Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
…
Lieutenant 1st class Goro Aori of the JSDF stood outside a closed door in a crowded tenement complex, gun raised, perfectly still and silent. On the other side of the door, crouched low to the ground was another soldier, staring through the closed door using his thermal goggles.
After several moments, he lowered his goggles, nodded at Goro, and held up two fingers.
Goro nodded and turned to the captain, standing with the rest of the squad a little ways down the hallway, guns pointed at the door. He nodded and flashed two fingers.
The captain nodded back and made a hand signal to advance. The squad parted, and two soldiers trotted forward, carrying a battering ram between them. The captain gestured to them, then at the door, then at Goro, who quickly took out a teargas grenade, priming it to throw.
The captain nodded once, and the soldiers carrying the battering ram rushed forward and slammed it into the door, knocking it off its hinges and startling the two individuals seated at a table in the filthy apartment inside. One of them was dressed like a politician, while the other was dressed so much like a stereotypical Eastern terrorist one could be forgiven for assuming he was into some really disgusting cosplay.
On the table were two briefcases, one of which was open to reveal several million yen. The other was closed, but Goro already knew from the briefing that there was something much more dangerous inside.
He threw the teargas grenade into the room and pulled on his gas mask as he, and his similarly attired squad mates, rushed into the room, pointing their guns at the criminals, who were coughing and choking as smoke filled the room. "JSDF! Nobody move!" The captain bellowed.
Unsurprisingly, the suspects failed to obey his instructions. The stereotypical terrorist pressed a button on a handheld remote, and suddenly close to a dozen reprogrammed Guardian robots smashed through the surrounding walls, raised their guns, and opened fire.
Not for the first time, Goro wondered whose brilliant idea it had been to create a line of military robots that were so ridiculously easy to hack.
The soldiers quickly fell back to better cover and returned fire, while the criminals rushed for one of the entry holes the rogue robots had made, the politician grabbing the closed briefcase as he went.
Goro leveled his gun and fired two shots. One caught the terrorist in the back of his thigh, causing him to fall to the ground, howling in anguish, and in the process bumped into the politician, causing the second bullet to graze his arm and slam into the nearby wall, which collapsed on itself due to shoddy construction work and years of being eaten from within by vermin and hollowed out by people using it to stash drugs. Startled, the politician kept running, escaping into the room next door.
Swearing, Goro charged towards the hole, shoving a Guardian out of the way as he went. "Captain, I have eyes on the second target and the package! I am in pursuit!"
The captain, a good leader who always knew how best to use the men and women under his command, didn't even acknowledge him as he ran past, trusting him to get his man. Goro always did.
Goro charged through the hole in the wall, finding himself in the room next door, which was only marginally better than where he had started, but only due to there being no extra holes in the wall or robots trying to kill him. Seeing the door back into the hallway was open, he rushed through the exit just in time to see the politician run into the stairwell at the end of the hall, slamming the door shut behind him. Goro, already in hot pursuit, shifted his mass without slowing down so that his shoulder took the brunt of the impact as he slammed into the door, the loud clang as it smashed into the wall on the other side echoing through the stairwell.
Hearing footsteps, Goro glanced up to see the politician racing up the stairs towards the roof, taking two or even three steps at a time. The soldier gave chase at a steadier, more methodical pace, knowing he wouldn't do anyone any good if he got overzealous, tripped, and broke his neck.
Despite moving slightly slower, his larger, more athletic build quickly helped him eat up the distance between him and his target, a man who probably hadn't ever needed to rush anywhere in his life other than to the bathroom after overindulging on one of his many appetites. As such, he caught up to his target just as he managed to fumble open the door to the roof, tackling him to the ground.
It was a good thing he did so, too, or else the machine gun fire which flew overhead might have killed him.
He glanced up to see an unmarked helicopter sitting a short distance away, gusts of wind billowing out from it as the rotors picked up speed in preparation for takeoff. As the black-clad mercenary standing in the chopper's open doorway prepared to fire again, Goro's training kicked in and he immediately rolled off the floored politician and behind a cooling unit, firing several wild, rapid-fire rounds which caused the mercenary to reflexively duck back inside the relative safety of the helicopter's fuselage.
Goro quickly used this opportunity to hurl a grenade over the side of the cooling unit. As always, his aim was perfect, and the explosive arced through the air and passed through the door, landing at the mercenary's feet. Startled, the mercenary punted it back outside, where it landed right in front of the politician, who squealed in terror and frantically scrambled back on his ass away from the grenade, flinching back in anticipation of a fiery demise…
And nothing happened.
Blinking, both the politician and the mercenary stared at the grenade, only now realizing Goro hadn't pulled the pin out.
Taking advantage of the split-second moment of distraction, Goro shot up from behind the cooling unit and fired his gun at the mercenary, putting two rounds in his head.
As the hired soldier's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell through the door, very much dead, the helicopter pilot panicked, deciding he probably wasn't being paid enough for this, and took off, lifting the vehicle off the roof and into the air.
"No! Wait!" The politician cried desperately, waving the briefcase in the air. "Come back!"
"He can't hear you," Goro snapped, snatching up the unused grenade. "In a minute, he won't hear anything else ever again."
He threw the grenade into the air, where it landed in the still-open side door of the helicopter.
A few moments later, it exploded. This time he'd taken out the pin.
As the politician stared, aghast, at the fireball that had had been his ticket out of there, Goro snatched the briefcase from his hands, forced him to his knees, wrenched his hands behind his back, and applied zip ties to his wrists with perhaps a little more force than was warranted.
"Captain," he spoke into his helmet's headset once the politician was secured. "Package is secure, as is the target."
"We're finished up down here. Meet us at the rendezvous," the captain replied.
"Roger that."
"And Aori? Good job."
Goro allowed himself a faint smile. "Just doing my job, sir."
Signing off, he pulled the politician to his feet and shoved him towards the door back into the building, picking up the briefcase. "Back inside. And don't try anything funny," he warned him, pressing the muzzle of his gun into his back. "Or the papers are going to be reporting that you 'died trying to escape.'"
"You wouldn't dare," the politician snarled, fear turning to anger. "Do you know how powerful I-"
Goro lifted his gun and fired it over the politician's shoulder, causing him to scream as the bullet shot past his head and nearly deafen him in one ear. "Right now? Not very. Move."
They reentered the building.
After they'd gone down a few flights of stairs, the politician, having regained some measure of courage (and hearing, the ringing in his ears having died down), told Goro, "You're making a mistake."
Goro rolled his eyes. Here we go. "Because you're a powerful man who can make my life hell, so if I just untie you and let you walk away, you'll leave me and my family alone? Heard it before. Didn't buy it then, not buying it now."
"You shouldn't have stopped me," the politician growled. "I was trying to save us all."
Goro raised an eyebrow and tapped the briefcase against the railing. "Really? Because it looked an awful lot to me like you were buying a weapons-grade insecticide bomb which you were planning to smuggle into Hive City during the upcoming summit to try and kill Queen Apista."
"That's exactly what I was doing," the politician angrily stated. "And you should be helping me! The Hive can't be trusted!"
Goro sighed. "That so? Weird. Last I heard, they've been using their drones to undo environmental damage and mitigate global warming, their miracle honey has been curing cancer and a slew of other incurable diseases as well as going a long way towards ending world hunger, and their humanitarian and conservation efforts have been helping Third World countries around the globe climb up to the level of their wealthier neighbors. Hell, even Torkia is starting to look like a decent place to live now, and I hear people will be able to move back to Chernobyl in a few months!"
"Do you subscribe to any streaming services, soldier?" The politician asked abruptly.
Goro blinked, confused by this abrupt change of subject. "I do. What of it?"
"You know how the model works, right?" The politician continued. "You hear about a great show from a friend that you can only get by subscribing to a particular service. Now, you're not sure you can actually afford the monthly fee, but your friend tells you, 'No, no, it's totally worth it, and besides, you get a free trial period so you can make up your mind.'"
This exact thing had happened to Goro more times than he could count. Deciding not to let that on, he asked, "What does that have to do with-"
"So you get a trial subscription, and you binge watch the show. And you like it. You like it a lot," the prisoner went on. "And then you find out there's all sorts of other really great programs on the service you want to watch, but, oh no, your trial period is about to expire, there's no way you'll ever be able to watch it all in time! And it turns out that a new season of that show you really like will be coming out in a month or two!
"So, you decide, 'Okay, I think I can afford this if I stretch my budget just a little bit,' and you subscribe to the service, and everything is great."
The politician glanced over his shoulder. "And then they raise the fee. But by that time, you're already addicted, you can't imagine life without all these amazing, wonderful shows, so you're willing to pay whatever they want from you in exchange. They've got their hooks in you. You're theirs now.
"And that's what the Hive is doing to Earth."
Goro raised an eyebrow. "They aren't charging anything for their TV shows. They're streaming them for free to help teach us about their culture and integrate themselves into society."
The politician rolled his eyes. "Are you being obtuse on purpose? That was a simile. All of these wonderful things they're doing for us, there's going to be a price down the line. Hive technology is light years beyond the understanding of the best scientists on the planet, even the ones who aren't from this planet. They're the only ones who understand how it really works. They're the only ones who can make more of it, and the 'miracle' honey which I'm fairly certain is addictive. The more they give us, the more we'll become reliant on them, until one day we wake up and find out that we've signed away our planet years ago without realizing it."
He glanced back at Goro again. "Or how do you think they managed to build an empire spanning multiple galaxies despite being an allegedly peaceful species? They were so smitten by the Queen that they were more than happy to submit to her?" He frowned. "And speaking of which, it wouldn't surprise me if they used their ability to shed their skins and metamorphose to make themselves look more appealing to us so would be sympathetic to their plight. Queen Apista looks strangely attractive for an insect from a distant galaxy, don't you think?"
Goro considered this, deciding not to dwell too much on what he was implying about the Queen, since that would lead to all sorts of uncomfortable questions about his sexual preference he didn't really want to ask himself. "They don't seem to have much of an empire right now."
"The Queen can lay enough eggs to potentially replenish her entire species in the right circumstances," the politician reiterated. "Sure, they've just got the one city now. But the city is growing. And once they've conquered Earth, I doubt they'll have much problem expanding out to assimilate the rest of the galaxy. Wouldn't surprise me if they've done this countless times before."
He glared at Goro. "They may act and look nice, but don't be fooled. These insects are just as bad as the Warstar or the Worms."
"I thought we coexisted with the Worms now," Goro rebutted. "The Native faction, right?"
"Yes, except for the time they tried to transform our entire species," the politician snapped. "I was trying to save us. If the Queen falls, that's it for the Hive, especially since her daughter isn't old enough yet to take her place. By stopping me, you may have just doomed the human race."
Goro thought about this. "No, I don't think so," he said finally. "Even if what you say is true, the human race has been on the verge of extinction dozens of times in the last 50 years, and every time we've been able to pull ourselves back from the brink. Heroes, both powered or otherwise, have always risen to the occasion when things seem their darkest, and I have every confidence they will do so again if need be. It was their example that inspired me to join the JSDF in the first place."
He narrowed his eyes. "Also, I have a hard time believing you're acting purely from noble intentions considering that you bought your seat in the Diet by bankrolling an African Civil War and profiting from the suffering of your own son, Minister Hino, so forgive me if I take everything you say with a grain of salt."
"That was never proven," the politician insisted a little too quickly.
"And even putting all that aside," Goro continued. "A few years back, one of my kids was diagnosed with leukemia, and only given a few months left to live.
"Then Arrival Day happened. The Hive appeared and offered to help humanity in exchange for a place to live." His face softened. "My daughter was one of the first to be treated with their miracle honey. Not only has she been fully cured, she's stronger and healthier than she ever was before, and is expected to live well into her second century, if not beyond."
He nodded, a stern look on his face. "So yeah, as far as I'm concerned, the Hive are one of the best damn things to ever happen to this planet, and if I ever get the chance to meet her face to face, I'd tell Queen Apista that and ask if there were any way I can help her take back her empire. Can't fight a war without good soldiers."
"And good soldiers she shall have, especially if there are more of your caliber on this planet, human."
Both Goro and the crooked Minister started when they saw a large mechanical insect crawl up the stairs towards them. It resembled an oversized ant, one big enough to wrap its fully articulated limbs around Goro's wrist. Its carapace was a breathtakingly beautiful sapphire blue hue, inlaid with hexagons and with circuit patterns faintly visible beneath the surface of its abdomen, and glowing lines of energy ran down the length of its body and along the sides of each of its six legs. A pair of long antenna twitched in the air on either side of a glowing hexagonal Hive microprocessor set in its forehead, and while its large metal mandibles looked as if they could bite through solid steel, the warm orange glow in its large, multifaceted compound eyes gave Goro the impression that it would never do so without good reason.
While he found himself relaxing, Hino started panicking and tried to squeeze behind Goro. "It's a Hive drone! They've sent it to kill me for trying to assassinate the Queen! You have to protect me!"
The mechanical ant snorted. "Kill you? Hardly. You are not worth my time, excrement. If I wished you dead, then you would have perished long before Lieutenant Aori caught you." He turned his warm gaze on Goro. "No, it is you who I have come for, Goro."
Cautiously, Goro lowered his gun. "Have I done something to offend the Hive?"
The ant shook his head. "On the contrary. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Formic, one of the Divine Insects who protects the Hive and serves the Queen. A war is coming, Goro Aori, and we will need good soldiers to fight in it. My mistress dispatched me to find an exemplary warrior, one worthy of my power. I was surprised that my instincts led me to a human, rather than one of our own, but after observing you in action, I am certain that you are the right choice. You are strong, loyal, a good fighter, and understand the value of duty, honor, and family, all qualities held in esteem by the warriors of my people.
"Come with me, to Hive City. My Queen must speak with you."
Goro considered this. "I am honored, Formic, but I must respectfully decline. I'm already part of the JSDF, and cannot simply abandon them to join another Army. Well, not until my tour of duty is over, anyway."
There was a twinkle of amusement in the ant's eyes. "Already taken care of."
There was a crackle of static, and suddenly Goro heard his captain's voice over the headset. "Aori, I just got news from higher up that you're being transferred to Hive City for a special assignment. Any idea what that's about?"
Goro stared at Formic in astonishment. The ant's antenna twitched in amusement. Finally, he replied, "I think I'm being drafted into a war to save the planet, sir."
"Huh. Well, I guess we've got nothing to worry about, then. With you there, the conflict should be wrapped up in no time," the captain told him with complete sincerity and absolute faith in one of his best soldiers. "Good luck, Lieutenant."
"Roger that, sir," Goro answered, still not entirely believing this was happening. Holstering his gun, he nodded at Formic. "Well, looks like I'm going to Hive City with you after all."
Behind him, a door slammed. Goro didn't need to turn around to know that Minister Hino was no longer there.
"… Right after I catch Hino again."