For what seemed like the hundredth time that day John let out a tired sigh. Within the last few days things had gotten out of control, that being the fact that he was the son of the president being released.
He had a sneaking suspicion when the call came down about the change in his mission parameters. That being his expanded role in the waging of political talks that were rapidly coming up. He only had to wait for the ambassadors to come through before they began their not so little incursion into the capital. Which was actually today, they would be arriving soon enough. Likely around mid day just after lunch time.
It wasn't long after his return to Alpha after the ceremony of sorts with the dear countess of Italica did he start hearing rumors of his new found status.
There was no way it could've been a coincidence, somewhere in the chain of command someone thought that it would be a good idea. Which if he had to give credit, was a smart move, if only at the cost of him personally.
That little tidbit of information was something he wanted to keep under wraps. He simply didn't feel comfortable with that kind of information being released. But apparently he had no choice in the matter. Which fucking sucked if he had to say anything about it. Then again, whatever he said would be wasted breath by now, everyone had heard of the rumors and many had come up to him to confirm it.
Oh he had objected of course in the beginning and a some believed him but now…..well it was far too out of control.
The one silver lining in this whole situation was his company, Checkmate and by extension his squad and even the Japanese element of Recon Team 3. They had been surprised for sure and there was plenty of teasing, with "Your horny highness" being the new popular way to address him but in the end nothing changed too much with them.
These guys were his best friends, males and females alike that he had served for around four years now. They saw him as John Lee, the deviant who rarely thought beyond sex and rock and roll. A reliable if questionable man who enjoyed the finer things in life, such as a firm and tight ass, voluptuous tits and a cute face.
The others, even Marines not so much. The sudden change in his status had thrown them for a loop. Now they more often than not simply avoided him. Not that he really cared, he hardly knew those people especially the JSDF and the Special Region residents around Alnus.
"Feeling tired Lee?" Came the bored voice of his marksman. That was another story entirely as things had been a bit awkward between them the last few days.
John rolled his head back as he put his feet up on the dashboard of his JLTV. "Yeah, with all this bullshit that's been going around. Can't believe this shit." He grumbled out in annoyance.
"Give it a few days, it'll pass over soon." She assured him.
He glanced up at her working on the automated turret of their JLTV. Around them dozens of other JLTVs were being serviced. "Sure hope so."
For a while the pair fell into silence, letting the power tools of the motor pool engulf the area.
"You need anything?" He finally asked out of sheer boredom.
She hummed in thought. "No, not really. I've got everything finished."
He gave her an impressed whistle. "Wow, didn't know you were handy with electronics and all that junk."
She grunted as she fell into the passenger seat besides him. "Not really," She mumbled in dismissal. "All I did was clean the damn thing since no one wanted to. Plus it was a good way to pass the time."
"I know plenty of other ways to pass the time if you're interested." He leered at her, though he didn't make eye contact with her like he usually would.
"Mmm definitely interested but...there's better fish deeper in the ocean." She lightly joked back.
He faked a wince in mock hurt. "Ouch." However it just wasn't the same, not after the mess in Korea. "...it isn't the same is it?"
Kim Han Yoon merely shook her head in response, keeping silent.
"...we've got roughly 3 hours before the ambassadors arrive, you want to work out a bit?" He wanted to keep his promise after all.
She gave him a slight smile, all in for the suggestion and a break from the stifling uncomfortable air between them. "Yeah that sounds good."
"Great, get into your PT gear and meet me back here." With that he hopped out of the car and briskly walked away.
It wasn't long before the pair met back up in their gear before heading out on a little run. It wasn't particularly long nor was it strenuous in nature, she was still feeling sore from the brutal exercises she had gone through while in Korea. It was enough to help loosen her muscles and get the blood pumping again.
There was also the bonus of the fact that it helped pass the time a bit faster as they ran together at a steady pace.
As they ran their course, roughly 5 kilometers, they passed others who had similar thoughts. Curt waves were passed as the groups jogged passed one another.
John lightly jogged along without much thought, just content on letting the scenery slide by without care. Briefly he took a glance over at Kim Han Yoon, who was right there besides him though he could see a slight limp.
'Must be pretty sore from the other day.' He thought to himself though he didn't mention the fact. If she could keep up then that was fine. It wasn't too much of a run anyway, 5 kilometers was a cakewalk to them. Now doing it with a ruck and full combat gear was another story entirely though he looked forward to the day when he could start training her with full gear.
This held especially true due them being infantry, a combat MOS. Marines with a combat MOS were expected to perform at a higher standard than those who weren't. Which was why you rarely saw infantry, combat engineers or artillery crew that were fat. Chunky perhaps but generally pretty skinny or lean.
He took a deep breath of the fresh air. He had said it many times before but the air in Special Region was absolutely fantastic. Going back over to the other side really showed how screwed up their world was. Air pollution ran rampant in just about every major city around the globe.
It was hard to notice if you had lived in the city all your life but coming here and then going back really drove the point in.
Hell it kind of made him want to be one of those nature enthusiast fucks who jacked off to tree saps and leaves. But in the end, point driven home or not, he simply didn't give enough of a damn about mother nature. The eggheads would eventually figure something out.
Shaking the thought out of his mind he stole a glance at his watch. It was 11:47 and they had started just after 11 o'clock. In fact if he was correct then they would be coming up to the finish line soon. Which wasn't a finish line at all, just his word that they had ran 5 kilometers.
So in the end he made her run an extra 2 kilometers, mostly for shits and giggles. Not that she would complain, especially not after the hell his mentor Su Won put her and Shino through the other day.
The fire was lit under her behind, now came the question of whether or not it would stay lit.
After stopping by the showers for a quick rinse he called for the rest of the squad to gather at the mess hall. They could talk while eating, an endeavor that no one had complaints about.
John was already halfway through his meal when everyone had arrived. It didn't mean the squad had all arrived at the same time, the ones who came early were most notably the youngest ones. Them being Kim Tae Ha and Hyung Ben. Still even when they sat down he only greeted them before returning to his food, silently waiting for the rest.
It was only after the final member had sat down did he retreat from his food.
"So…" He started off somewhat awkwardly. He could practically feel the gazes of the other Marines around them. "About all this bullshit…I've said it before but just forget about it. Thinking I'm some VIP is only putting me in an awkward position. Something these fucks around us can't seem to understand!" He had purposely raised his voice to a loud yell.
John and the rest could hear the low grumbles and vain insults thrown back in response but at least now they had some bit of privacy. Kind of, not really. He had lost any semblance of privacy after the rumors had started and that reflected on the people he conversed with.
"We'll try squad leader." Replied Hyung Ben as he dove into his food. Personally speaking, he did find it to be somewhat odd to have the president's son as his squad leader. Any other person and he would've been inclined to act more….proper, respectful even. An act such as that would only further annoy John.
Kim Tae Ha took a drink a of water before speaking. "I see no problem with it sir but honestly just forgetting about it is going to be difficult." He paused seeing John's gaze directed at him. "I mean….you know…"
John pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. Figured as much. "Yeah…yeah I know. Difficult thing to ask but from you guys, I need this much. Especially for our next mission." The other Marines he could tolerate to an extent, he hardly dealt with anyone outside his direct chain of command or Checkmate anyways.
"I'll do my best sir." Kim Tae Ha affirmed with a nod, an act that John merely shrugged at. There wasn't much more he could ask of them.
For a while the squad kept silent, mostly mulling over the details of their next assignment.
They would be operating in the heart of the Empire, it was safe to say that should things go pear-shaped then direct and immediate support would be out of reach.
Their best bet was Package Romeo, a weapon that had rapidly fallen into some sort of myth by the locals especially those in Italica where they felt firsthand what a railgun could do. To them, it was nothing more than a sudden strike of thunder without any warning.
In the end Package Romeo was more of a psychological weapon in the Special Region than anything else. A very effective one at that.
Setting up shop in the red light district meant that they had some cover to work with. The Empire didn't give two shits about them, which made it prime location for them. At least until negotiations were underway. They would have to convince the king and the senate first before any of that though.
How, was the unasked and unanswered question. The Empire or rather the Senate knew of the power wielded by the Japanese and Koreans. To some they were terrified, with good reason. Their incursion force of roughly 60,000 was wiped out in Ginza. Their Imperial Army was slaughtered in Alnus and the Allied Army met the same fate shortly later.
Some way or another they'd play to those fears. That, was left up to the ambassadors...at least in any other circumstances. John was now partly responsible for that too.
Thinking about it made him groan in disgust. Something the others caught as they almost languidly ate their food, mostly to kill time as they waited for the ambassadors.
"Something wrong squad leader?" Asked Hyung Ben, taking a brief break from eating.
Jong Han gave his two cents. "Probably from thinking about his added responsibility as a politician."
"You mean added bullshit."
Jong Hans only response was to shrug and turn back to his tray of food. Wasn't his problem.
"Sir, why do you think they released that information? Especially now?"
"Because I'm the closest thing to royalty we've got and the Empire is familiar with royalty."John replied in disdain, his fist clenching. "All the fucking politicians want is to be better than the Japanese. We've always been like this, Japan and Korea that is. It's never a civil deal, there is no give only take." He scoffed, this was why he hated politicians.
"Politicians drag things out and make it more complicated than it already is. They play with words and say what people want to hear, not what's needed. But then again I guess that's the fault of the ignorant mass that eat up that political fuckery."
"...you feel strongly about this don't you sir." It was the first time he had heard that kind of tone from the squad leader.
John merely grunted in response, he supposed so. There were very few politicians he liked. Coincidentally none of them were alive at this point. Guys like Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt were the kind of politicians he actually liked but then again, everyone adored the two Roosevelts.
Thinking back, there wasn't a president nor politician of Korea that he really liked. There was President Park Geun-hye, the first female Korean president back in the early 2000s. She perhaps came the closest but even then it was best to say he disliked her than hated her.
He shook his head at that, no point in thinking about that.
"Sir I've got a another question." Kim Tae Ha said, getting his attention once again. "When you think this will stay a Korean and Japan only operation?
We've already got the advisors from the five permanent security council nations as a compromise to letting us be the first ones here in the Special Region."
The first ones, not the only ones.
The question got him and the others thinking. It had been a few months now since D-Day and so far the other nations hadn't truly pushed for anything much. China had been the most assertive with their massively growing population and in that respect so had been India.
Russia was strangely quiet and so had been the others, at least publicly.
"Honestly, I have no clue. So far nothing insane has happened." Relatively speaking of course, the whole situation was crazy anyway. "I'd say when we fuck up is when we start seeing US Marines and the like."
"What about China and the others?"
John hummed in deep thought. "...China is really pushing for a piece of land to dump a portion of their population. Question is if they do, how much of their population? Those rabbit fucking chinks are at 2 billion right now. Even if they unload a million people here, it ain't gonna do shit."
"They'd probably have to send at least over several million to even make a dent." Kim Han Yoon surmised. "And that isn't even talking about India…" She quietly trailed off.
"Well it isn't my problem, I'll just leave that to the politicians." Jong Han spoke in a flippant manner and as a slight jab at his best friend.
John sighed in exasperation as he felt the jab. At this point he wasn't even going to give Jong Han the standard "fuck you" response. It was something that he had come to terms with, at least partially. He still planned on taking the backseat and let the ambassador, an actual politician, take charge of negotiations.
If a so-called royal presence was needed then his hands were tied, only then would he get involved.
He wasn't a politician, he was simply a Marine.
With a defeated groan John slumped into the driver's seat of his JLTV. Dealing with the Korean ambassador was going to be a pain, he knew that from the get go. Yet he never expected the kind of man they'd actually send.
A stereotypical politician, a rather shrewd at that. Tall, perhaps slightly taller than him and had one the most beady eyes he'd seen. The man, even at first glance was a lifelong politician much like his own dad.
Thankfully the only negative in the situation was the fact that the man was a politician. He was cordial, quite educated and a decent guy overall. Couldn't have been much older than Itami in fact but even so the man had the eyes of a politician.
Sharp, calculating and looking at every angle to take advantage of. Perfect for the job, much better than himself. However all that was foreshadowed by one single fact, he was the son of the president. The ambassador, Yi Sang Yoon was not.
The Japanese ambassador, Sugawara had been the same way. Though he seemed to be a younger more relaxed version of Yi Sang Yoon. Either way he was going to have to get used to working with them for the foreseeable future.
"Ready to go?" Kim Han Yoon asked from her seat behind him.
"Yeah." He mumbled blandly. All his gear, both old and the new additions were ready. All of it double, triple and quadruple checked to ensure proper functionality.
She frowned as she heard the emotionless reply. Leaning forward in her seat she poked her head over John's shoulder. "Come on, it isn't that bad." She lightly admonished him. Not hearing a response she changed tactics. "Well on the bright side we received the K2-A4. We're finally getting some up to date equipment now."
John perked up as he fiddled with his new rifle. "You mean only me and Jong Han. Everyone else still has the older variants, without the counterbalance system."
She sighed in exasperation, there was no winning with him. "It's fine, recoil is something we're all taught to compensate for. The counterbalance feature of the A4 isn't that significant."
John didn't bother holding in a snort. "You mean the feature that literally negates recoil? The counterbalance system in the A4 makes it an A4, without it, it'd be the A3."
"Come on Lee," She gently prodded him, ignoring his little outburst. "Enough of that, you've got more pressing responsibilities to take care of."
Backing down John released the tension in his shoulders and breathed out through his nose. 'Yeah I do have better things to do. Namely making sure everyone is squared away.' He thought to himself. That and the ensured safety of the Korean ambassador took precedence over anything else.
For the first time in what seemed like forever John gave her a small but genuine smile. "Yeah, thanks for the remainder."
He lightly thumbed the selector switch of his newly assigned K2-A4 as he contacted the rest of the group. "Checkmate 31 Actual here, is everyone ready?"
The first to respond was his second in command. "Checkmate 31 is ready sir." Bun Jung Hua's soft voice made it easy to distinguish it over anyone else's. Either that or you simply couldn't hear him entirely, which was an issue.
"Vic One here, we're good."
"Vic Two is ready." John chucked as he heard the eagerness in the voices of the combat engineers. They were chomping at the bits to get going, tired from being stuck in Alpha for as long as they had.
"Good shit," He raised Itami over the net. "Itami, what's up man? You ready?"
"Yeah we're ready to head out."
He nodded in satisfaction. "Fucking fantastic, everyone on me. We're on point, LAV you're on rear guard." With a round of affirmatives he powered up the car and drove out of the lot, the rest of the group trailing behind closely.
"Anyone know how long it's gonna take for us to get to the capital?" Jong Han asked as they passed through the gate and into the heart of the Special Region.
"Already bored?" John asked in amusement.
Jong Han shrugged. "Just wondering you know, kind of boring driving in silence."
"So you want music?" Kim Han Yoon surmised, not at all surprised. The man liked his music.
"Of course." Jong Han said with some enthusiasm. "So put something on dick-ass, let the music flow through you."
John scoffed at the demand. "Oh there'll be more than music flowing through you if you keep this shit up."
Jong Han's face contorted in faux disgust, mostly for show. "Gay."
"Only when dicks touch." John quipped back but nonetheless swiping through his playlist on his phone. "Grab the pill for me man, you know where it is."
Without a word Jong Han bent forward and reached his hand underneath his seat. Straightening out he brought up a portable speaker, most notably with the Beats logo and pill-like shape.
Placing the speaker on top of the dashboard, he secured the speaker by wedging into the glass. Pulling back he gave John a thumbs up before leaning back into his seat.
Kim Han Yoon pulled herself forward, interested. "What are you going to put on?" Though she knew half of the answer beforehand, the two rarely listened to Korean songs. They listened to older rock more than anything else, like those from the early 2000s. Five Finger Death Punch and some others being the few she knew.
All in all, rock in general wasn't her cup of tea, especially hard rock that the two seemed to enjoy.
"You've never heard of Disturbed before have you?"
She shook her head, of course she hasn't.
A large smile etched itself on Johns face. "Oh trust me, everyone who has heard of Disturbed loves them. Only faggots and sailors don't, bunch of fuck boys."
"And airmen, don't forget them." Jong Han added.
He nodded in agreement. "True, they're the ultimate fuck boys."
Kim Han Yoon had her doubts, chances were it was some hard rock bullshit that she'd have to sit through again.
"So this it huh?" John mumbled in disgust as he looked upon Akusho from his perch inside the rundown house that'd be their new base. Outside their vehicles were parked in the column while everyone else played sentry duty, keeping any unwanted visitors at bay.
Even so the residents of Akusho took the chance to glance at the new arrivals, many of them being humanoid creatures. It weirded him out seeing them, Kurata and Itami however seemed quite excited. No surprise there.
Akusho was a shit hole, meant as a garbage dump for any unwanted by the Empire. Poverty and crime was the norm here, even from his perch he could see the hopeless eyes of the individuals. The kind of eyes where caution was necessary, these people had nothing to lose. Death was preferable to many. Dangerous.
His grip on his K2-A4 tightened as he cradled it in his arms. 50 meters. At this distance he couldn't miss, though he'd rather not use his weapon if at all possible. Causing a commotion wasn't wanted by anyone.
From deeper inside he could hear the workings of the engineers as they worked on bringing the base up to standards such as electricity, plumbing and the like. How they planned on doing that was mystery, personally he didn't care how they did it as long as it was done.
Suddenly Hyung Ben's voice came over the net. "Squad leader, tagging a couple. On your HUD now."
Grunting he slid down the black visor that was housed within his helmet. Immediately the street was filled with a handful of individuals highlighted in yellow, deeming them as potential combatants.
He scanned his eyes, both new and old, over to where Hyung Ben was posted. The young Marine was behind his JLTV, his bulky K11 held across his chest. The hybrid gun/grenade launcher platform was one of the earlier models, making it rather bulky to carry. The later variants reduced some of that but none were issued for this operation.
"3 in front?" He asked while pulling out a protein bar from his pack.
"Yes, should I load the tear gas?"
He frowned, it was a better alternative than simply blasting the area with a salvo of 20mm grenades and with the shoddy structure of the buildings the damage potential of the K11 was rather high. Even so tear gas worked both ways and the wind here was surprisingly unforgiving, constantly changing directions. And personally he didn't want to put on his gas mask.
"No, you're fine as is." He could see Hyung Ben shift uncomfortably. The scrutiny of the natives was starting to get to him. "Keep calm young one, they're just curious."
"Yes sir."
Lightly munching on his protein bar he took a sip from his camel. Old school but still very functional, convenient too. Getting up from his perch he made his way downstairs.
Reaching what was the living room he let out a low whistle. The place was slowly starting to come together.
'Those engineers sure work fast.' He thought in amusement as he watched the combat engineers work feverishly to bring some semblance of comfort to the old house.
Turning his attention away from them he found the two ambassadors sitting down at a table quietly talking amongst themselves. Over the power tools and occasional yelling it was only until he was right on top of them did he catch their conversation.
"...it would be a good idea to bring him. I'm telling you this now, the Empire respects royalty over anything else. Our weapons aren't enough to make them stand down, not all of them at least."
"Yes but at the benefit of your country over my own. We don't have a figure such as him here in the Special Region."
And immediately decided to walk in the other direction, opposite of the two arguing politicians.
'Fuck that shit.' He thought with disdain, a frown marring his face.
From behind him he could hear Yi Sang Yoon's voice float over the miscellaneous sounds of construction. "This isn't about my or your country, the only thing that matters is showing a united front to the Empire. We need to convince as much of the Senate to see reason and he's our best chance!"
So painfully obvious what they were conversing about and he wanted no part of it. Honestly fighting a political battle wasn't his forte. Which was why he was a grunt, he received orders and carried them out. To some extent he issued orders as well, just to a smaller scale than the higher ranking officers.
'What a bunch of fucking dick-asses.' He thought to himself in a grimace.
Sighing he opened the door and stepped out into the streets. Making his way to his second in commands JLTV he popped his HUD visor once more.
Briefly his lone eye glanced over at some of the potential problem cases though with the dark tinted visor no one could clearly see underneath. Both hiding his eyepatch and giving them a psychological edge. They looked quite intimidating with those dark visors over the upper portion of their faces, well the Marines at least.
The JSDF didn't bother bringing in their higher end gear yet. The standard equipment while ready for deployment was held off for the moment, much to the soldiers displeasure. Humping around those bulky Type-64s was starting piss off a good portion of their men and women.
He didn't bother with being subtle as he waltzed right up besides Bun Jung Hua. "So, you ready to take over the squad?" John asked abruptly, catching the Sergeant off guard.
"Sir?" He asked tentatively, not sure what his squad leader exactly meant.
John nodded. "Yeah, I'm probably gonna be busy with this whole cocktail monkey-dick bullshit that's been going on lately. You're gonna be in charge soon."
In response all he received was pure silence from the man. A telling sign that Bun Jung Hua was in fact not at all ready, a worrying thought for sure. The man while dependable was simply not a leader. He was too reclusive, hardly conversing with his squad mates and only doing so when it was absolutely needed.
John had been trying to break him out of shell for the last few years to little success. There were glimpses of improvement but hardly drastic. The rest was up to internal motivation, he had done his part well enough. And so bearing this in mind he gave the man an honest breakdown of what he thought.
"Of course you ain't ready, you haven't done jack shit these past few years. The way you are now, you are not fit to be second in command. I have half a mind to put Kim Han Yoon as second in command instead of you. That would be the most sensible choice." He could see the sergeant shrinking into himself. "She's more approachable and the squad will no doubt receive orders from from her better than you."
His voice stayed the same, loud and clear but quiet enough so that no one else could hear the conversation. "Yet despite that are you ready to keep going and seek improvement or are you going to quit?"
For a while Bun Jung Hua stayed silent, replaying the speech and the past few years in his mind. His squad leader was right, he had done practically nothing since he was deemed as John's second in command after boot camp.
From those days John had been a constant presence, seldom was he needed. Even so...
"...Sir, I want to keep going." He mumbled in his monotone voice. To his surprise when he looked up, he found his squad leader casually walking away as he ripped open another protein bar.
John turned around to give him a brief glance. "Well good shit then, get to work. You're in charge of this shit out here." With that he ambled back into the house, leaving the near silent second in command in charge of the security detail.
Breathing out through his nose Bun Jung Hua scanned the surrounding area, now bustling with increased civilian activity.
"Well...shit."
Clicking his tongue in annoyance John hatefully tugged at his robe that he would have to wear for today.
Today was the big day where political talks would begin, not officially of course. They would have to garner some more support from the Senate first though from what Pina had said it shouldn't be too much work. The doves were pushing for peace anyway, they just needed a small push to get the ball rolling.
Their biggest challenges had to be the stubborn king. Him and the warhawks were the chief reason why they simply couldn't barge in there yelling 'Korea and Japan, we come in peace!'
Well in a crude fashion they could do that. They had the means and ability to do so but brute force would only take them so far. Political maneuvering was crucial here where gaining the most amount of support for the doves was paramount.
It was only after gaining a solid foundation would they reveal themselves, if it all went to plan that is. A plan rarely saw contact with the enemy and survived, such was the need for contingencies. And theirs were in the form of the unmanned jets that had been sent over and the special forces teams from both nations running around in the capital. A rather nasty surprise for the Empire should it come down to it.
A knock sounded on his door. "Your horny highness please hurry the fuck up." Ah he knew that voice.
"Fuck off you queer, I ain't in the mood for bullshit."
Hearing a muffled "whatever" through the door he looked at himself once more, making sure everything was clean and set properly.
'God I hate those greasy haired goat fuckers for putting me in this shit hole of a mess.' He angrily thought to himself as he opened the door in a violent manner.
The aged door, not rated for the violent force swung open and smashed against the wall, causing splinters of wood to fly apart. With a dying creak of rusted metal the door hung by the hinges before it too fell, causing a ruckus that echoed throughout the safehouse.
Jong Han took the moment to comment on the situation with an amused smirk. "Well damn, the prince is in need of some anger management classes because holy Jesus you are tilted."
John's only response was to kick the downed door.
A rush of footsteps later one of the engineers made his presence known, quite vocally too. "The hell man?! I don't know what crawled up your ass but you need to calm your holy tits because this house isn't rated for an angry Marine stampeding everywhere. Shits barely holding together as is."
"Uh-huh...come back to me when we've got indoor plumbing. Until then fix what's broken and shut the fuck up." John shot back at the man before shoving his way past him.
The engineer glared at Johns retreating back before turning to the only other Marine present. "The hell crawled up his ass and died? The prince is extra angsty today."
Jong Han shuffled with his gear before making his way past the still engineer. "Don't worry about him, it's his time of the month." With a nonchalant wave Jong Han followed after his friend's footsteps.
"Oh and by the way," He added as an afterthought. "Don't let him hear you calling him 'prince,' he'll rip your ass a new one."
The engineer only rolled his eyes in response. "Yeah yeah whatever, we'll clean up the mess. Yadda yadda, just thank us when you fucks got indoor plumbing and electricity."
"Will do." With a mocking salute Jong Han carefully made his way the stairs, the steps groaning under the weight.
Hearing the groans of protest from the wooden stairs the engineer let out a tired sigh before glancing down at his watch. It was already 0720. "I guess we're starting early today…"
The trip to the heart of the capital was, enlightening to say the least. Sitting upon their horse drawn carriage like royalty had garnered a bit attention but fortunately no trouble.
They had heard of the Empire's use of slaves but today was the first time they saw it. Slavery of non humans were of the biggest quantity, open trading and selling was normal here. Females were most often sold as sex slaves, concubines and playthings for the rich. It had disgusted everyone to the core however their hands were tied, at least for now.
Pina knew of their laws against slavery and the exploitation of sentient beings. Hopefully she could work things out, if not heads were gonna roll and the Empire would feel the terror of the power of the elite of their world.
Those being the handful of individuals such as the Korean and Japanese SF teams deployed in the Special Region. They no doubt already had targets of opportunities lined up should the need arise.
Stepping out of the carriage John took the moment to gaze at the marble buildings surrounding them. A symbol of wealth and power over the weak, Akusho was a prime example.
He was broken out of his stupor by a feminine voice. "I am glad that you were able arrive safely,please come we have much to do." Craning his head towards the voice he found Pina's aide, Hamilton standing there in front of them in her typical armor.
Their little entourage of two ambassadors and himself followed her closely as she led the way. Like before they were the center of some scrutinizing gazes but were otherwise left alone.
"You picked the perfect time to do this you know." She started off.
"How so?" Sugawara asked, taking passing glances at the scenery.
"Today, there is a banquet for the officials from the vassal states. Slipping in between all those officials isn't a hard thing to conceive."
So they got lucky then. Good, less bullshit for him then. Taking his mind off the upcoming political shitstorm John took the moment to glance the palace, more specifically the maids.
'Heh low key want to see her in her birthday suit.' He thought lewdly as he took an appreciative glance at a particular maid. He was broken out of his trance by a hand on his shoulder.
"We aren't here for you to have fun, keep your head on straight son. You're representing Korea here." Yi Sang Yoon scolded him in a low voice, not to be heard by the others.
John couldn't help a scoff. "No I think you mean that I'm representing you greedy fuckers. None of you shits give a damn about peace anyway." It was simply a byproduct of competing against Japan. An objective to be crossed out like a fucking list.
The ambassador opened his mouth to retort but was cut off. "Shut your shit you mindless sack of meat. I know my job, just remember yours." With a lasting glare the Korean squad leader trudged forward catching up to Hamilton and Sugawara.
With a sigh the aged man lightly walked after the group. 'His dossier said he disliked politicians but to this extent? God it's gonna be interesting working with him.' This bordered on raw hatred than anything else.
'Wonder how they're doing right now?' Bun Jung Hua thought as he took to the streets once more. Around him were their vehicles set out in plain sight, a problem waiting to explode.
The second in command frowned as he gazed out into the mixed crowd of humanoid creatures. The fact that their vehicles had been out in plain sight was a rather sour pill to swallow. Even with security measure put in along with and active sentry at night it still didn't feel right. The thought had been bugging him all day.
He turned to take a glance at Itami, the older officer sitting on the hood of his truck and chatting with Kurata. With no little amount of apprehension he slowly approached the pair. The temptation to simply turn back was strong but he continued forward, he had told John that he would continue as second in command. John had trusted that responsibility unto him.
The thought made him nauseous. He never had the desire to lead, only follow. It was what he had done all of his life. His family told him to join the Marine Corps, so he did. His family told him to have a long military career, so he followed despite the fact he abhorred the thought of being a career soldier.
His life had so far been one where he had followed without much thought. Any objections or opinions were kept silent, such was his nature and for the most part John let him be. Until now that is.
Now he was in command of the squad and was responsible for coordinating with Itami.
"Sir." He spoke quietly in a stiff voice, interrupting their conversation. For his part Itami looked surprised at his sudden appearance
"Y-yeah? What do you need?" Itami asked in a surprised and awkward manner.
"...do you think it's a good idea to put these vehicles in a garage of some sort, sir?"
Itami hummed as he thought of an answer. "Well...yeah, it's probably a good idea to hide these somewhere." He lightly tapped the hood for emphasis. "The damn things garner too much attention for my liking and the fact that these are out in the open is asking for it to get stolen even with overwatch."
Bun Jung Hua eased up slightly getting more used to Itami's relaxed presence. "Where though? We don't have a place large enough to house all these vehicles."
"Well…." Itami mumbled. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep just your JLTVs out here, maybe even with the LAV too. We could stow away the rest somewhere close by."
"Where though?"
Itami absent-mindedly rubbed the back of his head. "Your guess is the same as mine." He shrugged.
Bun Jung Hua merely nodded at the statement before turning around and walking inside their "base" in Akusho.
"You know," Kurata suddenly said, getting Itami's attention. "That's like the third time I've heard that guy speak."
Itami rolled his eyes. "You're exaggerating Kurata."
"Well….maybe a bit but you know I'm right. For being second in command the guy rarely talks, he's detached from his unit. I mean look at Pops, he's pretty old but the man knows how to talk his men. Real friendly and approachable." Indeed Kuwahara was reliable and trustworthy. The aged soldier was a veteran, quite wise too. That along with his friendly disposition made him something of a father figure within the team.
Itami wouldn't have anyone else as his second in command. Now when he looked at Johns adjutant he was none of that. No redeemable qualities, at least from his point of view.
"Yeah you're right but John must have seen something for him to ask me for help."
Kurata seemed surprised at that. "Help? When did this happen?"
"Couple days ago." Itami confessed. "He asked me to look over Bun Jung Hua while he's busy."
"Huh, that's surprising." Understatement of the century. The Korean squad leader never had the best opinion of Itami especially after the evacuation of the Coda villagers. He didn't hate Itami but he didn't necessarily like him either.
Of course Itami knew all of this. Which was why he usually gave the man some space, so imagine his surprise when John had walked up to him and asked for help.
It showed that despite his rough exterior the man really did care about his men and women.
Breathing put through his nose Itami took the chance to crane his head backwards, staring into the red-orange skies. The darkness of night was right around the corner, hopefully the diplomatic team would return by then.
"So….how do you think everything went today?" He was broken out of his thoughts by Kurata once more.
"I don't know." He answered honestly. "Knowing them, probably well enough though, at least for the first day."
Kurata cocked his head in confusion. "Why do you say that?"
Itami took the moment to prop his head against the windshield. "The ambassadors, Sugawara and Yi Sang Yoon, they're both seasoned politicians. Sugawara is younger but the guy is a natural at this and I think I don't have to say anything about Yi Sang Yoon. Those two alone would be enough in all honesty."
"But John..."
Itami nodded. "Yeah, John. I feel bad for him, you know because he got dragged into a mess he never wanted to be a part of." In a way he pitied the man on a small level.
Despite his flaws the guy he was a good man and a competent leader yet his government used him like a pawn. They had revealed his hidden status, manipulated his newfound elevated position and took advantage of him. All for their own little agenda.
It disgusted him to the core. The careless manipulation of the higher ups of the Korean government and at the same time, he was disgusted at his own leadership.
Competing against each other for dominance of the Special Region, of the hidden resources deep underground. Their little crusade of peace between them and the Empire was nothing more than a cheap facade for the public. Anyone who looked underneath the political propaganda understood the true nature of the joint operation.
They didn't need the attack drones. They didn't need all these high tech equipment. They didn't need the special operations forces here.
But it proved their superiority to the natives of the Special Regions. The silent threat of annihilation loomed over them. After all, it was only under the threat of destruction did Pina think of peace.
She saw firsthand what they were capable of at Italica and it terrified her. Which was why she was running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to garner support for the doves.
"Hey isn't that them?" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Following Kurata's finger Itami craned his head and found the familiar carriage barreling down the road.
The driver was a resident of Akusho, a human one at that. Paid off with a generous sum of the money gained from selling the dragon scales to keep silent. Long as they had money then they had enough power to throw around here, though understandably they had to be a bit cautious. With the Gonzori, Medusa, Paramount and Bessara families being the four prominent powers in Akusho. It was advisable to avoid confrontation with them and steer clear of any unwanted attention.
They already had a footprint here, any bigger and it would draw in unwanted attention.
The pair watched as the carriage slowed to a stop. The doors swung open and the first person they saw was the Korean ambassador. Rushing past him was John as he began to tear off the articles of clothing he had to wear.
The look of disgust was in plain sight of everyone to see. Yi Sang Yoon merely shook his head in a disapproving manner before making his way into the building, giving Itami a small glance along the way.
Lastly a tired looking Sugawara ambled out of the carriage before leaning on Itami's car.
Itami looked on with no small amount of amusement, no doubt John had been a pain. "So how did everything go?"
"Wonderfully…" Sugawara sighed out before loosening his own robes. "Princess Pina promised that she'd work something out in the upcoming days to gather all the doves for some event."
"What event?"
Sugawara shrugged. "Not entirely sure but it's got something to do with trying to pressure the senators into action. Get them to really see what we're capable of."
Itami didn't say anything as he sat up straighter. "I just hope everything works out in the end. I'd prefer if we don't fight any more than we need to."
Sugawara merely grunted in agreement. In the end there was only so much they could do, the real work had to be done by Pina. She had to be the one to organize everything, they merely had to follow her lead on this. At least until they had a decent foothold.
Until then the responsibility fell to a 19 year old princess and in all honesty he didn't know how to feel about that.
Inside their "base" which was coming along quite nicely, John laid down on the couch in the livingroom. Back in his BDUs he gingerly nibbled on a MRE.
The damn thing was packed with calories, enough for two or three meals if you didn't eat yourself into a stupor. On the table laid a bottle of water and his rifle.
"This is utter horseshit." He grumbled in discontent to himself.
A monotone voice spoke up from behind him. "That bad sir?"
Perking up John turned his head to find his rather exhausted looking second in command. He idly wondered if there was some trouble during the day. The man shouldn't so tired from just standing sentry.
"Mmhmm but what about you? You look like you got into a fight with a lawnmower….and lost." A bit of an exaggeration but it got the point across.
Bun Jung Hua shook his head. "...nothing much sir."
John frowned. "Can't be, now talk to me bud and stop it with the sir's. I only let Kim Tae Ha call me that 'cause the guy a youngin." Bun Jung Hua had been his second in command for just over 4 years now. Him and Kim Han Yoon had been under his command the longest. Yet his relationship with the quiet man had barely changed in those 4 years.
It was partly his fault, he probably should've done more but he had brushed it off for the most part. Only half-assed attempt which resulted in practically nothing. Now he was scrambling to see if Bun Jung Hua could actually lead instead of being the figurehead second in command he had been thus far.
"...I was trying to find a good place to store our vehicles. Having them out in the open seems like a bad idea."
A small smile etched itself on Johns face. "Yeah, you think so?"
Bun Jung Hua nodded. "Yes, it draws too much attention….having our Vics out in the open like that is asking for trouble."
Sitting up he looked straight at the man with both his eyes, the eyepatch finally being discarded. It wouldn't do going while looking like a fucking pirate so he had forgone the damn thing. His eye was pretty much all healed up anyway.
"So," He said, leaning back into the couch. "What's your solution?"
Bun Jung Hua seemed to fidget at the question. "I….went around asking if they knew of a vacated building nearby."
"And?"
"...No progress." He seemed embarrassed at that.
Even so John couldn't help but lightly pat the man on the shoulder before gesturing him to sit on the seat across from him. "There are a lot of things wrong with the way you're approaching this. Do you know what they are?"
For while the man stayed silent, thinking. Frustration became apparent as a frown marred Bun Jung Hua's face.
"Well I'll tell you a couple." He held up a finger. "First what makes you think these people want to help you?"
The question surprised the second in command, he hadn't even thought of that.
"These people don't like the Empire but at the same time they don't care for us. Right now their dislike for the Empire is the only thing keeping them silent. Well that and money." He held up a second finger. "Which leads into point number two. Since they won't help, what's the best way to convince them?"
"Money?" Bun Jung Hua asked in an uncertain voice.
"Bingo." He leaned forward. "Money is power Bun Jung Hua. People say knowledge is power but in the end look at the people in power see the similarities. One thing they all have in common is that they're stupid rich. They're stupid yet they're stupid rich, what does that tell you?"
"...but isn't that illegal?"
He snorted. "Your point? Just be smart about it." For a moment Bun Jung Hua opened and closed his mouth, trying to say something but coming up with nothing. In the end he settled for a court nod before getting up and walking away. His opinion of his squad leader slightly different now.
"Oh and before I forget." Johns voice floated through the living room, unheard by anyone else as the sounds of construction filled the house. "The house next door belongs to the Bessara family. You know, one of the 'Big Four' as they like to call it."
Jaw tightening Bun Jung Hua merely nodded before walking away.
Giving the retreating man a sidelong glance John simply shrugged before returning to his meal. Whether or not Bun Jung Hua was resourceful enough to find a solution would be seen within the next few days. Along with it, he'd see whatever Pina had in store for them.
Something to show themselves off, most likely. Try and convince the Senate to see reason.
Taking a swig of water from a bottle he silently mulled over the political mess he was a part of now.
So far he had played a minimal partin the talk of politics, at least he thought so. The moment that idiot of a loudmouth Korean ambassador mentioned his status, the senators were practically hopping on his dick. If anything that little fact alone was probably enough to change some of the more hard headed senators. Hell it was probably the reason why things were progressing at a fast rate.
'At this point might as well go balls deep and fucking committ to this bullshit.' If he was going to go through some shit then he might as well make it his shit. Weird thought but few people understood his trains of thought. With it in many cases, contradictory to something said or done previously.
Committing to this meant that he could change the flow of talks. At this point all these people recognized him as was simply a 'Prince' or some other variation of royalty. Avoiding it meant keeping the status quo. Facing it head on meant he could make real changes and create an impact here, one beyond the agendas of the politicians or anyone else high in the chain of command.
A devious smile creeped onto his face causing some discomfort to the engineers around him.
You simply didn't use John Lee without facing some repercussions. If he was going to be used then he'd do anything in his power to do things his own way. For better or worse, it didn't matter to him. As long as he put those fuckers in a difficult position then he'd be satisfied.
Unfortunately for them, being satisfied rarely stopped him from going a step further.