No Hard Feelings

"Damn it. So it comes down to this after all."

Detch raked a hand roughly through his hair, muttering under his breath.

He'd managed to dump the penalty-fee bomb that had nearly landed on him onto me instead. The price of that success was forfeiting every last credit of this contract's pay.

"Listen up, kid—no, Kang Jinwoo. I don't know what you're thinking, but if you try to run, our mercenary corps will hunt you to the ends of the galaxy."

Detch laid down the threat, and the rest of the Steel Fangs fell in behind him without another word.

"That mouth of his just won't die, will it."

Scarlet grumbled, though her expression was pure relief.

"Looks like things are more or less settled."

Kaien's voice was low.

"So. You decided to take the contract in their place. Either you've got nerves of steel, or you're genuinely that confident in your skill."

"What if it's both?"

I smirked as I shot the question back. Scarlet cut in from the side.

"I'll vouch for the skill! The test flight on the machine I poured my soul into is already done."

"Well, works for us. One less ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ugly mess on our hands."

Kaien gestured to her soldiers, and only then did they shed the rigid tension and start talking among themselves.

"So who's the client? For the Steel Fangs to cling to a job this hard, it can't be some ordinary big shot."

Alexander Valentine. Was it safe to throw that name around?

But Kaien seemed well-versed in Terminus affairs, and I saw no real reason to hide it.

"Alexander Valentine. Is he famous?"

At my answer, Kaien's brow twitched—just barely. Scarlet tilted her head as if she'd never heard the name either.

"Alexander Valentine…"

Kaien narrowed her eyes, sinking into thought for a moment.

"I've heard the name a few times in circulating rumors. Used to be an executive in a mega-corporate conglomerate, until he lost an internal power struggle, lost everything, and vanished."

She really did have her ear to the ground.

"There are also stories that he's gathering forces for revenge. Either way, he's definitely a dangerous man. A job he commissioned personally won't be anything ordinary."

"I took it knowing that much."

I answered as if it were nothing, and a brief silence settled over us.

"Kaien, was it?"

I glanced at her eyepatch as I asked.

Kaien. No matter how hard I thought, she was a character the game had never even mentioned.

"From the looks of it, you throw around a fair amount of weight. Doesn't seem like you're just some neighborhood watch."

Kaien gave a short laugh at the question. Something other than cold calculation flickered across her face—maybe a self-deprecating smile.

"You're too kind."

She brushed her yellow hair back as she spoke.

"I'm just someone trying to keep a minimum of order in chaotic Terminus. I manage the scrap heaps the corporations threw away, and every now and then I guide a few lost lambs back onto the right path."

There was pride in Kaien's voice.

"Official title: Security Director, Terminus Sector 7. Cleaning up after troublemakers like Scarlet is one of my main duties."

She glanced at Scarlet as she added that last part. Scarlet coughed awkwardly and looked away.

Kaien studied me for a long moment, then the corner of her mouth lifted with genuine interest.

"So that's why Scarlet pushed their job aside—to work on your machine."

"Pretty much."

I shrugged. Kaien turned toward Scarlet.

"Mind if I take a look at this infamous machine? If you put that much work into it, I'm curious just how impressive the result is."

"It'll knock your socks off."

Kaien waved a hand, dismissing the soldiers who'd been trailing her. They scattered without a word, returning to their posts.

"Come on, then."

Scarlet took the lead and hauled open the workshop's heavy doors.

In the center, atop a massive lift, stood a black-and-crimson mecha.

The moment Kaien saw it, she stopped dead, as if the words had been knocked clean out of her.

"Hold on—this thing… you tore the whole thing apart and rebuilt it, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Might as well call it brand new."

"A pile bunker? Have you lost your mind, Scarlet? You actually mounted something like that?"

Kaien stuck out her tongue at the sheer bulk of the pile bunker.

"Client asked for it, so I delivered."

"I still can't believe you took a commission like this."

"And why shouldn't I?"

Kaien laughed and shifted her gaze to me.

"The woman who took the job and the idiot who ordered it—you're both insane."

She gave a little wave, as if to say she'd enjoyed the show.

"Kang Jinwoo, rookie. Well then—go knock 'em dead."

I couldn't tell if she was mocking me or genuinely rooting for me.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you? Can you really pull off that contract?"

Once Kaien had turned and walked away, Scarlet asked with real worry in her voice.

"Pushing myself? What pushing?"

"I mean—you did it to protect me, right?"

The pure, unfiltered assumption made me smile before I could stop myself.

"That's it! I knew it!"

Scarlet clapped her hands together and beamed.

"That's not it."

"Oh, sure it isn't. If you need backup, just say the word. I can help too."

She rolled up a sleeve and flexed an arm hardened by years of welding and repair work. The muscle looked solid enough that I poked it without thinking. Scarlet's face lit up with pride.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hard as a rock."

"Damn right it is."

"I don't need help. I was planning to handle this alone from the start."

I climbed straight onto the lift.

"Heading out already?"

"Yeah. I want to take this machine for a spin as soon as possible."

"Don't bring it back scratched."

Scarlet pressed a hand to her chest.

"If it gets a single scuff, it feels like someone drove a nail through my heart."

"Got it."

Leaving Scarlet's worried send-off behind me, I settled into the cockpit.

The hatch sealed. Outside noise cut off. I took hold of the controls.

After a quick clearance through Terminus Station's control channel, I lit the boosters.

The black-and-crimson machine lifted into the air and punched free of the station's sky in seconds.

The coordinates Alexander Valentine had sent were a fair distance from Terminus—well off any standard shipping lane.

I punched the destination into the autopilot and activated the shop system.

There was no question my machine was powerful now. Still, a stubborn little regret lingered in the back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of my mind.

The weapon that gets the most out of Kinetic Flow and the Precision Strike Assist System is still a sniper rifle.

Even when I'd played the game, my style had been the same: use Precision Strike Assist to crack a weak point from range, close the distance the instant the target staggered, and finish it with the pile bunker.

"There it is."

The XR-7 Particle Accelerator Rifle—one of my old mainstay weapons. I hit the purchase button without hesitation.

"Buy it."

"Do it."

The moment I answered, a silver-gray XR-7 Particle Accelerator Rifle settled into the mecha's left hand.

It was far longer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and thicker than a standard beam rifle, the muzzle wrapped in multiple layers of energy coils glowing a cold blue.

A new aiming reticle and energy-ammo readout bloomed across the cockpit HUD.

After several hours of flight, the navigation system finally announced arrival at the destination.

It was the outskirts of an industrial complex reduced to ruins by massive tectonic upheaval and an unexplained energy detonation long ago.

"What the hell is supposed to be out here."

I muttered to myself, cut my speed, and switched to stealth approach.

I pushed the sensors as hard as they'd go, but the electromagnetic interference slashed the detection range down to almost nothing.

Terrain like this was perfect for an ambush.

Damn. Bad memories.

The Chronos mercenary corps' final mission flickered through my mind.

I don't know how far I'd gone when, beyond a heap of collapsed building debris, I caught a faint artificial glow—and the sense of movement with it.

Company already?

I magnified the view through the optical targeting system. The moment I identified the machines moving down there, my brow furrowed on its own.

"Nesis Technology?"

The exact same Nesis mechs I'd run into at the Icarus base alongside Yuna's teammates.

At least four units were busy around the disposal facility—standing watch, searching for something, or installing equipment.

"I wonder if the old man even knows about this."

It hadn't been in any of the intel. I switched the comm channel straight to Valentine.

His voice was a tangle of anxiety and anticipation.

"Trouble, if you want to call it that, Mr. Valentine."

"I've reached the coordinates, but we've got unexpected company. At least four mechs that look like Nesis Technology units."

"That's what I'd like to know."

I watched his reaction carefully as I pressed on.

"Is this mission connected to Nesis? Because if it is, the situation just got a lot more complicated. We may need to renegotiate the contract terms."

According to Kaien, Valentine was a former corporate man. So this was what "high-difficulty mission" really meant—corporate dogs swarming the objective.

"I'd advise against lying to me."

He murmured it almost to himself.

No matter how I looked at it, the whole thing reeked.

"What exactly is this item?"

"From the looks of things, more than one corporation is hunting for it."

Valentine went silent, as if I'd driven a spike straight into the truth. There was a reason he'd wanted the Steel Fangs to move in three-squad strength.

What kind of item drew a reaction like that? I was genuinely curious now.

"'Anyone else.' So it's not just one or two parties after all."

The crack of a fist hitting a table came through the channel crystal clear.

"Understood for now. I'll contact you again once I've found the item."

I cut the channel and studied the Nesis mechs' movements again.

They were still circling the disposal facility, absorbed in searching or setting something up.

"No hard feelings."

I had every target position locked.

I activated the Precision Strike Assist System and raised the accelerator rifle in my left hand.