From what Jint’s wristgear was telling him, the Ma’tye 12th Division was officially the “Ma’tye Star System Land Army 12th Division.” He also learned that Ma’tye was a run-of-the-mill system of around two hundred million.
According to Star Forces analyses, the PSSU was the most lacking in enthusiasm for the war. It looked as though they were only participating because they felt the UH more of a threat than the Empire. If they’d refused to enter the fray alongside the UH, they were risking war against the UH.
In any case, it was incomparable in terms of strength. It would’ve gotten crushed as a side note in the war, if the UH weren’t doing most of the fighting. If the UH were to win this war even without the help of the PSSU, then the UH would at some point wage battle against the PSSU due to breach of treaty, which would inevitably lead to the PSSU’s defeat and forced homogenization. On the other hand, if they lost the war against the Empire fighting alongside the UH, the lives of ordinary people across all of its various landworlds would remain unchanged. And while war was a detestable institution, if they had to fight someone no matter what, they decided they’d rather face off against the Empire.
Given all that, Jint couldn’t grasp why a stranded PSSU division wouldn’t surrender. Of course, this didn’t mean that the PSSU had officially made that tough decision. This was based on one-sided speculation on the part of the Empire. Even if it ended up being true, it was just the general opinion. Upon reflection, it was comical to assume that every single soldier was weary of war. It wouldn’t be outlandish to assume the opposite — that the Ma’tye 12th Division was composed almost entirely of troops who saw the value in fighting the Empire. It would certainly make sense of the desperation of their struggles.
“I don’t know how seriously to take the possibility, but perhaps the administration is in effect under military occupation,” said Yestesh.
“Is it the enemy commander who’s speaking on behalf of the planet?”
“No. Formally, it’s Corint Till,” said Yestesh, saying Till Corint’s name in the Abh order. “But there’s a chance he is acting as a puppet.”
Till? A puppet? Yeah, right, thought Jint. But ten whole years had passed since his and Till’s tragic parting. People change, and he didn’t delude himself that he’d known every inch of the man when they were together. Jint had been a child, and he’d only ever known “home-life Till.”
“I hope that’s what’s going on,” said Lafier. “If the landworld says they want to be left alone, it will be put off for later. But if they’re being forced to say that by another nation’s military, the Empire can’t let that stand.”
“It’d be convenient for us, that’s for sure,” he said. His voice had come out so tight it startled even him.
Lafier looked suspicious. “Are you angry?”
“I’m just worried.” Jint faced Yestesh: “They may be a PSSU land division, but even they must know shooting a ship in orbit from the surface is futile. It wouldn’t even serve as a warning.”
“Yes. That’s why we regard the possibility as low. Civilized people with common sense with regards to how the galaxy functions wouldn’t do this. The attack was the sort of folly a land people long isolated from the rest of humanity might perpetrate, however.”
Ouch. They’ve forgotten I’m a member of that long-isolated land people, the two of them, thought Jint.
“Now then, here is where the laser cannon was fired,” said Yestesh, as a point on the map flashed.
“Beeg Charl.” Jint smiled bittersweetly, and explained to the investigator what that peculiar phrase meant. “It’s the name of the laser cannon. Well, one of the four laser cannons — the ‘Forr Da Antohbeeta,’ in Martinese. There’s also Beeg Al, Beeg Bill, and Beeg Dew. We constructed them before our world had even learned of planar space navigation. I thought they’d have dismantled them ages ago, but I guess they’re still around.”
“It must be because there was no hurry to do so. They can’t have felt them a threat.”
Once again, Jint’s patriotic heart took a stinging hit, but he couldn’t let that show. “Could you recreate this ship’s trajectory on the map?”
“Certainly.”
A curved line appeared on the map, representing the Baucbiruch’s course. Its altitude was also displayed.
“If that’s the course the ship took, then three of the Forr Da Antohbeeta would’ve been able to attack simultaneously,” said Jint. “But they didn’t, which I think means they weren’t aiming to completely destroy the ship.”
“So it was a warning after all?”
“If that’s what the landworld administration is thinking, then this is an indication that they either can’t or don’t want to turn back.”
“I see,” said Yestesh, nodding. “But isn’t that what you would call a warning?”
“Not necessarily,” said Jint, shaking his head. “They weren’t expressing their will to the Abh. They were expressing their will to themselves.”
“But what makes you say that? And I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying to begin with. Why would they need to express their will to themselves? I know that I, at the very least, don’t need to.”
“The head of the government... that is to say, Martinh’s Landworld Citizen Representative was never an autocratic ruler, and I’m betting that hasn’t changed since I lived there. There may have been strong opposition to maintaining independence. I think it’s pretty safe to assume there was, actually. So firing Beeg Charl was probably effective in silencing the opposition. It wasn’t meant to sway us — it was meant to sway other planetary factions.”
“I just can’t understand it,” said Yestesh, utterly perplexed. “Isn’t an act on the level of firing at a foreign vessel something that should be carried out only after securing a consensus?”
“That would have been the wiser way
