What Needs Defending

by Hiroyuki Morioka

  “We don’t have the budget for it,” said Jint.

  It was Lohbnahss that had to shoulder the costs of the process of becoming a splendid territory-nation, including the emergency relief. But their debts couldn’t be collected immediately. Their initial expenses would be covered by a loan from the Flisorh (Institute of Imperial Assets). And obviously, that loan had an upper limit. Beginning with the galactic war, the scope and size of the mercenary corps expanded, which kept supply balanced with the increased demand. As such, their rates didn’t skyrocket. Yet they remained the money sinks they always had been, and well beyond what a loan could pay for.

  “What’s all this now?” asked Maydeen, intrigued.

  After giving him a rough explanation, Jint added: “Of course, there’d be no problem if the landworld administration can cover those expenses now. Do you have any assets that can be immediately converted into money?”

  “Nothing apart from the antimatter fuel factories, I believe.”

  “Please give us the relevant documents.”

  The documents pertaining to the antimatter fuel factories revolving around the system’s sun were sent forthwith.

  Jint glanced through them. “It pains me to inform you, but even if they were topped up with fuel, it wouldn’t even finance one-way transportation costs.”

  “Then you can use the fuel they’ll be producing in the future as collateral.”

  Jint hated to say it, but... “Ahh, actually, that’s already being kept as collateral.”

  “I never agreed to such a thing,” said Maydeen angrily. “How could you do that behind our backs?”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that if we ask for prior consent for every little thing, then it’ll take time to get you the relief.”

  A sigh of resignation. “Well, I suppose this is what losing a battle entails.”

  “Do you, uhh, have anything else?”

  “No,” Maydeen admitted. “I can’t think of anything else.”

  “In that case, I’m afraid there is nothing to be done about your planet’s force of arms,” said Lafier.

  “We’re stuck in this corner,” Maydeen concurred. “Allow me to clarify that I’m not questioning your efforts, Your Highness. I’m aware that to the Empire, anything involving this planet must seem trivial, so I thank you. Now then, I’d like to receive that food aid as soon as possible. I’ll send you the necessary information.”

  “Understood.” Lafier nodded. And with that, Maydeen’s video vanished in a blink.

  Chapter 2: Nahainec Rémdagssotr (Penal Planet)

  To most sensible Abhs, the words “standing on a planet’s surface” sent a shudder through their souls. Regarding the orbital towers that stood on the majority of inhabited planets in the Empire’s control, Jint had always suspected that while their economic impact was indisputable, the real reason they existed was so that Abhs could carry out their business as far from the surface as possible whenever their work had them unable to avoid being on a planet. This psychological phenomenon could also be seen in how the ships the Abh built were premised on only ever entering an atmosphere once (it was hard to argue it made the ship’s specs appreciably superior in other ways).

  Abh interstellar ships only breached a planet’s atmosphere if the people aboard would die otherwise. The ship would shed almost all of its hull, the passengers alone making it to the ground intact. Naturally, said ship had little prospect of ever weaving through the stars again. For all intents and purposes, grounding was one of the ways an Abh ship could meet its end.

  Which led Jint to surmise that perhaps, to the Abh, descending to the surface was a small step above being dead. So he pondered while gazing down from the window upon the sprawling white clouds.

  Though they were truly unorthodox, the Imperial Star Forces did have ships capable of diving to the surface and coming right back. There were the frach traffic ships, which could pass between space and an atmosphere without incident. All sub-fleet flagships contained traffic ships within them. In addition, lussomiac amphibious assault ships also fell under this category.

  Jint was currently aboard the amphibious assault ship Dacsaith, which was descending toward Lohbnahss II. Despite the “assault” in their name, amphibious assault ships were actually a kind of supply ship; the other two supply ships that had come to the Lohbnahss Star System were orbiting in standby. It couldn’t be helped, since the Dacsaith was the only ship that could make the trip unscathed. Not that there was any need to have three supply ships go down there anyway. These were emergency provisions; they were just sending what food they had and Jint himself down to the surface.

  Under normal circumstances, an adjunct to a lady agent wouldn’t set foot on a landworld, but Lohbnahss II’s circumstances were far from normal.

  Viewing the planet through live video of the outside, he could still see its curvature. White clouds covered around half of the globe, and his eyes were greeted by the beryl-green of the ocean waters visible in the unclouded half. Lohbnahss II was an ocean world, with small specks of islands. The largest of those specks was the only inhabited landmass.

  “Lady Agent Adjunct, we’ll touch down in twelve minutes,” said the Sarérh Symr Salygr (Transport Unit Commander), Gabautec.

  Jint nodded. “Understood.”

  The relationship between him and Jint was a fuzzy one. Gabautec was a Hecto-Commander, whereas Jint had only just been promoted to a mere rinhairh sazoïr (quartermaster rearguard starpilot). Yet at the moment, he was temporarily acting outside of strictly military matters, so for the time being he was of a higher position than Gabautec. Jint wasn’t yet accustomed to the complex hierarchical system of Abh society. He wondered whether the day would ever come where he’d be able to comport himself like a real noble.

  The farther they descended, the quicker the clouds appeared to drift.

  “We almost there?” asked Mechanics Linewing Starpilot Samson, who had shown up on the bridge.

  “Yeah. We’ll be there in less than ten minutes now,” replied Jint. “Are you sure everything’s going to be okay up there?”

  “Oh c’mon, my able-bodied crew’s more than enough to keep watch over a moored assault ship. I think you’re the one who needs a bit more protection. It’s a den of violent criminals down there,” said Samson, pulling the lightgun out from its holster with a satisfied smirk. “Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve set foot on a surface. Can’t pass up this opportunity, can I?”

  “But there’s nothing to see.”

  “The air’s different,” he winked.

  Normally, Samson was in charge of maintaining the machinery on the Basrogrh. However, there were times when the ship was parked in orbit. So he’d come along as Jint’s bodyguard, along with the six subordinates he’d picked out for the job.

  The ship plunged through the cloud cover, and the outside video became shrouded in white. But mere moments later, they found themselves under a sudden shower of rain, land visible ahead.

  Above, a rift in the clouds let through a majestic shaft of light. Jint was reminded of the religious painting he was forcibly bidden to appreciate when he was a kid in Martin.

  “Splashing down,” said Gabautec.

  The Dacsaith hit the waves gently, but even so, the spray was enormous. Then, the ship glided across the sea, clearing the rainy area soon enough to witness the blue sky and white clouds. The rays of the planet’s sun, also named Lohbnahss, beat harshly down on them.

  “Oh yeah, this is what I’m talking about, right here. Blue ocean, blue sky. Real beaut of a landworld!” cheered Samson.

  “Is your homeworld like this?” asked Jint.

  “No, there aren’t any oceans. Just a bunch of big lakes. And they’re still green from the terraforming.”

  “Green is pretty too, though, isn’t it?”

  “There’s pretty green, and then there’s not-so-pretty green. I still can’t get over how my homeworld’s saddled with the not-so-pretty shade of green. Midgrat is a glorious and
beautiful place, but that is one of its few shortcomings. The seas here are perfect.”

  “Is that so?” On Jint’s homeworld, the seas were tinged reddish-brown. He was taught that that was due to Martin’s ecosystem. Jint then realized this was the first time he’d ever been this close to the sea. Though he’d had the opportunity to look down on oceans countless times... from orbit.

  The amphibious ship drew closer to the landmass at a slow pace. Then it came to a halt. The jetty extended out toward them, and the ship attached to it.

  Jint gave the Captain parting words, and headed toward the air lock room in order to disembark. Samson and the six members of the “bodyguard unit” accompanied him.

  Back when Jint had set foot on the surface of Delktu on the heels of his first trip through space, it struck him how the planet smelled different from his homeworld. Clasbure had been the same in that regard, too, with its own unique aroma suffusing the air. And the smell of this planet’s atmosphere was altogether different from all three of those landworlds.

  “Ohh, take in that sea air. It’s the only thing that’s pretty much the same across all planets,” said Samson, the opposite of Jint’s deep revelation.

  “Sea air?”

  “Yeah. Smells salty, like the briny deep. Saltwater bodies always smell like this. You didn’t know that?”

  “This is my first time at sea.”

  “I see. Well, this is pretty much your standard ocean. The lakes on my homeworld reek something fierce...”

  While the two were chatting in front of the jetty, one of the NCCs cleared his throat. That “ahem” was like a push on the back, causing Jint to step onto the jetty. Once the whole group was on the jetty, it began to quietly move, ferrying them to the shorefront.

  Looking both ways, huge jetties seemingly designed to accept cargo were stretching toward supply ships.

  They’ve got their arrangements in order, that’s for sure, thought Jint, impressed.

  On the other side of the jetty stood some figures wearing white, with Maydeen at the front. He assumed they must all be high-level Lohbnahss System bureaucrats.

  “Welcome to Lohbnahss II,” Maydeen greeted them, though his expression was dark.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Chief Executive, Your Excellency,” said Jint.

  “Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve seen you directly, Your Excellency Count Hyde. Now then, please, follow us.”

  They were guided to a room in a building tall enough to be visible from the port — the Administrative Building. The Bodyguard Unit was made to wait in a separate room, but Samson was there with Jint.

  “Let me explain the current situation,” said Maydeen as he entered the room.

  It appeared the Chief Executive was so out of time that he didn’t even offer them seats. He thought about just sitting of his own accord, but decided instead to just remain standing for the time being. For a body accustomed to the standard Abh gravity level, Lohbnahss’s gravity level was a bit tough to endure, but he wasn’t exhausted enough to crumple.

  A map floated up on one of the walls. A map of the largest landmass on Lohbnahss II, and the only inhabited landmass, the island of Rajay. The seas on the map were almost the same shade of blue as the actual oceans. Around a tenth of the island was colored white, with the remaining sections colored red. There were white points scattered across the red section as well.

  “The Correctional Zones are in red, and the Administrative Zone in white,” said Maydeen. “The Administrative Zone is comprised of various facilities, including this building, the residences of the guards and their families, and some shops. Needless to say, the Correctional Zones are where the inmates live.”

  The red zones were divided into three by a set of solid black lines.

  “What are these lines?” asked Jint, tracing the black lines with his fingers.

  “Walls. The East Zone is for males, the West for females, and Central is mixed. They’re the East Correctional Zone, the West Correctional Zone, and the Central Correctional Zone. Good and easy to remember.”

  “That they are,” nodded Jint. “Do all of the inmates want to live in the Central Correctional Zone?”

  “Living in the mixed zone has strings attached.”

  “Like being a model inmate?”

  “No. They need to be sterilized first.”

  “Sterilized...”

  “That is correct. The inmates can enjoy themselves however they want; we don’t care. But we can’t let them give birth. What would we do with their children? Ripping them from their parents would be cruel, but on the other hand, we couldn’t just leave an innocent, blameless child in a correctional center. The place isn’t exactly geared toward giving children healthy upbringings.”

  Then, a muse spoke into Jint’s ear, and he cottoned onto something: “Those three self-styled premiers must be the representatives of each zone.”

  “Indeed,” said Maydeen. “Only, we don’t acknowledge any such claptrap titles. The whole idea of zone representatives is a joke.”

  Jint pointed at the West Zone. “This must be her, that Shungarr lady. The Central Zone must be Mr. Dohkfoo, and the East is Anguson. Am I off?”

  “Impressive, Your Excellency. Right on all counts.” But he didn’t look as impressed as he let on.

  “I have my moments, but they’re few and far between,” said Jint modestly.

  “Why don’t you just sterilize all of them?” butted in Samson.

  “Forcibly?” Maydeen looked disgusted. “We can’t perpetrate such barbarism. Though if the Empire were to sterilize them all, I wouldn’t object.”

  “The Empire would never do such a thing,” said Jint, dangerously close to adding “it’d be too big a hassle.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, whatever.”

  “So, how are you managing the inmates’ dormitories?” While Jint took note of the Warden’s casually negligent attitude, he continued asking questions. Since the vast majority of the island’s inhabitants lived in the red zone, he had to carry out his role as a liege, however temporary. He couldn’t be indifferent as to the lives of the people living in the star system he and Lafier technically presided over.

  “They have housing. More than needed given the population, in fact. In any case, we’ve entrusted the management of the housing to the inmates themselves.”

  “So your policy is noninterference,” said Samson.

  “Freedom is the core tenet of our system here. Though of course, I don’t know what the Empire plans to do with this planet.”

  “As a general rule, the Empire doesn’t intervene in the internal affairs of its landworlds.”

  “That’s all well and good, but at the moment I’d rather like for the Empire to intervene.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve never understood what goes through their heads. It’s not as though we’re robbing them of the ability to have intercourse, so why do they hate the idea of us taking their reproductive capabilities? Well, this place may just be paradise for same-sex lovers.”

  “What if they want to marry after returning to society?” asked Samson.

  “None of the inmates here will ever go back into society.”

  “Hold on, isn’t this a correctional center? How is it correctional if they’re here forever...?” said Samson, cocking his head.

  “Is it impossible, in the Empire, for traditional monikers to be out of step with reality?”

  “Guess it happens all the time!” Samson smiled wryly.

  “Anyway, they’re once again doing something beyond my understanding. They’re taking up arms and gathering together.”

  “Are you saying they’re trying to attack this area?” asked Jint.

  “I think the chances of that are high,” said Maydeen, shaking his head, “but they could also be trying to break into the Central Zone, surprisingly enough. With the West Zone being their end goal, obviously.”

  “Sounds like a pickle,” said Jint perfunctorily.


  “You don’t understand how grave the situation is!” shouted Maydeen. Then he looked surprised at his own outburst. “My apologies, Your Excellency. Ever since I’ve come to this planet, I’ve had only my subordinates and the inmates to talk to. And you look so young...”

  “Don’t worry, it doesn’t bother me a bit,” said Jint. “And I really am young.”

  “Are you? I thought Abhs are unaging?”

  “Genetic Abhs are. But I’ll age, same as you, Your Excellency.”

  “Huh.” Maydeen seemed taken aback by this.

  He didn’t honestly take me for a genetic Abh, did he? What about my brown hair? And do I look that handsome to him? Maybe the title of “count” is so imposing it makes people not notice the outwardly trivial little things.

  “I’m sorry about that,” said Maydeen, before looking at the map on the wall again. “That aside, things are looking serious.”

  “Serious how, exactly?”

  “Earlier, I said I don’t understand the feelings of the folks in the male housing area who reject the idea of sterilization, but it’s a different story for the inmates in the female area,” he explained. “In other words, they don’t want to come face to face with the men.”

  “Uh... huh...” Jint recalled what Shungarr had said: that she had a duty to protect the women.

  “The people on this island are criminals. But there are also those who, in straying from the right path, have been victimized as well. I think the majority of the women here ran toward crime due to such bitter experiences. Most of their crimes have to do with gender. In other words, the women want a world without men.”

  “I see,” Jint nodded.

  “I want you to protect them.”

  “Oh.” Jint blinked. “Actually, there’s something that’s been on the back of my mind, Chief Executive. You’re speaking as though you’re not going to bear any responsibility toward the state of affairs on this landworld, Your Excellency.”