Chapter 103 – I Do Not Quite Understand, But Very Well

Threading through the gaps of the wretchedly lashed-together debris, the three Makina pushed into the raiders' dim, shadowed hideout. Grain's calm voice cut through the taut, tension-laced comm channel of the cockpits.

"Letaria, if any machine comes at you looking calm and casual about it, don't hold back -- flatten it."

"...? I do not quite understand, but very well."

Letaria couldn't quite parse the deeper meaning behind Grain's words, but though puzzled, she answered him honestly.

"All right, then..."

In Riese's seat, Grain let out a short breath, then sent a flat, matter-of-fact transmission across every shared channel in the surrounding area.

"To the criminals holed up here: this is the Seldia Autonomous Zone Administration Bureau's corps. We already know everything -- that you fled here after your plundering in the neighboring Nistario autonomous zone. Surrender quietly, and your safety is guaranteed."

The commanding voice spread out through the silent, ruin-like space of the hideout.

...For a while, there was no meaningful response.

But after several dozen seconds had passed, a man's voice, thick and resigned, cut into the comm.

"...Tch, cornered this bad, huh. Guess there's nothin' for it -- I surrender."

At the same moment as that transmission, Arden's sensors picked up a single machine silhouette moving slowly out from the shadows. The machine drifted toward Letaria, Grain, and Steshia's three units with what looked like a raised-hands gesture, closing the distance completely unguarded.

But the instant that distance shrank to almost nothing -- Letaria felt it.

(...I sense malice.)

The approaching machine was drawing a concealed solid blade from a blind angle, meaning to bisect them in a surprise strike. Letaria's magic, sharpened by the Arden System, caught the intent decisively, without a shred of doubt.

"A false surrender will not work on me!"

The instant she shouted it, Arden's explosive thrusters carried her into the machine's guard in a single beat. Faster than the blade could even clear its sheath, she drove a savage kick into it, putting the full weight of her machine behind the blow.

"L-Letaria-san!?"

Steshia's shocked cry.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?"

The machine that had feigned surrender let out a graceless scream as it went flying backward with tremendous force, slamming hard into the structure's wall and falling still. From its scattering, sparking hand, exactly as Letaria had foreseen, a dully gleaming solid blade tumbled uselessly away into the vacuum of space.

At the same instant, radar alerts blared out on all sides at once, sensors catching several more concealed machine silhouettes stirring into motion. They had never intended to surrender in the first place -- the one machine had been a decoy for an ambush all along.

"Just as I thought. This lot likes their little tricks."

Grain, who had already seen through the enemy's lie from the very start, murmured low, as if it were exactly what he'd expected.

"Grain! Eight more, remaining!"

Letaria reported it curtly.

Then, in her cockpit, she let her magic surge, and her eyes took on a golden glow.

Among the ambushing enemy machines, one cluster had already broken into motion -- three of them -- and Arden shot forward without a moment's hesitation, making straight for them.

"All right, I've got these three. Steshia, take the two coming around from behind!"

Grain issued the order precisely as he raised the prototype Photon Rifle, the Arcian. From a fluid motion without a single wasted moment, a sharp beam of light lanced out and struck true, punching clean through the head of one enemy machine that had been closing in through the shadows -- shattering it in a single hit.

"Y-Yes, sir! On it!"

Not to be left behind, Steshia pushed Rasta's output up and turned to face the remaining two machines circling in from the rear.

"Wh-what the hell are these things...!? This ain't the way some backwater station guard moves, damn it!"

In an instant, the tide had turned completely, and clear panic was spreading through the ambushing raiders' comm channel.

Piloting her gleaming deep-purple partner, Letaria cut straight into the heart of the faltering enemy line, a fearless smile rising to her lips.

"Now then -- prepare yourselves!"