Sista returned to Clara’s side, holding a paper cup. Verdant Echo also strolled back to his seat, hands in his pockets, in his usual careless manner, and sat down next to Sista.
Because the two had been gone a little while, Clara couldn’t help but ask, “So slow. What were you and Green-hair talking about?”
“Gr-Green-hair…”
Verdant Echo’s lips twitched.
It was obvious he didn’t like that nickname, but Clara had called him that on purpose just to get under his skin.
Sista, however, answered frankly, “He asked me to hit on you—”
Before she could finish, Verdant Echo cut her off.
“Yes, yes, I was teaching her how to make your coffee. This idiot almost tossed the sugar straight into the iced coffee.”
‘Don’t say things so easily misunderstood!’
Clara patted her chest, thinking Verdant Echo had sent Sista to come flirt with her—her heart had almost stopped from the scare!
She quickly took a sip of her coffee.
“Mmm, not bad, the sweetness is just right now~”
Though she said so, a kid’s taste buds really weren’t suited for this kind of “grown-up drink.” But Clara would never admit she was a child, so she just kept drinking it, pretending to enjoy it.
“It’s not bitter anymore?”
Sista looked curious as she naturally picked up Clara’s paper cup, took a sip, and left a delicate lip print on the rim—she even smacked her lips and furrowed her brows.
“This taste… I really can’t get used to it.”
…Can you not keep doing things like that out of nowhere!
Clara protested loudly and snatched the cup back, while Sista just tilted her head in confusion.
“My, what a nice scene—what a shame…”
Ogata Dharma, who had witnessed the whole thing, cupped her cheeks and muttered, then turned to the camerawoman:
“Remember to edit that part out later.”
That kind of thing was definitely not for the fans to see.
As the show’s production staff, they had to prevent any disastrous PR incidents…
“But send me the raw footage, will you?”
Personally, Ogata Dharma really enjoyed seeing clueless boys and girls doing those shy, ambiguous things without realizing it.
Whether they really were boys and girls was up for debate, but at least they looked the part!
At that moment, a clattering noise sounded from beneath the carriage.
“Hey, don’t tell me it’s…”
They thought it was the Moon Rabbit or a sandworm again, but then Lucia crawled out from the luggage compartment with her suitcase and asked, “Members of Sigma Hero, in the middle of this solar storm, can you still summon your exoskeletons?”
Azure Cavalier pushed up his glasses and replied:
“In theory, yes. After all, the Sigma positioning satellite is on the far side of the Moon, between the Earth and Moon, so it’s less affected by the solar storm. But whether the exoskeleton armor can still be transmitted down here in this weather is questionable. Since exoskeletons are delivered by laser transmission, and with these visibility conditions, the laser probably won’t make it through…”
But he was interrupted.
“No, Azure Cavalier, it’s not a laser, you know? It’s a special high-energy ray used for positioning. As long as the ray can pierce through the dust storm, it can locate and equip the suit—it can even break through the Central City’s gaseous dome, let alone a sandstorm~”
The one speaking was the Sigma Hero’s mechanic.
She casually draped her arm over Lucia’s shoulder—their time together had clearly brought them closer.
“But if you transform here, we’d all die~”
Clara had wanted to complain about this earlier.
A ray that could blast through the ceiling—how come nothing happens when it shines directly on the wearer?
“I mean transform outside.”
As Lucia said this, someone reminded her:
“Even with a suit, if they leave the carriage, they’ll die before they can even transform.”
“I mean, I have a way for them to hold out a little while in the solar storm… with what I developed… My graduation project can raise a field.”
At last, Lucia opened her secret giant suitcase.
Inside was a not-yet-completed exoskeleton combat suit.
High-energy particles, unhindered by air, were rampaging wildly through the lunar dust. It wasn’t a real wind, but its destructive force far exceeded any storm on Earth.
These high-energy particles interacted with the magnetic field, causing fierce electromagnetic interference and currents. All over the lunar surface, electric sparks exploded; any exposed electronic equipment was doomed. This was more destructive than any EMP weapon.
And so the powerless, stranded lunar bus lay paralyzed outside the station.
But just then, the tightly shut airlock suddenly opened.
A hand in an exoskeleton suit tossed out a disk.
Immediately, blue energy unfolded from the disk, forming a polygonal force field. This field isolated the solar storm, creating a roughly two-meter-diameter safe zone.
But the force field began to flicker as soon as it appeared.
A girl in a simple exoskeleton rushed out of the airlock, worried as she saw the unstable field.
“Crap, I knew it wouldn’t hold!”
“It’s fine! Miss Lucia, ten seconds is enough!”
So said Crimson Star General, who stepped out the airlock in a standard spacesuit, followed by the remaining three Sigma members.
“We’ll handle the rest from here!”
To Lucia’s surprise, the “Dragonfly” drone also flew out behind them.
The “Raven” drone was big enough to fit an antigravity device for use in a vacuum—but this palm-sized drone had it too?
Just like Fran said, the tech from this company didn’t seem like something from a small business at all.
“Hurry up! Let’s go!”
Though their voices were only audible through the radio, Crimson Star General gave a loud order. Under the lens of the “Dragonfly,” the four lined up shoulder to shoulder, synchronously activating the transformation device on their wrists.
“Access code: Equip!” *4
Four beams of high-energy rays pierced through the storm, through the field Lucia’s device created, enveloping the four Sigma members—not only blowing Lucia away, but even shaking the bus with the impact.
“Whoa! It worked!”
“Miss Lucia, get back inside, your exoskeleton can’t withstand the electromagnetic interference.”
The “Dragonfly” drone had already returned to the airlock. Lucia nodded and ran back, but turned to ask, “Um, are your armors going to be alright?”
“Don’t worry! Our exoskeletons have special treatment. Azure Cavalier’s armor is designed for electromagnetic manipulation—it’s our specialty!”
Crimson Star General patted his chest plate, and only then did Lucia shut the airlock door. The field, which hadn’t even lasted a minute, disappeared completely.
High-energy particles pounded their armor, electricity arcing everywhere, but those in exoskeletons could still move.
Azure Cavalier habitually adjusted the nose bridge of his visor and reminded the squad over the channel:
“Captain, our trouble isn’t just electromagnetic interference. Prolonged exposure to this level of ionizing radiation is deadly even for us.”
“I know! But we can’t let Lucia worry, can we?” said Red.
“…Heh, little sister, huh?” said Blue.
“Alright, boys! If you want to live, get moving!” shouted Red.
At Crimson Star General’s rally, the four braved the fierce solar storm, lifting the nearly forty-ton lunar bus as if carrying a sedan chair, and marched toward the station not far away.
In a sense, you could call this regaining mobility.
It’s only when writing this chapter that I remembered—this novel is actually in the sci-fi category.
Eh. I’d say it science fantasy