66. Empire

In response to the强制 emergency broadcast issued by Agirakana, an emergency Privy Council meeting was convened in the Imperial Palace’s Privy Council Chamber. The fact that communication functions had been seized beforehand was itself a serious issue—but something far worse had occurred.

“Agirakana will arrive in this star system in about ten hours. Let us quickly determine how the Empire should respond.”

Former Prime Minister Cantor took the lead in the Privy Council meeting as he always did.

“If they’re announcing their arrival location, couldn’t we just lay mines there and destroy them?” asked the former Supreme Commander of the Space Fleet, Graf.

"Your Excellency, ten hours provide an overwhelmingly insufficient window for operations. Even if we managed to deploy every mine in the Space Fleet’s inventory, completely destroying something of that scale would still prove difficult. Should we miss a single unit, and that same attack aimed at Shinoo were redirected toward Azeren—there would be no means for us to prevent it."

The Chief of Staff of the Space Fleet, seated once again at the Emergency Privy Council, explained, dabbing sweat from his brow as he spoke to the former Supreme Commander.

The two imperial princes chimed in:

"Gräf, to begin with, Agirakana has never been our enemy. So why must we assume aggression or combat from the outset? I’d say this broadcast was perfectly friendly."

“Since withholding information from the public no longer serves any purpose, wouldn’t it be prudent to release Major Marco sooner rather than later and send him to negotiate with Agirakana?”

“An appropriate choice. We can’t just release one major, so we’ll have to free all officers simultaneously. And to prevent any anti-government rhetoric, we’ll need to raise everyone’s rank by one level—just to sweeten the deal.”

“Marco promoted to general?”

“Hmm.”

The two retired admirals seemed poised to speak, but restrained themselves. If this negotiation succeeded—well, Major Marco would likely be promoted to general, becoming the youngest of the three surviving admirals in the space fleet, before the year was out.

"The representative from Agirakana, Yamada, appeared on the previous broadcast and is said to be a mild-mannered individual," Cantor said with a light tone, offering an optimistic assessment. "After the fleet's surrender, it's been reported that Major Marco and the rest of the officers were treated quite generously in Agirakana. I’d imagine, though, that they won’t be making any outrageous demands—like ceding entire star systems—toward the Empire."

"Calling it negotiations with the other side, but really, from our perspective, the only thing we’d be able to request is that Agirakana vacate our territory as soon as possible. Though, truthfully, we don’t have much leverage—so it’d be more of a wish than a demand."

"How we approach negotiations with Agirakana is certainly important, but what about the Empire’s stance toward the alien lifeform itself? Without settling that, there’s no point in even beginning talks."

Cantor, having received the unspoken thoughts of the two imperial princes,

"We can't make any strong demands from our side, so the negotiation will inevitably have to proceed based on the other party's stance, wouldn't you agree?

In that case, how does the Military Command intend to respond to this extraterrestrial lifeform?"

"Yes. First of all, the star system that went missing last year—though it was kept under wraps until now—has now been confirmed to have been lost due to the Zeno lifeform. As for response strategy, we must locate the Zeno as early as possible, while it’s still far away. There seems to be no alternative to deploying a large number of observation drones and conducting a meticulous, exhaustive search of the empire’s vast outer regions. Alternatively, we could bow to the Agirakana and request intelligence from them."

Most of the attendees grimaced at the Chief of Military Command’s final remark, but Cantor pressed on with his next question.

“Earlier on the broadcast, Agirakana claimed we couldn’t destroy it—but just how true is that, really?”

“Traveling at fifteen percent of light speed does seem to align with observational data we gathered before the Shino collapse. If we intercept it head-on, we might be able to counter it with guided missiles. But if it’s capable of ramming a planet at fifteen percent light speed while maintaining structural integrity, then—judging by Agirakana’s own claims—it’s likely that even a hit from our fusion warheads wouldn’t destroy it. Moreover, attacks from the side or rear would be difficult to track with guided missiles, leaving us reliant on beam weapons. Yet beam weapons, while capable of delivering a strike, suffer from significantly lower impact and penetration compared to fusion warheads—making destruction under those conditions highly improbable.”

“So in short… if a Zeno ever appears within the Empire from now on, we’d be completely helpless?”

“In short, that’s about the size of it.”

The Chief of Staff wiped sweat from his brow as he replied.

“After the Shinō exploded due to some kind of attack by Agirakana, a massive vessel resembling an Agirakana warship unleashed a fiery assault—do you have any idea what kind of attack that was?”

“According to General Marco, the initial assault originated directly from Agirakana. It involved a massive projectile, accelerated to extreme velocities via a super-sized accelerator positioned along Agirakana’s axis, loaded with vast quantities of antimatter. The projectile pierced through the planet’s core and triggered a matter-antimatter annihilation reaction—effectively erasing the planet entirely. Following this, Agirakana launched a colossal vessel, which then fired countless guided missiles, each similarly loaded with antimatter, systematically neutralizing Zeno one by one. After all, no matter what substance it is, it cannot escape annihilation upon contact with antimatter—so antimatter munitions appear to be an effective means of targeting Zeno.”

“Antimatter, you say. Does the Empire even possess antimatter at all?”

“Of course we do—but in quantities barely beyond laboratory-scale, far from being usable in offensive operations.”

“Wouldn’t it be rather undignified for the Empire to display such a spectacle before Agirakana—especially with newly annexed Harumaine potentially thrown into disarray?”

“Should we reinforce the ground troops stationed in Harumaine? Time is short, but we must act swiftly. As for here in Azeren, can the police forces manage the situation?”

Cantor concluded the session with a light tone, timing it just right.

“Then, in summary: General Marco and the other officers currently detained will be released and promoted one rank. Admiral Marco will be entrusted—entirely—with negotiating with Agirakana to verify whether they harbor territorial ambitions. Is that acceptable?”

No one spoke.

“Then, Your Majesty, we shall proceed accordingly.”

King Heine IV nodded. The meeting adjourned.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"Captain, I never expected to be confined aboard the ship like this—under constant surveillance the moment we returned from Hamilapilatra. At least in Agirakana I’d have had more freedom."

"Sven, don’t say such things. Consider yourself fortunate you weren’t purged."

"Captain, you still don’t understand."

"If they’d meant to purge you, they’d have done it without delay."

"Someone’s here. Captain, thank you for everything up until now."

"Sven, what nonsense are you talking?"

"Is Major Marco here? This is a representative from Military Command. I apologize for keeping you aboard the ship. Orders have been issued—for the major and all officers and crew."

"Marco is me. Orders? Not a verdict, then?"

"Apologies. This is an order. As of this moment, Lieutenant General Marco and all officers and crew of the fleet are promoted one rank. Additionally, the Admiral will receive separate instructions—please prepare urgently. Here is the official document."

"May I examine the contents here?"

"Please do."

"...Agirakana negotiation representative? Plenipotentiary envoy....Understood."