57. Counter-Surrender Proposal

"Captain, it appears a directive has been issued from Arze Prime to the Arze Fleet. The intercepted and translated message reads: 'Under the Emperor’s orders, swiftly occupy Earth—without destroying the planetary environment.' "

Maria seemed to be in contact with the Agirakana Core.

They probably didn’t expect us to intercept their communications so easily—but if this is the state of affairs, war itself becomes a logistical impossibility, regardless of weapon superiority.

‘Your Excellency, the Arze Fleet has initiated radio communication with Earth and has begun moving toward it.’

A direct hyperspace transmission arrived at my station in the Office, from the flagship of the counter-fleet surrounding the Arze Fleet—the Blazer.

"What was the content of the communication?"

Delivered the final ultimatum to Earth’s governing authority. Advised surrender within seventy-two hours; stated that failure to comply would result in unrestricted action. Further specified that a demonstration strike against the Moon would occur twenty-four hours hence. The radio transmission will reach Earth in two hours and forty-five minutes.

Maintain communication with us as-is. I will signal the moment to deactivate stealth systems across the entire responding fleet.

Understood.

There’s a story somewhere—some clichéd narrative about humanity uniting against a common enemy—but what would it even be like? In less than a decade, the Second World War will have been over for a century. And still, that laughable organization calling itself the United Nations persists. Part of me wonders whether, under conditions like these, the UN might actually function. But of course it won’t. And even if it did, the authority it once had would already be crawling through the dirt, burrowing all the way down into the subterranean levels.

It’d be awkward if national governments panicked, and at worst, it might look like a performance staged by Agirakana. Still, the possibility isn’t zero—some nation might rush to surrender early, courting the Alze Empire as a counterweight to Agirakana, just to curry favor.

For now, let’s assume that if it’s possible to block the Alze Empire’s radio transmission toward Earth, we’ll block it.

“Maria, you’ve heard about this—could you interfere with the Alze Empire’s transmission to Earth, if possible?”

“There’s a bit of a timing issue. We may not have enough time to respond without causing interference to receiving equipment on Earth. I’ll do my best to manage it.”

The exact method of disrupting the signal remains unclear—but given that the only available tools are something like the skyward blazers, we’ll have to make do.

If we can’t make it in time, then we’ll need to issue some kind of directive to the various national governments ourselves. This might be a good opportunity to finally introduce Agirakana proper to Earth. Once this matter has passed its peak—so to speak—we’ll use the Japanese Government as a conduit to formally introduce Agirakana to the other governments.

According to Ain, the various national governments had already speculated—given the lack of response from the Agirakana Embassy—that the mysterious celestial body recently observed near Uranus’s orbit was likely connected to Agirakana. The discovery of the same enigmatic metal covering the body’s surface—identical to the material found in the Tokyo Blaze—had solidified their conviction.

A growing number of civilians began broadcasting on social media, declaring that the celestial body in question must be the Agirakana itself, derived directly from our official name: Spacecraft Nation Agirakana.

Regardless, the Arze Fleet’s intentions were now clear. Since they’d arrived with an uncompromising stance, we might as well respond in kind.

“Then, please connect me to the Arze Fleet.”

“Understood. Establishing communication with the Arze Fleet. Simultaneous translation protocols activated.”

“Thank you.”

Well then—let’s proceed.

“This is the planetary-class vessel Agirakana, stationed on the seventh planet’s orbit within this star system. We are notifying the fleet dispatched from the Arze Empire.

Your actions constitute an unmistakable act of aggression. Withdraw from this star system immediately. Should you attack Earth or its satellites, we, the Agirakana, will exercise our force against your fleet and your nation.”

A neutral voice emanated from the speaker attached to the screen atop the desk.

‘We will not withdraw.’

“Should you fail to withdraw promptly, we will exercise force. Observe—our fleet is currently surrounding yours. Allow us to demonstrate.”

I nodded toward the commander of the Blazer fleet on the screen.

“How is that? Can you now see clearly that our fleet has you surrounded?”

“Our fleet could eliminate you instantly, or dispatch boarding parties to seize every vessel outright.”

‘……’

“This is the final warning. Withdraw from this star system immediately.”

‘……We cannot withdraw. …We surrender…’

“Understood. We will treat you with due consideration—no need to worry. Now, cease all fleet movement and comply with instructions from our forces.”

The rest, one assumes, will be handled adequately by the Blazer fleet commander.

Fortunately, the opposing commander appears to be a reasonable individual.