HEAVY OBJECT:Volume18 Chapter 2
Status: Incomplete
1/16 parts completed
Chapter 2: Failure >> Attack on the Turkana District Space Elevator – Sp. Station
Part 1
Can your soul keep up with a world at 5x the speed? With 5x the concentration of the traditional recipe, Monster Girl Energy – Maximum Bottle!! has been unleashed upon the world.
A distant look filled Private Heivia Winchell’s eyes as he watched the brown-skinned swimsuit women in the back of a pickup truck. Those bikini women had been hired to hand out 500mL glass bottles of energy drink as a campaign for a new product.
This happened in the South American Amazon District.
It was midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere.
“Why aren’t we allowed to drink any?”
“You do know what we’re waiting for here, don’t you? For a space shuttle. Fill your stomach with carbonation and it’ll rupture inside you once we launch into space.”
“Why are you being such a jerk to those bikini babes? Did one of them pretend to confess to you while livestreaming it???”
“I’m a Bad Bull guy myself.”
Quenser yawned while leaning against a tall chain link fence.
He would occasionally rub at his body through his uniform, but not because his new underwear felt weird.
A giant structure towered up towards heaven on the other side of the fence behind them. But instead of an elevator, this was a space shuttle meant to launch into space and return to earth repeatedly. It was more than 40m tall and the jungle-gym-like launch equipment around it was a little taller. Several of them were lined up quite neatly, making it look like a metal corn field.
“This is such a waste of fuel,” complained Quenser. “I can see now why the Capitalist Corporations are so obsessed with that elevator. It’s all about cost performance.”
While the four powers had been competing to see if the space elevator or the mass driver would become the new standard, the research institute here had apparently begun a revival of these old-fashioned but tried-and-true toys. Basically it was the same as a train-obsessed government worker finding excuses to use public money to buy a steam train. Since they were even calling it a “space shuttle”, a term that had supposedly been retired, you could see this was more about a love of the aesthetic than about profit.
Quenser viewed the gate that opened and closed like a city railroad crossing.
“This is a busy place.”
“Half the globe can’t launch any rockets thanks to Mother Lady. And that’s true for every world power. The space station is still controlled by the Federation of Elevator Industries, but that effectively makes it a decision made by 7th Core as a whole. And interference from the sky is way worse than from the ground. They can use laser beams, jamming, meteors, debris, or whatever else. That’s a problem for everyone – public sector, private sector, academic, and military. That’s why everyone’s decided to launch their stuff on the other side of the world, leading to a rush on this place.”
“All because of the one elevator.”
“I sense a weirdo at work here. Nothing good ever comes from letting intellectuals join the battlefield.”
Annoyingly enough, Mother Lady was still not widely considered a villain despite all the news reports on the trouble it was causing. That space elevator could cheaply deliver packages to every part of the world, so it had already become a great ally of safe country family budgets the world over during its 9 month test period.
The electronic simulation division said it would start sucking up more than ten times the money once it began working for real.
There was a negative side to it. For example, what to do about the empty packages and cargo tanks after a delivery was made. If they were allowed to provide a collection service, they might be able to effectively create extraterritorial bases all around the world.
The 37th had to tear the elevator down and end this before that happened.
But that would be no easy task.
“That elevator wasn’t built up from the ground. It’s dangling down from space.”
“?”
“That means the space station at the top is more important than the ground base at the bottom. And I’ve heard that station is 20km across. We took over the ground base by blocking off the underground water they were using for cooling, but it’s not over yet. In the worst case, the station could cut the wires to free itself and then move to another candidate location. Conquering that desert ground base was far from being checkmate.”
That was why the swimsuit women had stopped their pick-up truck next to the fence denoting an off-limits zone so they could hand out sample products. The crowd here had looked lucrative to the PR team that normally operated in big cities.
Quenser sighed in the hot sun.
“Amateur advertising agencies have noticed what’s happening, so do you really think the Capitalist Corporations is going to ignore it?”
“That’s why we’re supposed to get up into space before those greedy bastards bound by military regulations manage to rework the rules so they can act. Dammit, what idiot is causing the holdup!? Are they checking everyone’s bags? Or did the health exam show someone had a cavity or an STI!?”
“That’s why you use mouthwash after doing oral. Always practice safe sex, kids.”
The two idiots’ conversation was cut off by a short beep from their radios.
It was finally their turn.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Heivia while following the fence to the gate. “I mean, we left the Princess behind.”
“Taking over the elevator’s ground base doesn’t make the local guerillas magically disappear. If we didn’t leave some kind of solid defense behind, they could surround the base and take it back. And those ad-loving Capitalist Corporations are really good at negative campaigns.”
“I know that, but we left that sheltered girl to hold down the fort.”
“We can check in with her at any time with the cameras. And it’s not like she’s all alone. The old maintenance lady is with her. Besides, the Baby Magnum isn’t the only defense. We took over Mother Lady’s ground base, so the others there can fire warning shots with that thing’s laser beam.”
“Why isn’t the space force doing this job for us? Then we could call it quits and enjoy some New Year’s leave.”
“The space force as you imagine it doesn’t really exist. Their name sounds cool and all, but they basically sit at computers on ground bases and send out jamming signals to mess with the enemy satellites and spacecraft.”
“What’s your point?”
“None of them are dumb enough to visit the dangerous radiation-filled vacuum of outer space. We’re stuck with a shitty job no one else wanted. As usual.”
Every last one of the Legitimacy Kingdom potatoes here were lined up below the blazing sun in their uniforms. Only half of the 37th was here, but they still formed a lengthy line while waiting to have their ID checked so they could pass through the gate. It took a while.
“Is this what it’s gonna be like when we die?” asked Quenser while watching the line move about as fast as a snail. “ ‘The enemy Object will arrive shortly, so please enter the shelter in a calm and orderly fashion’ and then whoooosh, kaboooom!”
“You’re dreaming if you think the desk jockeys are gonna be anywhere near that kind to us. They never even look at the reality beyond their computer screens and they’ll just demand we bravely fight the Object to the last man and die. …Really, the Legitimacy Kingdom is behind the times. We should really build our own space base.”
This may have been another problem caused by Objects ending the nuclear age. Modern battlefields were still discussed on the talk shows targeted toward housewives, but the focus was more on cyberspace than outer space. The national defense funding that all the world powers used to fight each other came out of their tax money, so they needed to make sure everyone felt terrified enough that funding countermeasures and applied research sounded appealing.
“I’ve heard all the leaked photos of famous actresses that have been making a stir online lately are actually a form of propaganda meant to manipulate public opinion.”
“So are you saying the only way for the space side of things to make a comeback is to start dropping those thin, single-use pieces of rubber from satellite orbit?”
Finally, it was their turn to pass below the gate bar that rose and fell like a railroad crossing.
A small group of people had gathered and begun shouting a short distance away.
“Oh, what’s going on there?” asked Heivia. “Did a fight break out?”
“It’s 38 degrees and crowded, so people are irritable and liable to run into someone from an opposing group,” said Quenser. “So who is it? An environmental protection group and an energy company?”
“It might be the ever-fierce conflict between Team Salt and Team Soy Sauce. People can get heated when it comes to ramen flavors.”
“Your failure to even mention Team Tonkotsu marks you as guilty. But, wow, I think it’s two women shouting. Yeah, I’d really rather not see a woman swinging her hair around with a monstrous look on her face.”
“Hang on. I think I recognize one of those voices.”
“Oh, god, that’s Frolaytia! What is she doing!?”
Separating her from the old maintenance lady may have been a mistake.
Two women were pressing their foreheads together while glaring at each other.
One was Major Frolaytia Capistrano, Queen of the Potatoes, but the other was a silver-haired brown-skinned officer with a non-Legitimacy Kingdom uniform.
In fact…
“Ugh!? That’s an Information Alliance uniform!”
“Oh, no. I forgot this was an international space launch facility that anyone can use.”
Quenser smacked a hand against his forehead.
The military was really bad about turf wars. Quite literally in fact. They fought to protect their national borders year round. Soldiers in the other uniform design were trying to stop their own commander with shouts of “Lendy! Major Farolito! Please calm down!”, but they were too hesitant about it and it had no effect. That was one area in which the Legitimacy Kingdom and Information Alliance were the same.
The demonic commander, who was busty but made sure no one wanted to get anywhere near that bust, spoke in a deep, resentful way she never used with her own soldiers.
“Oh, what have we here? I thought I detected the unhealthy scent of melted solder in here, but the Amazon District is protected by Legitimacy Kingdom Objects, so surely I must be imagining things.”
“Someone too dumb to stop smoking in this day and age may be unaware, but as much influence as the Legitimacy Kingdom may have in this district, it has no official affiliation. But I suppose those colossal fatasses may have failed to notice how much trouble their presence is causing the locals.”
Quenser was dumbfounded.
“(Hey, Heivia, does this count as a personal fight or a war???)”
“(Shut up and don’t you dare say anything to them. I want nothing to do with this.)”
The conversation moved on without those two boys.
Frolaytia pressed her forehead even harder against the other woman’s.
“You do understand the situation here, I hope? Do you have any idea how many Objects we have stationed here?”
“I suppose I can’t blame an ignorant country girl for not knowing, but attacking us would be in violation of the Peace and Equality in Space Treaty. But if you insist on being a pest and violating PEST, feel free. I’m sure you will enjoy being assigned to an Arctic base for losing your side so many Objects.”
“Oh, you want to fight!?”
“Bring it on, little girl!!”
The Legitimacy Kingdom and Information Alliance soldiers rushed in. They had no complaints about a busty catfight, but these particular busts would lead to the world’s dumbest war if a fist managed to hit one of those beautiful faces.
And Quenser was impressed by one thing he noticed.
“You’re actually bothering to hold her back, Heivia? That’s surprisingly responsible of you.”
“With all this chaos, I can cop a feel and she’ll never know it was me.”
The brave warrior who rushed straight into danger ended up writhing on the ground after Frolaytia swung a 500mL bottle of Monster Girl Energy and it hit him right in the forehead.
Quenser’s decision to stay out of it proved wise.
Those jiggling boobs were like a Venus fly trap. Fall for the temptation and you were dead.
Plus, he was officially a battlefield student, not a soldier, so it was not his job to preserve world peace.
“Whoa, whoa, stay away from me, yikes, yikes, yikes, ahhhhh!!”
Potato #1 protected his head with both hands and fled from the crowd of angry, stressed, and excitement-starved people.
After finding peace and quiet, he let out a sigh.
“G-good, they’re gone.”
(But what is the Information Alliance doing here? What business do they have in space???)
Just as that fundamental question occurred to him, he heard a girl’s voice from somewhere.
“Okay.”
“?”
He turned toward the young voice to see a large RV parked there. And the external area was surrounded by bed sheets draped over ropes like laundry put out to dry.
The sunlight shining through the sheets showed him the silhouette of a girl who appeared to be only around 10. She was partially bent over and standing unsteadily on just one leg. Her small hands were holding the lifted leg at the ankle. Her silhouette showed through so clearly he could make out all those details.
So was she putting something on, or taking it off???
“If I was going to need a spacesuit, they should have had it ready from the beginning. Oh ho ho. I do understand a spacesuit in my size can’t be easy to come by, though.”
“?”
“Hey, you there!”
While Quenser tilted his head, a sharp voice shouted at him through the sheets. She would not be able to see him either, but she spoke in a very demanding way. She may have mistaken him for one of her own.
“Oh ho ho. I cannot find the tape measure I had. Is it out there perhaps?”
“Hm? Oh, you mean this one?”
“That should be it, yes. Please hand it here.”
An unexpectedly small hand stuck out through a gap between two sheets. She was also being super careless. She seemed to be hiding something, but her own hand had parted the two sheets somewhat. It was possible someone would see her secret through there.
The careless girl’s soft-looking hand gestured for him to hurry up, so he sighed and placed the tape measure there.
“Oh ho ho. Thank you. I have my measurements taken regularly, but this is outer space we are talking about.”
She pulled her hand back in.
Based on the silhouette, she wrapped the tape measure around that part of herself.
“Not to mention that this is for a special outer space New Year’s concert. Yes, you’re in for a treat, my many fans! Oh ho ho. I will make sure the world falls in love with me all over again!!”
(Hm, so she’s an idol like Monica.)
He doubted she would give him an autograph or shake his hand if he asked right now, though. At any rate, he was finding a great variety of people had business in space. He was honestly jealous of the girl.
Meanwhile, he was headed up there to fight a war.
It was the most depressing reason to be given an all-expenses-paid trip into space.
