Backstory/Chronicles/Prey_Miner

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PREY MINER
鉱物略奪

Captain Ieris Hvik steered her small frigate into another loop, patiently waiting for the miner to disembark from Ethernity II station, a small blip on the edge of her radar. This particular miner promised some good yield, judging by his track record. It was so good in fact, that Hvik had lavishly decorated the miner with her very best tracking devices. Not only could she easily detect him miles away in the midst of an asteroid field, but she could also tell what kind of minerals he was mining at any given moment. Hvik prayed that the miner wouldn’t have the presence of mind to scan his ship for bugs before he undocked - it wasn’t particularly hard to attach the little devils to another ship, but it was even easier to flush them out. Hvik had lost many preys in the past due to an untimely bug scan.

Ieris Hvik艦長は自身の小さなフリゲート艦を再び円周軌道に乗せながら、レーダーの端に小さく表示されているEthernity II 基地からある採鉱船が出発するのを気長に待ち続けていた。過去の記録から見て、こいつが良い金づるになってくれるのは間違いない。そう信じられるからこそ、彼女は惜しむ事無く持ちうる中で最高の追跡プログラムをこの船に装着させたのだ。このプログラムがあればあの船がどんなに離れた小惑星帯の中に居たとしても簡単に発見できるだけでなく、その時に何の鉱石を掘っているのを調べるのもあっという間にわかる。ただ、やつが冷静沈着に出発前に欠陥スキャンをしだすほど慎重な人物かどうかが心配の種だ…そういった小悪魔的装置を取り付けるのは実際そう難しい事では無いのだが、それを払い落すのはそれ以上に簡単な事なのだ。今までに何度タイミングの悪いバグスキャンで略奪のチャンスを失った事か・・・。

At last the bronze colored Navitas-class frigate slid out of the station. The miner adjusted the course of his set, aligning it towards the asteroid belt between Ethernity II and Ethernity III. Few seconds later his warp drive kicked in and in a heartbeat he had disappeared in a bluish flash. Hvik counted to 30 before activating her own warp drive - no need to get the miner paranoid by getting too close on his tail.

ようやく銅色をしたNavitas級フリゲートが基地から滑り出てきたようだ。その採鉱船はEthrnity IIとIIIの間にある小惑星帯へと艦首を向け、すぐさまワープドライブを起動させると薄青い光と共に一瞬のうちに消える。後ろにぴったりくっついて行って奴にわざわざ不信を抱かせる必要は無い…Hivikはゆっくりと30秒数え、自身のワープドライブを起動した。

Once in the asteroid belt Hvik quickly assessed the situation. She picked up the signal emanating from the tracking bug on the miner a few hundred kilometers off and adjusted her course accordingly. Once within scanning range she matched her speed to that of the miner. The miner was already scanning asteroids, but hadn’t yet deployed his mining drones. This, and the fact that he was still heading full speed deeper into the asteroid belt, indicated that he was looking for some specific minerals, undoubtedly some rare ones. Hvik chuckled to herself, pleased with her selection. Now, all she had to do was wait and let the miner do her work for her.

小惑星帯に到着すると同時に状況判断開始。数百キロ先を進む採鉱船から追跡プログラムが発生するシグナルを受信、艦を同じ方向へ設定。スキャン出来る範囲に居る事を確認、採鉱船と同じ速度に設定、と。これでよし。すでに小惑星のスキャンを始めては居るが採鉱用ドローンは起動させて居ないようだ。未だ採鉱船は小惑星帯のさらなる奥地を目指して全速力で走っている、と言うことはつまり特定の鉱物を探している…それも間違いなく高価な物を。自分の選択に満足しながらHivikは口の端に笑みを浮かべた。さて、あとはこの採鉱船が私の為にたっぷり働いてくれるのを待つばかり…

Hvik had started out as a miner, but quickly found that she didn’t have the patience for it. But before she quit she’d established some pretty good contacts in the mining industry and was able to off-load minerals at good prices. So it was natural that instead of becoming a mercenary for hire or a pirate chasing freighters, she would focus on miners - preying on them in isolated areas and loot their minerals. It didn’t take all that much combat skills as long as one refrained from attacking groups of miners, so she had instead invested in the skills necessary for operating tracking bugs. And there were always a lot of lone miners in the outer regions, dreaming of striking gold with no one to share with. Hvik was happy to oblige, the miners didn’t have to share with her - she’d take it all.

自身もまず採鉱者として生活を始めたHivikだが、すぐさま自分にはそんな辛抱強さが無い事に気付いてしまう。　しかしその仕事を完全に止めてしまうまでに彼女はある採掘工業社と良い関係を築き上げおり、鉱石を良い値段で売りさばく方法を知っていたのだった。つまり彼女が雇われの傭兵にもフレイター?級艦を追いかけまわす海賊にもならず、人気の無い場所で採鉱船を捕まえては彼らの鉱石を奪う鉱石強盗となったのは当然の事だったのだ。採鉱船団を狙おうと思わなければ高い戦闘スキルは必要では無く、代わりに彼女は追跡プログラム操作のスキルを伸ばす事に傾倒していた。いつになっても、金脈を掘り当てても誰とも分け合いたくないが故に外宇宙で単独行動を取る採鉱船というのは山ほどいるのだ。　Hivikは喜んで彼らの要望に応えてあげている。見つけた物を誰とも分け合う必要なんて無い…彼女が全部持って行ってしまうのだから。

Hvik’s console beeped, dragging her from her reverie. The miner was deploying his drones. Hvik stretched in her cocoon, setting the ship on stand-by, preparing it to haul in the load of the day.

制御台からの警告音が物思いに耽っていた彼女を現実に引き戻す。どうやら採鉱船がドローンを射出したようだ。さて、と。Hivikは体を一伸ばしし、今日の荷物輸送に取りかかるための準備を始めた。

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