Editing HEAVY OBJECT:EX Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 2===

The Antsiranana District was a battlefield country.

It was mainly composed of a giant island located along the eastern coast of Africa and it was even larger than Great Britain. It had no official affiliation, so it was a “hot potato” location that the Legitimacy Kingdom, Information Alliance, Capitalist Corporations, and Faith Organization ruthlessly fought over. However, the Faith Organization was currently making its presence known there. The area had once been known for its unique and isolated ecosystem that made it a treasure trove of animals such as the lemur, the Verreaux's sifaka, and the ground rollers, but it had recently become known as something slightly different: a treasure trove for the biological resources business.

“Welcome to Experimental Battlefield Madagascar.”

Heivia spoke in a somewhat muffled voice as he hid inside the dark jungle.

“This is as insane as always. We’re in Africa! Home of the world’s most sweltering nights! So why are we covered in special suits while carrying around these seven spy tools!? We’re covered from head to toe!!”

However, his voice was not traveling by vibrating the air. It was picked up by a microphone inside his helmet and sent by radio even though the two of them were always close enough to literally kick each other’s ass.

“We have no choice. The Object this time apparently detects people from the noise. It can locate us not just from our voices and breathing, but from the scraping of our joints and cartilage too. These are walking rubber soundproofed rooms. I agree they aren’t a lot of fun. They feel like the suits meant to protect people from viruses.”

“And they can still hear us stepping on the grass.”

“This is the jungle, so there are tons of animals stepping all over the grass. We just have to make sure none of our sounds are noticeably human.”

“Whatever the reason, I feel like I’m being forced to do judo in nothing but a raincoat. I’m not going to be absolutely covered in athlete’s foot tomorrow, am I?”

“Maybe if you didn’t talk so much and could fart a little more elegantly, we wouldn’t need these soundproofed suits.”

Something flashed inside the suit’s visor. It was a slimy green light, much like glow-in-the-dark paint.

In the lead, Heivia raised his hand and formed a fist.

“Stop, stop! Here it comes!!”

A single tone seemed to continue forever in every direction. Quenser and Heivia pressed their backs against a thick tree trunk or dove into a depression in the ground and then froze in place as if playing Red Light, Green Light. They completely froze. They literally did not move a single fingertip.

Finally, Quenser slowly turned his head and spoke inside the jungle.

“Did we…avoid detection?”

“If they’d noticed, the Object would’ve fired a shell. I don’t see how sonar detection could work very well in this thick jungle, so we can only pray I’m right and keep going.”

Heivia’s gulp reached Quenser over the radio.

“Of course, this won’t be all the Faith Organization is doing. They’ve set up parabolic antennae all over the place and the patrols will be carrying mics. Just don’t make any noise. Don’t step on any sticks, don’t touch any leaves, don’t splash any mud, and don’t mess with any garter belts someone took off and accidentally left behind. Let’s go.”

“I’m most worried about that last one.”

Quenser was a student without any real training, so he could only follow Heivia who at least pretended to know what he was doing.

After moving a bit further, Heivia came to a stop again.

Quenser crouched down meaninglessly and asked a question while only barely hidden by the grass.

“What is it now?”

“Quiet, idiot. There’s a sentry. It’s one of those patrols I mentioned.”

The Faith Organization must have decided they did not need to worry about noise because pointing a microphone forward did indeed reveal some rustling in the darkness.

However, Quenser and Heivia did not frantically dive to the ground. The jungle provided true darkness where even the moonlight seemed like a luxury. The enemy was not going to see anything even if they strained their eyes, so it would be much more dangerous to make any noise.

The two idiots crouched down as gradually as a housewife doing yoga for a diet.

Beyond the grass, four or five soldiers passed by only a few meters ahead.

“Good, they don’t have a dog. They only have cheap night-vision goggles and microphones. We can hide. Or rather, we have to or we’re in trouble.”

“…You don’t sound too certain.”

After hearing the rustling footsteps and chatting voices fade into the distance, Quenser and Heivia began moving again.

“This really is insane. Just because our Princess’s skinny arms can’t do anything doesn’t mean you should send flesh-and-blood soldiers up against a cutting-edge Object.”

“That’s just how dangerous an enemy this one is. Instead of challenging it to a direct shootout, the higher ups want us to make a surprise attack while the enemy has their guard down.”

After a short burst of static, a transmission arrived from the Baby Magnum.

“It’s not that dangerous an enemy.”

“Then can I go back to bed in the barracks? Why is the infantry out on the frontlines and the Object hanging around the maintenance base? That’s completely backwards.”

[[Image:HO_EX_01_011.jpg|thumb]]

“…Mhh.”

“Wait, Quenser. Please don’t say anything that’ll lose us support from the Object.”

Heivia sounded annoyed.

“What was the enemy’s strange Object called again? Doesn’t it have everything but the kitchen sink built in?”

“The Second Generation Trinity Style. Yeah, I don’t want to get into explaining this one. The list of specs goes on way too long. You just need to know that we couldn’t win in a direct battle.”

“Again, that isn’t true,” cut in the Princess. “I could totally win.”

“Yes, yes. And we’re supposed to do something about that with our seven spy tools? What the hell are they expecting from foot soldiers who are only paid 2000 euros a month!?”

“I can hear you, Heivia.”

The delinquent soldier clicked his tongue when their busty commander’s voice arrived via radio.

He gently stroked the devices attached to the back of his soundproof suit.

“I know we’re supposed to be providing laser guidance support for an ultra long range shell, but it’s over one hundred kilometers from our base to the farthest reaches of the enemy territory. Can the Princess’s shitty cannons really reach that far?”

“What did you just say, Heivia?”

The Princess’s emotional points were dropping fast, but Quenser was too focused on the technical side to notice.

“Not to worry. She’s apparently using a new type of ablative shell.”

“Abla-what?”

“Ablative shell. It’s one of the gigantic metal shells for a coilgun with a plastic coating added on.”

“Like added chocolate sauce to unsold cookies? What good is a little plastic!?”

“It’s the same tech used in rockets and space shuttles. When entering the atmosphere, the plastic is intentionally allowed to melt in order to absorb the heat. Simply put, it’s tech that lets the shell surpass the limits of air friction to fly really, really, really, really far.”

“Seriously? A little plastic does all that? Won’t this completely change the Princess’s tactics?”

Frolaytia cut in over the radio to reject that idea.

“Even if it’s made from plastic, it still takes craftsmen to make, so it’s expensive and time-consuming. More importantly, it’s still at the experimental phase and there are no facilities to mass-produce them. And the Princess has to be physically attached to a largescale external capacitor when using it, so she can’t move while preparing to fire. It also puts a large burden on her main cannons. Simply put, each shot is ridiculously expensive, so the research will probably end if it doesn’t produce any results here.”

“Wait! We’re along for the ride with a test firing!? I’m risking my life out here, you know!?”

As they spoke, the tall grass came to an end and the feel of the ground changed.

However, that was not because they had stepped on a landmine.

Looking down revealed something relatively common in rural areas.

“There are wheel tracks here…”

“Wait, wait. This is bad, Quenser!”

“?”

“We’ve stepped out onto one of their patrol routes. And wouldn’t you know it? The pumpkin carriage is on its way! Get back into the grass! Hurry!! Get your head down and don’t move!!”

Quenser could barely hear the engine, but the sight of the bright headlights squeezed at his heart. It was probably a hybrid vehicle. The two idiots slowly hid in the tall grass so as not to be found.

A four-wheel drive truck slowly drove up.

A soldier’s upper body stuck out from the roof and was pointing around a device that combined a machinegun, a large light, a microphone, and some other clearly specialized equipment.

A meaningless transmission arrived from Frolaytia.

“Just to warn you, we won’t support your escape if you’re caught there.”

“Hurry up and go, you idiots. Just go. Don’t stop to take a leak. Getting pissed on here would be the worst.”

“I hope they don’t notice our footprints.”

“Only you would make a mistake like that. …Oh, hell. That truck’s stopping! It really is, dammit!!”

What looked like a miniature sun shined directly at them, so it was too bright to see anything past the grass. They heard the truck’s suspension creaking and a few doors opening and closing. The enemy was clearly suspicious of the grass and sending people out to investigate.

If they did a thorough check of the grass, it was all over.

Heivia’s mind turned to the suppressor-equipped handgun at his waist.

“This is awful. If we start a firefight, we’ll be cut off on both sides. We’ll lose our way back to the maintenance base and be stranded here.”

“That just means we have to find another way.”

“What? What is that you’re holding there?”

“The seven spy tools.”