Arc 2 Beginning
Roars from the Sea, Heart of Sky.
Chapter 14
*35 days after the Third Eruption*
The world moved on.
On towards destruction.
Across the networks of the Internet, information was being disseminated. Those that chose to open the mysterious email would find the contents unreal. But for those that dismissed them, a few chose to analyze that data, and those would find that despite the absurdity of the claims… that data checked out, the instruments needed were absurd, but easily build, and those with physics background found themselves floored at the revelations a seemingly annoying spam email held.
Amongst them, a young genius stared hard at her monitors, her cyan hair swaying from how fast her head moved to take all the contents of her screens. A set of blueprints, so close yet so different to the sketches that she'd drawn not too long ago. The material list was ridiculous, and the power requirements needed at least three technological jumps… but it was feasible…
More taps across her keyboard, another file opened.
She set to draw once more.
*50 Days after TE*
"The discovery of hundreds of improperly shelved kidnapping cases of children in the US has shocked the nation, as some were not even chosen to be logged into their databases. Multiple cases where no resolution was ever achieved, not even a mark of deceased now awaken concern of those parents who had their trust on their Police departments. Boxes full of evidence of violent and recorded kidnappings were discovered in various landfills across the US. Investigations by the FBI now have turned sour as multiple agencies among the federal government seek the one among them who is now suspected to be responsible, at least by the populace. Secretary of Homeland Security Arthur Watts declared in a press conference…"
*Two months after the Third Eruption*
"…Reports of our saviors' vessels flying around the world have increased in the following weeks after the Nagazora Disaster, clearly, they are not pleased by our use of Nuclear weaponry. Brothers and Sisters, renounce to your malice a prepare for the Grand Uplift, their watchers are among us and the judgment has already Begun…"
*69 Days after TE*
TOP SECRET/RESTRICTED DATA-ZETA 12/HONKAI/LIMDIS/OC/REL TO JAP/ REL TO RUS/REL TO UK/REL TO FR/REL TO AUS/REL TO US
**Progress on the isolation wall build around Nagazora is almost complete. Retrieval of samples for analysis has been complicated but some have been found. Analysis of the battle points remains underway. Cover stories for the disappearance of Camp Nagazora have been drafted and are pending review. Prototype Honkai Energy detectors have been tested; results listed in annexed documents**
***P.D.: The results correlate with the SL-Intel Packages obtained by [REDACTED] operatives in the aftermath of the [REDACTED] Eruption. Gentlemen, we are facing something way above our heads. We shall forward our recommendations to the UNSC, but do not expect things to change. What has happened here will happen again, and worse if that data is to be believed. Deliver this gently to your superiors, tightening the hold on the purse for R&D is going to bite us in the ass sooner or later. Recruitment needs to broaden its pool. We cannot nitpick anymore.
*74 days after TE*
"Conspiracy theorists around the world demand answers, as the third rocket in two months was recorded leaving the atmosphere. Its origin remains unknown as NASA, CNSA and ROSCOSMOS deny any involvement on these launches.
The Hacker site known as 4-chan has launched one of its legendary operations trying to trace who is responsible for the unknown space missions. So far, its users have built a graphical model tracing the launch site via its own exhaust trail.
The site's users have concluded that the launch come from somewhere in the northern pacific, however, the remoteness of the area makes verification of their results an operation in and of itself. The latest payload delivered to high orbit has been dubbed 'White Knight'…"
*Three months after TE*
After so long, having some leave was appreciated. Sure they were bugged to hell and back and there were more tails on them than necessary but Watchpoint had a new mission as they wandered the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Find the best bar they could now afford and drink like there was no tomorrow.
The place they chose had a weird feeling to it, but the music was kind of relaxing and the drinks were plenty. The prices weren't that steep and food… damn, it would be hard going back to rations again. The conversations droned around Watchpoint without care.
"Man, my boss is the worst, can you believe he'd suddenly begin an advertisement project without consulting with anyone…?"
"My husband won't shut up about those forums of his, why must he put that before our marriage…?"
"The Americans have begun mobilizing all around the world…"
"How is that new? They always believe themselves the world police or something…"
"Have you heard about the Raising Hopper? I got an email from him too, bro. Whoever oversees that viral campaign, must get paid some serious cash to come up with that shit just for a movie…"
"Was it a movie? Who tries to make a mech movie when NEXT-Gundam airs in month?"
The conversations went on and on, even the Tv contributed to the buzz around them.
"…Friends, your future might not be as secure as you think. Where would you be when the world ends? You can secure your family's future! By reserving a spot in a state-of-the-art underground…"
Tyler stopped chugging his can for a moment at that last advertisement. "Dude, that's not even funny. I mean, it would have been nice having somewhere safe to keep the civvies at, but…"
"They would have become slaughterhouses, once the Honkai got in…" a Private, Takahashi, answered.
"If only a single one of them turned…" another Private, Maya, kept the thought going. Suddenly everyone's accumulated buzz vanished.
"Ah, great. I can't stop thinking about it now… you ok Lt?" Tyler asked Himeko, who'd gained a pensive expression and now looked at the enormous, American-sized glass of beer in her hands as if held the answers to the universe...
"Yeah, just… I remembered the evacuation convoys we found back then…" Vaporized by plasma seemed like a bad way to go. But it beat rising back again after death to kill you fellows…
The mood broken, everyone on their table let themselves drown in memories for a bit, the horror of Nagazora was still fresh on their minds and Fire Moth's brand of hospitality hadn't done them any favors. They hadn't even learned the name of the organization until they received their first equipment package.
A short man came to their table, a waiter from the looks of it, carrying a tray with food, more cans and a couple of extra-large jugs of beer... His white hair stood out in the myriad of people drinking and partying around Watchpoint, his eyes were pale blue and held something in them that immediately put the soldiers in edge. "Dear Costumers, is something wrong?"
Himeko recovered first, eyes the nametag that displayed 'Soreo' as the waiter last name. "Ah no, nothing wrong, just work stuff, are those our orders?" Her own jug was empty despite her not remembering drinking all of it in one go. They waited as the guy unloaded the tray with kind of unnatural grace. The whole tray should be heavy as shit from the looks of it… He finished his task and bowed before leaving them to their drinking. They chose to ignore their unease by diving into the basket containing burgers, French fries and a variety of sauces they forgot the names of. Himeko relished in the super spicy three patties burger in her hands, but everyone else spent more time trying to cool off the things, fresh off the grill didn't cover how hot they were.
"Hey Lt, I've always wondered, how can you eat stuff like that?" Corporal Asahi looked at her superior officer, as she'd left her burger on a plate while Himeko tore into hers like a ravenous beast.
"?" The vague sound of questioning was her only answer as Himeko happily chewed on the burger filled with chopped chile peppers and covered in eye-watering sauce. The fact it still distorted the air around it told everyone how hot it was. The Lt swallowed her bite and cleared her throat. "What do you mean?"
"You always eat the food even if it's right out the microwave…"
"You never mind the spice…"
"Now that I think of it, where are you winter clothes?"
Himeko now had her own puzzled face. She thought about it for a few moments. "I dunno? It's always been like this, I never got that cold, and I would often be asked to mind the grills and to rescue the meat when it began burning…" Her voice trailed off as she reached into the bowl with the fries and pulled out… a cell phone? "…the hell?"
(Spoiler: The Phone is a Riserphone)
Tyler then began coughing as something came out of his can and lodged on his throat, then he spat a rolled-up piece of... something. "…Dude what the shit…?"
The phone screen lit up and a cold feeling washed over Watchpoint, then they faintly smelled something like rubber burning. It passed in a moment, but now they were preparing for something to attack them, only their lack of Risers stopped them from turning the restaurant/bar into a mad house. The phone chose that moment to ring.
Himeko looked at the strange electronic in her hands, it resembled… their Riser keys? She tapped the blinking answer button and with shaky voice spoke. "Yinsen?"
"Himeko? Everyone? Can you see me?" His voice came out as if he were right next to them. A hologram came out of the phone and they saw him. He looked like he was running on spite and coffee, dark bags under his eyes and a long gash on his left cheek underneath a bandage. The projection turned around to see everyone's dumbfounded faces. "…I take that as a yes. Hello everyone, sorry for going to ground but as you might have noticed, some people would rather make us disappear rather than solve the problem…"
"How did you…?" Survive being nuked? Himeko couldn't ask that question, her anger at him giving them the cold shoulder and her concern at his appearance stopped her lips from moving.
"Heh, turns out you can do a lot with an Herrscher Core" As if that explained everything. "Our Operations Director turned to have been a plant and he was the one who blew up our ship back when we met. I managed to link up with some survivors from our bases and found out more about or superiors' dark shit that we had somehow compromised." He turned to look at some one on his end. "…Yeah, they're good, don't worry." He returned to look at everyone once again. "From your looks and the lack of awards ceremonies on the telly I take you got poached too?"
"You can't imagine…."
"Yeah, I guess I can't. We've been raiding some of our former sites for gear but we're kind short on personnel…"
"I supposed you don't have any vacancies for training squads? Its been so long since we got to fire in the range that I think my finger might not even be able to press the trigger." Tyler quipped, having recovered from almost choking on paper.
Yinsen looked at everyone and a bit of sorrow crossed his face. "I'd like nothing more than poaching you myself, but the half the base is still in ruins and our suppliers bailed on us and took every bit of assembly lines with them. We might have something properly HQ in a few months, but until then…" He looked sad, but he shook his head and stared at all of them again. "Listen you guys, there is just so much going on under this pretense of peace you have to know, the paper one of you has gotten from a can of beer is a casualty projection you might expect from the next Hotel-Objective, I'm still salvaging what remains of Projects DECADE and ZIO, but what they managed to calculate isn't good, for anyone." His somber declaration dropped the mood further. "Keep the RisePhone on you, I can see you haven't had the best of hospitalities by Moth, and I guess they would like to speak with me too."
"They really want to speak to you in person, sir." Maya didn't' speak quietly enough. She got another look from Yinsen and now there was some anger on his expression.
"Really? For their wellbeing, they better speak to me from the other side of this screen or I can't guarantee their safety."
It felt good, it felt good having someone on your side after being told that your hell wasn't real. "When can we Expect you?" Tyler asked, a smile growing on his face.
"As soon as I confirm where the next Hotel will strike. Just pay attention to any typhoons and stay clear of them if you don't have you gear with you." His voice lowered. "Keep on your toes and don't worry if the jets scramble, it will all work out"
For the first time in weeks, Watchpoint felt like they had a mission objective again.