Chapter 8
"Another Zilla?" said an astonished Ozaki, coming up next to them. "But how is that possible? I thought that the Zilla from the Xilian invasion was the last one."
"So did I," said Namikawa. "Look at the screen; we should be getting video feed any time now." Indeed, no sooner had these words had left her mouth than the large video screen came on.
To tell the truth, as far as kaiju destruction was concerned, the situation could have been a lot worse. There had obviously been no destructive intent involved. Usually, the attacking kaiju left a wide area of decimated buildings. Instead, there seemed to be a straight path of buildings toppled over.
At the front of this self-made path towered another Zilla, just as Commander Namikawa had said. It looked entirely real, hunched down close to the ground and sniffing like a hunting dog following a trail. Even so, it was still hard to believe that it was actually there. Everyone had been so sure that the Zilla species had become extinct. It was almost like seeing a dinosaur.
At this last thought, Ozaki almost laughed to himself. He had, of course, seen a dinosaur before. Several, in fact. Mutated, hundred-meter dinosaurs. Titanosaurus, Anguirus, Godzilla…
"Dang. These things just won't die." Captain Gordon's voice brought Ozaki back to the present. The captain turned back to Namikawa. "But what can we do about it? The Gotengo isn't fixed yet."
"We could call HEAT," suggested Ozaki. Captain Gordon shot him a look, but said nothing.
Namikawa gave them a small smile. "Actually," she said, "HEAT is busy with some business involving the Tachyon aliens in outer space. We are allowing you to fight Zilla with the Gotengo as long as you promise to be careful." Ozaki felt himself grinning. Even Captain Gordon's usually stone-faced expression lit up. Namikawa, though, gave him a stern look.
"And I mean it this time," she added sternly. "No risky stunts like that incident with Manda and the underwater volcano. The Gotengo may be usable to an extent, but you must keep in mind at all times that it still isn't fully repaired. Do I make myself clear?"
Captain Gordon smiled, leaned over the intercom, and said the three happiest words he had uttered for two long months:
"Scramble the Gotengo!"
