“Take a look for yourself. They’re Level 4. Can’t we go all the way to Area 4 with these?”
“Holy crap! How did you end up with Level 4 cards, Captain?”
“Huh. I have absolutely no idea…” I start checking all my pockets, thinking something else of use might come out—and my hands find another object I don’t recognize. It’s a one-inch-thick device of some sort that’s the size of my palm. The front side is a full LCD screen displaying various things. “What’s this?”
“Ooh, that’s an official SIRIUS PDA. We’ve got ’em too.”
“What’s a PDA?”
“It’s a portable information terminal. It’s primarily used as a phone and radio. But we can’t make calls underground. And radio reception is shoddy at best.”
“You guys have been saying that… So, how do you use this thing?”
“It’s a touch screen, so you press this part here and—”
Following Moribe’s instructions, I try out the phone function, starting with a call to Dojima, the other teammate who came up in conversation earlier. But I only get the sound of a dead dial tone.
I try contacting Hiyama, another teammate, with the radio, but it doesn’t go through either. Every phone number and frequency I attempt has the same result. It’s about as useful as a paperweight to me right now. Sighing, I pocket the PDA.
“…This is a different topic, but what does the gear you brought here do?” I ask, looking at the gear piled up in the corner.
“Oh dear, you forgot that too? We don’t have much time, so I’ll give you the abridged version.”
“Thanks. Sorry for the trouble.”
Moribe nods and walks over to the pile. She picks up an iron box and opens it. Several ampoules like the one from earlier are packed inside. “To start, this is AD—the same drug you injected earlier. Don’t forget that it protects you from radiation exposure for sixty minutes.”
“So this is our lifeline down here, huh?”
“Now you’re getting it. Between what they gave us and what we collected down here, we’ve scraped together seven doses.”
“Does that mean this facility has AD lying around?”
“It seems like they keep stashes of it on hand in case of emergencies. But we’re out of luck because most of the stockpiles in Areas 1 and 2 went up in flames.”
“So we only have seven ampoules for four people? We won’t last more than two hours at this rate. Don’t we need to get our hands on more?”
“For sure. Let’s keep our eyes peeled as we go,” Moribe suggests as she puts the AD back in the box. Then she pulls out the portable radiation counter. “Next up is Procyon here. It’s a radiation counter that fits in the palm of your hand and has the ability to measure and quantify radiation levels up to 15,000 mSv.”
“Did you find this lying around too?”
“Nope. LABO’s staff gave it to us. Two of the seven AD we have on hand were also provided by the staff. They’ve both been a huge asset to us.”
A sophisticated radiation counter and powerful anti-radiation drugs are definitely useful items to have in our situation. It’s almost as if the staff gave them to us knowing what would happen…
My train of thought is derailed by Moribe’s ongoing explanation. She pulls a cylindrical object from the pile of gear filling her arms. “This here is an air tank—standard equipment for our squad. But it’s pretty much useless to us now because the faceplates are broken.”
“I see… That’s a real shame, seeing how it might’ve come in handy.”
“It’s not all bad. Air tanks can be used for more than just breathing. We can use it to operate this guy too,” Moribe says, picking up another piece of equipment that has a red tube attached to what looks like a large balloon made of black rubber. At a glance, I can’t tell what it’d be used for.
“What’s that?”
“This is an air jack. It’s a powerful device you combine with an air tank to create compressed air that you can use to move heavy objects. Since it requires the air tank, it has a limited number of uses.”
With our faceplates damaged, that’s about the only thing we can do with the air tanks at this point. I can’t even begin to imagine what situation we’d need it in, but we should definitely make use of it when the time comes.
Moribe lifts another piece of equipment from the pile and shows it off. It’s a frightening piece of machinery with a sturdy handle and a disk-shaped blade at the end. “Next up is our friend the engine cutter! The gasoline engine spins the artificial diamond blade, making this puppy slice through iron and pretty much anything else that gets in its way like it’s butter!”
“…Could you not sound so excited about it? The look in your eye is scary.”
“Sorry, sorry. This bad boy is my absolute favorite.” Moribe flashes an invincible smile and puts the unsettling tool back. “Add in this thirty-foot rope and that about covers it. Did you get all that, Captain?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it down. No problem remembering,” I reply, making a mental note of our seven different pieces of rescue gear.
“On that note, we also had two hazmat suits, but…like I just said, the faceplates are damaged beyond use,” Moribe says, pointing to the wrecked suits. Each has a cracked mask. “They were the ultimate piece of airtight gear with near perfect fire and water resistance that you could directly attach the air tanks to… Breaking the faceplates ruined it all.”
“That’s an unfortunate loss…!” It’ll be difficult to fight fires or get anything done in areas with lots of smoke without the air tanks.
“But wait…you should’ve been wearing a hazmat suit too, Captain. What happened to it?” Moribe asks, as if it only now dawned on her to question my lack of a suit.
“Huh? Hmm… Maybe I took it off because it’s hard to move in?”
“That’s about as likely as you choosing to walk through fire naked! We were required to wear protective suits during our rescue operation within this facility, y’know? No way would you remove it with your life on the line.”
“That makes sense…but I don’t know what to tell you. Like everything else, I don’t remember what happened to it.”
Between having two Level 4 security cards on me and not wearing my hazmat suit, there are just too many mysteries surrounding the time before I lost my memories. Seriously, what was I doing in this basement? I doubt anyone here can answer that question.
“By the way, Tachibana…what’s our next course of action?” I ask with a sigh.
“With the Level 4 cards, we can finally expand our search range, but…what will you do, Captain? Your memories are still jumbled. Perhaps you should rest for now?”
Tachibana’s advice is valid. I’m about to take her up on it, when my eyes suddenly lock with Yuuri’s. The fear hasn’t left her eyes yet. As I look at her, I remember the voice that told me to save her.
I get the sudden feeling I shouldn’t stay put.
“No… Would you mind letting me help you search for other survivors?” I voice that feeling aloud.
“Are you well enough to do that?”
“As I am right now, I might look like a burden in your eyes, but…being out of sorts doesn’t change the fact that I’m the captain of a rescue squad, right? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I sit around doing nothing while people still need my help.” I’m stirred to action by an almost impulsive sense of duty.
“Is that how you feel? That sounds just like you…,” Tachibana admits with a wry smile.
“Just goes to show that you’re still you even with amnesia,” Moribe muses and shares a smile with Tachibana.
Afterward, Tachibana turns a serious look on me. “Captain, I would normally never recommend you come with us, what with the cause of your amnesia still unknown. But with fires breaking out at random and the need to keep injecting AD, it’s actually safer for you to be with us.”
“Great! Then—”
“However!” Tachibana sharply cuts me off. “This isn’t an ordinary mission. You must be prepared to accept the responsibilities and duties that come with being a rescue worker if that is how you want us to view you.”
“How do I do that?”
“I am going to treat you as a new recruit until your memory returns. Please follow my orders as Moribe does. I’m fully aware this is a violation of my station, but lives will be at risk if we don’t tread carefully.”
I’m overwhelmed by her answer, but I muster my courage to respond accordingly. “…R-Roger that! I-I’ll try my best to keep up with you both!”
Moribe laughs and smacks me on the shoulder. “C’mon, don’t be so tense. I bet you’ll return to your invincible self once you regain your memories.”
“I was the invincible type…?” They make it sound like I was quite the skilled rescue worker before my amnesia. Then I’d better regain that side of me as soon as possible. I turn to Yuuri next. “What will you do, Yuuri? Want to rest here?”
Yuuri hesitates for a moment before giving a firm reply. “N-No… I’ll go with you too.”
She likely learned how scary the situation is from our conversation. I’d prefer she stay with us as well.
“All four of us will head to Area 3 together, then,” Tachibana says authoritatively beside me. “Captain, please help me gather the equipment we are going to take with us.”
With those orders, I assist with collecting the gear. We split up the remaining seven AD between Tachibana and Moribe. Moribe and I have one Procyon and one Level 4 security card each. I take the rope, wrapping it around my chest in an X shape. Maybe we’re too lightly equipped for what lies ahead, but we’ve decided mobility takes precedence.
“Is everyone ready to go?” Tachibana checks with us.
“Sure am. Ready to go whenever you are,” I respond.
I don’t know what I’m capable of in my condition, but I’ll do whatever is in my power to help, I vow and leave the makeshift base with Tachibana and the others.