Turning point(13)
"By the way, everyone got the report about what happened at dawn, right?"
Licorice said this while in the middle of getting geared up. I had been absent-mindedly staring at the blue light from my bracelet, but at her words, I responded by nodding my head.
There had been a sudden gravitational fluctuation, which changed the topography of Mithrim Montes. Because of that, even though our drone had finished its exploration, we couldn't enter immediately. We had almost been caught in an explosion that occurred underground.
It was a good thing we hadn't preemptively built an outpost on the surface. If we had, all those sizable landmasses that were scattered would have destroyed it.
"It must have been the effect of the graviton cannon, right?"
"We're assuming that for now. The red sparks we saw when the energy field lifted and Archive was first revealed—those were probably a precursor. The pattern analysis results are very similar to the aftereffects of a graviton cannon."
"... That attack's power wasn't even at full output, and just one shot could do this..."
I rubbed my arm, shivering. According to Orca, the graviton cannon we'd witnessed then was less than a tenth the usual power.
And even at that level, it had pierced through the giant superweapon Sky Whale and affected the core of Titan. It was easy to imagine how Europa could have been wiped out.
Unlike us, the satellite graviton cannon must have hit there with its full charge. It probably pierced through to the opposite side of the moon. Boom—gone, just like that.
"We're in a tricky situation now. The red sparks are still flying down there."
Licorice speculated that the underground resources were reacting to the graviton cannon, preventing the aftereffects from settling down.
The underground resources were highly likely to be Blue Crystal. The overflowing energy was reacting, as if leaking gas had caught fire.
"So we can't approach?"
"Fortunately, that's not the case. It looks pretty threatening, but our suits can handle it. But the problem is with the robots."
According to Licorice, the red sparks were a kind of electrostatic phenomenon that caused severe circuit interference. She expected that exposure to those sparks would result in a short or a generator error, shutting the machines down.
The shuttle wouldn't be able to avoid that interference, either, so we couldn't approach Archive directly by shuttle. For safety's sake, we'd have to walk a considerable distance.
"Can't we use the drop pods? We made a few this time, didn't we?"
"I ran a simulation. If we enter with a drop pod, we'll be shot down instantly. The defense system, which doesn't activate if we come via the ground, reacts to high-altitude drops. And we can't fly in low either—if we enter where the red sparks are, we'll shut down."
"Hmm..."
So, we'd be walking in for sure, and couldn't use the Beta Series or the multiped tanks.
"I guess we can't bring Carry, either."
"That's right."
"What about those guys?"
"Oh, that's relatively okay. Woof-woof can act like a lightning rod. Of course, it means the burden on her bio-circuits will increase, but if she can handle it, there's no problem using the support arms."
"Well, at least there's that."
Nadia, listening to my and Licorice's conversation with a tense expression, let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, but we'll need to enhance the connection further. You know what I mean, right?"
"I do."
Nadia nodded and immediately began adjustment work. Upon her announcement that the collars would be thicker, the two modified mining robots twisted their bodies in despair.
They tried making a fuss, but naturally it didn't work. Instead, it just added to their guilt. Watching the guys subdued in an instant, I turned my head away.
"Carry, you heard all that, right?"
「(ㅇࡇㅇ)?」
"You didn't? You shouldn't come with us this time. The sparks down there are fatal to circuits. Just get in the power loader ahead of time."
「( °ᗝ° ).ᐟ.ᐟ」
Carry looked aghast, as if asking if I was serious. He dropped everything he was gathering and flew straight over to me, shaking me with his support arm. Of course, his strength wasn't enough to really shake me, but I played along.
"Calm down and listen. I'm not saying you have to stay away forever. We'll regroup anyway, whether above or below—I'm not sure where."
「(´╹〽╹`)」
Carry displayed an expression that seemed to say he'd rather not hear it, but given the circumstances, he'd continue to listen.
"You know how we're reinforcing the power loader's circuits with dimension coating for extreme environments, right? The frame's fatigue is almost gone, but the coating work means it can't be deployed yet, so you should be on standby inside."
I continued, comforting Carry as I spoke.
"If the pureblood supremacists storm in, we'll need backup. But in such chaos, there might not be anyone available to adjust the trajectory in real time during a drop pod deployment. That's when you'll come in."
With Carry's processing ability, launching and adjusting the entry angle in real time should be possible. By then, we'd have entered Archive and hacked the defense system, so we wouldn't have to worry about its attacks—or more correctly, we'd make sure that's the case.
I emphasized, again and again, how important this role was. I wasn't trying to placate him—it really was a critical job. When we were pushed to the brink, the fully armed power loader would be the force to break the deadlock.
No matter how much my combat experience and accumulated strength had grown, I couldn't fight hundreds, maybe even thousands, of enemies alone. It was a different kind of compatibility.
"Once the coating's done, it should be durable enough down there. Come at once if we call for you. Everyone's got their role—their place. You understand?"
「ヽ ( ꒪д꒪ )ﾉ」
Carry was startled at how important his role was. Now he understood we weren't leaving him behind because we disliked him. But this realization seemed to bring on a new anxiety.
「( ´△｀)」
Worried whether he'd do well, Carry fidgeted and circled me. His speed increased, and worried he'd get stuck, I caught him by the torso.
"You'll do well, Carry."
At my words, Carry looked at me. He hesitated over what expression to show, then offered a finger—his lowest one, the equivalent of a pinky for humans.
I caught on to what Carry was implying. The promise we made to each other on the day I brought him along—his pledge to go to Earth with me.
"... Yeah, we promised. We'll go to Earth together."
「(＞Д＜)ゝ」
Moved by my response, Carry showed his resolve to do his very best. He really was a peculiar, un-robotic guy. Sometimes, at unexpected moments, he'd recall my words as though they were his top priority, as if he still remembered every bit.
Carry went off to finish gathering his things, though he seemed a bit deflated compared to earlier. I, too, didn't feel easy about leaving him behind.
If even I, who'd often been separated from Carry during operations, felt that reluctant, I could only imagine how Nadia felt. This was her first time being separated from Carry.
Before I knew it, Nadia, who had finished adjusting the support arms, stood beside me with her eyes looking downcast. Her fluffy tail was drooping limply.
I placed a silent hand on her shoulder, patting her gently. Nadia steadied herself and nodded, her tail recovering some of its perkiness.
Seeing that, I recalled Nadia as I had seen her before dawn, before I went to bed. After redefining my relationship with Celestia, I had returned to the lounge later than planned.
It was late, so I opened the door as quietly as possible, but caught Nadia's eyes instantly. She hadn't woken because of the noise. She'd been sitting on the bed and turned to meet my gaze.
Seeing me come in, Nadia's face noticeably brightened. She didn't ask what had happened. She just stared at the blue light from my bracelet.
Though she said nothing, Nadia expressed her feelings through actions. I had to indulge her childish need for affection for the first time in a while.
My hand and arm still tingled from it. Nadia had used my arm as a pillow, and with her other hand, she'd patted her tail as she slept. It naturally put us in a cuddling position. Even though my arm must have felt heavy, Nadia showed her happiness before drifting off.
"If you're ready, head out. Go straight to the storage bay."
At Licorice's command, Nadia replied she understood and left with Carry, apparently to check the power loader's status and confirm Carry understood the plan.
I tried to leave the lounge right after, but Licorice stopped me.
"Lee Hyun-woo, stay a moment. I have something to discuss with you."
"...?"
Not knowing what it was about, I motioned for Nadia, waiting at the door, to go ahead.
She looked between Licorice and me, as if wanting to say something, then simply nodded. Through the closing door, I could glimpse the spider robots connected to the support arms bickering with Carry, then the door shut.
As I gave Licorice a questioning look, she pulled me over, as if wary someone might overhear. I leaned in closer at her request.
Once the distance was close enough, she said in a quiet voice, not bothering to stand on tiptoe out of pride,
"You're still carrying that, right?"
"Oh, yes. Of course. I always have it with me."
I understood what Licorice meant. The restraint device added to the suit for emergencies. There must have been a reason she brought it up now, so I frowned slightly.
"Good, keep it ready. Be able to activate it at any time. I have a bad feeling. That woman might interfere."
"Kind of sounds like you're sure, rather than just a possibility..."
"She showed up in my dream."
At Licorice's calm statement, my eyes widened.
"You had a nightmare?! Didn't Sprout—?"
"Calm down. It's similar, but a bit different."
Licorice clarified that it wasn't a problem with Sprout.
"Until now, what I saw were her memories. Swept along by the flood, all I could do was watch. It's similar this time, but what I saw wasn't the past—it was the present."
"..."
"Even if not exactly now, I'm sure it was recent. I can't explain it logically."
Licorice said Sprout had blocked the deluge of Lobelia's memories, but through the open bypass, she had peeked at Lobelia.
"There's a kind of instinctive awareness—probably because I'm her clone."
Licorice said she couldn't tell exactly what Lobelia was thinking, but she could sense her feelings and what she was seeing in the present. If it had been a nightmare, she wouldn't be moving around now, her energy would be drained.
"It wasn't a nightmare, so I can stay calm."
"If anything, that should make it more alarming..."
"Anyway, that woman's already at Archive. What I observed were structures with designs I've never seen before. I keep perceiving them. We don't know when or what she'll try."
"All right, I get it... But are you going to keep talking like this?"
"Why?"
She looked at me, eyebrows raised, as if wondering what the problem was.
"Lowering your voice won't exactly hide this from anyone."
I was still bent toward Licorice—my neck was starting to ache.
Licorice had once said that if I knew her every move, there was nothing left to hide.
That's why she shared things with me. If something went wrong, I'd know how to respond.
"Whatever we do, Lobelia's bound to notice, right? Let's just talk comfortably."
"It's just a mood thing."
"... Then what about my aching neck?"
"With that body of yours? This is nothing. You'll be fine."
"You're too much."
Despite my grumbling, Licorice didn't even blink. No, she had no room to react—she was pretending to be calm, but inside she was extremely tense.
I'd sensed that from earlier. Maybe that's why I suggested she reconsider her decision.
Normally I wouldn't have said that, because I trusted Licorice. But now, worry was outweighing trust. I'd seen just how far and in what ways Licorice could be worn down by Lobelia.
"You're really coming? Just supporting us from Albatross would—"
"Lee Hyun-woo. I said I would, so I will. It's better for you, too. Think about Baleum Spaceport—there's no guarantee Archive won't have ECM chaff dispersal."
Licorice placed her hands on both my cheeks. She fixed me with a very serious gaze, quite unlike her usual demeanor.
"You said it yourself. There were so many times you felt stifled because you couldn't communicate with me in real time, remember?"
"I... did."
"That's why I'm coming. If communication gets cut off, it's better for me to be on the ground—I can control more that way. A direct connection is easier to handle system interference than remote access."
I couldn't say, "It worked out last time, so it will this time, too," because the circumstances were entirely different.
The spaceport with the reactor was important, but not on the same level as Archive. This was practically the final barrier—whether we could clear it would decide whether we could escape.
"Lee Hyun-woo, what have I been telling you? We're in the same boat. I'm the captain, you're the crew. So just listen to me."
It might have sounded like an order for unconditional obedience, but in fact the real message was different. It was, "Trust my plan, follow me. If anything goes wrong, the responsibility's mine," and her face said as much.
Suddenly I remembered when I first met Licorice, back when she was a broker. She hadn't acted like this then—not that her character had changed.
Her inner self was the same. What changed was how she expressed it. Instead of abrasive speech, she took a more persuasive tone, and her attitude toward others became more harmonious.
She was exposing a bit more of herself, choosing to trust people, rather than just hiding away.
'Well.'
Licorice had always been like that. Abrasive on the surface, but things tended to work out, and sooner or later I'd realize she'd been behind it all. Even if nothing was said, it was obvious.
"... Fine. But..."
"What now?"
"It's your outfit..."
"What about it?"
"For what you said, it's a bit—no, a lot—too casual."
Licorice snorted at that.
"Layering up thick is a symbol of poverty and lack. These days, the tech is amazing. This here is cutting-edge!"
She showed off her gear: the smart link communicator, goggles, gloves, a belt with built-in cables, the skintight suit, the active camouflage cloak over it, and so on. She was fully equipped for outside activity, but the overall impression was still light.
"And neither Woof-woof nor I wear much different now, thanks to that gadget Carrot gave us."
"That's true, but..."
Carrot had succeeded in making a miniature shield generator. Every time he emerged from the lab, he looked visibly older, having extracted nano robots from his body for the device.
The result was very successful, but we couldn't just be happy about it. Carrot insisted it was his choice, but it's not that simple, emotionally.
Licorice put her hand on her waist.
"We should make good use of what he made. That's what Carrot wants. Thanks to it, many things got easier. We don't need respirators, outside attacks are automatically filtered, and everything's lighter. With the lower weight, we can carry more supplies or conserve more stamina."
Saving stamina was crucial—not everyone had my level of endurance. Operations could last a long time, so efficient allocation was vital. As Licorice said, the lighter equipment lengthened our action time considerably.
'I'm not used to this.'
Before, we'd always worn heavy gear or miner's work suits, so the new style felt strange—almost squirm-inducing.
"What about the goggles?"
"Hacking assist device. I could do without it, but the glare would hurt my eyes."
Society was a mess. I couldn't stop myself from commenting.
"Still, the exposed skin is a bit..."
"It's all filtered, I'm telling you. There's a miniature heating unit too. Face and hands— Wait, where are you looking..."
Licorice stopped mid-sentence, tilting her head. She traced my gaze downward.
When she finally realized where I was looking, she pressed her lips into a thin line. Abruptly, she blushed furiously and immediately started pounding me with her fists.
"You, you pervert!"
"Why are you hitting me!"
"You know why! It's just the design! Design! It's not exposed, it's covered with transparent material!"
"Okay, I get it! I wasn't even looking at that, but sure! Really!"
I hunched over, begging her to stop. For someone who just hacks from a chair, why were her punches so strong? At this rate, I'd be down before the operation even started.
Fortunately, Licorice stopped, though she was still fuming. I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd narrowly avoided having to file a domestic violence report.
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