It was about time to I tell you a bit about Koji.
Koji's full name is koji Yoshivon. Age: 27. Relationship status: single. After graduating from high school, he went to a technical college in his hometown and later joined a firm in that same town.
Back in college, Koji had dated a girl he met online, but like most long-distance relationships, it didn't last. After that, he got a job as a network administrator because he was "good with computers," although he had little real expertise and had to learn everything on the job. Most of his workdays were spent dealing with coworkers who somehow managed to get viruses from all sorts of sources: news pages, online shopping, suspicious browser games, even porn sites.
Koji's hobbies? Video games, and that was about it. He wasn't too particular about the type—he played both Japanese and Eastern games like the 'monkey king'. For a while, he was obsessed with first-person shooters, playing so much that he ranked near the top of the leaderboards. While he never managed to take first place, he was one of the best players in Japan at the time.
Due to his "intimidating eyes" and the way people said he "looked scary," he didn't have much social interaction or camaraderie in his daily life, which is what ultimately drew him to Astria Online—a game that let him explore the vast reaches of space on his own. He quickly became addicted.
That's about all you needed to know about Koji. Oh, and he liked carbonated drinks—the fizzy sensation in his throat was something he found incredible.
But enough about him. Let's get back to his current predicament.
"And where did you obtain all of this Rare Metal in your cargo?" the Port Authority asked, clearly intent on interrogating him.
"I got all the stuff in my ship from defeating and looting space pirates. Any other problems?" Koji replied, relieved that alcohol wasn't contraband in this colony, though they seemed especially curious about the Rare Metal in his cargo.
Koji will now be referenced as Von keep that in mind.
Von had no clue where the pirates had gotten the Rare Metal, so his only option was to play innocent.
At this point, he was an unaffiliated, unremarkable, self-styled mercenary with no proof of identity. How would anyone feel if a guy like that strolled in with tons of precious metals? Yeah, suspicious. Extremely suspicious.
He couldn't blame the Port Authority worker for being thorough in his questioning.
"And you absolutely cannot tell me where you got it?" the worker pressed.
"I've been telling you where I got it: from the pirates. This pointless questioning is really irritating," Von replied, his patience wearing thin. Was this guy talking in circles on purpose? Was he waiting for Von to slip up and reveal something he shouldn't? Or was he fishing for something else, like a bribe?
Oh, Von thought, I bet he wants me to suggest a bribe so he can use that to either arrest or extort me. It was a waste of time to play along with such games. But what could he do?
Von was still pondering his predicament when someone suddenly barged into the questioning room without so much as a knock.
She was a young woman—perhaps "girl" would be more accurate? And he'd be lying if he said she wasn't attractive. With shiny blue hair, piercing black irises, and a pure white uniform adorned with a red mantle, she looked like a heroic lady knight or war maiden.
Though she seemed calm and mature on the surface, her sharp eyes, like those of a bird of prey, told Von it would be wise not to underestimate her.
Von's Port Authority "friend" quickly shifted into a more deferential tone.
"O-oh my, Lieutenant Emilia. What brings you here?"
"I saw an unfamiliar ship in the hangar. I presume he is the owner of the craft?" she asked, pointing directly at Von.
"Y-yes, ma'am." The Port Authority worker broke into a nervous sweat as he handed the military woman the tablet he was holding. She skimmed it quickly, then fixed her gaze on Von.
"That is quite the quantity of Rare Metal. I trust it wasn't obtained through unsavory means?" she asked.
"Swear on my life," Von replied.
"Hmm... Are single mercenaries capable of defeating space pirates? You're not even registered to a mercenary guild. Do you have anything else you'd like to report?"
"There was coordinate data on their ship that seems to point to their home base. I got that info from analyzing the data caches of the destroyed pirate ships. I was hoping to hand over that info while I grabbed my bounty, but I got dragged here as soon as I revealed what was in my cargo," Von explained, shrugging to emphasize how little he really knew about all this.
Something about Emilia's demeanor gave off a galactic police vibe. She clearly outranked the Port Authority worker. If Von made it clear he planned to cooperate, maybe she would help him out of this mess.
"You have no proof that his cargo is stolen, correct?" she asked the Port Authority worker.
"Y-yes. That is true."
"Then I don't see the issue. Will he be selling his cargo to the colony? We're awfully lacking in Rare Metal, so this could benefit us greatly."
"B-but…"
"But what? Do you have some sort of information that I, the daughter of Count Authur, should know about?"
"Er, well..."
"Because it seems to me like the real problem here is a Port Authority worker holding up incoming ships' cargo in the hopes of extorting bribes."
Lieutenant Emilia grinned at the Port Authority worker, who shook like a leaf under her glare. So did Von, to be honest; despite the smile, she was terrifying.
"I-I would never do such a thing!" the worker stammered.
"Here's what's going to happen. We will buy the Rare Metal from him at a fair price. This upstanding, self-styled mercenary will receive Vetra for ridding us of space pirates."
Then, Von would likely use that Vetra to buy things from the colony. "Everybody wins, no?"
"Y-yes, ma'am, of course! I will process the paperwork right away!" The Port Authority worker jumped up from his seat and bolted from the questioning room like a prisoner making his escape.
Maybe he was. Maybe he really wanted to escape those heavy glares that badly. Either way, it left Von alone with Lieutenant Emilia.
After the Port Authority worker's exit, Emilia turned to Von.
"My apologies. Sometimes he is a little too... dedicated to his work."
"Nah, I get it. I am pretty suspicious, I guess." It truly wasn't the Port Authority worker's fault. Von had no achievements with neighboring mercenary guilds, and most likely, none of the star systems around would even recognize his ship.
The data that should have listed him as captain was corrupted. He could make it through biometric authentication, which had prevented them from taking the Warhawk from him completely, but they could have easily confiscated his ship and everything in it.
"That's true. It would almost be less surprising if you'd wandered here from an entirely different universe. How did you end up in this star system anyway?" Emilia asked.
"Seems like there was an accident while I was mid-hyperdrive," Von began. "I don't remember much about the accident itself, aside from being confused along the way.
I was sitting there panicking when the space pirates attacked, but I managed to deal with them and harvest their cargo and data caches. Analyzing the data brought me to this station. Fortunately, I can at least remember my name and my status as a mercenary."