Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Varisa's Folly
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Varisa's crew had tried a reckless investment, but they were quick on the uptake in their own way.
As soon as the giant Nesepala showed up, they halted all operations and ordered a retreat.
Among all the ships in that star system, the priciest one—Treegalaon-Alpha—bolted out faster than any living creature could.
I wanted to stick around and observe a bit more to gather detailed intel, but it looked like the pilot couldn't bear to risk damage to such an expensive bio-ship.
Unlike the Treegalaons that escaped successfully, most of Varisa's fleet failed to punch through space and flee.
I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I could guess the reason.
Corporate hierarchies are stricter than in most authoritarian states, and that's predictable.
Could low-level employees abandon equipment and minerals worth more than their annual salary and just run?
Who's gonna reimburse that money? If they're on the hook for it anyway, might as well die trying, right?
And that's the gamble they staked their lives on. They just lost.
The real tragedy was that the Nesepalas didn't pursue them further.
If they'd retreated quietly, they might have survived. Too bad.
I had no idea what the Nesepalas' goal was, but with no chase, it seemed their immediate aim was clearing outsiders from the asteroid mining star system.
What had started as a potential national extinction event got downgraded to a national crisis, so Varisa immediately convened an executive board meeting.
"Councilor Lorenzona! How are you gonna take responsibility, nyaa? The mining investment, the Nesepala breeding program, the new star system exploration—all of it went down the drain, nyaa!"
The meeting kicked off with the Red Nya faction laying into them hard.
The Red Nya faction, who favored stable profits, weren't happy with the current mess.
They'd argued for solidifying control on their given planets instead of exploring the vast galaxy, only to get burned when resources from the new system flooded in.
They'd claimed, after seeing the Bahilila Holy Knight Order, that they should stay xenophobic toward aliens—but then the Lushaka Kingdom just handed over the star system, making their talk sound like nonsense.
Feeling their influence wane after repeated misjudgments, the Red Nya faction came out swinging this time, determined to seize control.
"Calm down. We haven't gone under yet. Just get rid of that ridiculously huge Nesepala, and we're golden."
The Blue Ong faction leader replied while grooming his fur.
The Blue Ong faction, who chased high risk for high reward, were brimming with confidence unlike the Red Nyas.
They'd nailed several big wins in a row lately, so they were riding high.
No matter how big the Nesepala was, it was still just a wild animal in the end.
A bit oversized, sure, but Blue Ong leader Lorenzona figured they could clear it out quick and turn a profit.
And while they were at it, squash those annoying Red Nyas too.
"With Treegalaon-Alpha, what's there to fear, meow? It's satellite-sized—kill it and sell the whole thing as a satellite, nyaa."
"If that Nesepala kills the Treegalaon, you taking responsibility, nyaa?"
"Why should I? The mercenary division's under Red Nya control, meow."
"Kyaaah!! This is all your fault, nyaa!"
Red Nya leader Diego's fur bristled sharply from stress.
He couldn't fathom how the Blue Ongs were taking this dire crisis so lightly.
"It's a necessary risk, meow. Who do you think brought in the company's profits these past few years?"
The Blue Ongs couldn't understand the ingratitude from the ones they'd saved from bankrupting the company.
"Send the fleet to hunt it down already, meow. Every minute of this pointless meeting racks up more losses."
As the executive meeting dragged on without resolution, the legion awaited Varisa's request for support.
Why no word? Don't they want their territory back?
A group that had to buy ships externally due to lacking their own fleet tech couldn't have much real military power anyway.
Sure, they might win with that force, but... a satellite-sized thing? Really?
Honestly, it didn't seem like a great plan.
And in the end, the company opted to handle it with their own forces.
"Ahh, I don't wanna die, nyaa."
"Tch. Hurry up and deal with it, meow."
Varisa's main fleet, led by Treegalaon-Alpha, jumped into the hyperlane to reclaim the star system.
Of course, that fleet failed to take down the satellite-sized monster.
Treegalaon-class bio-beasts, which hunted enemy fleets with their massive size and armor, couldn't bring their full power to bear against something even bigger.
They ripped off a fair number of tentacles, but in the end, they got smashed flat by sheer mass.
Varisa's homegrown ships didn't stand a chance.
At least the Treegalaons were recoverable—they'd find the corpses scouring space.
Varisa's ships became part of the giant Nesepala's shell.
Once reports came in from the barely surviving crew who limped home, even the complacent executives finally panicked like their feet were on fire.
"N-Now what're we gonna do, nyaa?"
"Guess we have to call for support, meow?"
Only then did Varisa's support request arrive through diplomatic channels.
'Unprecedented cosmic monster appearance. As our ally, we humbly request your participation in the extermination.'
The description painted it as a monster roaming hyperlanes and devouring civilizations—a ridiculous exaggeration from my firsthand view, but other nations bought it.
Amphibian Cooperative and Deneb, neighboring the Nesepala system, were horrified by the sudden bad news.
Treegalaons already defied common sense, and now something even bigger?
And it could use hyperlanes? If Varisa fell to it, who'd be next?
Terror spread from the public about this off-the-charts entity.
They immediately agreed to dispatch fleets.
They figured they'd need every bit of firepower combined to have a shot.
Me? I had some reservations.
I've seen with my own eyes that Nesepalas aren't violent creatures.
Their size and power were intimidating enough, but they weren't pushing beyond the system and were behaving peacefully.
If no one had poked the Nesepalas who were just living fine, nothing would've happened.
Not that it was easy, of course.
In the end, the Lushaka Kingdom agreed to send a fleet too.
Officially, it was their first time seeing a Nesepala.
And wiping them out completely would stop any nation from researching them to catch up to the kingdom, right?
The most fun thing in the world is hogging all the tasty stuff.
The second-most fun is kicking away the ladder.
We already had gene samples; anything missing, we could grab during this extermination.
Not just Treegalaons—the kingdom's main fleet, including Treepalagon for the first time in ages, sortied.
No ordinary force seemed capable of damaging a satellite-sized monster.
The Federation sent their Western Border Fleet and Southern Border Fleet.
Half their main battle fleet—that showed their resolve.
As I marveled at the heavier investment than expected, Admiral Nikolai—who I'd chatted with as an envoy to the Lushaka Kingdom—reached out.
"Care to discuss what comes after the extermination?"
Indeed, there was a reason for the Federation's firm stance.
What Nikolai brought was a proposal to carve up the cats together this time.
It'd been nearly twenty years since the war with Telluris ended.
Peace had dragged on long enough for the military to get restless.
You don't stage coups during wars.
It ended in three hours, so it was more riot than civil war.
Did they engineer the panic for public opinion? Needed a pretext to deploy to a distant foreign system.
With the Amphibians joining in, we started drafting the bill to hand the cats.
Allying with types like these—I'm the only real pacifist in the galaxy.
But business is business.
Calling in fleets from non-allied nations always comes with a hefty fee.
Deneb and the Amphibians both expressed satisfaction at this democratic "discussion" after so long.
Both thought they were top dogs on their home planets, but venturing into the galaxy, they couldn't flex.
The Amphibians had the Bahilila Holy Knight Order next door; Deneb faced the Lushaka Kingdom powerhouse.
Personally, though, they seemed overly cocky.
Neither Deneb nor the Amphibians had seen the giant Nesepala in person yet.
They'd seen photos, but apparently that wasn't enough to instill caution?
The issue wasn't collecting the cats' money—it was that if their fleets took heavy losses, repairs wouldn't be cheap. Too optimistic?
Everywhere in the galaxy, arrogant top brass are the problem.
If the extermination doesn't go smoothly and their fleets start suffering real damage, I'll sell them more ships then.
By that point, gene analysis should be done, so I'll whip up Treegalaon-Betas loaded with Nesepala features and sell those.
Then they'll feed them metals like crazy to build tougher armor, right?
Reverse-engineer that metal tech from what they ingest.
Can't start from the Bronze Age now—just lend us a hand, folks.
We'll serve you cheap.