Editing HEAVY OBJECT:EX Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 7===

Quenser and Heivia were using the deluge of noise to run full speed through jungle.

The Experimental Battlefield was noisier than the climax of a small national tour, so they no longer had to worry about mere footsteps. In fact, the tens of thousands of fireworks were shaking the ground itself.

“This costs eight hundred thousand euros a minute! That busty commander is probably on the verge of passing out. Who knows what’s waiting for us once we get back to base!!”

“And even if this is a diversionary tactic, we’re sending out a wild party over an official channel. It’ll be recorded, so she’ll probably get a mark on her record for mixing business with pleasure as an officer.”

“Shut up, you two!! If you know that, then hurry it up!! You had better show some results after all this!!”

Their utterly uncaring conversation was interrupted by their desperate commander, so the world was as messed up as always. Meanwhile, Quenser and Heivia continued further and further along.

“This thing is too far away! The Trinity…what was it? Anyway, if it’d gotten closer, the course for our marathon wouldn’t have been quite this bad at least!!”

“The Trinity Style! And we can’t expect it to get any closer when it’s busy with the ‘tea-picking’.”

“You mean that new drug?”

“Yes, the one for developing Pilot Elites. I think I heard it’s related to traditional Chinese medicine.”

The method of developing Elites differed greatly from nation to nation and army to army. The Faith Organization seemed to use drugs that were exceedingly difficult to synthesize, but an herb with almost the exact same chemical components had been discovered on Madagascar. The Faith Organization was selectively breeding the herb to the point that the chemical components in the pollen could be used practically. The project gave no thought to the biological contamination of an introduced species.

If they managed to take enough of it back with them and developed an effective cultivation method, it could affect the military power balance. Pilot Elites of course required some natural talent, a willingness to fight, and most importantly some human rights loopholes that allowed them to be treated like human experiments, but nothing good would come from allowing an enemy nation to develop them more easily.

That was why Quenser and Heivia were heading deep into enemy territory to interrupt that “tea-picking”.

The first stage of the plan was to blow away the Trinity Style in a surprise attack. Then, with the Object support gone, the Faith Organization’s plant hunters would be wiped out. Lastly, the contaminated flower garden would be eliminated.

“Generic drugs can be both good and bad. After all the drugs an Elite takes, I’ve heard the sheen of their hair and the smell of the nape of their neck changes.”

“Heivia, you really want the Princess to stomp on your balls, don’t you?”

“I didn’t say anything specific. Who knows? Maybe it makes her armpits smell like lavender.”

“I guess there’s no stopping you when getting stomped turns you on. I feel bad for the Princess.”

“Ksshh… Ahem. You’re guilty too, Quenser.”

“Why!? I was the one stopping him!!”

During their back and forth over the radio, the next problem showed itself.

“What is it now?”

“It doesn’t look like a secret base built to hide porn magazines.”

Several square buildings made of quick-drying concrete had been built in a jungle clearing. The entire area was surrounded by a simple barricade and they could see several sentries walking around and guards up on watchtowers. There were likely more than ten times as many soldiers hanging around inside the buildings.

This was not the Object maintenance base.

Nor was it filled with attack helicopters, fighter jets, and tanks.

Most of the buildings seemed to have large metal shutters and it felt more like a giant warehouse than a fortress or stronghold. They recognized the military cases piled up out front. They were not for ammunition.

“Those are battery packs and they’re messing with parabolic mics or something here and there. This may be a power relay base for those electronics.”

“Are all these macho soldiers fighting while worriedly checking on their phone’s remaining battery? Not that we’re any better with our seven spy tools.”

Suddenly, the noisy fireworks diversion came to an end as if a power switch had been thrown.

The world was wrapped in darkness once more.

“That was the worst possible timing!! Couldn’t you give us at least ten more minutes!?”

“I want to shoot them some more too,” added the Princess.

“Heivia, don’t forget that we’re blowing eight hundred thousand euros each minute for this pointless diversionary tactic. This is the limit. You can’t pay for this with your measly paychecks.”

“You’re the one paying us, so don’t call them measly!!”

“Hey, Heivia. Do you think we can tiptoe our way through this power base?”

“We’re not using ninja skills to sneak into the magistrate’s mansion, so not a chance. All those soldiers have tons of sensors and mics. And that’s just what we can see. I don’t even want to think about how much they have where we can’t see them.”

“Then can we fall back and circle around the base?”

“That’s even less likely to work. They didn’t pick up any definitive footsteps thanks to those fireworks, but they’re still going to be on high alert. They’ll have sent out more patrols. Falling back will only send us right back to that truck.”

Moving forward and falling back would both be hell.

It was truly damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

After thinking inside his soundproofed suit, Quenser sent a suggestion over the radio.

“Heivia, I have a hypothetical for you. …If all of the power base’s sensors and mics were knocked out and only the flesh-and-blood soldiers’ senses remained, could we sneak across?”

“We might be able to manage it in this darkness, but…you’re joking, right? Are you planning to throw the breaker or something!? Do that and their entire army will notice something’s up! It’d be just like poking at the hornet’s nest!!”

“We just have to make sure they don’t notice.”

The power base had the same presence as a cliff, but Quenser casually pointed to one corner of it.

“Or more accurately, we just have to make them come up with their own ‘explanation’ when they do notice.”

“What? Be more specific, Quenser.”

“Look over there, Heivia.”

Quenser was pointing at a watchtower that gave a view of the entire power base.

A faint light shined in the darkness there.

“They must be bored, so they’re watching TV or online videos.”

“There do seem to be broadcast signals even in the jungle,” said the Princess. “They’re mostly satellite broadcasts, but there are also unauthorized signals being sent in from the sea.”

“A few of the sentries have personal radios hanging from their necks. And of course, all of the soldiers have their communicators.”

“You don’t mean…”

“It’s time for the seven spy tools, Heivia. There’s a flashlight meant to dazzle someone’s eyes, right? Hand that over. I need to mess with it. Also…yes. I need that speaker we used, plus…”

Quenser trailed off there and breathed in before continuing.

“You prepare the E-Thrower, Heivia.”