The Janiradiad Rebellion (3)

"To meet you face to face once more like this—truly, there could be no greater joy."

"Mm… I suppose so."

The moment he stepped into my quarters, our crustacean admiral, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seidller, expressed his delight in that distinctive historical-drama cadence of his.

—Twitch-twitch, wriggle.

His third eye (by whatever standard that was measured) and twin antennae were all a-flutter; the atmosphere of the room must ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have pleased him.

Yet for all that pleasure, he was examining the layout of the chamber with unusual care… What was he up to?

"Is something the matter?"

"…Nay. Merely a fleeting thought that required consideration."

"I see."

My words seemed to startle him into awareness; only then did the admiral take his seat.

"So then—what business is so pressing that you requested a private audience like this?"

Between people who already knew everything worth knowing, there was no need for excess flourishes or probing skirmishes.

When I charged straight in, Seidller's antennae trembled visibly.

"Hmph. Your Excellency the Minister remains as forthright as ever."

"No point in dragging things out, is there?"

At that, Admiral Seidller nodded in agreement.

But what he did immediately afterward left me nothing short of flabbergasted.

"Your words are just, Minister. Then allow this officer to state at once the reason for his personal attendance."

The instant the words left him, he rose from his seat, turned toward me, and dropped to one knee—driving the other knee hard into the floor.

He knelt with such decisive force that I almost worried for the joint itself.

It was a textbook posture, yet I could only wonder what on earth this was about—until, from that impossibly complex crustacean mouth, the admiral's solemn voice emerged with even greater majesty.

"Loyal subject of the Empire, Arto Virtorius Seveli: by the name of myself, the reigning Emperor Artraia Beliard Penash Khan Seveli, I hereby command you as of this moment."

I had never imagined he would be delivering an imperial decree by proxy.

The stream of formal flourishes that followed only strengthened the impression that this was a genuine official order.

Of course there remained a vanishingly small chance it was pure fabrication… but the odds rendered the notion meaningless.

And then something drove a spike straight through that last shred of doubt.

…Why keep dumping this crushing burden on me?

Some new form of harassment?

Why leave the professionals who've done this for decades sitting idle and dump it all on a greenhorn like me?

It felt exactly like those black-company bosses who hand an impossible job to the new hire and then sneer, "Well, of course you couldn't do it," when they fail. And so on.

The official proclamation, thick with ornate phrasing, barely registered in my ears…

"—and thus, as of this moment, the Third Expeditionary Fleet under Admiral Seidller Peyvertz is hereby placed, in secret, under the command of Duke Arto Virtorius Seveli until the conclusion of this mission. Such is the command I have received."

"…Arto Virtorius Seveli, Duke. In obedience to the will of Her Most August Majesty the Emperor, I shall devote myself body and soul to the appointed goal."

I could not stay in panic forever. Managing my expression as best I could, I accepted both the order and the event.

"Then this officer shall return at once to the flagship and resume command of the fleet."

The moment I accepted, even his speech shifted into the register one uses toward a superior.

Faced with such pure, unadulterated chain-of-command devotion, I could only give a quiet nod.

A short while later—

"What in the world just happened, huh?"

Riel was every bit as blindsided by the sudden turn of events.

I looked at her and, at the same time, opened the event window to begin another round of shameless crib-sheet explanation.

"Hmm… to put it briefly."

—A quick glance.

"…In other words, it's a long story, but—"

"Summarize it properly for me, yeah? You're the Minister—you can do that, right?"

I had been trying to pad the explanation and buy time; Riel cut me off at the root.

Faced with that merciless efficiency, I had to swallow my tears in silence.

"Fine. Haa… Simply put, Her Majesty has just told me the true objective of this Janus expedition."

"…Huh?"

Riel, for once, failed to grasp my meaning on the spot.

Then again, if I were in her place I would probably have reacted the same way.

"Didn't this whole affair feel off to you from the start?"

"Off… hmm…"

After a moment's thought, Riel spun her signature antennae in lazy circles, then stopped and continued.

"Now that you mention it, yeah—there was definitely something weird about it."

"Mm."

"Common sense says this expedition is riding out solely on the planetary governor's request for aid. Set that peculiarity aside and… it just doesn't sit right, you know?"

She arrived at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠almost exactly the same conclusion the status window had given me. I simply nodded.

"That's my Riel. Excellent deduction."

"Thanks. So then… the business with Admiral Seidller—was that Her Majesty's consideration for you?"

She had already reached that far.

I still didn't fully understand the situation myself and was just humming along while staring at the status window, yet this super-AI was calmly piecing everything together on her own.

"Exactly."

"Ooh."

Moments like this made it painfully clear: I was nothing more than an ordinary man.

Two weeks later, in orbit above the planet Janus in the Diles-Jannir system.

Casual conversation, the occasional observation of routine drills—after a long voyage filled with a tightly packed, productive schedule, we were at last slipping into Janus's orbital zone.

Naturally, given the era, the ship's systems casually ignored the shock and heat of atmospheric entry, treating us to a thoroughly comfortable ride.

One surprising fact: the planetary government had managed to reclaim a rather substantial degree of control…

"Hmm. On the way in I half-expected a fireworks show with the orbital defense grid during descent."

"Looks like we won't have to worry about that, yeah."

Only two weeks earlier the government had seemed reduced to little more than its key facilities, thoroughly encircled.

Yet now that we had arrived…

"The planetary government proved more competent than the Empire anticipated."

"Tell me about it."

When the distress call first came in, it had felt like the end of the world—pure apocalyptic cinema.

—Beep-beep!

"Minister, the planetary government has just transmitted the mapping data for the fleet's landing zone."

"Ah, right."

They had even prepared a dedicated landing field for the arriving fleet.

"Welcome, leader of the Empire's relief force."

"Ah… yes. A pleasure."

In stark contrast to that earlier urgency, they were now staging a full-blown welcome ceremony.

"We never imagined the Empire would answer our request for aid so swiftly."

"It is the crisis of an entire planet—tens of billions of lives hang in the balance. Her Majesty made the decisive call."

"Hahaha! As expected of Her Majesty the Emperor!"

They had even hauled the expeditionary command staff—myself included—into a lavishly appointed hotel and were preparing yet another formal reception.

A banquet hall overflowing with every luxury dish imaginable, accompanied by elegant classical music.

After two weeks cooped up aboard ship, it was certainly pleasant… and yet something felt off.

Is this really the place that begged for military support?

Moreover, only a carefully selected handful of representatives from the command staff had been invited, and the hosts seemed completely unaware of who the actual commander even was.

Either they didn't care… or they knew and were pretending otherwise.

While I nursed these stray thoughts and sipped the provided drink—

"Excuse me, Officer? Might I trouble you with a single question?"

A man approached me—dressed in the classic Sevelian aristocratic style, opulent yet restrained.

Calling me "Officer" meant he had simply judged by the borrowed uniform I wore for convenience.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Would you happen to know who commands this expeditionary force?"

The moment I heard the question, I caught sight of Riel behind the man, desperately fighting back laughter. Taking pity on the poor fellow about to become the victim of a prank, I decided to deliver the punchline myself.

"…That would be me."

"Ah."