Gravity fluctuation (5)
'I'm exhausted.'
Even though the sun hadn't set yet, I felt a deep weariness and slumped over the table. The place I was in was a crew cabin aboard the military ship Griffin.
As expected of a military vessel, the bed was just large enough to sleep in, the room was structured in layers to maximize the narrow space, there was a small window for quick situational awareness, overhead lighting to ward off the darkness, and a folding table.
Cramped. My assigned room back in town was small, but this was even smaller. On top of that, I wasn't even using it alone.
The assigned cabin was a shared type meant to be used by several people. It was inconvenient, but there was no way around it. No matter how large the ship, they couldn't assign private rooms to every passenger in the shared spaces.
Still, my situation could have been worse. In a cabin meant for up to four people, I only had Eric as my cabin-mate.
By splitting it into a two-person room, it was a bit less cramped, but cramped was cramped. Carry had already run off to share a room with Nadia and Celestia.
Cold-hearted one. To just abandon me for a single suggestion. Was our relationship really so shallow that room size could divide us?
At first, Nadia, Carry, and I were all assigned to the same cabin, but on hearing about it, Celestia suggested that she take Nadia, saying it would be more comfortable for people of the same gender to stay together.
After seeing Celestia's private room—which was much larger than mine—Carry immediately pressured Nadia to go. Nadia, who wanted to stay with me, got caught up in Carry's persistence and ended up being swept away before she could even protest.
For reference, Licorice was given her own room. She had a lot of equipment and nowhere to put it, and, more than anything, she strongly disliked sharing her space with anyone else.
Most people knew about her temperament and the nature of her work, so there were no complaints.
'... I'm exhausted.'
I repeated the same words internally. My exhaustion wasn't because I'd been working since the morning. It was because of my roommate, Eric.
I'd already known he was a person with strict self-discipline and unbreakable principles. So I tried my best to get along.
Since we were both men, I thought it might be good to camaraderie as fellow survivors. I was also curious about Eric after having crossed life-or-death situations with him.
At first, there were no problems with us becoming temporary roommates. Eric didn't inconvenience others, and I tried to be mindful of such things too.
But then, the issue arose somewhere I hadn't expected.
It was my first time aboard the military ship Griffin, so when I got separated from Nadia, I decided to enjoy exploring on my own. Yet, Eric kept popping up wherever I went.
'Hyun-woo.'
In the shower room, responsible for cleanliness.
'Hyun-woo.'
On the bridge, with the wide view of the surroundings.
'Hyun-woo.'
At the emergency escape pod station, which we'd use in emergencies.
'Hyun-woo.'
In the engine room, where the power output was managed.
'Hyun-woo!'
'Argh. Enough already...'
I clutched my head from Eric's constant calls echoing in my ears. It had only been from morning until early afternoon, and I already felt close to developing a neurosis. Actually, I already had one.
Eric never had anything important to say when he called me. Most of the time—no, all of the time—he'd just urgently tell me to go somewhere.
And when I got there, was there ever any big news waiting for me? Not really. Sometimes Celestia, who was also exploring the Griffin, would be there.
I would briefly wonder if Eric called me because Celestia was waiting for me, but I never really got to talk to her.
When Celestia, who greeted me happily, asked why I kept coming, and I told her it was because Eric told me to, she just gave me an exasperated look.
She advised me there was no need to listen to Eric so obediently, and sent me away, saying I'd just be a bother. It wasn't even a prank—what was all this about? Even someone as gentle as me couldn't take it.
So I ended up hiding in my cabin. The darkest place is under the lamp, as they say. I figured this was the hardest place to find me.
At least, that's what I thought, until I heard Eric's voice beyond the quietly sliding door.
"Hyun-woo."
"Aaaagh!"
Startled, I grabbed my head and screamed without thinking, making the expressionless Eric flinch in surprise. I realized I looked strange, but I didn't care. Eric was the stranger one.
I spoke up in a tone of utter exasperation.
"What is it this time? Don't tell me to go see Celestia again. There's nothing to do even if I go."
"I already got scolded about that. I guess I was a bit too eager."
"Eager for what? There must be some reason you're acting like this all of a sudden."
"Yes, there is."
"Then what is it?"
"First, please follow me. Everyone's waiting on the bridge."
Eric gestured to me. He said we'd soon arrive at Military Base Keter, and that there were instructions to be given before we disembarked.
This time, it seemed real, so I grumbled as I stood up.
"When I get there, it won't just be Celestia there again, will it?"
"I'm disappointed in you, Hyun-woo."
"In what way?"
"Wouldn't it be better if Lady Celestia were waiting alone? Isn't your reaction a bit cold?"
I shot Eric a look as if asking why he was changing the subject like that, and he turned his head away, pretending not to notice. I sighed inwardly. Clearly, something was up, but neither Eric nor Celestia seemed inclined to explain it to me.
As Eric opened the door to the bridge, I found the Griffin's pilot, Licorice, Kanna, Nadia, and Celestia there. The rest were either wandering the ship getting used to the layout or attending to other tasks.
Nadia swished her tail and silently greeted me. Carry fluttered the flight unit attached to its back.
When Licorice asked why I looked so tired, Celestia wore an embarrassed expression for no reason, while Eric remained unbothered.
Licorice briefly frowned, but soon moved on, displaying a holographic screen for all of us. It displayed terrain data beneath the Griffin.
"No more are coming for now. Kanna, start the briefing."
"Yes."
Kanna stepped forward. She treated Licorice with the respect due to a superior, as if something had been arranged while I wasn't there.
"Currently, Griffin is flying above the Sea of Tranquility."
"... The Sea of Tranquility?"
I absentmindedly repeated the unfamiliar name, drawing Kanna's gaze just as she had begun her briefing.
I gestured apologetically as if to say 'no need to mind me', but seeing that neither Nadia nor Celestia seemed to know either, Kanna decided to clarify by pulling up new data.
Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who didn't know, and I let out a silent sigh of relief.
"The Sea of Tranquility. Despite the name, there's no actual water. Due to the terraforming device beneath Military Base Keter, the surface exhibits slight fluidity."
The holographic display showed footage from Griffin's external cameras. At first, I had no idea what 'slight fluidity' meant, but on closer inspection, the bluish surface undulated, rippling like a body of water.
It was just like looking at a sea. Though I'd never seen the ocean in person, I'd seen videos and pictures, so the feeling hit me at once. Vast blue land stretched out, its surface moving in silent waves like a true ocean.
'That's why they call it the Sea of Tranquility.'
It gave me an eerie feeling. The Sea of Tranquility stretched far beyond the horizon, its strange atmosphere making it seem as if it could swallow up your very presence.
"... A little scary."
Was that my inner thought leaking out? Startled, I looked up. It wasn't me—it was Nadia, who had somehow come to stand next to me.
She asked me:
"Hyun-woo, how about you?"
"I feel the same. Looks like it'd be hard to get out if you fell in."
「(՞ •̀֊•́՞)ฅ」
As Nadia and I trembled, Carry moved between us and placed his support arm confidently on my shoulder, as if to say 'why be scared when I'm here?'
"Well, if Carry's here, even if we fall in, he'll save us, right?"
「ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)」
As expected from Carry. Incredibly reliable.
"Hmm... Actually, you don't need to worry about falling in. The phenomenon is caused by the vibration of the terraforming device, but the whole surface isn't fluid. And even if you fall in, a jolt of electricity through your suit will make it solidify immediately."
「(꒪⌓꒪)」
Hearing this cool-headed explanation from Kanna, Carry pointed at itself with its support arm, as if asking if that meant it wasn't needed. Since it was born a transport robot, Carry took such joy in labor.
So it was really signaling 'Just say you need me!' but Kanna misunderstood its gesture and reinforced the opposite—much to Carry's disappointment.
"Yes, there's no chance of falling in."
「(⩌_⩌ )」
Carry's previously excited demeanor vanished in an instant.
「( っ °､｡)っ」
Plop. It slumped, losing all enthusiasm. The two Carry-adorers glared daggers at the oblivious Kanna.
Startled by the sharp looks, Kanna let her black cat ears droop, then hastily spoke up.
"Come to think of it, Carry will be needed. There's no risk of falling in, but occasionally there are whirlpools, so anything capable of flying... um, anyway, the more the better."
「♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡」
Kanna stumbled for a second over what to call Carry, but it came right back to life. It rushed to gather terrain data, pressing its lens against the window.
Celestia chuckled at the sight. Licorice did too, though more in bafflement.
Wiping a nervous sweat, Kanna let out a small sigh and returned to her briefing.
"Military Base Keter is located right in the heart of the Sea of Tranquility. Part of our mission is to protect the terraforming device."
"In the middle?"
"Yes. It's built into a giant inverted icicle structure, reaching deep underground for added stability. The terraforming device is also beneath the inverted icicle."
The terraforming device. Harsh as Titan still was, the only reason things weren't worse was thanks to that device.
The terraforming devices on Titan resonated with each other, stabilizing Titan's gravity, terrain, and weather.
"Since the base was seized by traitors, I thought lack of maintenance would have destroyed the device by now. But from the looks of the terrain, it's still working."
"What happens if it breaks down?"
"A massive earthquake would hit instantly. Hail larger than your head would fall from the sky, and you'd face blizzards too harsh for even standard suits to endure. These disasters wouldn't all happen at once just because of one machine failing, but if one breaks, more will follow quickly."
In other words, hell would become even hellier. I remembered an earthquake breaking out once due to a malfunction in the terraforming device.
At that time, it was only a momentary shutdown, so the damage was minor—but if it stopped completely, it'd be extremely dangerous.
"We don't need to worry just yet. With all previous staff presumed dead, there's nothing we can do. All we can do is get out before Titan becomes even more uninhabitable."
Turning the device on or off could be done by Myosotis or Licorice, but repairs and maintenance required other supervisors.
With no one left to maintain it and with creeps or mutants likely damaging the facility, breakdowns would accelerate—so, just as Kanna said, the best plan was to escape before that.
"So, what's the plan? Going straight there would be suicide."
"Right. There's no way we can storm the base as is. It's certain to be infested with monsters, and if the defensive systems are still online, they'll target us now. So we'll be entering here."
Kanna zoomed in the holographic map. A passage connected Military Base Keter directly to the inverted icicle.
She proposed entering the heart of the inverted icicle where the terraforming device was, using the old emergency escape passage—now a sealed route—and then moving straight to the Albatross hangar inside using internal facilities, since we already knew the way out and could reverse-engineer our path.
The Albatross hangar was located in the midsection of the inverted icicle, so coming from above wasn't an option.
If we tried to enter directly over the base, the defenses, if active, would target us instantly, and the noise would draw the pureblood supremacists and all manner of mutants holding the base.
"A secret passage... Nice, but isn't it really long? Breaking in like that seems like it'll take a while."
Licorice voiced her doubts, and I silently agreed. After all, the passage from the entrance to the core of the inverted icicle was a whopping 10 kilometers.
10 km. In this age, it wasn't really far, but it was enough to make the walk tiring.
"Oh, that part's fine. It's an old line, but the tram should still operate."
"What tram?"
"The old model. Even if it's broken, we can fix it—and Griffin will supply the power."
"What if the passage's already occupied by the enemy?"
In response, Kanna gave a cold, deadly smile. Her answer was as ruthless as her expression.
"We just kill them all. The passage isn't wide, so if they attack in a line, it's easy to mow them down. We'll bring everything we've got."
Kanna had the whole thing planned.
With the soldiers having joined us, we had much greater firepower. Our options for responding were wider, and the difficulty had dropped.
That was also thanks to the soldiers' unflinching resolve. They, too, were survivors who wanted nothing more than to escape Titan.
"We've staked our lives on this mission. I believe all of you feel the same way."
She looked at me as she said this, and I nodded before I even realized it. Kanna smiled contentedly—a look that would have had a tail waving happily if she'd had one.
'Now that I think about it—'
Kanna's beast-blood was thin. Unlike Nadia, she only had animal ears, not a tail, but still felt more beastlike than Nadia. I'd seen her move before—it was agile, stealthy, just like a real cat.
I was quietly watching Kanna's ears when Nadia started to look slightly irked—just then, the pilot tapped the mic and gave us an announcement.
"Arriving at the designated coordinates soon. It might be bumpy, so grab onto something."
As the two shuttles neared our destination, they gradually slowed in preparation for landing. The terrain approaching closer greeted us with silent, oceanic ripples.
At last, the shuttles landed atop the Sea of Tranquility.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】