A Distant Reverie

Chapter 89

While Vesper and Suisei were training to improve their physicals, Marine was led to another section of the compound by Ame. They eventually arrived at an opened hangar crowded with a plethora of machines and Exos. There were enough lumbering hunks of metal to arm a small battalion.

"Fuwamoco, would you please prepare a training Exo? Let's do a Type-A variant," Ame said into the device that she called a terminal.

A few seconds later, one of the Exos detached from its position along the walls and moved into the open space.

"This is also an Exo? It looks quite different than the ones that Shiori and Calli used yesterday," Marine remarked.

The Exos that they saw yesterday had a strong resemblance to the mechanized army of the Incursions. They were four-legged vehicles with long grapplers similar to the prowlers of spiders. The long double-jointed appendages afforded the Exo plenty of mobility over the rough and uneven terrain.

In contrast, the machine in front of them had a structure that appeared to be inspired by the anatomy of a human.

"Shiori and Calli were operating a Type-B model. They were initially built for reconnaissance, but we've outfitted them with the capacity for medium and long-range bombardment. It's a custom modification more suited to some of our girl's preferences," Ame explained, "The one here is a Type-A variant. As you can see, it looks closer to a human which has benefits and drawbacks. It's harder to control, but the range of movement you have far exceeds the capacity of a Type-B. The Type-A Exo excels in close-range combat and tasks that demand higher precision and accuracy."

"Close-range combat, you say?"

Ame smirked. "Somehow I had a feeling you were going to comment on that."

The hatch to the back of the Type-A Exo suddenly opened. Two small girls popped out of the interior and climbed down the length of the ten-feet machine. They immediately latched onto Ame like a pair of puppies begging for attention.

"Ame, it's done!"

"Did we do a good job?"

The two girls were the spitting image of each other. Identical twins.

"Yes, thanks you two," Ame said while giving both of them a gentle pat on the head. The two girls were so engrossed in Ame's affection that it took a few seconds before they realized Marine's presence.

"H-Huh?!"

Their eyes widened in terror upon seeing Marine.

"W-What is she doing here?!"

"S-Stay away from Ame!"

Marine raised an eye at the twin's reactions.

"...You guys," Ame said with an uneasy smile, "I appreciate the support, but your words aren't very convincing when you're saying them while hiding behind my back."

"...Is she threatening you Ame?"

"We'll help you if she's trying to beat you up!"

Amused, Marine took a single step forward. The twins immediately flinched and squealed in fear at the mere sight of her approach. Evidently, they were aware of her spar with Calli.

"Oh, stop it, she's here because I asked her to be here. I'm training her to become an operator," Ame groaned, "Now stop being rude. The two of you already knew that it was Calli who challenged her in the first place."

The twins sheepishly poked their heads out from Ame's back.

"I-I'm Fuwawa..." the twin on the right said.