Ground Defense Force
Mao-Chan
Chapter 4:
Sylvia of the Sea Defense Force
May, Day X.
It has been two weeks since Mao and Misora were permitted to work together. They haven't had any chances to do so, however; no Cute Aliens have invaded Japan in the past two weeks. They were frightened by the idea of the Defense Force girls using the Light of Kusanagi-Sama as a weapon.
Mao was currently wondering why the Cute Aliens were invading Japan in the first place. So she decided to raise the topic at a homeroom meeting one day at school.
"If anyone has a topic for discussion in today's homeroom meeting," said Miss Kagome. "Raise your hand and speak up."
After a few moments of silence, she said, "Is there anyone here who has a topic for discussion?"
Mao realized, This is my chance to ask why the Cute Aliens are coming to Japan.
"I do!" Mao said, raising her hand.
"What is your topic, Mao-Chan?" asked Kagome.
"I, myself, would like us to discuss why the Cute Aliens are coming to Japan."
"I would like to discuss this as well, I say," added Misora.
This topic caused Kagome to fall out of her chair in shock; she apparently didn't expect this type of topic from anyone.
The discussion went well, though a few students asked Mao why she wanted to discuss the reason for the Cute Aliens. Mao always said, "I, myself, just wanted to know."
When the homeroom meeting was over, the class left to go home. Mao, Misora, and Miss Kagome left for Defense Forces.
When we get to Defense Force headquarters, thought Kagome, I should show them a meeting detailing the arrival of the first Cute Alien...
It was the Defense Forces' Briefing Room, and five people were currently in it. The five people were Mao, Misora, Kagome, Rikushiro, and Sorajiro. Kagome was at a podium in front of a row of chairs, where Mao, Misora, Rikushiro, and Sorajiro were seated. Behind Kagome was a videoscreen for slideshows and the like.
"This is Commander Kagome Mishima's lecture on the Cute Aliens!" said Kagome in a loud, clear voice, so that all could hear her. Mao was excited. She whispered to Misora, "Aren't you excited, Misora-Chan? We're finally gonna find out why the Cute Aliens are coming to Japan!"
"I certainly am, Mao-Chan, I say!" Misora whispered back.
Why am I stuck doing this kind of stuff? thought Kagome.
"Miss Kagome," Rikushiro said to Kagome. "please begin your lecture."
"Roger!" Kagome said as she saluted. The lights dimmed. Mao and Misora shivered; they never really liked the dark. The screen behind Kagome lit up as the slide show began. The first slide was black text on a white background:
OUR FIRST CONTACT WITH EXTRATERRESTRIALS
"Our first contact with the Cute Aliens," began Kagome, "Was two years ago when..."
The slide changed to one of a turtle-shaped creature surrounded by people in orange radioactive suits. Like all Cute Aliens, it was adorable.
Kagome continued, "...a turtle-shaped flying alien was escorted to safety by Ground Defense Force operatives."
The slide changed to one of the Turtle Alien running with several of the Ground Defense Force operatives on the beach.
"The turtle alien, which we named 'Cosmic Tama-Chan', was loved by everyone in the Defense Forces," continued Kagome. As she said this, the slide changed to a slightly younger Kagome lifting Cosmic Tama-Chan in her arms, then to one of the others trying to lift Cosmic Tama-Chan off of Kagome. Mao and Misora couldn't help but giggle slightly.
The slide changed again, this one of Cosmic Tama-Chan laying eggs in a small hole in the sand. The eggs slightly resembled the capsules the Cute Aliens arrived in.
"Possibly because of everyone's love for it, Cosmic Tama-Chan laid four eggs several months later," Kagome went on. "Two of the eggs contained the magical clovers used by Mao-Chan and Misora-Chan. The third held a clover not currently being used."
As Kagome said this, the slide changed again, this one of three of the eggs opened, the fourth set aside. In each egg was a clover. One green, one blue, and one dark-gray. The green clover was Mao's, and the blue Misora's.
The slide changed again, this one showing the fourth egg being opened, with a note inside it.
"However, the fourth egg didn't contain a fourth clover. It contained a note that said..."
The slide changed yet again, this one showing the note unfolded. It read.
"...'Japan is being targeted'."
Mao and Misora whimpered slightly.
"Although the true objective of the Cute Aliens is currently unknown, we do know that Japan is being targeted."
The slide changed three more times, each time showing a picture of the Cute Aliens that Mao and Misora faced.
"And so, the Ground Defense Force was determined to stop the Cute Alien invasion whenever it started. And it has."
The lights came back on, and the slides stopped playing.
Kagome's voice went from stern in the speech, to gentle when she said, "This has been Commander Kagome Mishima's lecture on the Cute Aliens! So, does everything make sense now?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Mao and Misora shouted. To Kagome's surprise, Rikushiro and Sorajiro stood up as well.
"For the first time ever, I understand!" said Rikushiro.
"I understand, too!" agreed Sorajiro.
Kagome hung her head in dismay.
Mao and Misora were about to eat their dinner at the Defense Force eatery. During the two-week absence of Cute Alien invasions, they complained of all the 'grown-up food' in the Defense Forces' restaurant, and a special menu was created just for them, featuring all of Mao and Misora's favorite foods.
Mao stared hungrily at her food, "It looks delicious, doesn't it, Misora-Chan?"
"It certainly does, I say!" replied Misora.
They were just about to dig in, when...
BEEP! BEEP!
"Private Onigawara! Second Lieutenant Tsukishima!"
It was Miss Kagome's voice, coming from Mao and Misora's clovers. There was only one reason she was calling over the clovers, and Kagome confirmed their suspicions when she continued...
"A Cute Alien is going to land in roughly the same location as the past two. Please hurry to the scene as fast as possible!"
Kagome turned to Rikushiro, and said, "Chief of Staff Onigawara, what's wrong? Private Onigawara is going to arrive at the scene shortly."
Rikushiro suddenly turned to Kagome, saying, "I have something to find, Miss Kagome. I shall only be a few minutes. Until I return, you're in charge." He then turned and ran out of the Ground Defense Force central control room into the corridor.
"Chief of Staff? Chief of Staff!" shouted Kagome after him.
What could he be looking for that's more important than his granddaughter defending? she thought.
Mao and Misora were at the scene, in their Type 2 Gear, preparing for the landing of the Cute Alien. They watched as the capsule fell through the sky.
"Misora-Chan, what do you think this Cute Alien will look like?" asked Mao, glancing at Misora.
"I don't know, I say," Misora admited. "Perhaps it will not be as cute, I say."
Maybe, thought Mao. I mean, we've seen them quite a bit.
They watched as the capsule burst open a few hundred feet over the ocean.
"No matter how often we see them..." Mao said.
"...they always seem cute, I say," Misora finished.
It was a Goldfish Alien. Mao and Misora were quite entranced by this one. They snapped out of it, though, when it landed.
In the ocean!
"Whaa--?! This Cute Alien can swim!" Mao practically yelled.
"This is out of my league, I say," Misora said.
Mao began to get tears in her eyes, as she said, "What should we do, Misora-Chan?"
"Under the circumstances, I don't think we can defend, I say," said Misora, and they did the only thing they could do in such a situation.
They cried.
The door to the "Special Equipment/Material Room" was ajar when Rikushiro reached it.
Don't tell me he already got it, thought Rikushiro as he ran into the room. He searched every shelf, emptied every drawer, and checked in every crevice.
"No, it's not in here! Or here! Or here! Or here!" said Rikushiro as he searched. Finally, he growled in frustration, "I can't find the third clover we seized from the Alien!"
"Rikushiro," said a voice next to Rikushiro. He turned. It was Sorajiro!
"Sorajiro..." said Rikushiro. "So, where is it? Give it to me right now! That third clover is property of the Ground Defense Force! I'd rather you get it than the Chief of Staff of the Sea Defense Force!"
Sorajiro looked genuinely bambuzzled. "Don't be ridiculous. By the time I got here, it was already gone."
"What?! It was?" muttered Rikushiro.
Then, both of them heard a low chuckling. They both looked into the darkest corner of the room. There was a man standing there. He had a cigarette in his mouth. Both Rikushiro and Sorajiro recognized him instantly, for he was Chief of Staff of the Sea Defense Force...
Adalbert von Maruyama.
He stepped out of the shadows. He was a man almost as tall as Rikushiro, if a few inches shorter. He had silver hair that he had slicked back, and brilliant green eyes. He wore a black business suit and an orange neckerchief.
"What are you doing here?" said Sorajiro, though he already knew what he was doing there.
"N-no way!" said Rikushiro, thinking what Sorajiro was thinking.
"Oh, ja, ja indeed, way," said Adalbert, his voice low-pitched, with a thick German accent.
"Don't tell me," said Sorajiro. "You have--"
"Ja, I have a granddaughter," said Adalbert. "Zhe only van who can unlock zhe power of zhat third clovah izh my Zylvie."
"Give us the third clover, right now!" Rikushiro demanded.
"Zhat is not possible," said Adalbert, shaking his head. "Azh I have already given zhe clovah to Zylvie. And she should be arriving at zhe Cute Alien landing site right about...now."
"You're in a tight pinch, as expected," said the voice behind Mao and Misora. Although it was unmistakably that of a eight-year-old, it was much lower than normal, and had a strong British accent. Mao and Misora stopped crying, and turned.
The girl behind them had short dark-gray hair that went midway down her back, where it was tied by a green bow. She wore a black skirt, a beige shirt, and a black tie. She had the pale complexion of a non-Japanese. Her emerald eyes matched her shoes. She also looked somewhat ditzy, a spaced-out look on her face. She scratched the back of her head embarassedly.
"So sorry for interrupting," said the girl apologetically. "I guess I, the officer, should introduce myself. My name is Sylvia Maruyama."
"Sil...silva..." said Mao, having difficulty pronouncing Sylvia's name.
"That's alright. You can just call me Sylvie if you want," said Sylvie.
"Well, we're Defense Force members," said Mao,"and we are currently defending Japan from one of the Cute Aliens."
"We suggest that you run away, I say," said Misora.
"I, the officer, appreciate you recommendation, and I would run away, but," Sylvie began to step toward the shoreline. "...I'm here for a very special reason, so I won't run away."
"Why?" asked Mao. Sylvie turned toward them, holding something in her hand.
"Because I'm a Seaman Recruit in the Sea Defence Force," said Sylvie, the object in her hand the third clover.
"Ehhh?!" shouted both Mao and Misora. "You're a member of the Sea Defense Force, I ask?!" shouted Misora.
"Really, truly?" asked Mao.
"Cross my heart, hope to die," said Sylvie.
"We still need proof that you really are a Sea Defense Force member, I say!" said Misora.
"Alright then," said Sylvie, putting her clover on her chest. "I guess I should get into my..."
Sylvie saluted. "...Type 2 Marine Gear...download!" She touched the clover's face. "Kai-bo!"
In a flash of light, Sylvie was in an outfit similiar to Mao's, only the clover and baton were dark-gray. The hat was also different; it looked incredibly swollen, like some weird flotation device.
"Seaman Recruit Sylvia Maruyama of the Sea Defence Force!" Sylvie saluted. "The Japanese seas are my seas!"
Sylvie turned back toward the ocean, and Mao said, "Give it your best shot!"
However, Sylvie just stood there, not budging, occasionally letting out an "uh..." Finally, Mao asked, "What's the matter?"
"I, the officer, heard that the water is very cold around this time," said Sylvie in a worried voice.
"Huh? C'mon, defend the country!" whined Mao. Sylvie thought, I, the officer, have to tell them...
Sylvie turned toward Mao and Misora, "To tell you two the truth, I, the officer, can't swim!"
Mao instantly began crying, and shouted, "NO WAY!"
Sylvie seemed more interested in Mao's reaction. "Hey, that was an amazing reaction, mate! Could you please do it again?"
Mao tried to scold Sylvie, but all that came out of her mouth was an "Ehhh!" She tried again: "Sylvie-Chan, aren't you interested in defending the country?"
"That's very sad, I say!" said Misora, tears welling in her eyes as well.
"Uh....OK. I'm sorry," said Sylvie, being very serious for the first time since she met Mao and Misora. "I, the officer, am being very foolish, especially since my grandfather is the Chief of Staff of the Sea Defence Force. So, I, the officer, have got to do what I got to do..."
Suddenly, Sylvie's face brightened. "Hey, I know! I'll show a trick I learned from Grampa!" She raised her baton so that Mao and Misora could see it. "He said that if you pray to this baton, 'I want to protect Japan'," explained Sylvie, "something awesome will happen."
"Really?"
"That is terrific, I say!"
"I, the officer, am going to give it a try!" Sylvie said, running to the shoreline again. She held her baton in front, looking almost like she was meditating. She began chanting, "Let something awesome happen..."
After about a minute of chanting, Sylvie stopped, and said, "Hey, nothing's happenin'."
"You're kidding!" shouted Mao, crying again.
"Now it's hopeless, I say," Misora cried as well.
Sylvie half-turned to them, and mentioned, "Well, I suppose we all fail every once in a while."
Suddenly, Sylvie's clover began glowing white. The glow traveled down Sylvie's arm, and into a gray ball on one end of her baton. As this occured, Sylvie was saying, "What? What's this? What's happening?"
"Wow, how pretty!" said Sylvie, commenting on the light.
"Sylvie-Chan!"
"Is that safe, I ask?"
"It's pretty," Sylvie said, "so I, the officer, guess it is safe."
No sooner than Sylvie said this, than her baton suddenly began quivering. After a few seconds, a broad beam of pure light shot out to sea. The beam entered the water. After a few more seconds, a wave suddenly sprouted from the water, rushing toward them. They were too stunned from the initial blast, and were thoroughly drenched by the wave. Sylvie broke the silence by saying, "Well, then, that was a surprise, wasn't it?"
Mao's only response was, "Ah-ooh-eh-ooh!" Misora looked out to the sea, and said to Mao, "Mao-Chan, you really have to see this, I say!"
Mao opened her eyes, and looked in the direction Misora was pointing. She saw the Fish Alien, unconscious, floating on the surface of the water.
"We did it!" Mao said, excitedly.
"Yes, we certainly did, I say!" replied Misora.
"I did it! I, the officer, am pretty amazing!" said Sylvie.
"You can say that again, I say," joked Misora.
"I did it!" said Sylvie. "I, the officer, am pretty amazing!"
Then all three Defense Force members shouted, "Victory!"
Miss Kagome was completely dumbfounded. A third Defense Force member who was eight years old? One was bad enough, but three? She thought wearily, What the heck is happening to the Defense Forces?
TO BE CONTINUED...
