Editing HEAVY OBJECT:ShortStory1 (section)

===Part 4===

The radio in Quenser’s hand was the switch to activate the “floor heater” using the explosion generator. The explosion generator could create a massive amount of energy but only for an instant, so messing up the timing would mean the failure of the operation.

The radio was connected by a cable over 100 meters long.

If he hit the switch just as the Strategic Antenna passed over the “floor heater”, a large amount of static electricity would be generated which would disturb the static electricity keeping the Object afloat. That would stop its movements for a few seconds to a dozen seconds.

If the princess fired one of her main cannons in that time, the Strategic Antenna would be unable to evade.

Quenser would be lying if he said he was not worried.

Even if the operation was a complete success, the Strategic Antenna would end up exploding very close by. He was hiding behind the V-shaped “castle gate” 100 meters away from the “floor heater”, but he had no idea how much that would help. In the worst case, he would be enveloped in the blast when the Object was destroyed.

And if the Strategic Antenna noticed he was hiding there, it would likely aim its ridiculously huge main cannon at him. Even if he was a normal soldier with no real power of his own, this battlefield was not kind enough to overlook someone who was clearly leading you into a trap. Naturally, a flesh-and-blood soldier could do nothing if he was targeted by that monstrous weapon. This was not an attack he could avoid by leaping out of the way like in an action movie.

However…

(I have to do this. If I don’t, we’ll be cornered. In that case, I need to try everything I can.)

The hand holding the radio was damp with sweat.

The Strategic Antenna would be arriving soon.

(The countdown has begun.)

For fear of having his voice picked up by the Object’s sensors, he avoided even muttering under his breath.

His own pulse sounded unpleasantly loud in his ears amid the extreme silence.

And then Quenser saw something odd. It was Heivia. Heivia was hiding on the opposite side of the V-shaped “castle gate”, but he was leaning out and waving at Quenser. He seemed to be trying to tell Quenser something with his body language, but Quenser was not sure what. Nevertheless, this was not normal. Even if they were hidden, that could cause them to be spotted by the Strategic Antenna.

Heivia looked irritated that Quenser did not understand. He gave up and pulled out something that looked like a small grenade. It was a cannon that could be held in one hand and fired shells the size of 500 mL drink bottles. However, it was also commonly used to send necessary ammunition and equipment between allies. Heivia used a hand signal to tell Quenser it would not explode and then pulled the grenade trigger to fire something toward where Quenser was hiding.

The capsule flew over 100 meters and landed in the sand at Quenser’s feet. It contained a small device.

(A radio?)

Quenser’s radio was connected to the “floor heater” with a cable, so he had set it to not receive any other transmissions. He must have missed some information sent to the Legitimacy Kingdom unit.

Wondering what it could be, Quenser picked up the radio Heivia had sent him.

The following words came from the second radio:

“I repeat.”

That phrase meant something had already been stated in full.

“This is the 9th Platoon. We are deployed near Roadshow City. During our patrol, we spotted a Faith Organization transport unit. It seems they were transporting supplies for the Strategic Antenna’s attachCOIL…that is, its main laser cannon. Anyway, the situation has grown very bad.”

The route Quenser’s unit and the Strategic Antenna had been focusing on travelled from north to south. Roadshow City was approximately 40 kilometers west of the “castle gate”. The Strategic Antenna’s original role may have been to slaughter any opposing forces nearby and then meet up with the transport unit to allow those materials to safely reach their base.

The 9th Platoon belonged to the same Legitimacy Kingdom military as Quenser, but it was not under Froleytia’s command. Most likely, it had been trying to limit the Strategic Antenna’s actions by keeping those supplies from it.

“We don’t know how long we can use this radio, so this may be hopeless. But we will continue making our request as long as we can. The Faith Organization has used a carbon weapon. A large amount of an extremely fine carbon powder was scattered. It is meant to enter through a vehicle’s radiator or a computer’s cooling opening to fry the insides of the devices.”

“!”

Quenser understood what the soldier was trying to say.

A carbon weapon was a special weapon developed to rob an enemy army of their ability to fight by destroying their vehicles and electronic devices and nothing else. However, the carbon powder used was too fine-grained. It made its way into people’s lungs and accumulated to the point of leaving severe respiratory damage. For that reason, its use had been banned by a war treaty.

At this rate, the 9th Platoon would be annihilated.

“If any unit can hear us, please bring chemical weapon masks, explosives, and radio detonators. This is being caused by the carbon powder, so we might be able to eradicate it by causing a dust explosion.”

Quenser recalled where the different units had been deployed and then shook his head. It was hopeless. The closest unit to the 9th Platoon was Quenser’s. However, they would not make it in time to rescue them even if they headed out right away. The carbon powder in the wind would envelop the platoon before they arrived.

Despite knowing it was impossible, Quenser spoke into the radio.

“Can you hear me? You need to get out of there right away. We can’t go rescue you. The Strategic Antenna is right in front of us.”

“Dammit. I had started to assume as much when I received no response after four times, but I guess we aren’t the only ones faced with hell.” The soldier sounded as if he were smiling bitterly. “Then we have no choice. Maybe we can use the off-road vehicle that stalled. At the very least, we might be able to cause a dust explosion by blowing it up.”

“You’ll be caught in the blast! Even if you can escape the flames, the great consumption of oxygen will leave you without air!!”

Quenser almost clicked his tongue. He knew it was almost impossible, but he desperately thought up another idea.

“The carbon weapon is being spread by the wind, but it isn’t faster than a car. Get out of there as fast as you can!! That will save you. If you evacuate temporarily in this situation, it won’t count as desertion!!”

“If we could, we would have done so long ago. We had to abandon our pursuit of the Faith Organization’s transportation unit because our armored vehicles blew a few tires.”

“How many vehicles do you have? You can use duct tape to…no, that wouldn’t work. Oh, I know! Instant glue! If you seal off all of the cracks in the doors and stuff cloth or something in the air conditioning vents, there’s a chance you can outlast the storm caused by the carbon weapon!! You don’t need to cause a dust explosion!!”

“We don’t know how far this goddamn carbon powder will spread,” cut in the soldier. “Roadshow City isn’t very far away. If it reaches the city, it’ll be the people of Oceania who suffer. If their vehicles and electronics are taken out, their rescue system will be paralyzed. Who knows how far the damage will spread.”

“…!!”

Roadshow City was where the Legitimacy Kingdom, the Information Alliance, the Capitalist Corporations, and the Faith Organization planned to hold the signing ceremony for Oceania’s declaration of peace. If it fell victim to the carbon weapon, the signing ceremony would be a waste. In the worst case, it could lead to a long, drawn-out war in Oceania between the four world powers.

(Does this Greek mythology unit plan to withdraw after pulling the trigger of war!?)

“Don’t worry. They only grew desperate and used this carbon weapon because we didn’t finish them off. We will take care of this. You focus on the Strategic Antenna. We know how horrific an opponent an Object is.”

“Dammit,” muttered Quenser.

He knew the one way of saving that platoon about to be swallowed up by the carbon weapon.

Yes.

There was a way.

For an instant, Quenser wondered if it was really necessary to go that far. He was a student. He had been sent to the battlefield to learn about Object design. He was fighting this war to quickly obtain an excellent academic background, get rich, and, despite being a commoner, earn a social standing higher than the lower levels of the nobles. Before he thought about justice or the direction the war was headed, he had to make sure he survived. Putting himself in danger was greatly opposed to his goal.

“…”

Quenser knew that, but he could not remain silent.

He looked over at Heivia who was hiding on the opposite side of the V-shaped “castle gate”. He was shaking his head. He seemed to be saying “stop”. He likely knew what Quenser was thinking. And knowing that, he was telling him to stop.

Nevertheless, it had been Heivia who had given Quenser the radio and thus the final say in the matter.

Quenser remained silent for a moment and then brought the radio up to his mouth.

However, he was not speaking to the soldier from that platoon.

“Quenser to the princess in the Baby Magnum,” he said while mustering all of his courage to move his trembling lips. “We will handle the Strategic Antenna. You go rescue the area around Roadshow City.”

Yes.

An Object could move at speeds exceeding 500 kph. Even if Quenser and the others could not make it in time, the princess could just barely make it.

And an Object was a monstrous weapon that could not be finished off even with a nuclear strike. Even if she blew away the carbon weapon in a dust explosion and was caught in the blast, the princess would be fine.

However…

If the princess’s Object left the battle here…

“Quenser!!” cried the princess.

“If you hesitate, my courage might waver, so get going. We don’t have time. If you don’t go all out, not even you will make it in time! You of course need to save the 9th Platoon, but you also need to save Roadshow City. If it’s taken out, we will lose the timing for the signing ceremony and the four world powers of the coalition could easily begin waging war here!! If that happens, no one can say how much the people of Oceania will be dragged into it all!! So go!! Hurry!!”

“…!!”

The distance between the two battling Objects suddenly increased.

The princess was withdrawing.

She slowed once as if hesitating, but her Object quickly disappeared at full speed toward Roadshow City. She likely wanted to rescue the unit and return as quickly as possible.

But she would not make it.

The Faith Organization Object would obviously reach the V-shaped “castle gate” sooner.

Heivia was shouting something while ignoring the risk of giving away their location. Even if he had not heard the details of the conversation, he understood what it meant for their Object to leave. Quenser thought as he listened to Heivia’s shouting. He had done nothing wrong. There had been no better option. The carbon weapon was about to envelop a unit of a few dozen people. It nothing was done, it could even reach Roadshow City. It could bring back a supposedly ended war in the worst possible way. The carbon weapon would decide the direction of the entire war, so it was more important in the long term than the Strategic Antenna. For that reason, Quenser had made the best choice. He was sure he would be proud of his decision someday.

However…

“To hell with this,” he spat out as he threw the radio forcefully into the sandy ground.

A strange feeling had exploded within Quenser’s chest. It was an ugly and black feeling. The massive destructive power of the giant Object seemed to be half-forcefully dragging something out of the depths of his heart.

“To hell with this,” muttered Quenser again.

A minute trembling had appeared somewhere in his body and it spread across his body in no time at all.

It was impossible. There was no way they could win.

Their plan had been to allow the Object to be used to its fullest, but that crucial Object had left. There was no hope of victory left. Even if they activated the “floor heater”, it would be meaningless. Quenser and Heivia would definitely be killed.

(Why did it have to happen at a time like this?)

If the carbon weapon had been scattered just a few minutes later, everything would have ended without issue.

Quenser honestly felt he would have not hesitated to say no rescue was coming if he could redo that conversation now. He would have refused to give up the Object. He would have forced his own convenience onto them and switched off the radio. He was sure of it.

As he sat there trembling, Quenser finally began to move.

An oddly raw light could be seen in his eyes.

“That was wonderful, Quenser,” said Froleytia over the radio. “That was the right decision. Overall, stopping a long, drawn-out war between the four world powers takes precedence over the immediate battle.”

She had not used her authority to send the princess back to the “castle gate”. That was likely because she thought she might have made the same decision under the same conditions.

She went on to say, “But what will you do about the Strategic Antenna!? If it passes through the ‘castle gate’ we will be at a severe disadvantage!! If you are going to change my strategy without permission, then don’t leave things half done!! Give me a method of resolving all of the problems!! Don’t tell me you are fine with being the one in the most danger!”

“That just means we have to take care of this ourselves, right!?”

Quenser was actually more panicked than even he knew, so he half shouted back at her. This was no way to speak to his commanding officer.

“You’ll overlook this if I find a means of destroying the Strategic Antenna that is more effective and certain than having the princess take care of it after activating the ‘floor heater’ below it, right!? Then just watch!! I’ll earn a medal right before your eyes!!”

The sound of someone clicking their tongue came over the radio.

She was conflicted because Quenser’s decisions had been correct in the big picture and because she could find no way of aiding him as his commander. She normally acted horribly cold, but she never abandoned her subordinates in the very, very end.

After a short hesitation, Froleytia finally spoke.

“You have permission to take action, so do something about the Strategic Antenna. That is all.”

She ended the transmission there.

Quenser stared down at the radio for a while and finally shouted toward his partner as if he had gotten over his worries.

“Dammit. Heivia! The strategy doesn’t matter anymore!! Who cares about our orders!? We just have to find a way out of this on our own! That will keep any of our allies from dying!!”

“Don’t decide that for me, you piece of shit! We need to escape that thing’s cannons first!! I don’t see how we can get out of here alive!”

The Strategic Antenna was unmistakably heading toward the V-shaped “castle gate” where Quenser and Heivia were. If it found them, they were dead. That Object could collect an overwhelming amount of information with all its sensors and radars, so it was near impossible that it would overlook them. No matter where they hid and even if they dug underground, the Strategic Antenna would certainly locate them and fire on them.

A cold sweat covered Quenser’s body.

He did not have enough oxygen. He felt like he had forgotten how to breathe.

That giant Object was approaching.

Were they already within range of its cannons?

It was able to kill them at any time, but would it choose to avoid an instant death and torment them first?

Was there anything they could use against it?

Quenser knew there was not, but he still glanced around. His eyes stopped on the remains of the battery half-buried in the sand in the open area of the “castle gate” a few dozen meters ahead.

That was the battery originally prepared for the “floor heater”. It had shorted out after getting too much fine-grained sand in it.

“…”

Quenser’s entire body stiffened for a moment.

He pulled out his handheld device and accessed the military network. He could gather all sorts of information there: data from the electronic simulation department, maps of the battlefield based on military satellite images, etc. Quenser chose to recheck the local weather information. He received the worst possible answer. The event Quenser had hoped for would never occur. The situation was simply too bad.

However, Quenser moved his slender fingers and accessed further information.

And then he muttered to himself.

“We might just survive this.”