Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume4 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 13===

Quenser and Heivia sorted through the information they had.

They had discovered a possible way in.

“Their commander has a certain item known as the Shadow Code brought in through a separate route from normal supplies. Well, I do understand why he would be worried about that.”

“This Shadow Code doesn’t go through the standard route. It isn’t brought in with the other supplies, and it isn’t officially authorized. That would leave behind data the commander would prefer not be there.”

“The secret transporters have an implicit understanding with the soldiers of the maintenance base.” Quenser went over the conditions one at a time. “That means the secret transporters can get through the base without worrying about the sections divided up by armband.”

They knew what items they needed to sneak into the base.

Just as Quenser and Heivia were about to take action, they heard a rustling in the underbrush directly behind them.

“!?”

But the noise came from too close behind them.

Quenser and Heivia frantically tried to turn around, but the attacker charged over at Quenser’s side.

“Quen-…!!”

Heivia cried out and tried to aim his rifle over, but he froze in place.

He had noticed two short-range sniper rifle barrels aiming at him from two different directions.

“You are not from the Capitalist Corporations. …Your equipment is made to look like it, but I see no reason why you would be hiding and spying on your own base,” said the attacker who was straddling Quenser.

It was a low, female voice.

When he saw her, Heivia brought a hand to his face.

“(Trade with me, Quenser!! Why is it always you!?)”

“(Are you saying you ''want'' a knife pressed against your throat!?)”

“That accent… So you’re from the Legitimacy Kingdom.” The attacker let some of her weight off of Quenser, but the knife blade remained at his throat. “What are you doing here?”

“So was the first aid kit not enough of a clue to stay out of this?”

“Shut it, kid. You may be trying to sound cool, but it just makes you sound immature. Answer my question.”

“What about you? What reason does Valkyrie of the Faith Organization have to let us live?”

Quenser was referring to the fact that they could have simply shot him and Heivia from a distance.

No matter how many weapons the women had, the fact that they had needlessly approached showed that they were not all that intent on killing them. And if they simply wanted to use blades to avoid loud gunshots, Quenser’s throat would have already been slit.

“A slight bit of thanks.” The Valkyrie woman then got up off of Quenser. “That last one hurt, though.”

“So what do you want?”

“If my judgment is accurate, you are about to attack the Capitalist Corporations maintenance base.”

The Valkyrie woman gave a thin smile.

It was most certainly not a smile of friendship.

“We are searching for an enemy of god that has fled to this area. However, they are in our way. If you are going to be causing them some trouble, we can use that. We simply wish to know when it will take place.”

“You are willing to ask the Legitimacy Kingdom for help?”

“You are better than the Capitalist Corporations or the Information Alliance. The Legitimacy Kingdom’s ceremonies such as the coronation are often based on religious ceremonies. …But more importantly, you are neither enemies of god nor are you obstructing our search. For now at least.”

“(Damn. I’m glad I didn’t make a crude joke when she climbed on top of me.)”

Even as Quenser felt a bit of quiet relief, another aspect worried him.

Quenser and Heivia were being monitored by the local armed group to prevent them from running off. Making contact with a unit from a world power could be seen as preparations to flee. It was possible they would be shot from afar.

When she noticed Quenser’s eyes racing around the surroundings, the Valkyrie woman said, “You do not need to worry about them.”

“?”

“We eliminated the others. We will use those who can be useful, but we have no reason to spare the ones who are of no use or who will hinder us later.”

Quenser heard a clanking noise.

The Valkyrie woman pulled out several scopes. They all had broken lenses and a dark red liquid splattered on the side.

“Would fingers or ears have functioned better as proof?”

“…”

He had known the woman was bad news before, but Quenser felt a chill run down his spine once more.

No matter how he thought about it, they were clearly enemies.

They would not be their allies.

He was also amazed at their ability to eliminate all of the snipers who had been hidden in the jungle.

He started to wish he and Heivia had gone further with the traps earlier.

“(Quenser. Hey, Quenser!!)”

“(What, Heivia?)”

“(If the guards from the armed group are gone, can’t we just run away now? We don’t have to go after the Capitalist Corporations Object!!)”

Heivia had a point.

With those guards killed, the armed group would take some other action. It was possible they would decide Quenser and Heivia had betrayed them and send out an additional unit.

However…

If they did nothing about the Deep Optical, more disasters on a scale too large to see would occur in the Loyauté district.

That armed group might once more use children as a shield in negotiations with someone else. And if that did not work, they might do something even worse

And most importantly…

“(Are we really free to leave?)”

“(What do you mean?)”

“(Do you think Valkyrie took the risk to approach us for nothing? They’re hoping to use us. So if we refuse…)”

“Dammit,” groaned Heivia.

The Valkyrie woman could hear everything they were whispering, but she was letting it all go.

“So what exactly is your plan?” expressionlessly asked the woman who made the decision to kill based on whether the person could be of use to her or not. “I do not care what you are trying to do, but the bigger the disturbance and the longer it lasts, the better for us. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Well…” said Quenser as he concentrated on keeping his breathing regulated. “We need some bottles. I’ll tell you the brand, but they can be empty. You can probably find them in their trash. Also…”

Not only was Valkyrie surprised at what Quenser said, but so was Heivia.

Looking puzzled, the Valkyrie woman asked, “Is that really all you need?”

“We don’t have much equipment. We don’t even have that.”

“Understood,” she said, accepting his request. She then lowered her voice. “But if you are captured by the Capitalist Corporations, do not speak of us. If you do, we will thoroughly research who you are, infiltrate your safe country, and kill every one of your relatives.”

“You don’t need to threaten us. We don’t even really know if you’re from Valkyrie or not. We aren’t who our uniforms say we are either.”

“Very well then.” The Valkyrie woman gave a wicked smile that almost seemed to be blasphemous in itself. “You two do as you wish. If we can make use of it, we will.”