Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume2 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 1===

Seven or eight assault landing aircraft carriers were travelling north through the Atlantic Ocean centered on the flagship Charlemagne. They were headed for the Amazon district of South America which was Legitimacy Kingdom territory. Their destination was the sea near Port Braganca just below the equator.

A young male maintenance soldier slowly walked across the flat deck while occasionally leaning over. He was checking the takeoff catapult to ensure it had not warped due to heat. It had of course been designed to take into account a certain level of expansion and contraction just like rails for a train, but it was crucial to be extra sure. If that catapult lost functionality, the assault landing aircraft carrier would lose its value.

The maintenance soldier removed his helmet and looked up at the sun in annoyance.

“Shit, I can’t believe it’s so hot when we’re past Halloween. If we were given permission to enter port, we would have a plastic roof blocking the sun. This is a Legitimacy Kingdom port. They should let any Legitimacy Kingdom citizens in whether we’re civilians or military.”

As the maintenance soldier muttered, he heard the sound of the elevator. However, this was not the elevator of a high class department store where a young woman pressed the button for you. It was bringing up a small delta wing fighter. He could see the pilot waving from within the cockpit.

The fighter carried only one person.

That was likely due to the research for Object cockpit layouts being used. In that age, fighters were obsolete. With wars fought by Objects, military development was centered around them. All weapons tended to be designed such that they could also be used for Objects.

The maintenance soldier heard the pilot’s voice come over his headset.

“Quit complaining. Although I’ll admit I would rather not think about the fact that the port has enough vending machines and stores for us all to have as many cold drinks and ice cream as we could want.”

“As usual, you’re covered in more jamming devices than missiles. Do you really need to be that worried? The enemy Object was destroyed.”

“It’s a habit. …And I didn’t join the military to take part in dogfights. Do you think you could spare me the life saver and training wheels?”

“You’re not the only one. These days, the entire air force is like that.”

The maintenance soldier checked the catapult with measurement tools.

“With Objects implementing anti-air lasers, gaining air supremacy has lost its popularity.”

"There is a plane paradise in Scandinavia where Objects are internationally banned from entry.”

“There’s no point in that though. It’s like being an animal in a cage at the zoo,” replied the maintenance soldier, sounding bored. “The modern job of the air force is to transport personnel and equipment, to perform low altitude reconnaissance when chaff missiles have made the satellites unusable, and for aerial acrobatics at ceremonies. Which is your specialty?”

“The acrobatics. When I was going through aviation school, I did hope to get into dogfights or perform precise bombings though.”

“So you’ve been away from the battlefield for a while, hm?” The maintenance soldier took his eyes away from the measurement equipment and gave the success sign from the check sheet. “How does it feel nowadays?”

“I want to get a chance to actually do something, but I also don’t want to be stuck in a situation where I ''have'' to do something.”

Someone else was listening in on that radio conversation from elsewhere.

It was the Charlemagne’s captain sitting on the ship’s bridge. He cut off the frequency his subordinates used to chat and focused on the frequency used for official transmissions.

On the other end was Froleytia, the commander of the 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion that the Baby Magnum belonged to. She had headed inland to the Amazon district ahead of time.

Also on the channel was the commander of the Legitimacy Kingdom military base that protected the Amazon district.

“After losing their Object, the remnants of the Mass Driver conglomerate have moved north from the blank region and across national boundaries. Reports say they have entered the Amazon district which is our territory. Is that correct?” asked the captain to make sure.

The local commander replied, “We have not engaged in direct combat and have instead focused on evacuating the civilians from the general area. As a result, we allowed them to enter, but…”

That was when Froleytia cut in.

“Where is the Legitimacy Kingdom Object that protects the Amazon district? Our Baby Magnum was heavily damaged, so we would like to request a joint operation if possible.”

“Our Object, the Forest Roller, is undergoing scheduled maintenance. As for other units, one Object is undergoing emergency maintenance after taking heavy damage in a different operation and another is currently engaging a Faith Organization Object. We do not have any military force to spare for this problem. …Our Object was scheduled to be protected by the Bright Hopper while this maintenance took place, but it was destroyed in the previous battle. And ever since, its Elite, Major Halreed Copacabana, has insisted he return to the home country and refuses to listen to anyone saying otherwise.”

“Tch. Now that he’s been forced to wait, that dog is of no use.”

“?”

The captain frowned slightly at Froleytia’s strange comment. The local commander was likely making a similar expression. Froleytia ignored this and continued speaking.

“Understood. As originally planned, our Baby Magnum will deal with the remnants. However, we are not in prime condition either. The armor plates have been replaced, but the rest is not so easy. Three of the seven main cannons are unusable and the propulsion device was damaged, so it cannot carry out high speed battle.”

“Didn’t you gain supplies from the Amazon district base? They are both Legitimacy Kingdom Objects, so don’t they have the same standards?”

“N-no.” replied the local commander. “While the armor plates are interchangeable, the main cannons and propulsion device are almost entirely custom made. The equipment at our base is specialized for our Forest Roller. It is unlikely we can meet the needs of the Baby Magnum.”

“I know. That just means we have to do this as is,” said Froleytia. 

She was unable to entirely hide her disappointment.

Her next statement seemed to be intended to sweep away that disappointment.

“Do you understand our situation now, Charlemagne? We would like as much military strength as we can get. We would like help from your fighters as planned.”

“I do not mind providing that.” The captain chose his words carefully. “However, we only have outdated fighters. They may not be able to keep up on this modern battlefield.”

“??? I thought the Mass Driver conglomerate Object had already been destroyed,” said the local commander in confusion.

The captain gave no clear reply.

(…I hope that’s the case.)

Some reactor had been used to provide the massive power needed for the spare cannons in Antarctica and on the Iguazu district coast. That raised a question as to the number of Objects owned by the Mass Driver conglomerate.

Froleytia likely had similar doubts.

He heard her mutter, “Unconfirmed object X. If it really exists, things could get rough out there once more…”