novelA Three Legged Race Up a Mountain is a Matter of Life and Death >> Battle of Shells in the Iguazu Mountains (1)
| ← Ch.010 | Ch.012 → |
Part 1
In the Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands, the almost 60 year old captain of the assault landing aircraft carrier Charlemagne slowly walked across the ship's flat deck that was used as a runway. Alongside him was Froleytia, a girl of only 18. The 170 meter long deck was a bit short to use as a walking course.
"I suppose this is just the flow of time, " said the white-haired captain with a smile as he used one hand to hold a short and fat pipe of the type preferred by Western detectives."Once, large aircraft carriers were designed to carry 70-80 aircrafts, but there were few opportunities to fully use all of them in actual battle. With the invention of ultra high speed torpedoes and stealth mines, the sinking of aircraft carriers was no longer an empty dream.... The cost and risk of having things aboard one became an issue."
"So they stopped focusing all the personnel and equipment in one place and distributed it about to reduce the risk of loss?" replied Froleytia.
In her mouth was a long, narrow Japanese kiseru that stood in contrast to the captain's pipe.
The captain slowly nodded and said, "If 10 aircrafts could be held aboard a single ship, that was good enough. If you needed more than that, you just had to bring in enough ships. The length of the runway for landing was the primary problem with making smaller aircraft carriers, but the development of high precision sensors and reverse firing nozzles for braking made that less of an issue. And something else changed what our missions entailed even more.... Yes, the arrival of those Objects."
A heavy metallic noise reverberated through the area.
Two assault landing aircraft carriers were lined up with a space of over 50 meters between them. In the middle was that giant weapon that had around 100 cannons on a spherical body. It was the Baby Magnum. Scaffolding and countless wires were strung up around that Object that was the pride of the Legitimacy Kingdom.
The captain looked up at its giant body and said, "With the development of laser technology, the role of air supremacy moved to them. Our primary mission is no longer to quickly get aircrafts to the battlefield. Instead, we resupply the Object on the sea, carry out its defense during that time, and see it off."
That was why the ship was not merely known as an aircraft carrier. It also carried out the role of a landing craft. That ship that held all the equipment needed to create a base would approach the coast and quickly get that equipment on shore. That was the function required of aircraft carriers in the age of Objects.
Froleytia lightly nodded once more and said, "I thank you for your assistance. We aim to one day be able to quickly construct a base in all environments, but it seems we still specialize in fighting on land."
"Think nothing of it. In fact, we prefer it this way. If you were able to quickly move over sea, there would be no place left for marines like us. I am glad to have an opportunity to mobilize the ships of our fleet."
Having said that, the captain exhaled a bit of smoke while making sure it did not go in Froleytia's direction.
As if to change the mood, the captain's expression stiffened and he said, "So who is this enemy you are chasing?"
"Is it enough to say it is the Mass Driver conglomerate?"
Part 2
Quenser was about 30 meters up from the surface of the ocean.
Normally, the Baby Magnum underwent maintenance in a rectangular area created from a combination of large vehicles. However, that could not be done on the sea. The Object was positioned between two assault landing aircraft carriers with countless wires strung up around it from either side. This created an improvised maintenance area.
Numerous cranes with retractable arms were installed on either side of the assault landing aircraft carriers. They were not focused on just one side of the ships so that it did not matter which side either ship was on and in order to maintain the ships' balance.
The scaffolding Quenser stood upon was not a solid catwalk-like passageway made of steel. Narrow steel plates were connected without gap between two wires, making it something like a narrow, metal suspension bridge. Of course, the rocking of the ships on the waves and the blowing of the sea wind caused the wires to constantly shake unstably.
"Wah wah wah wah wah!?"
With both hands, Quenser grabbed the thick wires that were in place of a railing as his upper body swayed back and forth like a beginner skateboarder. Meanwhile, the maintenance soldier old lady folded her arms and snorted without holding the railing at all.
"Now how are you supposed to do any work with both your hands full? Can you at least let go with one hand? What do you think we came all the way up here for?"
"I can't! It's shaking and we're so high up! If I fall, I'm done for!!"
"It's only the ocean down below, so you won't die if you fall. Unless there's a major storm, the waves and the wind have a certain regularity to them. If you learn that regularity and control your center of gravity, your body won't even shake."
"You sure ask for some crazy things!!"
Quenser started wondering if she was an aikido master or something, but when he looked around, he saw the other maintenance soldiers welding armor plates onto the Baby Magnum or checking its radar were not using a lifeline while working with both hands. Apparently, that was a basic skill for those doing maintenance work.
"... Why does no one use a lifeline?"
"Those awkward things just make your body harder to move and slow down your work. As I said, you won't die if you fall into the ocean. You only need a lifeline when your life is actually at risk."
"I don't think this is a skill I need as a designer..." muttered Quenser.
The maintenance soldier old lady frowned slightly and said, "Come to think of it, boy, have you decided on your Object research topic yet?"
"Just when I was thinking about deciding, I was thrown out into the middle of Alaska, " replied Quenser in annoyance."There are a few genres I'm interested in, though. Like the distribution of weight and efficient means of propulsion. I just don't know which field would bring me closest to being a designer the fastest."
"You went out of your way to leave your safe country as a battlefield student and now you're choosing your field of specialty on what will be the fastest?... You really are trying to take the easy path through life, aren't you?"
"I would prefer if you called it 'efficient planning'."
At that point, the siren warning that a crane arm was moving began blaring. Quenser and the old lady lowered their heads as if shrugging and the item hanging down from the arm passed a few meters above their heads.
Seeing it, Quenser looked puzzled.
"What is that?"
"A small refrigerator. A microwave oven is scheduled to be brought aboard as well."
"Where are they going? And why???"
"Sailing the seven seas takes time. For example, cutting across the Pacific Ocean takes half a day. It has been suggested for a while now that they be bolted in the cockpit to ensure the Elite has efficient access to food to maintain her focus."
"I see. So that's what the microwave oven is-..."
Just as Quenser started to understand, he raised his head in realization.
The flavorless rations he was issued that looked like giant erasers did not need to be stored in a refrigerator and they did not need to be heated in a microwave oven. That meant...
"N-no fair!! The princess gets gratin, Salisbury steak, fried chicken, and other delicious foods!?"
"It is perfectly fair. Her focus can completely change the course of a battle, so it is only natural to prepare this sort of thing. The rations have no flavor because no one flavor will ever be liked by everyone. By having something that no one likes or hates, morale can be kept even across all the soldiers. However, the princess's personal food can easily be matched to her personal tastes."
"But the princess alone gets to heat fried chicken in the microwave and gets to eat fried chicken whenever and wherever she wants! And fried chicken!!"
"... Okay, I get that you really want to eat chicken, so just calm down."
Part 3
Heivia looked over at the small fighters lined up neatly on one end of the assault landing aircraft carrier's deck. They were 3 or 4 meters tall, so he had to look up a bit.
"Look at these overloaded delta wings, Quenser. There's nothing but special antennae for jamming. They have more of them than they have missiles."
"Of course they do. If an Object gets a lock on them, it's all over. It'll just shoot them down with a laser that can fire anywhere in the sky at the speed of light. It's only natural to focus on ways of not getting locked onto and just barely escaping if you are locked onto. They would still have poor odds of surviving if they seriously took one on, though."
Heivia nodded offhandedly.
"There was a time when everything was all about stealth, but when multiple radar facilities have been set up, the radar signal you scatter in the opposite direction from your target is picked up by a different base, revealing your location."
"Yes, the focus changed from flying such that you weren't found to flying such that you couldn't be hit, " said Quenser with little interest. He then changed the subject."It seems Froleytia has been spending more time than usual putting together this strategy, but what exactly is this Mass Driver conglomerate?"
"As the name suggests, it's a group with the world's greatest mass driver construction technology. There are plenty of organizations talking about developing mass drivers and not just in the Capitalist Corporations, but apparently that conglomerate is the only one able to actually build a functioning one."
"So it's a collection of space nuts? Are they really that dangerous?"
"They are politically. The reasons are complex, " came the response, but not from Heivia. It was the fried chicken-hoarding princess.
(But where is she?)
Quenser was confused, but then he spotted the girl sunbathing face down on a bath towel laid out on the deck at his feet. The princess wore her special blue suit and seemed very relaxed.
Heivia shrugged and said, "In the Capitalist Corporations, money is everything. Those with money have a higher standing in society and those who do not have a lower standing. Even your priority in receiving civil liberties is determined by the size of your bank account."
"Naturally, the leaders that control the military have lots of money, " added the princess.
"It used to simply be that the large companies controlled everything, but lately that seems to have changed. Basically, you just have to have a lot of money. There are now temporary groups that bring in investors who struck it rich with day trading or lawyers that work for multiple corporations.... I believe the Mass Driver conglomerate has its own territory and residents. So of course they had a military force in the name of protecting them."
"Which means..." Quenser looked confused."This Mass Driver conglomerate is a part of this new generation?"
"It was originally a group that mainly worked in the rate business."
"?"
"There are commodities that's values change daily like stocks and the foreign exchange, right? Well, that term refers to dealing in those things in order to make a profit from the changes in price. While stocks and currency are the representative examples, it is also done with energy related commodities like oil and coal, with jewels and precious metals like gold, and even historical works of art and antiques. That's the Capitalist Corporations for you, " said Heivia offhandedly."This conglomerate sent the massive fortunes it made this way to companies it felt had potential and began researching and developing the technologies needed for mass drivers. If that was adopted as the officially used method, they could monopolize the space traffic network. Their ultimate goal was probably to control a permanent source of profits rather than the more unstable rate business where profits were constantly in flux."
The idea was a purely business one. It was completely cut off from any sense of hopes or dreams. It seemed the people of the Capitalist Corporations really did think of nothing but wealth no matter what.
"By the way, a mass driver is something like a giant railgun pointed straight up. It fires a shuttle or container into satellite orbit. It is simpler than using a space shuttle, " added the princess.
However, Quenser was not very focused on what she was saying. As she lay face down, she would occasionally fidget and wiggle her butt. Of course, he would likely end up being shot with an Object's main cannon if he told her that was what he was focused on.
"So why is this rich Mass Driver conglomerate our enemy?"
"Quenser, you need to pick up a newspaper sometime. The Mass Driver conglomerate seceded from the Capitalist Corporations recently. They even took their territory and residents with them. It was closer to a coup d'etat than a defection. After all, money is everything in the Capitalist Corporations. As long as they have the money for it, they can buy military might.... They might even have an Object prepared."
"Currently, they are going through a large migration to prevent the Capitalist Corporations government from forfeiting their assets, " said the princess as she held her feet up in the air and kicked them around.
Heivia continued, "I heard that just before the Mass Driver conglomerate began this large migration, Capitalist Corporation military intelligence succeeded in securing all of their Elites, which avoided becoming a war between multiple Objects; Without an Elite, an Object is useless."
"That sounds like a mission we'd get stuck with, " commented Quenser.
"But the rumor is that the conglomerate might actually have an Elite they prepared in secret. If that's true, they really are planning to make a war of this. The mere fact that they are making this great migration of their territory and residents shows they're prepared for something big if you ask me."
Quenser looked confused and asked, "But why? Even if they have an Object or two in secret, how is the Mass Driver conglomerate supposed to defeat a world power like the Legitimacy Kingdom or Capitalist Corporations?"
"It's all thanks to a simple adoption war, " said Heivia as he rubbed the bottom of the small fighter with his palm."The shuttles that used rocket engines back a long time ago were simply too expensive for large scale space development, so about 20 years ago, new methods began to be considered. In the end, two suggestions remained. One was the mass driver that used railgun technology and the other was the laser space elevators that used laser technology."
"The Capitalist Corporations eventually chose the laser method, " added the princess.
"The Mass Driver conglomerate is in a bit of a rush because they lost to the competition. While there were two methods, the laser method had a great variety of corporations and organizations working on it while that conglomerate had a complete monopoly on mass driver technology. I've never heard of anyone else creating a functional one even in the world powers outside the Capitalist Corporations. If it had been officially adopted, the mass driver might have become a worldwide format and become a fountain eternally overflowing with money for the Mass Driver conglomerate. However, its financial value is less than zero if it fails. Any organization that is in the red tens of billions of dollars over failed research will go bankrupt." Heivia shrugged and sighed."And to add insult to injury, the laser method was chosen not because of any problems with the technology but because of the personal tastes of the higher ups. The way things were going, their organization was done for. That is why they wanted the mass driver to be adopted by another world power like the Information Alliance or the Faith Organization, but the Capitalist Corporations told them to stop. The Capitalist Corporations of course wanted to avoid anything that would use tech developed there for the benefit of other world powers. With their focus on money, taking part in the international market like that was the same as aiding the enemy."
"So they were blocked at every turn..."
"That was when the Mass Driver conglomerate really got mad. It's unclear what their ultimate goal is, but they have hired a lot of the mercenary units that make up the Capitalist Corporations military and some have caught glimpses of an Object. It's not surprising that Froleytia wants to think carefully about our strategy here."
"I see, " said Quenser." So what's this about mercenary units? Do they not have a standard army?"
"The Capitalist Corporations military is completely PMC based. Simply put, the entire army is made up of hired mercenaries. A balance is kept by having the mercenary companies control the troops including the technicians in charge of maintenance and having the companies that hire them supplying the all-important Elite."
"So they don't have complete control of the units?"
"It seems the companies possess the Objects and Elites which are the most important parts, but everyone else is called in from elsewhere. I supposed it's something like sponsored athletes in individual sports. The athlete himself belongs to the company, but the detailed coordination of things like his outfit and drinks are handled by outside workers. The company itself does not control the stadium or field used to break records, but the athlete from that company is needed for the match to begin."
"Is that how it works? But do food companies and convenience store groups have military troops?"
"If they need them, they'll buy up the right kind of heavy industry companies, join them together, and then merge with them to gain the technology needed for an Object. From what I hear, there's a custom of only viewing companies that have an Object as first rate companies. In fact, the PMCs I mentioned before are often subsidiaries of the company they work for or have an exclusive contract with them. Otherwise there would be issues with keeping things like Object designs secret. At any rate, those with huge amounts of money can mobilize more power, so the large companies and monstrously successful investors are naturally the ones with all the power. They're something like our nobles."
"So even if they started a war against a proper army like ours, they have enough military might to actually put up a legitimate fight?"
"See why Froleytia has to take this so seriously?" said Heivia, sounding slightly bored."The Mass Driver conglomerate has seceded from the Capitalist Corporations and started this great migration. Also, they do not wish to negotiate a truce. If they are going to fight, it is going to be with everything they have. The battle will not end until one side's Object has been blown away. I don't know what kind of mission this is going to be, but I do know it's going to be dangerous. You should carry out your preparations even more thoroughly than usual."
"Preparations, hm?" Quenser looked up at the small refrigerator hanging from a crane overhead. He continued with what that reminded him of."Then I'd really like some fried chicken."
"Dammit, Quenser. You're not supposed to say that on the battlefield where we get nothing but flavorless rations!"
"Eh? But I want some. I want to bite into it and have the grease spread through my mouth. It would be even better with a bit of lemon seasoning."
"You idiot!! If you say that, I'm gonna want some too!! Ahh, it's too late! Now I'm craving some nice, greasy chicken!!"
The two idiots began to writhe around, but then the princess spoke up with her usual expressionless face.
"You can get some."
"Hah?"
"This is the 15th anniversary of the Charlemagne's commissioning, and they seemed to have had a lot of different foods brought in for a party. There seems to be some left over, so you can get some if you head to the mess hall."
Part 4
Quenser, Heivia, and the princess headed for the mess hall of the assault landing aircraft carrier Charlemagne. The only other person there was Froleytia who was stuffing her mouth full of a white sauce spaghetti soup.
"Look, Quenser!! As usual, our commander is taking all the good stuff for herself while we were too dutiful to check!!"
"First the deer in Alaska and now this. She certainly has quite the wonderful personality..."
"Mgh? Oh, did you catch wind of this too?"
Froleytia looked surprised, but it was no time to curry the favor of their commander. They had to find the fried chicken leftover from the party.
"I see nuggets here and kara-age here!? Dammit, so close!! I like it to be on the bone!!"
"Are you looking for fried chicken, Quenser? If you don't mind it being a bit strong, I have three pieces left."
"All that pepper you've already put on it is a point against it, but this is no time to be picky!! Yay, chicken!!"
Quenser raised his arms in the air and surrendered to Froleytia.
Heivia and the princess had leftover Salisbury steak and french fries piled high on their disposable paper plates.
The four simply sat chewing for a while, but there was no reason to sit in silent concentration the entire time just because they had not had proper food in a while. When people gathered, stupid conversations would begin. That is one of the rules of this world.
The one who began first was Heivia.
"You know pole dancing, right? Y'know, with the girl wrapped around the pole?"
"... That came out of nowhere. Heivia, are certain urges building up in you?"
"How do they do that?"
"What's so difficult about it? They just wrap around the pole and swing around."
"No, not that." Heivia seemed to be having difficulty figuring out how to put what he wanted to say into words."When it's done more acrobatically, they flip upside down and have just the back of one leg wrapped around the pole while they spin around, right? How do they support their body like that?"
Quenser was about to say, "How should I know?", but someone unexpected cut in from the side.
It was their commander, Froleytia.
Having polished off the spaghetti soup, she was elegantly wiping off her mouth with a napkin as she said, "It differs depending on the person, but the friction of your skin against the brass pole is usually enough to support you. Well, there is a trick to how you wrap your leg around, but as long as you do it like you're trying to squeeze and twist around the metal pole, one leg is enough to support you."
The two idiots stared in shock at Froleytia as she stood up from her chair and glanced around the area. She spotted a pipe wrapped in fabric tape running vertically at one edge of the mess hall.
Froleytia checked the thickness and sturdiness of the pipe and said, "Basically, you do this."
"Huh!? Froleytia, why do you seem so used to doing this!?"
Quenser was in utter shock at the seductive action his commander had begun so suddenly. Froleytia replied as she spun around upside down, paying no heed to her tight skirt.
"Sometimes you need a hidden talent for the victory parties after a successful mission. Also, doing this seems to double the motivation of the troops for some reason. The only real problem is that spinning around while grabbing the pole with my leg like this tends to rip my stockings. The synthetic fibers also reduce the friction, so maybe I should start doing it barelegged."
"Y-yeah, I can see how people would get worked up if you and those huge breasts of yours were spinning around with your stockings ripping apart on your inner thighs!!" shouted Heivia in utter shock at that unexpected military tradition.
Froleytia then got down from the pole and added, "By the way, our princess can do this too."
"Ehh!?"
"Ehh!?"
The thought of that slender girl doing it gave them a different feeling than when it was their sexy commander. Quenser and Heivia began trembling, but all the princess herself did was munch on french fries with her small mouth. As usual, she had no interest in using her eroticism in a way only a girl could. Most likely, any guy who asked her to do that would just get a slap in the face.
As the four of them continued their stupid conversation, the topic turned to something more dangerous. In the end, they were on a battlefield.
Once again, it was Heivia that brought it up.
"So why was the Mass Driver conglomerate attacking that moon villa from that Antarctic probe robot via a hacked satellite?"
"I will be going over this in the upcoming briefing, but whatever. It's simple enough. The Capitalist Corporations major general who stays in that villa holds a lot of authority when it comes to military satellites and space stations. He was the driving force behind the decision to go with the laser space elevator over the mass driver.... Basically, it was probably resentment over their method not being adopted, " replied Froleytia bluntly who had returned to her seat."They may have been trying to send an ironic message by going out of the way to use a laser to attack the villa."
"But then..." started the princess.
She must not have been very hungry because she was only slowly bringing french fries to her mouth.
Quenser continued for her, "Doesn't that make this entire conflict contained to the Capitalist Corporations? I don't see why we would need to get involved. Our involvement could even make things worse and cause this to develop into a much bigger conflict."
"... That is what makes this so difficult."
"I take it there is some reason why we have to be involved, " said Heivia as he stabbed his fork into a Salisbury steak he had cut into small pieces.
Froleytia nodded, "The Mass Driver conglomerate originally had their headquarters in Los Angeles of the Central Valley area of western America. But now they have begun a major migration away from the Capitalist Corporations. They seem to be moving south of the Sierra Madre area of Central America to the Iguazu area of South America."
"What of it?"
"A Legitimacy Kingdom space development base is being built in the Amazon area near there. The method being used is a laser space elevator. The option of using a mass driver was brought up, but since we are at war with the Capitalist Corporations we could hardly get their cooperation for the technology required. It would be a problem if they attack it like the moon villa out of resentment over the method used."
"So this war is one to guarantee safety?" asked the princess.
"Precisely." Froleytia put her long, narrow Japanese-style kiseru in her mouth and lit the end."The real pain in the ass is that this is really only a dispute within the Capitalist Corporations as Quenser pointed out. But since we do not know where the Mass Driver conglomerate will turn its sights next, we have to do something. The best option would be to take them out before anything could happen, but if we stick our noses too deeply into this, it could easily spark all-out war between the Legitimacy Kingdom and the Capitalist Corporations. We do have a justification in protecting the space development base under construction in the Amazon area, but we have to make sure we do not deviate from that line. We have no idea where they will have this war of theirs, but it will all be a waste if Legitimacy Kingdom people get wrapped up in it, " said Froleytia with a sigh.
A short silence followed.
Finally, Quenser asked a timid question.
"Do we have any definite information on the possible Mass Driver conglomerate Object yet... ?"
"Not yet. Something quite large was detected in Central America, but it may have been a gas tank like in Oceania."
"But do we at least know where they are?"
"Actually, that's a bit unclear as well."
"?"
"The Andes mountain range in South America has elevations greater than 6000 meters. It is also famous for its mines. The south-eastern trade wind from the Pacific is acting up this year, so clouds with a lot of dust mixed in have flowed inland. This makes areas here and there that cannot be scanned by satellite." Froleytia stopped to think for a bit."We do not know anything for certain, but the Object this time will likely have the full technological prowess of the Mass Driver conglomerate put into it. That means it will likely have large caliber railguns. Since they also used railguns in the Antarctic, we can more or less count on it."
"The ones in Antarctica were spares, but..."
"But they were not large enough to be main cannons, you mean?" Froleytia picked up on Quenser's concern."Most likely, those were not spares for the Object's main cannon. After all, these are the people who built mass drivers that can reach satellite orbit or the moon. A single direct hit will of course be a death sentence, but the shockwave will also be a real danger. Make sure your ears and organs are not taken out."
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Heivia muttered under his breath.
However, that was not anything new.
When Quenser and Heivia were being targeted by any 50 meter Object, even its smallest weapons could blow them to pieces. Whenever they faced that great danger, they always asked the same question to no one in particular even as they knew it was meaningless.
What exactly are we supposed to do?
Part 5
Their current operation was to land on the coast of the Iguazu district in South America.
Their objective was the annihilation of the Mass Driver conglomerate that was supposedly lying inland.
As the pre-mission briefing ended, so did the maintenance on the princess's Object.
The many wires strung up from the assault landing aircraft carriers were removed, freeing the Baby Magnum from its bonds. The princess slowly piloted the Object out from between the two ships and then accelerated to 300 kph all at once. The Baby Magnum was a first generation Composite Multi Role Object, so it could display tremendous power on sea when it had a special ring-shaped float attached.
Land could be seen even from the ship's deck.
As Quenser watched the giant Object leave, Heivia called out to him.
"We're about to land, Quenser. We should get down below too. It's unlikely we'd be hit, but we're in range of a howitzer."
"The front of an assault landing aircraft carrier opens up like giant gates, right?" asked Quenser as he ran over to where Heivia was waiting. Rectangular lines separated out an area on one edge of the flat deck. It was an elevator that was originally meant to bring small fighters out onto the deck.
The two rode the elevator down for 30 seconds.
Walking down below, Heivia said, "This ship's role is simple. It charges in using its thick armor to withstand the gunfire and shells. Once it gets near the shore, the front opens up like a gate. After that, the landing party (that's us) charges out with a war cry."
"... You make us sound like a suicide unit."
"The princess goes ahead of us and cleans up the beach to make sure that doesn't happen, " said Heivia, sounding fed up with it all."She'll be rewarded if she takes out the Mass Driver conglomerate heading to South America, but we need to get on land first. Let's get this pain-in-the-ass sea bath over with and get the princess up on the beach."
The two headed to the very front of the ship.
Something like a large storage area was located there and it was filled with plenty of soldiers as well as the large vehicles loaded with equipment and materials for maintaining the Object.
Heivia sat in an arbitrary spot, took his rifle apart, and started making fine adjustments to various parts.
"Once the princess has secured the beach, we begin our sea bath. Once we reach the beach, we set up the bare minimum of maintenance facilities and a simple airfield. Other things like barracks are generally brought in via transport plane using the airfield. This ship alone isn't enough to carry the 100+ vehicles needed to bring in everything we need."
Quenser looked puzzled as he checked on his complement of explosives and checked on his radio.
"If the princess is that convenient, can't we just stay here on the ship the whole time?"
"Don't be stupid. The princess's Baby Magnum can function on both sea and land, but it needs that special float to fight on sea. Its primary battlefield is on land. If we don't remove that float, the princess can't head on to the Iguazu battlefield. We need to spread out a net on one end of the beach and use a bunch of naturally decomposing repellant to give her a foothold."
"... I guess it isn't that easy, " said Quenser sounding disappointed.
Suddenly, a friendly transmission came in over the radio he was in the process of checking. It was from the princess who had reached the beach and was searching for any enemies.
"This is very boring work."
"It's better than killing people, right?"
"Waiting for all of you is boring, " said the princess with a sigh."Quenser, you said you are unsure what the topic of your research should be, right? Then how about you look into a way to go back and forth between land and sea without exchanging parts?"
"Well, the princess certainly seems irritable today, " commented Heivia from the side.
As if to verify his words, a prickly silence was the only response from the princess.
Finally, she said, "Earlier, I received an email inviting me to a mock battle. It was more or less an order. It is taking place in the Normandy district a month from now."
"Wow, that's the Legitimacy Kingdom's main country. That should be a nice performance. You can show off your awe-inspiring gallantry."
"... I am just there as the underdog, " said the princess, sounding displeased."Have you heard of the Bright Hopper?"
"Hm?" Quenser frowned."Oh, right. Isn't that supposed to be a new cutting edge Object we're constructing? I heard its equipment is centralized on laser beams. Not only does it use static electricity to make its giant form float, it uses grasshopper-like legs to kick the ground and move at incredibly high speed. Is it already finished?"
"By the way, the Elite that pilots it is the eldest son of an influential noble family. To set it apart from other Objects, a high class carpenter was apparently commissioned to make the interior look like something from a royal castle, " added Heivia.
"Yeah, I've heard a lot of rumors about it. For example, I heard three prototype reactors were carefully made and tested before the actual Object was constructed. I have no idea how much of this stuff is true, though."
It was to be a mock battle between two cutting edge Objects, but if the princess fought evenly or even defeated the Bright Hopper, she would be ruining the debut of their new Object. In other words, the higher ups of the Legitimacy Kingdom had told her to intentionally lose.
Heivia sounded utterly uninterested as he said, "Can't you just hold back and get it over with like they want?"
"If I did that, the media would check the spec sheet and say Baby Magnum should have been able to do better than that. They would conclude its Elite must be unskilled."
"God, what a pain..."
"I really don't want that. The Bright Hopper's specs are supposed to be higher, so maybe I should decide to not hold back and fight seriously, " said the princess, her words giving off a dangerous aura that hinted at a forthcoming storm. But she still had her work to deal with so she soon said, "I have finished checking the designated area.... I am picking up numerous metallic readings on the mountain slope."
"Numerous metallic readings?"
Tension ran through Quenser and Heivia, but a transmission from the assault landing aircraft carrier cut in.
"This is Charlemagne to Baby Magnum. According to one report, that mountain is filled with iron ore. Take that into consideration."
"Iron ore?" The princess fell silent."(But there is no proof. )"
"Charlemagne to Baby Magnum. We have scanned the area via satellite, but there are no armored vehicles or the like presently visible. Even if the numerous metallic readings in the mountain are enemy weapons, wouldn't they need many times that many vehicles to support them?"
"There you have it, " the princess said rather carelessly.
"Really?" Quenser said skeptically."Um, if they turn out to be hidden enemy gun batteries rather than iron ore, we're the ones that will be in trouble. With the thick armor of the Object around you, you might not be able to grasp how important an issue this is."
"Mh. I said there is no problem, so there is no problem."
"I see, I see. Well, if these metallic readings do turn out to be gun batteries, you have to make me a special bavarois in the shape of tits. And this will of course be done with an audience."
The sound of something evaporating erupted out.
Baby Magnum had fired a warning laser beam from one of its main cannons as close as it could get to the mountain slope without hitting it. The dust and moisture in the air was roasted and an orange beam sliced through empty space.
"No response. No one is there."
"I'm not kidding about this bavarois if you're wrong."
"Enough of this nonsense, " cut in Froleytia."Reports from the princess take priority for now. Okay, let's get up on the beach and take off the princess's lifesaver. It would be bad in more ways than one if the enemy found us while the transition is being carried out. Let's get the princess up on land and able to move about freely before we're noticed. That's the best way to end this mission safely!!"
The transmission must have reached the Charlemagne's bridge as well because the ship suddenly accelerated. Quenser felt the backwards tug of inertia.
Froleytia's voice rang out as she gave the final check.
"In five minutes, we will head for the coast. We will charge into the ocean with small hydrofoils and head straight for land. Our top priority is removing the ocean float from the princess's Object. If it comes to it, do not worry about equipment falling into the ocean. We can get replacement parts in by transport plane. All soldiers not in charge of carrying out this work are to protect and cooperate with those who are. That is all!!"
As if launched by those words, Quenser and the others began to move. They ran down the wide floor that slanted steadily forward and climbed aboard hydrofoils that were carrying large vehicles.
They had not intended for it to happen, but Quenser and Heivia just so happened to climb aboard the same hydrofoil. About 20 other soldiers were with them.
The time came soon enough.
The siren blared and the thick wall-like gate before them opened up to either side. The devices holding the hydrofoils in place naturally released and the hydrofoils slid down into the ocean one after another.
They were about 3 kilometers out from land.
More than 10 hydrofoils left the assault landing aircraft carrier Charlemagne and they headed across the ocean with almost no space between them. And it did not end there. Seven or eight other assault landing aircraft carriers similarly sent out hydrofoils.
The hydrofoils had special wing-like devices on the bottom that cut through the water as they continued forward. The resistance from that allowed most of the boat to remain above water. This removed as much resistance from the water as possible, allowing the boats to soar across the water at dozens of kilometers per hour.
It would probably take about 2 or 3 minutes for them to arrive on the beach.
Quenser stared forward while gripping the handrail of the hydrofoil.
He could see the land clearly from where he was. It was not very developed. The beach was covered in driftwood and trash and what looked like a small mountain of about 100 meters could be seen beyond the beach. According to the princess, there was no sign of enemy soldiers or an Object on the beach.
However...
"Hey, did something just flash!?" shouted Heivia.
It came from the small mountain of about 100 meters beyond the beach. Coming from the middle of the slope that was enveloped in green, something arced through the air at high speed, coming their way. Heivia had seen the light of the sun reflecting from the projectile.
(... A railgun!?)
That was Quenser's immediate thought, but he did not have time to say it aloud.
The relatively heavy shell arced high into the sky and mercilessly fell at Mach 5 toward the ocean surface Quenser and the others were travelling along.
A tremendous noise and a huge splash of water exploded up.
Quenser's vision was filled with water. He had avoided a direct hit, but the ocean surface roared and the hydrofoil flew into the air as if the ocean had become a ramp. His body shook when they landed and his hands left the handrail. He almost fell straight into the ocean.
He was on the verge of death, but Quenser threw his hands into the air and shouted, "Yahoo!! Bavaroooooiiiiissssss!!"
"Why the hell are you celebrating with a smile covering your face!? They're bombarding us!!"
It did not end with that one Railgun shot.
One after another, 40 or 50 giant shells arced through the sky.
Quenser immediately grabbed his radio and shouted to the princess in her Object.
"Shoot them down!!"
"!!"
The princess complied with his ridiculous request.
Of her 100 weapons both large and small, the anti-air lasers opened fire.
The sizzling sound of evaporating water exploded out. Orange light took the form of beams that fried the dust and dirt in the air. The beams pierced the Mach 5 railgun shells one after another, melting them away in midair.
But even she had her limits.
About a third of them made it through. Large cruise missiles or fighters were one thing, but the railgun shells may have simply been too small a target. Also, she might have been able to manage against small targets like a howitzer or short range missiles, but the speed of the railgun was simply too great.
The masses of steel that slipped through the anti-air network mercilessly rained down toward Quenser and the others.
Multiple pillars of water shot up.
The shockwave of the shells hitting the water struck Quenser and he saw another nearby hydrofoil tip up on one side like a car driving on two wheels in an action move. It then collapsed over and fully capsized.
"Shit!!"
"Continue the landing!! If you aren't directly hit, you won't die!! Turning back now will only get the assault landing aircraft carriers hit!! Continue on and work with the princess to silence the enemy as quickly as possible! That is how you can survive!!" shouted Froleytia over the radio.
Heivia held onto the handrail with all his might and clenched his teeth.
"God dammit!! This is completely reckless! That commander really is sadistic!! Her voice always sounds so bright while giving orders like this!!"
"Yeah, and your body trembles just as much when you hear the orders, Heivia!!"
"Hey, Quenser. Do you think the Mass Driver conglomerate's Object is hidden in that mountain? What if that mountain is actually the Object itself hidden under a bunch of dirt!?"
"That can't be! The railguns are firing from areas 500 meters apart!! Most likely, this is the same as in Antarctica!! They dug holes in the slope, stuffed spare Object railguns inside, and hid them under vegetation!" shouted Quenser as he hit the switch on his radio.
He was speaking to the Charlemagne's bridge.
"This is Quenser!! I have a question for someone on the bridge who has data from the satellite. Have any people been spotted on that mountain!?"
"This is Charlemagne. No heat signatures or electromagnetic signals suggesting a human presence have been detected. Most likely, the spare cannons are being fired with a remote control program."
"Are there any people's homes or other buildings there!?"
"None have been detected. All we can see there are the spare cannons."
"Okay." Quenser changed the frequency and contacted the princess."Baby Magnum, you don't have to worry about getting civilians involved."
At that point, Quenser took in a deep breath and then shouted with all his strength.
"Don't hold back! Blow that entire mountain away!!"
A great roar rang out.
The Baby Magnum's 7 main cannons located on its 7 arms spread out. The base of each cannon could rotate like a microscope in order to switch out the type of cannon to match the situation.
It was currently firing its low-stability plasma cannons.
A special gas was loaded into the barrel and a massive amount of electricity was used to create manmade plasma. This was then fired at the target. Its maximum range was around 10 kilometers, but it could only reliably shoot through an enemy object at a range of about 3 or 4 kilometers. It was one of the Baby Magnum's most powerful weapons.
Instead of focusing the 7 cannons on a single point, the fire was spread out evenly across the mountains.
"Wow. You can tell we're in South America; there are palm trees growing naturally. These long-sleeved, long-leg military uniforms just aren't right. It's so hot I'm expecting there to be bikini babes around here somewhere."
"It's only 19 degrees, so I think it might be a bit too soon for a bikini. What month is it again? I think you'd be starting to want a coat back in the home country."
"I really don't care. Just bring on the bikini babes."
While looking at his handheld device, Quenser wiped seawater and sweat from his face. He did not even notice that doing so only smeared sand on his face.
Heivia switched on the infrared and ultraviolet sensors on his rifle as well as the microphone used to pick up distant noises.
"This has turned into a real mess even for a war. Operating inside Legitimacy Kingdom territory is one thing, but should we really be entering land that isn't even ours without permission?"
"Come to think of it, who owns Iguazu? Since the Mass Driver conglomerate is fleeing here, I'm assuming it isn't the Capitalist Corporations."
"It's independent. In other words, it's a blank area."
"?"
"After the collapse of the UN, the nations of the world collapsed, split apart, absorbed each other, and otherwise redrew the world's national boundaries. With world powers like the Legitimacy Kingdom, the Information Alliance, the Capitalist Corporations and the Faith Organization, the world map was split apart by color like stained glass. However, there are some areas that do not belong to any world power."
"You mean dictatorships like that Oceanian military nation?"
"Not quite. They don't even have a government. The customs of the native people make the rules. Some of the areas that were late to join any world power due to political issues during the collapse of the UN are still left hanging there with no color." Heivia used his rifle's sensors to carefully check around the area."Places like this are often used as relay points for criminal organizations. They'll route money through them, store weapons in them, and other things. However, those types of professional criminals tend to operate by hopping from one blank area to another, so examples of someone setting up a permanent presence like the Mass Driver conglomerate is trying to do are quite rare."
"So Objects from two foreign forces are coming in shooting up the place. It must suck to get caught up in that."
"That doesn't just go for places like this. Wherever the battlefield is, it's nothing but trouble for the people who live there."
As they spoke, a fellow soldier's voice reached their ears over the radio.
"Area C, no enemy soldiers found. All we found was the barrels buried in dirt and thick power cables that were connected to something."
Heivia butted in and spoke into Quenser's radio.
"Area H, we haven't found anything either. We've used all the sensors at our disposal, but we can only find dirt and rock."
Similar reports came in one after another. Apparently, the enemy soldiers had never been there in the first place or they had quickly gathered their equipment and made a hasty retreat.
Suddenly, Froletyia spoke up.
"The removal of Baby Magnum's sea float is complete. The groups in Areas A-D are to turn back and begin preparing the equipment for the simple airfield. The groups in Areas E-H are to extend the search to everywhere within 5 kilometers. Once the work is complete, we will call in the transport planes. If you don't finish, the baths and beds can't get here, so prepare yourselves."
"Dammit, we're in Area H. We have to stay out here."
"Yeah, but leveling the land with a tractor to create runways or raising radar towers is no picnic either."
"After that comment, you're not allowed to complain if we run smack into a Mass Driver conglomerate Object."
Quenser and Heivia nervously continued across the Iguazu land, but despite their expectations, they found nothing more. The gentle upward slope continued as they headed inland. The area seemed to be a coffee plantation because many trees about 3 or 4 meters tall were lined up along the relatively flat plain.
Heivia looked down at his feet.
"We're supposed to be searching, but if they flew off by helicopter, there won't be anything left. Even their scent will end."
"You idiot. If a helicopter had been hovering near the ground, the wind from the rotor would have flattened the grass in a circle at the spot. You know how massive those spares are. It's impossible to completely remove all traces."
"Really? That was quite the welcome we got, but there doesn't seem to be a single enemy soldier in the area. It might have been a while since they set it up. If that's the case, I doubt there's much left in the way of hints, " said Heivia in annoyance as he looked at the surrounding trees."Someone planted all these trees here."
"Come to think of it, why is this area called Iguazu?" asked Quenser.
"Because of the Iguazu River, one of the largest in the world. During the rainy season, it reaches 4 kilometers across."
"Hmm. And so people built cities around that large river?"
"No, the Iguazu River is actually hundreds of kilometers from here. A ton of manmade rivers stretch from there like a tournament's brackets, supplying each area with water. It seems the water supply for this area is controlled by the Iguazu Dam. But..." Heivia trailed off.
The trees of the coffee plantation were neatly lined up, but there was no sign of any broken branches. In other words, it did not appear a giant Object had passed through.
"??? What is going on? Don't tell me they used a power cable hundreds of kilometers long to fire at us from outside the country."
Even if they had, it would have been impossible to retrieve the cable in such a short time. There was also no sign of disturbed dirt suggesting it had been buried.
After thinking for a bit and not coming up with an answer, Quenser sighed.
"... So we're left with just the spares like in Antarctica. That just leaves me with a bad feeling."
Heivia shrugged and said, "I may not fully understand the situation, but I know how I'm going to report this." He then spoke into the radio."This is Heivia. We've performed a sweep of our designated area, but could find no sign of the Mass Driver conglomerate. There are no enemy soldiers here at least for now."
"... Should you really be saying that? If we don't follow up on anything suspicious, we might end up targeted by a railgun buried in a hole and covered in vegetation again, " muttered Quenser.
However, Froleytia seemed satisfied simply with what they knew for the moment.
"Well done. I doubt you will find an answer to any of those questions just by standing there thinking about them for a few minutes. We can all think about all this at ease once the base is complete. Quenser, Heivia, return here."
"Ugh. You split the groups in two, but are we going to get stuck with preparing the airfield anyway?"
"No. Since you completed the job assigned to you, you have the right to take a nice rest. Since this is not an urgent manner, you can take your time in getting back as long as you are back by sunset. Although personally I think the base would be the easiest place to rest since it is the safest place here."
The transmission ended.
Quenser and Heivia exchanged glances.
"... What should we do? Should we head straight back to the base?"
"What a pain. We walked 5 kilometers here. I want to at least take a break to recover some stamina before heading back."
The two sat down in a position that hid them behind a coffee tree. They pulled their flavorless rations out of their pockets and started eating the giant eraser-like food.
"Dammit. Can't they do something about these rations? They do nothing other than teach you the value of proper food."
"I heard the food development division is developing things like container-shaped fields. By bringing together wild plants that can be harvested in about a week after being nothing but a seed, they can ensure a food supply that is more efficient than having rations flown in."
"... But wouldn't that be all vegetables... or rather, edible wild plants?"
"This is my first time taking part in a landing operation, so what do we do after building the base zone at the beach?"
"Hm? First, the princess's Object will head inland and into the mountains. Meanwhile, we will use half the day to slowly move the convoy forward. By repeating that process, we will move the base zone to the front lines 100 kilometers inland."
The large building-like facilities were actually made up of multiple vehicles. To move the base, they had to be taken apart and reassembled, so it took a lot of work.
"That sure is taking our time. Shouldn't we be getting this over with quickly? The Mass Driver conglomerate might get away while we're doing this. Their route is supposed to be from Central America to here in South America, but they might make a U-turn partway through."
"As long as the princess catches up with them in the end, it doesn't matter. We're just meant to stay behind and replenish her supplies. We do nothing more than extend the princess's range of activity. You remember what we went through when we lost our Object in Alaska, right? That's the advantage we have here. Once the princess arrives at the battlefield, it'll be all over. If this is all resolved before we make it to the front lines, what does it matter?"
"And what if the Mass Driver conglomerate has an Object?"
"The Object on its own might be able to escape. However, all the maintenance equipment and facilities take longer. We'll make sure they feel the pain of running and abandoning their maintenance unit if it comes to that."
"I see, " muttered Quenser.
The way each individual action taken to decide the winner was carried out in a timeframe counted in days left that single boy unable to really grasp how long things took. However, that was just the way military actions were. In the days when battleships, aircraft carriers, and submarines were actively used, a single operation took even more time than that.
"But..." started Heivia."You mentioned it before Quenser, but if the Mass Driver conglomerate really does have an Object, where do you think it is?"
"According to the map, there are coal mines in this area. Do you think they could hide a 50 meter Object in there?"
"No, those things weigh 200, 000 tons. A coal mine would probably collapse if one went inside it."
"Just like in Antarctica, we can't find the Object that was powering the spares."
Quenser stared up into the sky for a bit.
He munched on the flavorless rubber-like ration.
"Do you think they really have developed a stealth Object that can't be detected by radar or satellite? Hey, Heivia... Heivia?"
He brought his gaze back down from the sky to find the other boy gone.
He looked around in confusion until...
"Hey, Quenser! Over here! I was just invited to tea by the old man and woman who run this coffee plantation!"
"Huh!? Why is some old couple having a picnic in leisure chairs in the middle of the battlefield!?"
"You idiot. This is their private property. They said their daughter almost never brings her family by to visit, so they never get to see their grandkids.... Eh? You say your grandson is as handsome as me?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! They shouldn't be relaxing! They need to evacuate! This might become the front lines of a battle between two Objects!"
"Quenser, just drink some tea. Although, if you'd rather sit over there eating those flavorless rations, be my guest."
"Fine!! I'll accept the invitation, but we're getting them out of here afterwards!!" shouted Quenser as he headed for one of the leisure chairs.
He took a cup from an old lady who looked like kindness personified.
"... If they run a coffee plantation, why are they serving tea?"
"They say they've grown sick of the black stuff, " said Heivia as he dropped a square caramel into his cup for some reason.
With a confused look, Quenser asked, "What are you doing, Heivia?"
"There are different ways to drink it. Did you think sugar, milk, and lemon were the only options? How about you think for yourself before questioning and complaining?"
"This old man has been pouring brandy into my tea without me asking for it. Is that just how things are done here?"
Quenser looked up as if to avert his gaze from the cup that was becoming something quite dangerous. The blue sky seemed to continue on forever and clouds were moving so slowly it seemed the sun would set before they disappeared from view.
"It really makes you think about world peace, doesn't it?"
"Well, war is a real pain in the ass almost by definition."
Quenser's radio then picked up a transmission.
He assumed it was a message or order from Froleytia, but it was not.
The voice was male.
"Legitimacy Kingdom 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion, this is Major Halreed Copacabana of Legitimacy Kingdom 52nd Mobile Maintenance Battalion."
"Oh, crap."
Quenser and Heivia both frantically put in the headphones for the radio. They were afraid of getting the old man and woman of the plantation into any kind of unnecessary trouble by letting them overhear.
Meanwhile, the man's voice continued over the radio.
"Although, it would probably be faster to just say I'm the pilot Elite of the Bright Hopper."
"?"
The Bright Hopper was the name of a cutting edge Object. Quenser had a feeling it was the one the princess was upset about having to lose a mock battle against in a month.
"We are currently thinking of taking a route through Central America to meet up with you from the Amazon district. If we could perform a pincer attack on the Mass Driver conglomerate, that would be ideal, but is that even possible with your schedule?"
Froleytia's voice then joined in.
She sounded somehow bitter.
"This is Major Froleytia Capistrano. I am currently in command of the 37th. We have confirmed your location, but we are still quite far from there. We would love to work together, but if we cannot wait, we will begin the operation as originally scheduled. Keep that in mind if you intend to begin a joint operation."
"Understood. In that case, we would like for you to drive the Mass Driver conglomerate's Object north, so we can take it out."
Quenser looked over toward Heivia and spoke quietly.
"Is he asking us to merely wound the enemy and let him finish it off?"
"Didn't I tell you? The Bright Hopper's Elite is a rich boy from an influential noble family. He probably sees this incident as nothing more than a performance meant to show off the Bright Hopper."
Froleytia would not want something like that.
They had suffered losses in both Antarctica and in the landing at Iguazu. And all that was before an actual Object had showed up. If both forces truly clashed, the odds were good that things would get much more serious.
"Capistrano of the 37th to Copacabana of the 52nd. Unfortunately, we do not have the spare strength needed to chase the enemy around like the 52nd seems to. We will finish this if we get the chance. I hope you do not mind if we do not comply with your proposal."
"Halreed of the 52nd to Froleytia of the 37th. If I may give my personal opinion, I think you should simply comply with my request. Both publicly and privately."
Halreed then ended the transmission.
Quenser lightly waved the radio around.
"What did you make of that?"
"They know each other. And Froleytia is none too pleased. Over, " replied Heivia after taking the cup of tea from his lips."The horrid atmosphere you only get from noble society was all over that. It seems our beautiful lady has her own troubles."
"Eh? Froleytia's a noble?"
"In a way, she's famous."
"In what way?" Quenser replied in frustration, but Heivia seemed pleased to have evaded the question.
He seemed to like giving enigmatic comments.
A while later, a transmission came in from Froleytia.
"Quenser, Heivia. Change of plans. I'm guessing you are lazing around to recover your stamina, but get back to the base right away."
"Fine, fine. Are you going to order us to give you a life consultation?"
"Heivia, be prepared to have the heel of my boot digging into your jaw, " said Froleytia with disinterest."I want to get this over with before the Bright Hopper's intervention ruins our pace. I do not want his attempts for personal glory to destroy our pace and cause unnecessary losses to my unit. Our schedule is going to be a bit rushed, so I want all spare manpower at work."
"In that case..."
"Hey, Quenser. The old lady says she'll give us some cookies to take with us."
They wanted to have them evacuate, but the old couple seemed unwilling to leave their coffee plantation. They decided it would therefore be best to get the convoy moving as quickly as possible so it could safely pass through the plantation. That way, the battlefield would naturally move to somewhere else and the plantation would be less likely to be damaged.
Quenser waved back at the old man who was waving goodbye and asked, "By the way, how much power does the Bright Hopper have?"
"It's a second generation Object that specializes in land battles, so it can't be used for sea battles. That's why it took longer to land in South America and was late to the operation. However, the rumor is that the values on the spec sheet suggest not even 3 of our Baby Magnums could defeat it in a land battle."
"Let's keep that rumor a secret from the princess. She may look expressionless at first glance, but she actually has a lot of pride in that kind of thing. I could see her suggesting she prove the rumor wrong."
As the two chatted on the way back to the base, a transmission from the assault landing aircraft carrier reached them.
"This is Charlemagne. We have some information that might give those tired of waiting something new to live for."
"?"
"A chaff missile meteorological weapon has been fired from the Parana Mountains 50 kilometers north of here. It was the type that mixes small particles in with the natural clouds to create temporary shelter from radar. Currently, the satellite surveillance network is unusable. The movement of the clouds is widening the area we can't monitor."
"... If they had something like that, why didn't they use it in the first place?"
"Maybe because it's similar to the surface-to-air missile in Antarctica. It gives away their position because we can see where it's fired from. However, now that they could not prevent the Baby Magnum from landing, they have no other option."
"We recommend immediately sending the Baby Magnum out before the enemy soldiers have time to evacuate from the launch point. An Object that can move at a maximum of 500 kph should have no problem travelling that distance, " said the man on the Charlemagne.
"Froleytia here, understood. I will take your opinion into consideration."
Quenser frowned and said, "Wait a second. If they're willing to give away their position in order to fire that chaff missile, they must have some reason they don't want us to find them. Is the Mass Driver conglomerate's main force in that area 50 kilometers north of here?"
"Yeah, they may want to hide themselves from the satellite surveillance network as soon as possible. I doubt they fired the missile from the exact same position as the unit, but they should be within a few kilometers of the launch point, don't you think? If the wind causes the effects of the chaff missile to spread rapidly, this could be a problem, but if we can bring an end to this now, everything's fine."
"..."
In that case, what was it that had been supplying power to the spare railguns?
With the spares at Antarctica and there, quite a number had been gathered. And they supposedly needed an Object to power those spares.
Objects were synonymous with war.
The Mass Driver conglomerate held enough military might to wage a true war, so why were they intent on running?
And something odd stuck out about the use of the chaff missile.
With how accurately they had been targeted when landing at Iguazu, the Mass Driver conglomerate must have detected them well beforehand. The conglomerate was an organization related to space development, so there was a good chance they had a satellite of their own.
The satellite surveillance network was indeed a problem for the Mass Driver conglomerate, but they also benefitted from it. The chaff missile had cut off all of the satellites, so they would have no idea what route the Legitimacy Kingdom Object was taking to attack them. If they were truly intent on running, would they themselves create a situation where they had to fear a surprise attack at every turn?
Also, if the enemy actually had an Object, it was a case of 1 to 1.
The odds of victory were about 50/50. If they did not defeat the Baby Magnum then, the Bright Hopper would join in and make it 2 to 1. Would they really give up that chance?
"It can't be..."
A bad feeling welled up in Quenser's chest.
He had a feeling the enemy was not that naïve.
He had a feeling he was overlooking something.
Overlooking some other logical reason to cut off the satellites with the chaff missile.
"It can't be!!"
Part 6
The Legitimacy Kingdom 52nd Mobile Maintenance Battalion's Object, Bright Hopper, continued forward through a mountainous region.
Its overall form was that of a giant sphere with a circular static electricity producing device attached to the bottom. The device allowed the Object to float slightly off the ground and three grasshopper leg-like units attached to the back would kick off the ground to move forward.
With each jump, a cloud of dust would explode up behind the Object.
In exchange for that destruction, the Bright Hopper was designed to carry out extremely high speed battles at speeds of 700-800 kph. The grasshopper leg design prevented it from moving backwards and only allowed forward movement, but no fear could be seen on the pilot Elite Halreed's face.
Fleeing backwards was what unknown nobodies did. A proud Legitimacy Kingdom noble would approach his enemy at top speed and pierce the enemy Object's armor with a quick attack. That quick destruction was the trick to quickly ending a war and preventing as much damage to both enemy and ally as possible. It was a compassionate and benevolent strategy.
The radar picked up on something flying at high altitude and Halreed immediately shot it down with an anti-air laser.
He was not worried in the slightest.
(... A missile?)
He frowned.
Halreed had of course been informed of the chaff missile fired previously.
It seemed the enemy was cutting off the electromagnetic and infrared links between the Bright Hopper and the military satellite in order to hide their location as much as possible. He had shot down the missile, but the chaff within had still spread out within the atmosphere to a certain extent. Static came from a few of his instruments.
He was 500 kilometers away.
However, once he got up among the mountains, the path the Object could travel through was as complex as the wrinkles of a brain. He was losing time due to that, but Halreed showed no impatience on his face.
(So they're trying to hide. Just how cowardly are they?)
He determined that their decision to hide instead of fighting was evidence of the difference in ability between himself and them. The truly strong never needed to hide. A lion did not ask for protection and a giant Object was in a similar position on the battlefield.
Normally, he would have already annihilated the Mass Driver conglomerate by that time.
He had not done so because the Bright Hopper was specialized for land battles, so forcing it through sea routes had taken time. After covering it with countless balloons filled with a special gas to give it buoyancy, multiple tankers had towed it.
According to his subordinates who specialized in gathering intelligence, a similar sight of "tankers with something large" had been seen while the Mass Driver conglomerate was travelling from North America to South America. However, Halreed did not view it as a threat. The way he saw it...
(Even if that report was accurate, it could still be a dummy. It could be a gas tank or something like in Oceania. )
And if the Mass Driver conglomerate really did have Object development technology, they would surely have been a bit more strategic. It may have been true that Objects were synonymous with war, but the major powers of the world like the Legitimacy Kingdom and Capitalist Corporations had plenty of Objects. Creating an Object or two was not enough to put up a straight fight.
Also...
(It doesn't matter if it's real. )
Halreed grinned.
(A quickly put together model is no match for a Second Generation Object like Bright Hopper. )
As he travelled at high speed, Halreed performed checks on his main cannons.
His one worry was about leaving his maintenance convoy so far behind in his rush to reach the battlefield. If he waited long enough for them to arrive too, it would take days, so he had no real choice. However, it still meant the Bright Hopper could not resupply or undergo maintenance.
(I just have to wait until I can meet up with Froleytia's 37th. There is a certain level of commonality to Legitimacy Kingdom Object designs. While nothing can be done about the individual weapons, I can have armor plates and the attached box for exhaust gas replaced with ones for the Baby Magnum. )
He would be butting in and taking the spare parts dutifully prepared for the Baby Magnum and the princess, but Halreed had no problem with it. The only thing he felt was disgust over having to use inferior First Generation Object parts. For better or worse, he was a stereotypical noble. He was not too fond of the mere existence of a battalion supported by a female commander and Elite.
(But it will all be over soon. )
He finished checking on his main cannons.
The Bright Hopper was specialized to carry out history's fastest combat, so all of its weapons were laser beams. That monster literally attacked at the speed of light. Naturally, its main cannons were high output laser beams.
He would approach at high speed, fire countless lasers at the enemy Object's feet, and then accurately aim the main high output laser cannons while the enemy was unable to move. One blast from those would be enough to blow the enemy away. Theoretically, the Bright Hopper could instantly destroy any Object in the world as long as it made it within its 5 kilometer attack range. The Multi Role Objects made to fight in various environments had less power for each individual weapon, so he did not like being lumped into the same category as those First Generation Objects.
(It doesn't matter what kind of Object the enemy might have. A single honorable strike of light will easily take care of this supposed large target that is trying to flee. )
In that instant, something before him flashed.
Instead of from the mountains, it was coming from the sky above.
Halreed frowned slightly.
And then...
Part 7
A tremendous shockwave slammed into Quenser and Heivia's ears as they attempted to return to the maintenance base zone. However, this was not merely a noise that vibrated their eardrums. It was a mass of noise that resounded in their gut like they were listening to death metal from a speaker larger than they were.
"Wh-what was that!?"
"This is Charlemagne!! Something has happened to Bright Hopper outside of the chaff missile cloud. It was heading here from 550 kilometers north when it was seriously damaged. I repeat, the Bright Hopper was seriously damaged on its way here!!"
"Wait a second."
Heivia had thought something nearby had exploded, so he had gotten down on the ground. He now stood up and could tell his body was trembling.
"I thought the Mass Driver conglomerate's Object was more than 50 kilometers from here. Was the sound of it firing just that loud? Not even plastic explosives detonating nearby would resonate in your gut that much!"
"And what do you mean 500 kilometers away? This is a mountainous region! Did they blow away the mountains in between!?"
"It used a high-angle trajectory." Quenser's question was answered by Froleytia over the radio."It's the same as a baseball. They fire the railgun at a high angle and let it fall back down! That is more effective for long distance bombardments and it eliminates the problem of the mountains to a certain extent!! Since the clouds were not blown away after the shot, it may not have ever reached higher than 2500 meters!!"
"But..."
Quenser's doubt was still not completely gone. The Bright Hopper was a cutting edge Second Generation Object that specialized in high-speed movement. It was not normal to have something like that destroyed in a single shot.
However, the situation did not give him time to calmly think. A further transmission came from the assault landing aircraft carrier.
"This is Charlemagne!! We have been unable to confirm the ejection of the pilot Elite, Major Halreed Copacabana! We cannot detect an emergency rescue signal either!!"
"... You've gotta be kidding me. It was really destroyed in one shot?"
Objects generally fought at ranges of 5 to 10 kilometers. While their main cannons could fire farther than that, the speed and power of the railguns and coilguns dropped as the distance increased and laser beams decayed as they travelled through the air. The same went for the heat of the low-stability plasma cannons, so it was assumed that they had to get that close in order to pierce the enemy Object's thick armor.
In fact, it was quite rare indeed for a weapon to preserve its deadly ability at a distance of 500 kilometers while under 1 atmosphere of pressure. High altitude fighters or ballistic missiles that could be brought down with the slightest damage were one thing, but Quenser had certainly never heard of a valid strike being done to an Object from that distance.
And yet...
"It seems Bright Hopper's reactor has been completely destroyed. The estimated speed is... !? M-Mach 25!? Was that really a metal shell!?" came the report from Charlemagne.
"I-impossible!! That has to be a measurement error! R-right. That was a railgun fired at a high-angle trajectory, right? If it was fired at Mach 25, it would just continue up into the atmosphere rather than falling back down!!"
"Don't ask me!! It might have special changeable grooves on the side of the giant shell to alter its trajectory to a certain extent, but don't ask me for details!!" replied the Charlemagne.
"This is just ridiculous..." muttered Quenser."This must be why they fired the chaff missile. It wasn't to flee. It was to prevent us from knowing when they were going to fire!!"
He frantically pulled out his handheld device and switched to the GPS map. A large area was covered in white clouds so the various sensors could give him no information, but he caught a glimpse of a giant form through a gap in the clouds. The chaff missile was a type of meteorological weapon, so it used natural clouds. It must not have been enough to cover absolutely everything up.
"Dammit. Not only do they really have an Object, but it's clearly Generation Two."
Quenser suddenly felt faint.
That was the Mass Driver conglomerate Object.
Their job had changed from a one-sided interception using an Object to a war between their Object and another Object that odds were good they could not actually defeat.
Quenser stared at the screen of the device.
He saw a round body and a main cannon over twice as long as that body.
All Object main cannons were gigantic, but this one's was especially huge. The reactor was not the core of the machine. The main cannon was the center and the parts needed to use it in actual battle were gathered around it.
The long weapon was supported by something like a sniper rifle's bipod. When Quenser saw it, he thought his heart would stop.
Every few seconds, the GPS map would refresh its data.
From that, he could tell the giant form on the map was slowly rotating. It was as if the giant main cannon was now being aimed their way... or more accurately, at the Baby Magnum.
That was when the gap in the clouds closed and the Object was completely hidden once more.
If it got her in its sights, it was all over.
There was no way to avoid a shell flying at Mach 25.
But...
"How can it aim so accurately from such a great distance?"
Quenser gave voice to the unreasonable question that had come to him.
(That was 500 kilometers away. Does it just use infrared lasers or electromagnetic waves? No, the area between the Mass Driver conglomerate Object and the Bright Hopper is filled with mountains. If it was sending out a signal from ground level, the mountains would have prevented it from getting a lock. )
Quenser first thought it must be using satellite lasers to accurately aim despite the terrain, but he immediately rejected the idea.
That would leave no reason for them to blind the satellites with the chaff missiles.
The Mass Driver conglomerate had gone out of their way to fire a chaff missile directly above the Bright Hopper just before it had been hit. That had been effective as a means of cutting off the Bright Hopper's access to any military satellites, but it also prevented the Mass Driver conglomerate's satellites from using its various cameras and sensors in the areas below the clouds.
Since they had chosen to use the chaff missiles, they must not have been relying on a military satellite.
Which meant...
"Wait a second..."
Quenser raised his head in a sudden realization.
He looked up at the clouds spreading above his head.
"They're actually using the clouds!! It's the same as how they fire the Railgun up at an angle and have it fall back down. The chaff missile created clouds that reflect electromagnetic signals. They send their locking signal up at an angle so it is reflected back down by the clouds and at the target on the ground. That way they can accurately lock onto their target while keeping their own location hidden. That way they can aim from above even in a mountainous area that tends to cut off electromagnetic signals!!"
"That would never work! Sure, they might be able to use the clouds to get their targeting signal to the princess, but the signal wouldn't just be reflected straight back to them. It would be reflected in pretty much every direction, so they wouldn't have a strong enough signal to accurately aim with!"
"What if they have some kind of compensation program? Something that can accurately pick up on the location of the target from the weak signal that is sent back amongst the diffuse reflection!! They specialize in space development, right? They could have based it on some project to intercept signals or lasers from military satellites that have been slightly reflected by the earth's atmosphere!!"
Quenser then grabbed his radio.
He gathered up all his strength and shouted.
"Baby Magnum, this is Quenser!! The enemy Object is using the meteorological weapon to reflect their targeting signal off the clouds! Use your low-stability plasma cannons or something to blow away the clouds above you!!"
The giant Object responded to his words.
The seven main cannons supported by its seven arms aimed for the sky. Instead of focusing on a single point, multiple clouds were targeted at random. With a tremendous noise and flashes of light, giant holes dozens of meters across appeared in the clouds. Quenser was well removed from the Object, but the noise was enough to send pain rushing through his eardrums.
However, the entire 50 kilometer space between the two Objects was covered by clouds. Just opening a few holes was not enough to clear away all of them.
Most likely, the targeting signal was still accurately capturing the princess's location.
"Shit."
Quenser estimated the locations of the two Objects on the map displayed on his handheld device.
"Run to the weeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssttttttttttttt!!"
The princess must not have been able to get rid of that sense of danger either. The movements of her Object looked frantic.
Full power was sent to the propulsion device that used static electricity to make the Object hover and used lasers to expand the air. The Baby Magnum moved as if it had suddenly jumped.
It moved so a small mountain was exactly between the two Objects.
But...
A deadly shell tore mercilessly through the air at Mach 25.
It looked like an orange beam of light. It must have actually been flying in an arc, but the scale was so large it looked like it was falling down diagonally to Quenser. The railgun shell seemed to fly in a straight line past the small mountain and for the Baby Magnum.
Its aim was off slightly, but it was unclear if that was due to the mountains causing problems with the radar signal or due to the princess's excellent reaction.
But even so, the powerful railgun still grazed the Baby Magnum.
An explosion rang out.
However, it went beyond what the human ear could detect.
The Baby Magnum's armor was peeled up, and about half of the mass of the nearby small mountain was gouged out.
Quenser and Heivia were over a kilometer away, but their bodies were still slammed mercilessly to the ground. Pain exploded from each and every one of their internal organs. They could no longer hear any noise. The great noise had temporarily deafened them. Quenser sluggishly reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a hearing aid. He plugged a cord into his radio and stuck it behind his ear. It used what was known as bone conduction.
"... Baby Magnum has been partially damaged!! Main cannons 1 through 3 are no longer functioning!!"
"I can... still go on... As long as I have just 1 of the 7 cannons..."
"Something is wrong with the propulsion device! It is unclear if you can pull off the high speeds needed for battle!! I recommend the maintenance soldiers perform an emergency check of the leg area!!"
Something like a small contrail could be seen overhead. It had likely been created by the disruption in the atmosphere caused by the railgun shell passing through.
Still collapsed on the ground, Quenser grabbed his handheld device. Looking like someone checking their alarm clock after waking up, he operated the small device. He could see Baby Magnum on the GPS map. He should not have been able to see it due to the effects of the chaff missile, but the shock wave from the blast had apparently blown the clouds away. A round hole had opened up above it.
The armor on the Baby Magnum's right side had burst open like a crushed can. The sharp edges fluttered like the wings of some strange insect. It seemed the center had not been blown out, but it still must have experienced quite a shock. It was no exaggeration to call it a miracle that the princess was still alive.
And...
Another gap in the clouds had appeared over where the Mass Driver conglomerate Object had been, but no Object could be seen. However, it was visible through a different gap in the clouds. It was moving. And it was not moving away from Quenser and the others.
Quite the opposite.
It was approaching them.
(... What is it trying to do?)
Putting more distance between them should have been best for the Mass Driver conglomerate. After all, the Baby Magnum would have no chance of fighting back.
Meanwhile, Quenser noticed circular holes of blown away clouds in various places across the GPS map. They showed where giant explosions had occurred. They were all in areas between the Mass Driver conglomerate Object and Quenser's unit.
(Early detonations... ?)
The sound of firing the shells caused a tremendous roar, but Quenser had not heard any. It was possible they had been fired while his hearing was still gone.
(Could the shells not withstand the tremendous speed of Mach 25?)
Naturally, the faster the shells flew, the greater the air friction. Quenser could not even imagine how much heat would be created at Mach 25.
In that case, it may have been approaching to a distance where it could be sure to destroy its target.
And why was that?
Because this was not a modern battle between Objects where the enemy would overlook you if you raised the white flag. If the Mass Driver conglomerate did not finish off its enemy while it had the advantage, they would be at the disadvantage as they were on the run and would have difficulty receiving supplies. The Legitimacy Kingdom military had plentiful resources, so they did not have to worry about that. With time, they could even have more Objects sent in.
Even if it carried a risk, the Mass Driver conglomerate had to destroy their enemy when they had the chance.
If that was the enemy's objective in approaching, the Baby Magnum had no chance of victory.
Just after having that thought, Quenser's body stiffened.
He had realized something.
If the enemy was planning to destroy the Baby Magnum with certainty, what would their first action be?
Quenser could not get up, but he still desperately grabbed for his radio. He removed the bone conduction headphone leaving him in complete silence. He ignored that and started moving his mouth.
"Run..."
He was not speaking to anyone in particular.
He was speaking to everyone in the Baby Magnum's maintenance base zone.
"Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!"
Someone who was trying to utterly destroy an Object would never ignore the base zone that was filled with the materials and people that repaired it.
That railgun possessed the accuracy needed to score a direct hit on a quickly moving Object, so hitting a stationary base zone would be no problem at all.
And...
The Mass Driver conglomerate did not follow the rules of war or possess a human conscience.
The railgun shell mercilessly flew toward the base at Mach 25.
Something was blown away, a shockwave spread out, and Quenser's body was blown up into the air.
Quenser had no way to know how many people had managed to escape the base.
The impact of the shockwave knocked Quenser unconscious.
All the while, the Mass Driver conglomerate Object continued to approach at a few hundred kilometers per hour.
Part 8
It sounded like someone was shouting his name.
It felt like someone was lightly shaking his body.
The first thought that came to Quenser's mind was surprise that his eardrums had not burst.
The even more obvious truth that he was alive came a bit later for some odd reason.
"... enser... Wake up, Quenser!!"
"... Uuh."
He opened his eyes and found Froleytia staring down at him rather than Heivia. Her hair was covered in mud and her always perfect tight military skirt was in complete disorder. A few of the long narrow kanzashi-like hairpins were missing.
"What... happened?... Where's Heivia?"
"I don't know."
"... ?"
Quenser was confused as he thought Heivia was right next to him, but then he looked over to the side. He was utterly astounded.
The land was gone.
Just before, that area had been a relatively flat plain, but now the ground had crumbled away, leaving a cliff right in front of him. The newly made pit was over 10 meters deep and a large amount of earth, sand, and rock had crumbled down and piled up below.
The area beyond the cliff had not simply sunk down 10 meters. If so, water from the coastline would have come in and submerged it.
As the area beyond the cliff had sunk, the area Quenser was on had rapidly risen. The ground itself had crumbled.
He had no idea if anyone had been in the area that had collapsed.
It was just as Froleytia had said.
(It hit the base which is about a kilometer from here. If the landscape itself crumbled an entire kilometer away... )
"Wh-what happened to the people in the base... ?"
"It would be best not to see." Froleytia shook her head."But that isn't to say it's some horrible situation where there are bodies smashed to pieces so much you can't tell how many people were killed, so don't worry. It was nothing worse than some broken bones. Fortunately we fled into the sturdy base rather than outside."
"What do you mean... ?"
"It was not a direct hit." Froleytia sighed."Either there happened to be some damage to the shell or it was a manufacturing error. It must not have been able to withstand the air friction, so it exploded in the air before hitting. Do you know about the meteor that fell in a place called Tunguska? A 100 meter meteor exploded due to air friction before it reached the ground, but the shockwave was enough to wreak havoc on the area. This seems to have been something similar. There would be a crater if it had hit, " explained Froleytia."Mach 25 is a ridiculous speed, so the heat from friction has to be quite something. A normal metal shell would melt and lose its shape in an instant. Most likely, their shells have some kind of special cooling system inside to prevent the shell from melting. Maybe liquid nitrogen."
"So did the shell crack due to the extreme change in temperature?"
"Possibly. You can likely tell from the aftermath on the GPS map, but the Mass Driver conglomerate Object actually fired more shells than arrived here. About half of them exploded before reaching us. This main cannon of theirs may be a prototype."
"... It has that much power without even hitting?"
Quenser felt a chill run down his spine.
Even nothing more than the aftereffects caused destruction on the level of a tactical weapon.
"But the Bright Hopper was destroyed in a single shot from 500 kilometers away. The Baby Magnum was only 50 kilometers away. Shouldn't it have been easier to hit?"
| ← Ch. 010 | Ch. 012 → |