novelHonor is Priceless >> Emergency Interception at Victoria Island (2)
| ← Ch.022 | Ch.024 → |
"Yes."
"And I need to do something that leaves quite an impact if I want to hurry up and take over my noble family rather than smoldering out here, don't I?"
"If the alternative is moving from battlefield to battlefield facing Objects, wouldn't your highest odds of surviving in the end lie in finishing things here once and for all?" Quenser shrugged."And if we don't do anything about City Slicker, he might cross the Atlantic Ocean and arrive at Europe. I doubt the home country would fall, but a conflict that escapes the boundaries of a 'clean war' could create an economic crisis. Commoners would not be the only ones to suffer from that. How would your family fare? Can you be certain it wouldn't decline greatly before you could even inherit it?"
"Damn you, " swore Heivia."Fine. I'll go along with this!! But this is the last time!! This time, I will do enough to become the head of the Winchell family! This is the end! I've had it with war!! I'm never going to make a gamble with my life again!!"
"We need a vehicle. We should be able to figure out their route using the GPS map."
"Hey, Quenser. The dummies left their floats here, right? So how are they planning to cross the Atlantic?"
"City Slicker supposedly has a weapons factory somewhere around here. There might be another unit waiting to attach the floats on the eastern end of Victoria Island." Quenser lightly tapped on the side of the abandoned float with the back of his hand."I have no intention of giving them a chance to use anything like that or to attack the immigrant residential city. That's why I need a vehicle, Heivia. We need to head after the Indigo Plasma as quickly as possible."
"Dammit. Where are the drivers? I need the key. Don't tell me the key was melted by those low-stability plasma cannon blasts."
"Can't you just hotwire one like in movies?"
"I could if I wanted to, but it's all over if I mess up. It would be easier to just use the key."
As they spoke, Quenser and Heivia started back in the direction of the hill where the injured soldiers were resting.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out.
Sparks flew from the side of the float just ahead of where they were.
(... Are there still some of the 24th's foot soldiers left!?)
"Get down, Quenser!!"
But before they could search for cover, more bullets were fired accurately at the ground just in front of them. It was an obvious warning. And it did not come from just one direction. They could not escape just by crouching down.
Quenser stubbornly looked around while halfway crouched down to the ground. It was unclear if the key was in it, but there was a 4WD off-road vehicle stopped a bit away.
In the next instant, the off-road vehicle exploded, sending out flames and a shockwave.
Despite how far away he was, Quenser instinctually brought both hands up to protect his face. He belatedly realized a portable antitank missile had been fired at it.
The battle formation was already complete.
Quenser saw no way for them to fight back.
The two boys slowly put their hands up. The ground looked level at first, but it actually had small undulations like the waves on the ocean surface. A group of five foot soldiers were hiding behind those undulations.
"(They have midrange sniper rifles and a portable antitank missile launcher. This is bad, Quenser. If we make any odd moves, we'll be in heaven the next thing we know. We need to get permission before even sneezing to ensure there are no misunderstandings. )"
"(What's with those ridiculous uniforms? And more importantly, the model of gun they're using. )"
"(I know. It makes no sense. Why would the Capitalist Corporations show up here?)"
"Okay, enough whispering, you two, " said one of the Capitalist Corporation attackers in an oddly cheerful voice.
She was a girl with blonde hair and brown skin. She appeared to be a bit older than Quenser. Her outfit... was strange. The materials it was made out of were the same as a military uniform. However, its design was similar to that of a maid uniform. She even had cat ears on. Quenser could only think that it was meant to mock the enemy much like the faces painted on the noses of fighter planes.
All 5 enemies were girls of the same age. Paying no heed to Quenser or Heivia, they spoke among themselves.
"Will this be enough of a present?"
"It should be fine. At least I hope it is."
"We're almost out of rations, so we need to get a hit here."
"Yes. At any rate, we need rescue to come for them."
Quenser had a very bad feeling about what was to come, so he spoke with his hands still in the air.
"Hey, what is going on? Who are you people? What are you trying to do?"
"We are a battlefield cleanup service, " replied the blonde-haired, brown-skinned girl with a smile."We are a type of PMC. You know what those are, right? They are mercenary companies. These outfits are... well, they were a request. That is one of the downsides of the service industry. We are out of business cards, so don't ask for one.... However, we are not a big enough PMC to take over the maintenance of an Object. We are basically employees dispatched to help out a little."
"So you're money-obsessed freaks from the Capitalist Corporations..." spat out Heivia, but the brown girl did not seem to mind.
"Really, we ended up in a lot of trouble thanks to your Legitimacy Kingdom military taking control of the Alaska district. The Legitimacy Kingdom and the Information Alliance were supposed to wear each other down enough that we in the Capitalist Corporations could send in our Object. But instead you easily defeated the Information Alliance and took control of Alaska."
"You mean when our princess was fighting the Rush's 'Oh ho ho'?"
"Hm? You use boring names like that in the Legitimacy Kingdom?... At any rate, the Capitalist Corporations forces here were left in quite the panic. Some communications mistake in the confusion of the large-scale withdrawal operation resulted in the transport plane we were supposed to be on taking off without us. Do you understand? We were left behind!! We had to risk our lives living out here with enemies everywhere and days that never got above freezing. This was no laughing matter. We have no choice but to make our way back to the home country on our own.... Anyway, we were in a bit of trouble because our armored vehicle's fuel did not seem like it would last until the border. Western America is just too far away."
Quenser clicked his tongue.
He had heard the stories of soldiers left wandering the Alaska district after a failed withdrawal operation. It seemed those five were some of those.
Heivia spoke while choosing his words carefully.
"... If you would like some hot soup and a blanket, just surrender. You will be temporarily treated as prisoners of war, but a deal can then be made between governments to have you returned to the Capitalist Corporations."
"Doing that would affect people's trust in the company. We decide people's human rights based on the size of their bank account, remember? We wouldn't be able to advertise after that."
"Then what do you plan to do?"
"Deal with that, " said the brown girl as she pointed at the distant Baby Magnum. Even if the details were unclear, it was obvious even from that distance that it was damaged and unable to move."We can probably get the Elite to eject by pretending to be maintenance soldiers, don't you think? We just have to say the reactor has been damaged and is about to go critical. Then we can capture the Elite."
"... Wait."
"We know the current situation in the Alaska district. That is the Legitimacy Kingdom's last Object. The seven owned by the traitors will soon head out into the Atlantic Ocean. What happens then? The Alaska district will be empty. The Capitalist Corporations will be free to return. The sooner that happens, the better for us. Every day and every hour counts.... Our rations are just about gone, and we have no guarantee we can kill a deer or reindeer whenever we need one."
(This is bad. )
They were from the Capitalist Corporations. They did not care in the slightest about the Legitimacy Kingdom's situation.
"... Just to double check, but you said you knew the current situation, right?"
"Yes. It was announced in an unencrypted transmission. But that does not matter. There may be some from the Capitalist Corporations among those immigrants, but they changed nationality of their own will. We have no reason to worry about them.... And most importantly, worrying about them will not make us any money."
That last comment was likely the true reason.
That mercenary logic that took only money and profit into account made Quenser want to struggle. However, he just barely managed to hold himself back.
Instead, he said, "You're mercenaries, right?"
"We are a PMC, so yes. If you have a request, please use the form on our official website. The payment plans are a tad complex, but do not worry. It is programmed to automatically calculate it all out for you."
"We have no time. I will hire you right here. If I do, you'll fight for us, right? That's all we need."
Quenser responded seriously to her joking words.
"Quenser!!" shouted the noble named Heivia in an attempt to stop the other boy, but Quenser paid him no heed. He merely stared the brown girl straight in the eye.
In response the girl sneered at him.
"Ha ha ha!! Are you stupid!? It seems you don't know what prices this kind of thing goes for, boy!! Your allowance is not enough to hire us!!"
As she smiled, the girl grabbed Quenser's collar.
She drew him in close and some anger filled her smile.
"We view wealth and economics as above all else, so we hate it when people make a mockery of money. Our fee is a sincere reward given in exchange for the work we perform. The mere thought that we would lower it in a time of crisis out of a sense of charity or justice is an insult. You are essentially saying the value of our lives can change based on your own convenience."
"I never said that, " replied Quenser as he stuck a hand into the pants pocket of his military uniform.
The brown girl overlooked it because she had gotten too close to him. The other mercenaries responded by raising the barrels of their guns, but Quenser ignored them and pulled out the contents of his pocket and threw it at the brown girl's face. It was a small rubber box.
The next thing he knew, he had been punched.
While looking down at Quenser as he lay collapsed on the snow, the brown girl spat out, "It seems you still do not understand where your place is."
"You're the one that still does not understand, " replied Quenser with a smile. He pointed at the small rubber box that's latch had come undone when it had fallen to the ground."I am an important customer."
"Wait. This is..."
"I would assume someone from the Capitalist Corporations like you would be more knowledgeable about this kind of thing than me. Or do you use too much cash and electronic money, so you know nothing of jewels?" said Quenser to the brown girl who was staring at the clear beads scattered across the snow."They're diamonds. They are from a military mine on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Faith Organization hid the existence of the diamonds while mining them to fund their military."
"Charm."
The brown girl called out someone's name and one of the mercenaries pulled out a special loupe. She picked up the clear beads, rolled them around in her gloved hand, and looked at them through the lens.
"They look real. And it does not seem any fakes are mixed in. I believe there are 15 carats here. Their grade is not bad either. The lack of a certificate is a major point against them, but by laundering them, we could likely get 80% market value on them."
"That's what I'll pay you up front. You could always just shoot us and take them, but there are two more identical rubber boxes hidden below a rock near our maintenance base. If you help us, I will give you the remaining two regardless of the outcome of the operation.... What is the market value of a mercenary? How many years would it take you to make this much? Actually, would you even be able to make this much before you died?"
"..."
The brown girl started trembling.
The trembling was clearly caused by a positive feeling such as joy. It was true that their trustworthiness as mercenaries would lower by helping an enemy nation. However, it would not matter if they received fewer jobs afterwards if they made two or three times the amount they could hope to make in their entire lives otherwise. In the Capitalist Corporations, people's human rights were decided by the size of their bank accounts, so how much money was needed to simply retire and live an enjoyable life?
"You said before that your fee is a sincere reward given in exchange for the work you perform. That is exactly right. And that is why we are prepared to pay this much. What will you do? Will you accept our request?"
After Quenser uttered those final words, the brown girl knelt down, clasped her hands before her face, and gave her response with her eyes sparkling.
"You should have said so sooner, master!!"
Part 8
The small Capitalist Corporations PMC that specialized in battlefield cleanup used a 10-wheeled armored vehicle. It had quite a bit of space inside, but it could not take sharp turns. The model seemed to prioritize transporting troops more than suppressing an enemy with installed firearms.
Quenser frowned slightly when he entered.
"... It smells like a girl's room."
"Come in, come in!! I apologize that it is so cramped, but we will show you our best hospitality!! Charm! Do we have any tea left!?"
"Nothing that hasn't been used twice already. We do have drinking water made from melted snow and enough rations to make chazuke."
"You're useless. Oh, excuse me. I forgot to mention, but my name is Wydine Uptown! We will do anything from reconnaissance and bombardment support to shoulder massages and ear cleanings!!"
"I-I see. Well, we mostly just need you to get us to the immigrant residential city."
Wydine's excessively wide smile made Quenser draw back a bit. As per his request, Wydine called out to the driver and the vehicle was off. Heivia then cut in from the side with a big grin.
"Hey, Quenser. If they're willing to do anything, we might as well get what we can. I think I'd like an ear cleaning while resting my head on her lap!!"
The smile disappeared from Wydine's face
"I don't want to hear anything from you. Go sit over in the corner."
"... Why are you treating me differently?"
"Because he is a customer who has properly paid us while you are a piece of shit that hasn't given us a single cent☆ You should be grateful we even let you aboard."
"Fine then! I won't expect anything from you!! But know this: I'm the type of guy that gets excited when a girl looks down at him with cold eyes!!" As Heivia started sulking, he suddenly realized something."Wait, couldn't we have used the Hand Axe rather than the diamonds to make a contract with this PMC? Each gram is supposed to be worth more than a gram of platinum."
"It's the catalyst used in its production that costs so much. The completed explosive isn't worth that much, " said Quenser offhandedly before changing his train of thought.
His thoughts turned to the 24th Mobile Maintenance Battalion and its 7 Objects.
"What is it?"
"I know it's a bit late, but I was thinking about the situation here. I may have hired you with those diamonds, but this will likely be a difficult battle." Quenser sighed."Six of the seven Objects are likely dummies that are lower than a Generation 0. 5, but they can still use their main cannons. And the Indigo Plasma is a real Second Generation Object. That is a true monstrous weapon."
"Come to think of it, " cut in Heivia as he glanced over at Wydine."Even if those are budget dummy models, how did they get the Elites to pilot them? Or are they forcing regular soldiers to pilot them?"
"Hmm? Those are probably strategic AIs, not Elites, " said Wydine.
"What?"
Quenser frowned and Wydine called out to one of her fellow mercenaries.
"Lemish, explain it to our customer. Use the screen to make it simpler."
"Okay." A pigtailed mercenary girl sat next to Quenser and showed him a handheld device."These red arrows indicate the actions taken by the six Objects as they came ashore. Can you see the common trait among all of them?"
"They move in unnaturally straight lines... Although, that could just be them staying in formation."
"And this is their leader, the Lily Maria... or the Indigo Plasma as I believe you call it. Look at the ring around it. Once the six dummy models enter a circle with a radius of 5 kilometers around the leader..."
"Their actions... change!?"
"They switch over to the much more flowing movements of a living being. Likely, they are normally piloted by strategic AIs but the leader can manually control them to make corrections.... If it had not been a surprise attack, the Object on the sea may not have been destroyed so easily."
"So they can switch back and forth between auto and manual. First the Information Alliance and now the Objects of the 24th. Strategic AI development sure has gotten popular of late." Quenser looked over at Heivia."If the dummies really are using strategic AIs, can we use the Angelina List to stop them like we did with the Information Alliance's Rush?"
"There are too many problems, " was Heivia's negative response."The Rush's Elite was focused solely on the princess. That was why we were able to move freely. But that isn't the case here. If we ran around the area, their main cannons would blow us away. Also, we got lucky with the Object remains scattered about last time."
"The Active Sledge sank into the sea, but what about the Snow Quake?"
"The numbers are just too different, " spat out Heivia in annoyance."The Water Strider had 8 main cannons. I actually used 3 of those. We had three pieces of wreckage for the one Object. The wreckage outnumbered the Objects.... On the other hand, we have just the one piece of wreckage to use against 6 dummies and the Indigo Plasma. Even if we managed to get full usage of the Snow Quake wreckage, their AI would not consider it a threat. They would just surround the wreckage and blow it to pieces to make sure it could no longer function."
"Now, now, " cut in Lemish out of nowhere to cut off Quenser and Heivia's negative thoughts.
She then turned the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go.
"What matters is the 5 kilometer range in which the AI can be manually corrected. Most likely, infrared or electromagnetic signals are used for the remote control. And if so..."
"... I get it. That means we might be able to use that to our advantage if we get that close."
"Sir, our PMC has a full assortment, of weapons, ammunition, provisions, communications equipment, and electronic jamming equipment."
Wydine kicked over a large plastic box and a large number of firearms spilled out.
She smiled and said, "If you need anything, just tell us."
"Even if most of them are dummy models, this is still a formation of 7 Objects where one is Generation Two. Also, Prizewell City Slicker is crazy. He will not hold back even if we raise the white flag. Once we head out, we can't give up partway through."
"We will do anything as long as you pay us. And you have already given us plenty."
Part 9
Ayami Cherryblossom, the Object maintenance chief of the 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion, stopped her off-road vehicle and jumped out onto the ground.
Ayami was commonly referred to as the old maintenance lady.
She had originally been from the Capitalist Corporations.
The mindset of all value being based on economics and money had deeply dyed her heart and she saw nothing wrong with the preference of human rights being based on the size of people's bank accounts. Even when she had trained in Object maintenance, she had held no pride in the actions themselves. She had held pride in the profit she gained from the actions.
When she had first learned of the actions of her daughter and son-in-law, she had simply thought they were being stupid. Talk of providing agricultural support for areas that did not have enough food may have brought tears to people's eyes, but it had no more value than that. Going through with it was nothing more than spending actual money on something that would bring no profit. In the Capitalist Corporations, even a young child who had yet to start school would tell you that was a waste of money.
When her daughter and son-in-law's actions had led to them being chased out of the Capitalist Corporations, Ayami had punched her own daughter. But then she had grabbed her hand. She had been unable to abandon them. She had realized that attachment that went beyond economics or money may have been a part of what led that couple to provide that agricultural support.
They could not stay in the Capitalist Corporations. They had to flee to some other land. During that flight, she had become intensely aware of the presence of the giants that were the world powers.
And this went beyond realizing just how great a shadow the Capitalist Corporations cast.
She also realized that the Legitimacy Kingdom they were fleeing to cast just as great of a shadow.
Even once they reached that goal, it would not be a happy life awaiting them.
Whether they turned back or continued on, nothing but hardships awaited them.
But...
The more she was trampled on by those giants, the stronger one feeling grew within her.
She was determined to protect her family from those large shadows no matter what.
And she would even use the military or Objects to do that.
"Shikibu!! Iekazu!! Are you in there!?"
The old lady shouted some names in front of a family apartment building. Even in that peculiar area of the city, that apartment building was different than those around it. It was a pale prefab building just like the others, but it was a proper high rise building. It was fully equipped with elevators and self-locking doors. The walls and floors had the same double-layer insulation usually used in windows. The building was not made of prefab because of a lack of resources. The entire city was made that way out of choice. The nameplates and signs were a mix of hiragana, katakana, kanji, and other scripts, all of which were a strange sight in the Legitimacy Kingdom. It was just the type of thing that would irritate Prizewell City Slicker.
The old lady called the names of her daughter and son-in-law, but received no response. However, she had no time to wait around. She climbed the stairs to the third floor and headed for a specific door.
At the same time, her daughter, Shikibu, opened the front door.
The black-haired woman in her late twenties looked utterly shocked when she saw the old lady.
"What are you doing here, mother? I thought you didn't get time off until-..."
"Is Iekazu here? And what about Orihime, my granddaughter!?"
"Of course not. This is a weekday. Papa is at work and our daughter is at elementary school. Honestly, has the military left you unable to tell what day of the week it is?"
"Contact them, " said the old lady, sounding at her wits' end."Hurry!!"
"What? What? Ehh? If you're coming over to play, you should call ahead, mother."
The old lady forced her way in the front door and picked up the receiver of the landline phone located near the entrance. She called the number she had memorized beforehand, but...
"No good. The phone isn't going through."
For an instant, she thought the 24th had cut the phone lines, but that was not it. Things were getting noisy out front. Objects were over 50 meters tall, so their advance would be visible even from afar.
"The phone lines must be congested..."
"What is going on?" asked Shikibu while blinking."The TV suddenly switched over to a test broadcast and then the internet wouldn't connect no matter what page I tried to go to. And I needed to check a recipe for lunch."
"The home country must have cut it off to prevent a panic. They're cutting everything off starting with the thickest lines. Even if it wasn't congested, we probably couldn't use the phone."
"?"
"Shikibu, remain calm and listen to what I have to say."
"You're the one that seems to be panicking."
"Some Objects will be arriving here soon, " said the old maintenance lady as slowly as she could manage."It is a formation made up of the Indigo Plasma and 6 others. The Legitimacy Kingdom military cannot stop them!! We need to get out of here as quickly as possible! Those monstrous national level weapons will soon turn this city into a sea of flames!!"
"Eh? Wait..." Shikibu put on a smile. She had yet to fix her bad habit from the Japanese Islands."What do you mean Objects will be arriving? I didn't hear anything about a parade."
The old lady ignored her and pulled out her radio.
She set it to a military frequency and simply turned up the volume.
"Hurry up the repairs on the Baby Magnum!! No one expects you to completely fix it! At the very least, we need a single main cannon functioning. The Indigo Plasma's formation is headed toward the immigrant residential city as we speak. If we take too long, we can't catch up!!"
Shikibu's smile remained.
But she started trembling while still smiling.
"Where are Iekazu and Orihime?" asked the old lady with a serious expression."We need to get them and leave the city before those 7 Objects arrive!! You need to make your preparations. You have 10 minutes!!"
"Wait. What is going on!? What is going on!? What is going on!?"
"Do you really think I have time to explain everything!?"
"We need to tell the neighbors... No, not just them!! We need to tell everyone in the apartments... no, everyone in the city to escape!!"
Shikibu suddenly stopped speaking after that.
The old lady had slapped her.
"We can't. We would never make it in time. Even if they took us seriously, that would just lead to widespread panic and traffic congestion. All forms of transportation would grind to a halt and no one would be able to escape."
"So you're saying we should abandon them!?"
"Curse me all you want." With her daughter glaring at her like that, the old lady took a challenging step forward."But I will protect my family. I will do anything to do so. If it will make it more difficult for you to escape, I am prepared to leave this entire city to die."
"You can't..."
"Then are you willing to abandon Iekazu and Orihime? If they learn the truth, everyone living around here will fight to take any vehicle they can find. Once that happens, no one will be able to collect those two. Nor would we be able to escape ourselves!! Are you fine with that!? Are you willing to sacrifice your own family to rescue some complete strangers!?"
"..."
"I am not. That is why I went as far as to run away from my unit to come here. What about you? Are you fine with letting Iekazau and Orihime be burnt away to nothing? I know what Objects can do. Believe me when I tell you this: Object bombardments are relentless. They do not even leave a corpse to be buried."
Without speaking a word, Shikibu struck the wall once.
The loud noise silenced the old lady and Shikibu quickly headed further into the room. She was likely headed to pull a suitcase from a closet.
They had no time.
A panic was already beginning within the city.
If they did not act before it had a serious effect on transportation, they would be trapped within the city. If that happened, they would be on the receiving end of a bombardment from 7 Objects.
After about 5 minutes, Shikibu returned to the entranceway.
"I'm ready."
"Let's go."
"I think I am doing something horrible."
"Do not bear that weight. This is my sin. Those 7 Objects should have been stopped by my unit."
They had no time to wait for the elevator. They used the stairs to head quickly down to the first floor where they climbed aboard the military off-road vehicle. The rubber of the tires screeched across the road surface as they took off.
"Who's closer, Iekazu or Orihime?"
"Papa would be closer. But it isn't that different. They're both within 5 kilometers of here."
"Then we'll start with Iekazu. Tell me how to get to his company."
She drove the off road vehicle while ignoring traffic lights and one-way signs. However, no one seemed to care. They had their own things to worry about. A panic was already beginning. If they had stopped at a red light, people would likely have tried to jump in through the windows.
"How could this be happening?" muttered Shikibu.
The old lady ignored her and continued pressing down on the accelerator.
Iekazu worked at a mid-size menswear company. The company rented out a portion of a double-layer prefab building.
"How do we call for him?"
"Even if the external lines are down, the internal lines should still work. Where is the company's reception desk?"
"There is a general reception desk on the first floor. Visitors for any of the tenants make a request to the external operator and..."
"Then head there. Make something up about forgetting to give him his bento or whatever. Just get them to let you use the internal phone. Have Iekazu come down to the first floor and then bring him out here."
"What about you, mother?"
"If we both left, the off-road vehicle would be stolen. You go. Or do you have the guts to use this to keep any thieves away?"
As she spoke, the old lady pulled something out from the area next to the gear stick. It was a Legitimacy Kingdom military submachine gun.
Shikibu paled and nodded repeatedly before getting out of the vehicle and running toward the general reception desk on the first floor.
The old lady watched Shikibu through the clear automatic door for a while.
Finally, Shikibu returned with a man wearing a suit. Like a proper employee, he was wearing the menswear made by his own company. The old lady clicked her tongue lightly when she saw the timid-looking man.
"You took too much time."
"I have heard the general situation, but..." started the man.
"We don't have time to discuss this, " said the old lady as she slammed down the accelerator, sending the vehicle off once more."I can think of no reason why it is okay to let Orihime die."
"..."
The spread of confusion in the city accelerated as time passed. The old lady had no idea what they were thinking, but it seemed some idiots had even set fire to some buildings. She could see black smoke in the distance. She doubted there was much worth stealing in Orihime's elementary school, but she still felt an unpleasant pressure in her chest. There was no longer any safe place in the city.
"You're going too fast!! Slow down! You're going to hit someone!!" shouted the man.
"Shut it, you fool!!"
"Waah!! That man is shouting something. Wait, what is that he's pointing this way? That's a gun!"
The old lady ignored him and pressed down even harder on the accelerator. The needle on the speedometer made a large jump. A few dry gunshots rang out, but the vehicle was not so much as scratched. The man out there had likely not actually been willing to shoot someone.
They arrived at the elementary school.
They drove right in through the front gate, made a sharp turn into the faculty parking lot, and came to a quick stop. It seemed classes had already been called off, but the children were not being let out. They could see a lot of faces peering out through the windows. They were all filled with worry.
Given the confusion in the city, the faculty had made the right decision. But it was not enough. That would not save the children from the seven Objects led by City Slicker.
"Shikibu, Iekazu. Go get Orihime. If the teachers try to get in the way, use this." The old lady held a submachine gun out toward Iekazu."But don't pull the cocking lever. I've emptied the chamber. As long as you don't do that, there is no way for it to fire."
"Please, no. This has nothing to do with if it can actually fire."
"Hmph. Just hurry it up. Otherwise those 7 Objects will get here first."
"Yes, but..."
Iekazu trailed off as he got out of the off-road vehicle.
"I know, " said the old lady, cutting him off.
Iekazu seemed unable to stand the worried gazes of the other children. The old lady felt the same. She would be leaving those children to die in order to allow her family to escape.
"I know!! But there is no perfect choice here!! Hurry up. We need to get Orihime out of here!!" she shouted.
Iekazu frantically ran off toward the door to the school. Shikibu followed him.
Suddenly, the old lady heard an ominous thundercloud-like rumbling in the distance. She grimaced. She recognized the noise. It was static electricity. That was the sound of the massive amounts of artificially produced static electricity that was used to float the giant form of an Object.
It was not coming from the Baby Magnum.
That left only one other option.
(Did we not make it in time... !?)
If she could hear it from where she was, the 7 Objects must have already arrived at the outskirts of the city. They could fire at any moment. The great slaughter in the name of language preservation activism would begin. Once it started, no one would be able to escape. Buildings would fall, overpasses would crumble, and all forms of transportation would be cut off. The off-road vehicle would be of no use whatsoever.
The old maintenance lady gritted her teeth.
And then...
"Hey, old lady! Are you still alive? The knights in shining armor have arrived!!"
The familiar voices of two boys came in over her radio.
"Hey, Quenser. This really is a horrible part to play!! No matter how you rationalize it, fighting seven Objects just isn't normal!!"
"Shut up, Heivia. This is our big moment. Let's finish this in some flashy way and become the heroes once again."
"You always act like this! The nobles doing nothing but eating snacks back in the safe countries could learn a thing or two from you!!"
"Heivia, you always complain, but you always pull through in the end."
(How can they do this?)
The situation was about as bad as it could get. Fighting even a single Object was considered out of the question, and this time there were seven. So how could they possibly choose to stand up to them? It did not help Quenser's dream of becoming an Object designer in the slightest.
"Old lady, I can't have you dying, " said Quenser."There's still so much I need to steal from you with my eyes. Losing such an excellent technician would get in the way of my dream. Not to mention..."
"..."
"Our princess is in a bad mood. She says she can't get motivated if you aren't doing her maintenance. If the Baby Magnum can't fight, we're done for. That's why we need your help."
"You..." muttered the old woman.
When she had seen the destroyed unit, the old lady had abandoned them all. She had violated military regulations to protect her family. But they were different. Froleytia's 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion was still functioning.
They had not given up.
They were still working to save everyone in the city.
"We are about to engage the 24th Mobile Maintenance Battalion. Our objective is to defend the immigrant residential city! And it isn't just us. The Baby Magnum will be running before long. So don't you dare die until we blow away that bastard Prizewell City Slicker."
The battle was about to begin.
A battle between seven cutting edge Objects and some puny flesh-and-blood soldiers.
Part 10
"Oh, how passionate."
It was obvious it was an act, but the brown mercenary named Wydine rubbed at her eyes as the armored vehicle came to a sudden stop.
"Your hot-bloodedness has moved me."
"I'm sure that's just part of the service you provide, but it kind of annoys me, " replied Quenser as he leapt out onto the snowy plain from the rear hatch of the armored vehicle."What do we do?"
"First, we must bring them to a stop. We will draw their attention so the Objects aim their cannons this way. At the very least, we need to make sure the battle occurs outside the city."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!!" frantically cut in Heivia."Are you stupid!? What do you mean draw their attention!? Are you going to shoot them with a portable antitank missile!? Once they know where we are, they'll turn us all to ash in a single shot!!"
"Shut up, you mooching bastard. I never said we would be firing it. We can manage by using a Bird or Animal."
"What are those?" asked Quenser and Wydine's face lit up.
"The specialty unmanned vehicles of our battlefield cleanup service!! Bird is an aerial vehicle and Animal is a 6-wheel ground vehicle. They are primarily used as radio-controlled reconnaissance devices, but they can be equipped with a single-shot rocket launcher. Think of them as mobile mortars. The shock caused by firing the rocket does sometimes destroy the machine, though."
The mercenaries named Charm and Lemish pulled two small units out from the back of the armored vehicle. One was an aerial vehicle with wings about 50 cm long and the other was a flat ground vehicle about 40 cm long. The ground vehicle must have had a few optional parts because it had something like a sled forcibly attached to the bottom.
"How many do you have in total?"
"One Bird and 10 Animals. The radio signal can be used to determine our location, so we also need to set up a few dummy antennae. That way, we will not be blown away when we perform a surprise attack."
"Then let's get started." Quenser approached the unmanned vehicles lined up on the snow."What can we do to help?"
"They use a Capitalist Corporations format, so we will take care of setting them up. Could you perhaps set up the dummy antennae? It would help a lot if you set them up at random locations within a radius of 500 meters of here."
Wydine gave a look to Lemish and the other mercenary girl brought out a few cases. They were something like attaché cases 30cm by 30 cm and 5 cm thick.
"You do not need to open the cases. When you place them, make sure this gray side is facing down. If you then use your thumb to flip the switch near the handle, you are done. The frequency is already set, so you do not need to do anything else."
"Heivia, let's get to it."
"Fine, fine. But do you think you could pay me with some jewels, too?"
"When will we begin? If we don't hurry, the Indigo Plasma will start attacking the city."
"Setting up the antennae will take 5 minutes. It will take another 5 minutes for Bird to make it in range. The Animals will be travelling along the snow, so it will take even longer for them. They will be used to deal with the foot soldiers after they have noticed us."
"So 10 minutes at the soonest." Quenser divided up the dummy antenna cases between Heivia and himself."This is cutting it close."
"Yes, but we must do it."
"Exactly right. Let's go, Heivia. I'll head to the east and you head to the southwest."
"God dammit. I've really had enough of making full speed dashes through the snow."
Quenser and Heivia then ran off in different directions. Even then, the seven Objects accompanying the foot solider unit were approaching the immigrant residential city. They had no time.
Quenser had three dummy antennae. It would be meaningless to put them all in almost the same place. But simply spreading them out in a circle around their actual location would tell the enemy where they were at first glance. What was important was to set them in random locations to make it impossible to tell which was the real one.
(Shit. Are we going to make it in time!?)
The thick snow slowed Quenser down more than he had expected and it wore down his stamina. He flipped the switch near the case's handle and set the dummy antenna by practically throwing it.
(This isn't going to cut it. At this rate, the Indigo Plasma will fire on the city before the Bird can fire its rocket! We don't have time to keep this completely safe!!)
As Quenser ran toward the location to put the next dummy antenna, he pulled out his radio and contacted Wydine.
"Don't wait. Send out the Bird now!!"
"Eh!? We can't. They will detect our location from the radio signal. They will aim for the dummy antennae first, but if you are not yet far enough away from them..."
"It doesn't matter!! If they start the bombardment while we wait, this is all for naught!! Hurry!!"
"Don't blame me if something happens to you!! I doubt your life insurance company would be happy about this!!"
"Hey, Quenser! Don't tell me you're forgetting that this puts me in the same danger!!" added Heivia.
Quenser flipped the switch of the second dummy antenna and threw it. He looked into the distance and saw Lemish aim a bow gun-like launching device diagonally up and pull the trigger. The Bird shot smoothly up, propellers meant for models began to spin, and it flew along at only 15 meters up. After its altitude stabilized, it headed straight for the Indigo Plasma.
"What is its top speed?" asked Quenser.
"170 kph. Once it gets up to speed and stabilizes, it will be there in no time. There is a danger of a powerful crosswind causing it to lose speed, though, " said Wydine."You two need to quickly get away from the dummy antennae!! Once the rocket is fired, the Objects will counterattack!!"
When he heard that, Quenser flipped the switch on the third and final dummy antenna and threw it to the side. It seemed less like he was placing it in an optimal place and more like he was throwing away an obtrusive weight.
He heard a sound like a champagne cork being removed.
It was the sound of the explosive being fired from the rocket launcher attached to the bottom of the Bird. However, the 40 millimeter shell never struck the Object's armor. Before it could, the Indigo Plasma fired a small laser. With an orange beam of light, the rocket exploded in midair. The vehicles of the infantry unit accompanying the Objects suddenly braked, but the entire unit did not come to a stop. There had been no actual damage done.
And...
No matter how small it was, an Object would naturally react to anything that tried to attack it. With the slight damage from the previous battle still intact, the Indigo Plasma immediately turned around.
Several of its cannons moved slightly. It was clearly searching the area. In the meantime, Quenser continued to run. The thick snow slowed him down and he almost tripped several times, but he continued running as quickly as he could away from the dummy antennae.
And then the Indigo Plasma fired.
With a deep noise as if from a large drum, a giant shell flew at over the speed of sound, scattering shockwaves as it went.
"Was that a railgun!?"
He had heard the sound first because of the trajectory of the shell. It was not aimed at the ground. It was aimed up in a large arc similar to a long throw in baseball. It flew about 100 meters above Quenser's head.
The railgun shell suddenly stopped.
A parachute had opened.
Wydine must have been using binoculars or a scope to check on it from afar because her voice came in over the radio.
"I'm checking on the shell!! It is something like a cylindrical metal drum!! Its diameter is 70 cm and its length is 150 cm!! There appear to be countless holes along the sides!!"
"What is it... ?"
As Quenser ran, he heard a sound like steam being sprayed out from somewhere. It was coming from the metal drum hanging down from the parachute. The air distorted like sugar water being mixed.
"A gas... Is that the gas for the low-stability plasma cannon!?"
After their fight with the 24th's foot soldiers, Quenser and Heivia knew what that special gas could do. It was heavier than air. When disseminated up in the air like that, gravity and wind would spread it over a large area.
Yes.
That would create a field that could be turned into a hell of light and heat from a single shot of a low-stability plasma cannon.
The main cannons of the six dummy models creaked as they aimed in that direction.
"Quenser!! They're clearly aiming for the dummy antennae in your direction!! You need to find a hill or whatever kind of cover you can find and get down!!"
(I can't escape gas pouring down from above by doing that!!)
The area covered by the special gas had exceeded 100 meters. It would be difficult to get out of the range with all the thick snow around. Quenser pulled a Hand Axe plastic explosive out of his bag. He stabbed in the electric fuse and threw it as far above his head as he could manage.
When it reached its highest point, Quenser hit the button on his radio.
With an explosive noise, a shockwave spread out above his head.
The shockwave blasted the gas away from the area.
In the next instant, the 6 dummy models fired their low-stability plasma cannons. They fired them at the point 50 meters up where the special gas was the most concentrated.
A flash of light burned into Quenser's eyes and a great noise stabbed into his brain.
He was slammed down to the ground like he was being crushed from above. Despite wearing a thick coat for the cold climate, he could feel a stinging pain on his skin. That pain told him that he was lightly burned. Despite being burned, he never did feel the normal sensation of heat.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"
His vision was partially impaired so that it looked like a white film had been placed over his eyes. Quenser writhed around on the ground as pain assaulted him from all over. He felt like he was lying in a giant mud puddle. The snow around the area had been completely transformed into lukewarm water.
But it could have been much worse.
If he had not used that bomb to blow away most of the special gas from the area, that "misfire" would not have occurred. The surface of the ground would have turned to glass and Quenser himself may have been turned to ash.
And all of that was just from the first shot.
Naturally, the enemy would not stop there.
"Quenser!! Get out of there! That Hand Axe told them where you are!!" shouted Heivia over the radio.
Quenser got up from the unpleasant mud and rolled down the slope of one of the nearby rolling hills.
He just barely made it in time.
A large number of dry, firecracker-like noises filled the battlefield.
It was not coming from the Objects.
The 24th's foot soldiers had gotten down from their military trucks and had begun to fire their assault rifles. 5. 56mm pointed rifle bullets scattered from 70-80 rifle barrels which shot dirt into the air from the hill Quenser was using as a shield.
A second round did not immediately come from the Objects because the scale of their attack was so large they must have decided it was too much of a pain to aim at such a small target.
Or perhaps...
(With 7 Objects, they have a total of over 700 cannons. If they fired with all of them, it would be over for me. That must mean the dummy models' reactors are not perfect. They can only just barely fire their main cannons, so the secondary weapons are just decorations. )
The foot soldiers continued to fire so Quenser could not move from where he was. At that rate, the Objects would fire and it would all be over. But he simply could not carelessly poke his head out amid that shower of bullets.
Suddenly, the Indigo Plasma moved.
"Dammit! It's that railgun again!!"
As Quenser watched, the drum-like shell arced up into the air. The foot soldiers had only been meant to keep him in place. They were working together, but it was clear who was in charge. Even while piloting the Indigo Plasma, Prizewell's personality could be seen.
However, the metal drum fired by the railgun never reached its place far above Quenser's head.
Before it could, a portable anti-tank missile was fired from the ground. The missile was shot by a laser before it could reach the railgun shell, but the effects of the blast could not be ignored. The metal drum's trajectory sharply changed angle and its parachute did not open. It landed halfway between the foot soldiers and Quenser.
"Sir! We cannot have you dying before you pay us the rest of our fee!!"
"Thanks, Wydine. I respect that honest-to-a-fault way of living."
The fallen metal drum would likely disseminate the special gas from its place on the ground, but its effective range would be much smaller than from in the air. Also, it was downwind of Quenser.
But...
"Hey, Quenser!! The Indigo Plasma's main cannon is moving!!"
"You're kidding... !"
The low-stability plasma cannon fired the instant after Quenser shouted that.
It caused a white explosion.
Quenser's body was blown directly backwards. He flew several meters through the air before hitting the ground. He felt a pain like his internal organs were being squeezed. The flash of light was so bright he was amazed he did not go blind.
"... That bastard, " said Quenser as he lay on his back."He didn't even hesitate to blow up his own subordinates, did he!?"
Quenser did not have the heart to see what things were like on the other side of the hill. That had been an overwhelming low-stability plasma explosion, a blast that created enough heat and force to shoot through an Object's armor when concentrated. The destruction had to go beyond what the word "catastrophe" could express.
"He's insane. Why would the 24th follow a despot like him!?"
"Because they have no other choice now. If they surrendered, they would still be charged with the crime of treason. Whatever happens now, their only path to victory is to prevent the 24th from losing no matter what."
"Here they come. It's all 7 Objects this time!! That bastard is planning to crush the corpses of his comrades as he advances!!"
Hearing Heivia's cry, Quenser slowly stood up. He could not stop where he was. The seven Objects had to know where he was.
"The enemy is sending the six dummy models along in a horizontal line with the Lily Maria following behind!!"
"That bastard doesn't hesitate to treat his subordinates as expendable, but he's damn careful when it comes to his own life!! This pretty much confirms that the dummy models are running on a strategic AI!!"
In Quenser's estimation, the dummy models' reactors had a low output so all weapons but the main cannon were mere decorations. That was most likely correct. And those main cannons were not suited for targeting a puny flesh-and-blood soldier.
Which meant...
"Oh, shit. He's heading forward to crush me!!"
"Those monstrous weapons keep their 200, 000 ton weight afloat using static electricity. The massive amount of electricity creates a tremendous force!! And a portion of the propulsion device is supposed to use plasma!!"
With the Objects lined up horizontally, Quenser was reminded of a giant piece of agricultural equipment leveling the ground. It was like a tractor that was 300 meters wide. There was no way he could escape by running to the left or right.
And then a rocket was fired from the ground.
The explosive was fired from so close that the dummy model had no time to react. The dummy model closest to Quenser was targeted. The fact that the explosive directly hit the spherical main body could only mean that the non-main cannons truly were not functioning. Thin pieces of the armor peeled off and stabbed into the ground.
The dummy model that had been attacked stopped moving and its main cannon started to aim. In the next instant, the area the rocket had been fired from turned pure white. The low-stability plasma cannon had been fired.
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
"That was an Animal! Do not worry!!"
Immediately afterwards, five dummy models and the Indigo Plasma passed by Quenser. Due to the hole opened by the one that had stopped to shoot the Animal, Quenser's body was not blown to pieces by a massive amount of static electricity.
"I guess the strategic AI really is just a massive collection of prioritizing routines."
The Indigo Plasma was directly controlled by Prizewell, so he should have been able to manually change course to kill Quenser.
He was either playing around or he was testing the AI.
"There is a cave 20 meters to your WSW! Run to there for now!! If they cannot use anything but their main cannons, it is possible the strategic AI will be unable to deal with the situation!!"
"Okay! I'll just pray I'm not blown to pieces by some misbehaving cannon!!"
At the same time, Quenser spotted a torn metal plate lying on the ground. It was a fragment of armor torn off of the dummy model when it had been hit by the rocket. It was about 30 cm square and 12 cm thick. It was heavy, but not so heavy that he could not pick it up with both hands.
(This is surprisingly light. This isn't just not up to the standards of an Object. Even regular steel would be denser than this. )
He looked closer and noticed that the actual steel plate was only about 5 cm thick. The rest was made up of some pale gray substance. The edge where it had broken off looked more like crumbled stone than metal.
Normally, someone like Quenser who did not weight train would have been unable to pick something like that up. Normally, a rocket would have been unable to destroy a metal plate that thick. And yet Quenser was holding the fragment.
There could be some secret hidden there.
"Quenser, hurry!! The dummy models are regrouping!! They're headed your way again!!"
"Understood. And don't think you're safe either!! Don't do anything that will let them know where you are!!"
Urged on by Heivia, Quenser started running while carrying the fragment. The thick snow, the damage he had taken, and the fragment of armor all lowered his speed. A dull pain ran through his elbow. Again and again, he heard whisperings in his heart telling him to throw away that piece of junk.
But he ignored it and continued moving his legs.
He heard a sound like approaching thunderclouds. Quenser's heart wanted him to move faster than his physical body could manage. This created a gap between his ideal and reality. Where he wanted his legs to be and where they actually were grew confused in his head and he almost tripped. He was just about at his limit. He could not continue on much further. Some armor fragment of dubious usefulness was not worth dying over. He was just about to let go of it.
But then he finally arrived at the cave entrance.
Despite the hard ground within, Quenser dove inside. He rolled down a gentle slope. He continued rolling for around 20 meters.
He had scrapes all over his body and he had light burns covering his skin. But those things hardly bothered him at the moment.
(Dammit. The Indigo Plasma and the 6 dummy models will be here soon!!)
Quenser pulled some Hand Axe from the bag on his back, stabbed in a fuse, and threw it in the direction he had come. He did not have time to hesitate. He pressed the switch on his radio almost immediately.
An explosive blast roared through the closed space.
"Gah!?"
Quenser was sent rolling around the cave, but that was better than the alternative.
The plastic explosive had lowered a shutter of stone.
He could feel a heavy vibration come from beyond that shutter. The Indigo Plasma had likely fired near the entrance of the cave. If he had not crumbled the bedrock to cut off the path, a great blast of heat would have swept through the cave and roasted Quenser.
(That didn't feel big enough to be a main cannon. )
Quenser analyzed the situation as he felt a chill run down his spine.
He had been fortunate that one of the Indigo Plasma's anti-personnel cannons had been used rather than the main cannons of the other 6 Objects. This was not due to any kind of decency on the enemy's side. Prizewell had likely just decided the main cannons were too difficult to use against a single person. If he had used a main cannon, the inside of the cave would likely have been completely roasted.
Quenser tried to use his radio, but he could not connect. The bedrock was cutting off the signal. He had no choice but to search for a different exit. He could also try to use explosives to blow a hole in the collapsed entrance, but the odds were good the shockwave would injure him in the enclosed cave.
Quenser picked back up the fragment of armor and used the backlight of his radio's LCD screen as a light.
He moved the faint light around to investigate the cave.
The battle was still continuing.
There was plenty he still had to do.
Part 11
The cave appeared to have been slowly carved out by the power of water. A slight trickle of water ran down a slope at Quenser's feet. He could keep his feet perfectly dry by walking by the wall. That was how little water there was.
Quenser had been quite worried at first, but he easily found an exit after travelling about 2 kilometers. The trickle of water met up with a river. By the time Quenser made it to the bank of the river, his arms were beginning to go numb, so he dropped the armor fragment to the ground. It almost fell over onto his feet, so he frantically jumped back. Even if it was strangely light for steel, it was still heavy enough to shatter the rocks on the river bank.
"..."
There was something about that armor. It was made of a steel plate and that mysterious gray material, and it was clearly different from normal Object armor.
However, Quenser was only a battlefield student. He did not know how to properly examine the armor plate under normal circumstances and here he had to make do with the equipment he had on him.
He could not manage it on his own.
After thinking for a bit, Quenser changed the frequency on his radio. He was not contacting Heivia or Wydine.
The person he needed to speak with was...
"Old lady!! Can you hear me? It's Quenser! I need your help!!"
"Boy... ?"
He received a reply.
That must have meant the Indigo Plasma and the dummy models had yet to attack the immigrant residential city.
"I think I may have a clue to new information related to the Indigo Plasma! But it's too much for a student like me!! I need the help of a pro like you!!"
"You idiot. Don't say any more! I am not with the military right now. If you tell me the situation on the battlefield, you could be charged with a crime as well!!"
"Then we can spend time in the detention barracks together!! Just help me!! We're the only ones who can protect the city!!"
Protect the city.
Quenser heard the old lady's breath catch in her throat when he said that.
"Six of the seven Objects are dummy models. I have a fragment of armor that was blown off of one of those dummies. It has two layers: steel and... some kind of gray material. At any rate, it's unusually light. And not just lighter than proper Object armor, it's lighter than normal steel. I think they have done something to cut down on costs. Please tell me how to examine what kind of material this is!!"
"Wait, let's go through this in order. Dummy models? Material examination?"
"This might be necessary to turn the situation around!! So hurry!!"
"..."
The old maintenance lady fell silent for a moment, but she then started giving Quenser instructions. First she asked Quenser what equipment he had to see what was available to perform the material examination.
"Okay, you have your handheld device and radio, right? Then you can use the electromagnetic method. First, dig a hole underneath the armor plate fragment. Just something like digging a small tunnel in a sandbox. After that, open up your handheld device's wireless LAN and place it underneath the fragment from the side."
Quenser was on the rocky bank of a river, so he stuck the handheld device in the gap between two large rocks underneath the fragment.
"Done."
"Next, set the frequency on your radio. Set it to the same frequency the wireless LAN uses. Then place the radio on top of the fragment and send some arbitrary signal for 10 seconds."
Quenser could hear a distant rumbling. Heivia and the others were still in a desperate situation. Quenser felt the desire to rush things, but he kept telling himself that carrying this task out accurately would lead to the quickest path to the solution.
"Done. What next!?"
"Pull out the handheld device, call up the system screen, and check the signal reception. That should give you a broad percentage."
"Percentage?"
"Just get to it!! I thought you were in a hurry!!"
Quenser frantically looked down at the screen and read the number displayed there.
"It says 34. 2!!"
"Hm. With the proper heat resistance, that much of the signal would never have gotten through. That is an inferior product that lacks proper craftsmanship, " calmly analyzed the old lady over the radio."But with the two different layers, it is hard to say anything for sure. Boy, can you tear apart the two materials?"
"It may be a dummy model, but it's still Object armor."
"Then all I can give you is speculation that may be horribly inaccurate." The old lady gave a slow sigh."The gray material is likely ceramic. The spherical main body is formed from ceramic and then thin metal plates are used to make it look 'Object-like'."
Ceramics had both strength and a certain amount of flexibility. They may have been trying to use that to provide the same ability to absorb and distribute impacts that onion armor provided.
However...
"If that was all it took to reproduce Object armor, things would be a lot easier for us. The dummy models are nothing but inferior models that could be destroyed by a nuke, " said the old lady.
"I analyzed the floats they used and I estimate the 6 dummy models each weigh less than 50, 000 tons.... From the weight of this armor fragment and the ratio of steel to ceramic, the dummy models' armor is likely a third the thickness of normal Object armor. And it is not steel with the proper heat resistant reactive materials. If they are made out of nothing but cheap ceramics, then their actual strength would be..."
"They got us, " groaned the old lady."We were tricked by the initial impact of their appearance. If she had calmly responded and dealt with one at a time, our princess's main cannons could have stabbed straight through them. Their victory came from the idea of seven Objects causing us to completely lose our cool." The old lady paused for a second."Do you understand what this means, boy?"
"Eh? That the armor is a lot thinner than normal Object armor, right?"
"Not just that."
Some static then entered the transmission.
It did not sound like naturally occurring interference. The static grew louder and louder.
"It is an issue... of heat resistance.... Their main cannons... are low-stability plasma cannons. And... this is... the Arctic... Alaska... district... They... are acting... like the... ulti... mate... weapons... but... they came here... with their... greatest... weak... ness already..."
"Old lady? Old lady!? Wait... damn!!"
The static grew louder and Quenser could no longer hear her voice. It was hurting his ears, so Quenser pulled the radio away from his face.
"Did they start jamming radio signals to stop the rockets from unmanned vehicles? I thought the Indigo Plasma manually corrected the dummy models using a radio signal!!"
Quenser headed away from the river bank and into the snowy plain once more. As he approached the battlefield, he operated his radio. This time he tried to contact Heivia and the others. But first he set the output to maximum.
"Heivia, Wydine!! Can you hear me!?"
"Ksshhh... I would really prefer not to respond!! Those monstrous weapons are... searching for us by using microphones and... tracking radio signals!!"
"Sir!! Thank goodness you... are okay! That means we will... get the rest of our fee!!"
Despite the static, the transmissions were still making it through. The immigrant residential city was much farther away. That may have been why he had been unable to contact the old lady there.
(Heat resistance. Low-stability plasma cannons. The Arctic Alaska district. Ceramic armor plates that use no high heat resistant reactive materials and do not properly function as onion armor. Where did the dummy models come from? What route did they make their surprise attack from?)
"Wydine, how many of the unmanned vehicles are left!?"
"The Bird was... shot down. I can... still detect... three Animals. But the Objects... have begun... wide range jamming. The radio... signal is... receiving a lot of... interference!!"
"I need you to find a way to carry out another rocket attack. I'll send you the location using my handheld device. Tell me your address!!"
"Wow. A chance to get... personal information from... such an excellent customer!! Today is... my lucky day!!"
"I'll be encrypting it when I send it of course."
Using the address he was given, Quenser sent map data with a mark on it to Wydine.
"This is... ?"
"If you do as I say, they will get caught up in it. This plan only works because the small unmanned vehicles don't show up on the anti-personnel sensors. Do you think you can manage it?"
"A half-destroyed... Animal is... right nearby. They think... they have destroyed it... so I can target... whatever I want. I will have to... send out quite... a powerful signal... to force through... the jamming... so there is more of a... risk... of them determining... our location."
"Please do this. Also, the Indigo Plasma's jamming probably has a hole. That way the frequency used to manually correct the dummy models is not interfered with. Analyze the jamming signal and find that hole. That will be the line that connects the leader with the dummies. If we use it well, we might be able to cause some interference of our own."
"Ksshh... As you wish... sir☆... C'mon get to work, you moocher!!"
"Quenser, once this... battle is over... I have some choice words for you."
About 2 kilometers away, the 7 Objects were moving. The Animal was located right in the middle of the group of Objects. Heivia and the others seemed to be hiding about a kilometer to the west of the center. If they were found, it would all be over, but they still had a chance. The 24th's strategic AI that was controlling the dummy models was not that advanced.
"So basically the plan is to... ksshh... provoke them to accidentally fire their... low-stability plasma cannons into the center of their formation. That way, the ones with... thin armor will be blown away, " said Wydine.
"But the Indigo Plasma is a Second Generation... Object. Ksshhh... Just having it left is enough of a threat, " warned Heivia.
"We'll manage somehow. Just do as I tell you for now. If they change their formation, this will all be for naught!!"
Quenser urged them on while checking the situation on his handheld device's GPS map.
At that moment, one of the dummy models suddenly changed direction. It was aiming its main cannon at the hill Heivia and the others were hiding behind.
(Not good. They were located from the upped output on the radio signal!!)
But the dummy model stopped moving. Intense static came from the radio and the GPS map stopped updating.
(Did they find the hole in the jamming signal and blocked the line connecting the Indigo Plasma to the dummies!?)
An explosive noise rang out.
However, it did not come from the Objects. It was much too small for that. The Animal at the center of the 6 dummy models had fired its rocket. The rocket had struck the armor of one of the dummies and exploded.
The strategic AI immediately reacted.
The program made a decision from its list of priorities and began a counterattack against what had attacked it.
Yes.
It used its one functioning weapon, the low-stability plasma cannon it used as a main cannon.
A pure white explosion occurred.
The explosion grew so large it swallowed up the 6 dummy models. Despite his great distance, Quenser was temporarily blinded as if he had looked directly at a magnesium ignition. It was not simply the power of the low-stability plasma cannon fired at the ground near the dummy models. The 24th's foot soldiers had already been roasted, but they had been equipped with gas cylinders and tanks of the special gas in order to work in conjunction with the Objects. Those had caused the explosion to grow even larger.
But...
"Dammit."
The jamming from both sides was gone.
Heivia's curse of despair came through clearly.
The reason for his despair was the seven giant forms he could see.
Their surfaces had melted slightly, but their overall silhouettes were still intact.
The enemy could still move.
"It was no good. It didn't work!! It's not just the Indigo Plasma left! The six dummy models weren't destroyed either! Even if their armor was thinner than normal, they still aren't something flesh-and-blood soldiers can deal with!!"
"No, " Quenser said into the radio."Those 6 were enveloped by the explosion as planned. This is checkmate."
"How is this checkmate!? The surface of the armor was melted a bit, but they can still move!!... C'mon, let's get out of here. What does the reward matter if you die, right!?"
That last bit seemed to have been spoken to Wydine and the others, but the mercenaries did not seem to agree. A PMC focused on profit took that kind of thing seriously.
"They had a major weakness this entire time, " said Quenser slowly in an attempt to calm down Heivia who was about to panic."The armor has no high heat resistant reactive material in it. Nor does it function as onion armor. It's just a mass of cheap ceramic. In other words, it has a poor resistance to extreme changes in temperature."
"What are you talking about!?"
"Their main cannons are low-stability plasma cannons. Those create a lot of heat. And this is the Alaska district. Being below the freezing point is normal here. And to top it all off, the dummy models made their surprise attack from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. They would have been completely cooled down. The heat caused by their low-stability plasma cannons would have sent their temperature skyrocketing. And that means..."
Quenser stopped and took a deep breath.
He then began speaking again.
"The properties of the ceramic would have changed greatly! Once that distortion grows large enough, they should collapse under their own weight!!"
A loud noise like a metal joint coming out of place could be heard.
Cracks started running through the 6 dummy models like a glass sculpture that had been dropped on the floor. They shattered in in a way that ignored how the original pieces were joined together.
Quenser glanced down at his handheld device
He could hear his fellow soldiers speaking.
"I have heard that when forged blades are made, the heating of a furnace and the cooling of water are used to alter the properties of the metal in order to make it stronger. The most famous example is the katana from the Japanese Islands, " said Wydine in admiration."But it has the exact opposite effect when not carried out by a skilled craftsman. I believe just opening and closing the door to the workshop can create enough of a temperature difference to cause the metal to be too brittle, making the sword a failure."
"Normally, an Object designed to operate in these conditions would have heating elements in between the armor plates to ensure it does not cool down too much, but I doubt they went that far after cutting so many corners on the armor's thickness."
"Sorry to interrupt your celebration, " cut in Heivia."But the Indigo Plasma is still doing just fine!! That thing is a legit Second Generation Object that cost 5 billion dollars! It isn't going to shatter from that!!"
Quenser could hear an ominous creaking.
Two kilometers away, the slightly damaged Indigo Plasma was moving its main cannon. Even if they had been dummies, it had lost a large portion of its military power with the loss of those 6 Objects. Its Elite, Prizewell City Slicker, must have been quite angry.
As if to display that emotion, the low-stability plasma cannon aimed at a puny flesh-and-blood soldier.
Yes, it aimed at Quenser.
(I guess he finally managed to track me from my radio signal. )
"Heivia. Wydine, and the rest of your mercenaries, he's done for. Cover your ears and get down on the ground if you don't want to go blind or deaf due to a simple explosive blast."
"Quenser!!"
"Sir!?"
Quenser ignored the shouts trying to stop him. Running would hardly help him at that point.
Quenser then heard what sounded like thunderclouds approaching.
Approaching from behind him.
"I was waiting for you, princess, " he muttered.
When he had checked his handheld device after the six dummy models blew up, he had been checking on the location of the Baby Magnum.
He had known the princess would make her move when such a large change occurred to the situation.
"No, Quenser..." said Heivia in dull surprise."The Indigo Plasma is a true Second Generation Object! Even if the princess had all 7 of her main cannons functioning, she would have trouble destroying that monster!! Right now, she only has one. And it's not at full power either!! Even a direct hit isn't going to stop Indigo Plasma here!!"
And when that first strike did not finish things, they would be blown away by a counterattack.
However, Quenser's expression did not change.
"This is enough."
Quenser held his radio in one hand and used the other to hold his handheld device straight out like a handgun. He was not sure if it would actually aid in targeting any, but he aimed the communications infrared signal coming out the end toward the Indigo Plasma.
It looked like he was stabbing at an enemy with the point of a rapier.
"Get him, princess. Finish off that discriminatory bastard."
Immediately afterwards, the two Objects fired their main cannons at exactly the same moment.
Yes.
They both fired low-stability plasma cannons.
The six dummy models had "shattered" around where the Indigo Plasma was and the special gas for their low-stability plasma cannons had filled the area.
The result was obvious.
The Indigo Plasma was swallowed up by a pure white flash of light.
Even if they had been dummies, their main cannons had still functioned. Enough special gas to power six main cannons had surrounded the Indigo Plasma. In response to the Indigo Plasma firing its own main cannon, the special gas had immediately exploded. The explosion may not have had the directionality provided by a cannon, but the scope of the explosion was simply too great. Even without the temperature being intentionally regulated to the optimal point, natural fluctuations and diffusion caused enough of it to be at the proper concentration to be ignited.
The armor could not withstand the tremendous blast.
Object armor was said to be able to withstand a nuclear weapon or two, but it melted like a sugar sculpture here. And once it had grown soft, the princess's low-stability plasma cannon blast stabbed into it. This caused critical damage to the reactor that produced such tremendous amounts of electricity, which led to an even larger explosion.
"... !!"
Quenser was quite distant from it all, but his vision and hearing were not working properly.
However, he realized soon thereafter that it could have been worse.
At some point, a giant wall had interposed itself between Quenser and the explosion. That wall was an Object. The battered Baby Magnum had acted as a shield for him.
"Hello, are you still alive?" asked the princess.
"I feel like I'm about to die..."
"How about you worry about us!?" shouted Heivia."We only had half the distance from that explosion than you did!!"
The princess seemed to have decided to simply ignore Heivia's complaints.
"Where is City Slicker?" she asked.
"Dead, I'd think. You saw that explosion. Even if he ejected, he would have been roasted in midair."
"Then we have just one more thing to do."
"Yes, " said Quenser into the radio."We need to tell that old lady everything's okay."
Part 12
Chaos had begun within the immigrant residential city.
It started with the TVs. The normal stations had stopped their broadcasts, but a military antenna on the Baby Magnum was used to force a pirate broadcast through. The wreckage of the seven monstrous weapons was displayed on the screens. After a bit, it switched over to footage of the 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion's soldiers letting out a cry of victory. The CS broadcast staff helped film it all.
At first, some people thought it had been faked.
But the Object wreckage could be seen from the edges of the city with binoculars, so fear began to leave the atmosphere of the city. The dark enthusiasm faded away to the point that it was hard to believe how frantic everyone had been just moments before.
"Hey, old lady. Your chauffeured ride is here, " said Heivia as he stopped the off-road vehicle within the immigrant residential city. The old lady caught Quenser's eye where he sat in the passenger seat, but the student just shrugged.
The old lady was with her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter.
She walked away from her family and toward the vehicle.
"I am prepared. What is my punishment?"
"That will be determined later, " said Quenser, passing on information from their commander."As the emergency caused control of the unit to be lost temporarily, Froleytia has a lot of reports to write, but she told me to pass on a message to you: any failures can be overwritten by results, and you are fortunate enough to have the technical skills needed to make her hesitant to get rid of you."
"... I see, " was all the old lady said.
Her heart was likely filled with various emotions she could find no way to express in words.
"Grandma, " called out the girl who seemed to be her granddaughter. The girl pointed at something in the distance and asked, "Did you make that, grandma?"
She was pointing at the Baby Magnum as it travelled along outside the city. One of the princess's telephoto lenses must have picked up the girl pointing because one of the main cannons waved back at the girl.
The old maintenance lady remained silent for a bit.
"... Yes, " she finally replied."That is the robot of justice I made and these are my wonderful comrades."
As he lightly stroked the steering wheel, Heivia whispered to Quenser in the passenger seat.
"(Aren't you going to make a joke about that?)"
"(I think we can let this one slide. )"
The old maintenance lady climbed aboard and the off-road vehicle left.
It headed outside the immigrant residential city.
It headed for the maintenance base zone where the princess waited.
| ← Ch. 022 | Ch. 024 → |