Episode 176

The oncoming hunks of metal left behind a trail of pathetic scrap as they were shredded by tank fire and rocket blasts, yet they charged through the canyon without losing a beat. The head of the line was definitely closing in, but the tail was nowhere to be found. As far as the eye could see, the swarm just kept going.

"Come on... just keep coming..."

Alan’s voice crackled over the comms, sounding like he was chanting a dark curse. While running a diagnostic on the Sentry Guns, Taro stood on his tip-toes to peer out at the enemy front.

"Just a bit more. Give it thirty seconds, then we pop the cork."

A garish, highly conspicuous flag had been planted in one of the canyons. The WIND were currently streaming right past it, though they didn't seem to give a damn. Not that anyone actually knew what went on inside a WIND’s head.

"Prepare for detonation! Koume, the cables are still intact, right?"

"One moment, Mr. Teiro... Yes, I am receiving the Identification Signal from the Warhead Control Device. The cable is online."

Plum’s Live Ammunition Warhead Mines were buried right at the base of that flag. The plan was for them to act as a massive dam; the geography was perfect for dragging the towering cliffs down onto the enemy’s heads.

Due to the chaotic environment, they’d rigged the detonator with a physical cable instead of radio waves. While the mines—which doubled as distance sensors—usually had an auto-trigger, using that so close to Ladder Base was a recipe for disaster. It had taken a ridiculous amount of wiring to set up, but fortunately, they had enough cable from the dismantled Cruisers to wrap around the planet twice.

"Good, good. Alright, let’s—wait, what?"

Taro’s eyes went wide as he looked back at the enemy.

"Dammit! Since when was there a ramp right there!?"

Alan’s voice rose to a panicked shriek. By some stroke of cosmic bad luck, the WIND charging through the canyon had found a section of cliff that had crumbled into a natural staircase. They were scurrying up the rock face and scattering in every direction. Naturally, the rest of the swarm decided the stairs looked much more inviting than the canyon floor.

"Alan! They’re spreading out! Crap! Blow it! Blow it now!"

"Everyone, brace for impact!! Detonating!!"

Taro slammed the command into BISHOP. An instant later, released plasma expanded violently alongside the surrounding air, punching through the bedrock and geysering upward.

"Uwoooooh, this is way too clo—blegh!!"

The shockwave hit a heartbeat later, nearly punting Taro off the roof. He only stayed grounded because the magnetic soles of his Armed Suit clamped onto the floor. Instead of flying away, he was violently jerked into a high-speed backbend, slamming the back of his helmet against the ground with a sickening thud.

"O-Oww... If I’m not careful, my brain’s gonna be soup even if the suit stays shiny."

Vision hazy from the concussion, Taro staggered back toward the railing. Plum’s warhead had successfully carved a neat little crater and leveled the surrounding cliffs, but it hadn't stopped the flow of WIND. It hadn't even touched the "stairs."

"Nothing ever goes according to plan... Teiro, they’re starting the encirclement!"

Alan hopped onto a roof-mounted turret and swung the barrels around. Large-caliber rounds began spitting lead, mass-producing scrap metal amidst clouds of desert dust.

"Keep that barrage up, Teiro!! If they get close, we’re done for!!"

Alan’s roar echoed inside Taro’s helmet. Taro barked back a "I know, dammit!" before clicking his tongue as he spotted a glaring flaw in the tactical data streaming through his mind.

"We’ve got a hole in the north-northwest! Koume, get someone over there!"

Every person on the roof was geared up in an Armed Suit, their Helmet Displays feeding real-time footage back to the Central Control Room. Koume processed the data and fed it back to Taro, giving him a 360-degree god-complex view of the battlefield while he stood in the center of the roof.

But right now, there was a gaping blind spot. With the WIND surrounding the base from all sides, that was a fatal error.

"My apologies, Mr. Teiro. Due to collateral damage from the main battery fire, certain sectors are currently inaccessible to personnel. Shall I supplement the feed with Proximity Radar?"

Koume’s voice chimed from the base’s core. Taro was about to agree when another voice cut in.

"No, I’ll take it. The weather’s too trash for clear radar, and we don't have ammo to waste on ghosts."

It was Phantom, sounding as cool and collected as ever. Taro let out a relieved "You’re a lifesaver!" just as the man himself blurred past like a localized gale. He had a rifle in one hand and a massive container box perched on his shoulder.

How many hundreds of kilos is that thing? It’s a literal block of iron... Oh, here they come.

Phantom’s Helmet Display filled the blind spot, piping a crisp image into Taro’s feed. To the naked eye, the enemies were still just specks, but the zoom function revealed the horrifying, insectoid chassis of the ground-type WIND.

"You guys are seriously gross! Take this!"

Taro opened up with every one of the two hundred Sentry Guns that had a line of sight. He didn't just spray and pray; he picked his shots, aiming for joints and unarmored gaps. At two hundred rounds per second, these things would be paperweights in minutes if he wasn't careful.

"Units 82, 42, and 192 are red-lining on heat, Mr. Teiro. Unit 118 is Winchester. Units 26 and 77 are currently reloading. Unit 98 has suffered a mechanical failure."

"Got it! Alan, the northeast line is sagging. Give 'em some support!"

"Northeast? Copy that. I’ll redirect the Armored Unit’s fire."

"Thanks... Dammit, these normal rounds aren't even slowing them down."

Taro’s Sentry Guns were definitely turning WIND into Swiss cheese, but they weren't stopping the momentum. On the flip side, the tanks’ high-explosive shells were doing wonders, creating literal traffic jams of mangled metal.

"I’d give anything for twice as many tanks. The northeast is looking great, though. Those creeps have given up on that route; looks like they’re going for a long detour."

"For real? Then get those units resupplied while you can. If they breach the perimeter, 'resupply' is gonna be the last thing on our minds."

"Fair point... Alright, I’ve pulled a few squads back. Should I rotate them to the northwest after they’re topped off?"

"Hmm, tough call... Marl! How’s the main battery coming?"

Taro looked toward the turret where Marl was stationed.

"About five minutes and change, Teiro! The Capacitors are fried, I have to swap the whole set!"

"Copy that. We’ll dump the next shot into the northwest. Tanks, keep holding the east. Also... let’s initiate 'that' plan. The facility is falling apart at the seams; I need to buy some time."

Because they had zero experience in actual ground sieges, Ladder Base’s defenses were showing their cracks. Most of it was just physics—sand, heat, and sheer exhaustion. Some things were beyond saving, but Taro wanted to patch up whatever he could.

"Understood," Alan’s voice crackled. A moment later, a notification flashed across Taro’s Helmet Display: [OPERATION AURORA: PHASE ONE – INITIATE]. His vision was tinted yellow, the same as when the main gun fired.

"Teiro! I’m telling you now, we only have enough spare parts to pull this off twice! Two times, and that’s it!"

Marl sounded winded. Taro could only imagine her frantically wrenching the main battery back into shape.

"I know, I know! But if we don't use it now, there won't be a later!"

Taro yelled the response as he commanded the Sentry Guns to retract into their armored housings. He looked around to see soldiers frantically shoving gear into containers or throwing silver tarps over their turrets.

"......Alright, that’s everyone! Koume, do it!"

The chaotic noise of the roof died down, leaving only the distant thunder of the tanks.

"Acknowledged, Mr. Teiro."

[OPERATION AURORA: PHASE ONE – INITIATE] [CURRENT POWER RESERVES: 77%] [ELECTRONIC OUTPUT STABILIZER: STABLE]

BISHOP’s status feed, managed by Koume, was redirected straight into Taro’s mind. The entirety of Ladder Base began to hum, a low-frequency vibration that made the pebbles on the floor dance.

[VOLTAGE RELEASE: 5 SECONDS... 4... 3...]

Please work... I’m putting all my chips on this.

[VOLTAGE RELEASE: 2 SECONDS... 1...] [VOLTAGE RELEASE: ACTIVATING SHIP-BORNE ECM]

The massive electronic warfare suite salvaged from the Cruisers roared to life. It didn't make a sound. Instead, it puked out a concentrated wave of electromagnetic pulses and destabilized Probability Particles. Within the effective radius, every piece of unprotected electronics suffered a catastrophic surge of induced current.

"Holy—!?"

Taro jumped as the mobile terminal clipped to his belt let out a loud pop and burst into flames. It was supposed to be hardened against electronic attacks, but apparently, the cruiser-grade ECM was playing in a different league.

"My favorite phone! Marl bought me that! Oh, you bastards are gonna pay for this!"

Taro began running a status check on the base systems through BISHOP, swearing under his breath as he stomped toward the edge of the roof. Around him, people were hurriedly ripping off the ECM protection sheets. Some looked relieved; others were clutching their heads and staring at the sky in despair.

"......Yeah. Suck on that. We’re back to square one."

Taro peered over the edge and spat into the canyon.

Spread out before him was a literal graveyard of "electronic equipment," all of it dead in its tracks.