gods’ power was.

We returned to our quarters and put on our Mobile Armor, then waited for the reconnaissance ship Gyogaru to arrive at Ponce Spaceport. Once the Gyogaru approached the spaceport, we received orders to deploy.

Following those orders, three reconnaissance units, including ours, were dispatched. We launched ourselves into space through the Gyogaru’s airlock and headed toward Ponce Spaceport, releasing gas from the thruster packs mounted on our backs.

It was my first time actually being out in space. Nothing had gone wrong, but simply knowing that I was floating in the vacuum of space made my breathing quicken and cold sweat break out across my back.

If I had been alone in the darkness of space, I probably would have panicked. However, Sario and the others were flying ahead of me. Their presence kept me from losing my composure, and I managed to reach Ponce Spaceport without panicking.

Ponce Spaceport was an enormous structure approximately three kilometers long, but it had been damaged. Several holes had been torn through its outer walls, and we entered through one approximately five meters in diameter on the side facing the star. Sario and I had been ordered to work together, so we proceeded down the corridor as a pair.

“Zen, we’ll need our thruster packs to get back, yesh. Don’t waste your propellant.”

“Got it.”

We proceeded farther down the corridor, which had neither air nor gravity. Berta and Rieto took the lead, followed by Unit Commander Valbo and Dimas in the middle, while Sario and I brought up the rear.

Since we were weightless, we propelled ourselves forward by pushing off not only the floor but also the walls and ceiling.

“There’s a door up ahead. Investigate what’s inside.”

The fact that Valbo already knew about the door suggested that the area had been surveyed using reconnaissance machines. These machines were apparently small devices resembling drones.

Rieto approached the door and checked whether it was locked.

“Commander Valbo, the door is locked.”

“Then hurry up and destroy it.”

We had brought explosives for situations like this. Berta and Rieto attached explosives to the door before retreating.

“Do it.”

At Valbo’s command, the detonator was activated, blowing the door apart. Since there was no air, we couldn’t hear the explosion, but I felt the vibrations through the hand I had pressed against the wall.

Fragments of the door scattered everywhere, making it impossible to approach for a while. Once the debris had settled, we entered through the destroyed doorway. The room appeared to have been a large warehouse. All sorts of cargo floated through the air.

Most of the objects appeared to be mechanical components. I suspected they were replacement parts intended for repairing machinery used at Ponce Spaceport. However, almost everything seemed to be damaged.

“Go all the way to the back and search thoroughly. See if there’s anything we can still use.”

Valbo issued his rather vague orders. The explosion had left cargo floating everywhere, obstructing our path and making it difficult to reach the rear of the warehouse. Nevertheless, orders were orders, so I made my way deeper inside and discovered a safe secured to the floor. It appeared to occupy an area roughly the size of a single tatami mat. However, its locking mechanism was broken.

A safe, huh? Since it was broken, it probably wasn’t worth salvaging. No, perhaps its contents were what mattered? I’d leave it for now. Looking around, I realized that the floating cargo had completely obscured Sario, Berta, and the others from view.

I searched for anything else of interest. Eventually, I discovered another room at the back of the warehouse. Its door was open, and when I entered, I saw what appeared to be a brand-new spacesuit floating in midair. I approached it and peered inside the helmet.

“Whoa!”

I instinctively recoiled. There was a mummified corpse inside the spacesuit. After calming myself, I resumed searching for anything useful. That was when I noticed some cargo covered by a sheet at the back of the room. Apparently, the covering had prevented the contents from scattering or being damaged.

The sheet was secured to the floor with metal fasteners. I removed just one of them. Part of the sheet lifted away, revealing what was underneath. It appeared to be maintenance robots. Writing on the boxes identified them as the latest model of military maintenance robot. However, they had only been the latest model several decades ago.

There appeared to be approximately fifty of these boxes stacked together.

“Get back here.”

Valbo’s voice came through my communicator. I hurried toward the entrance and rejoined the others.

“Everyone’s here. Report your findings.”