“I wish there were some nice light displays on the deck,” said Kaname, trying to change tack.
“We’re on alert,” Sousuke countered. “Illumination would be foolish.”
Kaname fell sourly silent. She just couldn’t get the conversation rolling, even though she was usually so good at facilitating these things.
Sousuke cleared his throat. “I’m reminded. Today is Christmas.”
“Huh?”
“In accordance with the custom of giving presents on Christmas, allow me to give you this.” Sousuke pulled a fountain pen from his pocket.
Kaname looked at it in confusion.
“It appears to be an ordinary fountain pen,” he went on. “But it contains a miniature stun gun. The output is 200,000 volts, but it only has the battery capacity for one or two uses. Don’t forget that.”
“Oh. Um... thanks,” Kaname said listlessly. The initial offer had made her heart skip a beat, but its result was frankly anti-climactic. Another self-defense tool—He’d given her any number of ‘platonic’ presents like this in the past. As this was supposed to be a Christmas present... well, she appreciated the sentiment, but couldn’t help feeling let down.
Again unaware of her feelings, Sousuke was embarking on a breathless explanation of how the weapon was used, when suddenly he got a call on his radio. “Wait a minute,” he told her. Then after a brief exchange, Sousuke grimaced.
“What’s wrong?” Kaname asked.
“Trouble,” he told her shortly. “I need to get to work.”
“Ah.”
“You should return,” he suggested. “I’ll escort you back to your classmates.”
The terrorists weren’t as good as Sailor had imagined them to be. They were pretty well organized, but their aim was crap, and they seemed surprisingly timid. It wasn’t just a hesitance to open fire—they actually seemed worried that they might hurt him or the maid. They’d get him surrounded like pros, but then in some critical moment, they’d always panic or back down.
“Don’t move! Stay where you— wait, Colonel? Owwww!” A terrorist that appeared around the corner of the hall took a hit from Sailor’s gun and fled.
“Graaaah!” Sailor howled, firing the submachine gun in his right hand and dragging the maid girl along with his left. “That’ll show you, you terrorist bastards! Try your worst! I’ll take you all on!”
“Erm, I won’t object to you fighting, if you wish, but could you please release me first?” Tessa requested.
“Yeah, fight me!” Sailor yelled, completely ignoring her. “Man-to-man! Sailor’s on the job!”
“He’s not even listening...” she sighed to herself.
“You sons of bitches! Take this! And this!” Sailor couldn’t even hear the maid’s pleas as he first sent his enemies scattering, then ran past them down the corridor.
After getting shot, the terrorists typically said things like, “Dammit, we’re taking it easy on him and it’s making him cocky...” but again, he wasn’t listening.
“Ahh, Corporal Howard— let me go, let me go!” The maid girl continued struggling, trying to escape Sailor’s grasp. He ignored her, turned to face an enemy appearing behind him, and fired. Just then, he heard a dull ‘whump.’
“Well? Don’t underestimate the United States Navy! You people are— hmm?” The maid had hit her head on a nearby pillar and fallen limp against his arm. She looked like a cartoon character seeing stars. Sailor stared at her for a moment, then shook it off. “Ah, whatever. Anyway, catch me if you can! You damned terrorist bastards!!” Still propping up the unconscious maid, Sailor kept firing and escaped from the block.Same TimeframePassage C, Deck 3, Pacific Chrysalis
Harris held his breath and kept moving as he listened to the gunshots ring out in the distance. He’d nearly been discovered several times already, but of course, this was his ship, and he knew it by heart. It was full of passages that wouldn’t be marked on normal maps; largely maintenance spaces, hidden behind decorative fixtures, which made it possible for him to outwit his enemies and flee.
After all that, at last, he was able to calm down and think. No, he didn’t even have to think. This is not good, Harris realized. His plan had seemed perfect, yet they’d completely outmaneuvered him. He wasn’t expecting those people to raid the ship and take all the passengers hostage. It was utterly incredible.
At this rate, they’d not only expose the contents of the vault, but steal all kinds of data, too. Even if he got away and managed to hide... there was no way Amalgam would forgive this. They’d kill him, for sure.
So, what do I do now? Harris asked himself. Let them have their way, then go into hiding once he returned to port? No, that wouldn’t work... It would be difficult for a man acting alone to escape their grasp.
He’d have to make an unquestioned show of loyalty, while bringing them a present important enough to protect him from further sanction. To do that, first, he’d need to make contact. Then, he’d need to activate “them.”
As Harris moved through the cramped space above the ceiling, several times, he heard cautious footsteps approaching from close by; the enemy must be searching for him. When he finally reached the lifeboats, he couldn’t believe that he’d made it without being seen.
Truly, a Christmas miracle. God is watching over me! Harris thought cheerfully. He climbed into a lifeboat on the port-side observation deck, then groped around in the dark until he found its survival kit. Inside the sturdy case was a satellite transceiver. He didn’t have an exclusive secret channel, but he remembered the emergency frequency and code. He manipulated the radio uncertainly, until he got in touch with an Amalgam-backed relay station.
“Emergency message. It’s top priority. Hurry!” Harris hissed.
His direct superior responded shortly. “What is it?” came the executive’s electronically modified voice.
“Mr. Gold, I’m in trouble. Mithril got the drop on me. They took over my ship, and now they’re trying to break into the vault.”
The man on the radio hummed thoughtfully, as if carefully considering this information. Then he said, “So, what’s your plan?”
“W-Well—”
“You’re about to expose important tech and information to an enemy,” Mr. Gold said, cutting Harris
