Fortune Cookie (24)
Time flew by quickly. Thanks to throwing in everything we had, the shuttle repairs were almost complete, and the multi-legged tank had regained its former imposing presence.
Originally, there had been two laser cannons mounted on the upper body of the multi-legged tank, but now only one remained. Apparently, it was being reverse-engineered to build defensive facilities.
The small shuttle medivac had all but abandoned its former appearance. In preparation for what was coming, we wove double layers of supplementary armor and attached an auxiliary thruster, doubling the output compared to before.
Of course, with that, the weight and energy consumption both increased dramatically, meaning the core was being pushed to its limits. Still, having a backup provided some peace of mind. It was better than crashing, after all.
Many things had come to a smooth, successful conclusion. Most importantly, the equipment for Nadia and me was now complete.
"Please take a look at this first."
Kyle, with bloodshot eyes from grueling work, brought over the equipment that had been sitting on the worktable. Thanks to Licorice's relentless pressure, he hadn't been able to sleep or escape from the cycle of labor.
What Kyle showed me was a plasma cutter, the standard SSTC mining tool. According to Kyle, it was the same tool I'd used before, but the performance was on a different level now. Hearing only that much, I wondered what had actually changed, but the explanation wasn't over yet.
"We changed all the materials. Before, the shaft would bend under your strength, but now it should hold up to a certain extent. I wanted to re-coat the circuitry as well, but that's still impossible due to a lack of facilities. Still, since I paralleled two circuits, even if one fails, it'll keep working for a while."
"Oh... and?"
"I completely overhauled the nozzle. Even at maximum output, the part melting issue should no longer occur."
"Oh... and?"
"... Do you see this tip here? This will give it form. It's made of a rare metal that's only mined on Enceladus, and I wanted to try it since its compatibility with plasma is excellent. The plasma discharged should maintain its shape, so you won't get unexpected flaring anymore."
Just as Kyle said, the energy from the plasma cutter no longer felt like it was spurting out of control. Instead, the beam was shaped into a blade, properly stabilized, like a vine winding up a support, tamed and neat.
I had indeed thought it would be nice if there was some kind of physical stabilizer. The newly improved tool lived up to my expectations.
I understood now why people in positions of authority were so eager to employ engineers.
But there was one problem. The special material at the blade's edge looked very familiar.
"It's all good, but this... Kyle, don't tell me..."
"You recognized it? I broke the captain's sword to make this."
"... Is that really okay?"
"It'll be fine somehow. I used up the whole thing to make two weapons, so there's no evidence left."
He said there was no evidence, but the proof was clearly right here on my gear. The thing that probably won't be left is Kyle's life—Eric's prized military sword looked expensive.
'Hm.'
Oh well. I didn't ask for this, so Kyle would have to take responsibility. Before any fallout came my way, I'd just carry on as usual. If Eric confronted me, I'd sincerely tell him, "Your sword was amazing," and give a compliment.
I fiddled with the plasma cutter, now feeling much more like a weapon with the additional parts attached. It had always looked spear-like with its long shaft when output was increased. Now, no boost was needed for it to take on the form of a polearm.
It felt sturdy with a solid grip, perfectly matching my physique. Now that I looked, even the part used as the handle seemed familiar—it was Eric's sword hilt.
The more I looked at it, the more I liked it. It truly felt like I finally had a proper weapon.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it."
"That's a relief. Next is the shockwave emitter, adjusted for suit specs... Are you two going to keep doing that? I have to rework the fitting after you try it on, so I'd appreciate it if you could separate."
Kyle sent a complicated glance to my side. At the end of that look was Nadia—or, more precisely, Nadia clinging to my arm and showing no sign of letting go, her whole face transmitting how happy she felt, a dopey grin all over.
She nuzzled her cheek against my arm as if Kyle's words didn't even register. Her ears fluttered away, and her fluffy tail was spinning around like a broken motor.
"I know you two are close, but do you really have to show it even in this situation? Some of us are stuck here and can't get out. Did something good happen?"
"..."
At Kyle's question, I remembered what happened yesterday. It was a bit embarrassing to talk about. I couldn't exactly share how Nadia had totally lost her composure.
After being thoroughly worked over by the massage device, Nadia had passed out early in the evening, and when she woke up, it was morning.
Bracing myself to get an earful, I cautiously called out to her, but instead of the expected punches, Nadia had surprisingly become docile.
'No, "docile" isn't quite the right word.'
Calm? Innocent? Obedient? Acting dopey? Always clinging and affectionate? Floating around in bliss? I tried every expression I knew, but none fit perfectly.
Nadia was lively, a little wicked, she respected me, giggled a lot, her tail was her body now, and when she was on Carry, she did float around.
Whatever the case, ever since waking up, Nadia's mood had been sky-high. She even hummed little tunes under her breath.
While I glossed over the details, I gently disentangled Nadia's grip. The feel of that fluffy tail was nice, but now was the time to separate.
Contrary to my expectation that she'd resist, Nadia obediently withdrew. She moved away a little, but still stayed at my side.
"So, this is the shockwave emitter? It looks pretty much the same."
"Yes. I just took the one off a robot."
"But it's kind of big for that..."
"Try it on. Even if it's a bit large, the couplings will auto-adjust so it won't wobble."
I slid the suit's extra part over my forearm and attached the shockwave emitter. It felt a lot heavier. The coupling tightened, lessening the burden, but it was still weighty. It wasn't just a matter of something being strapped onto my arm.
"You can fire it by adjusting your thumb angle. Currently, there's no power source, so don't move your thumb."
"So I need to add more parts? Even just this feels heavy..."
"The emitter alone weighs about seven kilos."
Before I could protest, Kyle kept slapping new parts on the table.
"Here, wear this first—a strength-enhancing exoskeleton attachment."
"This is a bit—"
"This, too. It fixes in the power source."
"Is there more—"
"This as well. The power source for the emitter. Spec'd for security robot Alpha series."
"... Is that it?"
"One more. Outer armor for core protection."
"..."
I was left speechless. After attaching everything Kyle handed me, my arm had doubled in size. Honestly, it was easy enough for me to handle the weight and bulk, but fighting with this on was another story.
Even a basic ghoul could kill with a single blow. With this cumbersome emitter, dodging wouldn't be easy—the balance was all off.
Yes, the clanking sounded cool, but that was it.
"I don't think Nadia can wear this. Nadia, want to try it on?"
"Sure!"
With my help, Nadia fitted the emitter onto her arm. She giggled at the new gear for a moment, but then cocked her head as the coupling released on its own before tightening fully.
"It won't cinch up. Is this defective? But it worked for Hyun-woo, so it should be fine."
"Ah, that's—um... it's because you didn't meet the minimum size requirement."
"... Excuse me?"
"When the shockwave emitter fires at maximum output, the recoil is no joke, so you need a certain minimum body weight and frame to withstand it. If the aim goes off, it could hit an ally, or your body could be injured by the shock, so there's a minimum threshold. It's not a coincidence it's a robot spec part."
"Oh no..."
It wasn't just disappointment, but deep disappointment. Nadia drooped. Her tail, moments earlier swaying, froze in place. She couldn't suddenly become bigger, so she'd have to use something else.
"Will Carry be able to use it?"
"I'll try adjusting it later to see."
"Can't you make a portable version instead of an attachment? I'd prefer that over having all these parts stuck on."
Kyle agreed that unless we customized a suit with a built-in core later, it was better. He reached under the workbench and pulled out new equipment from a box—kind of miraculous, considering what I already had came from there. Was it some kind of four-dimensional box?
"This is a shockwave emitter based on a laser installer. The core is built-in, bulk is reduced since there's no exoskeleton."
No matter how much he grumbled, Kyle would whip something like this up on a moment's notice.
"If you had this, you could have just shown me from the start."
"It's my call. That red-haired engineer insisted, so I showed you theirs first."
The red-haired engineer referred to Licorice. She was barricaded in her room, trying to unlock Heaven's cargo bay system.
"The suit-type is still just a prototype, so it'll see continuous improvement. I'd like to finish it all at once, but I'm out of time, out of energy. I've got nothing left."
"Is developing a flamethrower or firearms out of the question—"
Before I even finished, Kyle spread his arms in melodramatic fashion. I could tell what was coming.
"Go on, just kill me! Kill me! Kyaaa... I'm dying, I'm dead, I'm gone..."
"All right, all right. Calm down. I'll be happy with this for now. Just show me how to use it."
The firing method was the same as a laser installer; rapid fire was not possible yet. If the core overheated, it absolutely needed cooling time; you could overcharge the core and use it as a makeshift bomb, but core spares were limited, so that wasn't recommended.
With Kyle's explanations firing off rapid-fire, my mind started to fog. I turned to look at Nadia, and she gave me a thumbs up—she got it all, as expected from my partner.
After half-listening to the explanations, I watched Kyle collapse into a chair from exhaustion before asking him a question.
"Kyle, how's everyone else doing? The people you worked with or those building facilities?"
"Weren't you not interested?"
As Kyle said, I hadn't bothered to pay much attention to people until now. Maybe I never would. The town's total population was twenty-three, and I didn't even know half their names.
Licorice had blocked off access to me to avoid unnecessary emotional stress, and I hadn't interfered. That's why Kyle seemed surprised; from his perspective, it probably looked like I'd requested it.
He was half right, but for some reason I suddenly felt like asking now.
"It's just a whim."
"Well, it's no secret, and anyone can see, so I don't mind telling you. There's a lot of discontent. They just don't show it."
"Hm..."
"Their complaints aren't about wanting to rule over everything or overturn the rotten world. It's about basic annoyances like wanting to sleep, wanting to eat something different. They all know why they have to do these things and why they're being treated this way, so those kinds of complaints don't come up—at least on the surface."
Kyle shrugged.
"I can't know what they really feel. I heaven't looked inside their heads. Even if they did resent it, it couldn't be helped. None of them did this kind of work before. When would they have gone through this kind of hardship?"
He responded absentmindedly, then suddenly seemed to realize and hurriedly waved his hands.
"Oh, I don't mean to suggest you folks deserve this hardship. Everyone knows, after all, who's actually going out to the real danger and who dragged this town up to its current state."
It was unexpected. Most people tended to think their own job was the toughest. And in fact, the work in town was tough enough that they'd be justified in thinking so.
Kyle tapped his bracelet and brought up a hologram. Switching it to public mode, he showed us a video.
"That red-haired engineer uploaded a video re-enacting what happened in the residential area onto the town's comms net. It's attached to a mutant report that Carrot posted, so everyone must've seen it."
The footage started with a view through the Alpha security robot's eyes of the residential area. On screen were me, Nadia, Eric, and Carry; it showed us entering the residential area and then quickly being chased by ghouls.
Howls from all sides, ragged breathing, and rough movement made the video shake violently. It looked like a horror film featuring grotesque creatures. The video was well-made, but I felt it still couldn't convey everything that happened.
Simply seeing and hearing was nothing compared to experiencing firsthand with every sense.
The dimly flickering blue light cutting through darkness,
The howls breaking the silence,
The slimy filth from the creep covering floor, walls, and ceiling,
The stench stinging your nose,
The floor's vibration warning you a monster was behind,
The blizzards blinding your sight,
The freezing air filling your lungs,
The cold sweat seeping into your skin.
The compression of all these elements created a pressure impossible to describe unless you'd been there yourself.
"Not like anyone here hasn't seen the real thing. No one denies that ghouls exist or claims all this is fake. Everyone knows if they don't cooperate, all that's waiting is death."
That's the world we lived in.
"Nobody's family actually lives here, and communication with other satellites is blocked, so we're cut off. If they sit still, anxiety eats away at them. So they throw themselves into work to keep their minds distracted as much as possible."
At the very least, if you work yourself to exhaustion with no strength for complaints, miscellaneous thoughts don't intrude. Kyle added that no one in town was living comfortably.
When we wondered if that was true of him too, he replied that he wasn't overworking himself, he was being overworked, blinking blearily with long, dark circles under his eyes. Seeing that, it felt cruel to ask anything more.
Nadia and I told him to rest, then took the new gear he'd made out with us.
Time passed, and when a replicated laser cannon was finally mounted on the town's outer wall, we were ready to depart.
Our next destination was the cargo sector of Heaven, the mining outpost.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
More ghoul encounter
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