Hi again! Well, with college classes treating me the way they have, it's been taking me quite a while to finish Chapter 6. Never fear, however—I have something that will hopefully hold you over until it's finished...

Undisclosed location

Ogata checked his watch. 9:59 AM. Silently, he urged for the elevator to move faster.

The elevator doors finally opened, and Ogata sprinted down the deserted corridor. He opened the door at the end and stepped into the conference room, shutting and locking the door behind him as he entered.

If you could even call this place a conference room, he thought to himself. There was no table, or even any chairs—just six large television screens mounted to the wall. All of them were switched off, but they didn't remain that way for long.

Ogata checked his watch again. The moment the second hand ticked past the twelve, the screens simultaneously powered on. Five of the screens were each labeled with the name of a major world city and the words 'AUDIO ONLY' spelled out in big letters. Here we go, Ogata thought as he mentally prepared himself for what was to come.

"Good morning, High Council," Ogata greeted the television screens. "I thank you for your willingness to let me speak with you personally."

"Skip the formalities, Ogata," commanded a male voice from the screen labeled 'BEIJING.' "We are on a tight schedule—it is only due to your status that we have granted your request to speak to us."

Ogata suppressed a sigh. This was going to be one of those meetings. I'd better not test their patience.

"As you wish," he responded meekly.

"First things first," began another voice, this time from the screen labeled 'WASHINGTON,' "give us your brief testimony of what you saw during the incident in Osaka."

"Of course," Ogata acknowledged, clearing his throat. "Shortly after Anguirus first made landfall in Kobe, I evacuated the Geological Institute's offices in Osaka; after which, I sent for a helicopter from G-Force so I could witness the kaiju's attack on the city."

"For what purpose?" inquired the voice from the screen labeled 'PARIS.'

"As you are well aware, Anguirus was presumed to have died after fighting Godzilla in Osaka in 1955," Ogata explained. "As the Director of G-Force's Research and Development Department, I felt that it was my duty to determine whether or not this was the same creature; and if so, how he may have survived his ordeal."

"Data gathered from Saturday's incident has confirmed that this Anguirus was indeed the same individual that was observed in 1955," a female voice from the 'LONDON' screen added.

"I see," Paris replied, seemingly satisfied. "Continue."

"From the helicopter, I continued to watch as Anguirus overpowered the JSDF and entered downtown Osaka. Godzilla emerged from Osaka Bay roughly ten minutes later. We remained long enough to witness the opening act of their battle, but we were forced to leave immediately after Rodan was sighted in the area."

"Really?" spat a Russian voice, from the screen labeled 'MOSCOW.' "The great Hiroshi Ogata, running away and hiding from a mere pterosaur? I refuse to believe it."

"You seem to be forgetting, Moscow," responded Washington, "that standard G-Force protocol is to immediately enforce a no-fly zone within a one hundred nautical mile radius of wherever Rodan is sighted."

"Protocol!" Moscow retorted. "As if Ogata has a record of heeding—"

"Enough!" boomed a sixth voice, much deeper than the others. It originated from the sixth and the largest of the television screens, and the only one to lack the name of a city, instead simply bearing G-Force's coat of arms.

"The Delegates from Moscow and Washington will refrain from their irrelevant bickering," the deep voice commanded with the tone of authority that Ogata knew all too well. "Ogata, does this conclude your testimony?"

"Yes, Chairman," Ogata answered.

"Very good," the unseen Chairman replied. "Now, on to more important matters. We have reviewed the written request that you submitted to us, in which you asked for the use of more potent weaponry in light of this sudden resurgence of kaiju activity. It is also our understanding that Commander Aso made a similar appeal directly to the U.N. yesterday, did he not?"

"Correct," Ogata confirmed. "The recent attacks on Japan by Rodan and Anguirus have demonstrated that even the most modern conventional weaponry is ineffective against kaiju. Many U.N. members who wanted G-Force defunded just a few weeks ago are now calling for the reactivation of our dedicated Anti-Kaiju Weapons. However, there are still some holdouts trying to uphold the ban of 2001."

"So you are asking us to tell the U.N. to authorize the use of these weapons?" asked Beijing. "We are not your errand boys, Ogata."

"Indeed," Moscow agreed. "If you want them so badly, go and plead to the U.N. yourself, like Aso."

"Do not forget that it is your governments who are spearheading the effort to maintain the Anti-Terrorism Ban," argued Washington. "Which do you find to be the greater threat: the use of these weapons, or kaiju?"

"The Delegate from Washington makes a valid point," said the Chairman. "Very well, Ogata. We will see to it that G-Force procures the weaponry it needs to defend against future kaiju attacks. In the meantime, you and your department are to immediately resume development of Project MG."

Ogata couldn't believe what he had just heard. Was the High Council really willing to take such an extreme measure as that?

"P-Project MG?" he stuttered, unable to contain his surprise. "But it was cancelled back in the nineties—will the U.N. even allow us to do such a thing?"

"The U.N. is a flawed organization with little real power," the Chairman responded. "And according to your Department's reports, the unit is approximately eighty to ninety percent complete, and remains in storage at G-Force's facility in Akita. How soon can you and your team get it ready for combat?"

Ogata paused momentarily to do the math. "With our current resources, approximately three weeks, provided that neither the U.N. nor the Administrative Department raises any objections."

"We cannot afford to wait that long," the Chairman advised. "We will give you a maximum of two weeks. Leave the insignificant issue of the U.N. to us."

"Understood, Chairman," Ogata replied.

"Do not fail us, Ogata," the Chairman warned, and with that, the six television screens switched off all at once.

With the meeting over almost as quickly as it had begun, Ogata took a moment to release his pent-up frustration before he left.

"Son of a bi—!"

What you've just read is this story's first interlude—basically, a short narrative that doesn't really fit in with a specific chapter, but is too short to be considered a proper chapter on its own. Be sure to read these interludes as I post them; they will contain plot details that will become more relevant later!

Stay tuned for Chapter 6: An Unexpected Return!

Replies to reviews for this interlude will be posted here. Watch this space.

ChimaTigon: It's possible…after all, Baragon does fit the bill I described (he's only been in three films to date, not counting additional appearances through the use of stock footage), but so do others—some of whom were mentioned by a previous reviewer. You'll have to wait and see!

Matt: I've made some pretty good progress on Chapter 6. Hopefully I'll be able to post it in a timely manner!