Work In Progress Productions
Presents:
"Project Twilight"
A joint effort by
Yoru no Angel and Arion Wong
1. Prologue
By Arion Wong
The darkened room felt stuffy to Colonel Lauranna Dornen. Although the air was filled with thick trails from extravagant cigars and cigarettes, it was actually the very sensation of being with the people around her that was uncomfortable.
She and several other shadowy officers of the German Military High Command were seated around a large table. She detested being cooped up in this room, being 'invited' to join this briefing. Light from a projected screen flashed across their figures.
'Even so, they are a more preferable company than those on the screen,' she reflected to herself.
On the screen was a silent movie, a haphazard video showing the chaos of battle in a previously peaceful German farming village. Signs of war and destruction were shown, common to a soldier like Lauranna. She had seen more than her share in the last Great War.
What was uncommon was the source of the destruction.
She had suppressed a gasp when the screen caught a brief glimpse of the attackers.
They were huge, towering over anyone she had ever seen before. Brutish figures, they looked like men and yet were not men, bodies stretched by sheer amount of muscle. In the background, dark shapes mill about their business of war; the video was of poor quality to properly show their features.
She could not get a good look, for whoever that had been capturing the video must have suffered an accident as it abruptly cut to black. Moments later the lights came back on.
With the lights back on, Lauranna could clearly see who else were sitting around her. Some were familiar faces, like Muller from Military Intelligence. But others were strangers; some were not even in the uniforms of the German Army. She filed their faces into a corner of her mind for future reference, especially that oriental woman in green uniform sitting quietly next to the General.
"Well, Colonel Dornen... what do you think you just saw?" asked the person who sat at the head of the table. His name was General Johann. He was the obvious leader of this circle, his deep voice and sheer presence commanded immediate respect.
The 26-year old woman took a deep breath, aware that virtually everyone in the room outranked her. She could feel their gaze on her, and she detested it.
"Any conjecture I make right now is irrelevant," she said calmly, "But from what I have seen there are only two facts that are undisputable."
General Johann leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table to show interest.
Lauranna raised one figure. "One, they had attacked a German village, completely without provocation or warning, and two," she raised another finger, "That makes them our enemies."
The officers around the table murmured their agreement to each other. General Johann nodded. Then he looked directly at Lauranna, their blue eyes staring at each other across the table.
"Do you know what happened in Japan's Imperial City last year?" He asked gravely.
"There were frequent reports of disturbance in Teito, but I am unfamiliar with the details," Lauranna answered simply. She was not a person who would listen to rumors. Besides, Teito was not Germany, and thus Lauranna did not see how it was relevant to her.
The general nodded to the woman beside him. The brown-haired woman stood up and nodded once at the gathering.
"I am the Vice-Commander of Japan's Teikoku Kagekidan. My name is Fujieda Kaede," she said in measured tones. Lauranna could sense the Japanese woman's convictions in those few words; she was not a woman to be trifled with.
The Japanese then clicked a device. The screen began showing a slideshow of pictures of Japan's Imperial City. Each picture showed monstrous beings attacking the city, burning buildings and fleeing civilians. The monsters were large, humanoid and yet had strange steam-powered devices on them.
"Last year, the Imperial City was attacked by a mysterious force of these units. We call them Wakiji, or steam-beasts. They were not human nor created by humans," Kaede explained.
Lauranna kept her eyes on the pictures. She had read how the Japanese had fought the First Demon War. She, like many others, had dismissed it as a ridiculous cover-up for a failed military coup. But what she saw chilled her.
"The Imperial City instituted a defence agency to fight these monsters. In a series of battles that we now call the Second Demon War, our Hanagumi Division were able to eliminate them completely using machines called Koubus," Kaede continued.
The pictures now showed the monsters being battled by steel puppets, steam-powered robots with rounded profiles and colorful paint schemes. Lauranna watched as a black machine fired relentlessly, while a red one easily executed a martial arts punch and kick combo on a hapless monster. She was amazed at their agility.
Kaede then stopped the slideshow.
"After the German Military High Command sent us the previous video for consultation, the Wisemen Council of the Imperial City have decided to warn you of a potential threat. This is not a joke or a show. This is real," she said, pointing to the screen.
"We are already aware of some troubling reports from France, the United Kingdoms as well as the United States. Strange phenomena are happening all over the world, and each of those countries are already preparing for it. The Wisemen Council express their fear of a similar war on German soil. Your video only confirms that," she concluded.
Then the Japanese woman sat down.
Lauranna gazed around the room to see her colleagues' reactions. She was surprised that most of them were impassive, as if...
"You knew of this," she said accusingly at General Johann, who had kept his eyes on her during the briefing.
The general nodded. "Yes, but we chose to close our eyes at the problem. Now that it has come to this, we have no choice but to react."
Lauranna shot to her feet. "I don't believe this! You were aware of such a threat and did not prepare our nation for it?" she demanded.
General Johann's eyes narrowed. "What can we do, -Colonel-?" he asked, stressing on her rank, "Our country is in ruins from the great war. Every effort is being poured into our economy to relieve the suffering of our people. Do you honestly think our politicians will give us what we need to fight -demons-?"
Lauranna drew a deep breath. 'He's right... even -I- didn't believe it until I've seen it with my own eyes...' she thought.
"Then why am I here?" she asked directly.
"We have finally convinced our leaders with these evidence. If you accept, you will be the commander of the new German Anti-Demon Division. All facilities are in place as we are basing its operations on the tried and proven model of our Japanese friends," General Johann answered.
"What are the objectives?"
"You will form and manage a squad to pilot our own new Koubus and Eisenkleids that remained from our share of the Hoshigumi project. You will guide your troops to defend the Fatherland from these demons, and when possible, eliminate them once and for all," the general elaborated.
Lauranna raised her chin in a challenging manner. "I want to choose my own personnel."
"Limited," the general answered curtly.
"Why?"
"There is a need for 'spiritual' power to actually pilot these machines. Our only real successful candidate is serving in Japan's Hanagumi. We will draw up a list for you to choose a German soldier, but the others would be people from our allied friends such as Russia, the United Kingdoms and so on. This is a political decision, not mine," the general answered.
"What about the support personnel?" she asked.
"We will provide an international list, you will choose them except for your second-in-command. That has already been decided."
"What? Who?"
"Captain Henry L. Glory of the United States has agreed to return to Germany to help us in this. I trust you will accept our choice. He -was- part of your command in the last war, after all."
"I thought he had taken early retirement," Lauranna said, amazed.
"He did, but he jumped at the chance to serve with you again. Do you find these orders acceptable, Colonel?"
"Only if I report directly to you and you only, sir. Everything else would be under my own jurisdiction," she replied. 'At last, a chance to break away from these meddling fools that kept undermining my military career...'
The general set his face grimly, considering it. Then, to her surprise, he nodded in agreement.
Lauranna snapped into military attention, her booted heels clicking together. "Orders received and understood, sir!"
"Good. It will be an interesting experience, Colonel. Dismissed," the general saluted in return.
Lauranna nodded in acknowledgement and smartly turned to head to the door.
"Oh, Colonel," the general called just before she left the room.
"Yes sir?" she asked without looking back.
"It was good to see you again, Lauranna. Take care."
The German woman stiffened slightly.
"Yes, father."
And she closed the door as she left, not once looking back at General Johann Dornen as she did so.
---End 1. Prologue---
Endnotes:
[1] Lauranna Dornen - Dornen=German for thorns. As in rose-thorns.
[2] Henry L. Glory - Glory=short for morning glory.
[3] Fujieda Kaede - This fic is set around ST2, after ST1. Also explains why it took so long for Kaede to appear in ST2.
[4] German candidate serving in Japan - obviously, Reni of ST2.
[5] Demon Wars. The First Demon War was Yoneda-Ayame-Yamazaki-Shinguuji vs. Kouma. The Second Demon War was Hanagumi vs. Kuronosukai. I'm amazed how many people still ask about it...
[6] Disturbances in France, UK and US. France=prelude to ST3, US=prelude to ST5. UK=reference to Yoru no Angel's fics.
[7] Hoshigumi - It seemed that it was made up of various European nations. Surely each nation would have reserves of their own Koubus/Eisenkleids...
[8] The Dornens, Glory, Muller created by Arion Wong.
---Anti-Demon Division Character Profile---
Name: Lauranna Dornen
Age: 26
Nationality: German
Rank: Commander of the Anti-Demon Division
Previous Occupation: Colonel of the German Army
Height: 185cm
Weight: 63kg
Preferred Weapon: anything issued by the military