A Distant Reverie

Chapter 101

To everyone's relief, the journey back home was comparatively uneventful.

It was late past midnight when they finally arrived at the gates of the compound. Aside from stabilizing Marine's condition and cleaning up the remnants of the Gnostic Group, most of the group's remaining time was spent hauling back caches of EM blasters from the underground military base. Ame insisted that these weapons were essential for their long-term goal of taking control of the Incursion command center.

Despite the late hours, Fuwamoco, Kiara, and Cecilia were all up waiting for them when they returned. After performing some routine maintenance on the Exos and administrating more treatment for Marine, everyone retreated to bed.

It had been a long, exhausting day.

Suisei opened her eyes to the early hours of dawn. Gray clouds crowded the skies, letting the faintest of morning rays leak through. She tried to turn her body to see the time.

"Ngh..."

She immediately regretted that decision. Her muscles protested venomously against the attempt to move. Everything was sorer. Even her eyes felt heavy and caked in grime. Sleep had been restless. She remembered collapsing onto the bed shortly after making sure Marine was tucked nicely into her covers.

Suisei closed her eyes again, trying to drift back asleep. Her body clearly needed it. The hours she slept were hardly enough to wash away yesterday's exhaustion. She steadied her breathing. Silenced all the noisy thoughts. And then buried herself in the covers like a tightly wrapped burrito.

Her mind, however, refused to settle.

"...Goddammit."

The adrenaline from last night still lingered. Her head was astonishingly alert despite feeling fatigued. Frustrated, she pried herself off the bed despite her body's complaints.

***

After a quick shower, Suisei felt human again.

She briefly contemplated calling Cecilia over to prepare breakfast for her before deciding against it. She wasn't hungry. Or rather, she had no appetite. Her body needed food, but memories of last night's carnage at the carnage would have made it difficult for her to hold her food down.

Instead, she decided to pay Marine a visit.

Their indomitable leader was still in bed. Her crimson hair had been neatly brushed down to her shoulders. Her chest rose and dipped at a steady cadence. Her face was surprisingly gentle and innocent as she slept. It was almost difficult to reconcile this state with her usual ferociousness.

Suisei took a seat by Marine's side. Cecilia had helped clean her up before they laid her to bed. Her body had been drenched in the blood of the cult members. It took several washes before they could remove everything and examine the injuries that she had sustained.

I think this is the first time that I've seen her sleep.

Marine was always the first one to wake up amongst the three of them. In Prosperia. In Sol. Even here. She was always alert, always a steady presence, always a stabilizing force even when things spiraled out of their control. Her brief absence put into perspective just how much Suisei and Vesper had been reliant on her.

The two of us really need to get our shit together. We can't keep burdening her just because she's capable of doing so.

As for me, I need to start taking a more active role, especially since I'm the one who's most familiar with this world's technologies.