055 Idol Arc 30 Emergency Call, Third Time

Sorry I'm late.

Sirens blared. Red dots flickered on the real-time analysis map—twenty or more.

Not just an enemy fleet. More like an enemy force.

Threat assessment: must respond as quickly as possible.

Course of the enemy force? Looks like it's straight for my sector and Ayame’s.

This analysis map is shared with Ayame’s ship.

"Ayame, fall back to the rear zone. This one’s impossible."

"What about Akira?"

"Request reinforcements from the area leader. If that fails, fall back."

"Probably gonna have to retreat the line and meet them in the rear zone."

"Got it. Be careful, Akira."

Ayame’s ship retreats.

"Area leader, enemy fleet appears to be concentrating for a breakthrough. We should fall back and reposition."

I send the analysis map to the area leader, relay the predicted enemy advance, and recommend a retreat.

"Akira, what’s this info? We’re not seeing any such signs from our end. Denied. Stay at your post."

"Understood."

Damn. To the area leader, this analysis map is probably just suspicious noise.

From his position, the radar screen is blocked by asteroids and debris—analysis this detailed is impossible.

This map is only possible thanks to data from two high-performance brains and the station, pooling sensor readings from each ship.

Being told to stay put. No way to convince him without more movement in the situation.

Well, Ayame’s retreat is within my authority—so I won’t reverse it.

"Can't do much without command authority, huh."

I settled on Plan B.

Gotta boost the combat strength at this station point—no choice.

I stopped holding back and pulled every last piece of gear from the Dimensional Storage Vault.

First, I deployed the stealth ship that wouldn’t fit in the station’s dedicated storage. Then the fan-nel.

I detached external armaments—mounted the 40cm Long Barrel Railgun on my right arm, the 30cm Particle Beam Cannon (Single Layer) on the left.

Connected the energy conduits extending from my wrists.

Then, I floated two 30cm Particle Beam Cannons (Dual Mount) into position—converted into mobile turrets.

They’re directly drawing power from the Dimensional Storage Vault via energy conduits.

"Alright, ready. Start thinning the enemy fleet with long-range fire—no self-restraint!"

My Personal Ship raises its Long Barrel 40cm Railgun to the right arm.

Activate the Railgun’s long-range fire mode. Target any enemy ship that comes into view.

Twenty rounds remaining. Ammo still hasn’t been topped off.

I wait for an enemy ship to enter my designated zone.

On the station, shooting across area boundaries into close-quarters zones is prohibited—so as not to hit our own forces.

The enemy ship has already passed through, so it’s technically safe to fire. But somehow, only my Personal Ship seems certain it’s actually an enemy.

Still, the rule exists so that retreating allied ships don’t get hit. And since Ayame’s ship retreated first, she’s benefiting from it too. No point breaking the rules now.

The enemy flagship breaches the zone.

I don’t hesitate. I aim and shoot.

“Fire!”

I fire the forty-centimeter Long Barrel Railgun, mounted as the main gun on the captured warship.

The enemy vessel launches intercept missiles—trying to shoot down the projectile mid-flight.

The farther the solid round travels, the more chances they have to intercept it.

First, they’ll try to destroy it with missiles, then finish it off with short-range optical weapons.

The idea is simple: any damage to the projectile, any deviation in course—bonus.

So I fire the second round along the same trajectory.

Use the first round as bait, make sure the second hits.

The Railgun’s projectile has mass, so the launch energy is high.

That means it takes time to charge—hence the long interval between shots.

My Personal Ship can fire in bursts because it’s got two reactors—its own fusion core and the external reactor housed in the Dimensional Storage Vault.

Even with limited ammo, firing two rounds per ship feels like a waste… but there’s nothing we can do about it.

The enemy’s lead vessel takes a direct Railgun hit and shatters into fragments.

Too much firepower—effort for little return.

The enemy side must’ve recognized me as a threat, because they launched a saturation attack from outside the zone.

Saturation attack: overwhelming volume of incoming fire, designed to exploit any missed defenses.

A cruiser-class ship like my Personal Ship usually comes standard with four anti-air lasers.

If you flood that system with more missiles than it can handle, even the most heavily armed vessel will take damage—simple math.

About forty rounds incoming, judging by the pattern.

"Optical armament—full broadside, fire!"

You're seriously underestimating us—thinking we're just one ship.

Two more vessels—shielded, hidden behind cover (one ship, one craft)—are in play.

Six 30cm Particle Beam Cannons, one 15cm Particle Beam Cannon, all fired in sequence.

Incoming missiles, now within close range—eight 10cm Anti-Air Lasers engage.

All missiles intercepted. Success.

In that opening, the enemy vessel that broke into the zone gets targeted—Long Barrel 40cm Railgun, lock on!

Six enemy ships down. Their formation breaks apart, course changes.

Now our side can pick them off one by one.

And so, my third emergency call ends—exactly as expected.

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When I returned to the hangar, the copy robot was waiting in the ready room.

The copy robot probably simulated my actions—school ended, I went straight home to set up an alibi, then got transferred to the station.

Just in case the copy-robot was still hanging around somewhere with eyes on it when the real one returned from the mission, they’d swap places right there.

The copy robot's a living thing—biological, not some machine with a metal frame or white blood.

Get in an accident, and you’ll get hurt or even die—just like a person would.

Even if touched, it gives the feel of flesh to the other person—no one can tell it’s a robot.

So yeah, bad luck happens—like when a copy robot dies during an emergency call-up, and you end up dead in the records, just like a real person.

Copy robots simulate the master’s thoughts and replicate their actions with perfect fidelity.

So even if your usual behavior is cursed with bad luck, you still have to play the role, through a proxy.

That the copy robot was waiting after the mission ended? Something’s off.

I heard the copy robot’s report. Can’t share sensations, though.

“Damn it——————————————!”

Tears of blood streamed down.

Fixed the nuance error.

Corrected the railgun caliber on the external armament.