"Haaah…"
Milanor would like to think it was his fighting genius that he could own them this easily. However, much to his chagrin, it was their stupidity that played the biggest role in this beating.
They never considered even once about taking cover somewhere. The four of them just stood there like they were rooted to the spot, even as the freelancer evidently picked them one by one. They never let go of this misconception of superiority and feeling of control they had assumed as the aggressors.
Or maybe they were simply just a bunch of idiotic muscle-heads that never use their brain. He heard them kept insulting each other too. Either way, Milanor managed to prevent those innocent civilians from getting hurt.
'They're all gone… Seemed like they know what to do. Must be because it's routine. Wilfred said this was the worst raid he had seen, though.'
"M-Milestone…!? That was amazing, man! I can't believe you managed to beat all of them that easily." Wilfred had come out and jogged to where he was. Naya followed slowly behind him.
"They're just grunts… You know, cannon fodder? I was just lucky," he light-heartedly responded.
Approaching him, Naya scowled. "What's with you? You're the one who said we should back away," chided her while crossing her arms.
"Well… I can't let him shoot that guy, see. Call me naïve, but it was half reflex I jumped out like that."
That was his true feeling. Milanor wasn't a soldier, and he valued lives greatly. That didn't mean he don't know when to get ruthless, however. He understood clearly the difference between pure souls and rotten ones like these pirates.
Milanor wouldn't hesitate to aim his gun in the right direction and pull the trigger.
Outer space wasn't a kind place. It was cold and unforgiving. The captain had learned that since he was just a bright-eyed kid with dreams among the stars.
"S-Should we leave them just like that…? In the middle of the s-street?" Wilfred stuttered while nervously glancing at the bodies.
"…"
Milanor approached the two who had fallen close together. Picking up their pistols that lay close by, he gave them to Wilfred and Naya.
It was unknown what model or brand they were, but as someone who was just recently been on the receiving end of their energy bullets, Milanor knew they were good enough.
"Just in case," he said.
"S-Seriously?"
"…I don't know how to use guns, you know?"
"Don't worry too much about it. It's just for insurance," he replied to Naya's skepticism.
Milanor didn't expect they would be much help in a fight, but he just wanted to make sure they had some sort of means to protect themselves.
Well, there was that robotic animal Naya had, but he wasn't sure whether it had any offensive power.
Naya said it had protected her all this time when she was in Runanthor. It was a bit fishy considering the appearance of that small quadruple metallic creature, but maybe it was just the case of him knowing too little about it.
He walked around the other corpses and picked up the shotgun and SMG, as well as the third pistol. He inspected them for any other firearms but didn't find anything.
He shouldn't be skeptical about the minimum amount of gear though, they were outlaws with limited resources and not a well-budgeted military.
"A-Are we going to use them, too?" asked Wilfred.
"I don't know about the shotgun… but maybe I can use the machine gun." His Noctilucent wouldn't lose to any half-hearted shotgun in terms of firepower, but he could probably take advantage of the SMG's rapid fire.
Milanor would have preferred a rifle but it was useless to hope for something you don't have.
'I should've brought a more proper weapon from the armory… Maybe I relied too much on Miledi.'
Milanor approached one of the buildings that were closest to him. Naya and Miledi followed along while curiously checking the pistols he gave them.
Opening the old-fashioned swinging doors, he peeked inside. Seemed like it was a store of some kind. There were shelves with little boxes on them all around the lobby. Nobody was around.
"There," he threw the shotgun and the small arm over the countertop. They landed with solid clanks behind them. This way he hope it somehow prevented a friend of theirs from salvaging them.
He turned back outside. "You sure? That seems like a waste, don't you think?" commented Naya.
"Well, can you handle a weapon like that? It probably flies right out of your hands as soon as you try to fire it."
"What about him?" she pointed to Wilfred.
"M-My father taught me about guns in the past… But I-I think it's way more than I can handle too," he timidly admitted.
Milanor figured. Shotguns were not the kind of weapon an amateur should be wielding around. The recoil was one thing, but the scattered pellets could also be grave dangers for allies.
The captain even had one specialized shotgun in the armory. It was technically a small mass driver, capable of accelerating a slug shell into catastrophic velocity. It could destroy a small building in a single shot.
Definitely not something you use against another human.
'I mean, of course. It's supposed to be used against armored vehicles. That horrifying penetrating power ridicules every defense manufacturer out there. How the hell did you manage to possess something like that, Dad?'
Milanor shook his head from remembering the many unspeakable things that were hidden in that armory.
"Anyway, about what you said before, Wil?"
"Huh?" he blankly stared at me with as much confusion as a 12-years old studying quantum physics.
"What do you mean, 'huh?' Didn't you say something about a wife?" His confusion infected Milanor too, like some kind of contagious disease.
"W-W-Wife!? That's right! Aine!" the mechanic grabbed his shoulders so fast that he could imagine him going crack and breaking the sound barrier. "M-Milestone! You're the only one I can ask this! Please! By the Holy Orion, please help me save Aine!"
"I-Is that the name of your wife…?" His voice was strained due to the iron grip Wilfred had on his shoulders.
"Yes, absolutely! She's the only thing I have left in this world! I-If… If anything happened to her, I… I don't think I could go on living!"
'Talk about pure love. It's a bit overwhelming actually.'
'It's not like he's a spacer, so it isn't unusual that he could be a family man with a devoted wife by his side.' It was just… He figured the mechanic was around the same age as him, so learning that he was a winner in life made him feel a little bit complicated.
"L-Let's take a deep breath and confirm the circumstance for a moment," Milanor said while forcefully releasing his aching shoulders. "I take it this… Ms. Aine lives in the city?"
"Yeah…" Wilfred calmed down and suppressed his anxiety. "She works in an affiliate clinic in the western district. It was set up to treat the often wounded and unhealthy workers around there.
"We rented an apartment close to her workplace so she won't spend too much time on her commute. That whole area is trouble around the clock, you see. Even when compared to the rest of the city."
"I-I see…" He didn't intend to ask for that many details but maybe Milanor should just indulge him.
"You understand it now, right? These guys… Usually, they raided the warehouses and factories for materials. They would also kidnap any unfortunate people that they came across. That's how they operate," he explained.
"So you think this raid isn't any different than the ones they did before? Even if the scale is many times larger than usual?"
He nodded. "All of those abducted people… 90% of them never returned. They were permanently declared as 'missing persons.' And the government had never done anything for them, too."
"Mmmm… Then what about that 10%?" the captain asked. Although he had a guess to the answer.
"What do you think?" he said with a sarcastic laugh. "They came back as one of them. They joined the pirates."
"Thought as much."
"Now you get why I'm so desperate. Please, Milestone. I don't think I could pay you anything worth much, considering that you have such an incredible starship… If I had to go alone, I go alone. But…" he looked down and bit his lip.
'…He knows that he doesn't have much of a chance against them.'
Milanor looked toward his current employer, Naya. She was simply listening to their conversation so far. He wondered if she had her own opinion.
She caught his gaze but didn't say anything. Not even a reaction or gesture. She just looked him in the eyes silently.
'Are you saying you leave the decision to me? Milanor conjectured in his mind. 'I still don't understand much about this girl…'