Full Metal Panic! Volume 9 by Shouji Gatou

Author:Shouji Gatou [GATOU, SHOUJI]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Published: 2020-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

4: On a Stormy Night

Sousuke’s M6A3 Dark Bushnell descended in freefall through the dark over southern Mexico. It creaked in the buffeting winds, and the cockpit vibrated violently, punctuated by the occasional jolt that came close to breaking his neck. The digital altimeter showed rapid descent, and the meters trembled back and forth as the attitude indicator swirled around and around. His ECS was shut off; the M6A3 had one (though it lacked invisibility function), but it would have been useless in this storm.

The altimeter descended past three thousand feet, and he opened the first parachute: success.

The machine’s descent slowed dramatically, and he opened the second parachute: success.

But just as the lifeline opened overhead, Sousuke found himself buffeted by a strong gust of wind, and the twelve-ton machine tumbled like a ragdoll, lurched through the air, and nearly lost its balance entirely. There were still fifteen hundred feet to go: at this rate, he was going to slam into the ground.

The sudden lurch had caused one of the parachute wires to catch around the M6A3’s torso. Sousuke tried to correct his descent posture, but failed. In a split-second decision, he cut the parachute free. The ground was closing in. Resisting the urge to open the spare parachute right away, he waited one second and then did so successfully.

Another hard gust of wind blew past. He read it properly this time and kept his machine facing upwind, with careful movements of its arms and legs as the ground continued to close in. His gray night vision sensors showed a mountainous region covered in broad-leaved trees.

Three hundred feet left. Two hundred. One hundred. Fifty... Then the M6 was crashing through the canopy and hitting the ground. Sousuke immediately cut himself free of the parachutes before sitting up. Shock absorbent vapor, ejected by his machine’s joints, rolled out into the jungle around him.

His next move was to run a swift, passive sensor sweep of the area: no sign of the enemy. The only heat sources came from the forest’s nocturnal animals, fleeing the steel giant’s sudden intrusion.

Landing successful. “Whew...” Sousuke confirmed all systems were still green, and then let out a sigh.

His M6A3 was currently lying on the jungle floor like a big black lump. The gas turbine engine released a muffled growl under the wind and rain buffeting its armor. He checked his location with the GPS: He was in the mountains, twenty kilometers northwest of the estate.

He’d quickly head south, then switch to silent running once he got within ten kilometers. He’d get as close as he could, and once the enemy detected him, he’d switch to full output and charge. His priority was the three not-yet-activated Codarl types: If he could destroy them before their operators got on board, their lambda drivers would be a moot point. If there really were only three, of course...

Lemon and the others were on standby elsewhere. The moment Sousuke cut them an opening, they’d land their helicopter on the grounds, and deploy infantry to lock the place down.

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