The Janiradiad Rebellion (1)
If the minister’s private airship hadn’t been flying under emergency clearance, the aerobatics that got us here would have earned us enough speeding tickets to wallpaper the cabin. We touched down hard and fast, then made straight for my office inside the Executive Ministry and threw ourselves into establishing a link with the central network.
“What the hell is going on?”
“I honestly have no idea, sir.”
While the connection spun up, a brief window of dead time opened. I decided to check the other alert that had chimed alongside the emergency notice—the one from my status window.
The moment I opened it, I nearly doubted my own eyes.
Janiradiad Rebellion
For reasons yet unknown, a large-scale riot has erupted on Janus, the homeworld of the former Janiradiad Republic.
Portions of the local garrison forces that should have suppressed the unrest have instead joined the rioters and are now locked in a standoff with the remaining loyal units.
The scale of the violence has shut down every civilian spaceport and station on the planet, leaving the local population with no viable means of escape.
If the riot is left unchecked, the rebellion will spiral beyond control.
When progress reaches 100%, the quest will advance to the next stage.
Failure to halt the unrest will trigger full-scale rebellions across every world that once belonged to the former Janiradiad Republic.
Current Progress: 30%
…Is this for real?
It had been a very long time since I’d seen a quest with such a detailed, lengthy description. Before I could even form a coherent reaction, the link to the central network finished establishing.
“Connection in three, two, one!”
“Mm.”
A faint tingling sensation washed over me, as though my entire body were being scanned. A moment later—
Flash!
The panoramic view of the Interior Ministry’s galactic holoconference chamber filled my vision: dozens of people and countless floating screens packed into a room whose expensive décor and carefully arranged furniture were, according to some, “strategically impressive.”
“A riot on Janiradiad, of all times?!”
“We only just heard ourselves—let’s listen first before we jump to conclusions.”
“Haaah… damn it all.”
There was no time to admire the scenery. The people who had connected ahead of me were already deep in heated practical debate.
“The Minister of the Executive Ministry has arrived.”
“A pleasure, Minister of the Interior.”
Only after several dozen more officials logged in did the emergency strategy session finally begin.
“First, an explanation of the current crisis… can someone tell us exactly what is happening?”
Calling it a strategy session was generous. Most of those present had simply answered the high-priority alert and knew next to nothing. The Vice-Minister of the Interior, serving as chair, kept a tightly controlled expression as he began laying out the facts one careful piece at a time.
“Ah… a short while ago, the planetary governor of Janus—homeworld of the former Janiradiad Republic—reported the local situation via the hotline.”
“Via the hotline?”
“If it was urgent enough for that, this must be serious.”
Planetary governors were half-indispensable to the running of a galactic empire. In the least charitable terms, they were the Emperor’s subcontractors—and they wielded authority and power commensurate with that responsibility.
“You handle this planet. Just keep the taxes flowing and do as you’re told, and we won’t touch whatever else you get up to.”
“Yes, sir.”
Because of that arrangement, planetary governors almost never asked for outside help with internal problems. When they did, they usually couched the request in polite circumlocution. Using the hotline was rarer still. Everyone in the room seemed to share the same thought; suspicion was written across every face.
“The planetary governor himself is requesting support over the hotline?”
“Since the Empire’s founding… you could count the times on one hand.”
The murmuring grew so loud that the meeting threatened to stall entirely. A few voices finally cut through the noise.
“I understand everyone’s doubts, but perhaps we should hear the rest of the report first.”
“Agreed. There are more than one or two questions still unanswered.”
“Ahem. Very well.”
Once the chamber quieted, the Vice-Minister wiped the sweat from his brow and continued. Contrary to expectations, however, even the Interior Ministry itself lacked detailed information.
“We only learned of the problem through the hotline, so we don’t know the full picture.”
“What about the phrase ‘mutiny within the local garrison’?”
“If that’s true, shouldn’t we already be treating this as a rebellion rather than a mere riot?”
“Why not simply deploy the home-fleet main force and crush the rebels?”
“How dare they launch terrorist attacks targeting us Sevelians!!”
“Those Janiradians—defeated in the last war and still they refuse to learn!”
The moment the chair admitted ignorance, the participants began edging past every line of restraint. The only facts anyone present actually knew were the four points from the emergency alert:
1. Large-scale riot.
2. Confirmed mutiny within the garrison.
3. Terror attacks aimed at Sevelians.
4. Direct support request from the planetary governor.
“We should mobilize every armored legion stationed on the homeworld and roll right over them!”
Someone was already proposing a full-scale Tiananmen-style tank parade. The chaos was accelerating by the second.
Not “small but certain happiness,” then—just small but certain expansionist fantasies.
The ghost of militarism that supposedly lives in every heart was on full display. I wanted to slap my own forehead.
No. This isn’t the time.
If I let those militarist ghosts run free, the meeting’s outcome would turn grotesque.
Something like glassing the rebels from orbit “to eliminate the traitors”… yeah.
I couldn’t let the Empire start doing things that would make even Prosnak blush. With the chamber teetering on the edge of madness for lack of information, I decided to throw a stone into the pond.
“Ah—excuse me. Everyone seems to be working with very little data. May I speak for a moment?”
“Minister of the Executive Ministry, do you know something?”
At the same time I requested the floor, I pinged a few assembly members with whom I had existing ties, ensuring every eye turned my way.
“Ah, Minister Arto.”
“Come to think of it, the Executive Minister fought across the entire Janiradiad theater, didn’t he?”
“Is that so?”
I wasn’t merely gathering attention; I was also planting the idea that I was something of an “expert.” Judging the moment ripe, I casually opened the status window and began shamelessly cheating.
Slide.
Since I had formally taken the floor, I also stood up for the full theatrical effect.
“Regarding the current Janiradiad unrest—according to what I have been able to ascertain, the situation on the ground is extremely complex.”
“Complex? In what sense?”
I pretended to look at the assemblyman who had asked while actually reading the quest window.
“…This has gone far beyond ordinary urban protests. Virtually every piece of planetary infrastructure is failing.”
“Meaning?”
“Within the scope of my information, at least, the shutdown of every civilian spaceport and station has effectively trapped the entire local population on the planet.”
The faces of the assemblymen who had been cheering for orbital bombardment a moment earlier grew visibly uncomfortable. Good. Even the barest scrap of conscience should keep a person from glassing civilians.
“And the problem with the local garrison is even more serious.”
“Hmm?”
“At least several full legions have joined the rioters and are now facing off against the remaining loyal garrison forces.”
“What—how is that even possible?!”
“How in the world did the planetary governor allow such a catastrophe?!”
You’re asking me? Unfortunately the quest window contained no answer to that particular mystery, so the truth sank into darkness.
“That isn’t the worst of it.”
“There’s more?!”
The assemblyman recoiled as though I’d just announced the apocalypse. He wasn’t even one of my plants, yet his reactions were so lively I almost enjoyed speaking.
I should remember his face and look him up later.
I nodded at his outburst and continued.
“Yes. This is only an estimate, of course…”
I let the sentence trail off, then heaved a heavy, worried sigh before finishing.
“Even under the most optimistic scenario, the result will be ‘large-scale rebellions erupting across every world that once belonged to the Janiradiad Republic.’”
The words left my mouth.
“….”
The vast holoconference chamber fell so silent it might as well have been muted. Heavy quiet and absolute stillness wrapped around us all.