The Railgun's Precision
Vance stood with arms crossed beside Gideon.
A heavy silence hung between them.
"Where's Laser? And what about that mass-produced junk?"
Vance asked with visible confusion, but before the words left his mouth, an operator shouted urgently from the control room.
"Commander! High-risk energy signature approaching!"
"Check it immediately!"
A powerful energy reaction flashed across the screens, and a dark-red Nesis mecha materialized, immediately disrupting the battlefield flow.
Unwavering, merciless attacks slammed into the lines. Large beam cannons targeted Silvera, pushing her toward danger, while Titan and I covered them, but it was clear we were losing ground.
"This situation is bad."
Vance clicked his tongue in mock sympathy and gave a scornful snort.
"How long until reinforcements arrive?"
Gideon barked at the operator.
"At least fifteen minutes, Commander!"
Fifteen minutes? Insultingly short.
Four of us were about to face certain doom from the sudden Nesis mecha.
If it hadn't been for that one bastard, our combined strength would have been perfect—we'd have held until reinforcements arrived.
No, reinforcements might not have even come at all.
Right then, the mass-produced Harryer on the screen suddenly broke from the battlefield and fled into the rear.
"Hah! Running away? Man, even if short-handed, deploying a mutt like that on a mission—does Gideon still have a brain in his head?"
Vance laughed outright.
But Gideon said nothing.
His sharp eyes locked onto the exact direction Kang Jinwoo had vanished.
*Running? No, this movement isn't simple flight. It's purposeful.*
Gideon's mind raced at lightning speed.
By forcing Kang Jinwoo into this impossible mission, he had wanted to see exactly this moment.
Destroy six pirate ships with a Drill Bit, leave Silvera scarred by scrap-metal Bugbear, and personally annihilate Aegis.
If he had reported it, Gideon would have heard decades of complaints and curses.
*What's in that direction? Did he map the terrain ahead of time? Or did he only care about recovering the prototype and heading straight for the mission?*
A faint, hopeful smile touched Gideon's lips.
*Prove to me my eyes weren't wrong.*
He refocused on the screens.
The image of Titan's Atlas breaking apart played out live. Silence filled the entire control room.
"What did I say? That's right..."
Vance shrugged, about to say something to Gideon.
"High-energy output detected! Harry's location!"
"That railgun?! We thought the prototypes had all been scrapped!"
The operators' confused voices erupted.
*Railgun?*
Gideon was equally stunned.
Even as a rookie mercenary of Chronos, how did he know the railgun's exact position?
The question lingered, but he kept his eyes on the screens.
A massive railgun, oddly mounted on Harry's shoulder, fired in a split second.
The supersonic black shell pierced Nesis's defenses with a thunderous explosion. The screen filled with static and long-range communication failure.
"Enemy energy responses in the area all eliminated! Checking allied casualties!"
"Impressive."
Gideon's mouth curved upward.
Vance clicked his tongue in displeasure and, without a word, stormed out of the command center.
#
A short while after the battle ended, Icarus Technology's reinforcement transport ships arrived one after another.
They quickly assessed the battlefield. Titan's battered Atlas was lifted by heavy cranes and loaded into the recovery vessels.
When Titan stepped out of the cockpit, his body was drenched in sweat, and his sunglasses had cracked.
"You crazy bastard—what kind of stunt was that?"
Titan raised a thumb at my Harryer.
"Come back and I'll buy you a drink."
"Anytime."
As Titan withdrew, only Yuna, Doctor, and the Icarus mechs remained with us.
Our three mechs were battered too, but we could still move.
[Each mecha status report.]
Yuna's voice came over the comms.
[Pathfinder, partial sensor system damage. Electronic warfare output reduced. Still capable of basic movement and mission execution.]
Doctor reported calmly.
I reviewed my own Harryer's status and spoke.
[Harryer, power system unstable, armament control system error. Basic movement is fine. Mission can continue.]
[Silvera, external armor damaged, energy shield output reduced. Mission can continue.]
All Icarus mechs had suffered errors, but none were critical.
[Good. Then we'll proceed with the mission.]
Yuna decided.
[Doctor, scan the interior structure and energy reactions of the target building with the other mechs. Jinwoo, you enter the Third Research Wing with me.]
We realigned, confirmed our roles, and split up.
[Third Research Wing.]
The building was riddled with damage, but the basic structure remained intact.
[Jinwoo, you were way too reckless earlier.]
Yuna's voice came over the comms.
[You almost got all of us killed, you know?]
[Sorry.]
No excuse was possible.
[If you realize your own recklessness, that's enough. Just don't do it again.]
A small sigh escaped her.
[But how did you know about that railgun? You acted like you knew its exact location.]
[Before the mission, I had some free time. I dug through discarded regional records. I stumbled on the info by accident. Some location data remained, so I memorized it just in case. Lucky I did.]
I gave the story the most plausible spin possible.
Yuna was silent for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
[Lucky? That's pure skill on your part. You're an incredible pilot, you know.]
Warmth flooded my face at the sudden praise.
[You did the same. You held off that many enemies in the rear without hesitation. Thanks to you, I survived.]
[Protecting teammates is the obvious thing to do.]
As we continued scanning the research wing, a short ping sounded from Yuna's mecha.
[Doctor's report. Target acquired. We'll return.]
Compared to the earlier ordeal, the mission felt strangely flat.
We no longer needed to explore and turned our mechs around to exit.
From outside, Pathfinder waited among the reinforcements.
We boarded the transport ship and headed back.
#
The moment we returned, we had no time to rest.
After the usual reports and surrendering our mechs, I stepped onto the ground and immediately felt dizzy, swaying unsteadily.
After all, we had just survived a life-or-death battle. Muscles and nerves were finally relaxing.
I wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed, but Commander Gideon wouldn't allow it.
"Jinwoo, Commander Gideon is calling. I know you're tired, but this is the standard procedure."
"It's fine. Finish it quickly so we can rest."
When we reached Gideon's office, Titan and Doctor were already waiting inside.
From afar Titan's condition had looked decent, but up close it was clear he was in bad shape.
One arm in a cast, wearing a medical eye patch instead of sunglasses.
"Everyone's here. First, thanks for your hard work."
Gideon continued with warm encouragement.
"You all know this mission was a trap."
No one in the room denied it.
"Explicitly laid by the Nesis side."
Gideon summarized the situation.
"Using the Chronos mercenaries as bait, along with elite mechs... and, according to Doctor's report, even a suspected augmented human. A perfect ambush waiting for us."
He slowly scanned all of us.
"But we survived. Facing dozens of enemies."
Gideon's gaze lingered on me.
"Especially you, Jinwoo. Your performance was far beyond expectations."
It was impossible to tell if the criticism of my refusal to follow Yuna's orders or genuine praise.
"Still, the prototype information appears to be accurate."
He set down his datapad.
"For now, Yuna, your team will have no missions. Upper management will probably try to pin the incident on us, so the audit team might call too."
Gideon sighed deeply, whether from lingering unease or because he knew who had really orchestrated the plan.
"Everyone except Jinwoo is dismissed."
I remained standing. Yuna and Doctor left first. Titan gave me an unknown smile, clapped my shoulder, and walked out.
"Rest well. See you in the lounge tonight."
"The lounge?"
"Yeah. My treat."
With those words, the office door closed.
A brief silence followed. Gideon spoke first.
"First, about the compensation issue you were worried about."
I waited for him to continue.
Gideon manipulated the terminal on his desk.
"With the successful completion of this mission, the matter is resolved."
"Of course."
Was he really going to waive it? I almost laughed.
"And this is a small gesture, but please accept it."
He took a strangely shaped credit chip from his drawer and slid it toward me.
"Personal reward from me. Compared to your performance, it might be modest."
I took the chip with a questioning expression, activated the terminal, and a staggering number appeared.
[+500,000 CR]
Half a million credits? Too large for a simple reward.
Reading my expression, Gideon continued.
"It's satisfying to know my eyes weren't wrong. This mission proved it."
He took a deep breath, then got to the point.
"Have you considered officially joining Icarus? Losing talent like you to the outside world would sadden me."
A formal job offer. I hadn't expected it, but hearing it directly from him made the feeling strange.
While I hesitated, Gideon leaned forward and lowered his voice.
"There's a reason I'm saying this."
His eyes darkened.
"You are still an outsider to our company's internal affairs. That's why I can speak more frankly."
Anger and bitterness laced Gideon's voice.
"I have a strong feeling there's someone inside who wants to bring me down."
Was he talking about the moment his life collapsed after the company scapegoated him? Was that the point of divergence?
If I hadn't been here, history might have proceeded as it was.
Titan and Doctor were characters I hadn't encountered in my game knowledge.
Originally, they were supposed to die in this mission.
"Commander Gideon."
At my sudden remark, Gideon's eyebrows shot up.
"I'm still a free mercenary. What makes you think I would reveal such information?"
At my answer, Gideon laughed heartily.
"Now that's a punch to the gut. I never realized I'd unconsciously leaned on you. You really know how to play the game."
Gideon gave a bitter smile and seemed about to end the conversation.
"Julian Vance. That bastard, right?"
My final words caused Gideon's eyes to widen in shock.