166: Siltrilichi, Isolated

"......"

"I understand your confusion, so I'll explain the situation step by step."

With that, Meemokushi operated the display device, bringing up a major news website.

Indeed, the headline clearly read that the navigation beacon of the Siltrilichi system had been destroyed.

"It happened about a week earlier, according to Imperial Standard Time. The delay in receiving this information was due to verifying its authenticity and the remote location of the Siltrilichi system."

"Yeah, it's just a remote area—information takes time to reach us."

"Before the Old-Style Rifle Race, then?"

"Hmm, I see."

The date of the destruction matched exactly what Vriljani had said—before the Old-Style Rifle Race took place.

Then, it's not that they noticed us regarding the Siltrilich System, but just a coincidence, right?

No, that doesn't make sense—since the Inakaini incident has already happened, worrying about being traced back from there... that's illogical.

Inakaini definitely erased all data about the Siltrilich System, and the destruction of a guide beacon would cause a major news scandal no matter where or why it happened.

If anything, it'd draw more attention.

In that case, our connection with them seems rather tenuous.

"Details regarding the cause of the destruction are still unknown, as no information has been received from the Siltrilich System side. We considered sending investigators from our end, but due to the prior arrival of information from Lady Vee, it appears we haven't dispatched anyone yet."

"Quite wise. Whether the guide beacon was destroyed intentionally or by accident, going there without knowledge would be like walking straight into a death trap."

"What’s the current status? Not receiving any updates is a problem in itself."

"No new information has come through on the news sites or in the notes. Part of the issue is jurisdictional differences, and it'll likely be difficult to know anything until it's officially announced."

But more fundamentally, what happens when the guide beacon is destroyed?

From my understanding, safe FTL travel requires guide beacons at both the starting point and destination.

But from what I've heard from Memokshi and the others, it seems like having a guide beacon on just one side might still work out somehow.

"Vee. In the first place, what happens when a guide beacon is destroyed?"

Simply put, safe and accurate faster-than-light travel will no longer be possible. Even if just one guide beacon is available, it should still be possible to navigate safely to some extent... but at the very least, there will likely be a deviation of around 100 kilometers when transitioning from faster-than-light travel back to normal navigation.

I see. So, what happens next?

"In normal circumstances, we'd first reconstruct a basic navigation beacon on-site using local materials, while simultaneously conducting surveys. If needed, proper support would follow afterward. However, considering the risks along the route to the Siltrilich system and the information we currently have... I believe the Imperial Navy will dispatch a fleet."

"Hmm, I see."

As long as one remains, it seems we can manage faster-than-light navigation somehow.

It seems considerably more dangerous compared to usual.

Especially faster-than-light navigation from the side that lacks remaining connections appears to require extremely precise calculations and operations.

Incidentally, in star systems like Narianipotts, where there are abundant routes to neighboring systems and the imperial capital, Vanilla Sid, is nearby, failing to have established routes from other systems can sometimes disrupt the entire system's operations.

It seems that systems like the Siltrilich system, which struggle with coordination with neighboring systems, have ensured they have all necessary resources, personnel, and knowledge readily available internally.

Therefore, there doesn't seem to be an urgent need to rush assistance.

"But precisely because of that, it's hard to understand. What exactly are they hoping to achieve by causing such an incident?"

"Maybe it really was just an accident. Maybe the mastermind behind Inakaini has nothing to do with it at all."

I agree with Satā-sama. There's no real smell of a crime here.

"If it's just an accident, that's one thing—but the guide beacon is heavily guarded and defended, and spare parts should be on hand to fix even minor damage right away. If it can't be repaired quickly, then the damage must be catastrophic—enough to completely destroy not just the beacon, but also the attached guide colony."

We wouldn't be the ones suffering if an incident occurred.

On the contrary, we'd have ample reason to boldly advance with full preparedness.

In other words, there's no point in causing an incident from the Siltrilich system's perspective.

But if it's an accident... then, as Joharis said, it would mean something utterly catastrophic happened.

But it's completely shattered...

"Uh, maybe some space monster showed up? I've heard there are creatures living along the route."

"Is that really the most plausible explanation? Sure, we could conjure up some space monster, but being helpless against a space monster—that's entirely believable."

"We don't have enough information to judge. Let's set this aside for now."

"Agreed. A ship should arrive soon from the Siltrilich system, just before their guide beacon is destroyed. We'll likely get useful information from them. There's no rush to act before then."

"Understood."

"Yeah, I suppose we'll do that."

Hmm, disappointing, but I can't figure it out either.

Well, it doesn't seem to be a situation that would harm us, and it's not somewhere we could investigate ourselves anyway.

It's a bit unsatisfying, but since it's just a matter of time, we'll probably hear back soon... so there's nothing else we can do but wait.

With that conclusion, we turned our attention back to the documents we'd been reviewing.

Still, nothing new or noteworthy turned up.