Ch. 301Scared now, Marine!
Plot and events
- Vice Admiral Randall demands that Peclo reveal who hired the Big Hand Funeral Home for its job. Peclo refuses, citing client confidentiality.
- Judge initially tells Randall to handle his business first, then threatens to punish him for entering Germa territory and insulting its king.
- Randall ignores Judge and threatens Peclo with death, offering only a quick death in exchange for cooperation—or a far worse one if he refuses.
- Peclo tries to buy Judge’s help. Judge starts bargaining for a higher payment, but Randall loses patience and orders him to leave, threatening to destroy the Germa Kingdom if he protects Peclo.
- Insulted and enraged, Judge agrees to help Peclo in exchange for twice the weapons and vows to kill Randall. Peclo accepts.
- Judge summons a vast force: an army of identical clones, including ten more technologically equipped soldiers. Confident in his numbers, he taunts Randall and asks whether he is afraid. Peclo is relieved, but also struck by the scale of Germa’s military.
Character developments and interactions
- Randall shifts from controlled interrogation to open fury. He refuses to negotiate or be distracted by Judge’s political status, and his threats reveal how little he fears Germa’s power.
- Peclo begins by relying on professional secrecy and Judge’s protection. Faced with Randall’s overwhelming menace, he bargains desperately, then quickly accepts Judge’s offer once an army appears to promise safety.
- Judge moves from cautious posturing to furious retaliation after Randall repeatedly humiliates him. He turns the dispute into a paid alliance with Peclo and uses his clone army to restore his confidence.
- Randall’s contempt for Judge is personal as well as political: he condemns Judge’s treatment of his sons as test subjects and threatens the kingdom itself. He has detected five children in the area but not Judge’s wife, Sora.
Significant themes
- Power over procedure: Peclo’s usual bargaining tactics and claims of confidentiality fail against someone who believes he can simply force the outcome.
- Pride and escalation: Randall’s insults inflame Judge’s vanity, turning an interrogation into a battle.
- Money and self-interest: Peclo and Judge quickly form an alliance through payment, despite their immediate danger.
- Military might and false security: Judge’s enormous clone army reassures him and Peclo, setting up the challenge of whether numbers can overcome Randall.