189: Satā and the Powered Suit

"Shall we go take a look at the powered suit workshop today?"

"Again, out of the blue. What's the reason?"

"Recently, when we went to upgrade the Memo body, you mentioned you could make something like a powered suit, didn't you? So I thought it might be beneficial for Satā to learn what kinds of powered suits exist. If we find something worthwhile, we could always store it on the 'Carnival Viper' once the upgrade is complete."

Well, for the time being, we'll be on standby while keeping watch at the Third Prime Colony.

Just as we were settling into that routine, Vilijanila suddenly made this proposal.

Hmm, powered suits, huh...

"I appreciate the suggestion, but maybe you should see what I've been working on in their greenhouse first. It's a rather unique kind of powered suit, after all."

"Really? Then let's go take a look."

"Then, I'll open it."

It'd probably be faster to show them the real thing.

With that in mind, I open the gate and invite Vilijanira, Mekoshi, and Johariss into the greenhouse located in the Ether Space.

I lead them to a room within the greenhouse where I've set up the incomplete prototype, as the greenhouse's supervisor.

"This is the powered suit I've been working on—or rather, a humanoid robot in the form of a powered suit."

"Surprisingly large, isn't it?"

"Few people would probably guess it's biological just from looking at it."

"The intimidation factor is incredible."

As a powered suit, I stand over four meters tall—large for a human, but standard or slightly small for a powered suit.

My surface is covered in a metallic shell, with a rugged, bulky overall appearance.

Its facial features are modeled after my main body, giving it a rather stern expression.

The main difference from standard powered suits is the absence of blasters—instead, four extendable tentacles sprout from its back.

Ah, and one more thing...

"By the way, I'm designed so you can actually get inside it."

"……"

"To be honest, if someone's going to ride inside and operate it, I'd rather have a control module installed in this greenhouse and set up a gate in the cockpit so they can get there easily."

"I think that would be better."

The body's armor is designed to open up, allowing someone to enter from within.

But this powered suit is my puppet, my living tissue, alive—so the cockpit feels, well, frankly, I don't really want to get inside it. It's writhing, damp, and hot.

Yeah, since I've got not only the mod I use for controlling my puppet but also Magatsuki's excellent body-control mod, and considering Viridiana's recommendation, it'd probably be healthier to build a cockpit inside the greenhouse.

"Ahem. This is a question. If the control module is completed and Lady Satā grants permission, would it be possible to transfer Vee here during combat, and have Vee operate Satā's powered suit form from here?"

"Theoretically, it's possible. Whether Vee can control my powered suit form remains to be tested."

Having Viridiana operate my powered suit form... that could work.

Just the fact that Viridiana's safety would be guaranteed if the opponent can't enter the alternate dimension is valuable enough.

As a combat asset... Viridiana's piloting skill seems acceptable, but it's uncertain whether the powered suit's vision can fully reflect Viridiana's overwhelming visual capabilities...

There's nothing we can do about that but work hard to resolve it again.

"Is this actually finished?"

"If the inside is me, then it'll move just fine—no problem there. The real issue is the disguise, though... Anyone who knows their stuff will immediately spot it's not a powered suit."

"I see. By the way, how long have you been working on this? Feels like it predates even the modifications to the Mekushi project."

"To be honest, I started brainstorming back when we were still in the Flaretanbo system. I figured, if I make it now, I might be able to use it somewhere down the line."

Move the powered suit's arm.

What appears there is not a lifeless protective layer, but a raw, flesh-like surface.

And indeed, blood flows clearly through it, so if the exoskeleton is breached... well, depending on the attack, it might end up splattered in all sorts of ways.

Still, even if it's destroyed, it's just a bit of a hassle to rebuild.

"So, this is my powered suit. I suppose seeing the real thing would make it look even more authentic, and it'd probably be faster to just take the cockpit straight from the original... but do I really need to go all the way to the workshop?"

"Yeah, well..."

To be honest, I can't help but think it'd be more convenient for me to go see it at something like an exhibition hall rather than going to the workshop.

I think Viridiana probably understands what I'm thinking.

That's why she seems troubled.

"No, even so, let's at least go see the workshop once. There's camouflage, the powered suit's cockpit, and other mods listed—seeing them in person might spark some ideas."

"Hmm, won't that be a bother to the workshop staff?"

"We'll head to the workshop connected with the intelligence unit and try to handle things discreetly, on the side. If there's someone trustworthy around, showing them the Sata might be one way to go."

"Hmm, professional advice. Whether we can make use of it or not, I'll admit I do want one."

With that, we decided to head to the powered suit workshop that the Imperial Army's intelligence unit had a close relationship with.

Well, since we're here anyway, I'd like to take away some knowledge from this visit... I wonder how it'll turn out?