Two-Person Galactic Journey: Earth Was Destroyed While Imprisoned in Space Prison

Chapter 101

He had transferred to the Queen Bee many times before, but come to think of it, he had never accelerated it at full power.

The first task was to catch up to the school of space tuna flying ahead. The Queen Bee's speed was inferior compared to combat craft specialized for velocity. The Di-Kigaia Zarmos, including the Queen Bee, had uniformly high performance across the board, but no standout feature. That's how they were built.

However, being a favorite of Terapolapaneshio, its receptivity to psychic power was exceptional. And that one trait alone made it a superweapon capable of surpassing not only all combat craft but even battleships and artificial celestial bodies.

Kait infused the Queen Bee with the will to accelerate. He could feel it rapidly speeding up, and precisely because of that, he began to understand certain things.

"That's fast."

'Yes. Even a combat craft specialized for speed would struggle to catch up.'

The space tuna were simply fast. No one would ever think of capturing and studying them. They were slower than teleportation but faster than any ship. He now truly understood what that meant.

Their small bodies—unclear if they were outer shells or ships—swam single-mindedly through space. You'd wonder how they didn't crash into small asteroids. The school of space tuna was flying in relatively tight formation. Even a slight misstep or accidental contact could result in disaster.

"Emotion. If that thing is a living creature, what could be generating that kind of speed?"

'I don't know. Maybe it has some unknown organ? It seems like their speed increases when they group together.'

"This isn't some game buff, you know."

That said, it was completely incomprehensible. Without capturing one, they couldn't study its ecology in detail. Catch up, capture, bring it back. Those three things were the initial mission assigned to Kait.

Even though the space tuna were fast, they weren't moving at the speed of light. At their current pace, it would still take years to reach Darrekke 2. If the Federation or Corporation managed to capture even one, their analytical capabilities would make the research relatively quick.

"Then what if that thing is a ship?"

'In that case, there are methods. Since both the Captain and the Corporation use teleportation, achieving that level of speed wouldn't be impossible.'

"Well, that makes sense."

'But even so, I don't think it's realistic.'

Even though she said it herself, she claimed it wasn't realistic. Kait didn't initially understand Emotion's intent, but as he chased and observed the space tuna closely, he gradually began to sense it.

"Too small?"

'Yes. No matter how much you miniaturize the functions, the body is just too small. If it's equipped with a mechanism capable of that speed, it raises the question of what else could possibly fit inside.'

"Like, it's been miniaturized to a shocking degree using some unknown advanced science?"

'The space tuna were confirmed to exist even before the Federation was formed, right? Could such remarkable technological innovation occur over billions of years without any contact with other civilizations? While maintaining that speed, no less.'

The space tuna were only about half the size of a Federation combat craft. If they were ships, then no matter how small the internal mechanisms were, someone of Kait's size couldn't even lie down or move properly inside.

To pilot a ship in such a state while innovating its technology—there's no way one person could manage that.

"Maybe it's piloted by tiny people?"

'That's possible. There's the example of Adie Ze, a fifth-rank citizen (Alto Romia). With their body size, maybe three of them could live in a single vessel.'

A nostalgic name came up. A Federation citizen introduced as a buyer of Earth's culture. Kait remembered he was indeed rather small.

But if that were the case, it didn't explain why they hadn't communicated with the Federation. There didn't seem to be any hostility, including combat. If there had been such a past, the space jellyfish would've surely mentioned it.

Had they closed the distance bit by bit? Kait wanted to know how fast they were going now—but he didn't ask. He had a feeling that if he did, it would make him ease up.

"So basically, whether it's a living creature or a ship, it's something we just can't comprehend."

'That's how it seems.'

"I like it. It's romantic."

Apparently, the universe still held many unknowns. Even the Federation, which had overcome nearly all biological challenges, still encountered such mysteries. That thrilled Kait to no end.

***

Derenidene muttered while monitoring the Queen Bee and the space tuna.

The fact that they were steadily closing in on the space tuna was simply abnormal.

"Amazing..."

Captain Kait's renown had reached even the Corporation. At first, he recalled, most of it had been bad press. But after he began associating with the Corporation's President, the bad rumors disappeared quickly. Apparently, they were spread out of jealousy by people from his hometown.

There were even stories of him piloting the Di-Kigaia Zarmos, handled by Terapolapaneshio, and overwhelming massive battleships without a scratch. He had thought those legends were exaggerated, but what was unfolding before him now proved they were true.

'Right, Ekkeuu?'

"B-Branch Director!?"

Nezasuriwe, who had been sharing information inside the ship, sent a transmission. Derenidene was surprised by the sudden contact from such a big name, but Nezasuriwe continued, unfazed by Derenidene's reaction.

'Whether it's the Corporation or the Federation, reaching the speed needed to catch up to the space tuna requires a special vessel. And even then, capturing one at that speed is realistically impossible.'

"Y-Yes."

'But look. Captain Kait still has room to spare. There are no abnormal values in the biological data being transmitted from him.'

The monitored biological data from Kait showed extremely abnormal readings in one region of the brain. But Emotion had already informed them that this was a typical reaction for someone using psychic power and nothing to worry about.

Interference with the laws of physics through willpower. Since the arrival of the Earthlings, this ability had come to be called psychic power, and recently, modifications to grant it had begun gaining traction within the Federation and Corporation. For now, it was just a rekindled research trend, but of course, Kait was at the center of it.

'If this data is made public, research into psychic power will heat up even more. The Captain's name will stir the world again.'

"A-Are you going to release it?"

Maybe that sounded a bit argumentative. Derenidene regretted his tone, but Nezasuriwe didn't scold him.

'The people of Terapolapaneshio won't keep it under wraps. They're eager to broadcast the Captain's accomplishments above all else.'

"I see..."

It was only a brief conversation, but Kait didn't seem interested in fame or recognition. Derenidene didn't know what Terapolapaneshio's intentions were, but he felt it might even be harassment from Kait's perspective.

Still, Derenidene was far too afraid to say that aloud. Even saying one word to Nezasuriwe, the Branch Director, made him regret it. If the opponent were Terapolapaneshio, who was considered on equal footing with Palnesbrogia, even facing them was terrifying.

As he silently apologized to Kait for his own cowardice, Nezasuriwe suddenly raised their voice.

'Oh! The Captain's ship is catching up!'

"!"

On the monitor, the Queen Bee was shown closing in on the school of space tuna, just about to line up with the one at the rear.