131 Expedition Arc 16 Contamination

Fixed a phrasing issue from the previous entry—had sounded like we’d just buried a ship contaminated by the enemy without certainty.

Akira’s attack order was based on firm conviction that the target was hostile.

The large vessel contaminated by the enemy, Naihyūm, was just like a matter-antimatter bomb.

Even though we’d restrained it with Erosion Bullets, we couldn’t just leave it be.

And one thing nagged at me. No message was coming through from the cybernetic link—unusual.

The Naihyūm core couldn’t use Naubracks.

Which meant we couldn’t fully control it.

‘We should probably run a full autopsy, right?’

‘It’s a noble’s ship. Wouldn’t want to get blamed later for executing innocent nobles.’

‘Oh—didn’t think of that. Kyle, you’re sharp. Let’s make sure to record everything and upload the footage to the Imperial Network as evidence.’

I piloted the workship, methodically dissecting the noble’s warship, which I’d immobilized with an Erosion Bullet.

‘The core’s contamination is resisting the Erosion Bullet’s erosion. When the bullet eats through the ship’s control pathways, the core tries to extend cables to reroute around it.’

I shared the real-time footage with every vessel in the main fleet, advancing the dissection.

‘This is troublesome. The Erosion Bullet still holds the edge, but the ship might break free any second.’

I pressed on with the dissection.

The core parasitizing this ship hadn’t reached the pilot yet—no organic components in sight.

‘If the CIC’s still alive and isolated… could the noble themselves be unharmed?’

‘Then we’re in real trouble. We’ll be roasted for not rescuing them.’

I detached the CIC from the warship and stowed it in the workship’s hangar.

We’re doing this assuming the nobles are still alive.

Can’t exactly open a CIC up in open space, now can we?

‘Kyle, any precedent for this?’

‘No idea. Just got orders to crush the core if we engage in battle with Neahyume. As long as we follow that, no problems ever came up.’

‘Crush the core, huh. So there’s been cases before where we didn’t crush it… and things went sideways.’

The hangar’s pressurization finishes. I retrieve the CIC and open it.

Inside, cables stretch from the core, tangled up.

The cables themselves are severed—dead. Looks harmless now that they’re disconnected from the core.

‘Opening it up.’

Instead of prying the hatch, I use the workshop’s machinery to smash the CIC open.

Out comes…

"Parasitized, aren’t you? Looks like a damn android."

There stood a noble, from the neck down replaced with a metallic body.

Yet it wasn’t just some grotesque patchwork of biological parts—it looked like a self-contained mechanical lifeform.

"This can’t be…?"

Kyle froze.

It was a form designed to mimic humans, to move among them undetected.

Yeah, like a Terminator.

"Anti-human weapon!"

At that moment, the mechanical noble’s chest flared with light—and cables began snaking out in all directions.

"Is it actually moving?!"

Kyle shouted.

The mechanical noble was trying to corrupt the workship.

I shattered the glowing core in its chest.

The machine went still.

"Alright, now we can dispose of the parasitized ship with no issues. Got proof, too."

Kyle nods at my words. (Face feed is active in fleet comms.)

‘We’ll need to investigate CIC and destroy the android core too. Should we just blow them both at once?’

‘No, that won’t work. If we do, the shipboard AI might interpret it as a pilot still alive—and send the salvage vessel to recover it.’

‘!’

‘“Clumsy.”’

Kyle and I speak in unison.

It suggested the possibility that the machine killer had infiltrated human society disguised as a person.

And that the androids moving around—infested by something that escaped via dimensional jump—might be still active.

‘Send word to the salvage vessel! No—wait, if it’s already been hijacked, that’s pointless. Order the system defense fleet to quarantine the salvage vessel.’

"Clumsy, Akira. You've already handed over command of the main fleet. And you don't have authority over the system defense fleet."

"Right. I was only following orders during the emergency up until now."

"This is an emergency too—but it’ll take time to get everyone on the same page."

"At the very least, we need to do something about the salvage vessel the Emperor’s on."

We went pale. What if the Emperor—no, the machine puppet pretending to be the Emperor—issued orders? What then?

The fate of the Empire hung in the balance.

I handed the negotiation to Kyle. He was better at swaying the elite fleet.

"First Prince Kyle. Watch this footage."

"Captain Gustaf of the elite guard. You mean to say... a machine has taken over a person?"

"Can you understand what happens if that machine is on the same salvage vessel as the Emperor?"

‘Hah!’

‘Then I order the Imperial Guard Fleet. Protect His Imperial Majesty. The enemy’s weakness is the core. Destroy it. If I’m found to have overstepped command authority, I’ll personally apologize to the Emperor later.’

‘Understood!’

Kyle, as expected. Trust level: different. I’d be suspicious, probably getting resistance at this point.

After all, I’m the one who just warped in behind the Emperor’s flagship, inside the Guard Fleet’s defensive line, and pointed weapons at it.

The real problem’s the ones who just warp-escaped on their own.

Warships equipped with mutual annihilation reactors and warp drives.

Only possible owners: princes or high-ranking nobles.

If those bastards are parasite-possessed machines—posing as people—they could use their power to spread the infestation. Worst-case scenario.

"Kyle, is there any way to investigate the second and third princes?"

"Impossible. Only the Emperor himself can command it. Even though we’re in the line of succession, our positions are equal. We can’t conduct investigations ourselves."

"Suppose—just suppose—the Emperor were to... well, you know. Could you become Emperor, Kyle?"

"I’m not the crown prince. Right now, I’m first in line, but the Emperor might already have other plans."

Kyle stares at me, dead serious.

Huh? Me? You’re talking about me? You’re joking, right?

"There are nobles backing each prince for the throne. Without a clear heir, civil war could break out any second."

"If they’re mechanical puppets, the Empire’s done for. I’m backing you, Kyle."

"Anyway, just a hypothetical. Let’s not push it further."

Kyle cut the conversation short with a wry smile.

"Then let's finish off the remaining enemies. Destroy the core, open the CIC."

"Would be a hassle. If we shut down the salvage ship's transfer function, blowing it should be fine."

"Right! Let's go that route. But if there are still survivors..."

"Once they're contaminated and hijacked, there's no way the CIC's contents would stay intact. The enemy's not exactly known for sparing people."

"Then let's not hold back on the destruction."

My fleet and Kyle’s moved in to clear the enemy.

I wanted to salvage the annihilation reaction reactor. That’s just how SF gamers are, I guess.

But we couldn’t risk it—contamination spreads from even a single tainted component.

Like the spores of the Nasika’s rot-sea. One left behind, and humanity’s livable zones retreat another kilometer.

Guess the neighboring galactic arm’s already been overrun, huh.

Thanks for reaching 6,600 pts.

Reviews and bookmarks are what keep me writing.

Fixed the line about burying a ship infected by the enemy while CIC’s still unaccounted for.

Fixed the messed-up numbering sequence.