Gravity Fluctuation (17)
"Anyway, there's never anything helpful. Is it really that hard for me to get a word in?"
Licorice slammed the panel. Her menacing attitude intimidated me. Fortunately, the panel survived, and the hologram screen split into several windows, displaying the information Licorice wanted.
"Kanna! Don't try anything, just get back inside!"
- The other side is already on alert. If we don't stall for time, there's a high chance they'll preemptively attack.
Kanna spoke urgently. We had been in the middle of loading supplies, so the Griffin's takeoff was impossible right away, and she seemed about to step up to buy us some time.
It was an understandable action, even for someone who wasn't a soldier but was in the same space. But it was cut off by Licorice's furious shout.
"I said get inside! Just keep supplying energy properly! The defense system is more than enough!"
- ... Understood.
Kanna didn't object twice. She fled to the interior, taking Nadia, who had just equipped her pulse rifle.
Nadia looked bewildered, as if she didn't understand why they were retreating. That bewilderment soon turned into a sharp gasp.
Almost simultaneously, under Licorice's control, the post's automated defense turrets powered up.
"Those damn pureblood supremacist bastards. Useless, every last one of them. Constantly interfering, never helping..."
The defense turrets spat fire. Heavy, pounding gunshots split the air. Suddenly, from what looked to be a derelict post, a barrage of shells rained out, forcing the pureblood supremacist recon shuttle to make a desperate turn.
Or, at least, it tried. If they hadn't gotten caught in the crimson net of gunfire that spread out in an instant, looking almost like a mesh...
One of the engines clipped the web, and in a flash, part of the shuttle was just carved away. The thin armor was shredded right through, revealing even the interior.
The shuttle tried desperately to evade, barely escaping the mesh of fire. Their piloting wasn't bad, but that was their limit.
"You're not Roxy! You're not even half as good as him! You dopamine-addicted freaks!"
"... Isn't that last one a bit off topic?"
"Then die differently, why don't you!"
At my muttered comment, a missile pod mounted inside the post's outer wall opened. Some of the cells were empty since we hadn't resupplied, but there were still enough missiles to bring down the shuttle scrambling to escape.
A single missile leapt away, blazing blue. There was a brilliant midair explosion. After that, the external cameras showed no trace of the reconnaissance shuttle—only debris scattering in every direction.
I was scared.
I swallowed hard, holding my breath. The lingering intensity of the explosion burned into my retinas made it impossible to feel otherwise.
- ... Situation resolved. Thank you. We'll continue the remaining work.
Kanna's voice sounded exhausted. She hastily cut the communication, perhaps afraid Licorice would say something. I was a little disappointed; I'd wished she'd stick around to draw attention away from me.
Just moments ago, I had been tense at the appearance of the pureblood supremacist shuttle. Now I was tense for another reason—their shuttle was no longer the issue.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Licorice, her hands pressed to the panel, was taking deep breaths. I approached her cautiously.
"... Are you okay? Why are you so angry?"
"How could I not be angry when those idiots keep interfering?"
Thinking about them made me angry, too. Honestly, everyone except the pureblood supremacists were victims here, so feeling a surge of negative emotions wasn't strange at all.
'You just didn't seem like you were angry for that reason, so I asked.'
That thought got blown away by the turret fire. I just agreed vaguely and let it slide.
"I'm mad too. Anyway, let's quickly sort the data and get ready to bail. Now that the shuttle found this place, they'll have figured something out one way or another."
"Haa... Yeah. Just wait a second. It's almost done."
"Yes, ma'am."
I let out a sigh of relief, since Licorice was calming down quickly.
Most of the data extraction was already done, so we didn't have to wait long. Before long, her hands stopped moving across the panel.
Licorice called me over.
"All the stuff we wanted to know is here. Have a look."
"All the anger's gone now, right?"
"... Are you trying to annoy me on purpose?"
"Nope."
"Then get over here and look."
I kept my mouth shut. I was too intimidated to say anything else and just read through the logs displayed in the hologram window.
On the day when the residential area and Heaven fell to pureblood supremacist terror, this guard post was also attacked by traitors.
I guess that was a small blessing. Being in such a remote spot and under constant alert allowed them to respond somewhat, even though the attack happened from inside the post.
'There's even info about that container Kanna mentioned.'
Enemies who kept moving, mutating into monstrous forms, even after confirmed kills.
Emergency signals coming from all sides, so they sealed the corpse piles inside containers.
Traitors tampered with the new security robots, locking them out and making them unusable.
Body disposal and leftover supplies would be handled with reinforcements once support arrived.
"They're soldiers, I guess. Thorough and decisive."
Apparently there were capable people inside the post. But that was as far as they got. Rushing out with what forces they could gather, not one of them came back.
"They were too hasty. I get why, but still..."
Licorice's gaze shifted to the communication logs from that time. There were requests pouring in from all over, not just nearby—from practically every sector.
The post had responded as best it could, but they underestimated the pureblood supremacist force that had been preparing for a hundred years. That was their fatal mistake.
If only they had stayed here, they might have met us. Our fighting strength would have increased. That regret was sharp.
"There's nothing else worth noting. Let's go down. The data will self-destruct in time."
"I was just starting to like this place..."
I took in the control room and all the facilities with a lingering gaze. Just knowing this place had a defense system made me feel secure. But, unfortunately, being found by a pureblood supremacist recon shuttle meant we had to abandon this post.
Swallowing my regret, I left the control room with Licorice. Downstairs, the security robots were already hard at work.
They were transferring everything from crates of preserved rations to other necessities. It was quite a haul. But the amount of ammo and firearms was less than I'd hoped, since the surviving guards had stripped everything before fleeing.
'Well, I'll just have to use what's left on the Albatross carefully.'
Kanna seemed to be off doing something else and wasn't around. While I looked around for her, Licorice spoke up.
"I'm going to check the robots that got assigned as my share and plan some mods, so you can go check on Woof-woof."
"Why do I feel like I need your permission to go?"
"Because you do. But I'm still letting you go, aren't I?"
Honestly, no one but Licorice could be so shameless. She was about to say more but paused, then turned away without a word. It looked like she was holding something back.
If she had something to say, I wished she'd just spit it out, but she kept hesitating, which only made me feel frustrated. Still, it wasn't worth pestering her for an answer—Licorice was famously tight-lipped.
In the end, Licorice and I parted ways without much else said. She looked genuinely excited, thinking about tinkering with the new security robots, trying her best to hide it but not succeeding at all.
'Honestly, sometimes...'
Half-afraid she might overhear, I just shook my head and went over to where the power loader was.
"Nadia, how much is left?"
"Almost done! Once this is moved, my work's finished!"
Nadia's energy revived the moment I called her, even though she'd looked worn out piloting the loader. Carry was there too, and welcomed me.
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Please, it wasn't hard. I just sat here and moved the stick around."
Nadia, embarrassed, laughed and perked up her ears. She loaded the final supplies onto the Griffin. Since nothing else required the power loader, we boarded the Griffin first.
Before we got here, the cargo bay had been practically empty, but now it was stuffed with containers. Even just looking made me feel rich—it had been ages since I'd felt that.
"Didn't really do much myself this time."
"There are days like this, Hyun-woo. We can't always be embroiled in crises and forced to fight for our lives."
"I mean, we had a crisis and fought for our lives."
"... True."
Even though I hadn't done anything, a pureblood supremacist recon shuttle showed up and Licorice controlled the post's guns to vaporize it. The image of it being blown apart was still vivid in my mind.
"Still, we didn't have to fight them ourselves. Here, drink this!"
Nadia opened the cockpit storage and handed me a drink pouch—military issue, with a hint of sweetness. It was supplies from the post, marked clearly as military.
"Cheers!"
"Yeah, cheers."
Nadia and I celebrated in advance that today was ending safely. Nothing tasted quite like a drink after an honest day's work. The refreshment calmed my parched throat. Carry, who couldn't actually drink, still play-acted raising a glass.
Soon, Kanna and the soldiers returned, saying they'd double-checked to be sure they hadn't missed anything. She concluded there were no hidden survivors, and that there were no logs left by the guards either.
Once we'd sorted things out, the Griffin began to take off. Heavier now, the ship rocked more than before; I worried we might crash under the weight, but it quickly stabilized.
The security robots, having finished their work, lined up in perfect order. They really did look like they deserved the 'new model' label. They looked distinctly more menacing than the residential area models.
The difference in armor alone was stark; the gear installed was of a much higher threat level. The residential area models were intentionally underpowered for suppression rather than killing. The military-type security robots were the opposite.
While I was staring at them, Licorice came over.
"Lee Hyun-woo, I'll mod a few of these bots for you, so keep them with you at all times."
"Really? You're giving them to me?"
"Yeah. Honestly, your combat style is so aggressive that no one can keep up. Call it fast tempo, I guess. Anyone who tries to keep up with you either fails or gets themselves killed. And with so few people as it is, a robot that'll obey orders even if its frame breaks is better than a human who can't keep up, right?"
"I agree."
She was right. Nadia had only managed to follow me because Carry handled much of the actual movement.
By riding on Carry, we saved Nadia's stamina for combat rather than travel. Now, that job was handled by the power loader.
Nadia's piloting skill and the power loader's specs matched perfectly, giving us a synergy that made it possible for her to keep up.
If you had to fight alongside me directly, instead of just supporting me, you would have to be at least at Nadia's level.
"Can't you just mod all of them, though? That'd be great."
"You think I've got clones of myself or something?"
Licorice let out a laugh of disbelief. I knew, thinking back to the Alpha Series she'd modified, that it wasn't an easy process. But did she really have to do it alone?
"Would it be hard even if Nadia helped? She's good with equipment, not just piloting. She might fumble at first, but she'd get the hang of it soon enough."
"Lee Hyun-woo, have you lost your mind? Why don't you just ask for everything I own?"
"That's not what I meant... I just worry about you, that's all. You don't have to carry all the burden yourself. What if you break down from overwork again, like last time?"
I gently took Licorice's hand. Only a single finger touched, but Licorice flinched in surprise and pulled away.
She always tried to act tough, but up close, she seemed so fragile. Her outward appearance hadn't changed since I first met her—she looked far younger than she acted.
I didn't know Licorice's real age. Postd on her speech, attitude, and activity, I figured she was older than me, so I treated her as my senior.
"You said it yourself—we're in this together now. Even if we make it to Earth, it's not like we'll just split up. We'll be working together for a long time—"
"Okay, fine. I'll think about it."
Licorice cut off my nagging, clearing her throat and turning her head away. The ear peeking through her hair turned red. Any more and I wouldn't have been able to tell it apart from her hair color.
"Thanks for everything, Licorice. I mean it."
"... Just show it, then."
She grumbled for no reason. She really didn't seem like an older senior, but what could I do? My life had been saved by her, so many times I'd lost count. I just had to do well by her.
Before long, the Griffin returned to Point Nemo. The Albatross hadn't changed much since we'd left or since we'd come back, but that was fine. The real work was just beginning now anyway.
The people at the temporary post cheered at the supplies we brought back. The most enthusiastic of all was Kyle and his team.
What they needed most were robots for manual labor. While the security robots weren't exactly built for rummaging through scrap, beggars couldn't be choosers.
Kyle immediately took a squad of the bots out to the junkyard. When the robots—who never needed to rest—started working, the piles of scrap began to shrink, and useful parts emerged from the debris.
For a while, we settled in at Point Nemo, focusing on organizing supplies and repairing the Albatross. The single most pressing problem was the main engine.
If we couldn't solve that, the Albatross was just half a ship. Kyle worked night and day to fix it, even more motivated after hearing we'd shot down the pureblood supremacist recon shuttle at the post.
His effort paid off in the end: we managed to find a compatible engine in the wreck of a military ship in the scrap heap.
Obviously, the engine's condition was terrible. It had been sucked dry and then tossed out with the wreck.
Still, no one gave up hope. They encouraged each other, saying there were ways to squeeze a little more life out of even a spent engine.
On the fifth night at the post, Kanna came back from patrol with news that she'd witnessed a gravity anomaly. Nobody said it out loud, but everyone was anxious.
Nobody crumbled, though. Instead, everyone rested and conserved their strength for a possible fight. As much as they hadn't wanted all those experiences, they'd learned from them: panic helps no one.
Time passed, and as the Albatross's new main engine neared completion, the now-energized communication array caught a message drifting in the airwaves.
- Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Anyone out there?! This ship is going down! We need help!
It was a distress call from an unidentified vessel.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】