Chapter 37
"A whale, huh."
Watching the Star-Eater spew a boulder into the air from what was probably its back, Kait had that impression.
It must have finished eating, as it slithered out from within the star. Even as it moved, it continued to vomit rocks, making it extremely dangerous to approach.
The Corporation fleet that had been chasing Kait and the Queen Bee had now left the Queen Bee and surrounded the Star-Eater. There was no response from Gorou. Their priority must have shifted from Kait to the creature.
"More like an eel than a snake."
'How is that any different?'
"See? It has something like gills."
'Oh my.'
When the Star-Eater shook its entire body, gill-like holes opened up all over its sides.
More eel than snake, and the way it expelled rocks from its back was like a whale.
"Calling it a giant space eel fits better than Star-Eater, yeah."
'Either works. But still, what exactly is it—'
"Probably the cause of that sound from earlier."
Even from a distance, Kait could see a massive amount of air being expelled from the gills. The vibrations of its entire body amplified the air being discharged from the gills.
The nearby boulders around the Star-Eater were being pulverized. The range of destruction gradually expanded, and the fleet hurriedly pulled back.
"I see, so that's how the rings around that star were formed."
'Seems like the range of destruction from the vibrations isn't that wide.'
Once they reached the area where the fleet had retreated, the vibrations still reached them, but there was no destruction. The expelled air pushed out pulverized sand particles, which slowly spread.
Apparently, the meal wasn't over yet. Seemingly satisfied that the surroundings had cleared, the Star-Eater twisted its body back into the ground to resume feeding.
Once the Star-Eater disappeared into the planet, the fleet began slowly approaching the star.
Inside the Queen Bee, Kait crossed his arms and wore a grim look, thinking, Yeah, this one's a real problem.
***
The artificial celestial body Radia was an observation satellite stationed in the star system named Namibif.
The sixth planet of the Namibif star had shown signs of organic life activity, making the star system a subject of Federation observation. Although the planet had undergone gradual development, no intelligent lifeforms capable of building a society had yet emerged.
The one who welcomed Kait upon arrival at Radia was a member of a species with six eye-like organs on their face.
"We've been expecting you, Kait, Third-Rank Citizen Enec Lagif. I am Stomato. I received a report from Rakofril. We've also confirmed that the Corporation has initiated preservation activity for that creature."
"Nice to meet you, Representative Stomato. It's an honor."
Stomato closed all six eyes and gave a respectful bow, prompting Kait to follow suit.
When he slowly raised his head, he could sense a vague feeling of goodwill from Stomato.
"This way, please. We need to establish a course of action. The staff of Radia are assembled, so your input would be appreciated."
"Understood."
Led by Stomato, they proceeded down the newly-formed corridor. The design of Federation artificial celestial bodies seemed to be similar across the board. The hallways looked identical to those in Zodogia or Abakia.
A dead end opened up, and beyond it was a spacious room. There seemed to be many of Stomato's species there. Along with machine intelligences and a few unfamiliar species.
"I've brought Third-Rank Citizen Kait. Please take an available seat. You too, Ms. Emotion."
"Got it."
Kait and Emotion sat on the nearest protrusion, while Stomato stepped to the center of the room and looked around at everyone.
"Now then, let's decide on a course of action. The basic policy is the annihilation of the target. This has been approved by the Federation Congress, but the issue is how to deal with the Rare Species Conservation Agency."
That was surprising. Contrary to Kait's expectations, the field had already settled on eliminating the Star-Eater. The real issue seemed to be how to handle the nearby Corporation.
"Are you saying we're going to war with the Corporation?"
"It likely won't escalate that far. The fleet involved in protection—Azavoid 23—is expected to engage in battle, but once the target is eliminated, hostilities should cease."
"Isn't that still a war?"
"Well, if the Federation covers the repair costs for the Corporation's ships and the resurrection costs for the dead, reconciliation can be achieved. After all, both repairs and resurrections are paid services in the Corporation."
"I see."
Kait could do nothing but nod at the disconnect between the Federation's logic and his own.
The Corporation aside, for the Federation, these were recoverable resources. Perhaps the Federation entrusted the Corporation with resurrection systems precisely to smooth over such disputes.
Though calling it confirmation, Stomato kindly explained many things to Kait. Taking the opportunity, Kait decided to ask everything he was curious about.
"Sorry to disrupt the meeting as a latecomer, but I do have several questions I'd like to ask."
"Of course. You've only recently joined the Federation, Third-Rank Citizen Kait. Feel free to ask anything."
"First of all, what role do you all expect me to fulfill as support?"
"Ah, that would be—"
From Stomato's mouth came the words,
"Pure combat power for the purpose of executing that creature."
It was the second most unpleasant answer he had anticipated.
***
The total length of the Star-Eater varied by individual, but this one seemed slightly larger than average.
The Federation had once defeated a Star-Eater using two methods: an overwhelming strike by Terapolapaneshio, and concentrated firepower from a fleet.
Since the Queen Bee was originally the same model as the ship used by Terapolapaneshio, the role expected of it would be the former.
"With Radia's current forces, we can probably only manage to hold off the Corporation's fleet. We don't have enough firepower to destroy the target on our own."
That was why they hadn't acted until the Corporation arrived—Stomato's explanation made perfect sense. This artificial celestial body was, after all, designed for observation, not combat. According to Emotion, who sat beside him, Zodogia was the exception, having been heavily armed for battle.
Now, the problem was the Star-Eater. While eliminating it was acceptable, Kait wanted to confirm a few things first. He suspected the Federation—or rather, the Space jellyfish—hoped for a method other than annihilation.
"Representative Stomato, that space eel... the Corporation acquaintance called it 'Star-Eater', so I'd like to use that name. What kind of methods were previously attempted to communicate with it?"
"Star-Eater, huh. That's a pretty good name. From what I've heard, they tried everything they could think of. In the end, it seems the folks from Terapolapaneshio even attempted direct mental intervention."
"Direct mental intervention?"
"Yes. It's a method where you blast emotions or thoughts directly into the target's cognitive field."
"Ah, that thing..."
He recalled the telepathy used by the Space jellyfish when they swarmed Earth. If even that didn't work, then maybe there really was no other way.
That said, it was questionable whether silicon-based lifeforms even had brains or similar organs like humans. If they wandered the cosmos purely on instinct, then perhaps there truly was no alternative to annihilation.
However, if they did possess intelligence, then extermination would be an undesirable option. Perhaps Terapolapaneshio had found some evidence of their intelligence. And that's why they wanted Kait to confirm it. Maybe he was overthinking it.
"Emotion, how long was the Star-Eater again?"
'If the data we received is accurate, it should be about twice the diameter of Earth.'
"I see. Representative Stomato, do you know how many Terapolapaneshio were involved when they tried to communicate with the Star-Eater?"
"How many? Well, I believe Di-Kigaia Zarmos defeated it alone, so it was probably just one individual."
"I see. Then I guess it really is that, huh..."
"Third-Rank Citizen Kait?"
'Captain?'
While Kait seemed to have figured out the cause and circumstances, Stomato and Emotion were left behind.
He hesitated, wondering how to explain it, and ended up recalling an unpleasant memory from his time on Earth.
"To put it simply, Representative Stomato, it's like asking how small a bug has to be before you find it annoying."
"A bug?"
"To that massive creature, Radia is about the same size as its food or maybe half that. Even the Corporation's largest ships are about the same size as the rocks it vomits up after eating. From our size perspective, we're like bugs or microbes."
In other words, Kait's theory was that they might be too small to even register in the creature's perception.
"Even if Terapolapaneshio is incredibly powerful, it was just one ship against something that big. And even with telepathy, who knows if it was even heard."