Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume3 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

“Hey, Quenser. I heard you were taken out by some lovely lady in a black uniform.”

“I was walking along at night and she suddenly stuck an old-fashioned revolver into my gut and asked me for my unit and rank. It makes me wonder if she’s related to the Kuchisake Lady from the Japanese islands. Heivia, what is barrier duty?”

While soldiers gathered for the pre-mission briefing, Quenser and Heivia sipped at an aromaless black drink solely meant to wake them up. Quenser seriously thought the coffee they were given was worse than fast food coffee.

Heivia pushed his cup aside and said, “Barrier duty was originally to prevent soldiers from retreating from a battle, but the meaning has changed over time. In the modern Legitimacy Kingdom military, it entails being something like the supervisor of the battlefield. In other words, those with barrier duty watch over us. They check over everything to ensure the soldiers aren’t committing crimes, the prisoners are being treated well, and that no problems crop up during missions.”

“Watch over us? But we already have a military police unit here.”

“An external third party exists in case those MPs go out of control.”

“I see. So it’s unlikely she’ll be kind like a young woman acting as a dorm manager.”

“Those in black uniforms come from an independent agency at the center of the Legitimacy Kingdom military that have the right to carry out their barrier duty within any unit whenever they want. They have the right to take emergency measures if the offender does not obey their restraint order. …What you experienced was one of those emergency measures.”

“…You can clearly take a broad interpretation of that right.”

“However, there ''is'' a need for them. Wars are left to Objects these days. The soldiers often have nothing to do, so there is plenty of opportunity for problems to arise in and outside the base. Under certain circumstances, those in the black uniforms have the ridiculous right to restrain anyone regardless of rank, but it only applies to official soldiers and unofficial combat personnel brought into the battlefield. You’re only a safe country student who just so happens to know how to use explosives, so you end up counting as a civilian. You just barely manage to slip out from under their jurisdiction.”

“So I’m a civilian who just so happens to be sent out on to the battlefield and just so happens to destroy Objects, hm?”

“Don’t be like that. I’m jealous. I woke up from a shallow sleep and all of a sudden there are black uniforms everywhere. Those uniforms are blacker than this nasty coffee. We’re all on edge, but you get a free pass. Hey, how about you test it out by going over and flipping up that strait-laced woman’s skirt. If you apologize, I bet she’ll forgive you.”

“Don’t joke. I’d rather not get shot and have it treated as an ‘accident’ in the course of her barrier duty.” Quenser grimaced at the coffee that was so bitter it seemed to close up his throat. “But what did Froleytia do to warrant sending in this unit from the home country?”

“Actually, I wonder if we’re completely blameless when it comes to why they’re here…”

As the two boys spoke, their large-breasted commander headed to the stage up front. 

While operating the projector with a remote control, she said, “Soldiers, thank you for filling yourselves with caffeine this late on such a cold night for something other than waiting up for Santa Claus. I will now begin the pre-mission briefing.”

Heivia frowned at Froleytia’s slightly stiff voice.

“(Ahn? What’s with her? She’s started some odd lip service all of a sudden. Her usual sharp edge and impeccable timing are missing. I didn’t take her for the type to get nervous at this kind of briefing.)”

“(Heivia, Heivia. Look over at the back right edge of the room. It’s hard to see because it’s so small, but that’s a CS TV camera.)”

“(What a pain in the ass!! I thought she liked to stand out, so why is she not acting like herself here!?)”

“(The military show this will be part of acts as a form of propaganda to get more recruits and to get the people to understand what their taxes are going to. She would probably rather be doing this as her normal self, but she has to think about the image of the military. Look, you can see the corner of her mouth twitching.)”

“(Well, I’ll admit showing a beauty will probably be more effective than some filthy old man.)”

The fact that Froleytia was at her limit seemed to infect everyone in the area because an unnatural number of hands shot up when she asked “Any questions!?” with a sharp look in her eyes. It looked like a scene from an elementary school math lesson.

With a bitter smile, Heivia whispered, “(Heh heh. It looks like she’s stuck. Hey, Quenser, how about we show off just how good we are with the ladies by rescuing her here? If we’re lucky, we can get her to tread on us in the good way later.)”

“(You say that, but you’re just going to ask her if she’s on her period or something else that qualifies as sexual harassment to see how she reacts on camera. I’m going to actually save her.)”

After the first round of questions was over, Quenser raised a hand.

“I looked through the given materials, but I would like to make sure we are all on the same page. Any discrepancies in interpretation could lead to unnecessary risks during the mission. It may be a bother for you, but could you explain the mission step by step?”

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“Yes,” nodded Froleytia. With the flow of questions cut off, the silver-haired, large-breasted commander regained her usual form. “Our mission is to attack a military coal mine on the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula which is run by the Faith Organization.”

With their commander back on her usual form, Heivia asked Quenser a question.

“(What was that about having looked through the given materials?)”

“(Some lies are justified.)”

“Our intelligence department has discovered that this military coal mine is used to mine the fuel used by the JPlevelMHD reactors used in Objects. By destroying it, we can indirectly stop the movements of the entire Faith Organization military to a certain extent.”

The reactors used artificial plasma to generate electricity, but a surprising report said that manufacturing old fashioned coal was more efficient than modern fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas.

“Incidentally, they have begun to notice our presence here and have dispatched a Second Generation Object ahead of time. We had hoped to take out the coal mine before it arrived, but the intelligence agents failed in that regard.”

“What do we know about their Object?” asked Quenser.

Froleytia used the projector’s remote control to display a giant video behind her.

“We managed to secretly get footage of this Faith Organization Object fighting an Information Alliance Object three months ago. We have dubbed it the Wing Balancer. Its main cannon is a coilgun with a small caliber that seems mismatched to its large size. It is most likely the ‘small, sharp, and fast’ type. It has a long range and high accuracy, so it can steadily apply damage. It is a Second Generation Object that is based on an air cushion engine and has full functionality on both water and land without exchanging parts. You can read the specifics of its estimated specs in the documentation, but let me say this: it is powerful. It is not an opponent we can just send the Baby Magnum up against.” The commander used her slender fingers to operate the projector’s remote control and a giant map appeared on the screen behind her. “The battlefield will be on the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Due to their fourth submarine base construction plan and a large scale earthquake in the Bering Sea, 150 kilometers of the coastline has been transformed into a giant ria coast that stretches about 90 kilometers inland. …Basically, cliffs stretch throughout the battlefield like spider webs. Since our princess needs to put on or take off her float when moving between water and land, this is not good terrain for her. Normal cliffs could be flattened with the Object’s cannons, but this ria coast was created by carving out the ocean surface for submarines, so even destroying the cliffs may not be enough to fill in the area below,” said Froleytia. “Also, the Faith Organization has installed large radars in various places along the ria coast. We believe they are used to greatly improve the targeting accuracy of the Wing Balancer. If the princess challenges them on a terrain she cannot move across easily and when they have targeting assistance, she will likely be destroyed.”

Froleytia changed what the projector was displaying.

Red dots indicating the locations of the radar facilities and other places were added to the map.

“So before the princess battles the Wing Balancer, we will secretly deal with those radars. By adding in a program we have prepared, the targeting correction data sent to the Object will be altered. In other words, we are recalibrating it to make targeting difficult. If this succeeds, the princess should be able to easily defeat the Wing Balancer.”

“What if the Wing Balancer notices the abnormality and switches over to running without the assistance of the radar facilities?” asked Heivia.

Froleytia lightly replied, “The system is on such a great scale that it cannot just be switched on and off like a fluorescent lamp. As long as it takes a minute or two to switch over, we’ll be fine. I can’t have you taking our princess’s accuracy lightly.”

“We’re going to need soldiers moving on foot in secret for this, right?”

“Yes. Two teams.” Froleytia used the remote control to add two arrows to the map. “One will head to the base of the data cable that governs all of the various radar facilities to add in the interference program. On the way there, this team must slip past the surveillance network made up of a group of UAVs swarming around like bees. I’ll be honest. If that was a simple task, this would be a much easier mission.”

“UAVs…Unmanned aerial vehicles…”

“Basically, they are expensive remote control airplanes with cameras attached. That group of UAVs must be neutralized before we can head for the data cable. The UAVs patrolling the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula fly autonomously according to a program. However, once every 30 minutes, a trajectory correction program is sent to provide slight alterations for their flight path. It is similar to the calibration of radio clock. This is necessary because a good number of them fly between the cliffs. If left to their own devices, a slight error could lead them to crash into one of the cliff walls. These UAVs cost 50,000 euros each. The enemy’s desire to avoid losing any of them has created an opening for us.”

“So we use a radio signal to send a disruptive program into the UAV control network?”

“Point 2. This is the farthest out point. First, we will infect a single UAV that comes out this far. But you might be noticed if you transmit for longer than 150 seconds, so be careful. The program will then spread to the control facility when the UAV accesses it via radio signal. From there, it will quickly spread to every UAV defending the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. After we have secretly taken control of all their systems, we can alter all their data at once.”

“So will the enemy in the base be stuck watching an endlessly looping recording? That’s the standard method,” said Heivia in amusement.

Froleytia brought a simple chart up onto the screen.

“I will now go over the order of events. First, Interference Program A will be sent to a UAV at Point 2 on the coast, neutralizing the surveillance network. Next, a small unit will head inland to Point 1. There, they will dig up the buried data cable that governs the large radar facilities and add in Interference Program B. This will let us use their targeting assistance against the Wing Balancer. Once the effects show themselves, we will finish by having the princess head out at full speed to attack. If she passes over the hill along the long and narrow Route 3 that lies between two cliffs, she can get within firing range of the Wing Balancer in a straight line. If the enemy’s targeting was working properly, she would definitely be hit by return fire from that position. Once she is within firing range of the target, she will blow away the Faith Organization’s Second Generation Object. Afterwards, we will send a recommendation of surrender to the coal mine. After giving them 900 seconds with which to evacuate all personnel, the Object’s firepower will be used to destroy it. …If all goes according to schedule, we will be shooting each other with water guns filled with champagne by dawn.”

“(Wow, so are the fridges already filled with ice-cold alcohol?)”

“However,” added Froleytia, striking down the excitement that had begun to well up among the soldiers. “If the UAVs spot us before the Wing Balancer’s targeting assistance has been dealt with, it is all over. Even if you shoot it down, the enemy will still learn what is going on. The Faith Organization UAVs each have two free-fall bombs installed, but do not attack them even if they fly right up to you. If anything is detected, the Wing Balancer will head out at once. And you will not be able to call in reinforcements from us. After all, it is highly unlikely the princess can win in a frontal assault. We cannot come to rescue you.”

Froleytia had the projector now display the state of things in the ocean near the Kamchatka Peninsula.

“The 24th Mobile Maintenance Battalion of the Legitimacy Kingdom military and its Second Generation Object, the Indigo Plasma, will be deploying on the ocean east of the peninsula as a dummy force. The Wing Balancer will be sitting there glaring at the Indigo Plasma. We have only one chance at this. If you are spotted, assume that not even your bones will make it back to the home country. When you fail in a surprise attack, odds are good the enemy will ignore the white flag. Their anger tends to get the better of them. Any questions?”

With that clear ending, Froleytia only received silence in response.

Amid that silence, Quenser raised his hand.

“We have two Objects while they have only one, right? …Couldn’t we just overpower them?”

“Not if the link with the radar facilities is working. In this case, it is the special terrain and attached facilities that are providing the Object’s strength rather than the intrinsic abilities of the Object itself. Don’t count on the Indigo Plasma. If it becomes clear we have failed and the situation worsens, it and its battalion will head out to sea to keep losses to a minimum. I doubt they will consider the loss of a valuable Generation Two Object worth buying us time to retreat. It’s one of those ‘wise decisions’ that are such a god damn pain in the ass.”

“This is being recorded,” pointed out Quenser and Froleytia cleared her throat before continuing.

“Do you understand just how dangerous our situation is now?”