Chapter 60
—L-let's go to the Federation right away!
The organisms that had parasitized the large eel were eradicated in no time. After all, they were flying single-mindedly toward Tuna. Defeating them was not difficult.
In the end, all the parasitic organisms were eliminated by a barrage from the Corporation's fleet gathered in front of Tuna.
"......Let's tie this to the Queen Bee."
'Captain, what's that?'
"A souvenir for the Federation's researchers."
That casual remark was half-serious, half-joking.
He had the Worker Bees shoot down the parasitic organisms smaller than the Queen Bee, and tied one of the relatively intact ones to the Queen Bee's outer hull.
What Kait was concerned about was whether these parasitic organisms universally infected space eels. Tuna herself seemed aware of the possibility that they might be inside her. That's probably why she wanted the Federation to investigate quickly.
The issue was whether these organisms had been present inside the space eels the Federation had previously taken down. If they had been, why hadn't they been discovered? And why didn't they emerge like this time?
"Well, maybe they only come out when there's a space eel nearby, or they died off for some reason, or maybe they weren't parasitizing them in the first place. Something like that."
'So you're taking it to the Federation to investigate that?'
"Yeah. If they were parasitizing but went undetected, they might have been mimicking the space eel's internal tissue."
'Or maybe they weren't there, or they died off? After all, the corpse that was brought to Tuna didn't produce any.'
"If they just weren't there, that's fine. But if they died off, was it from starvation, suffocation, or the shock of the attack..."
What Kait was worried about was what would happen after Tuna transferred her consciousness to a new body.
Since transferring to a new body would render Tuna's original body comatose, Kait had no idea how the parasitic organisms might behave in that situation.
"If, when Tuna tries to return to her original body, it turns out half of it's been gnawed away by parasites, that would be a huge problem."
'So you're going to use this corpse to investigate?'
"Ideally, we should have captured a live specimen, but if it escaped, that would've been bad, and more importantly..."
He turned his gaze to Vovrimos.
If Palnesbrogia saw that Kait had secured a live parasitic organism, it might reignite Palnesbrogia's protective instincts.
All they could do now was hope that the highly capable researchers in the Federation would thoroughly analyze the parasite and confirm whether any remained inside Tuna.
"Come on, Tuna. We already agreed on the plan. Don't be selfish."
—But Kait, I want them to examine my body right away... Kait, that unnatural bulge on your ship...?
"Ah, even if you can't see it, you noticed? It's one of the cleaner kills."
—W-why are you attaching something like that!? D-don't tell me you're going to be friends with it now!?
"Don't be ridiculous. It's a corpse."
—No, Kait! If you become friends with that thing, I don't think I can stay friends with you...
"Just listen to me."
***
After some fuss, Kait headed straight for the Central Star Cluster.
Since it wasn't a good idea to bring the Queen Bee with a parasite attached into Vovrimos, Kait entrusted Tuna to the Corporation and went ahead alone to the Federation.
The Corporation had already relayed the situation (for some reason, with video), and the parasite was promptly delivered to the Federation's research lab.
Now, he was simply waiting for the Corporation's fleet to arrive. He parked the Queen Bee near the Central Star Cluster and casually watched the passing ships.
'Hey, Kait. This space eel—does it resemble Earth eels?'
"Not really. It had gills and was kind of slithery, so I thought it looked more like an eel than a snake."
Rebecca, who was working as a secretary to a certain legislator, sent a communication that might have been personal or official—hard to tell.
Since she wasn't someone he disliked, he responded casually. She would show up soon anyway, so there was no need to hide anything.
"If you're a legislator's secretary, shouldn't you be able to see the footage?"
'There's no way a rookie secretary would be shown classified footage. I can't even get permission to view specimen photos with my citizenship level.'
"Huh, that's surprising."
Apparently, the existence of space eels was still somewhat classified even within the Federation. Understandably so.
The idea of massive lifeforms that feed on planets existing in space isn't something most citizens would accept as a romantic notion of space. On the contrary, public opinion might push for active hunting and extermination.
Especially in the early days of discovery, no one besides Terapolapaneshio knew the space eels were intelligent. One could only imagine the struggles of Terapolapaneshio in their role as legislator.
"Well, they'll be here soon, so look forward to it."
'By the way, it's Doctor Gorou Saitou, right? I've already contacted Mika Saitou.'
"Thanks. They should be arriving with the Corporation's fleet, so please arrange the reunion."
'Leave it to me. I'll make it as emotional as possible.'
Kait frowned at the word "emotional." He wasn't sure how he felt about turning it into a spectacle.
"Isn't that a bit much?"
'What are you talking about? It's a reunion of siblings torn apart—of course it should be dramatic. And Earthlings love that kind of thing.'
"That might be true. But... are there other families that were separated like that?"
Nearly a hundred thousand people had been sold off in advance. Surely, Gorou wasn't the only one with separated family.
'Yeah. About thirty percent of those you rescued, and twenty percent of those the Federation recovered, have been reunited. But I think about half are still missing.'
"Could you send me the list later? Some might be in the Corporation, so I'll hand it to the Corporation's President."
'Got it. Met another big shot, huh?'
"Not like I wanted to."
Kait wondered what kind of face Rebecca would make if she found out the Corporation's President was an external advisor to the Federation's Psychic Power Research Society. And even more so if she found out that person was a personal fan of his.
He figured she'd just laugh at him, so he kept it to himself with a wry smile.
***
'Whoa... huge...'
Rebecca's murmur reached his ears.
Since Tuna was still hiding, surrounded by the Corporation's ships, she must have been reacting to the Corporation's flagship, Vovrimos. It was indeed big. Its size stood out even more with the Federation's ships nearby.
But Rebecca, it's too soon to be surprised.
'A-a monster...!?'
As the fleet parted, Tuna's form came into view. Rebecca's voice rose in pitch. Kait figured it must be terrifying to see it for the first time.
—Ah, Kait! So this is the Federation, right?
"Yes. This is the Federation's center, the Central Star Cluster. Welcome, Tuna."
—Great! Is my new body ready? And the parasite examination!?
"Yes, yes. Neither is ready yet. But there's no need to panic—they're not going to change overnight. Calm down."
'Huh? Kait, who are you talking to?'
He should've cut the transmission.
For a moment, Kait wondered how to respond to Rebecca's distant-sounding question.
"Ah—Emotion. I'll leave the rest of the explanation to you."
'Captain, are you getting lazy?'
"Correct."
'Kait!?'
Tossing everything onto Emotion, Kait fled outside the Queen Bee.