Save the Day Program, once again. (Gundam IBO/Satisfactory SI): Chapter 9

“So we just have to take over the Ship, right?”

Mercy smirked at his partner in crime and nodded.

“Correct. Take over the ship and bring it to one of your facilities. I’ll take over from there. Don’t worry, we will divide the spoils according to our usual rate.”

Brooke Kabayan frowned at those words.

“No. I want extra this time, Mercy. The Brewers only operate within the Ariadne network between Mars and Earth. By bringing our crew out of the network and into uncharted space between the Jupiter Sphere and the outer system, I am putting my guys in much greater danger than ever.”

Mercy rolled his eyes at those words.

“Oh please, don’t act like you care about those Human Debris. I know exactly how you treat them most of the time. I sold them to you after all. But, fine. We’ll go with a 60-40 split instead of the 50-50 like always.”

“That’s more like it! But I do have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Why the hell did this David guy set up his company on Pluto of all places? I mean, that planet is an icy hellscape with nothing much in the way of resources. Not even a proper surface aside from a few patches of rocky formations and a few ore veins spread across those rocky formations, formed by geological activity.”

“How the hell should I know what a lunatic like him is thinking? Maybe he thinks that he is being clever by establishing a business so far away from Gjallarhorn jurisdiction, or maybe the business is a sham with something else going on behind the scenes. All I care about is that he has just bought three Ahab reactors from Gjallarhorn, along with a shipment of Half-Metal which is scheduled to go through here any moment now.”

Brooke whistled in appreciation as he heard those words.

“Damn! This guy must be very rich to be able to afford an entire shipment of Half-Metal.”

Suddenly, the Pirate captain grinned maliciously.

“How about we go to Pluto and greet the man? Maybe ask for a bit of contribution for our noble cause?”

“…..My thoughts exactly, my friend. But first, focus on the ship.”

“Don’t worry, my boys got it- Ah! An Ahab wave reaction.”

The man turned towards the ships’ screens and spotted the ship that had just entered the range of their own ship, its unique Ahab wave giving away its identification, making the pirate frown.

“Hey, Mercy. Didn’t you say that the Montag Company would transport the reactors and the Half-Metal to FICSIT? Why the hell is an Omden Colony Company ship here?”

Mercy frowned as he saw the same readings as his partner, not knowing what was going on. However, he did feel that something was wrong.

Trusting his gut, he turned to the Pirate captain.

“Send your guys to board the ship. But send in only the Human Debris. This could be a trap.”

“Alright. Kudal! You heard that!?”

“Loud and clear! Captain~ the boys are already on it. Hey! Debris! Get into the suits quicker unless you want another training session with me!”

Brooke and Mercy watched through the cameras in the hangar as various Human Debris children equipped with the Alya-Vijnana system rushed into the cockpits of Rodi-type Mobile Suits, unwilling to offend the sadistic man known as Kudal Cadel.

Within seconds, five Mobile Suits left the hangar of their ship and headed straight for the incoming ship, which weirdly did not show any signs of acknowledging the presence of the pirates, further confirming Mercy’s doubts about this being a trap.

The Human Debris approached the ship and forcefully tore open its hangar doors, allowing them to board it.

Mercy’s unease only continued to increase as he watched through the body cameras of the Human Debris as they carefully advanced through the abandoned hallways of the ship.

“….No one is onboard. It's practically a ghost ship. But the propulsion systems are still running, and so is the Ahab reactor. The cargo hold also shows that it is full. What the hell is going on here? Mercy?”

Mercy did not reply but watched the video feed like a hawk as the children approached the cargo hold and opened its doors to reveal rows upon rows of containers marked with the Gjallarhorn symbol and three massive containers that no doubt held the Ahab reactors within.

“…The cargo is there. Just what is going on? Where is the crew? And why did Gjallarhorn not use the Montag company as they were scheduled?”

Brooke grinned and waved off the worry of his partner.

“Who the hell cares? The cargo is there for the taking. Oi! Kudal! Get out there and bring that ship in! We’ve got a good haul this time around!!”

“So it's time for Gusion and me to take the stage? How fun~”

The psycho soon left the pirate ship in his Gundam frame and boarded the ghost ship just like his slaves and smoothly took control of it, flying it into the range of the Brewer ship, where the Pirate captain took control of its systems and docked the space liner with their own ship.

Unfortunately, this proved to be the biggest mistake that the Brewers made in their lives as their ship and all their equipment suddenly shit down.

Everything except the screen on the main deck, which showed David Thornton, the registered Leader of FICSIT Inc.

“Hello, Mr. Mercy. I have been expecting you, unfortunately. I had hoped that you would prove me wrong and overly paranoid, but I guess I was right in the end.”

“…What the hell is this!? What did you do!?”

“All in good time, Mr. Mercy. But first, let me brief you on your current situation. My companion has hacked into all of the Brewers’ systems and has copied all the data, which also includes all the records of your past dealings with this group.”

Mercy’s eyes widened in shock before he decked the pirate captain.

“You fool! I warned you not to log anything into your systems! Now look what happened!!”

“Fuck you! You corporate dog! I know your kind better than anyone, that is why I kept recordings of all our agreements so that I can stop you from stabbing me in the back when it becomes convenient!”

“As much as I like watching this internal strife, I suggest you two gentlemen focus back on the issue at hand. Mr. Mercy, I hold all of your shady dealings in my hand, and I have a straight QCCS line to Gjallarhorn HQ.”

The straight threat delivered to his life made Mercy stop fighting the pirate captain and turned to the screen seriously.

Since the man on the other side had not yet called Gjallarhorn and handed over everything, it meant that he had some kind of a deal in mind. Something that Mercy might be able to take advantage of to get out of this situation.

As for revenge? That can come later. The man’s first priority was his survival.

“What do you have in mind? Mr. Thornton?”

“I want all the Human Debris on your ship along with their mobile suits, and the so-called Gundam Frame.”

“HELL NO-“

“Acceptable. But, I will need to guarantee that you will let us to unharmed from here.”

“You-“

The leader of the Brewers did not even have the time to react before he was once again decked by Mercy, knocking the man out and taking control of the Brewers as their second in command.

Mercy felt relief wash over his mind as he turned back to the screen.

If it was just that trash that the man wanted and the limited number of Mobile Suits on their ship, both being resources which can be easily replenished with his connections in both Gjallarhorn and the Jupiter Sphere, he had no problem fulfilling those demands.

Even if the loss of a Gundam frame would sting, since those types of mobile suits can’t be replicated anymore these days.

“So? Are the terms agreeable? Mr. Thornton?”

“Agreed.”

“Then, show your sincerity and release the control of our ship.”

“Do you take me for a fool? Mr. Mercy? There is no way I am doing that before you fulfill the terms of our agreement.”

“And there is no way I am handing over the Human Debris and the suits without some kind of a guarantee.”

“Hmm, how about I release your systems partially to show my sincerity?”

“Done. I want the defense systems and communication systems back online.”

David Thornton gave Mercy a humorless smile and snapped his fingers for whoever was hacking the ships on his side.

Instantly, the defense systems of the Brewers' ship and its communication systems came online. However, Mercy soon found out that the communication systems were not able to go through to anyone in the Jupiter Sphere due to some kind of interference. Similarly, the autoloading systems of the ship’s defenses were still non-functional, rendering their weapons useless even if they had come online.

“The rest of your systems will come online when I have my end of the bargain. And if you try to argue anymore, Mercy, I will rescind my offer and hand you over to Gjallarhorn in such a way that you can’t weasel your way out through your contacts in that organization.”

With no choice left, Mercy complied.

Within a matter of an hour, the entirety of the Human Debris and the Mobile Suits that the Brewers had with them were transferred over onto the other ship. Although Kudal made quite a fuss when the Gusion was transported onto that ship.

During all of this, Brooke had woken up and sat glumly in his chair.

“It is done. Now, fulfill our deal.”

“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Mercy.”

The screen stopped working as the other ship detached from the Brewer ship, heading straight towards Pluto.

However, Mercy was not done yet.

Once the civilian transport ship was clear of the splash range of the Brewer ship, Mercy nodded towards his partner, who gritted his teeth in anger and armed all of their weapons.

“Nobody messes with me like this and gets away with it, Mr. Thornton, nobody-“

Whatever Mercy had to say, he could no longer say it as a powerful nuclear explosion consumed the Brewers' ship, killing them all in a single blow.

Within the Hub of his factory, David Thornton nodded in satisfaction as he watched the destruction from the cameras of the ship ADA had commandeered to transport their stuff.

“That new missile system is working perfectly, ADA. Although I wish we could modify the Nuclear Nobelisk could be modified to have a larger yield instead of cramming a ton of them into a single delivery vehicle.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to conduct such experiments right now. That single warhead which we fired just now consumed 1/3rd of our entire Uranium cell stockpile. If we run out of the stockpile, we will have to start mining for Uranium, which is nearly impossible on this planet since I can’t detect any such deposits right now.”

“True. So, how are things looking?”

“The children appear to be relatively healthy based on initial scans, but I will need to check them through our own scanners once they arrive. Aside from that, we will need to study these Mobile Suits and the Ahab reactors to modify them according to the FICSIT standard. That aside, as the Administrator of FICSIT, you now have the responsibility of conducting the onboarding program for our new employees.”

“For the last time, we are not employing children, ADA.”

“I am not speaking about the children, Administrator. My protocols forbid me from engaging in child labor. I am speaking about the young adults in the group.”

“…Just get them here, ADA, and leave those things to me. I am the Administrator, right? That means I have the authority to hire or fire anyone.”

“Affirmative.”

With that, the Man and AI got back to work, not knowing the great impact they had made on the future with this single action of taking out the Brewers.

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Brewers Ship:

Brooke Kabayan:

Kudal Cadel:

Rodi Frame Mobile Suits:

Gundam Gusion:

Nuclear Nobelisk: