163 Free-Drifting Planet Arc 5: Encounter with the Unknown

side: Imperial Capital (Akira, Kyle)

"No response?"

At the imperial family's private dock in the Imperial Capital, I parked my Personal Ship all alone again, then hurriedly opened the door to Kyle’s operations center in the Imperial Capital.

The situation report Kyle handed me left me speechless.

"Ah, we’ve tried every communication method from here, but there’s no reply… no physical reaction at all."

"So I was called not to fight, but to deal with something unknown?"

I said it with a grimace, and Kyle shot back, dead serious.

"No, we’ve prepared five-tiered contingency plans—from best to worst.

The worst-case scenario was war. We brought you here as a backup force, just in case we had to go to war."

You’re indispensable as our best possible force right now."

I nodded at Kyle’s words, forced to reassess his capabilities—imperial-born, yet capable of thinking this level of flexibility and reason.

"Still, the real problem’s the reaction that’d make all our plans useless.

Funny how calling Akira ended up being genuinely useful after all."

On the holographic screen Kyle stared at, a free-floating planet halted at the outer edge of the imperial star system appeared.

This holographic display worked on the same principle as the cockpit interface of a Personal Ship—where brain and cyberspace connect directly.

Images from the Personal Ship’s neural network were overlaid onto the visual cortex via nanomachines, making it seem as though a screen floated right in front of your eyes.

The command deck works the same way—images are relayed from the command center’s neural net through the Personal Ship’s own neural net.

It’s toggleable at will. Can’t have someone hacking your brain without consent, after all.

The Personal Ship’s neural net acts as a security buffer.

So if I want to see the same virtual screen Kyle’s using, I’ll see the same data.

This setup runs on a quantum-linked network, apparently.

“Huh. Guess I’m still relying on me, huh? And I’ve never heard of an opponent that’s a free-floating planet before.”

I throw in a joke, light resistance.

Kyle just laughs and ignores it.

“First, I tried reaching out through every communication method I could think of, but… no response at all.”

Approach at faster-than-light speed, then halt at the outer edge of the stellar system.

Looks like the work of a civilization far beyond our own. And yet... no response to our contact."

Hmm. Looks completely artificial, planet-sized, no doubt about it.

Check the scale at the edge of the screen. Units automatically convert to Earth standards.

Bigger than I thought. Diameter might be eight times that of Earth.

The shell isn't natural. Could be a massive spacecraft. Or maybe a Dyson sphere with a planet inside?

Could even be something like a Death Star—fully artificial, all the way through.

"What now?"

I’m still thinking when Kyle throws up his hands and hands me the whole damn thing.

"Trouble, huh. Best we just go on alert and observe for now.

No point sending a survey team.

If they take that as hostile, we’re in for a real mess.

Civilization capable of moving a planet-sized object at faster-than-light speeds.

I think war should be avoided... but if they’re serious about it, self-defense is obviously necessary.

What can be done right now?

For now, just send primes using intermittent signals through every available communication method.

If you get a reply, send the audio waveform and its corresponding character code through that communication method.

So, next we project the visuals—start with numbers. Then teach letters and words, right?

"Rather a patient approach, isn't it?"

"Well, when you're dealing with something unknown, language probably won't get you anywhere."

There had to have been contact with other civilizations, even in the Empire.

Long ago, Neahyūmu, the stray starships, and the Earthborn.

Ah, Earthlings—less advanced in civilization than the Empire—get exploited. Everyone else just jumps straight into the fight.

Challenging a civilization that’s kept its advanced ways alive while drifting through space like a free-floating planet? That’s asking for trouble.

"Well, if they're more advanced civilization-wise, we can just leave 'em alone and they'll come knocking themselves."

But if they're hostile... if they're itching to invade, then we've got no choice but to go with the worst-case scenario plan.

Besides, a civilization with that kind of tech probably wouldn’t bother with invasion. Too much hassle.

The more advanced a civilization is, the less they should need to steal from other star systems to get what they want, right?

Stars with abundant resources but no intelligent life? There are more of them in this galaxy than you could possibly use up.

I mean, I got my hands on it just as easily as anyone on a planetary survey mission.

If it's an invasion, there must be a purpose.

Things like needing something only available there... or holding a grudge against Imperials...

Treating a person as an end in themselves, you mean.

Sure, if you've got a high-level civilization, you can just clone and culture people like they're lab rats.

Unless a person’s got something even a hyper-advanced civilization couldn’t make…

Or maybe advanced civilizations are just barbarians borrowing someone else’s guts—can’t create anything of their own, just steal.

Ah, that fits the Empire... barbarians who stole the old Empire’s civilization.

Sure, the Emperor and Kyle aren’t like that—but the lower ranks? Even princes were backwoods, medieval-style aristocrats rotting in their own filth.

And yet they’ve got starships and dimension-hopping (gate) systems. Can travel between stars.

Plus, they’ve got ridiculously powerful weapons.

Yeah. Dangerous.

If we’re gonna fight something that size, Genesis System’s the only option.

Better stock up just in case.

“Huh? Something just… clicked.”

“Missile strike on the free-floating planet! Lord Cascade’s fleet has begun descent!”

Ah, medieval-style rotten aristocrats...

Idiots just started the war.