HEAVY OBJECT:Volume2 Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Three Legged Race Up a Mountain is a Matter of Life and Death >> Battle of Shells in the Iguazu Mountains

Part 1

In the Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands, the almost 60 years old captain of the assault landing aircraft carrier Charlemagne slowly walked across the ship’s flat deck that was used as a runway. Alongside him was Froleytia, a girl of only 18. The 170 meter long deck was a bit short to use as a walking course.

“I suppose this is just the flow of time,” said the white-haired captain with a smile as he used one hand to hold a short and fat pipe of the type preferred by Western detectives. “Once, large aircraft carriers were designed to carry 70-80 aircrafts, but there were few opportunities to fully use all of them in actual battle. With the invention of ultra high speed torpedoes and stealth mines, the sinking of aircraft carriers was no longer an empty dream. …The cost and risk of having things aboard one became an issue.”

“So they stopped focusing all the personnel and equipment in one place and distributed it about to reduce the risk of loss?” replied Froleytia.

In her mouth was a long, narrow Japanese kiseru that stood in contrast to the captain’s pipe.

The captain slowly nodded and said, “If 10 aircrafts could be held aboard a single ship, that was good enough. If you needed more than that, you just had to bring in enough ships. The length of the runway for landing was the primary problem with making smaller aircraft carriers, but the development of high precision sensors and reverse firing nozzles for braking made that less of an issue. And something else changed what our missions entailed even more. …Yes, the arrival of those Objects.”

A heavy metallic noise reverberated through the area.

Two assault landing aircraft carriers were lined up with a space of over 50 meters between them. In the middle was that giant weapon that had around 100 cannons on a spherical body. It was the Baby Magnum. Scaffolding and countless wires were strung up around that Object that was the pride of the Legitimacy Kingdom.

The captain looked up at its giant body and said, “With the development of laser technology, the role of air supremacy moved to them. Our primary mission is no longer to quickly get aircrafts to the battlefield. Instead, we resupply the Object on the sea, carry out its defense during that time, and see it off.”

That was why the ship was not merely known as an aircraft carrier. It also carried out the role of a landing craft. That ship that held all the equipment needed to create a base would approach the coast and quickly get that equipment on shore. That was the skill demanded of aircraft carriers in the age of Objects.

Froleytia lightly nodded once more and said, “I thank you for your assistance. We aim to one day be able to quickly construct a base in all environments, but it seems we still specialize in fighting on land.”

“Think nothing of it. In fact, we prefer it this way. If you were able to quickly move over sea, there would be no place left for marines like us. I am glad to have an opportunity to mobilize the ships of our fleet.”

Having said that, the captain exhaled a bit of smoke while making sure it did not go in Froleytia’s direction.

As if to change the mood, the captain’s expression stiffened and he said, “So who is this enemy you are chasing?”

“Is it enough to say it is the Mass Driver conglomerate?”

Part 2

Quenser was about 30 meters up from the surface of the ocean.

Normally, the Baby Magnum underwent maintenance in a rectangular area created from a combination of large vehicles. However, that could not be done on the sea. The Object was positioned between two assault landing aircraft carriers with countless wires strung up around it from either side. This created an improvised maintenance area.

Numerous cranes with retractable arms were installed on either side of the assault landing aircraft carriers. They were not focused on just one side of the ships so that it did not matter which side either ship was on and in order to maintain the ships’ balance.

The scaffolding Quenser stood upon was not a solid catwalk-like passageway made of steel. Narrow steel plates were connected without gap between two wires, making it something like a narrow, metal suspension bridge. Of course, the rocking of the ships on the waves and the blowing of the sea wind caused the wires to constantly shake unstably.

“Wah wah wah wah wah!?”

With both hands, Quenser grabbed the thick wires that were in place of a railing as his upper body swayed back and forth like a beginner skateboarder. Meanwhile, the maintenance soldier old lady folded her arms and snorted without holding the railing at all.

“Now how are you supposed to do any work with both your hands full? Can you at least let go with one hand? What do you think you came all the way up here for?”

“I can’t! It’s shaking and we’re so high up! If I fall, I’m done for!!”

“It’s only the ocean down below, so you won’t die if you fall. Unless there’s a major storm, the waves and the wind have a certain regularity to them. If you learn that regularity and control your center of gravity, your body won’t even shake.”

“You sure ask for some crazy things!!”

Quenser started wondering if she was an aikido master or something, but when he looked around, he saw the other maintenance soldiers welding armor plates onto the Baby Magnum or checking its radar were not using a lifeline while working with both hands. Apparently, that was a basic skill for those doing maintenance work.

“…Why does no one use a lifeline?”

“Those awkward things just make your body harder to move and slow down your work. As I said, you won’t die if you fall into the ocean. You only need a lifeline when your life is actually at risk.”

“I don’t think this is a skill I need as a designer…” muttered Quenser.

The maintenance soldier old lady frowned slightly and said, “Come to think of it, boy, have you decided on your Object research topic yet?”

“Just when I was thinking about deciding, I was thrown out into the middle of Alaska,” replied Quenser in annoyance. “There are a few genres I’m interested in, though. Like the distribution of weight and efficient means of propulsion. I just don’t know which field would bring me closest to being a designer the fastest.”

“You went out of your way to leave your safe country as a battlefield student and now you’re choosing your field of specialty on what will be fastest? …You really are trying to take the easy path through life, aren’t you?”

“I would prefer if you called it ‘efficient planning’.”

At that point, the siren warning that a crane arm was moving began blaring. Quenser and the old lady lowered their heads as if shrugging and the item hanging down from the arm passed a few meters above their heads.

Seeing it, Quenser looked puzzled.

“What is that?”

“A small refrigerator. A microwave oven is scheduled to be brought aboard as well.”

“Where are they going? And why???”

“Sailing the seven seas takes time. For example, cutting across the Pacific Ocean takes half a day. It has been suggested for a while now that they be bolted in the cockpit to ensure the Elite has efficient access to food to maintain her focus.”

“I see. So that’s what the microwave oven is-…”

Just as Quenser started to understand, he raised his head in realization.

The flavorless rations he was issued that looked like giant erasers did not need to be stored in a refrigerator and they did not need to be heated in a microwave oven. That meant…

“N-no fair!! The princess gets gratin, Salisbury steak, fried chicken, and other delicious foods!?”

“It is perfectly fair. Her focus can completely change the course of a battle, so it is only natural to prepare this sort of thing. The rations have no flavor because no one flavor will ever be liked by everyone. By having something that no one likes or hates, morale can be kept even across all the soldiers. However, the princess’s personal food can easily be matched to her personal tastes.”

“But the princess alone gets to heat fried chicken in the microwave and gets to eat fried chicken whenever and wherever she wants! And fried chicken!!”

“…Okay, I get that you really want to eat chicken, so just calm down.”

Part 3

Heivia looked over at the small fighters lined up neatly on one end of the assault landing aircraft carrier’s deck. They were 3 or 4 meters tall, so he had to look up a bit.

“Look at these overloaded delta wings, Quenser. There’s nothing but special antennae for jamming. They have more of them than they have missiles.”

“Of course they do. If an Object gets a lock on them, it’s all over. It’ll just shoot them down with a laser that can fire anywhere in the sky at the speed of light. It’s only natural to focus on ways of not getting locked onto and just barely escaping if you are locked onto. They would still have poor odds of surviving if they seriously took one on, though.”

Heivia nodded offhandedly.

“There was a time when everything was all about stealth, but when multiple radar facilities have been set up, the radar signal you scatter in the opposite direction from your target is picked up by a different base, revealing your location.”

“Yes, the focus changed from flying such that you weren’t found to flying such that you couldn’t be hit,” said Quenser with little interest. He then changed the subject. “It seems Froleytia has been spending more time than usual putting together this strategy, but what exactly is this Mass Driver conglomerate?”

“As the name suggests, it’s a group with the world’s greatest mass driver construction technology. There are plenty of organizations talking about developing mass drivers and not just in the Capitalist Corporations, but apparently that conglomerate is the only one to actually build a functioning one.”

“So it’s a collection of space nuts? Are they really that dangerous?”

“They are politically. The reasons are complex,” came the response, but not from Heivia. It was the fried chicken-hoarding princess.

(But where is she?)

Quenser was confused, but then he spotted the girl sunbathing face down on a bath towel laid out on the deck at his feet. The princess wore her special blue suit and seemed very relaxed.

Heivia shrugged and said, “In the Capitalist Corporations, money is everything. Those with money have a higher standing in society and those who do not have a lower standing. Even your priority in receiving civil liberties is determined by the size of your bank account.”

“Naturally, the leaders that control the military have lots of money,” added the princess.

“It used to simply be that the large companies controlled everything, but lately that seems to have changed. Basically, you just have to have a lot of money. There are now temporary groups that bring in investors who struck it rich with day trading or lawyers that work for multiple corporations. …I believe the Mass Driver conglomerate has its own territory and residents. So of course they had a military force in the name of protecting them.”

“Which means…” Quenser looked confused. “This Mass Driver conglomerate is a part of this new generation?”

“It was originally a group that mainly worked in the rate business.”

“?”

File:Is0118.jpg

“There are commodities that’s values change daily like stocks and the foreign exchange, right? Well, that term refers to dealing in those things in order to make a profit from the changes in price. While stocks and currency are the representative examples, it is also done with energy related commodities like oil and coal, with jewels and precious metals like gold, and even historical works of art and antiques. That’s the Capitalist Corporations for you,” said Heivia offhandedly. “This conglomerate sent the massive fortunes it made this way to companies it felt had potential and began researching and developing the technologies needed for mass drivers. If that was adopted as the officially used method, they could monopolize the space traffic network. Their ultimate goal was probably to control a permanent source of profits rather than the more unstable rate business were profits were constantly in flux.”

The idea was a purely business one. It was completely cut off from any sense of hopes or dreams. It seemed the people of the Capitalist Corporations really did think of nothing but wealth no matter what.

“By the way, a mass driver is something like a giant railgun pointed straight up. It fires a shuttle or container into satellite orbit. It is simpler than using a space shuttle,” added the princess.

However, Quenser was not very focused on what she was saying. As she lay face down, she would occasionally fidget and wiggle her butt. Of course, he would likely end up being shot with an Object’s main cannon if he told her that was what he was focused on.

“So why is this rich Mass Driver conglomerate our enemy?”

“Quenser, you need to pick up a newspaper sometime. The Mass Driver conglomerate seceded from the Capitalist Corporations recently. They even took their territory and residents with them. It was closer to a coup d’etat than a defection. After all, money is everything in the Capitalist Corporations. As long as they have the money for it, they can buy military might. …They might even have an Object prepared.”

“Currently, they are going through a large migration to prevent the Capitalist Corporations government from forfeiting their assets,” said the princess as she held her feet up in the air and kicked them around.

Heivia continued, “I heard that just before the Mass Driver conglomerate began this large migration, Capitalist Corporation military intelligence succeeded to secure all of their Elites which avoided it coming to a war between multiple Objects. Without an Elite, an Object is useless.”

“That sounds like a mission we’d get stuck with,” commented Quenser.

“But the rumor is that the conglomerate might actually have an Elite they prepared in secret. If that’s true, they really are planning to make a war of this. The mere fact that they are making this great migration of their territory and residents shows they’re prepared for something big if you ask me.”

Quenser looked confused and asked, “But why? Even if they have an Object or two in secret, how is the Mass Driver conglomerate supposed to defeat a world power like the Legitimacy Kingdom or Capitalist Corporations?”

“It’s all thanks to a simple adoption war,” said Heivia as he rubbed the bottom of the small fighter with his palm. “The shuttles that used rocket engines back a long time ago were simply too expensive for large scale space development, so about 20 years ago, new methods began to be considered. In the end, two suggestions remained. One was the mass driver that used railgun technology and the other was the laser trajectory elevators that used laser technology.”

“The Capitalist Corporations eventually chose the laser method,” added the princess.

“The Mass Driver conglomerate is in a bit of a rush because they lost to the competition. While there were two methods, the laser method had a great variety of corporations and organizations working on it while that conglomerate had a complete monopoly on mass driver technology. I’ve never heard of anyone else creating a functional one even in the world powers outside the Capitalist Corporations. If it had been officially adopted, the mass driver might have become a worldwide format and become a fountain eternally overflowing with money for the Mass Driver conglomerate. However, its financial value is less than zero if it fails. Any organization that is in the red tens of billions of dollars over failed research will go bankrupt.” Heivia shrugged and sighed. “And to add insult to injury, the laser method was chosen not because of any problems with the technology but because of the personal tastes of the higher ups. The way things were going, their organization was done for. That is why they wanted the mass driver to be adopted by another world power like the Information Alliance or the Faith Organization, but the Capitalist Corporations told them to stop. The Capitalist Corporations of course wanted to avoid anything that would use tech developed there for the benefit of other world powers. With their focus on money, taking part in the international market like that was the same as aiding the enemy.”

“So they were blocked at every turn…”

“That was when the Mass Driver conglomerate really got mad. It’s unclear what their ultimate goal is, but they have hired a lot of the mercenary units that make up the Capitalist Corporations military and some have caught glimpses of an Object. It’s not surprising that Froleytia wants to think carefully about our strategy here.”

“I see,” said Quenser.” So what’s this about mercenary units? Do they not have a standard army?”

“The Capitalist Corporations military is completely PMC based. Simply put, the entire army is made up of hired mercenaries. A balance is kept by having the mercenary companies control the troops including the technicians in charge of maintenance and having the companies that hire them supplying the all-important Elite.”

“So they don’t have complete control of the units?”

“It seems the companies possess the Objects and Elites which are the most important parts, but everyone else is called in from elsewhere. I supposed it’s something like sponsored athletes in individual sports. The athlete himself belongs to the company, but the detailed coordination of things like his outfit and drinks are handled by outside workers. The company itself does not control the stadium or field used to break records, but the athlete from that company is needed for the match to begin.”

“Is that how it works? But do food companies and convenience store groups have military troops?”

“If they need them, they’ll buy up the right kind of heavy industry companies, join them together, and then merge with them to gain the technology needed for an Object. From what I hear, there’s a custom of only viewing companies that have an Object as first rate companies. In fact, the PMCs I mentioned before are often subsidiaries of the company they work for or have an exclusive contract with them. Otherwise there would be issues with keeping things like Object designs secret. At any rate, those with huge amounts of money can mobilize more power, so the large companies and monstrously successful investors are naturally the ones with all the power. They’re something like our nobles.”

“So even if they started a war against a proper army like ours, they have enough military might to actually put up a legitimate fight?”

“See why Froleytia has to take this so seriously?” said Heivia, sounding slightly bored. “The Mass Driver conglomerate has seceded from the Capitalist Corporations and started this great migration. Also, they do not wish to negotiate a truce. If they are going to fight, it is going to be with everything they have. The battle will not end until one side’s Object has been blown away. I don’t know what kind of mission this is going to be, but I do know it’s going to be dangerous. You should carry out your preparations even more thoroughly than usual.”

“Preparations, hm?” Quenser looked up at the small refrigerator hanging from a crane overhead. He continued with what that reminded him of. “Then I’d really like some fried chicken.”

“Dammit, Quenser. You’re not supposed to say that on the battlefield where we get nothing but flavorless rations!”

“Eh? But I want some. I want to bite into it and have the grease spread through my mouth. It would be even better with a bit of lemon seasoning.”

“You idiot!! If you say that, I’m gonna want some too!! Ahh, it’s too late! Now I’m craving some nice, greasy chicken!!”

The two idiots began to writhe around, but then the princess spoke up with her usual expressionless face.

“You can get some.”

“Hah?”

“This is the 15th anniversary of the Charlemagne’s commissioning, and they seemed to have had a lot of different foods brought in for a party. There seems to be some left over, so you can get some if you head to mess hall.”

Part 4

Quenser, Heivia, and the princess headed for the mess hall of the assault landing aircraft carrier Charlemagne. The only other person there was Froleytia who was stuffing her mouth full of a white sauce spaghetti soup.

“Look, Quenser!! As usual, our commander is taking all the good stuff for herself while we were too dutiful to check!!”

“First the deer in Alaska and now this. She certainly has quite the wonderful personality…”

“Mgh? Oh, did you catch wind of this too?”

Froleytia looked surprised, but it was no time to curry the favor of their commander. They had to find the fried chicken leftover from the party.

“I see nuggets here and kara-age her!? Dammit, so close!! I like it to be on the bone!!”

“Are you looking for fried chicken, Quenser? If you don’t mind it being a bit strong, I have three pieces left.”

“All that pepper you’ve already put on it is a point against it, but this is no time to be picky!! Yay, chicken!!”

Quenser raised his arms in the air and surrendered to Froleytia.

Heivia and the princess had leftover Salisbury steak and french fries piled high on their disposable paper plates.

The four simply sat chewing for a while, but there was no reason to sit in silent concentration the entire time just because they had not had proper food in a while. When people gathered, stupid conversations would begin. That is one of the rules of this world.

The one who began first was Heivia.

“You know pole dancing, right? Y’know, with the girl wrapped around the pole?”

“…That came out of nowhere. Heivia, are certain urges building up in you?”

“How do they do that?”

“What’s so difficult about it? They just wrap around the pole and swing around.”

“No, not that.” Heivia seemed to be having difficulty figuring out how to put what he wanted to say into words. “When it’s done more acrobatically, they flip upside down and have just the back of one leg wrapped around the pole while they spin around, right? How do they support their body like that?”

Quenser was about to say, “How should I know?”, but someone unexpected cut in from the side.

It was their commander, Froleytia.

Having polished off the spaghetti soup, she was elegantly wiping off her mouth with a napkin as she said, “It differs depending on the person, but the friction of your skin against the brass pole is usually enough to support you. Well, there is a trick to how you wrap your leg around, but as long as you do it like you’re trying to squeeze and twist around the metal pole, one leg is enough to support you.”

The two idiots stared in shock at Froleytia as she stood up from her chair and glanced around the area. She spotted a pipe wrapped in fabric tape running vertically at one edge of the mess hall.

Froleytia checked the thickness and sturdiness of the pipe and said, “Basically, you do this.”

“Huh!? Froleytia, why do you seem so used to doing this!?”

Quenser was in utter shock at the seductive action his commander had begun so suddenly. Froleytia replied as she spun around upside down, paying no heed to her tight skirt.

“Sometimes you need a hidden talent for the victory parties after a successful mission. Also, doing this seems to double the motivation of the troops for some reason. The only real problem is that spinning around while grabbing the pole with my leg like this tends to rip my stockings. The synthetic fibers also reduce the friction, so maybe I should start doing it barelegged.”

“Y-yeah, I can see how people would get worked up if you and those huge breasts of yours were spinning around with your stockings ripping apart on your inner thighs!!” shouted Heivia in utter shock at that unexpected military tradition.

Froleytia then got down from the pole and added, “By the way, our princess can do this too.”

“Ehh!?”

“Ehh!?”

The thought of that slender girl doing it gave them a different feeling than when it was their sexy commander. Quenser and Heivia began trembling, but all the princess herself did was munch on french fries with her small mouth. As usual, she had no interest in using her eroticism in a way only a girl could. Most likely, any guy who asked her to do that would just get a slap in the face.

As the four of them continued their stupid conversation, the topic turned to something more dangerous. In the end, they were on a battlefield.

Once again, it was Heivia that brought it up.

“So why was the Mass Driver conglomerate attacking that moon villa from that Antarctic probe robot via a hacked satellite?”

“I will be going over this in the upcoming briefing, but whatever. It’s simple enough. The Capitalist Corporations major general who stays in that villa holds a lot of authority when it comes to military satellites and space stations. He was the driving force behind the decision to go with the laser trajectory elevator over the mass driver. …Basically, it was probably resentment over their method not being adopted,” replied Froleytia bluntly who had returned to her seat. “They may have been trying to send an ironic message by going out of the way to use a laser to attack the villa.”

“But then…” started the princess.

She must not have been very hungry because she was only slowly bringing french fries to her mouth.

Quenser continued for her, “Doesn’t that make this entire conflict contained to the Capitalist Corporations? I don’t see why we would need to get involved. Our involvement could even make things worse and cause this to develop into a much bigger conflict.”

“…That is what makes this so difficult.”

“I take it there is some reason why we have to be involved,” said Heivia as he stabbed his fork into a Salisbury steak he had cut into small pieces.

Froleytia nodded, “The Mass Driver conglomerate originally had their headquarters in Los Angeles of the Central Valley area of western America. But now they have begun a major migration away from the Capitalist Corporations. They seem to be moving south of the Sierra Madre area of Central America to the Iguazu area of South America.”

“What of it?”

“A Legitimacy Kingdom space development base is being built in the Amazon area near there. The method being used is a laser trajectory elevator. The option of using a mass driver was brought up, but since we are at war with the Capitalist Corporations we could hardly get their cooperation for the technology required. It would be a problem if they attack it like the moon villa out of resentment over the method used.”

“So this war is one to guarantee safety?” asked the princess.

“Precisely.” Froleytia put her long, narrow Japanese-style kiseru in her mouth and lit the end. “The real pain in the ass is that this is really only a dispute within the Capitalist Corporations as Quenser pointed out. But since we do not know where the Mass Driver conglomerate will turn its sights next, we have to do something. The best option would be to take them out before anything could happen, but if we stick our noses too deeply into this, it could easily spark all-out war between the Legitimacy Kingdom and the Capitalist Corporations. We do have a justification in protecting the space development base under construction in the Amazon area, but we have to make sure we do not deviate from that line. We have no idea where they will have this war of theirs, but it will all be a waste if Legitimacy Kingdom people get wrapped up in it,” said Froleytia with a sigh.

A short silence followed.

Finally, Quenser asked a timid question.

“Do we have any definite information on the possible Mass Driver conglomerate Object yet…?”

“Not yet. Something quite large was detected in Central America, but it may have been a gas tank like in Oceania.”

“But do we at least know where they are?”

“Actually, that’s a bit unclear as well.”

“?”

“The Andes mountain range in South America has elevations greater than 6000 meters. It is also famous for its mines. The south-eastern trade wind from the Pacific is acting up this year, so clouds with a lot of dust mixed in have flowed inland. This makes areas here and there that cannot be scanned by satellite.” Froleytia stopped to think for a bit. “We do not know anything for certain, but the Object this time will likely have the full technological prowess of the Mass Driver conglomerate put into it. That means it will likely have large caliber railguns. Since they also used railguns in the Antarctic, we can more or less count on it.”

“The ones in Antarctica were spares, but…”

“But they were not large enough to be main cannons, you mean?” Froleytia picked up on Quenser’s concern. “Most likely, those were not spares for the Object’s main cannon. After all, these are the people who build mass drivers that can reach satellite orbit or the moon. A single direct hit will of course be a death sentence, but the shockwave will also be a real danger. Make sure your ears and organs are not taken out.”

“And how exactly are we supposed to do that?” Heivia muttered under his breath.

However, that was not anything new.

When Quenser and Heivia were being targeted by any 50 meter Object, even its smallest weapons could blow them to pieces. Whenever they faced that great danger, they always asked the same question to no one in particular even as they knew it was meaningless.

What exactly are we supposed to do?

Part 17

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