"If I were to assume you are asking, 'Weisshafen, are you believing the words of an old man who claims to have lived for 400 years, barely surviving in a life-fluid in a cave, silenced by the engineers and his own children, and who could put anyone to sleep just by forming a sentence?', my answer would be: 'I'll have to think about that.'"
"Very interesting…" I muttered, pacing while stroking my chin. "I know that the name Marcin Grom isn't mentioned in any source."
"I can search for that name in the Republic Net data, if you want," Ilya said.
"What would happen if you researched it?"
"If we search the Net data, the Republic would definitely know about this investigation we are conducting."
The Old Man approached the glass and placed his hands on it. He had spoken so much for someone who hadn't spoken in a long time that I could see the blood flowing from his throat mixing with the green life-fluid and disappearing.
"We won't search for the name Marcin Grom directly. Instead, I have other questions. Who was the first captain of the Hyperion ship?"
"The first captain of the Hyperion ship…" Keyboard sounds were heard, and Ilya replied. "Maximillian Ironcloud, who was a Colonel at the time."
"Ironcloud used the Hyperion ship during the Interstellar War, didn't he?"
"Yes… When the Interstellar War began, the SWR (Supreme World Republic) entrusted the Hyperion to Ironcloud, giving him almost unlimited authority on the ship. He rose to the rank of Marshal with the victories he achieved with the Hyperion ship."
"Who was the head of the Weapon Security institution at that time?"
"The first head of the Weapon Security institution was an anonymous individual. In the early days of the Republic, the names of institution directors were not shared with the public for security reasons. But it is said that Marshal Ironcloud became the director of the Weapon Security Institution after the Interstellar War."
"Well, where did the Hyperion ship first appear? The ship was used even before Ironcloud became captain, wasn't it? For example, during a period when Damon Weisshafen was piloting…"
"In the Ross128 colony… Wow… The media described the Ross128 colony in such a way that it looks pretty bad, though maybe not as bad as World War II Germany."
"And who was using the Hyperion ship then?" I knew the answer to this question, but I wanted to hear it from Ilya.
"At that time, the captain status was not officially assigned to individuals, and since there was only one Hyperion ship at the time, the manager of the ship was the SWR itself. But the man sitting in the cockpit and driving the ship was Damon Weisshafen. A ship whose captain was the SWR, but whose driver's seat was occupied by a Weisshafen… That sounds very dangerous."
"Yes…" I said, hitting my fist into my hand. "…Every child learns these historical stories in school. The heroic stories of Marshal Ironcloud have been read by everyone at least once. They even made a comic book series about him called 'The Protector of the Homeland'… Do you know the most-read part of that series?"
"Would you like me to check the internet?"
"No! Because I know the answer too. The most-read part was the episode titled 'Hyperion 2.' Two ranked officers stood out during the Interstellar War. One was Maximillian Ironcloud, who had commanded during the Race Wars on a planet named Neched and proved himself. The SWR had come across his name while searching for a suitable candidate for the Hyperion ship using artificial intelligence. His success as a spaceship pilot during the war was commendable.
The other name was Damon Weisshafen. He was a loyal man who had been a Weapon Security officer for years. He was one of the oldest. He had even controlled the Hyperion ship for a while before.
There was a dynamic relationship between the two throughout the novel. They constantly argued but also watched each other's backs. Near the end of the war, Maximillian Ironcloud was declared a hero when he destroyed Dictator General Claudis and his ship. He was going to take charge of the Weapon Security unit. Tiberion Solegard, on the other hand, had a Hyperion built for Weisshafen so as not to lose a soldier like him. Thus, both Weisshafen and Ironcloud were very happy. The first Hyperion was given to the Weapon Security institution under Ironcloud's command, while the second Hyperion was given to Weisshafen, an incredible pilot."
"That's a very stale story…" Goma said from the background. He was probably trying to tie up one of the engineers because the sounds of a struggling male voice were coming from behind. I had started to forget they were on the voice chat. "…If it were me, I would have set up an arena fight between Ironcloud and Weisshafen at the end. The winner would take the ship. That would be epic… Man against man! All muscular!"
"They claim this is a true story," I added. Then I scrutinized the old man for a while. "But according to this old man, it was someone else, not Damon Weisshafen, who went to Ross128. If Marcin Grom was the one managing the ship, why was Damon Weisshafen given the Hyperion ship? There are many questions, but it seems you don't have the answers to them. Well, answer this, old man. You are the only person who knows who Marcin Grom is. Isn't it too simple a coincidence that you two ended up together in this vast space?"
"No… Marcin told me the location of this planet. He must have seen the Republic's plans, because although this place is not far from the Net, it is still not heavily colonized by the Republic. It even took you 400 years to arrive. Marcin was probably trying to escape from somewhere. He thought of escaping to me. There was no chance that whoever he was escaping from would know about me. But some misfortune must have happened, and his capsule landed on your planet instead of this one."
"Look…" I said and thought for a while. "…This sounds like a plausible scenario. But why were you silenced?"
"I told my children at length about what happened with Marcin. I mentioned that we needed to save Marcin. That we owed him a debt. But they refused it. They were afraid of taking on the SWR. Even if we weren't going to help Marcin Grom, if Marcin was important to the SWR, we needed to move. The SWR coming for Marcin would mean the end of an illegal colony like ours. But we didn't have the capacity to move everyone. A sacrifice had to be made, and some people had to be left behind. Most of the engineers did not accept this. So they silenced me so the people wouldn't hear these ideas."
"Great!" Goma said from the background. "The mystery is solved! I'm bored! Can we leave now?"
"What should we do, Weisshafen?" Velsil asked.
"Aldo?" Ilya called out to me.
"I think…" This was Alora's voice. "…you shouldn't make a decision without processing what you've learned, Aldoux. Big decisions are like an unretractable bullet. Not only the one who pulls the trigger is affected, but everyone in the bullet's path is affected."
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't listen to Alora, but… Somehow, at that moment, I felt difficulty breathing. As countless possibilities spun through my mind, I slowly realized that I needed to return to the facility.
"Thank you, old man…" I said, waving my hand. "Thank you for everything."
I was about to turn my back and leave the cave when Old Jack shouted after me.
"What did you come for? Why are you leaving?"
"What I came for no longer matters," I said. "But just in case, how about I propose a deal? I want one of your derelict spaceships up there. In return, I will give you a transport ship for 40 people and a scout ship for 20. Thanks to all this, you can move your colony. Additionally, I plan to give you two robots to help you in the colony you move to. That is, if you accept. What do you say? Two ships and two robots…"
"This… This is not an offer." The old man said, his voice constricted with sadness. He had his hands and head against the glass. "This is a grace… Are you… are you proposing to leave a gift from God in our laps and leave? I… I definitely cannot refuse this."
With a small smile: "Then the deal is complete. I will send your engineers back to you." I was just about to walk out the door when I turned back. "Oh… and also… Do you know Kael?"
"Yes… I know him…" the old man said with the surprise of hearing Kael's name.
"I think Cheri is fond of Kael too. But Kael is harming his relationship with the girl because he is a pervert and beatable idiot. I want a good engineering education for Kael, and if he and Cheri are going to get married, cover the wedding expenses."
"Absolutely!" The old man shouted. "Absolutely…"
"That's all from me then. Goodbye, old man…" I said, and as I was just about to walk out of the cave door, I heard this voice behind me.
"You look just like him… Like Marcin Grom!"