Story Reader / Palette Clash / Travel with Lee / Story
Travel with Lee - 1
>A breeze blows by, taking the heat away while leaving behind the fragrance of the wildflowers.
You fan yourself with your terminal, but you cannot save yourself from the heat of the enormous object behind you.
It is a platform lift that goes from inside the building to the roof. Up there sits the detection device Babylonia installed.
They are normally hidden inside the building until they are awakened by threats.
There's no record of activation from the mainframe or the cooling system. What targeted our transport craft, then...?
Lee places the cover back onto the access panel, and the cooling system of the detection device finally runs again. The insufferable heat behind you gradually eases.
Ah! You've knocked down my paints, Lee.
The awakened machine painting on the other side of the device raises his arms and protests.
I'm sorry, I didn't notice it... Can I do something to fix it?
Hmm... That's not necessary for now. Mark the Great is capable of dealing with this.
The awakened machine adjusts his nozzle and once again initiates his assault on the device with his paints.
Half an hour ago, Lee and you were on a transport craft to Constellia to stop an unexpected riot.
However, you were targeted by the detection devices of the city when you were halfway there.
You ran into an awakened machine named "Mark the Great" nearby, but he said he had not seen anyone touching the detection device.
I'm sure. Given what transpired then and where our craft was when it happened, this is the only detection device that could have been activated.
Perhaps... the system was hacked, and they did a great job covering their trails.
Regardless of how they hack into the device, there has to be an entry point.
The device is connected to the network of Constellia. They would have entered there.
Our primary suspects are all Babylonia-deployed members in Constellia and... the mechanoids who have been living here.
Right. Awakened machines...
Lee pauses, seemingly not used to calling them this way.
Right then, you hear your colleagues calling from your comms.
This is the Engineering Force. The air defense system doesn't seem to have been activated or accessed.
We shouldn't connect the detection devices to the mechanoids' network, I reckon. The Diplomatic Court was too charitable when they did it as a gesture of goodwill. What a joke! Now, it's coming back to bite us.
It's a minor incident. Just follow the order from the headquarters.
Not to mention that the launcher of the air defense system is still in our hands...
...
Done.
An excited voice interrupts your trails of thoughts. You turn around to see Mark, the awakened machine, gesturing for you to go over.
Mark the Great has decided to name this piece "Gazing into the Distance".
You and Lee walk to the side of the detection device to find the flat armor plate transformed into a canvas for graffiti.
A small mechanoid stands on a short wall, flanked by a human and a Construct standing by his side.
The human and Construct lean close to each other, each showing half of their faces while gazing into the distance through the head of the mechanoid as if using a telescope.
I agree. But the three... characters in your painting seem familiar.
Hey!
???
The mechanoid with short hair and highlights, wearing black and white with a little red and blue, whose figure looks like a half-polished marble statue.
...What can I do for you, the bipedal mechanoid in gray who looks like a foldable storage rack equipped with spray paint?
Do you know if any workshop is still running around here? I want to perform a major check-up on my movement module.
A workshop that is still running... I can't believe how neglected the facilities in this city are.
The bipedal mechanoid in gray equipped with spray paint...
It's Mark. Mark the Great. Don't say my alias so seriously as if casting a spell or something...
My apologies. I thought this is how you call each other here...
How come a mechanoid like you don't pay attention to machine etiquette? You only use each other's alias once... Hold on.
What's wrong with this human? Why is your companion circling Mark like that...
Did I trigger some predatory instincts? Mark is inedible, unfortunately.
So this is the form you wish to take, Mark?
It's my artistic expression! Artistic expression! You have to interpret it! Interpret it!
How can a human like you be so artistically inadequate?
But this device does not really match with art, Mark...
After the detection device is connected to the Constellia network, it can be used to target anything inside the city.
The air defense system it is connected to is simply better at defending the sky, but it does not need to be.
There's nothing else to find here, Commandant.
Lee dusts off his hands and gives you back your personal terminal.
Speaking of which... How's the "war" going?
The war? We Multidimensional Mechanical Cubists are winning, obviously.
Is that so? Let's focus on the Multidimensional Mechanical Cubists, then.
Lee looks to you for confirmation before turning around and heading for the control panel of the platform lift.
You said you'd be fair! Don't you just target us Multidimensional Mechanical Cubists!
