Volume 0, Episode 6
"─ Eh?! H-Here, right now!?"
"─ Hurry and take off your jacket."
While moving to the coordinates and the designated location, Marian mentioned feeling unwell, and just as she did, Lapi's calm voice prompted the implementation of maintenance.
If Nikke were to malfunction or experience issues, maintenance wasn't optional but a necessity, as Rapi put it.
While this might indeed be a cause for hesitation if it were in the middle of a busy street, fortunately, they were within the interior of what used to be a shopping mall, now resembling ruins. Even if they took off their jackets, they wouldn't attract any unnecessary attention.
However, Marian's lowered eyes inadvertently followed the gaze of the young commander holding an assault rifle, despite trying to avoid eye contact. A faint blush adorned her cheeks.
Anis keenly noticed this and began to tease her.
"Haha! What's this? Do you think the Commander sees Nikke as a woman? No need to worry! We're just 'combat weapons' without blood or tears, so there's no way the Commander sees us as women, right?"
"..."
Anise seemed to deliberately confirm the obvious with the young man, directing her words at him. However, Moore shrugged slightly, then turned his back with a backpack on and quietly walked away, making sure not to make any noise with his footsteps.
"...Oh, he DOES see it that way..."
Anise muttered, genuinely feeling that the Commander was weird.
Maintenance would take a little time. It wouldn't be mentally..."healthy" to just stand there waiting.
Stepping a bit away from the scene, he wandered through the interior of what used to be a bustling shopping mall, with numerous shops lined up.
Was this the information center?
The wall behind the counter had cracks running through it, discolored as if burnt. The mall's floor plan that had been displayed was partially burnt and damaged.
His gaze met the eye sockets of a skeletal corpse wearing a tattered body armor and combat suit, seated on the floor as if leaning against the counter.
"Looks like there was a battle after all."
Various marks that seemed like bullet holes were scattered all over the walls of the shop, and rusty cartridge cases were strewn across the floor. He reached for the metallic part held by the skeletal corpse, an automatic rifle that had rusted over time.
The moment he picked it up, it made a dry sound like bones creaking. However, given its state of deterioration and rust, there was no way it would work.
Looking at the semi-automatic rifle, which was meant for personal defense, he thought about the possibility that the military or police units had tried to protect the people who were trapped or took refuge here.
He considered the possibility that they had valiantly fought against hordes of Rapture.
Returning the rifle to its owner, Moore's attention shifted to the interior of the counter, wondering about its condition.
"Oh, I see..."
Clearly, several skeletal corpses dressed in civilian attire were piled up. Among them, there were clothes that still suggested a child's stature.
"Respect to you, sir."
He saluted slightly to the skeletal corpse that had stood its ground until its final moments, even when knowing it was powerless against its foes.
He didn't have a strong sense of faith, nor did he possess any inclination to disturb the sleep of the deceased. He was about to leave, but he caught sight of a toolbox placed in the corner of the counter.
While its surface had lost its rustproof coating and was rusted, wasn't that box produced in the late days of the past era?
There might be some belongings inside. Careful not to step on the overlapping skeletal corpses, he walked closer to the toolbox and picked it up.
The lid, although rusted, felt heavy due to the metal. However, it didn't seem to have a combination lock for entry.
He pressed the button next to the handle for opening and closing, and a sound reminiscent of creaking echoed, followed by the lid popping open.
"...A handgun?"
Inside the toolbox was a handgun, a few empty magazines, and a cardboard box containing ammunition. There was also a leg holster to hold the handgun.
"...Can I take this?"
He didn't know whose belongings these were. And no one would answer this question, surely.
There was just a silent void agreement.
Of course, he thought. He shrugged and was about to close the lid of the toolbox when, at that instant, the skeletal corpse holding the automatic rifle made a dry sound again.
Hearing that, he leaned out of the counter to confirm, but the sound didn't repeat.
Let's take it as a kind gesture.
He took the leg holster from the toolbox, threading its belt through the military uniform belt around his waist. He then secured the holster's side belt onto his thigh.
Opening the cardboard box containing ammunition, he loaded the empty magazines with thick .45 ACP rounds.
He couldn't imagine these would be effective against the Rapture, but they might be useful for something.
Holding the pistol, he alternated between pulling the slide and the trigger a few times to confirm the operation and firing. There seemed to be no issues.
Removing the pin and lightly disassembling it, he inspected the mechanism, firing pin, and the condition inside the barrel. He was confident that everything was normal. He inserted the magazine into the magwell, pulled the slide to chamber the first round.
As for the ammunition, he couldn't test it here.
"...We'll see when the time comes."
Determined to make do, he stored the pistol and spare magazines in the leg holster and began making his way back to the others.
The eye sockets of the skeletal corpses seemed to follow his departing figure. The tattered combat suit he wore, its sleeves adorned with a faded sergeant insignia and threads unraveling, making it unreadable. However, there was a barely legible patch with the letter "M."
"──Welcome back, Commander. Huh? What's that?"
"I got this."
"Wait, from whom?"
"Who knows?"
As he returned to the others, it seemed that Marian's maintenance was just completed. Anis, who welcomed him, noticed the holster on his right leg and the pistol, prompting her to tilt her head.
As the young man responded in a manner suggesting he received it from someone, her head tilted even further, as if to ask for more details.
"Since the Commander has returned, let's resume our journey," Rapi suggested.
"Yeah. Marian, lead the way."
"Yes, Commander. Leave it to me."
"─Oh! Did you peep?"
"─EHH?! "
"Just kidding "
With Anis's teasing and jesting, the group resumed their journey.
Leaving the shopping mall behind, Marian led the squad at the front, advancing through the ruined streets toward the coordinates. After a while, suddenly, Rapi and Anise stopped and made a gesture of placing a hand to their ears. It seemed they received a communication, but the content was unknown to the young man, who lacked that functionality.
"─This is Rapi. Shifty, do you copy? We've successfully rendezvoused with the new commander. Coordinates confirmed, currently en route."
"Communication from Arc?"
"Yes. Here, take this."
In response to his inquiry, Rapi nodded and handed Moore a headset from the pouch at her waist. Apparently, the main device of the radio wasn't necessary; communication could be established through the functionality embedded in the bodies of the nearby Nikke.
Putting on the headset, he adjusted the microphone to his mouth and spoke.
"How's the connection status?"
〈─ All is well, Commander. I am Operator Shifty, assigned to the Information Division. I will be supporting the operation from now on. Please take care of me. 〉
"Likewise, nice to meet you. I'm glad to have an operator with such a pleasing voice for my ears."
As they exchanged greetings and voices resonated from the depths of the housing set into both ears, Moore offered a light jest to ensure their future cooperation would be smooth.
He didn't miss the brighter tone after hearing a faint laughter from Operator Shifty. However, he couldn't fathom why Marian, who was lightly puffing her cheeks, was reacting that way.
Volume 0, Episode 6
"─ Eh?! H-Here, right now!?"
"─ Hurry and take off your jacket."
While moving to the coordinates and the designated location, Marian mentioned feeling unwell, and just as she did, Lapi's calm voice prompted the implementation of maintenance.
If Nikke were to malfunction or experience issues, maintenance wasn't optional but a necessity, as Rapi put it.
While this might indeed be a cause for hesitation if it were in the middle of a busy street, fortunately, they were within the interior of what used to be a shopping mall, now resembling ruins. Even if they took off their jackets, they wouldn't attract any unnecessary attention.
However, Marian's lowered eyes inadvertently followed the gaze of the young commander holding an assault rifle, despite trying to avoid eye contact. A faint blush adorned her cheeks.
Anis keenly noticed this and began to tease her.
"Haha! What's this? Do you think the Commander sees Nikke as a woman? No need to worry! We're just 'combat weapons' without blood or tears, so there's no way the Commander sees us as women, right?"
"..."
Anise seemed to deliberately confirm the obvious with the young man, directing her words at him. However, Moore shrugged slightly, then turned his back with a backpack on and quietly walked away, making sure not to make any noise with his footsteps.
"...Oh, he DOES see it that way..."
Anise muttered, genuinely feeling that the Commander was weird.
Maintenance would take a little time. It wouldn't be mentally..."healthy" to just stand there waiting.
Stepping a bit away from the scene, he wandered through the interior of what used to be a bustling shopping mall, with numerous shops lined up.
Was this the information center?
The wall behind the counter had cracks running through it, discolored as if burnt. The mall's floor plan that had been displayed was partially burnt and damaged.
His gaze met the eye sockets of a skeletal corpse wearing a tattered body armor and combat suit, seated on the floor as if leaning against the counter.
"Looks like there was a battle after all."
Various marks that seemed like bullet holes were scattered all over the walls of the shop, and rusty cartridge cases were strewn across the floor. He reached for the metallic part held by the skeletal corpse, an automatic rifle that had rusted over time.
The moment he picked it up, it made a dry sound like bones creaking. However, given its state of deterioration and rust, there was no way it would work.
Looking at the semi-automatic rifle, which was meant for personal defense, he thought about the possibility that the military or police units had tried to protect the people who were trapped or took refuge here.
He considered the possibility that they had valiantly fought against hordes of Rapture.
Returning the rifle to its owner, Moore's attention shifted to the interior of the counter, wondering about its condition.
"Oh, I see..."
Clearly, several skeletal corpses dressed in civilian attire were piled up. Among them, there were clothes that still suggested a child's stature.
"Respect to you, sir."
He saluted slightly to the skeletal corpse that had stood its ground until its final moments, even when knowing it was powerless against its foes.
He didn't have a strong sense of faith, nor did he possess any inclination to disturb the sleep of the deceased. He was about to leave, but he caught sight of a toolbox placed in the corner of the counter.
While its surface had lost its rustproof coating and was rusted, wasn't that box produced in the late days of the past era?
There might be some belongings inside. Careful not to step on the overlapping skeletal corpses, he walked closer to the toolbox and picked it up.
The lid, although rusted, felt heavy due to the metal. However, it didn't seem to have a combination lock for entry.
He pressed the button next to the handle for opening and closing, and a sound reminiscent of creaking echoed, followed by the lid popping open.
"...A handgun?"
Inside the toolbox was a handgun, a few empty magazines, and a cardboard box containing ammunition. There was also a leg holster to hold the handgun.
"...Can I take this?"
He didn't know whose belongings these were. And no one would answer this question, surely.
There was just a silent void agreement.
Of course, he thought. He shrugged and was about to close the lid of the toolbox when, at that instant, the skeletal corpse holding the automatic rifle made a dry sound again.
Hearing that, he leaned out of the counter to confirm, but the sound didn't repeat.
Let's take it as a kind gesture.
He took the leg holster from the toolbox, threading its belt through the military uniform belt around his waist. He then secured the holster's side belt onto his thigh.
Opening the cardboard box containing ammunition, he loaded the empty magazines with thick .45 ACP rounds.
He couldn't imagine these would be effective against the Rapture, but they might be useful for something.
Holding the pistol, he alternated between pulling the slide and the trigger a few times to confirm the operation and firing. There seemed to be no issues.
Removing the pin and lightly disassembling it, he inspected the mechanism, firing pin, and the condition inside the barrel. He was confident that everything was normal. He inserted the magazine into the magwell, pulled the slide to chamber the first round.
As for the ammunition, he couldn't test it here.
"...We'll see when the time comes."
Determined to make do, he stored the pistol and spare magazines in the leg holster and began making his way back to the others.
The eye sockets of the skeletal corpses seemed to follow his departing figure. The tattered combat suit he wore, its sleeves adorned with a faded sergeant insignia and threads unraveling, making it unreadable. However, there was a barely legible patch with the letter "M."
"──Welcome back, Commander. Huh? What's that?"
"I got this."
"Wait, from whom?"
"Who knows?"
As he returned to the others, it seemed that Marian's maintenance was just completed. Anis, who welcomed him, noticed the holster on his right leg and the pistol, prompting her to tilt her head.
As the young man responded in a manner suggesting he received it from someone, her head tilted even further, as if to ask for more details.
"Since the Commander has returned, let's resume our journey," Rapi suggested.
"Yeah. Marian, lead the way."
"Yes, Commander. Leave it to me."
"─Oh! Did you peep?"
"─EHH?! "
"Just kidding "
With Anis's teasing and jesting, the group resumed their journey.
Leaving the shopping mall behind, Marian led the squad at the front, advancing through the ruined streets toward the coordinates. After a while, suddenly, Rapi and Anise stopped and made a gesture of placing a hand to their ears. It seemed they received a communication, but the content was unknown to the young man, who lacked that functionality.
"─This is Rapi. Shifty, do you copy? We've successfully rendezvoused with the new commander. Coordinates confirmed, currently en route."
"Communication from Arc?"
"Yes. Here, take this."
In response to his inquiry, Rapi nodded and handed Moore a headset from the pouch at her waist. Apparently, the main device of the radio wasn't necessary; communication could be established through the functionality embedded in the bodies of the nearby Nikke.
Putting on the headset, he adjusted the microphone to his mouth and spoke.
"How's the connection status?"
〈─ All is well, Commander. I am Operator Shifty, assigned to the Information Division. I will be supporting the operation from now on. Please take care of me. 〉
"Likewise, nice to meet you. I'm glad to have an operator with such a pleasing voice for my ears."
As they exchanged greetings and voices resonated from the depths of the housing set into both ears, Moore offered a light jest to ensure their future cooperation would be smooth.
He didn't miss the brighter tone after hearing a faint laughter from Operator Shifty. However, he couldn't fathom why Marian, who was lightly puffing her cheeks, was reacting that way.
