A Distant Reverie

Chapter 106

Ame watched the mini map in disbelief. Suisei and Vesper's indicators were rushing full-speed towards the northwestern corner of the Incursion command center. Marine's Exo was there, erratically jumping back and forth on the map amidst a sea of red. Incursions were everywhere. And all of them were coming back online after the dissipation of the salt storm.

In the distance, the deafening high-pitch whine of the fortress's defenses fired. Violet ionizing radiation cut through the air like a massive sword of energy. A thunderous explosion followed shortly after. Ame could feel the reverberations even at a distance away.

"Analysis. Incursion command center's defenses active. High ionizing energy blasts utilized."

Oh you've got to be kidding me.

Suisei and Vesper were no longer responding to her over the general voice channel. Either they had the module muted or they were too preoccupied with fending off the swarms of Incursions to respond. Marine was in the middle of her manic episode. It was safe to assume that she wouldn't be able to hear her over the chaos of the battlefield and her hallucinations.

"Ame, what do we do?" Kiara asked over the general voice channel.

Ame stared at the mini map, embroiled with conflict. The plan was falling apart. The situation was rapidly deteriorating. The salt storm's early arrival had tossed everything into disarray. In hindsight, they should have accounted for the possibility of Marine descending into another manic episode. Ame and the rest of the girls were well-aware of the psychological effects of weathering a salt storm. It was common to be afflicted with sensory deprivation and a sense of suffocating pressure when stuck inside a contained area during the storm's rampage. And yet, they had forgotten. The rush to formulate a raid plan and Marine's competence with the Exo made them overlook this obvious fact.

I knew I missed something. Ame clicked her tongue, cursing her incompetence.

"Ms. Ame, massive Incursion numbers are approaching from the rear. These are likely the machines that were lured away by the decoy distress signal. Estimated arrival to current position is ten minutes," Cecilia warned.

Fuck.

"Ame, you have to make a decision soon. Are we going to help those three or are we proceeding with the rest of the plan?" Shiori asked.

That was crux of the problem. While Marine going rogue was bad, it did provide an opportunity for the rest of them to continue with the plan as is. The Incursions and the fortress defenses currently had their attention on Suisei, Vesper, and Marine who were causing chaos through their ranks. Inadvertently, the three of them had created the perfect distraction. The western flank of the fortress was wide open. They had a straight open path to breach the fortress walls and seize control of its interiors.

But that would mean abandoning the trio of world travelers.

"I say we go rescue them. It doesn't feel right letting them go. Especially when I haven't even paid back my debt to Ms. Houshou yet," Calli was the first to speak, "And this series of event is also partially our fault. We were too late to the Gnostic Group's hideout. If we had arrived earlier, then Ms. Houshou wouldn't have suffered and been afflicted with amnesia."

Ame winced, feeling a pang of guilt stab into her chest. Calli wasn't wrong. The decision to delay her rescue was Ame acting on Lady Ouro's suggestions. The outcome led to no casualties and gave them a massive opportunity to obtain powerful weapons to fight the Incursions, but they were now starting to pay the price for Marine losing her memories in the process.

"I-I'm okay with whatever you decide," Kiara said.

"Ame, we only get one shot at this. The Incursions will learn and adapt to this attack. There won't be another opportunity to raid an Incursion command center after today. Choose something that you won't regret," Shiori advised.