Editing Tytania:Volume 2 Chapter 6 (section)

=== I ===
Planet Bargash lay at the heart of the Frontier Sector. While this may not strictly be true from a physical geographical perspective, it was an entirely accurate assessment from a sociocultural standpoint; communications, passenger transport, the distribution of goods, finance, information, the training and employment of personnel—in short, the vast majority of socio-economic activities within the Frontier Sector were conducted with this planet as their hub.

Although the sophistication and elegance of the planet Ementhal were absent here, a wild vitality permeated the very fabric of the planet, right down to the molecular level. The diplomacy and strategic manoeuvres centred on this planet are also rather crude, the sort that the people of Ementhal derided as “a club in the right hand, a wad of banknotes in the left”. That said, whether it be diplomacy by intimidation or diplomacy through financial influence, a certain degree of formality and protocol was still required, and the sovereignty of planet Bargash had been respected by others. Duke Zarlisch Tytania’s approach to ignore this and run roughshod over the planet by force could hardly be commended.

“Bargash is not Duke Zarlisch Tytania’s fief. We must insist that at the very least he shows respect for the flag of Bargash.”

It was Donald Farah who received this request from the Bargash Government Office.

Donald Farah had long since resigned himself to the fact that the Tytania faction<ref name="ftn8">There’s probably a character missing here, since “anti-Tytania faction” makes a lot more sense “Tytania faction” in this sentence.</ref> would prevail in the Bargash delegate elections. Every political and social factor were pushing his efforts in an unfavourable direction.

Although the inhabitants of Bargash generally accepted Tytania’s rule, they did not revere her as an omnipotent deity; consequently, if she were to flaunt her power too openly, they would inevitably feel compelled to resist. Fully aware of this, Farah initially devised various strategies in an attempt to temper Zarlisch’s belligerent fervour, but he was forced to realise that it was an impossible task. With tears of regret, he abandoned his battlefield, drowned his sorrows in drink, and, after beating Zarlisch half to death in his imagination, left planet Bargash.

As for Zarlisch, he did not give a second thought to the troubles or resentment of someone as insignificant as Farah. His mind was occupied solely with saving face before Clanner Ajman and appeasing his mother’s fury. He was convinced that the wrath of a mere provincial planetary government could be quelled by Tytania’s authority and financial might.

He spurred his subordinates on to search for the fugitive, Fan Hyulick. And finally, they succeeded in locating him. It happened on the 7<sup>th</sup> of October.

“A special operations vessel in satellite orbit has taken some 400,000 photographs of the surface, and among them was this one.”

Glancing at the stereoscopic photograph presented by his ''aide-de-camp'', Commander Granite, Duke Zarlisch Tytania exhaled deeply. The surface of the planet Bargash could not be said to have been fully colonised; a barren expanse of 40 million square kilometres, comprising cold regions, arid lands and high-altitude zones, stretched out before him. As a result of photographing every 10-kilometre square and analysing the images by computer, signs of life had been detected in that region which was supposed to be uninhabited. This was said to be a corner of the Desert called Tarhari, where small armed groups opposed to Tytania had been known to operate for some time.

“That special operations vessel is capable of operating within the atmosphere, right?”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

“Then dispatch it to that location immediately. Track down and capture Fan Hyulick. Should it prove too much to handle, even by a thin hair, send reinforcements.”

Although he spoke in hypothetical terms, “even by a thin hair”, Zarlisch’s eyes had already become a smelting furnace of passion, revealing his intention to command the fleet himself. Commander Granite, while concerned that the Bargash government’s anger and resentment would intensify, had no choice but to prioritise the wishes of his lord, Zarlisch.

Immediately stepping in front of the videophone<ref name="ftn9">“TV telephone” (ＴＶ電話) is pronounced “vision”.</ref> and issuing orders to five or six locations, Duke Zarlisch gripped his grey military cap in his enormous palm and strode out of his room at the Hotel Alhambra with strides nearly twice as long as those of an ordinary man.

Doctor Lee had been in a foul mood for the past few days. Although he was no match for Duke Zarlisch Tytania, the plan to rescue Hyulick that he had painstakingly devised had evaporated at the very last moment because of a third party whose motives were unclear. Who on earth, and from where, had gone and spoiled Doctor Lee’s brilliant blueprint with such a crude stroke of the pen? It would be reasonable to assume it was a small independent faction opposed to Tytania, but it might be dangerous to jump to that conclusion.

In any case, Doctor Lee had no intention of leaving the identity of the individual or group that had outmanoeuvred him a mystery. Having finally heard from Pagès, who had returned, about the direction in which the person who had taken Fan Hyulick had fled, he was keeping a close watch on Tytania’s movements while conducting his own analysis. As long as he kept an eye on Tytania’s movements, Hyulick’s whereabouts should become clear. It was then, and this time for certain, that Doctor Lee intended to slip past Tytania’s ferocious snout and rescue Hyulick.



Mr&nbsp;Fan Hyulick, pursued by both friend and foe, was nowhere to be found on the surface of planet Bargash. The skies above Bargash were under almost complete air superiority by Zarlisch Tytania’s forces, and it was virtually impossible to escape this strict surveillance and encirclement. So where was he? He was, quite literally, in hiding, underground.

Beneath the Tarhari Desert lay a cavern formed by volcanic activity in the planet’s distant past. A million years ago, lava had flowed through the area, leaving behind a winding cavern that resembled the intestines of a giant dragon. It was into this cavern, near the surface, in the region corresponding to the giant dragon’s oesophagus, that Hyulick’s rescuers had carried him. The small group of about twenty men gave no particular introduction, and Hyulick, after offering a brief word of gratitude, found himself compelled to ask:

“I still haven’t heard the reason why you saved me.”

“It’s fine to ask, but why not try to work it out for yourself first?”

“Is there a reward for that?”

After replying this, Fan Hyulick was seized by an ominous suspicion. Could it be that this man had rescued him merely to claim the bounty placed on his head? Yet, even if that were the case, he had risked his life and fate to carry out the mission; his resolve and ability to act were extraordinary. For the time being, Fan Hyulick put forward a highly probable explanation.

“Someone who bears a grudge against Tytania.”

That suggested answer was met with a mixture of wry smiles and derisive sniggers.

“It’s like striking the ground with a hammer. You can’t go wrong with that.”

“So, in other words, it’s the correct answer?”

“You can’t say that. It’s an insult to the very meaning of the expression ‘correct answer’.”

The doctor<ref name="ftn10">The word for “doctor” refers here specifically to a medical doctor.</ref>, having removed his mask, appeared to be in his late thirties. He sported a black moustache beneath his nose, which resembled the bristles of a small brush. Hyulick still did not even know his benefactor’s name, and just as he was about to ask, hurried footsteps echoed from the entrance to the cavern, the area of molten lava forming the dragon’s front teeth. A man clutching an old-fashioned heat-ray rifle and clad in nondescript field uniform burst in, his face etched with tension.

“It’s a Tytania special operation vessel!”

The doctor and Hyulick stepped out to the dragon’s front teeth and looked up at the sky. The setting sun bathed their view, transforming the sky into a vast crimson silk cloth. A black shadow, resembling a monstrous bird, descended while slicing through the waves of the fiery atmosphere with its bow.

Although special-purpose ships were neither enormous nor heavily armed, this one was nonetheless over one hundred metres in length and equipped with no fewer than twenty guns. In this place and at this moment, it was a symbol of military might without equal. Turbulence caused by frictional heat enveloped the ship in faint crimson ripples, but as these faded with deceleration, Tytania’s crest emblazoned upon the hull shone out with haughty splendour.

Forgetting for a moment the situation he found himself in, Hyulick found himself transfixed by the sight. Truly, one could say that the people of Tytania, from top to bottom, were a pretentious lot.

The special operation vessel, suspended in midair, extended gun barrels from the underside of its hull. It looked as though three slender needles had been thrust into the ground, yet it was a grim harbinger of death and destruction. A moment and a half later, a portion of Fan Hyulick’s field of vision glowed. Three streaks of fire shot up from the ground.

With a deafening roar, a column of sand rose high and thick into the air. Thousands of tonnes of sand were swept into the air, obscuring the sky and the earth; when it reached the limits of gravity, it fell as a dry rain upon the very place where they had been living just moments before. The ground was shrouded in a cloud of sand, blocking out even the light of the star as it prepared to set.

The restraint in their firepower was clearly intended as a warning. They had no intention of annihilating them. Had that been their intention, they would have opened all their gun ports and concentrated their fire.

The Tytania special-purpose vessel had made its intentions clear with a single volley. It was demanding submission from those who had witnessed this. Hovering above the subsiding sandstorm, the vessel seemed to be lying in wait for the defiant rebels to emerge from the surface and prostrate themselves. The doctor clicked his tongue.

“How grand, as befitting of Zarlisch Tytania. It seems they intend to turn this entire rocky desert into a barbecue grill.”

“Are they looking for me?”

Fan Hyulick uttered this daft remark, causing his companion to roll his eyes at him.