Picking Up a Giant Robot
"What hit you?"
The analyst, having heard the report, asked again as if he couldn't comprehend it. Nexus LONG JOURNEY. Raize's operator repeated his words, sweating profusely.
"...It's debris from a building damaged in the previous skirmish, sir."
"...I don't get it."
After a moment of silence, the analyst continued. "Pull up the footage."
A short while later, having watched the entire video, the analyst let out a sigh, still looking baffled. "Does that even make sense?"
"No, it doesn't. Bad luck piled up. The enemy got the drop on us by—"
"No excuses. Bottom line, you didn't scan before entering blind spots and wasted missiles from afar, letting them slip away."
"I'll pass that on to Raize."
"But still, a building pillar...? Ha."
The analyst let out a hollow laugh repeatedly. The operator stood there fidgeting, unable to leave.
"Was there some unexpected utility to that building pillar?"
"Pardon?"
"Not a versatile weapon, but if processed right... Hm."
To stop his superior from veering into weird ideas, the operator, fiddling with his tablet, spoke up. "If I may, sir, the enemy just made good use of the situation. It's nothing more than an overwhelmingly inferior substitute for standard armaments."
"Yeah, I know. That guy's insane. I've heard the rumors."
Then, the analyst's expression suddenly shifted to one of seriousness. "But watching that footage just now, the combat pattern and style were quite different from the recorded ones."
"That's..."
Rabe's original style was said to involve controlling distance in mid-to-close range, wearing down the opponent, then striking at openings.
But the figure in the video was terrifyingly persistent, clinging on and slashing relentlessly. No sign of that exquisite distance control.
Once it latched on, it never let go...
'Wild dog?'
Yeah, it moved just like a wild dog.
"The unit restarted, right?"
"Pardon? Yes."
"They must've known a half-destroyed Nexus couldn't move much further... Did something happen in the meantime? Alright, got it."
The analyst waved the operator off. Alone now, he pulled up Rabe's analysis data on the monitor.
'Rabe.'
A wanted mercenary disrupting tech development facilities, hindering reinforcement human research. Even taking on jobs without commissions.
Reason unknown. Upper brass speculated it might be a reinforcement human with a grudge from human experiments.
'Whether this sudden change is just paranoia or a sign of something... we'll see with more observation.'
"More importantly..."
The analyst opened a sketch program and loaded a building pillar model.
'Yeah, reinforce it as a steel structure and slap some rockets on the back...'
His mind, caught in a pointless flight of fancy, began to run wild for the first time in ages.
Beep— Beep—
The warning tone signaling potential neurorejection blared repeatedly.
My body felt like a lead weight.
Blink—
Unable to twitch a finger, I barely lifted my eyelids.
'Ah, unfamiliar ceiling—'
No, it wasn't. I was still in the wrecked cockpit.
'Of course.'
No one's coming to my rescue with some contrived plot device. Thinking I should get out of this dangerous spot fast, I peered outside more closely.
"...?"
The outside world I'd known was gone. Only the faint outline of an enclosed steel space all around.
The light was dim enough not to strain my eyes.
I slowly crawled out of the cockpit and looked around.
'This is...'
It looked like a hangar. Ears clearing of clotted blood, I heard a low vibration throughout the space.
Like massive propellers spinning.
'Mobile hangar?'
Something that appeared a few times in the game. A giant tin can with four propellers.
Seems the approaching mobile hangar had scooped up me and the Nexus entirely.
'Lucky... I guess?'
If not getting hit by enemy fire and exploding on the spot while waiting counted as lucky.
But now I was trapped in a new cage, flying off to who-knows-where.
'Control system... SIF, was it?'
I spat a mouthful of blood from my throat and called out to SIF aloud.
"SIF!"
[Pilot call confirmed. Standing by.]
Oh, voice recognition. Didn't think it was real.
"Where... where are we headed right now?"
[Autopilot mode. No route set.]
"Just... cough, floating around?"
[Moving only through airspace with no identified threats. Set a destination?]
I checked my condition. Looking back, the seat I'd been in was soaked in blood.
"...Any hospital that'll take me..."
[Searching routes. Locating...]
"No... wait. Inside the hangar... any first-aid supplies...?"
[First-aid supplies sold separately.]
"Fucking assholes..."
Cough! Blood surged up, and I collapsed forward, hacking it out.
My mind sank into deep darkness. Before long, I was drifting through a hazy dream.
In a corner of the street. A boy and girl leaning against a crumbled wall.
Battered by the world, their eyes held a maturity beyond their years.
Ignoring the adults passing by, the two were lost in their own conversation.
"Got any dreams?"
"Dreams? Out of nowhere?"
"Read in a book that people need some burning desire to achieve something in life. Otherwise, you're not really living."
"Hm, something like that."
The girl nodded blankly. The boy stared at her face.
"You do, right? Feels like you would."
"Why?"
"You're different from others."
"What do you mean?"
"You seem to know more than these adults whose only goal is survival."
"......"
The girl fell silent, tilting her head back. She gazed at the sky hidden behind thick clouds.
After a moment's thought, she turned the question back. "You?"
"Me... dunno."
"Then I dunno too."
"Why? Hiding it?"
"Dreams aren't just for one person. No point if you're the only one dreaming."
The boy stared piercingly at her profile. Soon, he followed her gaze to the sky.
"Guess I'll think about it then."
"Okay."
"When I figure mine out, tell me yours."
"...Okay."
The voices faded into the dream.
'Ah.'
This time, I could finally say it.
"Unfamiliar ceiling..."
My throat cracked like dry earth, voice rasping out. I let out a dry cough.
Beep, beep.
A heart monitor beeped like in an ICU.
I rolled my eyes while lying still.
"......"
A bearded man sat right beside me. Glasses gave him an intellectual air.
"You're awake."
As I stared silently, he added, "Four days."
I squinted.
"You arrived in a coma, and it took four days to wake up today."
"...Ah."
Comatose for four days? I tried to sit up, but his light hand on my shoulder pinned me down effortlessly.
"Multiple organ failure, massive blood loss—you really pushed your body. Flew in on a mobile hangar too. Won't ask for the story. You look young."
I eyed him warily. In this state, I couldn't resist whatever he tried.
Noticing my guard, he removed his hand and stepped back from the bed.
"Must've had reasons to pilot a Nexus so young. But can I ask one thing?"
"...Sure."
"The Nexus and neural port specs didn't match. Any reason?"
I pondered briefly. Neural port?
'That silicone lump on the chair back.'
I had no way to connect it. My neck was clean.
But this man wasn't saying I lacked one.
I got it.
"Stole it. Not mine originally."
"I see."
He accepted it without fuss. After a pause, seeming thoughtful, he said, "Do you know what the device on your back is?"
"Didn't... cough, but just figured it out."
"So you didn't know before."
"Yeah."
His face grew more grave. I wanted to ask why, but that'd just keep the talk on me.
My turn. "Who are you, mister?"
"What do I look like?"
"Not a doctor."
Too bushy beard for one. Even in this messed-up world, hygiene mattered—especially for doctors. No gown either, just casual clothes under a thick winter coat and black overcoat.
'Is this even a hospital?'
Hard to tell. Would've been nice if SIF had shown where it landed.
He stood. "Call me Hermann. You'll be bedridden for two months recovering. And no, not a doctor."
"...Okay."
"Not a doctor, but I can help you."
Cough. "What do you do then?"
He looked at me a moment, then said, "Mercenary job broker. I'll come back tomorrow."
Click— The door shut.