THE SIBERIAN WAR: TEARS
By Red Star
NOTE: I do not own any real or anime characters in this story.
UDA RIVER VALLEY, KHABAROVSK PROVINCE
He was awakened by shouts from below. His eyes opened to see a forest, and beyond it, random pillars of black smoke reached for the sky. He looked around him.
Tory's parachute had saved his life. But it now left him hanging from the branches of a tree. Then he remembered the shouting and looked down. Perhaps twelve feet down were five men, all dressed in camouflage with helmets and AK-74's slung around their shoulders. They were staring up at him and were engaged in a mixture of talk and laughter. A man emerged from behind the brush. The other soldiers stood at salute. The newcomer returned the salute and looked up at the hanging Tory, who was now in full bewilderment mode. The soldier shook his head and a smile broke across his face.
"You are one lucky Jap, kid," the soldier called up. He took a Kalishnikov from one of the others and pointed it up at Tory. Tory's eyes snapped open and he held up his hands to try and make him stop when the gun made a short burst and…
Tory fell out of the tree in front of the Russians. This made them laugh even harder. The man, who was obviously an officer, reached forward and pulled Tory to his feet.
"The name's Lieutenant Grigori Valushin, and you…" said the lieutenant as he clapped a hand on Tory's shoulder, "are now a prisoner of the Russian Imperial Army."
JAPAN, AVALON RESIDENCE
Sakura lay on the couch with a book. Her friends would arrive soon to study on a history exam soon. Kero happily munched away on a piece of cake that sat on the coffee table.
The doorbell rang. Kero automatically stiffened into his guise as a stuffed animal. Sakura smiled at him. "It's probably just the gang, Kero," She walked over to the door and pulled it open and was amazed to see a military officer standing there. The man was dressed in a blue uniform and under his left arm was a blue cap with gold colored insignia and wings, marking him as an Air Force officer. For his part, the man was surprised to see the door answered by a young girl. These things were never easy and now it would be harder to deliver his message.
"Is your father at home, miss?" Sakura shook her head and a feeling of dread came over her. Why did the Japanese Air Force send someone to their home?
"I'm sorry you have to hear this from me, miss…" the officer cleared his throat, "the Japanese Air Force must tell you that Tory Avalon was missing in action as of two days ago. He is believed to have been shot down in Siberia. We have no idea if he is still alive."
It was like the man had suddenly told her that the house burnt down. Sakura gasped and stepped back. The officer sighed. "I'm very sorry, miss. The Japanese Air Force sends it's condolences." The officer then put on his cap and walked to a waiting car. Sakura slammed the door shut and struggled with her emotions. "No…it can't be…"
She felt a slight breeze as Kero floated over to her. "Sakura," he said, "I…I'm so sorry."
She burst into tears and ran to her room, leaped upon her bed and cried into the pillow.
Li Syaoron rang Sakura's bell again. He tapped his foot impatiently. Madison and Meilin stood behind him, grasping their textbooks tightly. "What's keeping her?" he grumbled, "Usually she's answered the door by now!" Madison's eyes turned toward something in the sky. An Angelic figure made his way to the side of the house.
"Yue?" she murmured. The door clicked open and a small golden head poked out.
"Uh…hi," said Kero. Now Li was worried. Kero was always a cheery little guardian beast, now he looked like all video games had suddenly ceased to exist.
The group walked in. A half finished piece of cake sat on the coffee table in the living room. A sound of sobbing came from upstairs. They followed it to Sakura's room.
Li opened the door to find Yue holding a sobbing Sakura. He looked bewildered and was obviously doing his best to try and comfort her. Kero went in front of the group and said,
"Tory was shot down in Russia." Li was shocked. Sakura's older brother had never really gotten along with the boy, but Li never wanted to see him dead. They entered Sakura's room and sat close to Sakura, offering what comfort they could.
PRIME MINISTER'S RESIDENCE, TOKYO, JAPAN
Almito Kagita stared at his maps. The Russian Army had completely crushed the 4th Army and was strangling the 5th. The only hope to maintain Japan's invasion was to activate the 7th Army, which was being held in reserve in Siberia, and the 8th and 9th Armies, which were based in Japan. The 8th and 9th each had perhaps 300,000 men, perhaps enough to tip the scales in Japan's favor again. The two forces were in the port of Hakato, Hokkaido, waiting to board carriers to transport them to the front.
SEA OF JAPAN
Kolsov watched through the periscope. His flotilla had arrived within two weeks. They had had their first test when they sank a Japanese cruiser and they passed with flying colors. Now the Commodore gave a grim smile as he sighted his next target, a fleet of troop carriers escorted by three destroyers and an aircraft carrier. This was too glorious!
"All units: Prepare to fire the Cyclone torpedoes!" he ordered.
The carriers went along at an easy pace, they could have easily out sped their escorts but chose not to. And why not? The Russian Pacific Fleet was busy defending Vladivostok from any kind of Marine invasion. Russia still clung to the jewel of her eastern empire like a mother with her child.
And then, 15 carriers exploded.
Horrified carrier commanders ordered their vessels halted, which caused their comrades behind them to crash into them. Chaos spread across the fleet as carriers tried to maneuver their way out of the danger zones. They were sitting ducks and they knew it. The situation became worse as another wave of torpedoes blasted holes in the aircraft carrier and smashed into 25 more troop carriers. The fact that the carriers were so close together didn't help the situation, as a single torpedo could suddenly change direction and hit a certain area just right and inflict heavy damage on two vessels. Another wave of torpedoes appeared, and destroyed another 19. The commanders panicked and tried to run for the safety of a port. This was a grave error, the burning hulks around them created vast obstacles, as the fins on top of the carriers slashed holes into the fleeing ships. 23 drowned before they made it back to shore.
24,600 men lost their lives that day. 82 out of 100 carriers were destroyed.
Kolsov smiled as he observed the destruction from his periscope. The Cyclone torpedoes, loaded with powerful chemicals that made a deadly explosion when combined, had done well. "Now," he said as he lowered the periscope, "to the south. We shall liberate the Pacific fleet.
THE KREMLIN
The screen snapped and sizzled in an odd manner as General Lakov appeared on a massive communications screen. Emperor Dane I and the members of STAVKA waited patiently as the screen cleared. Lakov saluted as he said, "Your Imperial Majesty, I report to you that the Japanese 4th Army has been destroyed and that the 5th Army is being asphyxiated by our forces in the north. It will only be a matter of time until they are wiped out." The Emperor smiled and joined his commanders in applause.
"For your glorious victory," the Emperor said, "I hereby promote you to the rank of Marshal of the Russian Empire and award you the title Hero of the Russian Empire."
The General seemed overwhelmed at first but then said, "Thank you, sire, but I need more than titles." "What is it, Marshal? Ask and you shall receive it."
"I require another 2 million troops, 10,000 artillery pieces, 4 more Air Armies, another 8,000 tanks and an Airborne Corps." The Emperor nodded. "Agreed, Marshal Lakov. They shall be yours. Until we speak again Lakov, goodbye. STAVKA out."
The screen went blank. "What does he need an Airborne Corps for?" asked Vladimir Putin. "Probably planning an assault on Sukhalin. What do the Japanese have on there?" said the Emperor. The screen came alive with an Outer Space view of Sukhalin, which showed a man, a tank, and an airplane with numbers beside them hovering over the island. "A Marine division, an armored regiment and an airplane squadron of American made F-16 Vipers." The Emperor was quiet for a moment. "The planes can be shot out of the sky quickly enough, but that tank regiment is another thing."
"Your Imperial Majesty, may I make a suggestion?"
The Emperor turned to see a one star air force General with a youthful face and glasses.
"You have an idea, General Gilinov?"
Major General Ivan Gilinov was head of the Defense Ministry's Air Technology Directorate. Gilinov was 44 years old and considered a genius by technologists the world over. He had graduated from the University of Moscow with a Doctorate in electronics. The day after his graduation, he had gone to see a show that the Soviet Air Force had put on outside Moscow. The next day he went straight to an Air Force Academy and enlisted to be an officer. Gilinov designed new weapons for the Russian air force that made the NATO alliance start racing for the defense contractors. The Emperor had recognized the abilities of this genius and promoted him to his current position.
"Sire, as you know I have finished construction on a new kind of bomber, called the Tupolev-190. I have designed it to be the most powerful bomber that Russia has ever produced." He handed the Emperor a diagram of the plane. It resembled a Mjasishchev heavy carrier, except for a wing-like object mounted on a fin protruding from the plane's roof. Underneath the long wings were mounted missiles that were bunched into groups of four connected by a single mount. In all there were 24 missiles. "With this bomber, sire, we can destroy every Japanese tank on Sukhalin and make a heavy blow at their Marine Division." The Emperor was silent, thinking hard. This bomber was experimental, could it stand against the Japanese Forces?
"Very well, General," said the Emperor, "send your bomber to Siberia. Let us pray that it will be successful."