novelWar of the Ant and the Grasshopper >> Battle to Defeat an Oceanian Military Nation (1)
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Part 1
An Oceanian military nation existed in a land famous for koalas and kangaroos. In the age when a country known as Australia had existed there, the cities had primarily existed on the coastal border areas and the central area had mostly been a dry, cracked wasteland that looked like something out of a Western. Even if the areas were not full-blown deserts, the dry, hard ground could only support undergrowth, so both growing crops and building up a modern city had been difficult.
However, modern times had overturned that situation.
Artificial soil with high water retention had been developed and many genetically improved plant cultivars were able to carry out urban greening even in harsh climates. Using these and other methods, a large scale plan to improve Oceania's environment had been developed. With the improvements to the soil, the previously barren inner lands could be made able to produce large amounts of crops and the people who profited from those crops could build large cities and connect them with a traffic network. By drawing out the resources hidden within the earth, the country's economy could flourish, and its position in the international community could rise. If it had all gone according to plan, no one would have even thought of targeting that nation with an Object.
However, it did not go according to plan.
The tribes that had lived in Oceania since ancient times felt it necessary to preserve Oceania's original state. Their religious beliefs led them to view the natural state of the land as precious and noble no matter how barren that left it. As such, they refused to let the land be covered in non-native or genetically improved plants. The tribes could not bear to have their land "eaten away" just to make money, so they began carrying out completely peaceful demonstrations and protests. The military nation was lost in its greed for the profits the development of the land would produce, so they responded in a truly simple fashion.
They sent an Object after them.
"That is what is known as the Forest Conservation that began two years ago. And so a coalition force intervened to protect the tribes from the tyranny of that military nation, " said Heivia within the sand-covered maintenance base zone.
Standing next to him, Quenser said, "Huh? This all started two years ago? Then why are we only being called in now?"
"How should I know? There must have been some new development. Something that requires finishing them off."
The balance of power within Oceania was incredibly easy to see. The areas under control of the military nation were covered in green while the areas under control of the coalition force (and the tribes that refused to support the military nation) were covered in desert. They were also separated by whether they were willing to slaughter an opposing force for nothing more than the profit gained from food and lumber.
Objects from various different forces were kept within that coalition base zone on the front line. Normally, those Objects would likely have been on opposing sides, but they were currently lined up next to each other.
The soil there was of course arid. In accordance with the demands of the tribes, they only cleared away the vegetation that had not existed in Oceania since ancient times.
"Why is it so damn hot? Weren't we just freezing our asses off in Alaska not too long ago?"
"The seasons in the southern hemisphere are reversed, you idiot. But I suppose this weather is actually a little more suited to a miniskirt Santa." Quenser looked around while wiping a mixture of sweat and sand from his face."Y'know, we sure have a lot of Objects on our side this time. Maybe we can finally get by without having to charge in ourselves."
"Don't be stupid. Have you forgotten how many times our expectations have been horribly, horribly betrayed? It's probably more realistic to think of more allies as something that increases the chances of getting stepped on accidentally."
"The coalition force has sent countless Objects against bases in order to crush the dictatorship here, right? But what about the white flag? War these days is based on battles between Objects, so is it really okay to attack bases with only flesh-and-blood people in them?"
"Don't ask me. It's probably just some kind of extreme exception. Have you seen what nations make up this coalition? I can't believe we've been working together with dangerous countries like that for two years now. This Oceanian dictatorship must really be hated by the international community.... Also, I doubt the Oceanians have ever raised the white flag. They've done some pretty nasty things, so I doubt anyone would let them in even if they did flee the country."
While listening to Heivia, Quenser leaned up against the synthetic fiber barricade spread around the base and stuck something like a giant rectangular eraser into his mouth.
"Hm, the rations are as disgusting as ever, so that's something."
"Yeah, but now we get a coating of sand to add to the flavor."
"I just want to go home."
"The higher ups are carrying out firefights using the communication function on handheld game systems."
While they muttered various complaints, they heard the barricade creak.
They turned around to find a local girl of about 10 grabbing onto the barricade from outside and staring up at them.
"What are those?" the girl asked while innocently pointing at the coalition Objects being moved within the base zone.
Quenser and Heivia were unsure how to respond.
However, the girl did not seem to mind and pressed a picture book up against the barricade.
"It's them, isn't it? They're the kind beasts of the rocks in this story."
"Y-yeah, that's what they are. They're providing shelter for the squirrels and kangaroos in case it rains."
Quenser could not bear to tell her they were weapons of mass destruction and were anything but kind. To his annoyance, Heivia gave him a look that seemed to say, "Nice one, Quenser!!"
Next, a number of trails of white smoke were fired up into the air within the base zone.
The girl pointed up into the sky and asked, "And what are those?"
Quenser absolutely refused to tell her they were a new model of sensor-type meteorological missiles being tested.
"Th-they're rockets... which are sort of like a relative of a space shuttle... I guess?"
"Wow, I've never seen one before."
As the girl's eyes glittered in excitement, the two boys averted their gaze.
That was when their superior officer, Froleytia, arrived.
"Hey, you idiots, don't sit around chatting by the barricade. Stay focused."
The girl outside the barricade responded more quickly than Froleytia's subordinates. She jumped in fright and ran off as quickly as she could.
Quenser and Heivia stared silently at Froleytia for a bit.
"... What a waste."
"... There's no helping it. She may be beautiful, but she's still a strict commander. Even a mixed martial artist would probably lose his nerve when faced with this aura."
"Oh, do you want to see my nice side? I can give you an introduction using the heel of my boot if you like. But for now, don't hang around near the barricade. This is a battlefield, remember?"
"We'll be fine. Even in a military nation like this, I doubt a mere sniper is going to target a base filled with so many Objects."
"That's not what I meant. The base is being targeted by cameras." Froleytia seemed frustrated, but despite the heat, she did not undo even a single button of the military uniform constraining her giant breasts."A surprising number of foreign reporters have gathered, saying they will expose the tyranny of the military nation. However, they are mostly spoiled brats from safe countries that have never seen war and the rest are people who I seriously doubt are reporters."
"Oh, you mean the people who act as battlefield guides now that Objects have made mercenaries obsolete?" asked Heivia.
"Seems that way, " agreed Froleytia."The problem is that the military's safety protocols don't allow us to let them into the areas ruled by the military nation, so they have nothing to do. Occasionally, they will turn their cameras our way, hoping to get a shot that will be worth some money. If you don't want your stupid face showing up alongside a satirical article in the home country, make sure to be in top form while outside."
"... God, what a pain. Can't you ban photography of the base saying it's a necessary security measure to preserve classified information on the Objects or something?"
Froleytia thought she felt a headache coming on when she heard Quenser's amateurish suggestion.
"What do you think the coalition is for? The home country could end this infighting on its own if need be, but the higher ups want a grand image of the heroes of justice on parade. If we banned photography, the candidates desperately campaigning for the council positions back home would be upset. Councilor Flide and the others are extremely on edge."
"Hadn't you heard, Quenser? They're doing all sorts of things for the press. There was even talk of having decals for high-paying companies or political parties put on the Object's armor like F1 racers or something."
"What, are they planning to send the image of bases being attacked and soldiers being shot to pieces into people's living rooms? They don't understand what war is like."
That comment of Quenser's may have sounded like something any other soldier would have said, but he was technically still a mere battlefield student. The know-it-all expression he had as he made his complaint was more the trait of a peaceful citizen.
Fed up with that discussion, Heivia changed the subject.
"Hey, did you see those boats from an anti-war group racing around in the ocean? They had those huge banners insisting the coalition forces end the invasion that was made up of an overwhelming force of Objects."
"They're either a bunch of idiots who don't know what's going on inside the military nation or a bunch of self-centered bastards who know but don't care. Do we really need to pay any attention to them? In fact, I'm willing to bet they would ask us why didn't we attack the military nation sooner, the second a torpedo from that nation sinks one of them."
With a displeased expression, Froleytia spoke up, "The Council elections back in the home country are coming up soon. As I said, Councilor Flide and the others are on edge to ensure they don't gain any kind of negative image. It's possible they really are planning an operation to provide relief to that ignorant anti-war group."
"Oh c'mon. We come all the way to the battlefield and we have to babysit some idiots?" complained the two boys.
Froleytia glanced up toward the sun that was beginning to sink.
"You two will be taking part in a mission that begins at sunset, so you need to prepare yourselves now. An official briefing is being held this evening, so make sure you are fully equipped by then."
"Wait, 'you two'? Froleytia, are you just going to be sitting in an air-conditioned room waiting for the result?" asked Heivia while pouting his lips.
Froleytia shrugged and said, "Would you rather help us out here? It isn't easy holding back the third-rate reporters who want to be battlefield cameramen and keep ignoring the military safety protocols and heading for the front lines. They all think us soldiers are something like tour guides. Whenever their freedom is infringed on even slightly, they call to complain as if we were a customer service center. Do you want to see the true face of pacifism while you have people spit in your face and are unable to strike back?"
Quenser and Heivia grimaced at the thought.
Part 2
Inside the coalition maintenance base zone, the characteristics of the equipment found within the same class of facility varied depending on which force they belonged to. An Elite girl who was called the princess by others stood within a detached portion of the base zone created from multiple large vehicles.
Multiple such facilities existed and the one the princess was currently inside was not the enormous one that contained her personal Object, the Baby Magnum. She was in a special facility located next to the one for the Object. This one was for maintaining the Elite pilot's body.
The area was so large it was hard to believe it was inside a vehicle and it contained a clear semi-circle dome about 10 meters across. The Elite girl was standing in the middle of that dome and countless devices and human eyes were observing her from outside the dome. The people were from the medical team that looked after the Elite girl's health.
The old lady that normally maintained the Object was mixed in with the medical team and she operated a device that looked like the kind of recording console used to dub animation or movies.
"Okay, let's get started. Have you finished preparing the instrument?" said the old lady.
Her voice was not transmitted by sound. Instead, orange words were displayed on the inner clear wall of the dome. This was because the dome was soundproofed. The girl read the words that scrolled across like on an electric scoreboard. As a music score raced across the clear and thin monitor before her eyes, she put on the special goggles also used to pilot the Object.
She held up a long, thin silver flute and entered text by having the infrared input function of the goggles read the motion of her eyes.
"Tuning of the flute is complete, " she wrote.
"I take it there are no issues with the score either. In that case, let the metronome go. You can begin your performance whenever you like."
Having read the old lady's words, the princess lightly let fly the paper airplane she held in one hand. While watching the papercraft gently arcing through the air, she held the silver flute horizontally up to her mouth.
She blew into it and moved her white fingers.
A small noise was emitted and the nose of the paper airplane tilted up slightly. It was made of a special material that was distorted by sound waves.
"Yes, yes, that's good. Bring the metronome into a 5 meter radius loop at an altitude of 140 centimeters, completing one loop every 30 seconds."
"Inartistic performances like that are boring."
With the flute still to her mouth, the princess continued moving her eyes to continue the conversation. Notes moved dizzyingly across the monitor displaying the score, but there was no uncertainty in the movement of her fingers. It was less like the movements of a music-loving musician and more like the movements of a robot arm accurately soldering items to a circuit board in a semiconductor plant.
"Does it feel good to be surrounded by sound like that?"
"You mean the point vibrations of the dome and the sound I am creating? If I was satisfied with only that, I would feel like I was insulting orchestras."
There was no standard method of regulating an Elite's body. Nor was there merely a different set of standards for each army or nation. The ideal method was built up specifically for each individual Elite. For one person, it was to continually swim within a large pool, aiming for the fastest time. For another, it was solving every single problem on an answer sheet similar to a college entrance exam. For another, it was playing chess against a super computer. And for someone like the princess, it was to surround oneself in carefully modulated sound.
"Do you have a complaint with the instrument? For a change of pace, you could always try using the electric guitar."
"Having the sound of my breath mixed in would have an effect on the regulation. I am using the flute because the breaths are written into the music."
Other sounds could not be mixed in with the music. She could talk with no problem by taking breaks from playing, but the regulation could not continue during those breaks.
That was why the Elite girl was going through the annoyance of speaking with her eyes while playing with her mouth. Eventually, she reached the final note and that stage of the regulation was complete. The princess removed the flute from her mouth and the paper airplane that had been kept aloft by the music slowly fell to the floor.
The princess picked up the metronome and prepared for the next song, but then she suddenly looked up. Through the clear dome, she had spotted a familiar face entering through the open door of the large vehicle.
It was Quenser.
He was being pushed forward by his companion Heivia and his expression made it seem he did not know why he was there. Seeing that, the princess silently nodded.
(Heivia can be rough, but he is certainly considerate. )
Among the group monitoring her, only the non-medical old lady seemed to notice the change in her mental state. The orange text read, "How about we take a short break, " and the soundproofed door of the clear dome opened automatically.
Quenser entered and the princess moved her eyes to give instructions to the dome. Immediately afterwards, the polarization of the clear dome walls changed, making them white.
"Wah!" shouted Quenser in surprise as he looked around.
The princess approached him and said, "What are you here for today?"
"Oh, Heivia was saying something about us needing to drop by and remind you not to step on us since we're going to be on a mission together."
(What kind of brute does that person think I am?)
The princess was a tad miffed.
Oblivious to that fact, Quenser looked at the silver flute the princess held.
"Hehh. Is that a flute? I saw people using them in a wind orchestra back in the safe country, but I just couldn't figure out how they were using them. I probably wouldn't even be able to make a noise if I tried."
"It is easier than it looks. Do you want to try?" asked the Elite girl and Quenser's face lit up even more than she had expected.
That was enough to bring the princess back into a good mood, but...
"You hold a flute to the side, right? Huh? Does it go to the right or the left?"
Before she could say anything, Quenser innocently brought the flute to his mouth.
She had been planning to at least wipe the mouthpiece off before handing it to him, so she was stunned and stood with a blank look and a blush on her face. However, an even greater shock ran through her soon after.
The girl was having her body regulated by the sound of the instrument, so just as a small, stupid sound escaped the flute, a sudden deluge of strange feelings assaulted her spine.
"... !?"
The princess's mouth wordlessly opened and closed as she curled up her spine. A specific suggestion command would release her from the regulatory effects of the flute, but she had completely forgotten to give the command.
As a soft, charming light appeared in her eye and the light of reason tried to deny it, the girl's body stiffened, but Quenser was as clueless as ever.
As he tried to accurately produce the "do re mi fa sol la si do" scale, the strengths of the breaths he was using were completely wrong.
"Huh? The notes aren't coming out right. They're distorted. And how am I supposed to press down to made a 'do'?"
With each grating noise produced by the flute, the princess's body trembled unnaturally. A glossy light peach color appeared in her white cheeks and tears appeared in the edges of her eyes. Her slender arms and legs turned inward against her wishes. As the girl rubbed her thighs together, she had no idea why she naturally wanted to do so.
"Do re mi... fa? Is this 'fa'?... Huh?"
Finally, Quenser noticed something was wrong.
The princess blushed even further due to the conflict between relief and embarrassment at his finally noticing.
"A-are you okay? Do you need to use the bathroom?" asked Quenser with a worried expression as he looked at her face.
Immediately afterwards, the elite girl did something she did not often do.
She punched a human being directly with her small fist.
Part 3
The sun began sinking below the horizon.
As Quenser stood in that wild land that was being dyed orange, Heivia spoke out to him.
"Come to think of it, what exactly are we going to be doing?"
"Isn't that what we're about to find out at the briefing?"
"I'm sure the various coalition dignitaries are plotting to have their own Object take all the glory. Don't you think there's gonna be some argument over who gets to finish off the enemy?"
"We can only pray an actual fight doesn't break out like dogs going after some meat."
As Quenser walked along, he pulled out a folded up map. It was of the Oceanian military nation. When Heivia saw the old map, an annoyed expression appeared on his face.
"What the hell are you doing? Did you lose your handheld?"
"If the battery dies or sand gets in it, it'll be useless. If you don't learn when to use digital means and when to use analog means, you'll get yourself killed." As he spoke, Quenser refolded the small map like someone reading a newspaper on a crowded train."From what the people maintaining the princess's Object said, the plan is to attack the Oceanian military nation's secret base and blow away the enemy Object." Heivia peered over at the map from the side as Quenser continued to speak."According to the higher up's information, the Oceanian military nation's level of tech is actually quite low. It's to the point where we're not even sure if they could create an Object or not. The electronic simulation group has created an estimated design for the enemy Object based on what has been brought into or developed here, and it only comes out to what they're calling Generation 0. 5. Basically, their level of tech is too low to evenly give the Object normal functionality, so it's really just a piece of junk. The armor is especially crudely made, so the analysis says a nuclear warhead might actually be enough to destroy it."
"Then this should be easy. We have a coalition force giving us over 20 Objects spread out across Oceania. Objects are synonymous with war, so we can crush Oceania by numbers alone, right?"
"Actually, they say it isn't going to be that easy."
Quenser showed the folded map to Heivia.
It had red circles in places.
"The Oceanian military nation knows that their precious Object will be destroyed in an instant if we attack in earnest, so they've hidden where its base is. That's why, even with all the Objects we have, we can't attack it right away."
"Ahn? But I thought an operation was beginning at sunset. Surely that means we know where this secret base is, right?"
"We have a possible candidate." Quenser pointed at one of the red circles on the map."It seems the Oceanians have constructed fake base zones across the land to throw off our analysis. We've attacked what looks like a base zone a few times, but they've ended up being completely empty. They were talking about having done a more thorough investigation this time, but they must still not know if this one is real or not."
"Objects are fucking huge. Can't they tell where it is from the satellites?"
"That's been used against us. The higher ups have gotten all excited upon seeing a giant 50 meter form and sent out a large force only to find a giant gas tank covered in decorations. From what I heard, those in charge of monitoring the satellites broke out crying in humiliation."
"That's quite the indirect attack, " replied Heivia.
The military nation had scattered dummy gas tanks about Oceania because they knew they were being monitored by satellite. Apparently, they had been trying to say, "Look how many Objects we have. Wah hah hah!"
Of course, the coalition force was not stupid enough to fall for all the dummies, but they still had to act carefully because they never knew when what they were approaching would turn out to be the real Object. This needlessly wore down the soldiers' morale and rapidly consumed the people's tax money. Because of all this, the higher ups just wanted to bring the war to an end quickly.
"So this is likely to end up being nothing but target practice against fakes?"
"The worst part is that looking at it like that could easily get you blown to pieces."
No longer needing it, Quenser folded the map up even smaller and stuffed it in his back pocket.
Heivia looked around the area and said, "By the way, we're working with a coalition force this time, right? So there'll be Objects other than the princess's. I hope we don't end up working alongside a country we ran into in Alaska or Gibraltar. I'd rather not have a supposed ally shoot me in the back over personal issues."
"Are you sure you want to ask that? You aren't going to like the answer. I asked the same thing to the princess's Object's maintenance team. It's only a rumor, but-..."
Before Quenser could continue, a giant building passed by in front of them.
Actually, it was an Object.
The giant 50 meter form passing by was all it took to blow sand up into the air like a sandstorm, but Quenser and Heivia had more important things to worry about.
The flag printed on the Object's armor was enough to almost give Heivia a heart attack.
"Gyahhh!? You've gotta be kidding me! That's the Information Alliance!!"
"Yeah, I just heard about it before. It seems we're working with those crazy people."
The Object's information collection devices must have picked up their voices because the 50 meter form slowed as if in response and a female voice was transmitted over a speaker.
"My, my. If it isn't the dogs of the Legitimacy Kingdom's military. It seems we will be working together. Oh ho ho."
The Object's air cushion engine keeping it afloat then blew out extra air, blowing even more sand about and making Quenser and Heivia cough.
"Dammit. This is why they shouldn't let immature people pilot Objects!! Do we really have to go on this mission along with someone like that!?"
"It's still better than dealing with the Capitalist Corporations or the Faith Organization, so you should probably quit complaining."
A satirical journalist had once likened the world map of that age to stained glass. Where it had once been divided into many small nations, it was now divided into just a few "colors" showing what group was in charge.
One was a group that insisted the accuracy of information was what determined good and evil and that was trying to create a network that covered the world. One was a collection of super capitalist corporations that felt the amount of money in one's bank account determined your precedence in the world and what human rights you had. One was a kingdom that was a collection of cultures that wanted to resurrect the old system where legitimacy of one's bloodline and one's honor determined one's social standing.
Food shortages, energy shortages, increasing populations, and many other things were touted as the "official reasons" for the world ending up like that, but it seemed the real reason was the failure and utter shattering of the United Nations in the first half of the 21st century. The shattered pieces continued on in the directions they wanted and eventually reformed into a few different alliances.
No longer did a map of the world's power balance have a single continent simply filled in with one color. Instead, the countries of a single area freely joined whatever force they wished, making the power balance overcome geographic boundaries. This indeed made the map look something like stained glass. As this made neighboring countries often also be enemies, small scale battles were quite common in that world.
However, all of this had become completely normal by the time Quenser had been born, so he could only tilt his head to the side in confusion when the elderly shook their heads, fed up with it all.
"However, two Objects are being used for this operation, so I doubt flesh-and-blood soldiers like you will even be needed. Oh ho ho, " said the Object pilot.
"Then can we just go to bed?"
Part 4
After the briefing where the coalition dignitaries came into conflict with their desire to have their own Object take all the glory, Quenser and the other soldiers like him exited the building, feeling incredibly bored.
The sun had completely set and darkness filled the sky.
It was time for the operation to begin.
"Oh, god. Why does the target site have to be 2 kilometers southwest of here? Two kilometers! Can't the higher ups get us some trucks!?" shouted out Quenser without thinking.
Heivia shook his head and said, "They actually did, but it's all they can do to carry the Information Alliance unit with their heavy powered suits. See how the tires are about to burst already?"
"They have motors and fibrous springs to supplement their strength, so why can't they be the ones to walk? And what are they gonna use those for in an Object vs. Object battle anyway?"
"That's a reconnaissance unit equipped with extremely high performance high speed cameras. They analyze the minute movements of the enemy Object's main gun and lenses and send that information to their Object to help with timing for evasion and defense. At the very least, they'll be more help in a battle than us. Although they do tend to get targeted first due to their annoying interference."
However, it was not just the foot soldiers who were annoyed with the arrangement.
The giant Objects that could pull off speeds on the level of a linear motor train had to match the speed of the foot soldiers. They occasionally made small movements that were reminiscent of a human tapping their foot impatiently while waiting for someone.
Two Objects flanked the foot soldiers on opposite sides.
The first was the princess from the Legitimacy Kingdom army.
The other was the Elite from the Information Alliance army that Quenser and Heivia had met before.
The two Objects must have used different forms of propulsion because the rumbling sound similar to dark thunderclouds only came from the princess's Object.
To distract himself from his irritation and because of the odd sense of connection due to fighting alongside each other (even if the team had been thrown together at the last second), Quenser decided to speak to the Information Alliance Object.
It was also possible he was merely curious due to the fact that he would normally be unable to approach (for fear of getting blown to pieces) an Object from the Information Alliance.
"Hey, is it true that the Information Alliance military is developing a human-shaped Object?"
"Oh ho ho. That is obviously an ugly lie. It may be technically possible, but its center of gravity would be too high, so it would fall over too easily."
"That's no fun. Then is the rumor about your Objects having power outlets false too?"
"That one is true. Just like with a blast furnace, an Object's reactor is more efficient if it is left on 24/7 rather than switching it on and off. As such, there is spare energy that can be spread around while on standby in the base. Oh ho ho."
"You travel on land for long periods of time using propulsion from an air cushion engine that uses pure air pressure rather than static electricity. When you go all out, it seems like the excess energy would be enough to blow any surrounding soldiers away."
"When travelling alongside soldiers, the air cushion engine is only used to lessen the weight a bit so treads are enough to propel the Object. Oh ho ho. That way the surrounding air is not disturbed too much and soldiers can travel alongside it."
"Hehh. So that's how the Information Alliance does things these days."
"I like the look of that admiring gaze. Oh, and to allow the air cushion engine to work to its fullest, the body is lightened by using carbon and aramid materials for portions of the armor. Oh ho ho."
"By the way, all this walking is exhausting, so could I hitch a ride?"
"Oh ho ho. Such a small weight would hardly be an issue, so feel free to grab on."
Quenser grabbed onto the urethane-like material of the air cushion engine and Heivia suddenly quietly shouted over at him.
"(Hey! That's not a good idea, Quenser!!)"
"(What? You mean because the Information Alliance intelligence unit is glaring at me in fear that some information will be leaked?)"
"(Yes, well, the fact that they're actually staring at your face through their scopes is a problem, but the bigger problem is that our princess seems to have gotten into a really bad mood for some reason!!)"
"(... Hah?)"
Having completely climbed on top of the military urethane material used on the air cushion engine, Quenser looked over at the other Object in confusion.
He saw the princess's Object moving as if shaking its head.
"Nothing is the matter, " she said.
"Gwaahh!? The shaking of the Object is causing the air pressure and repellent spray to blow sand everywhere!!" shouted Heivia from the ground and all the soldiers still in proper formation started coughing. Quenser had managed to avoid the issues by climbing up a few meters from the ground."Quenser! If you want to prevent any more damage, go grab onto the princess's Object!!"
"But doesn't hers use static electricity and lasers for propulsion? It distorts lasers like crazy with metal plates to heat up the air and detonate it. I think that would be dangerous to get anywhere near."
"Cough cough!! Y-yeah well, this sand hell is pretty dangerous, too!"
That was when the Information Alliance Elite girl spoke up.
"This kind of casual attentiveness and nonchalant kindness is important to gain trust amongst us soldiers. Oh ho ho. I suppose the unrefined Elite of the Legitimacy Kingdom simply does not understand that."
"I said it was nothing.... Are you mocking me?" replied the princess.
"Please, Quenser!! Come down!! Don't provoke the princess and the other Elite any further!! At this rate, we're all going to be slaughtered while caught between two battling Objects!!"
"?"
Quenser could hear the shouting from down below, but he had no intention of going back to travelling on foot with all the heavy equipment he was weighed down with. He lay down on top of the urethane with the intent of making himself comfortable until they arrived.
Part 5
It was easy to tell who controlled which portions of Oceania.
The areas controlled by the military nation were covered in forest while the areas controlled by the coalition forces were covered in desert.
Quenser and the others were in the green forest.
At first, they had been travelling across cracked, arid land, but after crossing a certain line, the land became covered in grass. After that, the land quickly became covered in a thick forest. The state of the soil completely changed depending on whether the artificial soil that had high water retention had been distributed in that area or not. It was no surprise that the tribes that had loved the natural land there for over 1000 years saw the unnatural sight of those plants foreign to that continent as a desecration of the land.
Quenser got down off the urethane portion of the Object and looked around.
"Now then, the battlefield lies just ahead. Although I suppose we'll just be sitting idly by and leaving everything to the real stars of the show."
"... I'd rather you just left right now, " muttered Heivia.
Unbeknownst to Quenser, Heivia had had a horrible time trapped between the two Objects while Quenser relaxed atop one of them.
Heivia looked around too and said, "Y'know, this really is one hell of a forest. They improved the genetics for the sake of urban greening, right? I can't believe this was originally a desert."
"Don't be stupid. Even if they altered their growth rate, they couldn't have grown trees with trunks that large. The shorter trees are one thing, but these ones that look at least 100 years old were probably swiped from other countries in the area."
The princess then spoke through the speakers on her Object.
"We are going to head out. Be careful and make sure you are not taken out by stray shots or radiant heat."
"Thanks for the concern, but doesn't that just mean we're useless?"
"Oh ho ho. You can just wait here while completing a 10-minute brain training or something."
The two giant Objects then charged off into the thick forest at high speed. Quenser and the others were left with only the trailing sound of dark thunderclouds that came from the princess's Object.
Those giant machines that have main bodies over 50 meters across had headed off at 200-300 kph. The artificially-grown large trees snapped like chopsticks as the giant masses passed by. Before long, there was a flattened path through the forest.
Their target was a collection of rectangular concrete buildings in the middle of the thick forest.
An alarm started blaring in the military facility as those cutting-edge weapons of massacre approached.
Quenser pulled out a pair of binoculars and Heivia spoke to him, sounding annoyed.
"I'm betting this one's another miss. If the Oceanian Object was really here, it would have left a path through the forest. You saw how the princess's Object snapped all those huge trees, right?"
"No, I'm observing the Information Alliance Object, " responded Quenser as he adjusted the magnification of the binoculars."If it was attacking us as an enemy, I wouldn't have a chance to calmly analyze it, but this is different. This is a good chance to study it. I can take my time and visually steal information on their tech."
"What, are you that crazy about some foreign girl's sexy dress? C'mon, if you keep chasing after her, our cute princess is going to kill you."
"What is it you keep going on about lately?"
As they spoke, the battle began between the coalition Objects and the normal soldiers in the Oceanian base.
From the looks of things, the enemy's Generation 0. 5 Object was not there.
The inevitable result of the battle was as plain as day.
Explosive beams of light covered the battlefield, ripping through the night sky.
They were being fired by a rapid fire beam cannon.
It was a powerful beam cannon that fired continuously at extremely short intervals.
The Information Alliance's Object's 35-meter main gun was made up of five giant rapid fire beam cannons linked together like a Gatling gun. Some people might wonder why it was necessary to construct a Gatling gun-like device when the weapons fired beams rather than metal bullets, but the powerful beam weapons would damage their barrels and other equipment if fired at too short an interval. Also, they used large amplifiers to instantaneously amplify and release electric power, so it was important to switch on and off in short intervals to divide up the burden on each individual cannon.
Supposedly, the Information Alliance Object could use those five cannons to fire those rapid fire beams indefinitely.
As the strips of bluish-white energy sliced through the night sky, the thick concrete buildings were ripped apart one by one. The wreckage that was blown into the air like in a volcanic eruption was almost entirely melted around the edges. The Oceanians tried to return fire with tanks and missile launching vehicles, but the Objects paid them no heed. The wreckage of the buildings raining down from the sky was enough to blow up the armored vehicles.
By the way, the princess's Object was not merely watching all this go on.
It was using its quick maneuverability to cut off the escape path of the fleeing tank unit and firing at them from its 7 arm-shaped main guns. The princess's main guns could switch out their devices like a microscope switching out its lens. By rotating the core of the barrel, she could attack using laser beams, low-stability plasma cannons, coil guns, or a number of other options. That was why her Object was known as a composite model.
Explosions, beams of light, and great roaring noises split through the battlefield, but no screams could be heard.
The shouts of anger and terror were likely there, but the sounds of destruction caused by the Objects drowned them all out.
The scene was overwhelming in just about every way.
It was a hellish sight that made one renew one's desire to never stand before one of those monsters.
"Wow. I guess this is what the Oceanians get for ignoring all war treaties and just doing what they want. But I kind of feel sorry for them because I know what it's like to not be able to use the white flag."
"I can see why the princess warned us to not get caught up in it all. Hey, Quenser, can you tell how that giant Gatling gun works? It'd be pretty cool if we could have that as one of the princess's options."
"Eh? I'm more interested in what's going on down below, " said Quenser while removing his eyes from the binoculars and pointing toward the Information Alliance Object."I was thinking about why it would use both the air cushion and the treads, but I think I figured it out. Hovering with the air cushion is its basic means of propulsion, but it uses the treads to strike the ground and give it some instantaneous thrust for when it needs to make a quick dash. In fact, those look more like chainsaws than treads."
"So what would happen if we put something like that on the princess's?"
"She'd be able to get quick bursts of speed. Like this: whoosh."
As Quenser and Heivia continued their idiotic conversation, the battle came to an end.
The enemy had been annihilated and not a single ally had been killed or even injured.
It had been the kind of ideal usage of Objects that would probably make the higher ups clap their hands in joy. No result could seem more reliable to those who fought alongside the Objects.
The Elites' voices then came in across the radio.
"Hey, we're done."
"Oh ho ho. I did a scan with my sensors, but still be on the lookout for landmines or enemy troops waiting in ambush.... That is what it means to be truly concerned for others, you unrefined Legitimacy Kingdom Elite."
Upon seeing the two Objects banging into each other, the soldiers started whispering things like "Looks like it's still dangerous" and "Let's just wait a bit longer".
However, military actions were not something a soldier could simply refuse to do.
Quenser and the others headed toward the battlefield along the path of snapped trees left by the Objects. They felt safe because they assumed any traps would have been destroyed by the giant Objects heading through. Of course, this did not guarantee their safety, but it made them feel safer nonetheless.
When they arrived, the princess spoke through her speakers.
"It seems this was another dummy base. It did not have the functionality a base zone would require and the Oceanian Object was not here."
"We'll do a search just to be sure, but it really doesn't seem there's a space large enough to hide something that huge, " replied Quenser while looking around.
The area had not simply been burned down.
The buildings had been blown away, the asphalt had been torn up, and the ground itself had been split wide open in places. Trees, steel, and everything else was burned black and had lost their original shapes. The level of destruction seen there could not be achieved even by setting fire to a petrochemical complex.
It was simpler than a nuclear weapon, more powerful than a nuclear weapon, safer than a nuclear weapon, and destroyed its target with more pinpoint accuracy than a nuclear weapon.
The enemy soldiers had been blown to such small pieces that it was impossible to tell where their bodies were.
"Uehh..." groaned Heivia."I'm glad we finished talking about our military rations before coming here. I heard the Information Alliance military has flavored powder to put on their rations. You can choose curry or cheese or whatever flavor you want."
"I get the feeling that their grilled flavors aren't going to be too popular for a while." Quenser looked up at the two Objects."By the way, what are we supposed to do now that you finished the battle so easily? Will we be leaving after we finish searching around the area to make sure there isn't an underground Object maintenance base zone?"
"Oh ho ho. I doubt there are any weapons nearby that are on a large enough scale to destroy an Object, but would you please be on the lookout?" replied the Information Alliance Elite.
"?"
"I merely want to take a bit of a rest after going all out in that battle. Oh ho ho."
"I see. Are the extra g's from inertia wearing you down?"
The designs of the special suits for Elites differed from Elite to Elite, but for the most part, they were all pressure-resistant like an air force pilot's suit. Objects did not move around at supersonic speeds like a fighter, but they had an extremely huge mass. To simplify the problem, think of it like a metal ball on a chain. The pull would be greater the faster the metal ball was moved around by centrifugal force and the heavier the metal ball was.
Quenser realized that the Information Alliance Object and the princess's Object had been completely motionless for a while.
"Oh ho ho. If I had to fight, I could, but staying on edge like that when no enemies are around would be foolish. And Elite suits are very tight around the legs."
"Oh, that's right. When you're moving around at high speed, they cut off the flow of blood to your legs to make sure your blood can circulate to your brain properly.... Does it make your legs go to sleep?"
"After a high speed battle that requires a lot of concentration, a lot of heat is left in my body, so it is quickest to take my legs out of the suit and use a cooling spray on them. Oh ho ho."
"I see..." said Quenser, in vague admiration, but then he froze in place.
(Wait... If the princess is cooling off her legs too, does that mean she's taking off her special suit behind those thick steel walls right now?)
Still frozen in place, Quenser started thinking deeply like a philosopher.
When he did, the Legitimacy Kingdom's Baby Magnum turned its main guns toward him.
"You don't need to think about those kinds of things, " said the princess.
"Gyaaahh!? Isn't that a little too much firepower for a joke!? And it was the Information Alliance Elite that brought it up, not me!!"
Having been brought back into the discussion, the Elite in question spoke up through her speakers.
"Heh. Oh ho ho. It seems I need to strip off this high-leg leotard-style suit and cool off my glorious G-cup body!!"
"R-really!? I didn't know a single sentence could hold so many attention-grabbing terms! I know our princess's suit is already on that end of things, but why would the Information Alliance go that far!?"
"It was the designer's request. Oh ho ho."
"... !? Now, I have no intention of defecting, but if that's an actual occupation over there... !"
"Don't be stupid, Quenser. Don't get those sparkles in your eyes over the Information Alliance's obviously fake information!! If it was actually a high-leg leotard, it would have no way of tightening around the legs for pressure resistance!!"
"Oh, you saw through it. Too bad. Oh ho ho. It does indeed cover my legs, but it instead has slits in various places to let me easily get the cooling spray inside.... And some of those places are in even more risqué places than the slit on a school swimsuit."
"Hey, Heivia, could that one be true!?"
"Quenser!! If you keep latching onto everything she says, you're just going to let her get under the princess's skin!!"
After Heivia punched him in the face, Quenser came back to his senses.
(Weren't we just about to take control of an enemy base? Why was my head filled with nothing but the shyness of a pure girl and the sexiness of special suits?)
"We have to continue with the mission, " said Quenser, working up some motivation.
"In that case, there is still a job left for you to do. Oh ho ho, " announced the Information Alliance's Elite."Oh ho ho. We have a request from the local tribes. Because these genetically altered forests are unnatural, they want us to burn them away."
"Oh, right. We need to change this area to our side's color, " responded Quenser.
The princess then spoke up in a slightly apologetic tone.
"If we wanted to, we could burn it all away in an instant with our Objects, but..."
Using the low-stability plasma cannons powered by the Object's reactor, everything above ground and even things deep in the ground could be burned away. However, the Oceanian tribes saw the land as sacred, so they did not want it damaged any more than necessary.
"A bit of destruction and a bit of restraint, hm? Sounds like a superhero from an American comic book to me."
"Apparently, the Cultural Protection Agency is protesting that term. They say they should be called Capitalist Corporation comic books since the country known as 'America' no longer exists."
"It's because they get so worked up over pointless crap like that that no one likes them."
As Quenser and Heivia argued back and forth, flickering flames roared up in numerous places throughout the nighttime forest. The Information Alliance powered suit unit had activated their flamethrowers in preparation to light the fires.
"Hey, we don't have powered suits or anything. We aren't going to get caught up in the flames are we?"
"It's still safer than a defoliant though."
Suddenly, some static came from Quenser's radio followed by a transmission from an ally.
After listening for a bit, Quenser switched it off and turned to Heivia.
"We have a minor job to take care of. We need to check for villages in the area before the fires are lit."
"Can't they use a UAV or something?"
"Actually, is it really okay to burn the villagers' houses?"
"Contact Froleytia over your radio and talk to her about it. Apparently, the coalition forces are going to take care of getting them relocated afterwards. And since the tribes were half forced to move here in the first place, they probably don't mind abandoning it all to get their original lifestyle back."
They complained, but they were still glad to be doing something before leaving. And so, the Legitimacy Kingdom and Information Alliance troops began the search while keeping an eye out for landmines or traps.
"According to the map, our area is 3 kilometers square. If we find an old cabin or something in that area, we need to knock on the door and check it out."
"War is surprisingly boring. Well, it's better than having it be too exciting I suppose."
Quenser and Heivia walked along while chatting about things like how stupid they would feel if they stepped on a landmine, but they suddenly stopped.
The forest had suddenly opened up.
They were standing atop a small hill about 7 or 8 meters high. A rainstorm or something had caused the front of the hill to collapse, so it was a bit like a cliff. And at the bottom of that cliff was a small village with only about 20 buildings.
If that was all, they would only have had to gone in and given them an evacuation warning.
The problem was the military truck blocking the entrance to the village.
Oceanian troops had come to the village.
Quenser and Heivia had assumed all the fighting was over, but they now had to frantically get down on the ground. Quenser looked through his binoculars and Heivia through his rifle scope.
"(... Damn. Why is it always us that has to have the exciting things happen to them!!)" complained Quenser in a whisper."(The princess and the other Elite were just fighting over there. Did they not hear any of that!?)"
"(How should I know!? Maybe they're a reconnaissance unit. They may have informed their higher ups where our Objects are and are stopping by here on the way back, )" replied Heivia casually."(So what are we going to do? It would be a pain to handle this on our own, so how about we call in the Objects?)"
"(No, wait. They would certainly notice something that large approaching. They might take the villagers as hostages. And think about the specs of the Objects. The princess's may have those anti-personnel lasers, but the Information Alliance's just has that gigantic rapid fire beam cannon Gatling gun. That would just blow the entire village away. )"
From what they could see from atop the hill, the Oceanian soldiers did not seem about to shoot the villagers or set the village on fire. When they looked closely, they could see an old man who seemed to be the village chief handing money to a man in a military uniform.
"(Is that this month's 'rent' or something? It looks like something they're used to doing. )"
According to the map, the area they were in was near the border between Oceanian land and coalition land. The village must have been created in order to aid with the loading and unloading of cargo from trucks going between the two and inspecting the contents.
Heivia made a general inspection of the enemy troops through his rifle scope.
"(There are about 20 of them. Each of them is armed with an old-style rifle with a grenade launcher attached. Since there's only the one truck, there are unlikely to be any more of them that we can't see. What do we do?)"
"(What do you mean? It's not like there is anything we can do. )"
"(Yeah, I guess not. Taking on a force while outnumbered 10-to-1 would be pretty stupid. )"
Quenser and Heivia exchanged a glance and were overcome with exhaustion.
If the enemy troops gathered all the villagers in the center of the village and were going to shoot the men and rape the women, they would have no choice but to fight, but it did not seem things were headed toward that worst case scenario. After the usual payment of money and items was complete, the Oceanian soldiers would likely leave the village. Quenser and Heivia just had to wait until they were gone to give the evacuation warning.
If they started a firefight in the village, it would likely just increase the number of victims.
Also, Quenser was a combat engineer, so he only had explosives. The only practical weapons they had were Heivia's rifle and handgun. When there was no real reason to fight, neither of them wanted to start a fight where they would be at a disadvantage.
However...
"(Hey, wait. Something's wrong, )" said Quenser as he looked through his binoculars.
The Oceanian soldiers who had been standing idly about before had suddenly begun to move. They were holding up the rifles hanging from their shoulders and searching for an enemy with nervous expressions. Meanwhile, the women and small children were fleeing for the buildings.
"(What happened?)"
"(Look, Quenser. Over there!)"
Heivia pointed toward an open area in the village. Someone was collapsed there. It was a man wearing an Oceanian military uniform. Blood was gushing from the center of his body. He had likely died instantly.
"(That doesn't look like heat stroke to me. )"
"(So... What? Heivia, did you accidentally shoot him while looking through your scope?)"
"(How stupid are you!? Do you really think this shitty rifle has a silencer so amazing you wouldn't notice I had fired it while you were lying right next to me!? Also, he fell in the wrong direction for it to have been me!!)"
Quenser looked in the direction opposite of the direction the man had fallen.
What he saw was...
"(That's the border with the coalition territory... Was he shot from beyond it? So did someone purposefully throw a 'pebble' in from outside their territory?)"
Suddenly, a slight bit of static came from Quenser's radio. He thought he was getting a transmission, but he was not. Small bursts of static continued intermittently.
"(Bursts of static at 0. 8 second intervals... I think that's coming from a long sight for sniper rifles! It uses lasers and electromagnetic waves to assist in the aiming. )"
"(Huh? No proper military device would broadcast its sniper's presence so obviously. Is some idiot using some piece of crap to pretend he's part of some volunteer army or something!?)" said Heivia angrily, but then a sour look appeared on his face. He then held up his rifle and groaned."(Oh, shit. Not good, not good, not good!)"
In addition to the optical scope, his rifle could pick up infrared and ultraviolet and it had a microphone for searching for enemies. Since he had the headphone in one ear, he must have been listening in on the conversation between the villagers and the Oceanian troops using the microphone.
His rifle was pointed toward the one soldier and the old man who seemed to be the village chief.
"(What? What's not good?)"
"(I don't feel like taking time to explain it properly, so I'll just act it out. 'Damn you, you tricked us!' 'No, you're mistaken. We would never do something like this. ' 'Shut up. We'll kill all of you and burn this village to the ground!')"
"(I think 'not good' was an understatement!!)" said Quenser in shock.
Heivia then turned to him for his opinion, asking "(What are we going to do?)"
"(If we called in the Objects, they'd probably just shoot everyone before they arrived. )"
"(So what are we going to do!?)"
"(Well, we don't know where this sniper is hiding and those Oceanian troops are just going to cause unnecessary harm if we don't do anything. )" Quenser stabbed electronic fuses into the Hand Axe he had been specially issued."(We have no choice but to just do it!!)"
Already fed up with the situation, the two nodded and began to move.
Quenser started throwing the explosives he had stuck fuses into from atop the hill. They landed a bit away from the village, but Quenser sent the signal to detonate the Hand Axe anyway. The repeated explosions sent the Oceanian soldiers frantically running behind buildings for cover.
In reality, it was only a student throwing explosives, but they likely thought it was anything from a mortar on up to a tank. The repeated explosions needlessly increased their worries.
Next, Heivia began firing one shot after another.
To hide from the new enemy, the Oceanian soldiers had hidden from the wrong direction. Heivia could see them sticking their asses out toward him and trembling, so he easily picked them off one by one. In an exciting firefight, Quenser and Heivia would have been hopelessly outnumbered, but their disturbance tactics were completely one sided.
"(Hey, I'm not going to be able to shoot them all!!)"
"(Once you take out a certain number of them, won't they just cast off their pride and flee into the forest? They don't seem noble enough to fight to the last man to me. )"
"(Hey, Mr. Battlefield Student, they don't seem to be fleeing. They look like they are planning to fight to the very end!)"
"(Dammit, it's that sniper! He's shooting at them again! He's aiming to cut off their route of escape, so they can't flee even though they want to!!)"
The longer the battle went on, the higher the odds of the unrelated villagers getting hit by a stray bullet. Quenser and Heivia had no reason to insist on absolute victory, so they did not care if the Oceanians escaped into the forest, but the mysterious sniper did not seem willing to let that happen.
Suddenly, a plump man who seemed to be the commander looked up at the hill.
He gave a command with a gesture and all the soldiers held up their rifles.
"(Oh, shit! They've figured out where we are!!)"
Quenser and Heivia frantically moved back. Immediately afterwards, a storm of bullets flew their way. Since they were shooting up at the cliff-like crumbled hill, the hill acted as a shield for them.
"(Luckily we're far enough away that those cheap old-style grenade launchers can't reach us. )"
"(Before long, they'll have a force circle around and flank us. Hey, Quenser, can you set up some explosives to cut off their path before they get here?)"
However, before they could do anything more, someone grabbed their shoulders and yanked them backwards.
They frantically spun around and found Information Alliance infantry.
"(I'm not sure what the situation is here, but we'll help out. We can send in our powered suit unit and have this finished in less than five minutes. )"
"(Five minutes, hm? Not bad, but it's already too late. )"
Heivia pointed with his chin toward the bottom of the hill.
Various collapsed forms could be seen from people getting caught up in the firefight within the village. And they did not all belong to the Oceanian soldiers. Some of them were villagers who the soldiers had shot in their desperation.
Also, a great number of children's toys were scattered about from where someone had knocked them to the ground in their hurry to escape.
Among those toys covered in sand, dirt, and blood was a single picture book. They were some distance from the village, but the details of the cover could be seen through a rifle scope.
The title of the book was The Kind Beasts of the Rocks.
It was the same book they had seen the local girl holding outside the barricade to the coalition maintenance base zone.
Heivia clicked his tongue and threw his rifle to the ground.
"(Fine, I get it. This is fucking war. Innocent women and children are killed for no good reason.... Do it. Go kill all those god damn Oceanians. )"
The Information Alliance man nodded silently and gave the order to the powered suit unit. Paying no heed to the downpour of bullets, they jumped down from the top of the collapsed hill.
"Hey, I found him, " said Quenser as he put down his binoculars and pointed.
He was not pointing at the village. He was pointing at the border between Oceanian and coalition land.
"I found that sniper. Look, he isn't Oceanian or coalition. It's one of those reporters. He's switched out his camera for a rifle. That explains why he isn't using a proper military sniper sight. He was starting a battle for his own personal satisfaction. Maybe he's one of those mercenaries turned cameramen Froleytia was talking about."
"Okay, " said Heivia as he picked his rifle back up from the ground. He then turned to the Information Alliance man."We'll take care of the sniper. I won't feel satisfied until I've punched him a few times."
Part 6
After having returned to the maintenance base zone, Quenser and Heivia leaned silently up against a passageway wall.
Froleytia spoke to her two subordinates.
"I checked the report, and it seems the owner of that picture book was not the girl you feared it was."
Quenser and Heivia remained silent for a bit longer.
Finally, Quenser opened his mouth and said, "Do you think that is enough for us to be relieved?"
"I know that, as soldiers, we have no right to pretend we're innocent, but this isn't the type of war we want to fight."
"I see, " muttered Froleytia before grabbing a nearby doorknob and entering without knocking.
She sighed at the troublesome job that lay ahead of her.
She was within a small room.
She had long, silver hair with a hint of blue, a long, narrow hairpin modeled after a Japanese kanzashi, and was inhaling gray smoke from a Japanese-style kiseru. She took the notebook computer and tablet sensor from under her arm and placed them on a table. She normally used a pen-shaped input device on the computer to send orders to distant units, but the monitor was closed.
Froleytia looked straight forward.
A chair was bolted to the floor across the small table from her and a man was sitting in it with his arms shackled to the armrests.
He was the reporter.
Quenser and Heivia had told her about their guess that he was a former mercenary, but Froleytia disagreed. A mercenary willing to enter a battlefield without an Object to protect him would have a harsher look in his eyes. Most likely, an even harsher look than a proper soldier.
He was most likely some rich kid come from outside of Oceania who fancied himself a person of culture.
"Mr... Sewax, was it? You have caused quite a bit of trouble. Are you aware that this is a military interrogation room and that you have done something warranting bringing you here?"
"Remove these restraints, " said Sewax quickly, cutting off Froleytia."I have no obligation to speak without a lawyer present, but I'll do you a favor. This is a clear human rights violation. You have no right to rob me of my freedom. Remove these restraints this instant."
"..."
"What, are you mad about the sniping? You soldiers are so worthless. Are you trying to say I'm a murderer just because I'm not part of the military? In other areas of conflict like Oceania where not even Objects have been deployed, mercenaries travel from safe countries, remove a few of the enemy troops, and then freely return home. Are you saying they are criminals, too?" Sewax grinned as if to say his rights were absolute and that no one could lay a finger on him."All I did was what you all have forgotten to do. Isn't it your job to put a bullet in those Oceanian monsters? I merely did it for you and now I will write a report on it and change the public opinion. To be blunt, you are not carrying out your job on a fundamental level when you get so upset over someone taking out a few Oceanian troops. Do you really think you can end their tyranny like that?"
Froleytia grimaced while Sewax looked at her with scornful eyes.
He overlooked the change in the soldier's expression.
"Due to the Objects, you fools have forgotten what it means to be soldiers. I'm going to write about you when I return to the home country. I'll tell everyone how you soldiers have forgotten what it means to fight and how you panic at the slightest sight of blood. Not to mention how you lost your ability to think rationally and illegally restrained an honest, hardworking reporter."
Froleytia slowly placed her long, narrow kiseru on the table.
Immediately afterwards, a great noise rang out.
She had grabbed Sewax's shoulders, picked up the reporter, chair and all, and thrown him forcefully against the wall.
"Gbh... Ghaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!?"
The force of the blow smashed the back of the chair to pieces and Sewax's body bent backwards. However, Froleytia's narrow arms did not allow him to collapse to the ground. She held his body against the wall and brought her face in close.
"There were four, " Froleytia said in a low, cold voice she had not used before."If you had merely killed enemy troops, we would have been praising you. However, there were four. Four unrelated villagers were killed thanks to your unwanted actions. Those people would not have died otherwise. And one of them died from your bullet, not the Oceanians'."
"Cough. But thanks to that, you were able to make the decision to attack the Oceanians! We cannot overlook even the smallest evil!! What I did wasn't wrong!! If I write up a report on this, the people of the world will resent the irrationality of war and anti-war sentiment will start to spread. This age where we rely on you soldiers who do nothing but swallow up our taxes will come to an end, you idiot!!"
"Oh, is that so!?"
Froleytia took Sewax's body from the wall and swung him around. The centrifugal force slammed his back down on top of the small table.
As Sewax coughed, Froleytia continued speaking.
"Then let me tell you something. It turns out those Oceanian soldiers were not in that village for their regular payment. They were there on an irregular visit. Even if you had not attacked with that sniper rifle, they would have obeyed their commands from above and systematically started attacking villages."
"Th-then..."
"And they were doing this because of the actions of reporters like yourself!! Due to the coalition intervention, the Oceanian military nation thinks international society is taking them lightly. To show just how powerful they are, they came up with a ridiculous plan to actually strengthen their forestation and to slaughter the villagers!! They are using their own people as cards in the negotiation by saying their deaths are our fault for ignoring their orders and sending in the coalition Objects!! Why do you think we did not let any reporters or cameramen near the Oceanian border? Because we had already learned of their plan! They had no one to witness the slaughter and transmit it around the world, and that is why the Oceanians had not begun this meaningless slaughter before! However, your thoughtless actions gave them the push they needed!!" said Froleytia, regretting her own foolishness rather than Sewax's."What do you think the Oceanians are going to do now that their comrades have been killed? They were trying to show off to the international community and instead suffered a great disgrace. They are sure to escalate the slaughter now in order to erase this from their image! They will now 'search for the killer'. They will arbitrarily choose a 'suspicious-looking' tribal village, send in troops, and slaughter them all until they are satisfied!! Did you hear that!? Until they are satisfied!!"
Sewax's body stiffened in shock upon hearing that.
"B-but I am a journalist of the Legitimacy Kingdom. I made sure to fire into Oceanian territory from coalition territory. Why would they target Oceanian villages? That's utter nonsense. Even that military nation would not take action without any evide-"
"Do you really think they will listen to that kind of reason!!!!!?"
Froleytia finally clenched her fist and punched Sewax in the gut.
Sewax was unable to restrain the nausea and spewed vomit across the floor. Froleytia grabbed his hair and spoke to him with a face filled with anger.
"They see the villagers' lives as no more valuable than an insect's!! If they feel like it, they will kill them regardless of whether they have evidence or not! That is why I said they would slaughter them until they are satisfied! They will attack the villages they do not like out of anger over their fellow soldiers being killed!! Did you think trials to enforce proper laws exist in this country!? How many innocent lives do you think will be lost thanks to this PR stunt of yours that was for nothing other than to sustain your own pride!?"
It was unclear if he had finally understood what he had done or if it was merely a chain reaction from emptying the contents of his stomach, but tears began falling from Sewax's eyes.
"To be honest, I wish I could just hand you over to Oceania's foolish leaders, but unfortunately, the Legitimacy Kingdom has excellent human rights laws. I can't just casually hand you over." Froleytia let go of his hair and seemed to have regained some of her cool when she spoke again."Do you understand? We were barely managing a careful balance on this battlefield and your actions have changed that to the long, drawn-out fight we all dreaded."
Part 7
As Froleytia's interrogation came to a close on the monitor in front of them, Quenser and Heivia both looked away from the screen at about the same time. They left the small observation room filled with recording and analysis staff and began speaking once they were alone in the passageway.
"Hey, Quenser. How long do you think until the Oceanians start 'searching for the killer'?"
"If the estimations from the electronic simulation team are accurate, then the military nation's Object is only Generation 0. 5. Its level of tech is too low to have all the proper functionality of an Object." Quenser chose his words carefully."An Object's reactor is like a nuclear reactor or a blast furnace in that it is more efficient to keep it running constantly rather than switching it on and off. However, the Generation 0. 5 is too weak. If it kept its reactor running for long periods of time, its inner parts could fuse. As such, its reactor is usually kept off. If we calculate back from how long it takes for its revolution speed to get up high enough for it to move around..."
"That would mean we have somewhere between 4 and 5 hours, " said Heivia as he checked the time on his military wristwatch.
Quenser nodded and said, "According to Froleytia, they intended to have their massacre of the village caught by a reporter's camera in order to show off their strength to the world. Now that they have failed in that, the Oceanian military must go for something even more shocking to wipe that previous failure from everyone's minds. In that case, wouldn't attacking a village with their Object be the most obvious course of action for them?"
It may have been given the unflattering name of Generation 0. 5, but it was still an Object. The Legitimacy Kingdom or Information Alliance's state of the art Objects might be able to defeat it easily, but a powerless village would have no hope.
At the current rate, they would just slaughter everyone to acquire the "obvious tragedy" they wanted.
"This is bad. If we don't find that Object before then, this will be very, very bad."
"But how are we supposed to find it? The satellites have been monitored for months, and it still hasn't been found. How are the two of us supposed to find and destroy this Object in just 4 hours?"
"Destroying it will be simple enough. We have over 20 coalition Objects here. If we can tell them where the Generation 0. 5 is, they can focus all their firepower and simply blow it away."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning we just have to come up with a way of finding the thing. We might be able to figure something out if we look at this from a point of view other than the satellites."
Just as the two of them were about to begin, someone interfered.
It was Froleytia who had just exited the interrogation room.
"To be honest, I would like to let you two do that, but I can't. That's what the higher ups have ordered."
"?"
"If the Oceanians are going to have their Generation 0. 5 Object give us a strip show and reveal itself from its concrete building, then we have a chance. The higher ups want to simply watch with the satellites and wait for it to leave one of the base zones. If they notice any reconnaissance attempts, this rare opportunity could be ruined and we would be back to pointlessly searching along the ground."
"So you're telling us to just let them attack some small village!? I know you know what it's like to be on the receiving end of an Object attack without one of your own!"
"When we spot it leaving a base, we can intercept it before it begins its attack!! We will not allow even a single other person become a victim!!"
"But surely the Oceanians realize we can see them! What are you going to do if we happily head after the target spotted by the satellite and it turns out to just be a gas tank with treads!? Meanwhile, the real one will mercilessly burn a village to the ground, mix in with some other gas tank, and escape to a different base!! If that happens, we'll have to do it all again. Are you just going to let them attack village after village until we get it right!? It may be wrong to say this after we attacked those Oceanian troops with Objects, but an Object isn't something we can let be sent after unarmed civilians!!" shouted Heivia, losing sight of any of the formality he should show his superior officer.
Most likely, Froleytia agreed with his concerns, but something was preventing her from agreeing with Quenser and Heivia's view.
That something was military regulations.
"I would like to send at least you two, but I can't overturn these orders, " said Froleytia bitterly.
Seeing her expression, Quenser and Heivia fell silent.
"And don't try to access the military database. In order to prevent having information on our Object leaking to the other members of the coalition, the security has been increased. If you try to access data that goes against your orders, you'll be court martialed before you know it."
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
Heivia still refused to give up, but Froleytia turned her back on them.
"I need to make some preparations to ensure we can head out as quickly as possible as soon as the coordinates come in from the satellites, " she said before leaving.
Left behind, Quenser and Heivia exchanged a glance.
"Hey, Quenser, what do we do now? You had special access to the data on Objects after Alaska, right? Can't you use that to get into the database without anyone noticing?"
"If I had that kind of skill, I would have just hacked in before they gave me access. It's impossible. There's no way we can search the database for information on the Generation 0. 5 in this situation."
Quenser then stuck a hand in his back pocket and pulled out a folded up map.
Heivia was surprised, but Quenser merely pointed at the map and said, "So I think this is a case where analog means would be best."
Part 8
Quenser and Heivia exited the building and circled around behind it. They sat down on the hard, dry ground and spread out the map.
"Oceania is huge, " groaned Heivia.
| ← Ch. 004 | Ch. 006 → |