Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 14===

Within the watchtower a short distance from the maintenance base zone, the Elite girl waited for Quenser and Heivia’s return. 

Suddenly, her ears twitched and she frantically turned around.

She had heard the dark thundercloud-like noise the Water Strider made when it moved using massive amounts of static electricity. It had likely started back toward its base zone because its time limit was drawing near.

If it ran across the other two in the base zone, they would surely be killed.

The girl had been handed a radio for just such a situation. If it came to it, she was to contact Quenser and Heivia so they could get away. Their plan would fail, but they would keep their lives. If the plan to destroy the Object’s undercarriage had to be ended, they would just have to come up with some other way.

The Elite girl reached for the radio’s switch, but suddenly stopped.

(…Not good.)

She audibly gulped.

The enemy base zone was made up of maintenance facilities for the Object and large radio facilities to support the Object. They were likely used to more efficiently locate the enemy in a snowstorm, but if she used a radio so near a base with that many precision radars…

(They would definitely notice. Not only would they locate me, but they might even realize the signal was being sent toward the base…)

The radio was supposed to let her warn them of danger, but the transmission itself would bring danger on them.

However, she could not tell them the Object was approaching without the radio.

The Water Strider continued to approach the base zone.

(What do I do?)

The Elite girl looked down at the radio.

She did not want those two to die. This was not an issue of being duty bound to protect the other soldiers as the Elite of an Object. Beyond such sworn duty, she simply did not want those who had stood up to protect her to die in vain.

Comrades in arms.

When that term appeared in her mind, the Elite girl nodded.

(The enemy’s top priority is the Elite that pilots the Object…)

She took a deep breath and then stared intently at the giant weapon.

That was her only chance to act as a decoy.