Sakura Wars: The 21st Century
Circle of Faith
By Steve Edward
Chapter 2
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 – Kuril Island Waters – 0300 hours –
The JDS Kongo had deliberately entered the disputed waters of the Kuril Islands for a reason. Onboard the Japanese destroyer Commodore Kagawa Kiyoto views the massive Kirov Class Heavy Cruiser with its four destroyer escorts. Advised that his transport is ready, the Commodore heads aft and boards the Japanese Seahawk which lifts clear of the Kongo and lands after a short flight on the Russian Heavy Cruiser.
Disembarking, the Commodore is escorted to the Flag Cabin of Rear Admiral Sergio Seradov. The two men having met before settle down to business. Kagawa hands a sealed manila folder to the Russian Admiral who after viewing the seal breaks it open and reads the contents. Rear Admiral Sergio Seradov the shock on his face showing sets the papers down, "Kagawa, please assure Admiral Long that I will do everything in my power to help, those responsible for supplying the weapons will be found and the punishment will be sever."
Sergio wrote a letter and returned it to the manila folder which he then resealed. Kagawa accepting it stood up, "Admiral Seradov your assistance in this matter will be greatly appreciated by my government as well. Perhaps we will eventually come to an understanding on other issues that need to be resolved." With that said, Commodore Kagawa Kiyoto is escorted back to his helicopter which immediately departs. Rear Admiral Seradov watching from his Flag Bridge ponders why such an attack. It could have been construed as an act of war, but an angry man had rationalized. Why ambush the Rose Combat Division? The only threat that the Rose Combat Division presented was to Sea Wraiths, which was their specialty not military targets.
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 – Tokyo – 0900 hours –
The wrecked Koubu and Eisenkleid sat forlornly in the hanger of the base. Battered and dented beyond anything that they had seen before, Sumire Kanzaki and Kohran Ri stood before the machines examining them with Commander Matt Healey. The missiles had done their jobs too well but it had been the hot exhaust ports of the propulsion packs that had attracted the missiles.
The jet packs had been sheared off both machines during the crash landings. Leni's had bellied landed then tumbled and Iris was inverted and crashed with the jet pack making contact first with a rocky outcropping. Iris's jet pack likely absorbed some of the impact before shearing off.
Matt who had seen equipment in much worse shape, "Kohran, Sumire we will repair both of them and make them good as new and there will be refinements made as well. Once we are done with these two; we will do the same with the other equipment."
Admiral Long sat at his desk doodling on a pad of paper. His sister, Doctor Janice Long was at the hospital watching over Iris and Leni. The briefing that had been held concerning the incident was short and to the point. Captain Sammy Hollister was ordered to light the boilers on the Wisconsin and have the ship ready to get underway with one hour notice. The report from Professor Walters was read and he was given the go ahead to start researching the cryptic language that had been uncovered. Commander Kayama was ordered to use every available means to find those responsible for the ambush.
The base itself was on heightened alert. Staff Sergeant Bloomberg was heavily armed, the P-90 positioned for easy access if needed. The airspace above the base had been restricted and the Wisconsin herself had a 360 degree firing arc. If any aircraft displaying hostile intentions got too close, the Battleship would give only one warning and then fire its surface to air missiles. Tokyo International Airport its normal approaches disrupted was coping.
The attack had shocked Japan and other countries as well. Intelligence resources were being pooled together. Someone somewhere knew who had planned or carried out the attack and Admiral John Long as well as the remainder of the Rose Combat Division wanted them found. There would be pay back and it would be harsh.
It was Kasumi Fujii who knocked on the door, behind her 20 members of the Dream Division. Greeting the admiral she then turned and bowed to Staff Sergeant Bloomberg and closed the door to his office, "Admiral it is important to keep an open mind, for what I am about to say may seem impossible. In situations where members of the Flower Division had been badly injured, we had utilized spiritual healing to aid in their recoveries."
Reflecting for a moment, "It will require that we conduct the ritual with both Iris and Leni present. There will also be a need for someone who has the spiritual energy to focus upon the task. We already have one who has high spiritual energy and will be the focusing point for Leni. We need another as he too has high spiritual energy. He will be needed for Iris."
Admiral Long sat back in his chair, "Very well Kasumi, who ever it is consider it done. Who is that person and what is this ritual called?" Kasumi stepping forward and bowing, "It is you Admiral. The ritual is called Circle of Faith."
Pondering the situation Admiral Long asked, "Kasumi are you stating that I need to be the focal point for Iris? Who is the focal point for Leni?" as he stood up, Kasumi replied "Leni's focal point will be Sakura Shinguji." Admiral Long agreed to participate in the ritual and pressed the intercom button. Ordering that Doctor Seagram be located immediately, Admiral Long then had Staff Sergeant Bloomberg ready transportation. By 0930 hours Admiral Long with Sakura Shinguji and the twenty members of the Dream Division were being escorted to the hospital.
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 – Tokyo – 1100 hours –
Navy Doctor Nicholas Seagram with a Japanese surgeon had completed their examinations of Leni Milchstrase and Iris Chateaubriand. It was medically unexplainable. Both young women were wide awake, Leni trying her best to make a joke that made some sense when she spoke it; and Iris orbiting Jean-Paul around Admiral John Long and Sakura Shinguji both who had headaches and experiencing mental exhaustion.
The Dream Division having accomplished the ritual was seated on the floor around Iris and Leni and still in a trance like state. Kasumi Fujii had assured the witnesses that the Dream Division members would come out of the trance unharmed and would be able to resume their normal duties. Commander Fujieda and Commander Oogami had witnessed the ritual before when unbeknownst to Admiral John Long; it was used on him after he had been shot after the kidnap attempt against Iris. Iris had been the Admiral's focal point in 1927, because the others were preoccupied with keeping him in bed.
Admiral Long having rested his head in his hands glanced up at Kasumi, "Kasumi are the side effects to this ritual always this bad?" As John wished who ever was hitting him in the head with the hammer would stop. Sakura sitting next to him was apparently experiencing the same effects. Kasumi replied, "Only certain individuals will experience the headaches which will quickly pass. Since there were two rituals taking place at the same time it is likely there was some cross-over between each of the focal points."
So that was what cross-over is like mused the admiral. One moment he is looking at Iris and the next moment for an undetermined period of time he was looking at Leni. Turning to Sakura, "Sakura did you see Iris?" as she nodded yes to the question the admiral looked at Kasumi, "Well now I know what a cross-over is. The focal points; i.e. I and Sakura exchange places on a meta-physical level guided through the process by the Dream Division mystics to give attention to the respective injured or ill person." Kasumi acknowledge that generally the ritual is conducted singly so that the cross-over is not experienced by the individual focal points. Admiral Long mused, now she tells me.
Doctor Seagram requests that both Iris and Leni remain for observation till Sunday morning, which Admiral Long agrees to. He also ensures that the security that is in place stays till they leave the hospital.
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 – Moscow – 0500 hours –
The dacha outside of Moscow, home to a Russian Arms Dealer had unexpected visitors. The orders were explicit, the dealer was to be interviewed and his records closely examined. If he failed to cooperate, deadly force was authorized with extreme prejudice there would be no leeway on the matter. The Russian Federal Security agent charged with carrying out the task had easily entered the dacha and rolled him out of bed.
When asked to reveal to whom he had sold the surface to air missiles; the dealer initially refused to cooperate stating it was none of their concern. It was the wrong answer.
The agent not in the least bit frustrated removed his Sig-Sauer P226 from its holster and shot the man in the left knee cap. The dealer began to talk.
Two hours later satisfied that they had what they had come for the men left the wounded arms dealer with a stern warning, that if he ever dealt in surface to air missiles again there would be little mercy shown. The arms dealer was left to his own devices to get medical help.
Saturday, March 27th, 2010 – Tokyo – 1900 hours –
Admiral Long hung up the phone stunned. He had a name, Satoru Tanuma. He had the man's who had purchased the missiles, now to find the bastard responsible. Admiral Long placed a call to Commodore Kagawa Kiyoto to advise him of Rear Admiral Sergio Seradov's information and to alert civil authorities as well. Satoru had purchased 10 missiles and he had used only three. Admiral Long punched the intercom and alerted Staff Sergeant Bloomberg to initiate a recall of all immediate staff for an emergency staff briefing. He also wanted Captain Sammy Hollister present as well.
Sunday, March 28th, 2010 – Tokyo – 1300 hours –
Satoru Tanuma was on the run. He had already swapped vehicles several times, and the final one he was driving also contained the remaining missiles numbering seven in all. He no longer looked like the man in the picture that was being circulated by authorities. Instead of a trim 130 pound man of 35 years of age, he looked more like 50 years of age and 60 pounds heavier.
As a young teenager Satoru had stumbled across the diary of his great-great grandfather Haruyoshi Tanuma in which he wrote about attempting to change the then current government of Japan. As he read he could vision the difficulties of that Haruyoshi had faced.
Haruyoshi's attempt to use two young women named Iris Chateaubriand and Leni Milchstrase to orchestrate the coup had failed. His last entry made the night of his death stated that he would have to take matters into his own hands. An American named Herbert Robert Long had interfered with the attempt to take Iris Chateaubriand, and so Haruyoshi wrote he would go to the Imperial Theater to retrieve both Iris and Leni himself.
When Satoru confronted his own father about the matter, he had been forbidden never to mention or utter Haruyoshi's name in their house again. The Tanuma family had paid a heavy price for Haruyoshi's actions with loss of face, money and even land holdings.
Satoru as he had grown older began to have radical leanings that even disturbed his own parents. His father though he loved him deeply had forced Satoru out of the family home. Going to college had not been easy, Satoru worked odd jobs to pay his tuition and had graduated at near the top of his class from University of Tokyo.
Establishing a startup DOTCOM, which he sold for nearly 300 million yen, Satoru began to invest in real estate and became successful and very rich. His radical leanings had caught the attention of Japanese authorities who had quietly investigated his background. However because Satoru's funding activities could not be directly linked to any organizations active in Japan that were considered dangerous the investigation was concluded.
Satoru had kept Haruyoshi's diary with him for those many years. It had been the Imperial Theater that Haruyoshi had met his death and Satoru had himself researched the whereabouts of the surviving members of the Imperial Operatic Troupe but to no avail. Then in late January the news was broken to the world. The news reports that a famed Japanese Combat Division formerly known as the Imperial Flower Combat Division had been brought to the year 2010 by an American Navy Admiral named John Long. Learning it had been done by time travel and that they would be returning to Japan to help fight the demonic creatures known as the Sea Wraith, Satoru began to make plans.
The Long name had been mentioned in the diary. Could it be a descendent of the man who had interfered with Haruyoshi's plan? Satoru began his research and had been helped in the process with the filibuster on America's Capital Hill, when a United States Senator filibustered to block legislative activity. Satoru had recorded the event and even studied the photographs of Iris and Leni repeatedly.
After the additional material was released by the American Navy, the history of the Imperial Flower Combat Division included its involvement in preventing a coup. Satoru Tanuma furious, decided that he would seek revenge and had engaged the services of a friend involved in underground activities. The fees had been exorbitantly high for the ten missiles. Known as Igla SA-16 they were the best that Russian military had to offer. Unlike their earlier versions, these weapons could be used at night.
Satoru used his electronics experience by building three separate transmitters and recording the fake Sea Wraith reports that would be broadcasted to authorities. Electronically altering his voice so that it would appear different reports were being received he had placed the transmitters on small rafts designed to sink into Tokyo Bay after the transmissions.
The Koubus and Eisenkleids paint schemes recognizable during the day would be difficult to see at night but he had been helped unknowingly by the American Senator who stated that each machine carried night time recognition lights the same color.
Satoru had set his plan in motion and sprung the trap. The Rose Combat Division had traveled south from their Tokyo support base looking for the Sea Wraiths.
Spotting Iris and Leni together had made it easy. He was able to obtain lock on each unit in less than six seconds a piece. Launching one missile then another he had scrambled for the third launcher. Obtaining what he though was a good lock on Maria Tachibana's unit he fired. Only the missile went past her and appeared to explode high above her. The Wisconsin UAV had been utilizing its Forward Looking Infrared sensor which attracted the wayward missile. Satoru had thought about trying again with another missile but threw the expended missile launcher on the ground and boarded his rubberized skiff and fled. The Rose Combat Division concerned with Leni and Iris had not attempted to pursue, the skiff not being picked up on their sensors had blended into the shoreline.
Satoru stood on the shoreline south of the Task Group Rose headquarters. The American Battleship was no longer there. Where had it gone he pondered, it should not have had enough time to get enough steam up in its boilers. Satoru not being a steam engineering expert had not reckoned on Chief Engineer Matt Healey. The Wisconsin had steamed out at midnight with the senior harbor pilot onboard and no tugs to assist. Captain Sammy Hollister an expert ship handler had conned the grand dame out to sea herself.
Monday, March 29th, 2010 – Tokyo – 0200 hours –
Admiral John Long had ordered the Wisconsin to sortie, but without the Rose Combat Division and the Dream Division. If Tanuma wanted to settle a score, Admiral Long reasoned give him one less big target. There had also been the concern of Tokyo International Airport. The flight paths of incoming and outgoing passenger jets though not directly over the base and the Battleship, had been heavily altered. Admiral Long issued orders to rescind the flight restrictions after the Wisconsin sailed.
The Japanese military and civil authorities had joined forces. The known number of missiles that Tanuma had in his possession were seven. The Igla SA-16 was deadly, and those missiles had to be found. His obvious targets had been the Rose Combat Division which was formerly known as the Imperial Flower Combat Division and the Imperial Flower Operatic Troupe. The missiles themselves would not even begin to penetrate the heavy armor of the Wisconsin as the weapons were designed for taking down aircraft.
It was the report from the civil authorities after the raid on Satoru's home that had brought the concern for the Rose Combat Divisions safety even closer to home. The authorities had seized several computers and DVD's. The DVD's that had been seized were copies of the biographical story and history of the Rose Combat Division which had been produced on the Wisconsin. The most damning was the recording of Senator Mack Kelley's filibuster. Though nothing that he had said had revealed any classified information, Satoru Tanuma had apparently utilized the Senators speech in some manner.
John reviewed the recording look for some hints and found them when Senator Kelley mentioned the colored recognition lights that matched the paint schemes. Satoru had been very diligent in his research.
Satoru had a head start on everyone. Though all of his known assets were now frozen and all known properties and buildings he owned were under surveillance he had not put in appearance at any of them. Several vehicles that he had owned had been found scattered around Tokyo, one of them less than a mile from the base perimeter itself. As to why Satoru had planned the revenge had been found in his main residence. A diary that had belong to his great-great grandfather Haruyoshi Tanuma, the writings of a troubled politician who wanted to change Japan's style of government for a government of his own agenda. It also revealed what had happened during the Douglas-Stewart debacle and Brent Furlong. Though Tanuma himself had been erased from history, his actions were still causing problems. All of them unwanted. The interview with the parents of Satoru had not gone well for either the family or the civil authorities. The family admitted that they had thrown him out of their home at age 17 because of his radical beliefs and had not spoken or otherwise written to each other in over 18 years.
Monday, March 29th, 2010 – USS Wisconsin BB-64 – 0800 hours –
Captain Sammy Hollister felt kind of lonely on the Bridge. The Rose and Dream Divisions were not onboard. The hanger bay was empty with the exception of Seahawk Charlie Two. Glancing at the monitor the Koubu and Eisenkleid storage bays were empty even the spares were onshore. The midnight mad dash to sea had been Admiral John Long's idea. Charlie One was still ashore hidden with the Rose Combat Division equipment in their armored service hanger. Charlie Two had made its own mad dash, skimming just feet above the waters of Tokyo Bay to land onboard.
The Wisconsin's orders were to loiter out of sight of land and engage any Sea Wraith. So far things had been quiet for several hours but they had not been. Another sea quake to the south had caused a Sea Wraith to appear. Thoroughly ticked off, Captain Hollister had launched a UAV at 0400 hours and vented her anger on the Sea Wraith from 155 miles. Commodore Kiyoto who had returned to the JDS Kongo after meeting with Admiral Long had been told to stay the hell out of her way, which he wisely did and sat on the Bridge of the Kongo sipping his morning tea. As he had watched the fireworks from the 16 inch guns of the Wisconsin, the American saying of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" had passed through his mind as Captain Hollister fired her big guns. Woe the unfortunate Sea Wraith that bothered to appear, the American Navy Captain was on her own war path.
Monday, March 29th, 2010 – Tokyo – 1250 hours –
Lieutenant Junior Grade Isaac Clay had been fielding media inquires as to why the Wisconsin had sailed. The boiler plate response had been that several Sea Wraiths had appeared at the southern end of the Japanese mainland and the Wisconsin had been sent to engage them. The Japanese Defense Force Public Affairs Office had confirmed the reports and that the Wisconsin had engaged them. It was the odd phone call purportedly from United Press International inquiring if the Rose Combat Division had been involved that raised the hairs on the back of his head.
Voice analysis of the hoax messages had revealed that the voice or voices had been altered. The live monitoring of the phone lines had paid off when the computer monitor displaying the voice pattern had a 98.9 percent match on the call. Quietly beginning a trace of the call, Isaac notified Base Security. Satoru Tanuma using a pre-paid cell phone had made the mistake of calling to find out if the Rose Combat Division had sailed with the Wisconsin. Isaac had a computerized listing of every reporter and stringer working for UPI and from the moment he accessed the list he knew it was a bogus call. Satoru sensing he was being led along abruptly ended the call and then tossed the phone into a trash can and walked away to the nearby subway and left the area.
Commander Kayama had joined with the Japanese Defense Force Rapid Response Team which had deployed to the area where the cell phone call had originated. It did not take them long to find the still active phone inside the trash can. They had missed Tanuma by less than 5 minutes.
Admiral John Long looking at a computerized map of Tokyo displaying the cell phone location was at first frustrated. Then remembering something he returned to his desk and retrieved the property listings for the area and he saw something that made him smile. Commander Fujieda and Staff Sergeant Bloomberg and Captain Frank Orkney had already seen John vent his temper earlier were wondering what he had seen or thought of.
Conducting another search of the property listings showed a listing with the listing H. Tanuma. The building purchased one month before indicated it was owned by Haruyoshi Tanuma. Admiral Long returned to the map and viewed the location of the building in relation to Task Group Rose support base. The building had a direct line of fire to the tarmac in front of the equipment hanger.
Tapping the map, Admiral Long drew a circle around the building where he suspected Satoru was now hiding. The red circle highlighted the maximum effective range of the SA-16 missile. Glancing at Captain Orkney, "Frank the bastard has a clear shot of this base. Commander Fujieda, have Commander Oogami put together a strike team. Staff Sergeant Bloomberg you will go with them. Frank coordinate with Commander Kayama's strike team on what we are doing. Have all personnel utilize the tunnels for movement between the buildings, I do not want to risk casualties to our civilians. I am going to the hanger to set things up."
Captain Orkney looking at the map and then the admiral, "John just what do you mean set things up?" as Admiral Long opened the door, "I am going to smoke Satoru out and force him to make a really big mistake. I am going to get the wrecked Koubu and Eisenkleid ready to fly. When we fire those engines off, Satoru will go nuts and will start firing. When that happens I want the strike teams in place to take him down. Commander Fujieda my personal preference is that Satoru Tanuma is to be taken alive. If he resists, terminate with extreme prejudice."
Monday, March 29th, 2010 – Tokyo – 1500 hours –
The base for Task Group Rose had been constructed to exacting specifications. Because of limitations of available land, the base itself had been built on 5 levels. The lower most contained the utilities. The water, sewer and power areas, which themselves rested on massive shock absorbers and isolated from mother earth. The rest of the base was divided into various sections. Repair shops, armories, ammunition storage, fuel storage and the massive computer servers and main frames. The buildings that were visible were built to withstand typhonic winds but bomb blasts as well. The buildings also earthquake proof rested on their own shock absorbers giving further resilience to the support base.
Admiral Long entered the hanger from the underground tunnel and stood briefly at the exit taking in the two wrecked machines. It was not something he was looking forward to but the bait had to be cast. Seeing Kohran coming out of the hanger workshop, Admiral Long joined her, "Kohran, I want you to rig two jet packs to the Iris's and Leni's machines any way you can. Then get the engines ready for starting and put them on the tarmac and chain them down."
Kohran at first shocked that Admiral Long was asking the unthinkable hesitated but John explained the plan. Kohran after hearing it, set about to make it work. Satoru was in for a surprise.
Commander Kayama and Commander Oogami had joined up. In addition to the Japanese Defense Force Rapid Response Strike Team, members of the Rose Combat Division were present. Lt. Commander Maria Tachibana, Lt. Commander Kanna Kirishima, Lt. Lachette Altair, Lt. Sakura Shinguji, Lt. Sumire Kanzaki and Lt. Orihime Soletta with Staff Sergeant Bloomberg. Lt. Sumire Kanzaki was with Admiral Long at the hanger as were Lt. Kohran Ri and Lt. Leni Milchstrase with Lt. J.G. Iris Chateaubriand. He need them for the play he was about to put on.
Satoru sitting on the roof top of the building had prepared for a long stay. The multi-channel scanners monitoring the police radio traffic had not picked up anything that would give him worry. He quietly congratulated himself as he listened to the frustrated searchers still combing the subways looking for him. The radio traffic itself was deceptive; the Tokyo Police Officers playing their parts were sitting comfortably in their patrol vehicles while transmitting their apparent frustrations over not locating Satoru.
Inspector Mitsuru Hongo of the Tokyo Police was working with Captain Frank Orkney in the Command Center helping coordinate the deceptive radio traffic. The Inspector had been on the raid to Satoru Tanuma's residence and had uncovered the evidence and the diary belonging to the late Haruyoshi Tanuma. With the strike teams in place, Captain Orkney nodded and the Inspector ordered the deceptive radio traffic to end.
Satoru who had rigged a camera to the roof top edge looked at the video screen with joy as he saw an Eisenkleid and a Koubu apparently being pulled to the tarmac for launch.
Admiral Long had assembled the Dream Division within the hanger. They were all dressed out in fire fighting gear. Kohran and Sumire were at the control consoles that had been wired to the jetpacks mounted to the machines. At a distance they looked undamaged and flyable. Admiral Long himself having changed into a fire resistant work jumper, the massive 1911A1 .45 Colt strapped to his hip; gave the order to begin the operation.
Chained down the two battered machines were unmanned. Iris and Leni were within the hanger sitting at two tables. With communications head sets on their heads they began their transmissions. Satoru listening to the scanners heard the radio traffic. Jumping up he took in the two machines as their jetpacks ramped up, the noise muted but rising as power was applied. The SA-16 missile that Satoru had previously prepared began to emit its locking tone. Picking it up Satoru concentrated on the yellow Koubu which was Iris's. Intent on firing he did not hear the strike team enter the roof.
Leading the strike team were Staff Sergeant Bloomberg and Lt. Commander Tachibana. The two Amazon like women cleared the immediate area of any threats and rejoined one another as they advanced on Satoru. Satoru getting a firm lock fired the SA-16, the missile leaving a smoky trail roared to its target.
Satoru partially deafened by the missile did not hear either Teresa or Maria as they came up behind him. Admiral Long heard the missile and watched as it slammed into Iris's unit. The blast and impact sent it into Leni's which toppled over. The jetpack on Iris's unit already on fire exploded, detonating the jetpack on Leni's. Admiral Long added to the conflagration by triggering four rounds into two gasoline cans which ignited and exploded.
Leni and Iris playing their parts read their "scripts", Satoru though did not get to hear that part of the play as Teresa and Maria both yanked him around and slugged him as hard as they could. Commander Fujieda cocking an ear to the scanners smiled as the scripts was read. Realistic sounding the radio traffic could have even fooled her. Keying her radio and advising the Command Center that Satoru was in custody and alive she walked to the edge of the roof and looked downward on the base as the Dream Division scrambled to put the blazing wreckage out. Leading them was Admiral John Long.
Friday, April 2nd, 2010 – Tokyo – 0900 hours –
Normalcy was what Admiral John Long wanted the most, focusing on the Sea Wraith and the demonic seals that had found that is what Task Group Rose was supposed to be doing; he should not have to deal with individuals bent on revenge. Satoru Tanuma was in the custody of Japanese authorities charged with numerous crimes including five counts of attempted murder.
Inspector Mitsuru Hongo who had spearheaded the investigation and hunt for Satoru Tanuma sat in a chair opposite of Admiral John Long, the final report of his investigation lay on the admiral's desk, "Admiral I have concluded that Satoru did in fact act alone. We have received certain communications from factions that we have had previous encounters with that they had nothing to do with this event. Had they known of his plans they would have notified the proper authorities immediately."
Admiral Long stood and walked to the window overlooking the harbor and the pier where the USS Wisconsin was moored, "Inspector, I agree with your assessment as well. Satoru for what ever reason decided to take this upon himself. I will allow your justice system to deal with him accordingly as I have other troubles I have to deal with. On paper the Rose and Dream Divisions are members of a military unit. As such we have to focus on our assigned mission and that is dealing with the Sea Wraiths. Task Group Rose is not in the terrorist hunting business. Let's hope we do not have to deal with any more nuts, because frankly I am tired of getting shot at."
The buzz of the intercom interrupted the admiral. It was Staff Sergeant Bloomberg announcing that the staff meeting was scheduled to begin. Shaking hands with the Inspector and bidding him farewell, Admiral Long departed for the briefing room.
Professor Lenny Walters had been busy on his research of the inscriptions and writings found on the demonic seals reported that similar writings had been located in the northern region of Mongolia near a village called Ibetsig. The remnants of an ancient temple had been uncovered and had contained nothing remarkable to archeologists working the site until Professor Walters had put forth a request to universities worldwide for them to check their records. The University of London had an archeological team working the excavation which had found the similar inscriptions but with the weathering of the stone which bore them, the archeologists had dismissed them initially as some form of decorative carvings.
Admiral Long could see that Professor Walters was itching to go, and gave his permission to do so. Directing that proper clearances be obtained the Admiral also requested that Professor Walters utilize the services of the United States Air Force for transport. Because of the rough landing conditions, United States Air Force C-130 J's would be assigned to the transport mission. Lenny remembering the flight on the C-17 from the United States did not look forward to the flight to Mongolia but accepted the conditions.
Lt. Kohran Ri reported that the additional damage to the wrecked Koubu and Eisenkleid had made them both destined for the scrap heap. However the good news was that manufactures had been located and retained for producing 2010 versions of the Eisenkleid and Koubu. The first versions were expected to be coming off the assembly line in two weeks after final testing. Still incorporating steam power for general ground operations and jetpacks for airborne operations the new units would include upgrades which included a missile decoy system that was lacking on the current inventory of the Rose Combat Division. Each unit would be built by hand which went against 21st century production technology. Labor intensive the manufacture of the new spirit armor would imbue it with spirituality lacking in robots. The men and women charged with assembling the new equipment would give a little of their own hopes and wishes to each one. The love of their creators that would be imparted to the Koubus and Eisenkleids is what made the spirit armor work.
Doctor Cynthia Long gave input as to the current seismic conditions. Though no massive sea quakes had been monitored as taking place the smaller magnitude quakes were occurring with regular frequency. Operations to upgrade seismic monitoring systems were ongoing and were sixty percent complete, with an estimated completion date of June 2010.
Admiral Long concluded the briefing with the final report detailing the activities of Satoru Tanuma. He had admitted in his interview conducted by Inspector Mitsuru Hongo that he wanted to avenge Haruyoshi Tanuma's death. He had become fascinated with the writings of his great-great-grandfather and wanted to emulate him. Haruyoshi had wanted to isolate Japan from outside influences to make its blood pure once again. That statement which was found within the late Haruyoshi's diary could not explain the goal of using the Imperial Flower Combat Division. The makeup of the Imperial Flower Division was the ironic point of the diary. Of all its members only four could be considered Japanese. They had been listed, Captain Ichiro Oogami, Sakura Shinguji, Sumire Kanzaki and Kanna Kirishima. The remainder had been marked for death if they had failed to cooperate with plans for the coup. It had also detailed alternate plans if the entire Imperial Flower Combat Division had failed to follow orders. It clearly indicated that all were to be killed.
To be continued...
