A/N: My sincerest apologies for the delay. I know I haven't posted since the last decade, but I hope that this update is enough to make up for it.
Chapter 40
The sun was just starting to rise outside the dorm room window, but everyone inside was already awake. Tatenashi had hardly said a word since they'd returned and was now seated on a bed, staring into empty space. Every so often, a few tears would run down her face.
Ichika sat beside her, one arm wrapped around her in an attempt to provide some comfort, though she seemed to hardly notice. The rest of STS-01 sat around them, similarly quiet. None of them had slept since the abduction.
The silence was broken by Tuman's hologram shimmering into view.
"I... Tatenashi, the ransom demands have been sent. It's about as expected, your sister for the Mysterious Lady and its core. I have already forwarded it to Maya and Giorgi." The AI reported. Tatenashi's fist clenched, but she said nothing.
"Do they expect her to deliver it in person?" Ichika asked.
"They've given a set of coordinates. I've looked at my world map, and it's a forested area on Sakhalin. My guess is that they expect Tatenashi to fly there." Tuman replied.
"If she refuses?" Ichika asked.
"Nothing, but threats to her sister's well-being are implied if delivery is not completed within a three day deadline." Tuman replied.
"Incoming transmission from Giorgi." Ori interrupted. A moment later, the older man's face appeared in front of them.
"What's the situation?" Ichika asked.
"The Chernaya Karakatitsa has just landed. We've tracked it to a known IS base around eighty kilometers west of the town of Sovetskaya Gavan."
"That's nowhere near Sakhalin." Ichika noted.
"Yes. Something is telling me that even if we were to comply with the ransom demands, they would not return their hostage." Giorgi replied.
"So what do we do?"
"There is some good news on that front. The East Russians were operating under the assumption that Kanzashi's IS still had a Tabane-pattern core, and thus made no attempt to contain or restrict the movements of the Uchigane Niishiki's AI. Gladys has been making regular status reports since the abduction. Your sister was fine during her latest check-in four minutes ago." Giorgi replied.
"As for what you are to do? Tuman, we are sending you a data package for negotiation plans. You will be tasked with stalling for time. The rest of you are to stay put. A rescue effort is being planned as we speak." He continued.
"Understood." Ichika replied.
"Good. I will keep in touch as the situation unfolds." Giorgi said. The screen vanished a moment later.
For a few minutes nobody spoke. Then, Laura broke the silence.
"Tuman, what are your orders for negotiation?" She asked.
"Stall for time while masquerading as Tatenashi. Once they start threatening bodily harm, then I am to cave and start pretending to fly to the assigned coordinates. It's a distance of around one and a half thousand kilometers, so that gives us around an hour before the Mysterious Lady would come into range of East Russian radars. However, I am not to commence negotiations until the rescue operation begins." The AI replied.
"I see. I... I hope this works." Laura said.
"Is there nothing else we can do?" Rin asked.
"Giorgi seemed quite clear on that front. We are to wait while the professionals handle this." Laura replied.
"That's it?" Cecilia asked.'
"What would you have us do, fly all the way to Russia ourselves? We'd be spotted hundreds of kilometers offshore, have to dodge the entire East Russian Pacific air defense network, and assuming we even survive that, Kanzashi would have been either moved or..." Laura paused, clearly unwilling to say the word that was now on everyone's mind. Ichika felt Tatenashi shudder beside him.
"Either way, it's an exercise in futility."
"Hold on, incoming message. It's Chifuyu." Ori reported a moment later. Chifuyu's tired voice spoke out a moment later.
"Ichika, I am afraid I can't speak for long. I know the situation is bad, but I am currently in talks with government and military officials. Remember what I told you. Please, don't do anything stupid. That goes for all of you." The message ended.
"She's right. The only thing we'd accomplish by acting independently is endanger the plans of the people who know what they are doing." Ichika sighed.
"I just hope they actually know what they're doing. Now, I suggest getting some sleep while we can." Laura sighed, leaning back.
"Sleep? Now?" Houki exclaimed.
"I would rather be fully awake when the next situation update comes in than half-asleep as I am now." Laura replied, eyes closed. Rin nodded, and lay down beside her. Cecilia too, after some hesitation.
For his part, Ichika did not move from beside Tatenashi, although he did close his eyes. If nothing else, sleep would make the waiting easier.
Kanzashi glared impotently at her captor as she was deposited, still naked, into a cell. The Chernaya Karakatitsa then gently closed the door, and Kanzashi heard the whir of a locking mechanism.
She tried to keep her shivering under control, but flying long distances in the cold night air whilst completely soaked made it difficult to say the least. As Sasha stowed her IS away, Kanzashi took a quick glance around the cell and to her slight relief saw a bright green prison uniform. Trying to remain as dignified as possible, she put it on. Then she sat down on the lone bench that, aside from what looked like a chamber pot, made up the sum of the cell's furnishings.
Sasha was still there, watching her with an odd expression on her face. The two of them stared at each other, neither saying a word, for a few long minutes before Sasha finally spoke.
"I'm sorry that it had to come to this, but we gave your sister more chances than she deserved. She was fully aware of the consequences." She said.
Kanzashi considered whether or not to respond for a few long moments. Finally, she spoke.
"You have just made the greatest mistake of your life. Probably your last as well."
"It was your sister's error, not mine."
"I will pass that along after she's killed you." Sasha raised an eyebrow at that.
"She is welcome to try. When the time comes, I will give her what she deserves." She replied.
"And what, pray tell, does she deserve?" Kanzashi asked, suspecting the answer already.
"A lot worse than death for what she did to me and everyone else." Sasha growled.
"Ah, I see." Kanzashi kept her face impassive as the realization hit her.
"Do you? Do you understand what it means to have years of hard work and training suddenly mean nothing because some rich Japanese bitch decided she wanted an IS?"
Kanzashi remained silent.
"Five years of our lives we devoted to preparation. We passed through test after test when hundreds of others didn't. Out of thousands, only eleven of us made the mark for the final selection, and we were practically sisters. Even though the Gustoi Tuman was just one IS, it belonged to all of us at that point. Imagine then, how on the day after the final examination, we were called in and told that the program was cancelled and that everything we had done was for nothing?"
"What happened then?" Kanzashi asked, curious.
"We were thrown out on the streets without even a ticket home. Angelina would jump off a roof a week later..." Sasha trailed off.
"And you joined the revolution?" Kanzashi queried.
"We lived on to bring justice to the ones that did this to us. I personally executed the men responsible. Now, your sister is all that remains." Sasha growled.
"Quite the sob story you have there. I'll be sure to tell my sister once you're dead." Kanzashi replied.
"She-" The door opened before Sasha could continue, and the Russian girl spun around.
"Comrade Major!" She saluted as a young blonde man walked in, wearing a crisp, blue uniform with a badge indicating him to be from the DRR State Security Committee. Kanzashi didn't recognize any of the other insignia.
"At ease, Comrade Lieutenant." The man's features were handsome, and he couldn't have been out of his twenties. She took note of Sasha's reaction to his words, namely a faint blush and a deliberate attempt to maintain composure, and filed it away for later use.
Behind him walked a tall woman, with long black hair and a buxom figure, who looked to be a good year or two older than Sasha. She wore a similar, albeit with different rank insignia, and fasteners that Kanzashi recognized as being easily undone. That meant she was potentially an IS pilot. Kanzashi's gaze slid upwards towards her face, and her eyes widened slightly.
The woman's eyes were red. A quick glance up at her hairline revealed no sign of white roots, and her skin, while pale, was not nearly enough to give any hint of albinism. Then Kanzashi noticed the black metal extensions that protruded upwards like horns from just above her ears, and while the woman's hairline did a good job of covering them, she still caught a glimpse of where the implants joined with the skull.
She remembered her mother's warning. Red eyes, or other unnatural hues, were a common side effect of Phantom Task hereditary enhancements.
As she mulled this realization over, the woman leaned over to the Major and whispered something, too low for Kanzashi to catch. The man nodded, just as another girl walked in.
This one was a small blonde, easily a head shorter than her black haired compatriot. She looked young, just barely into puberty, but considering the uniform she wore, identical to that on the black haired girl, and the expression on her face, Kanzashi suspected that she was older than her body suggested. Her eyes were a dark violet, another unnatural color. She also possessed implants in the form of a large black ring above her head, supported by two black columns coming out of the sides of her skull. Kanzashi reminded herself that appearances were deceiving, especially when dealing with people who had such capability to manipulate the human genome.
"Comrade Vadimova, you have done well. You are dismissed, and I will debrief you shortly." The Major ordered, and Sasha obeyed, offering another quick salute before exiting the room.
Once the door closed behind her, the Major turned to the short blonde and made a gesture. The blonde girl looked to concentrate for a few moments, before nodding.
"Clear." She said simply.
Evidently satisfied, the Major now fixed his attention on Kanzashi. She did her best to meet his gaze, a gnawing fear now rising inside her. This was a man tasked with purging dissidents, and the firearm on his hip had most likely seen a fair amount of use.
"Sarashiki Kanzashi. You are an interesting individual." He finally spoke in Japanese.
"What of it?" Kanzashi replied in Russian. The man raised an eyebrow, before switching languages.
"Your achievements speak for themselves, and your appearance is quite fascinating as well. However, it is your enemies that I find particularly fascinating. Tell me, what would Phantom Task want with you?" At the mention of that organization, a spike of panic shot through her, and she glanced over at the two girls.
"Ask them yourself." She replied, as the black haired woman whispered something into the Major's ear.
"I would prefer to hear it from you. Preferably in a polite conversation." The Major replied.
"I have no idea." Kanzashi replied.
"Liar." The black haired woman said.
"My patience for evasion and falsehood is painfully thin, Kanzashi. I would prefer to keep this exchange polite and truthful." The Major said.
"I am good at IS design. Perhaps they want me for that."
"Omission." The black haired woman said without skipping a beat.
"Better, but not quite. The real reason, if you please." The Major replied.
"How much are they offering?" Kanzashi asked.
"Perhaps I will tell you, if you tell me the truth as well." The Major replied.
Kanzashi was silent in response, weighing her options. On one hand, if she were to stay silent and evasive, things would probably get worse. The man clearly knew some details about her. On the other hand... As she thought, the black haired woman leaned in and whispered to the Major once more. The man nodded, but stayed silent.
In the end, she realized, her family was already dead and a small revelation would make no difference for her sister.
"My family has been fighting their efforts in Japan for generations." She finally said.
"Omission." The black-haired girl replied without skipping a beat, and Kanzashi fought down the burst of fear. How much did they already know about her?
"If you know so much about me already, why bother questioning me?" She asked.
"Information is always better from the source. Now, will you answer my question?" The Major asked. Kanzashi thought for a moment, before opening her mouth.
"I-"
"Omission." The black-haired woman cut her off, and Kanzashi's eyes widened. She hadn't even spoken! What was... She glanced at the woman's implants.
"Realization." The woman in question said.
"You... You can read my mind?" Kanzashi whispered, horrified.
"Enough to determine whether or not you are telling the truth." The Major replied.
Kanzashi did not reply, transfixed by horror. This was impossible!
"Now, are you ready to speak truthfully?" The Major asked.
"She is considering evasion tactics." The mind-reader said a moment later.
"Cleverer men than you have tried, and none have succeeded. I would appreciate it if you were to tell me the truth, before I have to start taking punitive measures."
"You cannot do too much to me. You need me alive for ransom!" Kanzashi replied.
"We do not need you alive, we need the illusion of you in good health." The Major replied. Another spike of fear shot through her.
"You are handing me over to Phantom Task?" She finally asked, her voice trembling.
"Whether or not you are handed over to them depends entirely on how useful you are to me and to the Democratic Republic of Russia." The Major replied.
"What are they offering?" Kanzashi repeated. The mind-reader whispered something in the Major's ear.
"A regiment of IS suits, to start." The man said after a few moments.
Despair filled Kanzashi at that, as reality sank in. Regardless of what happened, she would be traded. 'Don't let them take you alive.' Her father's panicked words all those years ago, on that nightmarish day, echoed through her mind. She placed her tongue between her teeth, wondering if she could even go through with the deed, and the mind reader's eyes widened.
"She's trying to bite her tongue!" As she spoke, she gestured towards her mouth.
"It won't work. You won't be the first person to bite their tongue in my presence. Believe me, it'll be weeks before you die of it. It will only delay the inevitable and cause you a lot of easily avoidable pain." The Major said, his tone dispassionate.
She was beaten. Soon she would be carted off to some Phantom Task headquarters, to betray her friends and family. As she looked up at the uniformed man on the other side of the bars, she couldn't help but see a large amount of irony in the situation.
"Remember what I said. Tell me everything, make yourself useful. Persuade me to delay or abort the transfer." The Major said.
Kanzashi didn't reply for a few moments.
"Are you a good communist?" She finally asked. The Major looked at her quizzically.
"I am an agent of the endless revolution. That is beyond question. Now talk." The man replied.
The irony of that statement in this situation was enough to push her over the edge. Unable to help herself, Kanzashi began to laugh. It was a long, despairing sound, bereft of any humor.
"Do you find something funny in that statement?" The Major asked.
Kanzashi's laughter slowly petered out at that, and she finally spoke.
"You want me to talk? Fine! I'll tell you everything! More than you ever wanted to hear!" She fixed the two red-eyed girls with a wide grin.
"When I'm done talking, you'll know enough to earn a firing squad of your own!" She laughed. Then, before anyone could respond, she continued.
"Tell me, do you know what happened on the twenty sixth of September, 1983?" She asked.
"Enlighten me." The Major replied curtly.
"Officially? A Soviet satellite warning system malfunctioned and started sending signals of an American missile launch. Only the decision of one Stanislav Petrov to not launch an immediate retaliation averted nuclear armageddon." Kanzashi said.
"I presume that is not what actually occurred?" The Major asked.
"Nope! That malfunction was deliberately engineered by those people you now call allies. Were it not for my great grandmother's defection and the heroic efforts of people who wore the same uniform as you, civilization would have been reduced to radioactive rubble, and Tsar Alexander would have ruled over it all!" She exclaimed.
"Tsar? What-"
"You don't know? Of course you don't, why would they tell the ideological descendants of the men who murdered their leader's family any of the truth! The truth is, Phantom Task is an old organization, one that seeks to bring the old feudal system back and rule over the world as modern-age kings and queens. Communists like you will be the first on the firing line when they make their next attempt, assuming you even live to see it! They have already tried once, and very nearly succeeded! Now, all they need is me and the last remaining opposition that actually knows how to fight the threat will soon be gone as well!" She finished.
"She... She is telling the truth. Or... Or at least she believes she is." The black-haired girl murmured, and Kanzashi felt a twisted sort of pleasure at the Major's horrified expression.
"It is the truth! Those people you so eagerly have jumped into bed with are the mortal enemies of your so-called revolution! They will use you and discard you, and your entire nation will burn when they're through. Now go ahead! Turn me over and sign the world's death warrant! My only regret is that you won't live long enough to see it for yourself!" She sighed, falling back into her seat.
"That is quite the claim you have made. Do you have any evidence to support it?" The Major asked.
"Oh, I have plenty of evidence, but none of it on me. Perhaps if you tried to have a civilized discussion we could have come to an arrangement, but alas you went straight to ransom..." Kanzashi shrugged.
"As far as she knows, she is telling the truth." The mind-reader said, her voice soft.
"As far as you know too, I presume. You do a poor job of hiding who and what you are." Kanzashi said. The woman seemed confused at that. The Major looked over at her as well, visibly confused for a moment before realization colored his features. He leaned over and whispered something in the mind-reader's ear, and she in turn nodded.
"I see." The Major finally replied. He seemed to think for a few moments, before he nodded and turned towards the exit. It seemed as though her interrogation was over.
"Be careful who you trust. For all I know, the rot has spread all the way to the top of your little country." Kanzashi said, trying to inject the same mocking tone into her voice as her sister so often did.
The Major did not reply, and soon Kanzashi was left alone to await her fate.
"Ichika, what did you do?" Ichika was awoken from his dozing state by Maya's exclamation.
"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked.
"I just received orders for STS-01 to sortie as part of the rescue operation. Did you have anything to do with this?" Maya asked. At those words, he felt Tatenashi sit up straight from where she was leaning on him.
"Wait, what? What do you mean by that?" Ichika exclaimed, loud enough to wake the girls still sleeping.
"I mean exactly that. STS-01 is ordered to sortie immediately and link up with a stealth transport to take part in the rescue operation..."
"I had nothing to do with it!" Ichika exclaimed.
"Tatenashi?" Maya asked.
"... No." The blue haired girl replied.
"They're telling the truth. None of them did anything." Ori added.
Maya sighed in response.
"What the hell are they thinking..."
"Are we to sortie?" Tatenashi asked.
"I-" Maya was interrupted by Giorgi joining the conversation.
"Yes. The orders have just come down from high command. STS-01 is to sortie immediately. You will launch, then proceed underwater to a safe distance. You will then proceed north to rendezvous with an OXT-1 transport. Further details will be given in flight." Giorgi said, his face impassive.
"Giorgi, you can't be serious! They're just-"
"I know. Believe me, I know. However, the orders were clear. High Command believes them to be the best unit for the task." Giorgi replied.
Maya was silent for a long moment, before nodding.
"Fine. I will be filing a complaint over this though."
"I will as well." Giorgi said.
"Please, come back safely." Maya said simply, before ending her transmission.
"You heard the orders. STS-01, prepare to sortie. When you are ready, AIs will hijack the academy's security cameras and plot a route for you to take to avoid detection. You are prohibited from flying over or near the academy, and are instead to deploy IS suits once underwater. You will then exit Tokyo bay and head sixty kilometers east before surfacing. Once you are up, you are to fly north to the rendezvous point, located at 40 degrees north, 143 degrees east, remaining at wavetop height. There, you will board the transport and await further instructions." Giorgi ordered.
"Understood." Ichika replied, somewhat bewildered. Was this really happening?
"Good. Commence preparation. Depart as soon as possible." Giorgi ordered, before ending the transmission.
Ichika looked around the room at the girls, all of whom were now awake and staring wide-eyed at him.
"Is this... Is this for real?" Laura exclaimed.
"Looks like it." Cecilia muttered.
"This can't be right. Are we allowed to refuse orders on account of them being completely and utterly insane?" Laura asked.
"I don't know!" Rin replied.
"I'm going." Tatenashi said a moment later.
"But we're just-" Rin began.
"I'm going. Alone if I have to." Tatenashi cut her off.
After a few moments, Ichika nodded.
"I'll be going as well." He said. After a few moments, Laura sighed and nodded.
"Then if you two are going, I'll be going as well. Can't leave it to the two of you alone."
"Then I'll go as well. The more the merrier." Cecilia said.
"Didn't think I'd be using my upgraded IS like this, but what choice do I have? I'm with you." Rin added a moment later.
That left Charlotte and Houki, the latter of which nodded and stood up.
"I will be going to grab my pilot suit. Wait for me." She said.
"I... I'll be going as well then. Un pour tous, tous pour un." Charlotte stood a moment later.
"Well said." Laura gave her roommate a smile, before walking over to the drawer where her pilot suit was kept.
"We shouldn't waste time. Delay only increases our chances of failure." She said.
"Tatenashi, I'll grab our suits. The rest of you, if you don't have yours already, go grab it. You heard Giorgi, we're leaving ASAP." Ichika ordered, following Houki out the door. Cecilia and Rin were right behind him.
A short while later, they were back in the room, all dressed in their pilot suits.
"Ori, how do we get to the ocean?" Ichika asked.
"The rooms at the end of the south wing of this building have their balconies overhang the ocean. The occupants of one of the rooms on the fourth floor are currently out for lunch. We'll take the maintenance passages there. Cameras are already hacked, we can move immediately." Ori replied.
"Then let's go." Tatenashi stood, followed by the rest of the squadron.
As expected, the halls of the dorm room were deserted, and they made it to the maintenance spaces without issue. From there on out, it was an easy walk to the room.
The door took a few moments to open, after which they quickly filed into the unknown girls' room. Closing the door behind them, they quickly made their way to the balcony which, as expected, overlooked the ocean.
"Partial deployment, shields up. The water down there isn't particularly deep." Ori cautioned.
"Roger." The seven of them chorused, performing a partial deployment. Ichika was the first to jump. He hit the water, and then the bottom a moment later. His IS then flashed into being around him, and he quickly accelerated towards deeper water. Behind him, the other girls splashed down and deployed one by one.
Soon, they were all gathered in a circle a good distance away from IS Academy.
"Tatenashi, can you do anything with your nanobots to make us go faster?" Ichika asked.
"Yes." She replied, and Ichika felt the water start to shift around his suit.
"Alright. Let's go. Tatenashi, you're in charge of navigating us to the launch point." He said.
"Roger."
With that, they were off.
Lily Meusel felt her phone vibrate, and her eyes widened as she read the message. It was an urgent report from her AI, stating that Ichika, Tatenashi, and the rest of the students all but confirmed to be Code Black agents had just snuck out of the academy. Considering what had just happened the night before, the bets were off on what they were doing.
It only took a few moments for her to make her decision, and soon an encrypted message was sent out to her sister.
Her job done, Lily fidgeted with her IS, ready to deploy it at a moment's notice if Code Black agents started beating down the door. There was always an inherent risk in communicating in and out with other agents, but she had not been found yet and she would not let them take her if she were.
"Our superiors must have lost their minds." Laura spoke up after a few minutes of silent running.
"You're not the only one to think that." Cecilia replied.
"And yet we're still following their orders." Laura sighed.
"They have a plan. One that seems insane, but they've still got a plan of some sort. Considering the situation, I think it's best that we do our best to carry it out." Ichika replied.
"Insane is one way to put it! They're asking us to storm a Russian IS base, one that is located in close proximity to several air bases if I remember correctly, and god knows how many static defense sites. We're not even out of school yet!" Rin exclaimed.
"To say nothing of the hostage situation." Laura added.
"We're already committed. Can't turn back now, can we?" Houki pointed out.
"That's true. Still, if there was ever a recipe for disaster, this is it." Laura replied.
"Agreed." Cecilia said. Ichika silently agreed as well, but decided against voicing it.
At the speed they were moving, it took a long thirty minutes of travel before Tatenashi announced they had reached the launch point.
"Alright, we'll do this like we did it for the Silver Gospel. Houki, Cecilia and I will be carriers. The rest of you, stow away and wait for us to pick you up." Ichika ordered.
"Roger!"
Soon, three IS suits were flying low over the ocean at supersonic speed. Cecilia had grabbed Rin, Houki was holding both Laura and Charlotte, and Ichika held Tatenashi.
"Ichika... Thank you." Tatenashi spoke up after a few more minutes of flight, her voice soft.
"Kanzashi is one of us. I couldn't exactly say no when the order came down to save her, right?" Ichika replied. Tatenashi was silent for a long while.
"She's all I have left." She finally said.
"I... I know." Ichika replied, remembering the fate of the rest of the Sarashiki family.
"Promise me that we'll get her out alive. I... I don't think I could live with myself if we failed." Tatenashi said.
"I promise." Ichika said.
A few minutes later, Tuman spoke up.
"Ichika, I have made contact with the Russians. We are now on a timetable." The AI reported.
"Good. How long?" Ichika asked.
"At the moment, indefinite but I don't think I'll be able to stall them for long. The conditions they gave are pretty clear cut, and there isn't much room for negotiation." Tuman reported.
"Do what you can. What happens if we are delayed?" Ichika asked.
"In the event of a minor delay, we have an AI in position to fake the signature of the Mysterious Lady on Russian radars. However, if things drag on for too long they'll probably get suspicious and if they investigate the false contact it will all fall apart." Tuman replied.
"How likely is that?" Ichika asked.
"Assuming no unexpected delays, it's not going to happen."
"Good. Let's hope it stays that way." Ichika said.
They flew on northwards, making good time at nearly one and a half times the speed of sound. Just under half an hour after surfacing, they reached the rendezvous point.
"STS-01, come in! We see you! Climb to eleven kilometers, we're circling there. Ventral doors are open, we're waiting for you!"
"Roger." With that, the three IS suits began to climb, quickly spotting the transport and four escorting fighters.
Coming up below, Ichika matched speed and then slowly ascended into the open transport bay. Dropping Tatenashi off, he stowed his IS away and strapped himself into a chair just as Houki came up. Cecilia was the last one in, and the doors closed behind her. Save for them, the transport bay was empty and Ichika's hopes of reinforcements all but vanished.
"Please tell me there's another transport carrying another squadron?" Rin asked.
"The briefing has a lot to explain." Laura muttered.
It took a minute before a holo-screen flashed into being at the front of the compartment, drawing their attention.
"Good morning. I wish I were speaking to you under better circumstances, but the situation dictates otherwise. I am Senior Operations Director Andrew Fukuyama, and I will be briefing you personally." The speaker was an older, half-Asian looking man whose black hair was just starting to go white.
"Why are we here? Shouldn't this be a task for an older, better trained unit?" Laura asked without preamble.
"Yes. The original plan was to have the First IS Wing carry out the operation. Unfortunately, the situation has escalated beyond a simple hostage situation. Three hours ago, just as our transport was taking off, the DRR issued an ultimatum. Any action by any foreign military on their soil will be met with nuclear retaliation." That revelation may as well have sucked the air out of the room. Everyone went still.
"Unmarked IS suits of unknown design were judged to be at significant risk of being misidentified as either Japanese or American, and thus posed too great a risk of nuclear escalation." Andrew explained.
"So you needed a unit that was visually distinct, easily identifiable, and known to be unaffiliated." Ichika surmised.
"Exactly. Your IS suits are recognizable, and are from a wide range of nations. Our hope is that we can play this off as an independent hostage rescue effort put together by Tatenashi. Hopefully, the DRR will not escalate things further, or at the very least will delay escalation until more substantial action can be taken. Further details on the cover story will be provided upon conclusion of the operation." Andrew replied.
"Now, your mission is, first and foremost, the rescue of Operative Sarashiki Kanzashi, as well as the retrieval of her IS. Your sole objective is to get her and her IS out of the hands of the DRR."
"Where is she being held?" Ichika asked. In response, Andrew's face vanished, replaced with a satellite image of Eastern Russia. The map then zoomed in on a small area, at the eastern edge of a mountain range. A base was plainly visible, its coordinates being displayed as 49°04' North, 139°12' East.
"Your targets are being held in an IS base, located in a valley eighty kilometers west of the town of Sovetskaya Gavan. Thanks to Gladys' infiltration efforts, we have been able to ascertain that Kanzashi is being held in this building here, on the west-most side of the compound. Her IS is in another building on the base's northeast corner. Both buildings will have to be hit simultaneously, although the IS would be the more difficult object to locate. Disregard all other buildings."
"You said this is an IS base? What kind of opposition should we expect?" Ichika asked.
"The base is currently home to an entire regiment's worth of Orlan IS suits, thirty six in all. However, many of these are down for maintenance, with Gladys reporting only twelve as confirmed operational. However, just today the base accepted the delivery of eight unmarked containers, each roughly the size of an IS suit. We are assuming that they have received additional Orlans, bringing the total up to twenty active units. The Chernaya Karakatitsa is still present on the base as well." He felt Tatenashi tense and lean forward at the mention of the Russian IS.
"The base is also defended by three SA-22 Greyhound batteries, each comprised of two vehicles. One is positioned inside the base itself, another at the top of a ridgeline to the southwest, and the last on the reverse side of a slope to the east. An SA-23 Gladiator battalion is also present to the East, while an SA-26 battalion is located within the valley to the north. The presence of MANPADS is unknown, but very likely." Andrew paused, and the image zoomed out.
"The base is also within the defensive envelope of the Sovetskaya Gavan and Mongokhto Air Bases' SAM systems. This means two SA-21 Growler battalions, four SA-23 Gladiator battalions, along with another SA-21 battalion to the West."
"Mongokhto Air Base is home to anti-submarine patrol aircraft and strategic bombers. However, Sovetskaya Gavan is home to two fighter regiments of nearly forty aircraft each, one of MiG-31 Foxhounds and one of Su-35 Flankers. Again, these are not the best East Russian units and readiness is low, but they still pose a significant threat. There are other bases in the region, but none will be close enough to provide immediate aid during the operation. However, Dolinsk-Sokol Air Base on Sakhalin is ideally situated to potentially pose a threat to us on the return trip. You may be required to participate in combat again should the planes stationed there sortie." Andrew explained.
"I see." Ichika said, hesitantly.
"Fortunately, the DRR was completely unprepared to defend against a cyberattack perpetuated by AI. Hundreds of our AI have managed to successfully infiltrate their systems. Search radars and long range SAM systems have been shut down. They will pose no threat. Communication lines have been cut as well, reducing the risk of fighters scrambling immediately. The primary threats are therefore the SA-22s, the IS suits present at the target base, and any MANPADS in the immediate vicinity." Andrew explained.
"With that in mind, the operation is to be executed as follows: The OXT-1 will release you directly over the base, then retreat to a safe distance along with its fighter escort. The seven of you will drop down onto the base. During this drop, you are to target the Greyhound air defense systems, the IS hangars on the east side of the base, and the truck convoy currently unloading its cargo on the west side. Any IS suits, air defense systems, or large containers out in the open are to be targeted as well. You are not to attack any of the other buildings on the base. Once you have landed, you will enter and locate the objectives. As soon as you have retrieved one, it is to be carried out to the transport immediately. Once both are secured, you are to depart and return to the waiting transport. Under no circumstances are you to linger over the target area for any longer than necessary. Our fighters will provide overwatch and engage any flying opponents should it become absolutely necessary, but in order to avoid nuclear escalation they will remain with the transport." Andrew said.
"Understood." The seven of them chorused.
"Good. Are there any questions?" Andrew asked. Laura raised her hand.
"So in conclusion, the only thing that stands between the world and nuclear war are seven IS Academy students and luck?" She said.
"That would be a fair assessment." Andrew replied.
"What happens if we fail?"
"Best case scenario, we are able to rescue you down the line. It becomes worse from there."
"What if one of us is shot down?" Laura asked.
"If one of you is shot down in the immediate vicinity of a Russian base, then an immediate rescue is to be attempted. However, if shot down over wilderness during extraction no immediate rescue is to be attempted." Andrew replied.
"What do you mean?" Cecilia asked.
"This is just the first part of a much larger operation. However, before the rest of the operation can commence, the hostage and her IS must be removed from the situation. In the unlikely event that one of you is downed, you are to evade capture and follow orders from HQ to coordinate with a second rescue operation." Andrew replied.
"Larger operation?" Ichika asked.
"That is classified."
"Understood."
"Is there anything else?" Andrew asked.
"What about afterwards? We are about to carry out an attack on a Russian military base. Will we even be able to return to IS Academy after this?" Ichika asked.
"The political ramifications are still being determined, but yes. You are to return to IS Academy upon conclusion of this operation. We are expecting complications from there on out, but we are confident in our ability to mitigate the damage done." Andrew responded. The vagueness of the response did not instill any confidence in Ichika.
When there were no further questions, Andrew continued.
"Very well. I will keep you appraised if the situation changes. Remember, this may very well be the most important action you will ever carry out in your lives. Good luck. We are counting on you." With that, the transmission ended, although the holographic map remained in place.
"No pressure, right?" Cecilia laughed.
"Right! We're just going to trigger nuclear armageddon if something goes wrong!" Rin gave a hysterical laugh of her own.
"This day just keeps getting better..." Charlotte sighed.
"And then there's the aftermath. For all we know, we'll end up on trial in the Hague!" Laura's voice was somewhat hysterical.
"Better political fallout than literal fallout." Rin quipped.
"I'd be more supportive of that if the literal fallout didn't still have a chance of happening regardless!" Laura replied.
"I never thought I'd see the day when expulsion from IS Academy would be the least of my worries..." Houki sighed.
"True. If this goes wrong, we could all be killed, or worse, expelled!" Cecilia answered.
"Your priorities seem to be quite off." Charlotte noted.
"Uncultured ruffians, the lot of you." Cecilia sighed.
Still, for all their talk, none of them made any move to leave the plane as it flew on into Russia.
"Five minutes to target! Ready up!"
The compartment tensed at that announcement.
"Partial deployment. Shields up, we'll deploy fully after the drop. Tatenashi, Houki, you're with me. We're going for Kanzashi. Houki, you're the fastest, you'll be in charge of evacuating her. The rest of you will be going for her IS. Cecilia, you're in charge of evacuating it."
"Understood." The girls chorused.
"Charlotte, you've got the best air to ground capabilities of all of us. Your first target are the SA-22 Greyhounds. Once they're down, start dropping bombs on the IS hangars. The rest of you, pick your targets. Avoid the buildings, but everything else is fair game.
"Got it." Charlotte said.
"We have a minute of complete surprise at most. We need to inflict maximum damage before they can respond. We then get in, grab what we need, and then get out. Nothing more." Ichika said.
"Roger." The girls chorused.
"One minute!" The announcement came.
"Ready?" Ichika asked, partially deploying his IS as he spoke.
"Roger!"
"Laura, Tatenashi, you're first! Keep us covered, the rest of us will be right behind you!" Ichika ordered.
"Got it!"
As the two girls replied, the doors began to open.
"We're over the target! Everyone out, go, go, go!"
As those words came out over the intercom, Laura and Tatenashi leaped out. Ichika and Rin were next, followed by Houki and Cecilia, and finally Charlotte. As they fell away, the transport wheeled around and accelerated away to the east.
"Fire when ready!" Ichika ordered, his IS flashing into existence around him. The skies were clear of clouds, and almost immediately, his HUD lit up, marking targets and buildings down below. For a moment he considered using Aurora, but it would have been too much of a risk to Kanzashi. Instead, he deployed his railgun.
"Firing!" Charlotte shouted, and he looked up just in time to see a barrage of missiles leave her wings, separating into pairs as they descended on their targets.
Cecilia fired a moment later, her plasma gun speaking a moment before Ichika lined up his railgun on a row of trucks down below. These were most likely the convoy bringing new IS suits in, and he swept the railgun across the line of parked vehicles whilst deploying a barrage of drones to finish them off. Laura's railgun added to the barrage as well, the German girl aiming at a row of IS suits parked out in the open on a tarmac strip on the south side of the base.
A barrage of angry red bolts caught his eye, and he looked over to see Rin's IS blazing away, her impact cannon pods evidently having received an upgrade.
A few seconds passed, and then the explosions began down below. Charlotte's missiles struck home, and the Pantsir air defense emplacements vanished from his HUD. Then there was a ripple of bright flashes down below, and when he glanced at the source Ichika saw that the trucks were gone. Something volatile must have gone up. The IS suits parked in the open fared little better, and Ichika switched his drones' target to the SA-26 battery while Charlotte released another volley of missiles, these ones aimed at the IS hangars.
They had dropped below four thousand meters now, and Ichika altered course to his target building. Evidently the cyberattack had worked, because even now there was no return fire. The hangars were going up in smoke, and Cecilia and Rin were working them over with plasma fire to ensure the destruction of their contents.
One thousand meters, and Ichika saw with some dismay that the explosion from the trucks had done some damage to the building Kanzashi was kept in. Praying it was not too late, he accelerated past Tatenashi before performing a hard brake to come to a soft landing on top of the structure's roof.
Tatenashi came down beside the building a moment later, surrounded by a shining nimbus of water. Muzzle flashes indicated the first return fire from panicked infantry, and Ichika noted a few bullets spark off his shield, doing negligible damage as he prepared to smash through the roof.
The bullets quickly stopped as he broke through and entered the building. He saw a guard dive for cover behind a desk, but with the exception of a few panicked-looking soldiers the cells on the top floor were empty.
Thus, he descended down to the ground floor, leaving another hole above him. A few bullets pinged off his shield as another guard opened fire with a handgun. He ignored them, instead looking around unsuccessfully for Kanzashi. That left the basement, if it existed, and he descended again.
Sure enough, there she was, watching wide-eyed as his IS came down through the roof in front of her cell. Not wasting any time, he grabbed the cell door and ripped it off its hinges.
"I found her! Houki, I'm coming to you!" He reported as Kanzashi ran over, tears streaming down her face. He grabbed her, pulling her inside his shield envelope with one arm while ascending back up through the building.
"Roger!" Houki shouted. Akatsubaki appeared in front of him a moment later, and Ichika handed Kanzashi over to her. The red IS was gone a moment later, accelerating up and away.
Ichika turned, looking for Tatenashi, and found her tearing into a BTR, her lance punching through the vehicle's side as she injected crimson-dyed water into the vehicle. A few moments later she withdrew, and fired a burst of cannon rounds, destroying it utterly. Around her, similarly blood-red water blades sliced into anything that moved, and a field of chopped-up corpses were proof of her handiwork.
"Tatenashi, we-" His words were interrupted as a familiar IS burst out of one of the nearby buildings. It was the Chernaya Karakatitsa.
"There you are!" He heard Tatenashi shout as she wheeled around.
"We have the IS! Cecilia!" Laura shouted.
"We have what we came for! Get out, now!" Ichika ordered, just as Tatenashi lunged forward, her spear-mounted guns blazing while water blades converged on her opponent from all directions. The Chernaya Karakatitsa responded by firing off its smoke canisters, and to Ichika's surprise, the blood-stained water blades fell out of the air as they entered the cloud.
"That's not just metal! Those are nanomachines!" Ori warned him, as Tatenashi backpedaled, just barely escaping the unnaturally-moving cloud.
"We have what we came for! We're leaving!" Ichika shouted again, taking off. Houki was already gone, and the IS retrieval team was evacuating as well.
This time, Tatenashi seemed to heed his words, but her opponent wasn't about to let her prey go so easily. The Chernaya Karakatitsa took off in pursuit, exchanging fire with the Mysterious Lady. Black clouds of nanomachine smoke exploded around Tatenashi, intercepting her water as fast as Tatenashi could deploy it.
To make matters even worse, two other IS suits, one black and the other green, emerged from another building. The black suit flew up in pursuit, while the green one stayed down below, deploying energy shields to cover the movements of infantry before it too joined in the pursuit.
"Two unidentified TIS suits just took off!" He reported.
"I have a lock! Firing!" Cecilia reported. Charlotte did the same a moment later, just as Ichika deployed his drones. The swarm shot forward towards the black IS, firing away, only for a bright flash of light to emanate from the suit below.
"Plasma cannon! Wide angle!" Ori warned as the guns wiped out entire flights of drones at once, blazing away at full-auto.
"Start analysis!" Ichika ordered as the last of his first drone swarm was annihilated.
"Roger! Estimated time, five minutes!"
A short distance away, he saw Charlotte and Cecilia's missiles converge on the Chernaya Karakatitsa. One exploded in midair, targeted by a laser, but the rest slammed home. The IS staggered back in midair, and Tatenashi seized the opportunity. Her cannons blazed away, landing direct hits on her opponent and soon the Russian IS was falling out of the sky, its ADS active.
There was little time to celebrate, however, as the unknown green IS quickly took its place, while the black IS opened fire on Ichika with a quartet of plasma cannons. While slow firing, the weapons proved quite powerful, his shield drone withstanding two hits before being destroyed. His second went down a moment later. Another shot slammed into him in spite of his evasive actions, taking off a fifth of his shield energy. It started ticking back up almost immediately, which served as a grim reminder that his ADS was disabled.
"SAM!" Ichika quickly spotted the contrail coming his way from near one of the destroyed SA-22 sites. Even as his laser swatted the missile out of the sky, he saw the shooter, hurriedly reloading his weapon. A burst of plasma fire his way was enough to permanently silence the MANPADS unit.
In doing so, his attention was diverted from the black IS, and it shot towards him at supersonic speeds, quickly closing the gap between them. A barrage of plasma fire narrowly missed him. He rolled out of the way and returned fire, but his opponent was faster. Another burst of plasma was already heading his way, and one of the powerful bolts slammed home once again.
His opponent was close now, close enough that he was able to make out the pilot. The blonde girl looked young, far too young to be anywhere near a battlefield, but she skillfully avoided his next burst of fire. Her return volley slammed into a wall of drones, which charged at her while Ichika attempted to increase the distance between them. Half of the drones were annihilated in the first burst, and he deployed more to fill their ranks. Plasma criss-crossed through the air as his opponent was suddenly placed on the defensive against a swarm of opponents.
"I'm onboard! Kanzashi's safe!" Houki reported. A quick glance at his HUD told Ichika that Cecilia was approaching the transport as well, with the rest of the girls right behind her. The gap between him and safety was starting to look worryingly large. Even worse, his opponent had already overtaken him, having outrun his drones, and was now between him and escape. More wide-angle plasma bursts slammed into his drones as he attempted to tie her down again. It failed, but at least she wasn't firing at him any more.
A few kilometers to the north, Tatenashi was in a similar predicament. The Chernaya Karakatitsa clearly wasn't the only IS capable of countering her nanobots, as Tatenashi's water seemed to be falling out of the sky almost as fast as she attempted to deploy it. Some kind of laser, Ichika assumed as Tatenashi continued to desperately evade bursts of high-caliber cannon fire with mixed success. Her own return fire slammed impotently into drone-based energy barriers.
He took aim and snapped off a quick burst in her direction, and the green IS broke away to avoid it.
"Incoming!" Ori's warning was barely enough for him to evade the black IS, which had blasted through his drone swarm and into melee range. The suit's cannons ignited, projecting and then holding bolts in place to act as swords, while the pilot drew yet another sword from her back. Her strikes went high as Ichika cut his engines before turning over and diving towards the ground. Another swarm of drones masked his exit.
With his opponent momentarily distracted, he took stock of the situation. He and Tatenashi were the only ones still in the air, everyone else having already boarded the transport, a transport that was looking increasingly distant even as it circled in wait. He was vaguely aware of Houki shouting for him to disengage and get out, but he couldn't exactly do that when his opponent was so much faster than him!
"Analysis complete!" Ori reported.
However, with no more hostages in the way, he was also free to use Aurora. Distracting his opponent with another wave of drones, he swapped his plasma cannon out for the immense weapon. By the time he had a lock, his drones were already gone and his opponent was at the very edge of the weapon's minimum range. Without hesitation Ichika pulled the trigger, and the area echoed with the sound of explosions. A few seconds passed as the weapon reloaded, and then he fired again. Another wave of explosions, and this time the black IS reached its breaking point. As the flashes faded, the black IS and its blonde pilot were falling out of the sky.
That left Tatenashi and her opponent, and it seemed as though the explosions had bought Tatenashi some room to breathe. She had managed to score some hits against her distracted opponent, who had just disengaged to gain some distance. Within moments Ichika had a perfect firing solution and he pulled the trigger. Once more the sky was split apart by explosions. He fired again as soon as the weapon reloaded, and the other IS went down.
"Tatenashi, status?" He demanded, turning and accelerating towards the distant transport.
"She hit me pretty hard, but my shield's regenerating. I'll be-"
"Missile! Missile! Incoming!" Ori's panicked shout cut Tatenashi off.
"Missile launches detected from the east! Unknown stealth aircraft likely!" The report came in just as Ichika spotted the incoming munitions.
"How many?" He demanded as his lasers opened fire.
"Unknown! More missiles! Four... Eight... Sixteen... Looks like an entire squadron's worth!" The report came in.
The first wave of missiles went down easily, but they were just the first of many. The contrails of the truly immense barrage were plainly visible, and they were converging on him and Tatenashi.
"We're all aboard! Ichika, what's your status?" Laura cried out.
One by one, the missiles began to explode as his lasers went to work, but there were too many.
The first missile struck home, and he felt his IS shudder, and that brief spike of shock caused him to lose control. Panic set in just as two more missiles evaded his lasers and slammed home. Warning signs filled his HUD, and his shields were nearly gone.
Two more came in, his lasers just barely eliminating them in time. He swore he could make out the serial number on one of their casings as the debris shot past him.
"There's too many! I can't- Eject! Eject! E-" It was as if a giant had kicked him hard in the back, and Ichika felt himself fly forwards, tumbling head over heels as Ori continued her panicked shouting.
As he tumbled down, he saw the Infinite Arsenal ascending behind him. A moment later, a missile struck home and his IS exploded, torn apart in a flash of blue-white light.
"Ichika!" He wasn't sure who it was that shouted as he tumbled head over heels, his gaze shifting between the forest below and the sky above.
The Mysterious Lady was hit next, and Ichika flipped to face up just in time to see Tatenashi's IS absorb two missiles with a water barrier before two more slammed home. The already damaged shields were overwhelmed, and Tatenashi ejected just moments before another hit obliterated the Mysterious Lady.
Then his gaze was swept away as another thruster activated, spinning him back around as Ori attempted to stabilize and slow his fall. It was just the first of many blows to strike him in rapid succession, while his arms and legs were painfully wrenched around as the AI took full control of his armor.
The ground was rapidly rushing up to meet him, and for a few moments he thought the retro-thrusters had failed.
Then, another hard kick slammed into his back, and he felt himself slow.
"Get out of here!" He shouted. Then there came another blow as he slammed hard into a tree trunk, bouncing off before slamming hard into a branch below. It snapped under the sudden stress, and he tumbled down to the forest floor, retro-thrusters firing all the way. Pain shot through his legs as he landed hard against the forest floor and he slumped against the tree trunk.
Save for the alarms still blaring through his helmet, everything was quiet.
For Major Nikolai Sergeyevich Degtaryev, the day had started bad and only gotten worse.
The interrogation of someone so young was never a pleasant experience, and the fact that the unusual blue-haired girl had not been particularly stubborn turned out to be small comfort compared to what she'd told him.
The hunch that had told him to bring Katya with him that morning had proven a good one, as had she not been in place to use her unique ability and sweep for and disable surveillance equipment, he may very well have received urgent orders to return to Vladivostok and face a firing squad.
That said, outside of the September 1983 incident, the girl had left him remarkably little in terms of leads to investigate, leading to him carrying out a second session. While the girl had proven civil, albeit despairing enough to leave Tatiana in a rather foul mood afterwards, she still yielded little in the way of concrete information outside of potential promises of more if she was released.
Naturally that was out of the question. Releasing her now would be far more than a black mark on his record. However, she had interested him enough for him to start typing up a request to hold her for more than the originally planned three days.
Of course, it all proved a moot point when, without any warning, bombs started to fall from the sky as an IS squadron practically materialized on top of the base. His first warning that something was wrong had been the trucks carrying the newly arrived Phantom Task-built IS suits going up in a chain of catastrophic explosions, which had killed the men unloading them and left absolutely nothing in terms of salvageable equipment.
The attackers then proceeded to make complete fools of the base and its personnel, albeit most of them didn't live long enough to truly realize what was going on. This was particularly true of those in the western side of the compound, who had been the unfortunate victims of the rampage of his prisoner's older sister.
Now he was without a hostage, without her IS, and the base was completely totaled. True, Katya, Sasha and Tatiana had been able to help down two of the attackers, but the victory rang hollow with the realization that not only had three of his best field agents been downed in return, but the base lacked the equipment to conduct a prompt search and rescue operation. Its entire IS compliment was destroyed, as were the four Mi-35 helicopters. Combined with the massive loss of personnel, he would be hard pressed to even conduct a search on foot, and that was just for his own pilots. The two attackers would, if they had any sense, have plenty of time to go to ground before the required search assets arrived on site.
That was unless he was willing to call upon Phantom Task for aid. They had ultimately been the ones to shoot down the two attacking IS suits, and he knew for a fact that there was a second convoy of IS suits bound for his base that would arrive in the next few days. The thought left a foul taste in his mouth, even more so than it had the day before.
At least he was alive, for the moment. Tatiana had done well in screening him, even if it had been too late for many of the base's other personnel.
"Comrade Major, phone call for you." An aide approached him, landline telephone in hand.
"Thank you." He took the offered phone.
"Major Degtaryev?" The curt voice of his superior asked.
"Speaking."
"What is going on over there? We have gotten reports of combat, and have recently been subjected to a severe communications blackout. What is the situation? Have we been attacked?"
"Yes..." Sergei replied immediately, then paused. His prisoner's words came to mind, and suddenly he became all too aware that the entire nuclear arsenal of the DRR was ready and aimed.
"Do you have an idea as to whom?" His superior asked after a long pause. Was that dread in his voice? Evidently the man did not want to give the order to launch any more than he did, and Sergei stifled a sigh of relief.
"From what I could tell of our assailants, they were IS Academy students. One of them was the sister of the hostage we took, and the other participants were identified as first-years, several of whom my agent reported having contact with in the past. This does not appear to have been organized by any nation." He replied.
"You are telling me that a few teenagers with IS suits manage to orchestrate a mass communications blackout and somehow bypass our entire Pacific defense network, strike at one of our bases, and then escape into the sunset?" The man demanded.
"In my interrogation of the hostage, she revealed herself to be far more knowledgeable than expected. This indicates that her family may have contacts in our military. I will have to conduct an investigation to be sure, but I believe that this may have been how her sister was able to orchestrate the blackout." Sergei lied through his teeth.
"I see. I will order our strategic forces to stand down for the moment. Expect further orders soon regarding an investigation." With that, the line went dead, and Sergei leaned back in his chair.
Nuclear war had been avoided, for the moment. Now, it was time to see if the young blue-haired girl had been telling the truth.
A/N: Whew, the advantages of having a chapter planned out so far in advance in extreme detail. I was filled with INSPIRATION and was able to quickly finish it.
In terms of what was in this chapter, again much of this was planned out years in advance to some extent. Firstly, there was the interrogation of Kanzashi, and more importantly, the information on the September 1983 incident. This was a real event, although as far as I'm aware it was 'just' a malfunction and a nuclear close-call rather than a deliberate act of sabotage by a secret royalist organization hell-bent on world domination. This also introduced a few minor characters that may or may not reappear in the future. This includes yet another ISAB character making a cameo appearance in the form of the Russian Loli with an unpronounceable and decidedly not Russian name. She has been renamed to Katya.
Of course, after this there came the rescue operation. I would like to give a shout-out to the video game 'Command: Modern Operations', which has proven to be an invaluable tool in planning out flight times, radar and SAM site positions, airfield and base planning, and acquiring information on terrain, among many other things. It has also proven very fun to play in my spare time.
With the setup done, it was then time to figure out how to carry out a rescue operation. Firstly, bringing STS-01 into the picture was admittedly somewhat plot-dictated, but I do believe that the rationale I provided for why they were selected for the operation was adequate enough. After all, better political fallout than literal fallout.
Next up, the rescue itself. I tried to give the impression of something well planned out, that would go off flawlessly, before eventually just going wrong due to a combination of unforeseen circumstances and bad luck, as many such operations are wont to go. Besides, did you really believe that I'd just let something so important and complex be so easily resolved in the span of a single chapter?
Anyway, now we have Ichika and Tatenashi stranded in the middle of Russia, the world might be on the brink of a nuclear war, and Laura's got a hell of a lot of explaining to do to his sister. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed!