“So they met when he was in the middle of a mission?”
Emil nodded to confirm Fate’s question. It almost seemed like a lifetime ago—the sudden intervention, the vicious battle that ensued, and the mounting frustration of Ailotana’s mercenary. It would not be their last encounter. “Neither of them had any idea what would follow after that battle. He tried to keep everything professional, but the rivalry they formed seemed inevitable,” he remarked, looking as if he were looking at a different time.
Fate gave the man a sympathetic smile, understanding exactly what it must’ve been like. “It was the same for Nanoha and I,” she said. “Sometimes we can never see how things will change.”
“All too true, Ms. Harlaown. All too true.”
Emil took a labored breath, linking his hands together over his lap. The computer made a notification as his monitoring continued, registering the slight change in his health and causing one of the nurses to approach and examine the new finding.
“Ma’am? We may need to examine Mr. Valare if his conditions worsen,” the nurse told Fate. “I’ll have to ask you to leave in that event.”
Fate nodded, understanding. Valare, however, only waved her off with his hand. “I still have enough strength in me to finish this tale,” he remarked. Fate wondered, however, as she could see the immense weariness in his eyes.
As the nurse departed, the businessman clasped his hands together again, his eyes staring ahead, seeing nothing. For several moments, he said nothing. Fate kept silent, knowing the man needed to gather his thoughts.
“The battle in Elitrea—especially the defeat of the anti-establishment hero Mahindra—caused the value of our mercenary to soar,” he finally continued. He knew this part all too well, his debilitation having given him plenty of time to reflect on his choices, and how they had led to this point.
His mistakes seemed all too clear.
“But while we were naively enjoying out successes, seeds of conflict threatened the… Pax Economica,” he said, and to Fate, his disgust was all too apparent in his voice. “The battle for supremacy in the development of magic technology… the race between the newly-risen Dagenais group’s PROGTECH, and the Emeraude group’s Minervum Science spread to the other companies, accentuating existent antagonism as it went.”
He sighed, laying his head back, his gaze locked on the white sheet of the tent’s ceiling.
“This world’s counterfeit ‘peace’ had begun to unravel. I saw that as Ailotana’s golden opportunity.”
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha MercenarieS:
THE COLLARED
CHAPTER THREE:
Hidden Agendas
The Leganza company cruiser hovered silently in the clouds, just out of sight of the massive hangers situated nearby. The gray metal plates of the vessel seemed to shimmer as azure particles drifted across its surface, courtesy of the masking spell held over it by the woman operating it.
A cloud drifted by, washing silently over the viewplate of the ship’s cockpit. Neither of the inhabitants within paid any mind to the odd effects of a painted replica of the cloud sliding over the magic field in all directions.
“Let’s go over the mission,” Mesia said, opening up several holographic screens around the two of them. Roas leaned forward, putting his arm on the back of her seat to get a better look at the data. “You’re to destroy all of the new large-scale weaponry being built in Emeraude’s Kasuto Arsenal.”
Roas noted how ironic working for Ailotana and not for any specific corporation could be—Only a few missions back, he had defended the Kasuto facility from a terrorist excursion that had aimed to secure the production hangers for their own purposes. He glanced at the mission data, seeking out the provider, blinking when he saw the label.
“Emeraude? I thought they owned this place.”
“The Kasuto facility has announced it’s leaving the Emeraude corporation. This operation looks to be a matter of internal housecleaning,” she explained to him, frowning distastefully at the idea. The corporation seemed to have something within the facility that they didn’t want getting out. Something the Administration Bureau would likely shut them down for, Emil had felt when he had given her the mission. “The ex-Emeraude guards should still be in the facility, but you’ve been given clearance to eliminate them if they endanger the mission.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’d be too difficult,” Roas remarked. “At least we know the layout of this place already.”
Mesia nodded. “Keep in mind that PROGTECH has supported the Kasuto Arsenal for some time, Roas—it’s possible they’ve offered some backup now as well.”
She turned in her seat to face him directly, causing him to stand back. “Those are your orders,” she said, looking up at him while calculating a spell in her head. “I’m not sure what it’ll look like in there, so watch your step, okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Roas said as he took a couple steps back. “Lancel? Set up.”
“Drive ignition.”
Green light encompassed Roas for a brief moment as his Barrier Jacket constituted, and when it broke, Lancel had already configured into its Cannon Form. Finishing the calculation, Mesia held her hand out, causing a magic circle to form beneath the mercenary. “Beginning transfer.”
Within moments, his body was enveloped in blue light, before quickly fading from view.
======
On the other side of known dimensional space, day had already begun on the first Administered World within Bureau space, the homeworld of Mid-Childa. In the megalopolis capitol of Cranagan, life proceeded on as normal, already having recovered from the sudden attack of combat cyborgs and Gadget Drones as the Saint’s Cradle, once thought to have been lost forever, had risen from the earth in what was soon known as the Jail Scaglietti Incident. The city bustled as cars and people traveled through the streets, and in one particular part of the city, the occasional passerby wondered about the curious lack of explosions and combat that could usually be heard in the training sector of the military outpost in the area. The sounds of the renowned Ace of Aces drilling her students had become as common a sound as the dull roar of conversations and car engines in the rest of the city.
Four young cadets in training gear waited patiently for their instructor to arrive from the base’s commissary, idly talking among themselves as they waited for the vice captain to resume their training for the day, all of them unsure as to why there had been a delay in their schedule. Regardless, the three girls and one boy knew that the delay would be short and soon they’d be back to the grind.
“Ne, Tea, what do you think it could be?” Subaru asked, glancing over at the pigtailed redhead as she began warming up with some stretches.
“It doesn’t matter what it is,” the other girl replied, not even bothering to look back at her friend. “If it’s important, I’m sure they’ll let us know what’s going on.”
“I guess so,” Subaru replied with a laugh. “Still, I can’t help but wonder.”
“Captain Vita probably just had to deal with some distraction,” the youngest girl, Caro, spoke up. “She’s probably on her way right now.”
“It’s nothing to get concerned over,” said the voice of an older woman. The four of them spun around in surprise.
“Nanoha-san!” Erio exclaimed, standing up from his own warm-up stretches. “Wasn’t Vice Captain Vita supposed to be training us today?”
Nanoha Takamachi laughed and smiled, nodding. “Vita-chan had to go to a sudden meeting that Hayate-chan called,” she explained. “So I’ll be filling in for her today. So, shall we get started?”
“Yes ma’am!” the four of them said in chorus.
Soon, the expected sounds of combat erupted through the training grounds as the Ace of Aces once again began training her students. It was just another normal day for them.
======
Riot Force Six’s commander, however, could only wish her day was just like any other. But that hope had quickly evaporated shortly after the surprise visit of a pair of Enforcers an hour ago.
Lieutenant Colonel Hayate Yagami could feel the headache coming on as the report continued, and she was glad that she had Shamal on hand for when the meeting would end. She raised her hands to her temples and slowly messaged them, clenching her eyes tight.
“This can’t be possible,” she said to the two Enforcers. “There’s no way this can be happening. The fact that I’m still here proves that.”
“I still think you’re pulling our leg,” Vita grumbled from where she sat, her arms crossed, glaring at them. “Mages with their Linker Cores stolen? This is a sick joke you’re pulling on us.”
Both men paled slightly, both being aware of Vita’s typical demeanor. Neither of them wished to be crushed by the diminutive knight. “We understand your skepticism, ma’am, but we assure you, this incident is unfortunately very real,” said the elder of the two, Enforcer Isuzu, frowning sympathetically. “The Director felt it best that we inform you of this case.”
For the past hour and a half, the two Enforcers had explained in detail how a series of previously-thought-to-be unconnected attacks on mages, both affiliated with the Bureau and regular civilians with magical talent, that ended with each person slain. At first, the attacks had been treated as regular homicides, but soon enough, a disturbing detail had begun to crop up in each of the autopsies: Each victim showed tell-tale signs that their Linker Cores had been completely removed.
As the explanations continued, the four Wolkenritter had grown increasingly agitated and uncomfortable, though both Enforcers had been quick to point out that they were currently not being considered suspects in the case.
“Is it possible that the Book of Darkness has somehow resurfaced?” The younger-looking Enforcer Altis’ handsome features were marred by the worried look—he was well aware that the question needed to be asked. He was also well aware that it might offend the people he was addressing.
“No, not at all,” Shamal said, her voice equally worried and her expression distressed. “Reinforce ensured that the Tome would disappear with her when she was sealed away. It was the only surefire way to stop the Automatic Defense Program from resurrecting.”
“It’s possible that another Lost Logia has been discovered, one that functions in a similar manner,” Zafira said. Beside him, Hayate shuddered at the thought of another Lost Logia with the same magic-draining properties as the Book of Darkness being on the loose somewhere in Bureau territory.
“Well, if we want to get this solved, we better start right away, huh?” Hayate said. The woman summoned up a screen and placed a call.
======
A little more than five minutes later, the briefing room door opened up, allowing Fate T. Harlaown admittance into the chamber. As she entered, she immediately took note of the other two Enforcers and the serious look on her friend’s face, and knew that she was here on official business. “Reporting as ordered, Colonel Yagami,” she said, saluting.
“At ease, Captain,” Hayate said, gesturing to one of the open seats. “We have a situation developing within the Administrated Worlds and I’d like for you to keep an eye on it,” she explained. She briefed Fate on what the Enforcers had notified her of. “The possibility of a Lost Logia being involved is likely, so we’ll need to make sure that it’s found immediately.”
Fate nodded and turned to the other Enforcers. “Do you have any leads on who may be perpetrating the attacks?” she asked. Isuzu brought up several holographic screens for them to view. Many of them showed various recovered footage, depicting the obliteration of what looked to be a foreign military compound.
“Several days ago, on the newly Administrated World of Exavil, a military installation where several Air Force mages had been stationed came under attack by a single assailant,” he explained. “Unfortunately, there were no survivors, even among the Bureau personnel. While the autopsy reports haven’t come in yet, initial studies show signs that each mage had their linker cores removed entirely.”
They forwarded through the captured footage before coming across a single frame that they froze and enhanced. A man with shaggy black hair was halted mid-flight, the ends of his black coat fluttering out in the same direction as his outstretched arm. Held in it was a long, ebon-plated staff, its ruby-colored interface orb cradled around a sharp, almost hook-shaped bayonet of sorts. Crimson magic could be spotted hurtling through the air around the depicted mage.
“That’s…!” Fate stood, recognizing the man immediately.
“You know him?” Vita remarked, cocking an eyebrow at Fate.
“… yes,” she admitted. She remained standing, staring at the image of the man on the screen. “Salaux Enterra. He’s a well-known mercenary for hire, and a suspect in numerous crimes committed through various worlds, administrated or not. I’ve worked on a number of cases in which he was a suspect.”
“So we just capture this guy and make him tell us what he knows,” said the diminutive knight. Vita laced her hands together behind her pigtails and leaned back in her chair.
“It’s not that simple,” Fate said, returning to her seat. The other two Enforcers both nodded, frowns on their faces. “Mercenaries like Enterra are mages, and they’re all incredibly powerful. And none of them are fond of the Bureau. There is a saying they like to say about us… ‘the Bureau takes no prisoners.’”
“That’s not correct, though,” Shamal said, with the other Wolkenritter nodding as well—after all, they had proven themselves far more dangerous, yet the Bureau had strived to arrest them, not execute them. “The Bureau would only arrest them and try to rehabilitate those that are willing.”
“That still holds true,” Enforcer Isuzu agreed. “We don’t know who or what propagated the saying, but they take to it. Every time we corner one, these mercenaries immediately resort to lethal force to escape. Too often we’re forced to kill them to prevent harm coming to innocents in the surrounding area. And their power proves that they’re more than capable of killing any of our men if we treat it too lightly.”
“So why can’t we go after one of the weaker ones? An operation this big can’t be perpetrated by just one man alone,” Hayate said, referring to the linker core abductions. “If whoever is causing this hired one mercenary, they’ll have hired others.”
“There aren’t any ‘weak’ mage mercenaries within Administrated space,” Altis replied. “Every one of them has more than enough power and skill to go head to head with the best mages the Bureau has to offer. And for that same reason, that’s why there’s so little of them.”
“I don’t understand,” the Belkan mage said.
“Mercenaries have another saying among them,” Fate spoke up. “One that doesn’t relate to how they feel about the Bureau.
In den Mythos, Gott ist Kraft.”
Almost immediately, both Signum and Vita understood, and grimaced. It took several more seconds before the Saint Church’s verse made sense to Hayate as well.
In the Myth, God is Force.
======
In one instant, the blast doors to the facility’s entrance were torn apart, becoming so much scrap metal that hurtled down the transport tunnel, trashing the strewn equipment and cutting down the few guards that had been stationed there. Roas burst through the gaping wound in the doors, Lancel thrust out before him, but a quick scan showed that the few guards here had already been neutralized. “I’m in,” he announced over a window, launching himself forward down the copper-colored shaft.
“Understood. You’re after the three massive weapons under construction,” Mesia replied, appearing on the screen. “I’ll send you their positions from here. Let’s get started.”
A map of the facility appeared, showing that his path would branch up ahead, both directions leading to another branch, each of which ended in a gigantic construction dock.
Two targets to the left, one to the right… simple enough, he thought.
Klaxons suddenly started blaring, causing red emergency lights to bathe the facility in a bloody shade.
“Intruder in the Arsenal!” a panicky male voice shouted through the intercom speakers.
“We’re under attack! All security personnel prepare to intercept!”
“Emeraude forces have begun deployment,” Mesia warned as she detected the signatures of several remote weapons. “You have clearance to eliminate them if it’s necessary.”
Roas nodded and brought Lancel up to his chest. “Show me what’s up ahead!” he ordered, causing Lancel to chime.
“Detection.”
A trio of orbs materialized around Roas and sped off, branching off at the end of the hallway and seeking out the different paths. Roas ignored the vision of two orbs and relegated the data recording to Lancel as he shot off to the right, following after the lone search spell. Green overlaid his vision as the search orb noted a series of legged gun drones, each one using wheeled feet to travel towards him down the hall. Locking onto each one in his head, he channeled again.
“Napalm Shot,
fire!”
Magic bullets hurtled down the tunnel, smashing into each of the drones and detonating them violently. Fire and shrapnel flew through the air, forcing Roas to use an Aegis spell to deflect it away from him as he shot past them. A second wave of drones got the same treatment, and the hallway was littered with the remains of the machines. Unopposed, the Detection spell entered a massive turnstile, immediately picking up the signatures of security guards and a trio of tanks.
The data flooded into Roas’ mind as he shot in after it. The massive blast doors for the dock were just ahead, and he could see panicking construction workers scrambling off the scaffolding. The spell picked up the terrified voices of some of the men and women inside, transferring the sounds back to him.
“—A mage!?”
“—What’s he doing here!?—
“—Emeraude’s really out for blood—!”
“Dock infiltrated,” Mesia remarked in a new window as Lancel updated her on the environment. “Your objective is at twelve o’clock. Be careful in there; there’s a defensive squadron in place.”
A high-velocity slug tore through the air next to his head, causing his ears to ring from the sound. Cursing, Roas backpedaled in the air as more slugs tore up at him, deflecting away the ones that got too close with the autoguard.
Must’ve ramped up the security measures since my last visit! he thought. The guards had armed themselves using mass drivers—they were
very serious about breaking away from Emeraude.
A cannon shell tore through the air, and Roas ducked under it, generating a large projectile in front of him. He thrust his Device forward, pulling the trigger.
“Napalm Burst.”
The green sphere rocketed through the air, straight at the tank. Detachedly, Roas noted that the machine had started backing up as the projectile came in, but it wasn’t meant for the tank—as it neared, it blew apart into smaller bullets, each of them slamming into the surprised guards and knocking them flat. He ignored the tanks completely, soaring up and through the blast doors—he had to see the target and find the best way of killing it.
“There’s your target,” Mesia said as he saw it. “It’s
huge!”
Indeed it was—dozens of long, thin plates arced over one another to form a gigantic sphere. Parts of it lay exposed, a cylindrical depression in its center forming some sort of cannon barrel. The whole contraption looked like it fitted onto some sort of mobile platform—
Lancel chimed a warning, causing Roas to spin around and throw up a Round Shield. The cannon shell exploded hard against it, causing him to shudder against its shockwave. As the smoke cleared, his blue eyes narrowed into slits.
So much for playing nice.
Lancel’s detection spell made it to the other two docks, and in his mind’s eye he saw other targets—panicked security guards, more tanks, even a single
Golem-class mechanoid reacting to the spell’s presence. The Detection spheres raced up to the cannons, both of which were in various states of completion, and began downloading as much data as they could, relaying the info back to Lancel.
A magic circle erupted beneath Roas’ feet as he thrust Lancel upwards.
“Bring it!” he roared in challenge, swinging his Device down and launching the newly-formed Napalm Shots at the tanks. The chamber shuddered as explosions ripped the nearest machine apart. Anti-air missiles shot up from the remaining two, streaking towards him and turning the air into fire. He ducked and swerved around the blasts, shooting out from the blossoming fire flower and opening fire with another volley into the hanger, causing scaffolding and cranes to shatter and collapse around the weapon. The massive cannon dented and shuddered as the shrapnel rained down around it.
At the last moment, Roas darted to the side, letting the cannon shells whiz past and slam into the weapon itself, further damaging it.
Damn, this thing can take a beating, he grumbled, spinning about in midair and generating a magic circle.
“Aura Strafe,” Lancel announced, gathering up magical energy in front of it. One squeeze of the trigger sent the focused beam right through one the turret of the second tank, detonating its ammo and blowing it apart in a spectacular explosion. Roas let fly with more magic, sending projectiles hurtling into the ceiling and the weapon, collapsing the ceiling on it. Terrified screams broke out from the fleeing workman the debris fell, forcing them to leap away from the dangers.
Roas dropped altitude as the destruction started to cause a chain reaction; the falling scaffolding tearing itself apart under the stress. His feet hit the ground but his flight kept going, letting him skim past the surviving tank as it tried to follow his movements. Targeting rings opened up around Lancel as he channeled. Pivoting in his slide, he aimed Lancel up at the damaged weapon and centered the target the best he could, and fired the Aura Strafe again.
The pale green beam cut through the air, vaporizing part of the tank’s barrel and continuing forward, passing right through the barrel of the damaged weapon as it fell from its supports. Steam was jettisoned from his Device, and pivoting once more, Roas took off, feeling the heat on his back as the weapon went critical and exploded.
“Massive weapon destroyed,” his operator confirmed, registering the event. “Two objectives remain.”
“I’m sending you the data Lancel’s picked up on the weapons,” he replied. “Find me an easier way of destroying these things.”
“Roger that. Give me a minute.”
Lancel transmitted the data for Mesia’s peruse as Roas fled down the hallway, backtracking to the entrance. The Detection spell had served its purpose; he knew where his enemies lay and was readying the spells he needed to take them out, so he dismissed the search spell to let Lancel focus on other details. The intercom was still blaring all around him:
“All non-combat personnel evacuate! Save yourselves, get out of here!”
Fine with me, Roas thought.
Less people to get in my way.
He sped down the hallway and into another turnstile, spinning to the left and opening fire against the security detail. Flechettes and Napalm Shots hurtled through the air at one another, with explosions scattering the guards and a single high-velocity round punching through the autoguard and slamming painfully into Roas’ shoulder. He jolted with the impacted, hitting the ground on both feet.
“Analysis complete,” Lancel said suddenly as a holographic window appeared. A wireframe blueprint of the cannon, which had opened up into a more conical shape, appeared on the screen, with a few readouts giving miscellaneous data. Roas ignored it as another flechette tried to take his head off. He opened up a Round Shield to block the incoming rounds while Lancel finished.
“Mana intake ports connect to main focus array and energy core.”
“Perfect,” Roas said, taking to the air again, narrowly avoiding the energy blast of the lone Golem mechanoid. Waving his hand, he formed a series of Napalm shots and sent them hurtling down at his enemies, forcing the mechanoid back as the remaining guards scrambled, their weapons forgotten. A holographic window appeared next to his face as Lancel detected a pair of tanks coming in from a side hanger. Roas spun and channeled, causing a runic circle to appear beneath the closer of the two tanks.
“Atomic Burn!” Lancel announced as he pulled the trigger.
A filmy screen of energy erupted around it. The air suddenly charged within it, green-white particles of magic punching through and bombarding the armor and everyone within it. Satisfied it was out of the fight, Roas darted back around, taking to the air to avoid another shot from the mechanoid. More Napalm Shots sent the machine backpedaling away, and Roas struck.
“Slasher Form.”
Lancel’s blade swung into position as Roas charged forward, straight above the massive weapon. He lashed out, severing every chain he saw, and in seconds the gravity succeeded, causing the cannon to plummet, crushing the Golem beneath its weight. Flying back, Roas summoned up another volley of magic bullets and sent them flying into the mana intake ports, using them to destroy the core within. Almost instantly, the weapon exploded, almost knocking him clear out of the room.
Roas dove back into the hallway, coughing and with his Barrier Jacket smoldering.
Gotta stay clear of that next time, he thought, annoyed at the careless mistake.
“That’s another massive weapon destroyed,” Mesia said. “Just one left.”
“I’ll be done soon. I know what to do to kill these things now,” he remarked.
“I haven’t picked up any PROGTECH forces so far,” Mesia told him. “So much the better. Let’s finish up this mission.”
“Roger that. Let’s go, Lancel!”
“Affirmative, comrade!”
======
Glancing at the monitor once more, Mesia made an adjustment to the cruiser’s sensors and returned her attention back to the plethora of screens opened up around her. Between the maps and the data readouts provided by a combination of Lancel’s reconnaissance and the ship’s sensor arrays, the operator had a perfect view of the operation area Roas was engaged in. Various windows depicted different angles of the mercenary as he proceeded down the final hallway, obliterating the small platoon of gun drones that stood between him and the final target.
The main screen made a sound as she received an affirmative from Lancel. Seeing Roas enter the turnstile for this set of hangers, she nodded to herself. “That’s the last target,” she told him. “It’s not as heavily defended as the other two.”
As the mercenary ducked and weaved through the flurry of projectiles, Mesia could see what Emil had said, about how Roas was without a doubt, a dangerous man. He twisted and twitched aside from each of the projectiles, expending a minimal amount of energy and using each moment to send another projectile or two back down at his opponent. And just as suddenly, he swooped in with a deadly grace, Lancel’s blade cutting a path through the security detail and letting well-placed magic projectiles to obliterate the surprised and distracted remnants of his opposition.
Elitrea’s history and culture spoke of a curious folktale about the rare strain of black birds that populated select locations on the planet of Exavil. These birds had been attributed to those of great cunning, to people who used their mind rather than their power to overwhelm and crush their foes, a belief that was held among a number of people on many non-Administrated worlds. Some natives said that the ebon-feathered creature appeared during times of turmoil, harbingers of a great change.
Seeing the warrior that she had befriended as he danced among his opponents and tore them asunder, Mesia was beginning to see just why Mahindra had accused Roas Lacetti of being a Raven.
The final construction dock fared no better than the previous one—in moments, Roas had caused the entire facility to come crashing down as the cannon’s weakness was exploited and the weapon itself rendered into burning scrap.
“All objectives successfully destroyed. The mission was a success,” she confirmed for both him and the mission report. “Good work. Please head back.”
And with his task done, Roas was just as quick in retreating, darting into the tunnel at high speeds and careening through to the exit. The moment he landed outside of the facility, the transfer spell swept him up into the ship in a flurry of magic. Their mission completed, Mesia had the ship angle around and take off, on a return course for Ailotana. Quadruple engines on the four back wings of the ship powered through the sky, ensuring that by the time PROGTECH or the Bureau appeared to investigate the incident, they would be long gone.
Minutes later, Roas arrived on the bridge, his Barrier Jacket already dismissed and Lancel in its storage form, dangling from the cuff of the shirt sleeve. The woman offered him a brief smile as he sat in a spare seat before she turned her gaze back to the viewscreen. She had caught him with a brief half-smile of his own, and she did her best to push the images of him ruthlessly cutting down the rogue security forces of the Kasuto Arsenal facility out of her mind.
She brought up a document she had procured on her pre-mission research and glanced over it, settling on one detail that stood out to her. “The Kasuto team was known as the… ‘heretical zealots’ of Emeraude,” she started, causing Roas to look up at her and the image she had on the screen.
“That’s an odd name for a group of scientists and engineers,” he remarked.
“More than any profits or politics… they may have just been in love with their research,” the redhead explained. “They were driven by it, regardless of however dangerous it was…”
She shook her head for a moment, frowning. “That’s just the impression I get.”
“What makes you think that?” the mercenary asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Mesia remained silent for several minutes, her eyes locked onto the open sky on the viewplate. After a moment, she finally spoke.
“… maybe because that’s how my father was,” she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.