Gravity fluctuation (21)
The Albatross landed just barely within the predicted nuclear explosion range. Honestly, for safety, it would have made more sense for it to remain airborne until we returned, instead of landing at all.
But that simply wasn't possible. As Kyle had mentioned, the Albatross's main engine was one picked up from point Nemo, also known as the Graveyard Orbit.
Though we did some maintenance, not only was it long past its service life, but it also had been dug up from a graveyard, so its condition couldn't exactly be called good.
That's why it had a limited operational time, and the Albatross was left with no choice but to land at a spot visible to the Reformist ship.
"Hurry up, everyone. We don't have much time."
"Geez, we never seem to have enough time, do we?"
"Honestly, I'm not really sure either. I'm in a rush because you never know how things will change."
A few of the soldiers who had been split between the Albatross and the Griffin joined us. Even though I call them 'a few', the total number wasn't large to begin with, so only Kanna and one other joined us.
There was no way around it. These ships, both large and semi-large, required a minimum crew for operation.
Even though most functions were automated, you still needed skilled people around to respond promptly to unexpected situations. The engineers we'd lived with in town were learning how to operate the ships, but it seemed like it would take more time before we could entrust them with the task.
Still, it was okay. We had the new Beta-series security robots to make up for the shortfall. After being remodeled by Licorice and Nadia, the new Beta-series would be a huge help.
A heavy thud sounded as the Beta-series came down the ramp. It was the sound of the power loader that had disembarked from the Albatross taking a step.
"Hyun-woo, are you ready?"
"I'm always ready, of course."
I replied simply and turned my head. All around were massive inverted icicles, jutting up as if determined to pierce the sky. At the center of my field of view was the Reformist ship.
It felt off to call it a "ship"—it was at least twice as big as the Albatross. It was like a chunk of a city had just broken off and dropped from the sky.
Nadia had said the markings on the ship indicated infiltration, but no matter how you looked at it, the size wasn't suitable for infiltration. She'd said she'd need to look closer to know for sure, so we just had to wait.
The inverted icicles were made of a material that barely scratched from heavy impact, so the crashed ship looked like it had its hull bottom totally torn open by a primitive trap.
Here and there, a few broken inverted icicles lay as testament to the impact, but that was only a small number. Instead, the way the hull and the icicles were tangled together, it almost looked like the ship and the icicles were part of a single construction from the start.
"Nadia, can you tell me what you're hoping to find? At least just to me?"
"I..."
Nadia looked away, her eyes on the distant Reformist ship. She hesitated, lips moving silently, then spoke.
"I just... want to be sure. To be sure I've freed myself from them."
Back when she was in the Reformist sphere of influence—in fact, when she was just a child—Nadia had been abused by them. Honestly, she probably never wanted to be associated with anything related to the Reformists.
That's why I'd expected her to oppose exploring the ship, so it was very surprising when she cast her vote in favor, even as the support and opposition were neck and neck. Others around us, noticing Nadia's hesitation, looked equally surprised.
'Hope she's not pushing herself too hard.'
I looked at Nadia in concern, and perhaps misunderstanding my intent, she quickly waved her hands.
"Oh, I don't intend to make everyone follow my stubbornness. Our main goal is to check the condition of the main engine and recover it, so I'll stick with that."
"That's not it. I just... I hope you don't push yourself too hard."
"I won't. Don't worry, I've already worked through it."
"Then that's good."
To encourage her, I stuck out my fist. She responded in kind, and we bumped knuckles lightly. Carry, who had been watching, pestered us to do it again, so we did, laughing a little. He really never misses a chance for something like this.
Before long, Kanna had finished organizing the combat equipment and was waiting in front of the vehicle. Kyle, nervous about going outside for the first time in ages, kept fiddling with his suit. Then he grabbed his communicator and shouted; apparently Roxy had annoyed him.
Celestia, who stayed behind on the Albatross, waved and told us to be careful as we left. I waved back, and only then did the figure behind the window fade from view.
Since the distance to the Reformist ship was considerable, we decided to travel by vehicle. We couldn't use Roxy's shuttle, since he had to stand by in order to assist with the Albatross's emergency takeoff.
The Griffin took up the role of perimeter security and escort for the Albatross, buying time should the Albatross need to take off.
Since only our group needed to board the vehicle, we did so quickly—and soon we were off. Our bodies bounced with every bump and jar—nearly tossed in sync. The ride was terrible. But there was no helping it.
Inverted icicle zones are generally off limits for wheeled vehicles, but we had no other choice. There were hover vehicles like the hoverbike, but those were recon vehicles and simply couldn't carry our current heavy load.
Beyond the up-and-down jolting of our sight, the approach to the Reformist ship quickly closed. Even though Roxy wasn't driving, the driving was impressive; when I checked, it turned out to be Kanna.
Dressed fully in battle gear, she roughly turned the wheel, narrowly dodging the icicles that jutted out like swords. No one talked during the trip.
It was partially the jostling, but mostly each of us was caught up in our own tasks. Watching Kyle hug his pulse rifle like it was his lover, I debated whether I ought to take it from him.
Kiaaaak—crunch—
After a short while of being bounced about, we arrived at the gaping hole in the ship's lower hull—our destination.
"Everyone out. We'll get out and assess the situation."
At Kanna's order, the Beta-series robots disembarked in orderly fashion. With a pulse rifle in one hand and a shield in the other, they looked reliable—not quite as much as Carry, though.
- Lee Hyun-woo, how does it look? Is it different up close?
"Hm... I don't see any of the infection we saw from above. I guess it hasn't spread completely through the ship."
I scanned the part of the hull that had been impaled by the icicles. There were no signs—no creep, no marks of something escaping from inside to out.
- Pretty clever. Like someone talking as if they know it's electric.
"Oh come on, Licorice, you know I don't know much about this stuff. If you put it that way, it's your mistake for asking me in the first place."
- Watch your tone. I was only asking you because there can be a difference between seeing things onsite and seeing them through a camera. I'm not just asking you, so I did nothing wrong.
"Yeah, right."
When I shot back, Licorice just clammed up, pretending not to hear. She controlled the new Beta security robots to analyze the ship's armor.
- The armor is thin, and its surface has special treatment to evade detection. No wonder remote control wasn't working well. So they used some pretty expensive coating for animals, huh? It suits infiltration, I suppose. But that can't be the only reason. Right, Woof-woof?
"... It's not even the right size for infiltration. Even with stealth technology applied, something this big would be easily spotted by eye."
Nadia added, looking at the ship's armor and the exposed inside.
"Contrary to the marks, this ship was assigned for deception."
- Deception?
"Yes. The marks themselves are bait. The ship's identification code is one used outside the SSTC sphere of influence, but the marking is connected to a junk dealer under SSTC— that's odd. The markings must change based on position or input. They want to hide something."
- Makes sense. But it's a bit hasty to jump to conclusions based on just that, isn't it?
Licorice asked if there was any other evidence. Nadia hesitated before answering.
"... I remember this ship. Well, the structure is familiar. If I'm right, the ship's lower hull is all cargo area. We'll know for sure if we go inside."
- Is that so? Then at least we don't need to worry about getting lost.
Licorice answered without a hint of surprise and continued.
- Once you're inside, you'll have to make the calls yourselves. I'll keep the comm link open, but it might suddenly cut out.
"Because of the special-treated armor?"
- Yes. If the armor effect is still up, it means the ship's power is still on. You know to call me if you need my help?
"Yes."
I figured I'd need to get to the control room if possible—to shut off the power to the armor so Licorice could help properly. The power left over could be used to activate the ship's defense systems and handle the mutated ones if necessary.
Our conversation was wrapping up when Kanna approached.
"I'd like to suggest splitting the team."
"Splitting the team?"
"Oh, I mean, forming a separate search team with the Beta-series robots."
Kanna's reasoning was this: though Nadia seemed to know the ship's layout, her memory or the ship itself might have changed.
While we would focus our movement on the main engine, small groups of Beta-series robots would focus on survivor search and shortest route scouting—for efficiency.
For a ship that appeared to be large-class or above, searching its entire interior would be a hassle, especially with mutants running around. The security robots moving through other areas would act as decoys.
'If we draw the mutants to other places, it'll be easier for us to move. And it's not like our combat strength suffers too much from splitting.'
Even if I worried a bit about dispersing our strength, the advantages were clear, so I nodded. At our command, the Beta series set off. Around ten units spread out and entered the ship from different points than us.
"Let's go."
"Right."
We too entered the Reformist ship through a gap in the lower hull. It was much brighter outside, thanks to the artificial lights. Inside, it was dark except for the cracks in the torn armor where light shone through.
The security robot at the front flicked on its headlights, and the darkness was pushed back. As Nadia had said, the lower hull looked like a cargo hold.
A space that still held the chaos of the crash. Empty containers of unknown former contents seemed to glare at us. There were more anchored containers than I expected.
My guess was that there had originally been even more than what we were seeing now. There were empty spots where it felt like something was missing.
"... This place is a total mess. Licorice, did you see any fallen containers as we came here?"
- Not around here. Looks like the cargo section is just somewhat empty?
"Yes. I think the lower hull had issues before we even reached the inverted icicle field... maybe even infection."
If there had been a breach in the hull from external attack, either during or before atmospheric entry, this would make sense. The lack of further signs of fighting or corpses, even in the chaos, was also understandable.
- Griffin is doing a detailed scan, so wait for that.
"Yeah. It's not urgent, anyway."
- Oh, and the Beta series have started their search in earnest. I'll be controlling them as far as I can reach, so don't worry about it.
I'd noticed Licorice wasn't seeing what I saw; she was busy on her end too. The program hadn't been perfectly written, so I'd been worried, but knowing Licorice was directly handling the Beta series reassured me.
As I responded, Nadia—now in the power loader—pried open a gap in the ship's armor and entered. I couldn't see her expression.
The way the power loader's hand rested on one container told me she wasn't frozen up, but the vibe wasn't good. The gloom unique to ruined facilities had me reluctant to speak up hastily.
「Make Beastkins Great.」
A hologram poster adorned one of the containers with all the self-assertiveness of a propaganda slogan. Not just on the containers—a poster was stuck up anywhere visible at a glance.
The power loader's hand carefully took hold of the poster. Then, as if the previous caution had been a lie, she crushed it mercilessly. A tangled bundle of wires spilled out from the ruined poster.
After a quiet moment, Nadia spoke up.
"I'll go up front. I'm sure enough now."
The power loader moved to the head of the line. Clank. The sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the cargo hold. The ship was so huge that there was plenty of space for the power loader to move.
And so, the proper exploration began.
***
Calm Sea, above the ruins of the military base Keter.
A massive force was gathered, displaying its might. All sorts of equipment, gathered from several military bases, glinted a fierce blue—threatening to all who looked on.
Moving quickly among the pureblood supremacists, a figure knelt before a man with a scar at his eye.
"Lord Cystus, the Maker has begun to act."
"Much too late."
"... Sir?"
"It's much too late. Why only move now? After all this time ignoring our words? If the Maker had moved promptly, things would've ended long ago. Instead of us gathering here, we would've gone out into space, helping our other brothers by now."
"..."
The pureblood supremacist knew the answer. But he dared not speak it. After all, Cystus wasn't asking because he didn't know.
Cystus was failing to suppress his anger at the continued interference of Lobelia and the Maker's growing independence.
It hadn't been enough for the first, pre-blooming bud's cocoon to be stolen—they'd lost countless brothers as well. Titan had always been more difficult to conquer than other satellites, but not to this degree.
Unpredictable variables kept cropping up, sending the flow awry.
'The bud has begun to develop self-awareness.'
Cystus, who had glimpsed the Maker's memories through the grace of the Holy Tree, felt both confusion and horror. The world seen by him—still human—and by the Maker, who had stepped into pure existence, was vastly different.
The Maker, drawn by powerful potential, pursued the light but, at some point, simply stopped. The pursuit ceased, the impurities ultimately fled.
The problem was not that the Maker had just failed to catch them. The real issue was that it had given them a chance to bloom, as if meeting a fellow kindred spirit—or perhaps an even greater being.
'An impossible thing.'
Beings born from the Holy Tree's foundation did not follow ordinary ecosystem rules. It was a strict pyramid—call it survival of the fittest, but there was a crucial difference in their origin.
No matter how strong a being is, in true survival of the fittest, when they weaken, others devour them. But with the Holy Tree, both the beginning and end are set.
Only purity matters. If your purity is high, you're superior, no matter how weak your true power. If it's low, you're inferior regardless of strength.
It wasn't impossible to raise one's purity—mutations allowed a chance for higher purity. Fail, and you vanished.
"What happened to the ship the Maker pulled down from Titan orbit?"
Cystus knew full well that the passengers were Reformists—beasts. Beings who could never mingle with the pureblood supremacists. In fact, they never had the qualifications in the first place.
They didn't even meet the bare minimum for challenging purity and achieving immortality. They began as nothing more than beasts.
"Looks like it crashed in an undeveloped area."
"Contrary to expectations that the impurities who stole what they wanted from Keter would head straight to the archive, they haven't shown themselves. Where could they go?"
"... They're likely to take an interest in the crashed ship."
"Right, of course. So what should we do?"
The questioning continued, but these weren't requests for input; the answers were already decided. It was closer to a warning.
"I'll prepare immediately."
"This time, we're not letting them go. Remember that. We can't waste any more time. You understand what I mean?"
"... Yes, sir!"
The pureblood supremacist jumped up and hurried off. As his shout carried, the waiting forces began to board the ship to set out.
Cystus stared at the impressive—even grand—sight with no emotion at all.
'The Holy Tree has already begun to awaken.'
Before the tree, already budding by the archive, could completely cover Titan, the grand plan had to finish and the forces would have to withdraw from here.
Cystus had no qualms about becoming mere fertilizer for the Holy Tree. But he still had tasks remaining.
He couldn't die before paying in full for forcing the tree, barely sprouted, to forcibly yield a bud.
If he died having accomplished nothing, he wouldn't be able to withstand the ascension that came after.
'Blow up together with the undying beasts.'
As Cystus stroked the new scar he'd gotten while chasing Lobelia, he resolved that should he ever meet the traitor again, he would definitely kill her. The wound, created by a bud that never should have existed, had quickly closed—but the scar never faded, like a branded mark.
Cystus clenched his fist tightly, vowing to see it done next time.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Hmm, will the Maker be an ally?
Also, a bud that wasn't supposed to exist?
Are they the Blackout and Whiteout twins?
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】