14 - Impudence x Hubris

Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Terrorism, and mentions of a whole lot of serious illegal acts such as Illegal Substance Abuse, and presumably Underaged Prostitution, among others. The Stulti are real pieces of work.

“Just wha~aat do you think you’re doing?”

Only one machine makes the four others run amok—a girl was watching all the large movements on the monitor, her eyes cold even as she held someone at gunpoint.

This is the control room. It is an important section that governs all of the training grounds.

The room is surprisingly small, and besides the monitors installed all over one wall, it’s quite hostile for the living with only a few seats available.

Originally, the Operator Department students should have been training simultaneously with the Pilot Department’s live-operation exercises.

But right now, Operator Department students were rounded up and sitting on the floor next to the barricaded door.

There are 6 of them. In today’s world where highly computerized tasks and automated control systems are commonplace, operators are tasked with multitasking in small numbers. That is why, of course, training is done in small teams.

One of them was the instructor, greasy sweat pouring down their skin as they clutched their right arm.

The students were tormented by anxiety, fear, and helplessness simultaneously as they worried about their instructor.

Before the class started, when they were checking the equipment as usual, two students outside their department suddenly broke in.

The instructor moved to reprimand them, but when they were suddenly shot, the Operator Department students started panicking but were silenced by their intimidation and even more shots.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up, you little shits,” one of the armed Stulti said.

“Kyaha…!” another cackled. “We’re here~!”

While one rounded up the operators, the other grabbed one of the students by the hair and violently forced her into one of the seats.

“No sudden moves, okay? If you move, we’ll kill ya,” one of the Stulti said.

“You wanna go crazy~? Because I’m a-okay with things getting way crazy~,” the other said.

The two intruders threaten people with such casualness as if they are making small talk while waving their primed weapons around.

The Operator Department students are terrified.

The instructor started, “What the hell are you guys—”

“Shut it,” a Stulti snapped.

The instructor’s right arm got blasted with a heated laser beam, they collapsed while crying out in agony.

The stench of burning flesh fills the room, the others scream, but they’re forcibly silenced with another burst of heat rays.

“You all shut the fuck up,” the first Stulti said.

The intruders didn’t hit anyone even with their reckless random fire, but they showed clear readiness to hurt people, the trainee operators huddled together while trembling.

“I’ll kill you if you don’t listen to me, you know~. Kyahahahahaha…!” the second one shrieks.

She presses the barrel of the gun to the temple of the female operator students sitting by the control panel, she laughs even more as the trainee trembles in fear.

From there, she had no choice but to obediently follow orders at gunpoint.

The instructor, who they should have been able to rely on, was the first to be incapacitated by the shooting.

There is no blood, probably because heat rays cauterize flesh on impact. However, it left a severe burn, and the pain increases as time passed.

They summoned the courage to attempt first aid, but,

“No one on their feet, assholes,” the first Stulti says emotionlessly as they bare their heat-ray gun.

The operator students beg while crying, they’re forced back on the ground, have their heads stomped on, and after finally getting kicked in the stomachs with the toes of the Stulti’s boots, they lost all will to resist.

Her companions are forced to sit and with the barrel of a heat-ray gun pointed at them, and another one pressed to her temple, all the lone female student could do was operate the console with trembling hands, according to the Stulti’s instructions.

From there it was a nightmare.

She was ordered to access a hangar that shouldn’t have been active for this exercise, and to make the machines inside ready for deployment, which she did.

The bulkhead opened, allowing the pilots to deploy their units independently.

──This kind of thing……I’m…….

She thinks, she does as told, and she cries.

She wanted to study hard, work as a professional military operator in the future, and give her parents peace of mind back in her hometown.

She can’t believe she’s now complicit in a terrorist attack.

“Kyaha! Are you crying? How annoying,” the second Stulti snaps, ridiculing the operator tormented by fear and guilt.

When the Centurias emerged from the other hangar, she was shown who the pilots were.

After confirming the names, they talked on the comms, and after that exchange, completely shut the bulkheads behind them. She was ordered to make sure no other units could deploy.

──Someone, help.

Ahead of the rest of the class, 4 unauthorized units sortie from the other hangar to the training ground, the only other machine being 1 authorized unit with a pilot, with no one else joining them after.

The operator realizes what the Stulti and their companions were starting to do, her hands stopped working the console.

“Hurry up, hurry up~,” the second Stulti said. “Otherwise, you’re going to lose your ears~!”

With the muzzle now pressed to her ear, the operator constantly apologized in her mind as she manually ordered the other bulkheads to close.

With that as the signal, the 4 unauthorized units moved.

With rifles in hand, they look vicious and thirsty for blood.

Their 1 target was unarmed.

──I’m sorry.

She apologized from the bottom of her heart and prayed hard that she could escape.

“Ah~? Seems like she’s still doing well~,” the second Stulti said.

“Hey, hit the Emergency Stop,” the first Stulti said.

“What was that?” the operator asked.

“Shut it down from here,” the first Stulti said. “Then that bitch can’t do anything.”

“Uhah, that sounds hella fun~. Hurry up, come on!” the second Stulti said.

Are they even human?

These are monsters wearing human skin, aren’t they?

Nausea wells up inside the operator, but in the face of a weapon that can kill or seriously injure her for life, the operator remotely accesses Regina Glawis’s unit.

There’s an image of the pilot alongside the status figure, and the Emergency Stop button on the bottom right.

The Emergency Stop Command was originally used to halt a machine that went out of control by accident. For the student’s safety. To protect the pilot.

But, to use it to harm them, instead?

The operator’s breathing becomes rough from the tension and fear.

Regina’s unit was hit and tipped over.

The Operator students gasp, and the two Stulti cheer.

The aircraft status screen indicated that the safety devices had been activated and the energy lines from the power reactor were cut.

“Oh, so you don’t have to use it after all?” the first Stulti said.

“Seems like it,” the operator said.

She didn’t need to push the button herself.

She was relieved by that.

And at that moment, after letting her guard down for a moment, Regina’s unit restarted.

With thrusters spewing, Regina’s unit bravely confronted the enemy again, the operator tried to muster up courage herself.

And with a sneer, the Stulti pressed the Emergency Stop button.

Already forced into the air, Regina’s unit lost power and crashed. It started rolling after.

Once an Emergency Stop is activated, the unit will not move unless restart permission is given in the control room using the Instructor’s Authority.

From there, the scene continued to make the operator want to avert her eyes.

Iniuria ridiculed and abused Regina, the operator seemed to be going insane just listening to them. And with the machine completely shut down, Iniuria only continues to attack it.

Furthermore, she forcibly peeled off the armor and tried to expose the matrix.

Regina still has her emergency batteries left.

The Stulti order her to remotely release Regina’s matrix, pointing the gun at her again.

But, emboldened by Regina’s actions, the operator refuses.

"

"

Emboldened, she shouted at one of the Stulti.

Their reply was to shoot.

However, the heat rays pierce the wall, instead.

Although she fought vigorously, the muzzle was right in front of her, and she ended up jerking backward and falling backward with her chair, crashing hard and struggling to regain her balance.

With a cold glare, the Stulti tapped the Release Matrix button instead of her.

That was it.

After that, Iniuria just needs to kill Regina.

However, a newcomer has arrived.

A white and beautiful Stella Corpus.

A machine she’s never seen before. In other words, a custom machine built by a company.

She appeared gallantly with a beam gun that looked like a toy compared to a rifle.

For some reason, Iniuria and the others left Regina’s unit, making movements that looked like they were just playing when viewed from an outside party, and didn’t do anything until the newcomer rescued Regina.

“… You’ve gotta be shitting me?” one of the Stulti said, deadpan but heartbroken still.

She’s a hedonist and seeks stimulation however she can find it.

She’ll do anything that excites her.

She doesn’t mind violence, humiliation, theft, prostitution, and even illegal drugs.

She was very interested in this terrorist attack with Regina.

They got real guns and even though they wouldn’t put their hands on Regina directly when the Stulti heard that they’d tear off Regina’s hands and feet then crush her at the end, her excitement exploded and they thought it would be even better if they could broadcast it all over Mixture space station.

That was when the nuisance suddenly popped out and put a damper on the most fun time she’d had so far.

On impulse, she kicks the console.

“What happened?” one of the Stulti asked while pointing a gun at their hostage.

“Pain the ass… pain in the ass… pain in the ass! That fucking white thing!” the other Stulti yelled, staring at the monitor.

“Is this our big finale? Iniuria’s more useless than I thought she’d be, huh?” the Stulti said, dismayed.

“Then let’s keep things interesting,” the other said.

Kyaha! With a cackle, one of them switched on the loudspeaker.

“Heeey, that White One over there. Don’t move, okay? If you move, we’re going to kill our hostages, okay?”