Gravity fluctuation (23)
"Rescue request..."
Nadia started to speak but then closed her mouth. She tried to finish her sentence several times, her lips twitching, but she never managed to get it out.
Before the Reformist member found it suspicious, I hurriedly stepped in.
"We came because of the rescue request. The transmission you sent out randomly a few days ago."
- How long has it been since we sent that request, and now you show up...!
"So, are we just leaving, then?"
- What?
"I mean, are we just leaving?"
Whether he didn't grasp the situation or just refused to accept how things had changed, I was taken aback by the audacious attitude of the Reformist member.
"There are mutants crawling all over inside. Handle it yourselves. We're leaving."
- W-wait! Information! I'll give you information! You're here to get what I know, right?
"Information..."
- That's right, information! From your tone, you must be the ones who somehow survived on Titan. If you're still here and haven't escaped, that must mean the satellite's locked down, and there's no escape route. I'm well-informed about the outside. If you come to where I am, I promise full cooperation.
So he hadn't been completely thoughtless. He must've tried to even out the scales with some quick thinking, but he picked the wrong opponent.
"Well then, goodbye. Do your best to survive, we've got things to do. Information like that isn't really important to us."
Actually, it was important. It just wasn't worth risking our lives for. I didn't want to stoop to groveling to get it.
There's a famous saying, right? There is no negotiation with terrorists. And this was one of those times. I hated being dragged along.
- What? Hey! Hey...! Ah, you damn scavengers don't know your place—
"You're the clueless one, you idiot. Don't you know the situation inside the ship better than we do? You're so great, but you can't even get out without our help? Who are you to talk so big?"
- You, you...!
"Didn't you desperately send out the rescue request? In your shoes, you should be begging for help from pirates, not acting like a big shot."
- ......
Suddenly, there was dead silence on the other side of the comm, as if he'd been lost for words. I wanted to swear at the bastard, call him a beast, but that would have included Nadia in the insult, so I barely held it in.
Even though there was silence, the communication wasn't cut off. I notified the guy, who was probably holding his breath somewhere.
"If you want to live, just tell us your location. Who knows? If we're lucky and our routes overlap, we might save you by coincidence. If you give us main system access authority, I'll consider it positively."
- ... I don't have the control authority. The Swamp infected the control console, so ship control is impossible.
The "Swamp" must mean the Creep. Seems like everyone has the same idea.
There wasn't just one control console on the ship. Each console had different degrees of authority, but in Licorice's hands, that didn't matter. She could hack and take it by force.
"So you can't do a thing and still acted tough. Is this guy for real?"
I couldn't believe what kind of person he was. Maybe my tone conveyed exactly that, because the Reformist member let out a self-deprecating sigh.
- Haaa... I apologize for that. But I wasn't wrong. Saving me will benefit you, too.
I could tell his story was going to drag on, so I cut him off.
"Your location, first."
- ... I'm in the area connected to the bridge—
"...?"
Suddenly, the comm cut off.
"What was that? Hey, can you hear me?"
I tapped the comm, wondering if it was malfunctioning, but nothing changed. Apparently, we'd drawn this out too long.
'This is bad.'
Just when the conversation was finally picking up, thanks to his uncooperative attitude, we never managed to get a clear location from him.
I rolled my eyes and met the gazes of everyone who'd witnessed the whole thing. Their expressions were all uniformly dissatisfied. Kyle spoke up.
"You really have a knack for threats, don't you?"
"Excuse me? Me?"
"Maybe you can't feel it yourself, but you were terrifyingly intimidating just now."
Kanna quietly agreed, saying I seemed cut out for the military life. But honestly, I was just flustered.
We never even got the location. Shouldn't they focus on that instead of derailing the conversation? Nadia, at least, understood my feelings and pointed out the relevant part.
"We just ran out of time. He said before he couldn't stay connected for long."
"... Sorry."
I checked her reaction. I couldn't quite describe what expression Nadia was making. She'd worn that look the whole time I was speaking with the Reformist member.
Was she angry? Sad? The face she tried so hard to keep composed was tinged with emptiness.
Nadia gave me an awkward half-smile, trying to comfort me. But her tail, unable to hide her emotions, drooped out of sight.
"It's okay, we got everything we needed. So don't worry. While the comms were connected, I managed to download part of the ship's internal structure data."
Apparently, the comms served only as a bonus when connecting to the ship's main system. Nadia flashed a thumbs-up, proud she'd gotten the most important information.
"Let's go, this way."
We started moving again. The ship's engines were still active, so once we entered a sector managed by the main system, the lights were on here and there, unlike the completely dark cargo area.
We moved through unfamiliar corridors, deeper and deeper, and the deeper we went, the more the layout started to change.
Signs of Creep—the symbol of facility infection—began to show, and parts of the facility damaged in fierce battles came into view.
At least there were no rampreys to speed up the spread of Creep. Still, because mutated creatures kept popping up to harass us, our advance was delayed. Thankfully, beta was handling most of the attacks on its own.
Suddenly, Kyle, who hadn't really participated in the actual fighting, tripped and fell.
"Krak!"
"... Be careful. Creep is starting to appear, so we have to watch our step, too."
"Right..."
Kyle got up, slightly out of breath, and after glancing at me, cleared his throat loudly.
"Please stop with that 'What does this guy have to be tired about when he hasn't even done anything?' look. And that 'Anyway, the Beta series does all the fighting' face, too."
"... Oh."
Impressive, I wondered if he was a mind reader or something, but Kyle scowled.
"Oh, come on."
"Ah."
"See? You're doing it again. Please, don't mess with me. I'm tired enough as it is. My heart can barely take it with monsters jumping out from everywhere."
I could kind of understand Kyle's complaint. After one big sweep, the mutants hadn't attacked all at once anymore. Instead, they started chipping away at our stamina and nerves, little by little.
There were still lots of mutants in the Reformist ship. Knowing that, having them jump out at us like a jumpscare was both extremely annoying and nerve-wracking.
Unable to win through direct combat, they were wearing us down like this. It was infuriating, but what could we do?
Kyle wiped his face and asked,
"So, where exactly are we heading now? Are we moving toward that Reformist bastard's location? Just tell us that much, please."
Whether there were no signposts or the holograms weren't working because of the power shortage, we had no way of knowing where we were or where we were going.
We'd just been following Nadia, trusting her, but having to repeatedly move and stop was clearly wearing everyone down.
"We're heading to the nuclear warhead storage."
"... Nukes? Are there actually nukes on board?"
"According to the data, there should be a total of twenty warheads stored there."
"This isn't even a warship, why so many nuclear missiles... Wait, and you're just now telling us this? If the seal isn't perfect, everything could be irradiated. Our suits can only withstand so much—if something goes wrong, we could all die before we even notice!"
Kyle recoiled in alarm and pointed down the corridor ahead.
"The bigger problem is that they could explode, you know?"
After the crash, the internal systems were constantly sparking from the impact,
twisting everywhere, metal fatigue piling up over time,
the groaning of metal reminding us we needed to get out ASAP,
and corridors completely blocked by dangling wires or debris from collapsed ceilings.
Everything was unstable. Creep was corroding the ship's structural supports, so the ship was tilting in real-time.
Somewhere in the facility, a fire could have broken out. Kyle wasn't trying to scare us—he really was warning us because the situation was that bad.
Eric and even Kanna nodded in agreement.
"Sorry for not mentioning it earlier. My head's just been a mess... Anyway, don't worry about radiation. The twenty warheads are the original storage; all the attack warheads were already launched."
"... Attack warheads? There are others?"
"There's still a self-destruct warhead left. I checked in the data, and that one's locked with a strong security protocol."
Nadia explained that despite the security lock, she was going there to cut down any variables.
To reach where the remaining survivors were, the damaged ship needed to be stabilized to give us as much time as possible.
Besides, the Reformist member could threaten to blow up the nuke if we didn't cooperate. Right now, he didn't have control, but what if we restored some systems and he suddenly regained access?
In that sense, Nadia's approach of addressing dangers one by one was right. It would be infuriating if, after fighting our way there, we got blackmailed.
Eric wiped mutant fluids from his greatsword and asked,
"How much further to the nuclear storage? We've been moving for a while, so I assume we're nearly there."
"Just two more blocks. Once we arrive, we might be able to use some of the remaining power for ourselves."
"Understood. We should pick up the pace, then. The ghouls are getting fiercer, and we're only getting more tired."
Everyone agreed with Eric's suggestion. We kept shaking free of Creep clinging to our feet, pressing forward.
- Lee Hyun-woo, I found the way to the engine room. Luckily, it's not infected with Creep. Well, barely—if I'd arrived any later, this main engine would've been a write-off.
Licorice brought good news just in time. Splitting the team had paid off. When I relayed that, even the sullen Kyle looked a little relieved—it hadn't all been for nothing.
- I'd clean up in here if I could, but I can't go any deeper. Not until you disable the active armor on your side.
Licorice explained she couldn't proceed further as the control would break, and that most Beta units were already out of commission, so she'd hold her position.
"Just wait a bit. We're almost at our destination. I'll deactivate the sealed nuke, then contact you again."
- Got it.
After I cut Licorice's comm, we passed halfway through the remaining two blocks, when the repeated shipwide broadcast began.
- Infection detected on the ship! Initiate purification immediately! I repeat: Initiate purification immediately! Those who've mutated are no longer kin!
The harsh, static-riddled speaker blared. Beneath the announcement that weapons were now authorized, countless corpses were scattered everywhere.
Armed beastman, mutants with elongated scythe-like claws, spent bullet casings rolling on the floor, and sticky blood connecting the scattered shells.
Everywhere, beastman and mutants of the exact same type as if pasted and copied, meeting death by strangling each other.
Nadia murmured in a bleak tone.
"... The broadcast itself is the trigger. Beastman with implanted bio-circuits become a kind of puppet. The circuit affects the brain, transferring control of their senses to whoever is set as master. A fierce battle probably broke out right after the broadcast."
Nadia surmised that because the density of cloned beastman was so high, infection spread faster than purification, resulting in this scene.
The infection on Titan began with a pureblood supremacist terrorist attack. The vectors of infection they carried instantly turned anyone touched by the blue crystal into ghoul-like mutants.
I didn't know how the infection had started inside the Reformist ship. I'd thought an infection vector was needed, after all. So there must be another route we didn't know about.
"Terrible."
"Yeah, it's terrible. It's the fate of those whose endings were predetermined from birth. Maybe I would've ended up like this too, if I hadn't escaped from there."
Nadia moved the power loader. One by one, it cleared debris blocking the storage door. When it shoved aside a big pillar, beta series units cleared away the smaller stuff.
Occasionally, strong electrical surges sparked from wires buried in metal debris, but nothing major happened. Finally, the nuke storage entrance was cleared.
The storage itself was huge but unimpressive—just a chamber where missiles were loaded, looking like a massive missile pod.
Contrary to expectations, there was still quite a bit of military cargo left. I hesitated, wondering if those were all nuclear missiles.
Logically, I knew I'd been exposed to the nukes' influence ever since entering the ship, but seeing it in person made me uncomfortable.
"Those are just regular missiles. The nuclear warheads are kept separately, and all but one have been used up. Look, over there."
Nadia pointed to a pod with special radiation shielding. That pod was indeed empty—but curiously, a single round device was still deeply fused with the facility.
"What you're looking at is the self-destruct nuke. That's our purpose for coming here."
"If you enter the deactivation code, it won't go off, right?"
"Yes. I'll disable the control program completely, and to be safe, change the code so even if it gets an external signal, nothing will happen. As long as there's no severe shock, there's no risk of detonation."
That was reassuring. As long as we were careful about impacts (which was always the case anyway), it was highly unlikely the self-destruct nuke would go off unless the whole ship was crushed.
"I'll send a Beta inside to scan first."
Kanna dispatched the Beta units into the storage. Their sensors rapidly swept the area with flashing lasers.
Because the Reformists and mutants probably wiped each other out in front of the storage, nothing showed up on the scan. Radiation levels were a bit high, but our suits could handle it, and we'd go through decontamination upon return to the Albatross.
"No abnormal readings. I think it's safe to enter. Still, maybe some should stand guard at the entrance just in case?"
"I'll go alone. The code has to be entered directly."
"Still, I can't let you go alone. I'll come with. The rest of you stand guard at the door. Be ready in case mutants suddenly break in."
"Understood."
Nadia and I entered nuke storage. Two Beta units were already inside waiting for us. I wondered if their sensors triggered the lights and sirens, because suddenly, sparks flared up on the lit side.
Nadia left the power loader in front of the round self-destruct device and approached. When she put her hand on it, a holographic panel popped up, warning to present access authorization.
Even with the possibility of failure causing an explosion, I stood firm beside Nadia. I didn't doubt she'd succeed.
Nadia frowned briefly, then spread her hand wider on the device. The authentication process began. It didn't seem to be about entering a password, but rather verifying the person operating it.
Sensing my curiosity, Nadia spoke.
"It's checking my bio-circuit. Those circuits have unique codes and ranks."
"Like members being lower, officers being middle rank, and so on?"
"Right. I'm not even a half-system, but being an original offsets that. Even though I can't enhance myself the way others do with circuits, I can easily get through authentication like this."
"I see."
Still, some questions remained. If each circuit had a unique code, wouldn't it have made sense to revoke Nadia's code? Someone could break in using it—like what was happening now.
Not that I minded—this made our job easier.
"You know my circuit was forcibly extracted, right? I think the only reason my code still works is because they implanted it into themselves."
Nadia explained they probably didn't bother with extra precautions after they believed she'd died; and the device accepted her bio-circuit code.
「Welcome, Neo.」
"... See? That's not my name—it's the organization leader's name."
Nadia laughed weakly—a laugh that wasn't really a laugh.
I knew her heart's bio-circuit had been mostly destroyed from the forced extraction. I also knew her father was Neo, the Reformist leader. I knew what it meant for Neo's name to appear on the panel. I couldn't guess how she felt—so I found myself taking her hand.
"Nadia, when we get to Earth, let's splash around and play in the water. In a place where you don't have to worry about anything."
"If Roxy heard that, he'd tease you for setting a flag."
"So, do you hate the idea?"
"No, I like it. Really—I do."
Nadia squeezed my hand. She managed a faint smile—and this time, it was genuine. Like that, we exchanged warmth through our hands.
"I've entered the stop code. We won't be threatened over this anymore."
- That's a relief. But, is there any way we can use it ourselves?
Licorice sounded interested. Even if nukes were common military hardware, it was rare to see one up close.
"If you mean recovering it—impossible. This is a self-destruct nuke. All attack warheads have been used, which probably means there was extremely fierce combat in space. Even then, they didn't use this—that must mean there's a special reason. Try to remove it by force, and it might trigger the detonation protocol."
- True... I just asked because it's a shame to leave it.
No way to know what they fought against. Another pureblood supremacist ship? Or someone else?
'Is that why the stars haven't been visible the past few days?'
The telescope Carrot gave me could pierce Titan's haze and show a brilliant night sky. But recently, I hadn't seen a single star, even with it.
At first I thought the telescope was broken, but that wasn't it.
'They used all twenty nuclear missiles and still crashed...'
It suddenly occurred to me—that could be related to the information the Reformist member was supposed to share. After all, he came from outside Titan.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
The time to face off against Neo is near.
I'm guessing the man in the comms channel was Neo.
【(⩌_⩌ )】