Story Reader / Affection / Bianca: Stigmata / Story
Bianca: Stigmata I
>Your seat to which you've just fastened the seatbelt buckle shakes with a light jolt once again.
As the transport craft dives through the atmosphere, the sonic boom burrows into your ears and is there to stay.
You look up at the electronic screen in the cabin. As the Mach number keeps dropping, the coordinates shown on the radar continue changing as the light dot on the radar moves along.
Seeing the latitude change by the minute, you can't help but feel slightly unsettled.
As a commandant of the Task Force, you wouldn't say you're the most experienced of them all, but you take pride in being a true globetrotter.
Still, where you're headed probably remains unchartered territory even to Babylonia's most experienced of generals.
When the transport craft has crossed the line that Claudius Ptolemaeus has drawn, you know that you've entered the region on the planet least visited by humans.
Antarctica—
The last continent humans discovered, a pure white land of snow and ice.
By the end of the Golden Age—which marked the pinnacle of human civilization—humans still hadn't yet uncovered all the secrets this continent harbored. When the Punishing Virus hit, this land—located all the way at the southernmost tip of the world—was pushed as far away as possible.
And you just never thought you'd ever have a chance to come to Antarctica and see what the place is like.
Until...
Commandant, what's the matter?
Noticing that you seem to be deep in thought, the blonde Construct next to you turns to speak to you.
There is not a single mirror in the transport craft's cabin for you to see your own face at the moment.
You do feel a little different from usual, and it probably has something to do with the fact it's Bianca that you're on the mission with.
You don't feel edgy, though—in fact, you actually feel excited about where you're headed.
Adjusting your breathing, you turn around to look at Bianca.
She still has the same awe-inspiring air about her as always, but you can tell that she's genuinely concerned about you.
Let me right away know if anything bothers you physically so we can take care of you with what we have here in the transport craft while we still can.
Of course, Commandant.
Bianca nods and calls up the holographic screen from her portal-projecting terminal.
Seven days ago, Babylonia's WGAA received a mysterious communication from the ground.
And at about exactly the same time, one of WGAA's Archaeological Teams—which apparently enjoys a very special status—stationed in Antarctica fell out of communication with Babylonia.
For the time being, they believe that an unknown harmonic is responsible for the incident.
And combining the incident with the message from the call, the Parliament believes that the polar expedition sending the message is likely to have either defected or gone missing.
Given that Babylonia doesn't have a search team permanently stationed in Antarctica, they decided to put the Purifying Force on the investigation mission for efficiency's sake.
That's the mission in a nutshell. The command center also provided us with a list of the people on the expedition along with their backgrounds. Should I go over them for you, too?
Bianca's calm yet gentle voice soothes you and puts your mind at ease.
Receiving the terminal from Bianca, you start going over the details about the mission.
You've never seen any of the names or faces on the screen.
Which makes perfect sense, though—because you weren't even aware of the existence of the expedition until you were put on the mission.
The majority of the continent remains free of the Punishing Virus because human civilization hasn't yet reached that far.
While Antarctica often comes across as a barren land, it is, in fact, anything but—in addition to the abundance of petroleum and minerals it hoards, the amount of krill and freshwater reserve from there have over the years been helping Babylonia thrive.
Save for the extreme climate in the region, Antarctica makes for a good candidate as a base from which humanity can fight the Punishing Virus.
Which is precisely why the Parliament takes the incident as seriously as it does, to the extent that they decided to put Bianca—the Purifying Force's captain—on the mission.
There is, however, something you don't quite get...
It is true that they rarely put a commandant on a mission along with the Purifying Force...
Except, as far as this particular mission goes, they think your unique ability to act according to the situation will come in handy in terms of helping us look into the situation, since they haven't really judged the expedition as a target to "purify."
And even if we come across a fight we can't avoid, I'm 100% confident that I'll be able to keep you safe in this new frame, Commandant, since most of the Constructs on the expedition aren't made to fight.
But what makes you more qualified for this role than anyone else, Commandant, is all the experience you have under your belt from the ARU incident.
Stopping for a second, Bianca adds a last sentence.
Altogether, I believe these are reasons enough for the command center to approve my request for assistance.
...
Hearing what you said, Bianca closes her eyes and falls silent for a few moments.
And you'd be right... There is more to it than meets the eye here, indeed. There are personal considerations to my decision, too.
...
Your question incurs further silence.
...If this bothers you so much, Commandant, I'll try my best to explain my reasoning to you.
Bianca speaks in the same tone she did when she was walking you through the mission, but you know Bianca means what she said just now.
Curiosity almost got the best of you, but you decided to respect Bianca's decision.
You don't think you should force her to speak when she doesn't want to.
While Bianca doesn't exactly seem like she wants to talk at the moment, you decide to press on.
You want to find out why she decided to work with you, considering that you'll be going through the rest of the mission together.
Uhm...
Please allow me a few moments to organize my thoughts.
Closing her eyes, Bianca starts forming a response with a frown on her face.
It doesn't seem like a good idea to press on, and you think you should just give her the benefit of the doubt.
Bianca isn't just some random Construct—you've stared death countless times in the eye with her to know that she's someone you can trust unconditionally.
Thank you, Commandant.
Let's just do this at a different time, then... And I'm sure it'll happen in no time.
Seeing her smile, you know that you've made the right choice.
Hmm, seems like I've made the right choice there.
Now, at the risk of sounding extremely unappreciative...
I really thought we were off to a good start with you around, but...
Bianca turns around to look out the thick window over on the other side.
The dark drapes that are the skies hang right outside the window, beyond which a tsunami of snowflakes is lashing mercilessly on the tempered glass.
The winds deal one heavy blow after another on the fuselage. You now see what's responsible for the jolts you've been feeling from time to time now.
Look at that. Seems like we're in for a surprise, huh...
You learned about Antarctica's extreme, ever-changing weather back in Military Geography at F.O.S.
You never understood why a section of the course was dedicated to addressing Antarctica, given how low the density of the Punishing Virus is in the region. Looking back now, you see you couldn't be more wrong.
Correct. A mission assigned to the Purifying Force cannot be revoked unless force majeure is encountered.
But given the weather, it's impossible for us to land where we originally planned to.
As you speak, you point at the polar vehicle that came with the transport craft. Bianca nods in agreement.
Understood. Our first task will be to reach the nearest research station, then.
Shaky, the transport craft slowly touches down on an icy surface.
The safety buckle unlocks. You stand up for some long-overdue stretch.
After ensuring that nothing is out of the ordinary with her frame, Bianca saunters over with her hand on the longsword by her waist.
This is definitely a lot worse than I imagined...
I can send in a withdrawal request for you and have the transport craft take you back to Babylonia, Commandant, if you deem the situation to be overly risky.
No, I'm just...
Your words catch Bianca by surprise.
She lowers her head—and when she raises her head to look at you again, she has a confident smile on her face.
Of course, Commandant. Apologies for the faux pas just now.
Considering what you and I have been through together, this snow is hardly worth mentioning.
Let's go, Commandant.
With her reassuring words, the cabin's door clicks open.
With the bone-chilling wind comes the ice shards that cut at you like invisible daggers.
To your surprise, however, you feel no pain, nor do you feel the subzero cold in the air.
You look at Bianca as her golden hair dances around her slim body to the icy wind.
This land of permafrost is one of the Earth's final destinations, and you're now taking your very first step on it.
