Chapter 462: 460
Grrr...
The adorable sound of a growling stomach made Asseylum blush as she awkwardly pinched the hem of her skirt.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Miss Asseylum. That test took much longer than expected. Let's stop here and find the Commander so we can eat."
6O apologized, although her expression carried a hint of teasing amusement.
"All right."
Asseylum nodded shyly, straightened her clothes, and followed her out.
When they arrived at the core chamber, the doors happened to be open.
Inside, Mr. Kain appeared to be helping Tessa put on her shoes after she emerged from the core pod.
The moment he slipped the shoes onto her feet, Tessa's expression became peculiar. Her already flushed face turned an even deeper shade of red.
When she noticed Asseylum and 6O approaching, she became visibly flustered.
If Asseylum had looked at the twin-tailed android beside her, she would have noticed the knowing expression on 6O's face.
"Miss Tessa, are you sure you're all right?"
On their way to the dining area, Asseylum hurriedly caught Tessa when she nearly tripped over flat ground.
Tessa had seemed distracted throughout the entire walk. Every step looked as though it might send her tumbling.
Something appeared to be physically bothering her, and her high heels did not seem to fit properly. Perhaps she simply was not accustomed to wearing them.
"Huh? I'm fine. Really."
Tessa shook her head, then directed an intensely resentful glare at the man walking ahead of them and discussing something with 6O.
He was such a malicious tease.
By the time Tessa recovered her composure, Asseylum had already arrived at the core chamber. She had not had enough time to retrieve another pair of shoes from her personal storage space.
The remaining medium from their earlier private synchronization had somehow ended up inside her high heels, making them uncomfortable and slippery.
Instead of helping her replace them, that spiteful man had simply put the shoes on her feet.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yes. I'm perfectly... Ah!"
Tessa let out a startled cry, and her small face tightened.
As they rounded a corner, one of her heels caught in a narrow groove near the wall.
She stumbled, and her foot slipped out of the shoe.
Tessa hurriedly tried to regain her balance while forcing her foot back inside before anyone could notice anything unusual.
But then she saw Asseylum from the corner of her eye.
The princess had clearly noticed that something was wrong with the shoe.
"Is that...?"
Asseylum looked confused.
There seemed to be some kind of gel-like residue inside the heel, which explained why Tessa had been having trouble walking.
Why was Tessa so desperate to hide it?
The substance looked remarkably similar to the unusual biological medium Asseylum had once seen during one of Dr. Yuhko Kouzuki's private broadcasts.
Before she could examine it more closely, Tessa hurriedly shoved her foot back into the shoe.
She moved so quickly that the residue nearly spilled over the edge, suggesting there was a considerable amount inside.
"It's probably from working in such a hot environment," Tessa explained with an obviously fabricated excuse. "Some of the material inside the shoe must have melted."
Asseylum gave her a gentle smile, clearly recognizing the lie but choosing not to embarrass her by asking further questions.
Tessa once again glared resentfully at Kain, who continued discussing serious matters with 6O as though nothing had happened.
How could he remain so calm?
Wasn't he worried that 6O might discover what he had done?
Wasn't he concerned that A2 and 2B, who were walking toward them, might notice something unusual?
Did he not regard them as women simply because they were androids, and therefore did not care if they thought he was some kind of pervert?
Or was he simply so shamelessly open about everything that other people's opinions genuinely did not bother him?
He might not care, but Tessa certainly did.
...
Several days passed.
"Commander, that concludes everything we've learned about the Martian Kataphrakt."
Their analysis of the machine was essentially complete.
They had understood everything they were capable of understanding, while the remaining technology had been studied as thoroughly as their current knowledge allowed.
Naturally, the Kataphrakt itself had been completely dismantled.
The data they obtained contained several technologies more advanced than anything currently available in A2's world.
One of them produced a special field that reflected virtually no detectable signals. Infrared radiation, sound waves, visible light, and other forms of energy were absorbed, making the machine nearly impossible to detect.
An enemy would likely have to acquire the target manually through direct observation or external optical imaging.
The specialized signal-absorbing layer also served as an energy barrier protecting the machine.
It could absorb physical attacks as well. Bullets striking the barrier would not even ricochet.
They would most likely be broken down the instant they made contact.
When the machine moved, obstacles in its path were similarly erased.
It was like rolling a red-hot iron ball through plastic foam. Anything it touched melted away immediately.
However, according to the setting of the series Kain knew, this technology possessed a critical flaw.
The barrier blocked the outside world, but it also blinded everything inside it.
The machine's internal sensors required openings through the barrier to observe its surroundings. That meant the protection could never form a completely sealed shell.
If an enemy discovered those openings, they could attack through them and damage the machine within.
That weakness proved to be real.
The Kataphrakt Asseylum had brought possessed this dimensional barrier, and the researchers had discovered several gaps used by its external sensors, communication systems, and other equipment.
"If we combined the barrier with a Lambda Driver, could mental perception penetrate the field and reach the outside?" Tessa asked, joining the technical discussion.
When a pilot used a Lambda Driver core pod to merge their consciousness with a machine, they did not rely solely on radar and other mechanical sensors to perceive their surroundings.
They also developed a kind of extrasensory awareness.
This mental perception allowed them to sense activity within a certain radius, although its effective range was far shorter than that of radar or other detection systems.
Mental perception felt as though it should be capable of passing through almost anything.
If a machine equipped with this defensive field could also use a Lambda Driver, it might deploy a completely sealed barrier without leaving its pilot effectively blind.
Of course, that remained only a theory.
They could not verify it until they built a machine that combined the Lambda Driver with the dimensional barrier.
"At the earliest, we'll have preliminary results in one week," Commander White replied with a slight frown.
Even for the androids, that was the fastest possible timeframe.
"Miss Asseylum, is there no way for you to obtain the Hyper Gate technology?"
The Hyper Gate was a form of spatial transportation technology.
In Asseylum's world, humanity had discovered a Hyper Gate on the Moon. It transported explorers directly to Mars, where they discovered Aldnoah, the remnants of an ancient civilization.
The technology resembled the Necron phase teleportation technology that the Commander had brought with him.
The main difference was that Necron phase technology could also expand the dimensional space within the transfer medium, creating an intermediate hyperspatial region.
Asseylum's Hyper Gate technology lacked that capability. A gate was simply a gate, with no expandable dimensional layer between its two ends.
Unfortunately, A2's researchers still could not fully understand or practically reproduce Necron phase teleportation technology.
"I'm sorry, but only the emperor has the authority to access it," Asseylum replied.
"That's easy, Miss Asseylum. You just need to become empress. Your grandfather is already..."
Commander White shot 6O a sharp glare.
6O immediately closed her mouth before her attempt at humor went too far.
"Hmm, we still have ten hours left. Commander, why don't we hold a beach party on Earth?"
6O hurriedly changed the subject and offered a new suggestion.
The princess probably wanted to see Earth as well.
Although this Earth was not the Earth of her own universe, Asseylum had been born and raised on Mars. She had never set foot on Earth before.
From the moment she arrived until the preliminary restoration experiment ended, she had remained aboard the YoRHa near Mars, partly because her world's political situation continued to weigh heavily on her mind.
Now that the initial planetary restoration test was complete, the group had descended to a beach beside the newly formed Martian oasis and held their meeting there.
A large lake stretched beside the beach. Once the planet's restoration progressed far enough, it would eventually become part of a true ocean.
There was still a chance that unforeseen complications might arise, however.
For that reason, it would be safer to hold the actual beach party on Earth.
(End of Chapter)
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