Story Reader / Main Story / 25 Everglowing Justice / Story
Echo's M.I.N.D. has stabilized. She seems to be trying to wake up from her Deep M.I.N.D.
This place isn't safe. You need to get out of here as soon as you can.
Ughh... Commandant!
I... think I can move just fine. We need to get those people out of here...
She struggles to her feet.
We can't let Utopia take any more lives.
From outside the door, the sound of shots being fired can be heard.
From... Babylonia?! What about Cecily...
She immediately straightens up, trying to hide the armor.
When you open the door, you see Lee in the hall trying to open the door to the room that keeps all the Constructs locked up.
Commandant?
Lee casts you a frown, apparently unhappy with what he's seeing.
G... Greetings, I'm Echo.
Though still haunted by the pain, Echo insists on greeting Lee with her complicated salute anyway.
...Uh-hum.
Commandant, I've roped up all those Constructs who claim they are from Aurora Squadron. And to keep us hidden, I've intercepted the signals around here.
And according to this log they've kept, most of these Constructs and humans... came here voluntarily.
They said Utopia had promised them a future where they wouldn't have to worry about food or anything else—so long as they agreed to become a part of this place.
I went through the file myself. Many of them are runaways from some of the other factions, some are being hunted down, some are registered as dead in official records, and others came because they wanted a stable life...
Lee passes you the file before casting a look at Echo, who's doing her best to convince the Constructs and humans to leave.
I'm afraid she isn't going to get the reaction she wants from them.
Utopia is like a beautiful dream—one that appeals to the exhausted souls wandering without a home. They might know that it's a bottomless abyss, but why does that matter...
...When there isn't anywhere else for them to go?
And just like what Lee said, Echo walks back this way looking upset, getting not a single positive reaction.
They... all want to follow Aurora Squadron to search for the actual Utopia.
Is Utopia really as appealing as they think it is?
...I'm really worried about Lena.
Is she going to get brainwashed by Pickman if she doesn't make it out of Utopia and ends up all alone again?
Everyone is going to be able to live happily together forever and ever. Life stops for all here, so no one will age or die...
Is she going to end up like Cecily...
You're right. There is no way she's going to fall for anything Pickman says.
I have to have faith in her.
Lee walks up this way, having finished a headcount.
What are we going to do with these people here?
The Task Force squad you've reached out to earlier has arrived. With their help, the Constructs and humans board, in groups, the transport vehicles that take them to the nearest conservation area.
Echo volunteers to go on a patrol. After she leaves, Lee stops what he's doing and looks this way.
Purifying Force isn't too far from where we are now, Commandant.
Right. Issarius is leading the team. I tried muddying the waters with some misinformation, but there is no telling how long that can keep them stalled.
Something that strikes me as weird, though, is that there is another force trying to muddy the waters, too. We won't be found anytime soon, but I'm having no luck identifying the other force.
Their purpose is still unclear, and if they ever find...
You put together the information you've gathered from Echo's deep M.I.N.D. and send it to Asimov in an encrypted format.
Minutes later, your terminal rings with an encrypted call from Asimov.
Got what you sent me. Is this something you saw in the M.I.N.D. of that Construct going by Echo?
...I see.
Would it be possible for you to get your hands on more of this data?
Utopia?
Those cunning bastards.
Asimov falls silent when you're done telling him about what Echo has been up to. A moment later, he speaks again.
I'll try my best to keep Babylonia out of this, but you'll have to get your hands on the data at Utopia before Babylonia finds out what you've been up to.
I just processed the data you sent my way and forwarded it to Nikola and Wells.
We have no idea where that Construct came from, so the data is meant for them to use as a bargaining chip if Kurono ever finds out about this.
Yup. As far as this goes, Wells has been treading very lightly. An insider told me that Wells had once led an excellent squad that they called Silver Falcon.
Except they got wiped out completely doing a simple surface mission, and the mission location was Conservation Area 112.
You remember seeing Conservation Area 112... in a report of Fort Winter—"A conservation area destroyed by Hetero-Creatures" is how it was described.
We have nothing definite to back that up, but...
Asimov nods at you.
...By the way, I sent her data report to the Control Court a week ago.
Asimov nods at you. There are always certain things that shouldn't be talked about even over an encrypted channel.
I'll send her down to Earth to "look into abnormal samples" as soon as I have a chance.
You know exactly who Asimov is referring to.
It's been so long since you last saw "her"...
That's all I have for now. Let me know if anything else comes up.
Asimov hangs up.
We might have a much better chance with Lucia coming back to us, but that doesn't mean I'll be fine with you putting yourself on the line.
Are you going to keep looking for Lena with just Echo?
...
I'll take Lucia to rendezvous with both of you as soon as she can take surface missions.
