Chapter 2: Dying Wishes Part 2
(Original Hive)(Middle Drift)(Takeru's POV)
(-!?)
What's this waveform?
Did the BETA reached the first barrier?
Damnit!,…..I just had to look.
"Kasumi!, how long until we're fully charge?"
"At most 1365 seconds….at least 792 seconds"
(-!)
We could be stuck here up to twenty three more minutes!?
"That's a lot longer than expected"
"After 90% the output becomes even more unstable"
"….I…see…."
"…but Sumika san's trying her best"
"-Yeah, She's been working really hard…..I know"
"…yes."
All the fighting we've done so far….has already put us far beyond Sensei's Rutherford Field interference's tolerances. We've been demanding so much from her…..But Sumika's still…trying that hard, It's only natural for her to lose her breath now ….I'm not blaming her for that.
(Flash)
"I'm fine, I'm fine!, Don't worry about me, Takeru chan!"
Eh!?
"….that's what Sumika san said"
"-Ah…..okay"
What the hell…..did I fall asleep the moment I closed my eyes…?
It really felt like Sumika was talking to me just now…..
"Takeru!"
(-!) Meiya?
"The 1st barrier has begun closing!"
"I see….it's finally time!, So did you finish changing the settings?"
"Yes, quite some time ago. How charged are you?"
"We're at 94%. Should hit full in-"
[Kasumi] "-At most 1125 seconds, at least 552 seconds"
"—At most nineteen minutes, at least nine should do it"
"I see, Once the barrier closes, even the BETA would be hard pressed to reopen it within nineteen minutes, not to mention it would take especially long time if they attempted to regenerate the brain somehow"
"Yes, we should be done before things get out of hand"
"Then you would do well to move the Susano'o towards the 2nd barrier Complete your charging there"
"-What?, Weren't we going to stay at the middle until 97%?"
"The twenty thousand stragglers in the main Hall are approaching the 1st barrier faster than expected"
"Aaah!, I saw that on the vibration sensor!. Okay, understood. I'll head over there now."
"-Copy that!"
"-Kasumi, unfix coordinates, Move ahead slow."
"—Okay"
And with a push of a button the Giant fortress started moving up off the ground while slowly moving forward.
[Kasumi]"-Valkyrie 2, approaching at high speed"
Eh?
"Not slowing down….she is going to fly past us"
"-Meiya, what's wrong?. Did something happen!?"
(Woosh)
"-Hey!?"
"I am going to support the other's retreat. You go to the 2nd barrier now"
Eh….!?, What the hell…is that all…
"-Then tell me that sooner"
"I was in a hurry….forgive me."
I almost held you up again, stop doing that…
"-Takeru, may I ask you something…?"
"What?"
"Given the situation, we will have to board the Susano'o immediately before the main cannon fires"
"Yeah, we had to change the plan a lot to deal with everything"
"-However, should one of us or any of us fail to arrive by that time….you know what to do?"
(-!)
"-….Yes, …..I know"
[Meiya]"…."
"….if possible, I don't want to lose anyone else."
[Meiya]"…"
"But…..I don't plan on wasting all the sacrifices we made to get this far. And I believe…..you all feel the same way, so I won't wait."
"-I….see….."
"Well…..I believe just as strongly in the future where we can all escape together"
"-Hu…!"
"Don't laugh…..I really believe that…!"
"-You really are ….a demanding man."
"-Hey now, as long as I fulfill my duties, who cares what I feel on the inside?, Didn't you say the same thing?"
"Well now…..I cannot recall"
"Come on, don't play dumb….."
"Even I have made some slight growth of my own. Do not think the same trick will work on me forever"
"-I get it, I get it, I'll close the channel already!, I'm not gonna keep on holding you back like this"
"-That is for the best"
"…in exchange, get back here as fast as you can! -Understood!?"
"-Yes…..copy that…..!"
(Meiya's POV)
"Now then…that ought to be enough…"
"-Yoroi!, Why did you not answer my calls!?"
"-Yoroi!, I know you can hear me! - Yoroi!"
"-Tamase! -Will you not answer!?"
(-!)
"-Why are they so intent on remaining silent!?"
"-Yoroi!"
(Beep!, Beep!, Beep!)
(-!?)
"-Damn them!, they have come this far already!?"
(Original Hive)(Main Hall's Gate)(Mikoto's POV)
(Bang!, Bang!, Bang!)
These guys are starting to build up in the right side of the hall, the left side is wide open…it should give us some time.
"Yoroi!, Answer me!"
(-!)
"Meiya san!, ….why did you come back!?"
(Bang!, Bang!, Bang!)
"-Why have neither of you retreated back yet!?, -The barrier will close at any moment!"
[Mikoto]"….."
[Miki]"….."
"What on Earth…..are you two thinking!?, -And Yoroi!...what was the meaning of that!?"
(Bang!, Bang!, Bang!, Bang!)
[Miki]"-But -If she didn't say that….!"
[Mikoto]" -Meiya san!, -You wouldn't have retreated into the Drift, would you!?"
" -I see…so I have been manipulated by you just as Takeru…, Then I need not ask why the remote control was functioning normally after all!...Or why you did not respond to my calls-!"
(Woosh!, Bang!, Bang!, Bang!)
"-But …why have you the S-11 meant for the 1st barrier wall at the 2nd instead!?"
"-That much you will tell me!"
"I made the decision!, I felt that was the best option!"
"-The best option…!?"
"-The truth is, during that first S-11 explosion-, Miki's chemical tank was damaged by the shockwave"
(-!)
"-We'd already finished opening the 1st barrier by then….so I…!"
(Flash)
(Main Hall's Gate)(Mikoto and Miki's POV)
(A Few Minutes Ago)
(Booooom!)
"Uuuuu!, ….TSF status check!'
(Scanning-Complete)
"…..good…..the brain shielded me?"
hmmm….no, this is just a shockwave. The explosion was….cut off…!?.
"…..I see…Sumika san deployed the Rutherford Field to…-!?"
"Ah! -I see!, and then this got rid of the BETA…!, Amazing -I had no idea she could…Ah! That's right! -Miki san…!"
"-Miki san…! -Miki san!"
(Beep)
"Yoroi…san…!"
"-Are you okay…..!?"
"…I'm….fine….."
"-Okay, good. I'm unharmed too."
"But….what do we do…?"
"What!?, What happened?"
"The shockwave…broke the tank…!"
(-!?)
"Wait a minute!"
(Beep, Beep)
"-…unable to stop injecting the opening chemical…..and unable to inject the closing chemical!?"
"Yoroi san, -There's no way…..for us to close the 1st barrier…!...That's right!, we have to tell everyone…..!"
"Miki san, wait a minute!"
"-Eh….!?"
"The explosion's making it hard to transmit anything even at this range -You're gonna have to wait!."
(-!)
"-But more importantly, I have an idea. Switch to an encrypted channel!"
"-Eh? ….o-okay…!"
(Beeeeep!)
"I switched it on, Yoroi san!"
"There's no time to waste, so please listen until the end."
"-Miki san, you'll continue injecting the opening chemical intermittently until the Susano'o gets through the 1st barrier, just as planned"
"-Okay."
"-I'll take the S-11 and head for the 2nd barrier"
"-Eh…!?."
"-It's okay, I'll leave something similar here so they won't know if they don't look closely."
"-That's not the problem!, What in the world are you trying to do!?."
(Woosh!)
"-Yoroi san!"
"-Now that we've opened the 1st barrier, opening the 2nd barrier takes priority!"
"-I know that!, But the S-11-!"
"-If we can't fix the injector, then the 1st barrier is stuck open anyway so there's no point using it here!"
(-Ah!)
"-Even if we could fix it, it doesn't matter unless we can do so before the enemies get here!"
(Wooosh)
"But I have a plan like the XO's. It's a simple trap….look!"
(Beep, Beep)
"The basic idea will be to shift all our 1st barrier plans over to the 2nd barrier. However we won't put the S-11 inside the 2nd barrier's brain. We'll set it down in front"
"….in….front?"
"Based on the data from that last explosion Sumika san deployed her Rutherford Field again…..look!"
(Beep!)
"Amazing…..so Kagami san kept us from taking any real damage…!, And -took out most of the enemies in the Main Hall…."
"But this is the Original Hive…BETA reinforcements are sure to show up!, And tens of thousands of them."
"It's only a matter of time before they break through the previouse Hall…no, they might have gotten through already. Since we don't know if we can repair the tank, we should assume the BETA will get into the Drift, right?"
"Yes…you're right."
"But if they keep interfering with the Rutherford Field, the Susano'o's engine won't last, much less build up the charge it needs"
"Right now we still have the option of retreating into the Primary Objective block and just escaping without shooting. But given how fast the enemy adapts, this is our only chance. So if it comes down to this humanity's done for."
"….."
"-So we're going to do the same S-11 trick again in the front of the 2nd barrier"
"I see, …..it'll work as long as it's behind the Susano'o…!, That's why you'll put it in front of the brain!"
"Yeah!, for a brief moment it'll put a huge strain on her. But that's nothing compared to being strained for a long period of time. Not to mention the Drift is much narrower that the main Hall, so it shouldn't be nearly as hard for her to cover the whole area."
"And the fact that it's narrow will even improve the concentration of the explosion and wipe out more of the BETA"
"I see….the Drift is going to channel the explosion into them!"
"And that'll be after the air is saturated with dust and micro particles from the second explosion and the collapse"
"A dust explosion….that might get really out of control…"
"Well, even if that part doesn't go well, it'll still take out a lot of BETA. It should buy more than enough time to finish charging"
"Yoroi san….this is amazing….."
(Wooosh, Tump)
(2nd Barrier gate)
"But this is just the fallback plan. We won't give up on closing the 1st barrier until the last second. Closing the 1st barrier is still by far the safest option"
"Yoroi san….then I'll try and repair it now!"
"No!, If everyone sees you doing that, they'll …..choose to do something much riskier!."
"Eh…?"
"-You saw what the three of them did just now….that was absolutely reckless….."
"But the Susano'o was…."
"Yes, it was ….but …..there was no need for all three to go."
"-Eh…?"
"They should've just had one of them go…..to minimize the risk…"
"…Y-Yoroi san…!?"
"As harsh as it may be it was the safest option."
"…"
"Anyways, I'll try to repair the tank while the Susano'o charges up in the Drift."
"…..so if you can repair it…..what do we do about …the brain…?"
"After everyone's in the Drift….I'll break it"
(-!?)
"I'll shoot it repeatedly with the 36mm at point blank range. No matter how hard it is, It's just another species of the BETA. The inside can't be that tough, So it should work."
"But!...Yoroi san, if you do that….!"
"….I can't tell you the details, but ….I know….why Kei san would ….do something that reckless."
"-Eh?"
"…..after the 12-5 incident, when I was interrogated by the MPs about my dad…they asked me a lot…"
"The 12-5 incident….?"
"Yesterday, when we gave our reports at the cherry trees, I didn't get to say it, but…
My dad's part of an Imperial intelligence agency, and apparently he played a big role in the incident."
"-Eh!?"
"…..so maybe…..that whole incident ….was something my dad planned…"
(-!?)
"Kei san was so reckless…., Meiya san received such unfair treatment…, Chizuru san was in so much pain…, Miki san you suffered during that incident…And all of that might be my dad's fault….."
"Yoroi san…."
"That's not why, but…I want everyone to get home alive and be happy there."
"-But!, Yoroi san…..I want you to live too….!"
"I also…want everyone….to be happy….!"
"Thank you…..But…..I'm the best at this kind of work."
(-!)
"That's an objective truth, Miki san."
"….."
"You want as many people to be happy as possible, right?"
"….Uu…Yoroi san….." (Sniff)
The young pink haired girl knew her friend all to well, that is why she can't help but feel really sad to the point of almost crying.
"…I'm…Happy."
"…..eh…?'
"You know….I'm finally going to be of use to everyone."
"…."
"Ever since we got assigned to a real unit…I've never gotten any chances to use any of these skills,."
"Yoroi san….."
"1st Lt. Munakata and Capt. Isumi told me to keep those skills polished….because they'd come in handy when we infiltrated a hive."
"…."
"If the skills that my dad taught me…..can be of any use at all…
If my dad can be of use to everyone despite hurting them so much in that incident…..
…I couldn't be happier…"
"…"
"Miki san, this is a secret between you and me…..so please….let me do it."
"….Eh?"
"Always use an encrypted channel to talk to me about this plan, …..okay?"
"….but!"
"We especially don't want Takeru to find out. Pretend that the Data link's down and don't share with him. There's no point if he finds our indirectly….so as long as it doesn't interfere with the operation we need to keep everyone else from knowing too."
"…but…..that means…!"
"We're here in order to get the Susano'o…..No…to get Takeru to the Primary Objective, remember!?"
"We made huge sacrifices just to get here…..and to give humanity a future!"
"Yoroi san…"
"-miki san, you know as well as I do…..how kind Takeru is
"…Eh?"
"-We can't …..let Takeru hesitate."
(-!)
"-We can't….hold Takeru back….!"
"….."
"-Takeru's strong, but…..I think he's in a lot of pain. "
"…Yoroi san…..your…"
(Flash, Flash)
"Having people he cares about….taken away from him…..right before his eyes, He knows he might lose everyone he cares about…..but he can't let himself walk away from it…"
"…"
The Girl kept quite while remembering all the sad partings that the young boy had to do during just this past days, she too knows how it feels to lose someone, because she too had lost a friend in the battlefield during the whole Coup d'etat, but for someone like Takeru who had seen many deaths unfold right in front of him and not do anything, it's got to be ten times much more worse than what she felt during that time.
"Miki san, all of us suffered from that too…..but I think not being there when it happened …made it easier on us than on Takeru."
"Yeah…"
"And that's still true….now."
"The lover he thought was dead came back to him ….but as part of the Alternative Plan….."
(-!)
"Some he cared about who had such a serious illness….is piloting the Susano'o…."
"…"
"…..That's just…..too cruel…..if a god really exist then its truly a cruel fate to give to someone, that's why we must do this plan, not only for Takeru, but also for the rest who had gave there lives to help us all get to this point…..Miki san….please"
(Fiiiiiiizzzzz)
(-!)
[Takeru]"-Thi….A…..gane! ….some….respond….!"
"-Yoroi san!, Takeru san is….Takeru san's calling us!"
"Remember, it's a promise, alright!?"
"…"
[Takeru]"-Th….s…..-04…..gane…respond…..ond!"
"Miki san!"
"…y-…..yes"
"…..thank you….Miki san."
"…"
"I'm worried about the others too. Ask Takeru for me…okay?"
"…okay."
"Now respond, we don't want to worry him anymore."
[Takeru]" -….uu….s is A….4 Shir….!"
"….Takeru ….san…..!"
(Flash)
(Original Hive)(Main Hall's Gate)(Mikoto's POV)
(Present Time)
"-Sorry…..for doing that without telling anyone."
(Bang!, Bang!, Wooosh!)
"-Thanks to the time Chizuru san and Kei san bought, I finished the repairs…so it wasn't for nothing."
(Slah!)
"-But…I…"
[Meiya]"-I understand your plan."
"-Meiya …..san…"
[Meiya]"-Yoroi…it pains me to say this but…make it happen…"
(Slash!)
[Meiya]"-Tamase!, Retreat!,…Form a defensive line 800 meters in front of the Susano'o and shoot all the BETA that enter!"
"Meiya san….thank you…."
[Meiya]"-Hurry!"
(Miki's POV)
" -We can't!"
[Meiya]"-What!?"
[Mikoto]"-Miki san!?"
"-I need to protect the tank!"
[Meiya]"-!"
"I'll stay here as long as I can to keep them away from it!"
"-Mitsurugi san, don't let the BETA get anywhere near Takeru!"
[Meiya]"—!"
[Mikoto]"-!"
(Bang!, Bang!, Bang!)
"-Please…...!"
(Meiya's POV)
"Tamase…guh!"
What should I do,…..if it's like this all I can do is to either let Tamase do it or I should do it myself.
"Damnit...!"