Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume3 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 3===

A few hours later, the maintenance base zone made up of a convoy of large vehicles had been constructed. Froleytia gathered the members of the unit and began the pre-mission briefing.

“The enemy will be here soon.” She used a projector to display a map on the screen behind her. “We are up against the 24th Mobile Maintenance Battalion and the Indigo Plasma. There is no need to think of them as fellow Legitimacy Kingdom soldiers. They sullied the name of the Legitimacy Kingdom enough for the Sovereign Parliament to officially declare them an enemy force. To prevent any unnecessary damages such as any to civilians, we must eliminate the unit and its leader Prizewell City Slicker.”

This did not cause a stir in the crowd.

They had all clearly seen the true nature of the Indigo Plasma when it tried to slaughter civilians on the Kamchatka Peninsula, even if those civilians were from an enemy nation. Modern war made a clear distinction between safe countries and battlefields. The true nature of Froleytia and the 37th she commanded had also been made clear when they had led the civilians to the submarines even when doing so had no real merit for her unit. A force that crossed that line had to be destroyed before it could grow any more powerful.

“As its name would suggest, the Indigo Plasma is a Second Generation Object that specializes in the use of low-stability plasma cannons. It is quite powerful on its own, but it seems tactics have been put together for it that include working together with a unit of foot soldiers. …That is because they were part of the Legitimacy Kingdom military. They analyzed our victories and tried to add that into their own force.”

A few people in the crowd gave some sarcastic applause, but Quenser was taken aback. He had not been fighting Objects in order to help slaughterers grow more powerful.

To get rid of the heavy atmosphere, Quenser asked, “What exactly will we be doing?”

“Basically, we will take them out here on the coast of Victoria Island. The Baby Magnum and the Snow Quake will obstruct their path on land while the Active Sledge will cut off their retreat on the sea. The 24th will not try to take us on in a straight fight. Their foot soldier unit will likely try something. They have no chance while it is 3 to 1, so they will enact a strategy meant to destroy our unity.”

“Is there any information that needs special attention?”

“The 24th is taking this action because they believe they will end up with better odds even than 1 on 1 if we sabotage each other. I doubt the battle will go exactly as they wish it to, but there is a real danger of unnecessary confusion causing damages to spread farther than necessary. If you do not wish to die needlessly in a battle we end up winning, make sure to stay on your guard.”

After that, she explained specifically what different units would be doing. More foot soldiers were being deployed than usual. The fact that Froleytia was sending out over 100 foot soldiers showed just how worried she was about the 24th Mobile Maintenance Battalion’s foot soldier unit.

When the pre-mission briefing was over, Heivia slipped into the group of soldiers heading for the exit and worked his way over toward Quenser.

“Hey, hero. What area are you headed to?”

“Area F.”

“Then we’ll be together.”

“We’re setting bombs along the 24th’s route to stop their foot soldiers and vehicles, right?”

“C’mon now, stop that. Reconfirming what we’re doing right before we head out is just going to make us more nervous. When did you get to be so smart?”

“I don’t want to be treating this like I’m cramming before the night of an entrance exam. Hating things like that was what led me to becoming a battlefield student. But I might die if I don’t do it. Rumor has it the Indigo Plasma has had additions using private funds. If that’s true, the Legitimacy Kingdom military’s blueprint won’t be reliable. Just the other day with the Wing Balancer, we saw how dangerous misreading an Object’s abilities is.”

“…Yeah, no one expected to find an Object that could actually jump,” said Heivia in disgust.

As they left the assembly room, they spotted a few unfamiliar men sitting with their backs against the corridor wall. Their clothes made it clear they were not military men. They could only be described as dirty middle-aged men.

As they passed the men, Quenser asked Heivia, “Who are they?”

“The CS broadcast staff I would assume. The one for that military show. We came straight here from the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Black Uniforms withdrew to help with the mission, but there was no time to deal with the TV crew. They have to stick around here until the cargo planes head back to a safe country.”

“I’m surprised the media isn’t restricted from coming outside while a scandal like this is going on.”

“Normally, they would be thrown into detention cells in the name of intelligence preservation. Our huge-breasted commander may be generally frightening, but one of her good points is her ability to be oddly allowing about these kinds of things.”

“…But a battle is about to start, right? Is that really okay?”

“How should I know? But they came to a maintenance base on the front lines, so they had to have been prepared for some kind of trouble to occur. At the very least, it would have been written in tiny letters at the bottom of whatever paperwork they signed. Otherwise, that huge-breasted commander would never have allowed it.”

(So is she kind or is she not…?)

Quenser turned around once and looked at a cameraman who looked entirely exhausted. Had they been expecting a clean battle between Objects that was like an official sports competition?

However, there would be no point in speaking to them.

Quenser did not have the authority to send them back to a safe country and he could not pilot a cargo plane.

“…Does that mean their star is still here too?” wondered Quenser.

“Oh, she was amazing. She reminded me of a nostalgic idol from the old days. She had white and pink camouflage on. She must have been preparing for a firefight in a glass of strawberry milk.”

“I wonder if it would be inconsiderate of me to ask for her signature in this situation.”

“You can probably manage it during the confusion of the victory party.”

Suddenly, the princess walked around a corner of the corridor while holding a few ration packages. She spotted Quenser and Heivia and approached them.

“Oh, are you on your way to board the Baby Magnum?”

“Ugh, those rations look as disgusting as ever. Hey, how about we go on strike when things are a little more peaceful?”

The princess ignored Heivia’s suggestion that could have been interpreted as treason and looked over at Quenser.

“…The old lady was acting oddly.”

“Hah?”

“I guess you do not know what is happening either.”

The princess gave a heavy sigh. She must have been worried.

Heivia must have overlooked how serious she was taking it because he said, “Everyone gets a little nervous just before a mission. This time there will be a lot of foot soldiers on the front lines in addition to the Objects. Maybe she’s worried about us like we’re her family.”

“Could it really just be that?” said the princess with a puzzled look as she headed to the Object maintenance area.

“…”

Quenser stared at her back as she left, but then…

“Ahn? Hey, Quenser, where are you going? We’ll be heading out soon.”

“I’m taking a detour.”

“I see. Go off and hear out that old lady’s worries if you like, but be quick about it.”

“I’m not that softhearted. It’s just that all these battles have left me with little time to study Object design. I have enough time to make a quick visit to the maintenance area. I need to cram my head full of as much knowledge as I can.”

“Enough with the excuses, lady killer. Go make that old woman’s heart go all aflutter.”

Ignoring Heivia’s one-sided conclusion, Quenser headed for the maintenance area. The princess must have headed for the Object as quickly as she could because he did not catch up to her on the way.

The flow of time felt different inside.

Everything was much, much faster.

The speed at which things and people moved was much greater than normal.

A fair amount of damage had been taken in the battle with the Wing Balancer on the Kamchatka Peninsula. And now they had another battle coming up. They wanted to repair that damage as much as possible. After all…

(We are up against a traitor that has left the Legitimacy Kingdom. The normal rules of war no longer apply. We cannot use the white flag, so a loss means a slaughter.)

It was like there was a cliff one step behind them. The desire to get as much done as possible was understandable.

“Boy,” said a voice from behind him.

He turned around and found the old maintenance lady approaching with a toolbox.

“This is an emergency battle preparation. I do not have time to lecture an amateur.”

“You’re always telling me to steal as much information as I can using my eyes. I came here to test just how much I can absorb during the real deal.”

“Hmph,” said the old lady before making a motion telling Quenser to follow her and then beginning to walk once more.

As the princess had said, she was not being very talkative. Also, it seemed to be more than just pre-battle jitters. The other maintenance soldiers were in oddly high spirits as they forced themselves into an explosion of activity. Their attitude was the more common one for maintenance soldiers.

The old maintenance lady did not head for the metal framework of scaffolding around the Object’s main body. Instead, she headed for a crane a bit away from the Object. It was one of the types used at ports and shipyards that had the operator’s seat located a few dozen meters up into the air.

Instead of lowering the crane’s operator’s seat to the ground, the two of them jumped from scaffolding sticking out into empty air and onto the open area attached around the operator’s seat. The method was not exactly good to Quenser’s heart.

“Th-this isn’t the usual type of crane we use.”

“It is a Legitimacy Kingdom military format, but it is one of the pieces of equipment we borrowed from the unit already on Victoria Island. We could hardly fit everything aboard the cargo planes.”

That meant a few of the 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion’s proper vehicles had been left behind on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

As Quenser thought about that, the old maintenance lady tossed him a pair of binoculars.

“You can steal with your eyes best if you’re high up, right? Also, we can’t have someone who doesn’t understand the rhythm of things wandering around down there.”

“You sure are harsh…”

Quenser entered the enclosed area that contained the crane’s operator’s seat.

It was a large area. He felt like an entire 10-person van could fit inside. A single seat was installed in the center and various buttons and levers were installed around it. Also…

“Wow, the floor’s transparent. If you threw someone who was afraid of heights in here, they’d probably tell you anything to be let out.”

“Cranes like this need some way to see what is going on down below.”

“But is this crane really being used? I see an electric hot water dispenser, magazines, sleeping bags, and other small things in here. It looks like people are living in here.”

“As I said, we borrowed it. A lot of the equipment they use is not all that useful here. We thought it could at least function as a break room.”

“Hmm,” said Quenser as he looked around.

[[Image:HO_v03_15.png|thumb]]

There were a lot of tools to kill time scattered about. A few board games were spread out on the floor. He saw a few mechanically-focused magazines he did not recognize strewn about. He also saw a horseracing magazine that let you buy tickets online. It had things highlighted throughout. Amid it all was a digital picture frame. It showed an ephemeral-looking girl with black hair. 

Quenser picked it up and asked the old lady, “Whose is this?”

“It’s mine.”

“Hehh. So is this your daughter? Or your granddaughter?”

“It’s me.”

“!!!???”

Quenser quickly looked up from the digital picture frame and then back down at the image data.

“…D-do you have the special ability to turn young again on nights with a full moon?”

“You idiot. This was taken a long time ago. You should be able to tell that from the cityscape in the background. That kind of scenery no longer exists on the Japanese Islands.”

“Eh…?” Quenser froze in place. “The Japanese Islands?”

The old lady clicked her tongue at that question. She seemed to regret letting that slip out. 

Finally, she sighed and said, “I am an immigrant from the Capitalist Corporations. You could even say I was a refugee.”

Yes, the Japanese Islands were Capitalist Corporations territory.

They were actually divided between east and west. The western portion of the islands was controlled by a power that wished for a revival of the Imperial Court system and they had made a large-scale secession to the Faith Organization. The Faith Organization and the Legitimacy Kingdom were in conflict over whose power the Imperial Court system should be reinstated under. Also, the Capitalist Corporations side had their values change whenever maintenance was done to their advanced information infrastructure and they were mocked as beginning to transfer over to a more Information Alliance-like system. All in all, it was a very unclear and possibly explosive situation. However, the Japanese Islands were officially known as belonging to the Capitalist Corporations.

“But as you can clearly see, I am not a pure Asian.”

“Well, they did start letting in a lot of immigrants to combat the effects of the low birthrates and high age of the population.”

“Historically, that is what helped allow the technological information on Objects to spread so widely.”

“So what was this about being a refugee?”

“It was due to my daughter and her husband.” Quenser had expected her to refuse, but she answered quite readily. “They did some charitable work. Specifically, they worked to bring steady agricultural technology to areas short of food. They advertised their work with the phrase ‘We can save people suffering due to a lack of crops simply by lowering the grade of the convenience store bentos we eat for lunch’. That was what led to us becoming refugees.”

“Why? There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Oh, yes there is. The Capitalist Corporations is a world power where the economy and the corporations control the government and the wars. A large convenience store group grew angry. They treated it as information terrorism that was applying serious damage to the economy using words. My daughter and her husband were very nearly shot by the police’s anti-terror suppression unit.”

“…Wow.”

“We were left with no option but to move somewhere where the Capitalist Corporations could not reach us. Even so, the Legitimacy Kingdom was hardly a paradise given the importance it puts on lineage. Immigrants with no established lineage are at a disadvantage in everything. To live a proper life, you must have some kind of necessary skills that are enough to blow away those disadvantages.”

If she said she had no regrets about leaving the Capitalist Corporations or the Japanese Islands behind, she would probably have been lying. The look on her face made that clear enough. However, she had abandoned it all in order to protect her family. It was possible her life had been a path covered in fights more dangerous than the battle that lay ahead.

“So where did your daughter and her husband end up? The South Great Britain district?”

“…An immigrant residential city on the eastern end of Victoria Island.”

As that was right in the middle of the current battlefield, Quenser regretted asking that question.

That must have been why the old lady was acting so oddly.

“During the battles with the Water Strider and the Rush, the city was temporarily evacuated to Europe. They had only just returned after things had calmed down.”

“I’m afraid to ask, but how is the evacuation going?”

“Right now, not even the CS staff in the maintenance base have had time to leave. Do you really think there was enough time for an entire city to evacuate?”