Once the fires from the missile strikes died down, we began analyzing the reconnaissance footage.
Fearing the crabs might be burrowing underground like they had on Ren’s home planet, we decided to launch a full-scale survey.
Naturally, I volunteered for the team.
"Come alone"? As if I’d actually do that! Not a chance in hell!
Besides, I never agreed to any such thing.
My comrades didn't object, either. There was no way they were letting me walk into that alone. It went without saying.
Count Shinagawa had officially retired to take responsibility for his false reports.
Since his eldest son had fallen in battle, the title was set to pass to his second son.
These are always the messiest situations to handle.
A lie is a lie, but his desire to protect his ancestral lands was relatable. To the other lords, this was a scenario that hit far too close to home.
Conversely, hushing it up would mean owing favors to too many people. Politics is built on quid pro quo, but being indebted to the wrong people can lead to them getting far too big for their boots.
Even an Emperor with absolute power can’t escape the inevitable corruption that plagues a bloated organization.
It wasn't about the threat of assassination. It was about the corruption becoming more subtle, more insidious.
Yet, if you try to purge it with absolute ruthlessness, you’ll lose your following. Everything requires the right balance—a light touch.
I wasn't the one handling politics for the imperial couple, and I trusted Wifey. My job was simply to be the muscle.
In this case, the risk of an attack during landing was deemed low. Instead of an atmospheric entry in humanoid fighters, we opted to descend in a standard transport craft.
Right before departure, the former Count Shinagawa requested an audience. I wasn't thrilled, but I agreed to meet him.
Eddie, my executive officer, came with me.
"I really don't want to do this, Eddie..."
"Same here, Leo..."
Still in our combat suits, the two of us headed toward the room Shinagawa had been using.
A secretary announced us and showed us in. Shinagawa, looking even more exhausted than the day before, bowed his head.
"Thank you... for your help in securing a lighter sentence."
"Well, for most lords, your situation was uncomfortably relatable."
This wasn't the kind of thing where anyone wanted to set a legal precedent through a trial. Circumstances varied too much from case to case. It was best handled internally, even if it couldn't be completely buried.
Sensing my mood, Shinagawa spread a map across the table.
"This is the capital city. Here is the quarry. The farmland is over here... and the hidden mine is right here."
A hidden mine? He sure wasn't beating around the bush.
"Are you sure you should be telling me this?"
"I believe Your Excellency is a man of trust."
"Understood. I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best for the recapture mission."
That conversation had taken place only moments ago.
Now, carrying that heavy weight of expectation, I touched down on the planet's surface.
Our landing zone was a plain free of crab remains, the missiles having scoured the land nearly flat.
Once on the ground, we set out on a survey using humanoid fighters, though Kevin and Nina-san were the ones doing the heavy lifting.
Kevin handled the drones, while Nina-san remotely operated a fleet of vehicles and aircraft.
The rest of us led the new recruits toward the hidden mine.
The known mines had already been cleared during the initial sweep. If the Zork were anywhere, it was here. If not, we could pack it in and go home.
"Infantry squad, deploy drones and scout! Tank unit, stay on standby!" Eddie barked out orders.
He was starting to sound like a proper Second Lieutenant.
As a Major, my job was to direct Eddie and the rest.
...Though, realistically, the Empire was in serious trouble if a Major was out on the front lines like this.
It was like a corporate director from HQ being permanently stationed behind the register of a convenience store in the middle of nowhere... You know what? Best not to think about it.
A report eventually came in from the scouts.
"Life signs detected deep in the shaft."
Guess I’m going in.
Apparently, hidden mines were a staple for local lords. Since my family’s lands were so close to the Imperial Capital, it was a culture I'd had no contact with.
Mining a bit of copper was usually overlooked, provided the lord took responsibility for the environmental impact. But smuggling nuclear materials? That was an express ticket to the executioner.
The scary part was that they didn't do it to get rich. If they didn't resort to this, their territories would drown in debt.
Learning about the reality of the outer systems made me realize just how wealthy House Kamishiro truly was.
We stepped into the mine. True to its status as a secret operation, it was little more than a series of narrow shafts bored into the mountain. They told me it was a gold mine.
People assume gold mines are a goldmine—pardon the pun—but they require massive overhead, dry up in no time, carry astronomical taxes, attract pirates, and if the Duke Association catches wind of them, they'll seize your entire territory. They're basically cursed objects.
This place had scraped by through mutually beneficial arrangements with neighboring lords. It was almost tragic. The sums of money involved were so piddling...
Punishing them for something this minor would only spark outrage among the other lords. Technically, it was a crime, but it would likely end with a stern warning. Wifey didn't seem interested in pursuing it, anyway.
We explored on foot. The tunnels were dim; there was lighting, but it was kept to a minimum.
They’d probably kept the lights low to avoid emitting heat that could be picked up by thermal sensors from orbit. The whole place felt very "DIY."
My squad consisted of knights from the Kamishiro main house—Raven and his band of merry men. Or, to put it another way, a bunch of guys I didn't actually know. We were comrades, but that was about it.
Eddie’s group was an equally eclectic mix, centered around a guy named Suematsu-san—an old man with a massive face and an even bigger shield.
Being a field-grade officer was a lot of work.
I headed deeper into the shafts with Raven and the others. When the life signs grew stronger, I deployed one of Kevin’s ground-based drones.
"Kevin, you're up."
"Got it."
The drone—smaller than a typical RC racer—zipped away, feeding us real-time camera footage.
It navigated the tunnels until it reached a large cavern... then it was suddenly hoisted into the air.
"I told you to come alone. You really are a hopeless case."
A face appeared on the monitor.
It was a man—human in appearance, but unmistakably a Zork.
"Hello, Leo Kamishiro. I asked you to come alone, and yet you've broken our promise. You're a cruel man."
I never promised anything. What was this guy, one of those teachers nobody liked? The kind of nutjob who unilaterally decides a promise has been made even when you haven't said a word.
"Let us talk. I have a request for a ceasefire."
Liar. As if your kind even has a concept of honoring contracts.