Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume3 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 5===

Object versus Object.

A safe and clean battlefield.

That international competition was something like an official sports competition that cleanly distinguished between the battlefield and safe countries.

In this age, wars were deadly fights between those giant weapons, so no others needed to die in the wars. When one of the Objects was destroyed, the war was over. The only sacrifice was the Elite piloting the Object. And even that was not assured. If the Elite performed an emergency ejection and transmitted the signal known as the white flag, the enemy Object would end its pursuit and preparations would be made for an end of war conference between the two nations.

Dying on the battlefield was no longer common.

The most common reason for a soldier to leave a front lines base was not injuries or death. Instead, it was due to complications in a romantic relationship with someone else on the base.

New soldiers fresh out of boot camp would lose their edge on the front lines.

Or so it should have been…

“God dammit!! How in the hell is this a safe and clean battlefield!?” shouted Quenser and Heivia in unison as they ran full tilt across the snowy white plain.

They had been hiding about a kilometer from where the two Objects had begun to clash. From there, they had tried to use binoculars or rifle scope to watch the “sports competition”, but the aftereffects of the battle spread to a frightening distance.

The cause of their fear was the shockwaves.

The main bodies of the Objects alone were over 50 meters across, so when they fired their main cannons, something like a tremor in the earth spread across the snowy white plain, causing the ground to push up at them from below. That had relentlessly shaken the 10-meter-long piece of Water Strider wreckage Quenser and Heivia were hiding behind, causing it to fall over so that it would crush them.

With the cover they were using as a shield trying to kill them, Quenser and Heivia were forced to run as fast as they could across the snowy plain. Given how massive the piece of wreckage was, it was just as dynamic a sight as seeing a slightly old car being turned into a hunk of recycled metal.

The Objects on the battlefield did not seem to notice the presence of the two boys. Or they had but were simply ignoring them because they could not affect the battle any.

The puny human crawling across the ground named Quenser did not want his grave to list such a pathetic cause of death, so he ran away looking like a demon covered in snow.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!! See, this is just as ridiculous as ever!! This is divine punishment for lowly people like us thinking we could watch an Object battle with our own eyes!!”

“Divine punishment!? Are you from the Faith Organization now!? Only shrine maidens talk about divine punishment!!”

“Divine punishment is a Shinto concept? I thought it was Buddhist.”

After the wreckage fell over and knocked a cloud of white snow into the air like dust, Quenser and Heivia hid behind it once more. The shockwaves still blasted through intermittently, but the Object wreckage seemed to have fallen into a more stable position. It was the same as a fallen tree not moving after it loses to gravity the first time.

Heivia lay on his stomach behind the wreckage and kept his breathing shallow.

“…This is really pathetic. We’re putting our lives in the hands of the wreckage that tried to kill us. It feels like getting in the bath the next day without letting out the water.”

“If you worry about pride when up against an Object, you won’t last 5 seconds,” replied Quenser offhand as he checked on the battlefield with his binoculars.

Since it was 50 meter+ monsters fighting, the assistance of the lenses was pretty much unnecessary.

They were fighting at close range.

Despite their huge size, Objects could move at high speeds of 500 kph. And this was not simply in a straight trajectory. They could make slight evasive movements similar to the footwork of a mixed martial artist. Overall, they ended up moving in circles around each other.

They could not hide behind cover to avoid shells and they could not use chaff or flares to throw off the enemy’s aim.

When a shell came flying toward them, they evaded it by sliding to the side.

They could actually predict when a cannon would fire from the minute movements it made, but the sight of shells being avoided like they were fists moving at tremendous speed was enough to leave a human speechless.

“…We should be thankful for the enemy’s rapid fire,” said Quenser quietly as he carefully watched the Information Alliance’s Rush. “Its main cannons are rapid fire beam cannon Gatling guns. They were made into Gatling guns in order to extend how long they could fire, but even then 30 seconds at a time is the limit. They probably put one on either side to make up for the time it takes to cool down.”

If it could fire those Gatling guns without limit, the princess would not be able to escape with her quick movements. It would be no different from the enemy swinging around a giant saber. But with the time limit, the princess only had to flee at full speed in one direction during that time and then change directions once the rapid fire ended.

With both main cannons, the Rush could fire without break, but its giant form got in the way. Each cannon could rotate enough to cover 180 degrees. This meant the right main cannon could only target the right 180 degrees. If the princess escaped to the left side of the spherical main body, that cannon could not target her.

“It looks like the Information Alliance’s ‘Oh ho ho’ is trying to make up for that by rotating the entire Object, but she isn’t able to keep up with the princess’s speed.”

“Hey. Hey, Quenser. Listen to this.” Heivia had been messing with the radio and now he held the rectangular device out toward Quenser. “I’ve picked up some kind of lover’s quarrel.”

“?”

Quenser frowned and focused on the voices coming from the radio.

What he heard was…

“Oh ho ho!! Just as I would expect of a loser like you, you are excellent at running away! End this pointless struggle and hand that gentleman over to my G-cup chest!!”

[[Image:HO_v03_08.png|thumb]]

“He is here to perform maintenance on my Object. ''My'' Object!! He would be wasted on an Object as irregularly shaped as yours. You’re not wanted here, so get lost. Or die.”

The two Objects continued to fire their cannons at each other, but the two Elite’s tone of voice was even more frightening.

Still holding out the radio, Heivia said, “This is no joke. I bet that large-breasted commander of ours has her head in her hands right about now.”

“Hey, Heivia. What is this about?”

“Weren’t you listening? It’s pretty obvious. Does this really sound like some high level code to you?”

“Two Elites from different sides using a war to fight over a single maintenance soldier? That’s one hell of a story. How much engineering skill does this guy have? Does he have proprietary tools only he can use or something?”

Without speaking a word and still smiling, Heivia clenched his right fist and punched his partner in the face.

Lying in the snow and holding his nose, Quenser was about to cry out in protest, but the voice never came.

A major change came over the battle.

A remarkably loud explosion rang out.

The two Objects had fired their main cannons and hit their opponent.

“They hit each other!!” shouted Heivia.

“How’s the princess!?” shouted Quenser.

It seemed both Elites had decided it would be a long battle and had therefore targeted their opponent’s main cannons.

The princess’s Baby Magnum had blown one of the Rush’s main cannons clean off. Its main cannons rotated to cover the 180 degrees on either side. With one of those gone, one side was a complete safe area.

And as for the princess’s Baby Magnum…

“Hey, this is bad.” Heivia gulped as he looked through his rifle scope that provided more magnification than Quenser’s binoculars. “The Baby Magnum had the ‘base’ taken out!! The back of the body where the joints for the 7 main cannon arms are gathered was blown off!!”

“The joints? But that could keep all of the arms from moving!”

“She focused too much on taking out that ‘Oh ho ho’s’ main cannon while circling around the Rush. Otherwise, she would never have been hit in the back in a 1 on 1 fight!!”

The two Objects continued in slow circles around each other, but the bombardment had ended.

The shouting voices over the radio had ended as well.

Silence.

Quiet.

The princess’s back joints had been shot off, but it was unclear if all of the 7 main cannons were unusable or if some of them were just barely functioning.

It was just as unclear how well the Information Alliance’s Rush could continue fighting with only one of its main cannons.

They were both trying to assess the battle ability of their opponent.

Quenser felt a great tension cover the battlefield.

If either of them decided they had a way to attack, the battle would be over in an instant. However, that decision might not be correct. If they tried, they could fail. If they failed, the battle would end with their opponent taking advantage of that failure and taking them out.

The Elites piloting the Objects were likely using their respective Object’s auto diagnostics to their fullest to determine just how usable their Object was. And all the while, they would be repeating strategy simulations in their heads dozens or even hundreds of times.

(…What are they going to do?)

Quenser had never known that a motionless battlefield could be so oppressive. He felt a pressure over his entire body like he was on a submarine sinking into the dark depths of the ocean after an engine failure.

And…

After about 500 seconds, the slow circular motion stopped completely.

With its main cannons pointed at the Information Alliance’s Rush, the princess’s Baby Magnum slowly moved backwards. She was headed away from the snowy plain of the battlefield and to her maintenance base zone.

The Information Alliance’s “Oh ho ho” did not try to head after her.

As if in response, the Rush backed away from the snowy plain as well.

Once it began, it all sped up.

After they had moved about 500 meters each, the two Objects suddenly rotated 180 degrees and left at full speed.

Quenser and Heivia were left alone on the battlefield.

“Wh-what was that? What happened?”

“They’re going in for a pit stop.” Heivia got up off the snow. “Only another Object’s main cannon can penetrate the thick armor of an Object. Both of them had their main cannons taken out. Without a way to finish this, there was no point in continuing. They need to have maintenance performed as quickly as possible so they can attack before the other’s maintenance is complete.”

“But the Rush still had one of its main cannons.”

“Didn’t you see the layout of the Rush’s main cannons, battlefield student? It had one on either side. With one destroyed, it has a major blind spot. That was hardly an ideal situation for the Rush. She probably wanted to head back for maintenance if possible.”

As previously stated, the princess’s back joints for the seven arms of the seven main cannons had been damaged. The cannons themselves had not been destroyed, so it was possible they could still be fired. The Rush had wanted something certain, so it had not headed after her.

Naturally, the one that finished its pit stop first would win.

“That means…” Quenser felt an unpleasant pressure in his gut. “This is bad. The princess had the part on the back that collects the joints for the 7 main cannon arms destroyed. That’s like a human hand. All the joints in there make it a delicate area. Can they swap that out quickly?”

“And the Information Alliance just has to put in a whole main cannon. Even a monkey would be able to tell who will likely finish changing first.” Despite his words, Heivia did not look all that frightened. “Hey, Quenser. Why do you think we drilled holes in that cliff and stuffed bombs inside? It was to get in the way of their maintenance unit.”

“Oh, that’s right,” said Quenser as if he had only just remembered.

The flashy battle between Objects had made him completely forget.

They had originally been trying to block the path for the maintenance convoy.

Heivia shrugged and said, “The Information Alliance’s highhanded girl and her followers will be caught in our obstacle course. If the princess can finish changing in the time that we manage to buy, we win.”

“But what are we supposed to do? Head back to the base as quickly as we can and help with the maintenance? They’ll need all the help they can get.”

“You idiot. I said it was a pit stop, remember? If it isn’t done by the time we make it back to the base, the Information Alliance will finish first no matter how much time we buy. Even if we rush back to the base at full speed, the princess’s maintenance will be over already.”

“Then what ''are'' we supposed to do? That leaves us with nothing.”

“Are you trying to be an overachiever now? There’s no rule saying we have to always be doing some kind of work. If there’s nothing for us to do, we just need to head back at a nice leisurely pace. In fact, if we rush back, that giant-breasted commander would probably just force some odd jobs on us.”

“Really…?”

“Really. What, did you get all excited seeing Objects so close? The presence of two puny soldiers makes no difference, so why bother gathering your strength? Froleytia and the others rely on us too much. A battle between Objects is just on too great a scale for humans with nothing but their two hands to deal with.”

“True,” agreed Quenser.

In what seemed like some kind of cruel punishment on a global scale, Quenser had been forced to face Objects himself due to various unpleasant coincidences, but wars that did not require his involvement should have been in the vast majority.

There was no reason for them to go all out here.

For one thing, they had properly carried out the demolition work on the cliff as Froleytia had ordered.

They had carried out their role, so there was no need to carry out any free overtime.

The Information Alliance military would get caught in the Alaskan obstacle course as planned, so the maintenance on the princess would have time to finish. After that, she could destroy the Second Generation Rush.

After thinking through all that, the tension finally left Quenser’s shoulders.

“…Then let’s take our time heading back.”

“Yes, yes. That’s our general stance. Did you finally remember? How about we try to find a deer or bear to shoot on the way back? Despite all my complaints about those flavorless rations, they would probably work as bait if we cut them up and scattered them over the ground.”

“If we have time, I would rather see if I can analyze any of the technology in the Water Strider. There’s educational material just scattered over this entire area.”

“You’re still digging for scraps? You’re quite the enthusiastic student.”

“When it leads to making a fortune, anyone would get serious about it.”

“But the Legitimacy Kingdom military has already analyzed it all to a certain extent. Isn’t there even a design in the database?”

“That’s just an estimation based on the pieces we have. There might be some technology they overlooked. Really, I see more value in digging through this mountain of treasure than this pointless war.”

As they chatted, the two started walking across the snow, but then Froleytia contacted them via radio.

“Quenser, Heivia!! Are you still at Point 199ASD!? I’m checking via satellite, so don’t try to lie. This is an emergency, so I have no time for stupid jokes!!”

“Froleytia?”

“I don’t feel like explaining it all, so just check the satellite image via handheld device and listen.” The impatience was clearly evident in Froleytia’s voice. As she spoke, Quenser frantically pulled out his handheld device. “I’ll get straight to the point. The Information Alliance’s Second Generation Rush has not returned to the maintenance base 50 kilometers to the north. They have deployed a different convoy from nearby. If the work to swap out its main cannon begins like this, it will likely finish before the princess’s maintenance is done!!”

“Wait, wait, wait!!” cut in Heivia from the side. “Isn’t that what we blew up those cliffs to stop!? I thought the convoy couldn’t reach the battlefield because of the Water Strider wreckage in the way!?”

“The convoy couldn’t,” replied Froleytia.

Quenser finally managed to call up the satellite image and he grimaced when he realized what she meant.

“…Look, Heivia. They carried it on foot.”

“Hahh!? What’s that supposed to mean!? How many tons do you think an Object’s main cannon weighs!?”

“The Information Alliance has worked to make the raw materials as light as possible, so about 100 tons I would think. But that uses 5 rapid fire beam cannons, so each individual one would be about 20 tons. They broke each one apart into over 100 pieces and are carrying those pieces!! That’s 200 kilograms a person! Just five trips between the stopped vehicles and the work area would be enough!!”

“200…There’s no way they can walk around on this snowy plain while carrying that much!!”

“Normally, no. But the Information Alliance has a powered suit unit. The normal limits of the human body do not apply here,” Froleytia replied to Heivia’s complaint. “The walls of wreckage that keeps the large vehicles from getting through have big enough openings for people to walk through! They have headed through those openings to meet up with the Rush!!”

“This is bad…” Heivia audibly gulped. “This is really bad!! This is no joke! Even with the time it takes to disassemble and assemble the Rush’s main cannon, we’re at the disadvantage here. If they finish their pit stop, the princess will be destroyed without being able to fight back!!”

“That’s right, Heivia. It’s possible the Rush’s main cannons were designed to be easily disassembled so that they could be transported by air. That’s why I need you two to stop the Rush’s maintenance in any way possible!! The expected rendezvous point for the enemy is 2 kilometers north of you! You’re closest!!”

“You’re crazy,” muttered Heivia as he trembled at the invitation to a deadly battle he had just been given. “I saw their powered suits in that Oceanian military nation, and those aren’t things you can take care of with a rifle!! And even if it needs maintenance, that Second Generation Object is still functioning!! It still has one main cannon, not to mention the almost 100 smaller cannons all over it!! If we get close, we’ll just be blown to pieces!”

“If we had another option, we would not be relying on problem soldiers like you two.” Froleytia sounded annoyed and she was likely holding her head in her hands. “At this rate, Alaska will be transformed into a nightmarish battlefield once more. If you’re okay with that, then you can just hide behind that Water Strider wreckage, Heivia. Think up a way of slowing them down on your own,” was all Froleytia added before ending the transmission.

Heivia almost threw the radio to the ground, but the ecological side of his mind just barely won out over that urge.

Looking like he was about to cry, Heivia spoke to the student who stood next to him.

“This is really no joke. They say a request from a beauty is another name for a one way ticket to hell!! What are we going to do, Quenser!?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” said Quenser as he stared at his handheld device.

The old movement patterns from the Rush’s battles in the Oceanian military nation were recorded in the Legitimacy Kingdom database. He was checking those.

“We need to think of a way to deal with this. Otherwise, the princess will be the first one to be taken out.”

“Wait, I thought the obvious solution was to ignore our orders and run away! Wait a second, Quenser!! Dammit, you really are a knight in shining armor, you know that!? You’re wasted as a commoner!!” shouted back Heivia as he chased after Quenser who had started to run.

Quenser was headed for the wreckage of one of the Water Strider’s main cannons. The wreckage looked like a metal pylon forcibly bent into a V shape. It had ripped open like an empty can right in the middle of the bend.

The rip was over 70 cm across. A human could probably walk inside without even crouching. 

Quenser slid his body inside the crack, but did not go all the way inside. He was checking on the edge of the “wall” as seen from within the crack.

Flat cylindrical objects with a 20 cm diameter and 10 cm thickness were stuffed inside. They were likely installed from one end of the tunnel-like main cannon to the other.

As Quenser inspected the edge, Heivia asked a question with an expression of regret.

“Hey, Sir Knight. Is this any time to be looting? What are you looking for anyway?”

“Electromagnets,” replied Quenser bluntly. “The Water Strider’s main cannons were low-stability plasma cannons. After the special gas was turned into plasma, it was sent in the proper direction using a large number of electromagnets installed within the barrel.”

“Did you look up the destroyed Object’s design, battlefield student?”

“That much is just general knowledge,” said Quenser as he continued his work with both hands.

He took the parts for the large electric drill he had for drilling into the cliff wall and removed them from their bag. He then removed the cylindrical electromagnets from the edge of the rip in the main cannon and put them into the empty bag. After finishing, he grabbed just the battery from the electric drill’s parts.

“What are you going to do with those electromagnets?”

“Attach them to metal of course. You know what Objects are primarily made of, right?” After leaving the crack in the main cannon, Quenser tapped the side of the cannon with the back of his hand. “Steel mixed with high heat resistant materials.”

“Are you serious? Are you saying you’re going to go rock climbing on that giant monster!?”

“Look.”

Without answering the question, Quenser held his handheld device out toward Heivia’s face.

It was displaying the satellite image.

“Froleytia seemed pretty impatient, but we probably have a bit more time. They can’t head straight for the area 2 kilometers north of here. That’s where the Water Strider wreckage is thickest. Even if the powered suit unit can get over it, there is too much wreckage around for them to have enough space to carry out the assembly process. They’ll have to head back and take a bit of a detour. …That means the Rush can’t just head away from here in a straight line. While they’re circling around, we’ll have a chance where the Rush draws closer to us. We might be able to do something.”

“You mean because the wall of Object wreckage can’t be blown away with normal explosives?” asked Heivia in annoyance. “Did you forget, Quenser? The Rush still has one of its main cannons left! That thing can destroy a brand new Object, so that wreckage will be no problem for it!!”

“If it just had to destroy it, yes.” Quenser’s expression did not change. “But the Rush’s main cannon is a rapid fire beam cannon Gatling gun. The armor it fires at melts from the heat. Even if they’re wearing a powered suit, do you think a person can just walk through those blast furnace-like conditions? Also, the outside of the main cannon may be resistant to shocks, but the inner portions they’ll also be carrying are filled with sensitive equipment.”

“Even if the Rush takes this detour,” said Heivia who seemed completely flustered. “We’ll still be in danger. Whether it’s the powered suits that 5.56mm bullets won’t work on or the Second Generation Object with 100 cannons covering every direction, it would be suicide for just the two of us to try to fight them.”

“Sorry, but I don’t have time to argue. …Look at this image, Heivia. The Rush will be here in less than 3 minutes!! It’ll be passing by less than 50 meters from here!!”

“To hell with that!! If there’s no time, then just explain yourself! I’m running away otherwise!!”

Heivia was ready to run away regardless of shame or honor, but Quenser grabbed his shoulder. Heivia seriously considered knocking him down by force, but Quenser spoke before he could do so.

“Please help me, Heivia.”

“No, thank you! I only take sadistic orders from women!! I’m not going down to hell with you!!”

“You can’t escape regardless. If the unit is wiped out, the Information Alliance will use all of its forces to do a sweep of the area. And even if you slip through the gaps in their search, the Legitimacy Kingdom will not rescue you. You will just end up freezing to death before spring.”

“…!!”

“And don’t think you’ll be rescued if they take you prisoner. I’m just a commoner, but you’re a noble. The brunt of their cruelty will be aimed at you rather than me. And having to pay a ransom for you would bring shame to your family, so you would never inherit it after that.”

“Are you serious…? Then what am I supposed to do!?”

“Help me, Heivia,” said Quenser again. “We have no time.”