Backstory/Chronicles/Repair_Man

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Repair Man
調律する者

The wreckage was still smoking; isolated fires still nurtured contently in hidden corners, flowing unnaturally in the zero gravity. Case Omnicron scrutinized the debris, focusing briefly on a promising crate or box before moving on. The assailants of the large cargo vessel hadn’t left a lot behind. Normally, Case wouldn’t stoop so low as to scavenge destroyed ships for scraps, but he made an exception this time as the cargo vessel was essentially a fresh carcass. Case had witnessed from afar the fierce battle between the cargo ship and the two frigates attacking it. The cargo ship put up a surprising amount of resistance, maiming one of the heavily armed frigates before going down itself, hinting at lucrative cargo on-board. Case had waited for the remaining frigate to finish rummaging through the wreckage, as the capsules of the destroyed vessels made their way to the nearest station. The reunion of the downed pirate with the crew of the cargo vessel on the station would undoubtedly be quite colorful.

艦の残骸は未だにくすぶり続けていた。隅の方ではまだいくつかの単発的な火災が無重力の中で不自然に浮かびながら広がっている。Case Omnironは何か利益が期待できそうな梱包品や箱が無いか残骸を詳細に調べながら艦内を進んでいった。この大型貨物艦を襲撃した奴らは金目の物を大抵持ち去ってしまったようだ。普段のCaseであれば、破壊された艦を漁るなどと言う品性を疑われるような真似はしない。だが今回ばかりは話が違う。この貨物艦はまさに”新品の”残骸なのだ。Caseは遠くからこの貨物艦とそれを攻撃する二隻のフリゲート艦との激しい戦闘を目撃していた。驚いた事にこの艦は貨物運搬用にも関わらず重武装が施されており、撃沈される前に一隻の武装フリゲートを道連れにしていたのだ。これは積んである貨物に貴重品がある事を暗示しているとCaseが考えるのは当然だった。残りのフリゲートが残骸の内部を探しまわるのを終えて去り、破壊された艦から出てきたカプセル達が最寄りの基地へと飛んでいくまでCaseは待ち続けた。到着した海賊艦と貨物艦の乗組員の再会が穏やかに済まされる事は間違いなく無いだろう。

Fifteen minutes later Case set his course away from the wreckage, his azure-colored ship streaking away from the smatter of asteroids that encircled the battle scene; he didn’t want to spend too much time snooping around in case the pirates or the cargo vessel crew returned to the scene. Besides, he had just snatched a cargo container full of valuable trade goods and had no intention of getting caught with it. Case considered himself a lucky man. Ever since he first set out as the sole captain of a small space frigate some six months earlier, it seemed like fortune had smiled upon him. It was like he had an uncanny sense of being at the right place at the right time, without ever being able to explain this ‘gift’. Yet he always had a nagging feeling that he was somehow wasting his time; that he was meant to be doing something far greater and nobler, but was never able to grasp what this elusive thing was. As Case aligned his ship towards the nearest stargate, this feeling of loss; of being the missing link in some grand inter-stellar puzzle devised by an unseen but all-knowing being haunted his thoughts once again. As he was about to activate the warp drive, his mind went blank; his unconscious body slumped inside the ship’s capsule.

15分程経った後Ｃａｓｅの船は残骸を離れ、その紺碧色の船体は戦場となった場所を囲む小惑星帯から抜け出していった。先ほどの海賊達や荷物運搬艦の乗組員たちが戻ってくる可能性を考えれば、そこで長時間探し回るのは避けた方が良いだろう。その上、丁度貴重でしかも売り払った処であしのつき難い品物が満載したコンテナを獲得したのだ。Caseは自身の幸運に頬を緩ませた。６ヶ月ほど前にちっぽけなフリゲート艦の艦長として生活し始めて以来、幸運の女神は自分の上に頬笑み続けているのだ。まるで神秘的な感覚でも持っているかのように素晴らしいタイミングで幸運な場所に居合わせる事が何度もある。もちろんその才能について自分自身説明が出来た事は無いのだが。しかし今まで彼は何か物足りなさを絶えず感じ続けてきた。自分は将来もっと壮大で高貴な事を成し遂げるのを運命づけられているのではないか…だがそんな気持ちとは裏腹に、それが何なのかをはっきりとつかむことができずにいたのだった。艦を最寄りの星間ゲートへと方向を合わせていた彼は突然意識の薄れを感じ始める。ワープ装置を起動しようとするがその瞬間彼の意識は完全に飛び、無意識となったカプセル内の体は自然に前かがみになっていった。まるで不可視の全能な存在が巨大な謎の惑星間装置を起動させて意識の欠落を強制でもしているかのように…。

The two tiny ships approached Case's blue vessel at a leisurely pace. Their hulls, if they’d been visible, were a multi-colored swirl, like an oil spill. The ships glided silently to either side of the larger frigate, complex arrays of sensors prying apart every detail about the man and the machine they were focusing on. A quiet conversation between the two captains ensued. ‘Is this the man we want?’ said one. ‘This is him,’ the other replied. ‘I will start my work.’

二隻の薄っぺらい船がゆっくりとCaseの蒼い船へ近づいてゆく。その甲板は様々な色が混ざりあい、まるでオイルがこぼれた後のようなのが可視の状態では見て取れただろう。二隻の艦は静かにCaseのフリゲート艦の両端へと移動し、複雑な機構を持つセンサーが彼とその艦の全体を詳細に分析し始めた。二隻の艦長達は静かに通信を取りあう。“この男が目的の人物か？”“あぁ、間違い無い。では作業に取り掛かるぞ。”

The one stood guard, while the other worked in silence. His mind subtly instructed the sensors, sending data directly into the mind of the comatose captain within the blue ship. It only took a few minutes. ‘Is it done?’ one said. ‘It is,’ the other said. ‘I will awake him now.’

一隻が周囲を警戒している間、もう一隻は静かに作業を進めていた。彼の意志は巧妙に感知装置に伝わり、蒼い艦の中の昏睡中の艦長の意識の中へ情報を直接注入していった。“おい、終わったか？”　数分後、監視中の艦長が尋ねる。“あぁ、今終わった。やつを起こすぞ”

The two captains watched as the slightly bewildered Case Omnicron, oblivious to those watching him, finally made his way to the stargate. ‘Has the behavioral pattern been aligned correctly?’ asked one. ‘Yes, he will do much better now,’ the other answered with pride. Then, the hunter and the repair man, activated their own warp drives and started their journey home.

二人の艦長の観察下で目が覚めたCase　Omnicronは彼らに気づく事は無く、わずかに混乱しながらもようやく星間ゲートへ向けて艦を発進させる。“例の行動傾向はちゃんと刷り込ませられただろうな？”片方が尋ねる。“もちろんだ。やつは今よりずっと上手くやるさ”もう片方は自信を持ってそう答えた。そしてその“狩る者”と“調律する者”は自身のワープ装置を起動させ、帰宅の旅を開始した…

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