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

Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Regarding Kait's departure from the pursuit fleet, it seems the other fleets didn't take it negatively. Kait isn't particularly afraid of bad reputations, but he does hope to maintain good relations with his fellow Federation members if possible.

When they returned to the space where they had clashed with Lufate Gainun, a large artificial celestial body was just in the process of sucking up the wreckage. That must be Uvols.

"Excuse me. This is the vessel Queen Bee. Is the person in charge available?"

'This is artificial celestial body Uvols. Vessel name confirmed. The person in charge is... C-Captain Third-Rank Citizen (Enec Lagif) Kait!? P-Please wait a moment!'

Upon sending the transmission, the staff who responded hurriedly connected the internal line.

Kait was starting to get used to this kind of response. For now, he decided to wait for the next person to appear.

The next person to appear was an intelligent being whose appearance Kait was somewhat familiar with.

'Captain Third-Rank Citizen Kait, it's an honor to meet you. I am Yamloson, the person in charge of Uvols. My citizenship is Fourth-Rank. What brings you here?'

"Nice to meet you, Fourth-Rank Citizen Yamloson (Darda Elra). I heard you are researching the remains of Lufate Gainun, so I was hoping you could share some information."

'Oh? The research is progressing very slowly... are you sure you're still interested?'

"Yes. I believe there's no point in pursuing an enemy we don't understand."

'I see, so it's not just idle curiosity. Very well, let me offer my assistance. I'll open the port section—come on in.'

Just as he said, a part of Uvols opened. It was on the opposite side from where the wreckage was being drawn in. Kait directed Queen Bee toward the port section.

Even so, Yamloson seemed to exude a somewhat disheveled air. Hoping that wouldn't lead to any negative consequences, Kait proceeded to dock with Uvols.

***

"Well, this place sure has a mad vibe to it."

"Yeah. Come to think of it, this is our first time on a research-specialized artificial celestial body."

Kait and Emotion disembarked from Queen Bee at the port section. They waited for a while, but since no guide came, they decided to proceed further in on their own.

A short distance from the port, they saw part of Lufate Gainun floating inside a tube. There were countless such tubes, and several Federation citizens, who appeared to be staff, were gathered around some of them. The contents of the preserved tubes didn't seem to be the remains of the larvae the fleet had just thoroughly destroyed. The coloration was clearly different.

"...This is..."

"You noticed, didn't you? Fifth-Rank Citizen Emotion (Alto Romia)."

"Yes, Representative Yamloson."

"Apologies for the late welcome. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Yamloson, representative of Uvols. Pleased to meet you."

He lightly grasped the slender tentacle that was offered.

After Kait let go, Yamloson shook hands with Emotion as well, then led the two of them further inside. It seemed he had come out to greet them personally.

As they walked, Kait confirmed the earlier exchange.

"What did you mean by 'you noticed,' Emotion?"

"Yes, Captain. The specimens being studied here are not the larvae eliminated in space. These are likely individuals that fell to a planet and parasitized local organisms afterward."

"What—"

"Correct, Fifth-Rank Citizen Emotion. These monsters once fell onto planets not managed by the Federation and completely destroyed nearly half of their ecosystems. These are samples of those entities. For us researchers, they are extremely valuable samples, but at the same time, they continue to betray our expectations in frustrating ways."

Yamloson, perhaps from exhaustion, let his tentacles droop as he continued deeper inside.

Every time they passed a nearby tube, he would share remarks that were part explanation, part self-deprecation—it was hard to tell.

"Of course, all of these are dead. Researching a living Lufate Gainun is taboo. But it's safe to say we've already extracted all the information we can from the corpses."

"I see?"

"There aren't many cases of exterminating a Lufate Gainun that arrives with a mobile mother body. That's why we have high hopes for these samples. Not just us, but the council bigwigs too."

Apparently, Lufate Gainun isn't a creature that appears frequently—even at the scale of the Federation. Even if one were to conduct various studies with limited evidence, sudden breakthroughs wouldn't be expected. Despite the Federation having the highest research capabilities in the galaxy, they've been assigned to this unproductive research. The dissatisfaction Yamloson occasionally expressed likely stemmed from that.

In any case, hopefully this extermination would lead to some progress in the research.

"Originally, this research was considered a kind of hobby project."

"A hobby?"

"Yeah. These creatures tend to have a one-track survival strategy. Once an efficient extermination method was discovered, research on Lufate Gainun was dismissed as a hobby for a niche group."

"Huh. That's... something."

Since an efficient extermination method had been found, some argued that researching the biology of hostile organisms was unnecessary. In a way, that was a valid stance. There were already plenty of other research subjects. Even if a fundamental solution couldn't be found, stepping back after identifying a workable alternative wasn't entirely unreasonable.

That was probably why Yamloson was initially suspicious of them.

"Well, even so, the Federation Congress still deemed this research necessary. So I'd really like to produce some solid results."

"We'll help out while we're here."

"Yes. Feel free to use us as needed."

"Is that so? Thanks."

Yamloson swayed his body, which was about twice the size of other spherical intelligences.

At some point, the tubes had vanished, and only a vast empty room remained. Wondering why this space was left open, they looked around without restraint.

"We need to place the sample specimens here. Did a bit of cleaning. Once sorting is done, the samples useful for research will be arranged here."

"I see?"

"Sorting should be starting soon. It's a bit of a walk, but shall we go?"

"Absolutely."

They headed toward the section where Lufate Gainun's larvae were stored.

The tubes still weren't visible, but some equipment had been brought in instead. Probably computers for research.

Before they knew it, they had exited the hall and entered a corridor. Led by Yamloson, they continued down the now narrower path.

"Here we are."

"So this is..."

"Captain. Be careful when breathing. The vaporized bodily fluids are releasing toxins."

The depths of Uvols, which had swallowed a massive amount of remains. The open area had been sealed off and converted into an environment where people could operate without suits. The loud hum of the ventilation system was probably to prevent the vaporized acidic fluids from harming the staff.

Currently, many staff members were sorting the remains by size while inspecting the damage. Since the extermination had been thorough, there were likely no surviving larvae—but even so, it was still a dangerous task.

As Kait watched the staff working diligently, he suddenly thought he recognized a familiar profile and walked over. The staff member, absorbed in the task and unaware of Kait's presence, happened to turn their face toward him. Their eyes met.

Their eyes widened in surprise, and Kait was just as shocked. But the other person spoke first.

"Huh? Captain... Captain Kait?"

"You're... Doctor Saito, aren't you? What are you doing in a place like this?"

There stood the long-unseen figure of Gorou Saitou.