Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume3 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 18===

Meanwhile, Quenser held his radio to his ear in the Rush’s cockpit. The thick barriers had prevented the radio signal from getting through before, but the tunnel-like passageway had opened up during the ejection. That meant he could now use his radio.

He was speaking with his large-breasted commander.

“The battle is over. I’ve gotten us the Second Generation Information Alliance Object almost completely intact. Send over some people from the electronic simulation department who know how to deal with the data processing. Of course, any staff familiar with the Information Alliance format would be best. A strategic AI called Juliet was stopped due to a conflict over commands, but it would be best not to leave it for too long. An auto-scan or self-restart could begin which might lead to the reactor being detonated to keep their data from us.”

“Understood, Quenser. First the Water Strider and now this. This really is a mountain of treasure for the Legitimacy Kingdom.”

“Tell me when you’re going to dismantle it. I would appreciate it if you could negotiate with the higher ups to get me in first.”

“Hmm, I can’t promise anything. The analysis of the latest technology of an enemy nation will likely become a national project. They might not let you due to fears that letting a student participate could damage some sensitive circuitry and prevent a proper analysis.”

“I guess it isn’t that easy…” sighed Quenser.

Either way, a report on the analysis of the Rush would be uploaded to the military database. He could learn a lot from that. There was more than one path to becoming a designer, so he decided it might be best to let this one slide.

After ending the transmission with Froleytia, Quenser began coughing. The intense inertial forces had injured him internally. He had blood coming from his ears and nose. It would likely be best if he received a full medical inspection once he returned to the maintenance base zone.

After that thought, Quenser noticed a new incoming transmission on his radio.

It was from Heivia.

“Hey, Sir Knight. It seems the plan to cause erroneous learning in the AI to stop the Object was a success. You should thank me. They might have to add a new strategy to the training manual for new recruits next year.”

“The Information Alliance won’t make the same mistake twice. They’ll have a countermeasure the next time we meet. A technique used once is an outdated technique. The battlefield is being constantly updated, so even the best information can become worthless in no time.”

“I heard a plastic explosive had been set in the cockpit to prevent the Elite from turning on them.”

“Thanks to that, I was easily able to get the Elite to eject. It seems she was able to control the Rush using full key touch. If it hadn’t been for that disagreement with her comrades, this battle might have lasted quite a bit longer.”

“Hmm,” said Heivia half-heartedly.

And then…

“By any chance, was that bomb made of Hand Axe?”

Quenser fell silent.

He glanced over.

The plastic explosive was definitely set up there. The name of the explosive used was Hand Axe. A gram of it was more valuable than a gram of platinum, and it was developed by the Legitimacy Kingdom military. Naturally, the Information Alliance had no way of manufacturing it.

What looked like a detonator was actually a decoration created from the cords meant for a wired detonation and the LCD screen taken from a pen-shaped wireless fuse.

Finally, Quenser spoke into the radio once more.

“…This is war. I wasn’t doing it out of kindness.”

“That was a bit of a cruel method. But just a bit. You could have been more thorough. You just needed to prevent the Elite from manually piloting using full key touch, so you could have just killed her. As long as she’s still alive, she can always use a derivative Object to return to the battlefield. The Information Alliance hadn’t raised the white flag yet, so you could have done it, right?”

“Should you really be saying that?” Quenser sighed. “After blowing up several Objects, I’m not really one to talk, but this is Alaska. Don’t tell me you forget what happened here.”

“Heh heh. True enough. Humans really aren’t fair. We complain like hell when someone does it to us, but forget all about that when we’re the ones doing it.”

“Please, just keep this a secret from the princess and Froleytia.”

“Because they’ll be mad at you for going against military regulations for something like that? The princess seems calm at first glance, but she does have a bad habit of being oversensitive when it comes to wins or losses against Objects, doesn’t she?”

“No, because it would probably put them in a bad mood. I’d rather not be ordered to make a 30 kilometer dash through the snow.”

“Heh heh. Shouldn’t you be more worried about the bad mood the princess is already in? When you were getting along surprisingly well with the Rush’s Elite, you said some rather explosive things. She seems quite agitated wondering who this Angelina childhood friend and Etta from the restaurant are.”

“Hah? I was just pointing you to the Angelina List!! You followed my instructions, so surely you figured that out, Heivia!”

“Eh? It’s not my problem if she didn’t catch on.”

“Why does it look like I’m going to have to explain myself to the princess after all this…?” muttered Quenser.

Ignoring him, Heivia cut off the transmission.

Amid the silence, Quenser looked up at the ceiling of the Rush’s cockpit. He thought back to what he had said.

''The next time we meet, we’ll be enemies. 

''We’ll be forced to fight to the death.

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