Editing KSGU:Volume 2 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 10===

Even with air, the tremors can spread through a plane that they’re in contact with. On the outer-most area of the <<wheel>> of Industrial 7, the people are hidden inside the <<Loto>> under what can be called underground, and Commander Daguza Mackle feels the vibration coming from the seat.

“Looks like we were attacked by enemy ambush and started fighting inside the colony.”

The operator sitting at the front seat hands the scouting report over. It’s just as predicted. The irregular tremors aren’t triggered by things like meteorites and stuff crashing into each other. The mobile suit squad of the <<Nahel Argama>>’s being pulled off by the enemy and stretched the boundary of the battlefield into the colony. Daguza really wants to lash out at the impulsiveness of these amateurs and ask, “What’s the situation?” “Not good.” The operator answers without looking back,

“It’s said that there’s only one enemy unit, but it seems like it’s equipped with psycommu. Our side already has some damage.”

''And there’s damage to the colony as well.'' Daguza adds on in his heart and looks over at the driver seat’s display. The two <<Lotos>> arrive at the attack point, and the fully-armed men are all waiting for the signal to begin. The original plan’s to surround the colony, coordinate with the mobile suit squad, let the <<Nahel Argama>> force itself into the dock, and begin the operation. However, things end up like this. Whether they’re to continue on or stop, the squad leader Daguza has to decide when they can’t contact the outside world.

From the current situation, it seems that the battle just happened unexpectedly. In that case, the Vist Foundation and the ‘Sleeves’ are busy protecting themselves and can’t possibly prevent this secret deal from being carried out. In this case, this means that their plan to stop this deal is done. But even like that, their prime target, the <<Laplace Box>> is still dangling there. Even if they decide to evacuate, the ‘Sleeves’ will think of a way to get it. The Vist Foundation’s movements aren’t easy to predict, but they’ll definitely carry out some resistance. It’s very likely that they’ll use this chaos of the battle to snatch the ‘box’ back and head into the deepest parts of the courtyard.

It’s the place that’s protected by ideologies and authority, and even the things that can be seen inside can become invisible. The courtyard in the deepest part of the Foundation—is a place where the army, and even the prime minister of the Federation government can’t enter. That’s why the ‘box’ is protected till now. However, what happened in the past doesn’t matter. To ECOAS, the most important thing is to complete this mission and decide whether the situation allows them to do so. Most importantly, if they retreat and reorganize themselves, the ‘box’ will be hidden in a place they can’t touch.

''There’s no second chance.'' Daguza shakes off all other concerns because of this and orders his troops emotionlessly, “Notify everyone. We’re going in.”

A deep red color flashes inside the machine, and the operator answers “Roger” and faces the console again. Daguza’s heart isn’t confused or hesitating, just thinking of how to deal with the current situation. He checks with the pilot sitting beside the operator, “Can we do it?”. The <<Loto>> that’s in tank mode can carry a lift for lifting goods, but the problem is after that. The pilot’s masked face moves slightly and honestly answers, “This is the first time I’m doing this, but I was once trained to deal with psycommu.”

“We can do it. If we use the mobility of the <<Loto>>, we can at least wear down the enemy numbers.”

“Roger that. Hand me the firing control. Just focus on driving.”

“Roger that.” The pilot answers rather enthusiastically. Their aim is to prevent the enemy machine from getting near to the <<Magallanica>> and helping to complete the enemy’s mission, but the <<Loto>>’s involvement in the battle has an effect of supporting their allies. They can’t expect the <<Loto>> to fight effectively as a mobile suit when it doesn’t have any beam weapons, which will make this mission riskier, but Daguza feels that this is worth betting their lives on. At least, it’s better to see how the battle goes without being spotted instead of hiding in a dark cave.

Of course, he knows that this is a wish he can’t say out. Parts aren’t supposed to have hopes and expectations. It’s not because of whether they’re being picky about the mission, but that they want to finish the mission they’re in charge of. It’s because of such specifics they demand of themselves as they take action that the world can continue to rotate. Daguza doesn’t have any doubts about this reasoning to himself as he looks at the multiple lights on the display.

Infiltrate near the target, take it down, snatch and destroy. That’s the trace of light that reflects each ECOAS member’s actions. Each person has their own mission, and together, forms this group called ECOAS. Daguza’s the squad leader, the part called the eye, observing the movements of the other intrinsic parts. The <<Loto>> starts to move, and with the deep rumbling sound of the track rotation, the operator continues on with a flat tone,

“Alpha, Bravo, move out. Secure targets. 1, the command block; 2, the authority block. Collect related intel on the ‘box’, confirm location and secure it. Our priority’s to secure the ‘box’. All obstacles are to be eliminated. I repeat. All obstacles are to be eliminated…”


Thanks to the relay point they set before, the wireless radio’s rather clear even with Minovsky Particles flying around. The ECOAS members move down to the outer-most area of the Wheel, waiting on standby near the linkway of the colony builder <<Magallanica>> before starting their move.

All sorts of safety mechanisms on the <<Magallanica>>, including electricity, are all self-generated. There are no circuits shared with the colony, as only the construction materials used to form them are the same as <<Industrial 7>>. However, this large gate is closed, and now, there's no way for both squads to contact each other. They set up several access points, but each of them have layers of securify, and they have Vist Foundation's guards watching. Every single one of them are armed with weapons, and have a history of being either part of the police or the army. They're more like a private army of the Foundation than guards.

However, there are still openings. In the colony’s construction management, a part of the <<Wheel>> has to involve the <<Magallanica>>, so both paths are linked. Of course, they can’t get through the satellite, and the safety procedures of the circuits prevent both server and chemical attacks. They don’t know if the maintenance passages exist or not, so the inspections are carried out by remote controls, which is very thoroughly. However, it’s not like nobody’s interfering. With the heat release considered, there’s a separation between the pipes. ECOAS, which is divided into Alpha and Beta climb up from the floor of the <<Wheel>> and proceed in different tunnels. Both squads then choose a ‘doorkin’ to sneak into the duct that’s giving off hot air. 

The cabled passage is only 70cm wide, and there’s a distance of more than 200m from here to the <<Magallanica>>. In this narrow passage where it’s hard to move freely, the ‘doorkin’ plug out the gathered cables to remove the alarm in the passage as he continues to move in. About 30 minutes later, he reaches the standby location. He uses a small blowtorch to open holes in the wall that are just big enough for the small cameras that are the size of cables. The cameras that can be controlled remotely move around like snakes as the tip with the lens slip out from the gaps in the floor.

At a passage with a duct, there’s a guard there. He’s not wearing a spacesuit, but the suit is bulging unnaturally underneath, and one can tell that he has a shoulder-arms weapon underneath. The lens rotates, checking the positions of the cameras in the ceiling of the passage, and the ‘doorkin’ enter a standby phase. Based on the situation, he can sometimes wait for up to a day without eating or sleeping, but this time, they only waited for 15 minutes. Once they hear the action command in the wireless radio, the ‘doorkins’ open the hatch of the duct, and the floor above bounced.

The alarm rings as the hatch opens, and it’s too late when the people in the security center realized that there’s something wrong. The floor that’s floating under zero gravity hits the ceiling, and before any sound is even made, the ‘doorkin’ has already moved behind the guard’s back, covering the mouth with his left hands and using knife to stab into the guard’s back. The blade is stabbed in between the ribs, and with a little twist, the air flows into the lungs. The guard’s raised hand is limp, and dies without being able to let out any sound. The ‘doorkin’ tosses the limp corpse aside and starts his actual mission.

He removes the tunnel lock and opens the door leading to the airlock. The way to the entrance is opened, and the main force that’s waiting in the <<Wheel>> start to move. The dark grey normal suits leap off the floor of the <<Wheel>>, using portable thrusters to get through the passage in an instant. After passing through the airlock of the <<Magallanica>>, they abandon the heavy thrusters and use the mobile handles on the wall to move forward. The ‘doorkin’ receives the recoilless carbine rifle from the last person who enters and follows them.

They use their masks to hide their faces under the helmet, and the group carry their recoilless carbine rifles and silently move through the zero-gravity passage. They destroy the cameras on the way and reach a junction. The squad leader standing at the side indicates that everyone is to scatter. The members kick the wall down in a skilled manner and raise their carbines before squeezing down the trigger of the cable gun attached at the bottom of the rifle to fire the steel cable. The steel cables that are shot out start to spiral, and the members quickly turn to where they’re heading to. They send one person as the forward and one person to watch the back. Even with guards appearing, they continues to let the cable gun fire at the same speed, firing their carbines once the guards appear in their way, and shooting out 5mm bullets that shattered the guards chest.

The contact with the guards is being cut off one by one, and the visual images of many cameras are being cut. Both entrances are being invaded at the same time, causing the security center of the <<Magallanica>> to panic. The intruders, 16 men altogether in squads of 8 will scatter whenever they reach a junction, and enter the central block like poison. The center personnel activate the alarm, trying to close the partitions of the tunnels, but it’s too late for this countermeasure to be used. The intruders have already found the security circuits and used their guns to wreck most of the wires. The people with army expression don’t think that they’re the guerillas from the ‘Sleeves’.

“Manhunters. THE INTRUDERS ARE MANHUNTERS! EVERYONE, TAKE NOTE—”

The voice of the central block personnel that came from the wireless address is cut. The guards that are armed with automatic handguns are gliding by, and feel scared on hearing that unnatural cut. However, they haven’t made the mistake of revealing their positions by shouting. The enemies are the manhunters, the special forces that even the Federation army is terrified of. A guard who once trained with them when he was serving the army warns his comrades. ''Stick together. We must move out together as a team. No matter what the manhunters are planning, the command block will definitely be the target. Once we seal off the partitions and take them out one at a time, we’ll have a chance.'' However, the guards that intend to shout this into the radio are just a normal army to the ECOAS members.

A guard who’s moving with 3 comrades finds that there are signs of intruders at a junction. He uses his hand signals to communicate with his comrades, and intend to pincer the intruder from both front and back. His comrades head off to the front, while he heads in the corner to trail the enemy. The enemy hasn’t realized this yet. They should be wearing bulletproof vests, but they can’t possibly move with ten handgun rounds slammed into them. The guard raises his recoilless rifle and waits for his comrades to contact him through radio, but from the corner of his eye, he sees that something’s sliding here on the mobile handle from the wall on the other side.

It’s a Flashbang. As the guard sees that item that’s the size of a lighter arrive, it explodes in front of his eyes, and 2.5 million Candela of light appeared. A loud noise rings in his ears, causing his muscles to numb for the moment. The guard loses his sight and mobility, and he, together with his allies, are like fried fish floating up when they’re cooked. The members of ECOAS point their guns at the guards on the premise of eliminating obstacles, and the muzzles with caps shoot out bullets. The guard is shot through the chest and sent spinning a round before slamming into the wall. Other gunshots can be heard from all around, and during the explosions, noise can be heard throughout. If the <<Magallanica>> can be described as a snail, then ECOAS started its invasion from near the center, and has immediately expanded its territory, getting the outer shell involved as they head down the main body—the central block where the command console and other important facilities are at. They need the data in the central block and technicians to control them. The others are to be treated as people with potential to be obstacles. The people who enter the members’ sight will be shot whether they have weapons or not, and there’s a lot of hot blank magazines and floating blood on the passages.

The command console block is about to be taken, and there are investigators who’re entering the residential area inside the wall. Two members land on the residential area that are covered with grass. They’re loaded with nightvision equipment that can be put on the helmets, and the heavy equipped normal suits are running through the quiet prairie. The surrounding air’s full of killing intent, but the steady appearance of the Vist’s residence is still lying in darkness.