The resistance took No. 2’s group to a camp on Mount Ka’ala. The trees grew dense, and from above there were no signs that anyone resided among them. The battle two hundred years before had collapsed parts of the mountain terrain, which provided an abundance of locations to hide the small resistance group and their weaponry.
The overgrown foliage obstructed sunlight, creating a dim area even in the daytime. The air was damp, saturated with the smell of mud and moss.
“It’s been a long time. We’ve been fighting here for a looong time,” said Sonia, as they walked along. Her way of speech reminded No. 2 of a child. As a member of the resistance, Sonia was a soldier who had survived many harsh battles, but she didn’t show it.
Or perhaps that signified how strong she was, considered No. 2. Two hundred years in this place—much longer than she or any of her comrades could imagine—and Sonia had still been able to keep her childishness.
No. 2 herself had been panicking because Command hadn’t replied to their transmission. She was still worried, even now. The transmission conditions were poor, and all they could do was keep sending unheard missives.
Ten kilometers away from our destination, we encountered and merged forces with the local resistance.
That was all they had to say. Had Command received it? No. 2 missed the voices of Futaba and Yotsuba. She had never engaged with them in casual conversation, but they had been there ever since her training had begun …
While No. 2 was thinking such thoughts, No. 21 was busy explaining their situation to the resistance in a collected manner.
The objective of this descent attack was to destroy the servers maintained by the machines. Deep in the bowels of Mount Ka’ala was a server that controlled all the Machines in the Asia-Pacific region. There was one entrance to the server room. They had to board the elevator at the top of the mountain and make their way down.
The descent attack being organized with only sixteen androids was a result of this fact.
Using infrared sensors from orbit, Command determined the elevator was an older model with a limited carrying capacity. The number of people that could infiltrate the server rooms at once was limited.
But if they succeeded in destroying the server, the effect on the war would be tremendous. While their enemies were in chaos, the androids could seize control of the whole Pacific Rim. Maximum reward for minimum expenditure. That was the mission.
“. . . those are the circumstances.”
Sonia, who had been sitting on the side, yawned quietly as if bored by the talk. No. 21 glanced over at Lily, but quickly looked back and continued her report.
“Did everyone understand what I said?”
“An elevator, huh?”
Dahlia’s tone was, as always, edgy. She was making it known that she was only listening to the story because the leader had ordered her to, and not on her own volition.
“The top of the mountain? I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that.”
“The entrance is disguised as a boulder. We had a tough time detecting it with infrared sensors from orbit. We went through tens of thousands of images to—”
“We don’t need to hear about that.”
Sonia bluntly interrupted her. Sonia, like Lily, had probably had enough. That said, not hearing the whole explanation was irresponsible. While they couldn’t reveal military secrets, it was imperative to cover everything else as thoroughly as possible—that was surely what No. 21 was thinking too.
“But if the elevator descends from the top of the mountain, then that must mean it passes near the spring water. But we’ve been there to collect water, and we’ve never heard an elevator. We’ve never detected a heat signature in the area either.”
It was Shion who made the long counterargument. She was the soldier who had stepped in between No. 16 and Lily, and yelled, “Don’t touch her with your dirty hands!” Even now, Lily was leaning on Shion as they both sat.
No. 2 thought the two had a strange relationship. It was understandable for the captain, Rose, to display a parental relationship to Lily. But Lily and Shion were just squadron members, and thus ultimately peers. Why was there a need for one to protect the other? Did the resistance instruct their members to operate in such a rare manner?
“The elevator does not run straight down. More accurately, the elevator runs in a screw motion, which is an ancient mechanism that reduces momentum …”
“Again! We don’t need to hear about that stuff!”
No. 2 was fairly certain that the woman who had burst out in irritation was named Erica. She kept saying, “Get to the point!” during No. 21’s explanation. She spoke as if the long-winded explanation was somehow all a ploy to distract and deceive the resistance. No, it wasn’t just Erica. No. 2 could tell that the other members were getting angry, just from the looks on their faces.
It was then that Margaret spoke up. During the land mine explosion, she was the one who had said, “If you don’t want to be blown into smithereens with the rest of them, retreat!” and pulled on No. 2’s arm to guide her to safety.
“In other words, unless we destroy the server, our enemies in the Pacific will remain active and organized, right?”
No. 2 emphatically affirmed Margaret’s question.
“Yes! That’s right!”
That was the central point of the story. Control of the Pacific hinged greatly on whether or not they could destroy the Mount Ka’ala server. As long as they understood that part, No. 2 thought. Just then, Rose, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up.
“How did you locate the server?”
“That’s …”
No. 2 hesitated.
“That’s a military secret. I can’t tell you.”
And to be completely honest, No. 2 and her comrades had not been told that information either. Other than the fact that locating the server took an exorbitant amount of resources and time.